I didn't get activated for flight, so I predictably spent the most part of the evening and night going through the rest of my blog entries (before heading out for sups with nicko at 12-ish). In the years following 2004, I spent a great deal of entries talking about my time in the airline.

I charted my progress from a nervous newbie to a sometimes-excited, sometimes-jaded regular cabin crew. There was this (very rare) time I was crying in a drunken stupor after a heavy night at Velvet, wondering what shit I'd gotten myself into by joining the airline. I was miserable about everything - even being inept at using the lipliner and mascara unnerved me. What a high-strung kid!

I have since given up on lipliners. But hooray, I am now a mascara addict!

It didn't help that I didn't have much chemistry with my batchmates, save for maybe two or three of them - even whom I do not keep in touch with. The first time I actually met these said two was actually only a month ago. That's like, almost four years on! But I genuinely enjoyed the catching up.

Anyway, my batchmates were mostly nice, but just not the type I'd hang out with cos we really do enjoy very different things. I didn't look forward to training, cos it was boring me. I was, in fact, quite happy to get out of training school, away from some of the pointless conversations and /or silly politics that were going on in class, which also largely, and thankfully evaded me. Hmm, because I was indifferent. Haha.

I still don't care much about the on-goings.

I read with fondness about the time Cheryl, RJ and Randi came to surprise me at the airport after my 2nd SNY flight. I'd just returned from Auckland then. They accompanied me home to drop off my luggage, and then we all took a cab to Simpang Bedok for supper and teh tarik. One of those girly moments I enjoyed. And many more to come, I bet!

TP'd also dropped by, before my first SNY flight to Sydney, to help me pack. It was then that she gave me this keychain that I still hang on the inside of my cabin bag.

I wrote about my wonderful team. That was when all the fun started. We worked and played hard together. As much as they were very on-the-ball about work and made sure I did things right (which I duly thank them for), they loved and doted on me even more - like a 'team baby', they used to say. I remember my IFS used to call me, "Hey, my favourite!"

I still keep the 744's Upper Deck Galley layout which my Chief Stewardess drew for me the very first time I was rostered U3 with a none-too-friendly guest-starring Chief Steward. I recall that flight turned out well.

Even a colombo turn meant a night of delirious laughter for us, no matter how difficult the flight was. I am a little surprised that I didn't write much about our drinking exploits. The times of a bathtub (as an improvised ice bucket) filled with wines, beers and champagne! Our fancy dinners! We were not ones to stinge on food and drinks.

I also failed to note down most of our explorations in wonderful cities, and the fun we had in getting lost, uncovering knick-knacks along the less-trodden way. And also of the times we partied in SG. We were also very much into wakeboarding.

I think I was too busy having fun that I couldn't be bothered to blog - not that blogging was a huge habit anyway. But it's ok; many of these happy moments will forever be clearly etched in my memories.

Then I decided to redo my room. There was a picture of Cheryl and TP cleaning up my impossibly messy bedroom. The other Kenny and Mich often accompanied me on my Ikea shopping trips - with the latter ferrying me and my purchases home. Slowly, as I went through the posts, my revamped bedroom materialised.

I also had an earlier entry on how displaced and miserable I felt when I discovered that Mediacorp was hiring writers, perhaps a few months into my bond. Around that time, I also received a call from an ex-editor asking if I was interested in the post of a features writer for a rather prominent magazine. I didn't talk much about it because nothing was going to happen anyway.

I have obviously lost my flair for writing ever since.

Then, after I'd been flying for about 2 years, I penned down my love for the job. And I am happy that I have been feeling that way ever since. Of course, I experience the occasional plateau, and I am still not sure if this is going to be my career, but I dare say that I've been blessed enough to be loving it, mostly, and that I take pride in doing a good job each time I'm on flight.

Oh, I started blogging more often when I fractured my foot. Cos I was stuck at home doing nothing. After the cast came off, I also spent a week limping around in Huahin and Bangkok with Sherman. Die-die-must-shop. Still, in spite of the painful hobbling, I rank that trip as the most fun one I've had with him.

Barcelona, Cairns (plus Brisbane city), Chengdu (plus Jiu Zhai Gou), Bintan, Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh), and Phuket also featured on my travels, aside from the other great places I fly to while on the job.

I also bitched about how there were smoking bans in hawker centres and coffee shops, and eventually clubs. Look at us now - we're practically living in a smoke-free Singapore! I still can't adjust to not having a pre-flight cigarette. Sigh, one of my little joys.

Fel left K, met Terry and then went on to marry the man of her dreams. I will be attending their housewarming very soon, probably sometime next month.

Oh, a whole lot of people got married - and many more are tying the knot! =)

Faith left the airline to pursue her studies in Perth.

Before I got together with Sherms, I noted a few crushes, of which I cannot believe I have no recollection about. I wish I can remember, cos it'd be funny. How juvenile and how innocent!

There were the Kim Tat Seng sessions with Kenny and Clement, as usual. The other Kenny will be returning from L.A. next week.

Randy and I hung out a great deal. We'd spend the day exploring nooks and crannies of places like Arab Street and old antique shops, then spend the night drinking with other friends, before finishing the 'day' with a hearty breakfast at McDonalds or at the loser kopitiam. Roy was also pretty relentless for quite a long period of time. I never spoke much about it cos it annoys me.

Also, I sometimes do not mention a lot of things.

Shing Ming moved to New York three years ago, in pursuit of his photography ambitions, and will soon relocate to Japan. He shares songs in his iPod with me whenever we catch up in NYC, and "Orange Sky" (The O.C. soundtrack) reminds me of him. He also constantly regales me with tales of his wanderlust, with the most recent destination being Bhutan.

I also found this unidentified nursery rhyme of sorts which I still think is a little gem:

"A wise old owl sat on an oak
The more he saw, the less he spoke.
The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Why aren't we like the wise old bird?"