Crazy December 08.

"December 1, marked the 20th annual World AIDS Day, a special day to remind us that HIV is still a global epidemic with millions of carriers and AIDS victims of all ethnicities and orientations.

As in past years, the Chorus participated by singing at the lighting ceremony for Mama's Kitchen's Tree of Life in Village Hillcrest plaza. Before singing, the Chorus lit candles with hundreds of other attendees and observed a moment of silence to remember those in our lives who have succumbed to AIDS."



This month was very busy between work and the Chorus but it was an awesome month. My work schedule was one of the best I have ever had with 3 trips to Australia (my favorite destination for work). I also had all the days off I needed for the Chorus without having to change a thing. Pretty lucky when you consider that I needed the whole week before our shows since we had rehearsal almost every night. Lots of work since I took the helms of the Production team at the last minute. A week of sleepless nights and busy days, sewing, cutting, painting, etc... I was afraid I would be so tired I would not be able to sing but all went well. The shows were great and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Norman and I were asked by the Artistic Director to produce the next show as well but I have not given an answer yet. It is a LOT of work, and it is also hard to sing and produce at the same time.


Even though, I realize more and more that I love the behind the scenes aspect of production. I love being on stage singing but it is a completely different satisfaction to produce. To have a vision and see it come to life is exhilarating. The behind the scenes portion of DVDs always fascinates me. I love to see how they did this and that and how with some fabric, 2 nails and 3 safety pins they build a city... :-)
I used that in this show. Illusions and trompe-l'oeils.


Otherwise work has been great. My last trip to Australia was I believe last May so I was eager to go back. It's summer there right night so it's the perfect time to go. All 3 flights were good and the lay-overs were awesome. I worked with some friends or met some down there who had arrived on other flights. Lots of hiking, laying on the beach, little soirees in one of our hotel rooms. On Christmas' Eve day, I met with Scott, Karl and Kurt, and had probably the best day of my whole career at United. We met for lunch, went shopping in the afternoon, and had our get together that evening until 2am. We laughed so much all day that our jaws were hurting (and that was before we even started to drink!). I am surprised we did not get kicked out of the mall in the afternoon and that the hotel did not call security because we were having too much fun and were too loud.


Not a bad way to end the year. 2008 was tough for most of us and hopefully 2009 will bring some good things in our lives.

Sock It To The Holidays!

So funny but so sadly true!!!

Prop 8, religion, politics

Proposition 8 passed in November while I was on vacations. Everybody at home was happy that Senator Obama was elected President but were not aware of the other propositions on the ballot especially Prop 8 in California. I explained to them a little bit of the process and the difficulty to choose one side or another on a lot of the issues. In my case I had chosen to only vote on the ones of which I had a clear understanding. Of course Prop 8 was one of them. Since I have been back I have read articles, listened to interviews and some of my friends reactions. I don't even want to start on the issue. There are so many things wrong with this. Again Church dictated the State what to do, once again ignoring the "Separation of Church and State"....

Keith Olbermann on his TV show put it plain and simple to the people who voted for this proposition.



Another journalist, Lisa Miller, wrote an article in Newsweek covering some more specific points. The article is called "Our Mutual Joy".

"Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scriptures. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.

Let's try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. "It is better to marry than to burn with passion," says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?

Of course not, yet the religious opponents of gay marriage would have it be so." (click here to read more)
By Lisa Miller | NEWSWEEK
Published Dec 6, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Dec 15, 2008

As 2009 approaches I can only hope that people will educate themselves and search for the truth, not let only tradition, ignorance and fear forge their beliefs.

Blind faith was probably invented to deter people's questions. If I do not want to answer you all I have to say is if you need to ask then you are not a believer. And people fell for that. The same way nowadays some politicians say that if you criticize your government you are unpatriotic. That is exactly the opposite. Only one who cares enough would question and criticize. Not to just do so, but to make change happen, to advance and be better. Religious systems have hidden so many facts for so long in order to keep their power over the people that of course they are scared of anyone asking questions. You can ask questions without questioning your faith. I have read Bishop John Shelby Spong's book "Jesus for the non-religious" and am now reading "Born of a woman". You probably would have a hard time finding a more religious person. He is a believer in God and Christ and have read passages of the Bible every day since he was 12 years old. His questions have never strayed him from his faith. If anything his quest has only made his faith stronger because he understands so many things so much better now. Still, he is perceived as some kind of a heretic in some religious circles. I guess that is the fate of those who seek the truth. It always has been and maybe will always be. It is so much easier to just go along with what we are being told. We don't have to do any work, any thinking, any research, nothing.
History tells us though that in the end, the "heretics" are vindicated and the truth does prevail no matter how hard some try to bind it. Not that long ago, we thought the Earth was flat.

Back home

I am a flight attendant. For the past 14 years I have gone from one time zone to the next and from one country to another. I have always been able to get back in my own time once back home, if not right away at least in a couple of days. I have been back in San Diego for 4 days now. I am still jet-lagged. I cannot seem to be able to get back in Pacific time. But I think it's more than that. I barely eat, hardly leave the house and have not had a good night sleep yet.
It's been weirder than usual because I stayed longer with my family this time. Usually, I'm there for a week or 10 days max but I was there for 16 days and it made a big difference. The only nice thing coming back home was to find the beautiful weather and feel the sun without the 90% humidity and the sudden tropical deluge. I tend to think that I get along with my family because we are so far away and I only get to see them twice a year. I know better. Maybe that is why I try not to stay too long because it makes it that much harder to leave them. The bond between us is so strong. We care about and love each other not because we are family, but because we genuinely like each other as individuals. I guess I have been down since my return because I miss them.
We have started to work on our family tree and have uncovered some things that we were not aware of. Both because as kids we never asked and because we were never told by the adults. We asked mom and dad lots of questions about their family, especially our great grand-parents and beyond. We have learned some amazing facts completely unknown to us. We saw pictures we had never seen before like the ones of my father's dad and mom when they were young and his maternal grand-mother who raised him. I learned that my maternal grand-mother had 4 husbands and not 3 as I always believed. All this is just fascinating. We are learning about people that we knew as kids but could not tell what the family relation was until now. Pretty sad when you think of it but at the same time normal I guess. As kids you know "uncle this" and "auntie that" but do not really know how they are related to you unless they are your parents' siblings or own parents. We have learned more in those past 2 weeks than we have in 40 years! And we are just starting...

Here are some pictures of my stay.

Gwada 10th and 11th day

Yesterday for the first time I was without my family. The kids were in school and everybody else was working. I had breakfast by myself then did some laundry. My highschool friend Pascal came and picked me up around noon, and we stopped by his parent's (my highschool adopted family). Pascal and I had lunch together then hung out and saw some other friends in the afternoon. I got back to my sister's around 6pm and we all went to my brother's for dinner.

I spent the night here. This morning I watched TV with my brother until the others woke up. My nephew Florian prepared breakfast for me and we all ate together. Today is a beautiful clear day. We have a beautiful view of the mountain from my brother's. No clouds blocking the top; the sun is rising and even with the breeze it is getting hot already.

Today we are going to my sister's for lunch.

Gwada 9th day

Not too much to mention for today. Daily walk with sis before breakfast. Around 11:30we leave for the beach where we spend the whole afternoon. We went to the kid's favorite beach: Saint-Anne. Blue tranparent water in a calm lagoon with no waves. The water again is the right temperature. We finally leave because we have to go to a birthday party (another one!). We get back home early but we all are exhausted. I will be going to bed early tonight.

Gwada 7th & 8th day

Did not go for my walk as my sister and I started right away to plan the evening party. Things missing on the grocery list, things to do, things to clean...etc. The weather was still not great so we decided to mow the lawn before rain came. A couple of hours and a few blisters later, we get ready for our trip to the mall. After groceries and a stop for a hair cut we are on our way to mom's for lunch and a nap.

We are back at my sister's and get stuff ready for the party. We don't want to be in the kitchen while guests are here so we are trying to have most things ready to go.

Some of my oldest friends are here. We have known each other since we were 10 years old. We always see each other when I come here. I am so happy to see everybody. We have obviously different lives now but that connection is still there and I believe it will be there forever. We were jocking that we would still get together when we are 90 years old with the kids and grand kids!

Today I went on my walk by myslef since everyone in the house was still sleeping when I left. We all had breakfast together after I came back. Jeannot started to do some work in the garden and I helped with the walkway, cutting grass and cleaning hedges. The day seemed to have gone by very fast today. We had a late lunch and it's almost sunset already.

Gwada 6th day

Six days already. Times flies! Tomorrow we are having a party for my sister's birthday so the two of us spent the day gathering the goods for the event. The weather was overcast and it rained a lot so it was perfect for shopping. I hope the sun comes back soon.

Gwada 5th day

After my daily morning walk with my sister, again we just hung out at the house with the kids. Last chance to go over homework since they go back to school tomorrow morning. After lunch, my sister, my sister-in-law, the 4 kids and I, drive to Saint-Claude to visit my dad. We spend the whole afternoon with him. He looks great and it's good to see him. We leave dad just before 7pm. During the one hour drive back to Lamentin we go through a deluge. Tropical weather at its best.

Gwada 3rd and 4th day

Yesterday was another laid back day. I did go for my walk in the morning, but we just hung around at my sister's house after that. I helped the kids with their homework, then we had lunch, then I took a nap. Life is so hard!!!
In the afternoon we went to Giovanny's birthday, my cousin Ingrid's oldest son who turned 7. Another birthday party.... and my sister's in on the 5th. The good thing with all those parties is that I get to see family members that I would have to go visit. More time to myself!

Today I took avantage of the kids being on vacations again and spent the whole day with them at my sister's. We went to the beach for a few hours in the afternoon and had a blast. The water was perfect. That's one of the things I miss, living in San Diego and being so close to the water but not being able to go in (I know, I'm a wuss). You can see though some of the damages caused by the last hurricane. The beach shore is a little different from what I remember but the scenery is still breathtaking. We went back home and simply ordered pizza. The kids are exhausted. We eat while watching the French take on the US elections!

Gwada 2nd day

I woke up yesterday and decided to go for a walk. I know that I will be eating a lot while I'm here and I do not want to gain one pound. I walked for about 2 hours and felt good, although the heat and the humidity kill you. After breakfast we hung out at my sister's until lunch time. We then went to Paolo's house for Lorenzo's birthday. Ghyslaine, my sister in law had prepared a feast and we ate pretty much all afternoon. We always have a wonderful time when we all get together eating and laughing. We were there until late in the night.

Gwada 1st day

I really do not know why I stressed so much about my trip. I guess I really wanted to come home. It's my nephew Lorenzo's birthday today. It's my sister's on the 5th. The kids are on Holidays from school and my sister took a week off. It is the perfect setting for me. I get to maximize the time spent with them all.
I only really started to plan my trip last Friday. I had an idea of how I would get here but had not looked up the loads until then. I spent hours looking at all possible options to get me here and back to San Diego. On Friday, flights looked really good and I was happy. Saturday when I woke up and checked, things had changed dramatically. I went into panick mode. I did not want to waste days trying to get on a flight.
It was very frustrating because I had different tools to plan my trip and each of them had a different story. Our website from work gave weird info as the same flight listed in different itinireries came up with different loads for the same day. Did not seem very reliable. I then checked each airline's own website and looked up the seats still available for sale and got some numbers which on Friday make me feel good. On Saturday those numbers were not good anymore. Then when I called the airline to get listed on the flight, again I got not very reassuring words from the agent. I went to the airport in the afternoon to pay for my tickets. As Henry put it, it does sound that if I am buying tickets I am getting on the plane right? Wrong! We buy discounted tickets that allow us to get on any flight with the same routing. For example for my LAX-MIA ticket on American, I can get on any of their flights going to MIA at any time on any day, granted there are seats. I bought a bunch of different routing for my way back to give me as many options as possible.
Norman and Henry came to pick me up and drove me to the airport. I still had to buy my tickets on Air France (the most important) for the flights to and from Guadeloupe. I got those and the boys drop me at the commuter teminal. I checked in at the American Eagle counter and the agent (a very nice lady) told me that "tonight is a great night to travel since the plane is not full". She gave me my seat right away (they usually give out stand-by seats after boarding has started) and told me that the flight from LAX to MIA looked good too!!!! What? A couple hours ago the agent on the phone gave a completely different answer. I felt a big weight lifted from my schoulders. The flight from SAN to LAX was not even half full. The flight from LAX to MIA was fuller but there were still empty seats and I ended up in a row of 3 with just another lady. The flight was uneventful. I was tired but it was hard to sleep with my back bothering me and the tight space. We landed in MIA and after recuparating my checked bag I run to the Air France counter. I had not been able to list myself on the flight the day before and sometimes the agents can be very temperamental and uncooperative. Not the case today. The lady was very nice and even offered me a window exit which gives a few extra inches. She too gave me my seat right away. Another unsual fact. I proceeded in the concourse and waited for boarding. I had a whole row to myself. The plane was maybe 1/3 full on the first leg to Port au Prince, in Haiti. After a one hour stop over, the new passengers came on. A little fuller than before but not more than 1/2 for this leg to Pointe A Pitre. We landed in Guadeloupe right on time. My sister was waiting for me and of course the first stop was my mom's place. We then drove to my sister's where we stayed for a while before going to my brother's where we spent the evening. We had dinner together while listening to music and being goofy. We got back to my siter's around 10pm. It had been a looooong day for me.

Vacations-Vacances

My bags are almost done. I am leaving tonight for Guadeloupe and will be gone for 2 weeks. I will enjoy the sun and the beach for YOU because that's the kind of person I am!!!

Les valises sont presque pretes. Je pars ce soir pour la Guadeloupe et je serais absent pendant 2 semaines. Je profiterai beaucoup du soleil et de la plage; pour VOUS bien sur!!!

From TV to the real thing

I had received my summons for Jury duty about a month ago. For the following weeks I debated whether to go or not. I really wanted to go but having my vacations just one week later scared me a little. At United, we bid for our vacations a year in advance and there is no rescheduling. If for any reason you cannot go on your vacations, then they are lost. I had heard that most trials lasted between 3 to seven days, but there is always the possibility of the "good" one that will last for weeks or even months. In the end, I decided not to stress about it and to go.
I woke up at 6am to get ready and left the house at 6:45. I drove to the trolley station at Mission Valley. Parking downtown is either impossible or very expensive. The trolley is just very convenient. I wish I could take it more often. The last time I rode it was when we sang the National Anthem at Petco Park for a Padres game in July of 07. Norman takes it as often as possible to go to work. Unfortunately for me it does not really help. I rarely go downtown.
Anyway, on a chilly morning I arrived at the Hall of Justice on Broadway Avenue. I had to be there at 7:45 but I was a little early. I past through security and entered the Juror Lounge where some people sat already. I took my paperwork and went to sit. I started to read the booklet about the elections that I had received in the mail but had not had time to look through. I wanted to learn more about all the propositions that we have to vote for in November. Well, like the ads on TV, for or against each one of them, after reading the arguments from each side, I still did not know which way to sway. Some were easy, like Prop 8 wanting to amend the Constitution, another banning alcohol on all beaches, another preventing animal to be kept is spaces so tight they can barely move. Others were mostly economic and impossible for me to decipher. Some truth is probably in both sides. One's vote has to do with personal beliefs and opinions but unless your involved in each case it is difficult to make a knowledgeable decision.
Back to the Juror Lounge. They start orientation. The room is filled now with hundreds of people. After a video, a judge gives us a brief overview of how the day will go. A clerk takes over and tell us how to fill in our paperwork. After that you sit and wait. They start calling people for whom they add questions or concerns and then finally at about 9 call groups to report to different Department (Court rooms). There are 70 court rooms I believe. San Diego is the 3rd largest Court in the nation after Los Angeles and Chicago. They call my name and I am to report to Department 27. There are between 50 and 60 of us. A clerk makes sure that everyone called is present and then after a little while she comes with the list of the first 21 jurors selected. I am not part of them. We enter and take our seats. The 12 main jurors plus 3 alternates in the Jurors box; 6 more sit in the front row. The rest of us seat wherever. All the parties are already in the room. The judge, the attorneys, the defendants, the clerk, the court reporter, and the bailiffs. The room is about 50x50 with bright ceiling lights. Definitely not as glamorous as TV. Behind the judge there is the Seal of the State of CA, a US flag and a Lady Justice statue. The judge today is Judge Bernard E. Revak. He tells us about the case and the procedures. This is a criminal case with 2 defendants. Each have a lawyer. The District Attorney will have to show that the accused are guilty on 10 counts including drug possession and child abuse.
The 21 jurors introduce themselves and are then questioned by the D.A. and the attorneys to gauge their ability to be fair and impartial in the case. This process takes quite some time. 1 juror is excused by the D.A. and 1 by the attorneys. It's lunch break.
We come back one hour later and continue where we left off. The D.A. excuses 2 more jurors and the attorneys altogether excuse 5 more. New jurors are called in to fill in the empty spots. They introduce themselves and are also questioned by both parties. The judge, the D.A. and the attorneys then deliberate in a corner of the chamber. When we continue, the D.A. excuses 5 more jurors, and the attorneys 4. I wondered at first why they had put so many of us in one court room, but when I see the pace at which we are being excused, I u now understand why. A few new jurors are called, but then the judge calls for a 15 minutes break.
Upon our return, the rest of the jurors are called. The judge excuses 2 jurors who because of work and/or personal reasons, would have a hard time being available for the 4 days this trial is expected to last. Introductions and questioning of the new jurors. 1 is excused by the D.A. and the attorneys excuse 5 more. Even with all those jurors gone, we finally have our main panel of 12. They are sworn in right away. 2 alternates are called to join the one already there. Introductions. The attorneys and the D.A. approach the bench to talk to the judge who then excuses one of the alternates. Questioning of the remaining ones. The D.A. excuses one of them, but the attorneys pass. 2 more jurors are called. Introductions, then questioning which leads to one being excused by the D.A. The attorneys again pass. We finally have our 3 alternates. They are sworn in. The rest of us (about 10) are excused and thanked for our services.
It's about 4pm. The day is almost over. I walk to the trolley station reminiscing on the hours passed in the court room. I am glad I had decided to go. I actually wish I had been called to serve on the jury. Maybe next year. In the meantime I will just continue to enjoy my shows on TV.

Love is love

I just finished reading "Sex and the Single Savior" by Dale B. Martin. The book talks about gender and sexuality in Biblical interpretation. The author covers different interpretations, including sometimes his own, about some of the most famous passages in the Bible which address sex and specifically homosexuality. There are many important passages but one of my favorite is the following: "...Any interpretation of Scripture that hurts people, oppresses people, or destroy people, cannot be the right interpretation, no matter how traditional, historical, or exegetically respectable. There can be no debate about the fact that the Church's stand on homosexuality has caused oppression, loneliness, self-hatred, violence, sickness, and suicide for millions of people. If the Church wishes to continue with its traditional interpretation it must demonstrate, not just claim, that it is more loving to condemn homosexuality than to affirm homosexuals. Can the Church show that same-sex loving relationships damage those involved in them? Can the Church give compelling reasons to believe that it really would be better for all lesbian and gay Christians to live alone, without the joy of intimate touch, without hearing a lover's voice when they go to sleep or awake? Is it really better for lesbian and gay teenagers to despise themselves and endlessly pray that their very personalities be reconstructed so that they may experience romance like their straight friends? ...All appeal to "what the Bible says" are ideological and problematic...The texts don't speak...Texts do not interpret themselves; they must be interpreted by human beings...Even using the same methods of historical research, biblical scholars are able to offer widely divergent, even mutually contradictory, readings of the same text.
(So) rather than expecting the answer to come from a particular method of reading the Bible...we (need to) ask the question that must be asked: What is the loving thing to do?"

Vacations part 2-Vacances 2eme partie

Family Cruise 08-Aug 9 / Croisiere en Famille 08-9 Aout
Quick tour of Basseterre. Florian turns 8. Visite de Basseterre. Florian a 8 ans.


Family Cruise 08-Aug 8 / Croisiere en Famille 08-8 Aout
Tour of Antigua. Beautiful views and beaches. Visite d'Antigue. Tres beaux paysages et plages.


Family Cruise 08-Aug 7 / Croisiere en Famille 08-7 Aout
Saint-Lucia. Short excursion in town. Afternoon on the ship Saint-Lucie. Courte excursion en ville. Apres-midi sur le navire.


Family Cruise 08-Aug 6 / Croisiere en Famille 08-6 Aout
Short excursion in Barbados. Beautiful beaches with clear waters. Courte excursion a la Barbade. Belles plages avec des eaux transparentes.

New space

Our TV had been acting up for a while now, and finally 2 days ago I had enough and went and bought a plasma screen. (I swear the broken TV was not an excuse to get a plasma, although the timing was perfect!). As I brought the new TV home, I had to reconfigure the whole space because the new screen is bigger than the old TV. Matthew and I had been talking for a while anyway about changing our living space and again, that was the perfect occasion to do so. For the past couple of days, I have been turning the living room upside down, moving the furniture around and doing a thorough cleaning at the same time. The result is quite satisfying. The change is not dramatic since we still have the same pieces just in different spots but the room definitely looks bigger and roomier. We still have 3 couches!!! I would like to get rid of at least one and replace it with 1 or 2 nice chairs for a more polished look. Today I took a break from cleaning as my friend Daniela drove down from Los Angeles for the weekend with her daughter and I spent the afternoon and evening with them. Tomorrow we are going to Sea World and on Saturday to Legoland.
I also need to finish posting the pictures from my vacations. I need an assistant!!!

Family Cruise 08-Aug 4 and 5 / Croisiere en Famille 08-4 et 5 Aout

First stops; Saint Thomas on the 4 and Dominica on the 5th. Click here to access the photos albums.










Premieres escales; Saint Thomas le 4 et La Dominique le 5. Appuyez ici pour avoir acces aux albums photos.

Family Cruise 08-Aug 3 / Croisiere en Famille 08-3 Aout

What an awesome trip. Of course being with my family was the purpose of our get together but we also got to see some great places. We spent a few hours in San Juan before the ship departure. Click here to access the photos albums.


Quel voyage magnifique. Bien sur etre tous ensembles en famille etait le plus special mais nous avons aussi visite de tres beaux endroits. Nous avons passe quelques heures a San Juan avant le depart du navire. Appuyez ici pour avoir acces aux albums photos.

Time flies when you're having fun

Exactly one month since my last post. A quick recap of what has happened in those past few weeks. First in July we went to Miami for GALA 08 where we watched and listened to tens of choruses from all around the world. We ourselves, performed on July 17 and had great feedback on our set. Check my friend Norman's page for some excerpts of our performance. Also check Norman's and Rick's pages for pictures of our trip. I did not use my camera a lot on that trip since we were pretty much always together.



Upon our return to San diego, I found out that I had my Oath Ceremony to become a US citizen scheduled 2 days later. On July 23, when I arrived at the convention center where the ceremony was to take place I could not believe the line. It was going around a whole city block. Thousands of people were waiting. When I finally made it inside after 3 hours lining up, I got lucky. For some reason each person was assigned a numbered agent to go to sign the paperwork. There were 9 agents each with long lines in front of them except for agent #3 which is where I was told to go. There was only one person in front of me so it took 30 seconds. Once everyone was finally done signing up and had taken their seats, the ceremony begun. I found out that there were 1701 people from 91 countries becoming citizens that day. Of course they all had brought friends and family, now in the auditorium, which explained the long lines. The ceremony lasted a little bit over and hour. We all took the oath together and I was officially an American after 17 years in the country that I now call home. This November will be the beginning of my 18th year here, which will be the longest I have lived anywhere. I always thought of this as just a formality but I was actually a little chocked up with emotion. When I left I had a big smile on my face. After the ceremony, I immediately registered to vote! I also went to the passport desk to find out that I had to go to the office in Los Angeles because they could not have it done in time for work and for my cruise. The next morning I drove to Los Angeles and after a few more hours of waiting and a computer glitch at the Federal Building, I finally got my US passport around 3pm. A relief since I was flying the next day and leaving the country the following week.

On August 2 Matthew dropped me at the airport for my flight to Washington DC. I was a little worried because the flight which was wide open when I listed myself a few days earlier was now full. I decided not to freak out and that all would work out and I would make it to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where I was to meat my family the next day. When I got to the gate, I took my book out and was trying to ignore the crowd around me hoping that they were not all going to DC. I suddenly heard my name called over the intercom system. I went to the podium and the agent told me that one of the flight attendants was sick and asked me if I would be willing to work the flight otherwise they would have to cancel. I said I would thinking that would be a way to assure a place on the plane. After going back and forth with the Crew Desk because I was not in uniform and did not have my manual with me (I cannot work without it), it was finally agreed on that I would use the manual from the sick flight attendant and since I was dressed nicely (as I always do when I travel on United) I could work the flight. A couple people asked why I had a pink shirt on and looked so much better than the usual uniform, but most did not even notice or know what had happened.
I arrived in DC the next morning and went to the gate for the next segment to Saint Thomas. There again the flight was full and I ended up using the jumpseat. The cockpit was nice to let me sit with them for most of the flight. On the jumpseat in the cabin you cannot read, eat or sleep. I actually did not sleep in the cockpit either because I could not really tell the pilots to shut up and turn off all communications,but I was able to read and eat in peace. We arrived in Saint Thomas and after about only 30 minutes on the ground the new passengers arrived and filled the aircraft again. Thank God this is only a 20 minutes flight to San Juan. In San Juan, my bag did not come out and after checking with baggage services, I was told that my bag was either in Saint Thomas or in DC or somewhere else. The only thing they were sure about was that it had left San Diego with me. Since the cruise was leaving the next day that did not look too good but then again decided not to worry. There was nothing I could do about it anyway; I filled in the lost report and I figured I would have a good excuse to go shopping. I went back upstairs since my family was arriving 2 hours later. I had lunch, walked around the airport, checked out the hot latinos boys and almost 2 hours after my arrival, I got a call telling that they had found my bag in Saint Thomas, had put it on a flight to San Juan and that it had just arrived. Yeah. The guy who had taken my report even brought it up to where I was. Now where was my family? They finally came out and I was so happy to see everybody. After lots of hugs and kisses we finally got in a couple of cabs and headed to the hotel. To be continued....

Winter In Sydney -July 2008

Extended weekend - weekend prolonge

It is usually very rare when I am in town over the weekend. This month was no exception. I flew every week from Thursday through Sunday and was home from Monday through Wednesday. Last week the Crew Desk took a trip away from me because I was over my legal maximum allowed flight hours (that is the simplest way to put it) so I was home Thursday and Friday. Then on Friday I found out that one of my colleagues had picked up my trip on Saturday (I had forgotten I had put a request in the computer at the beginning of the month). All of a sudden I went from being 9 hours over my maximum to 10 hours under. I thought about picking up something else but then I decided that spending time with my friends this weekend was more important than the money.
On Saturday I went to a birthday party with Norman and I got a taste of my visit to the Philippines in November (check his blog for pictures and story). Norman's partner, Michael, was teasing me, telling me that now I knew how he felt when they went to visit Norman's family in the Philippines. I can see how it can be a little disconcerting. People that you don't know who on top of that are speaking a foreign language. Makes you feel a little bit like you are from Mars. But I had a wonderful time. I had met some of Norman's cousins before so it was not too bad and the food was soooooo good. I really cannot wait to go the Philippines in November.

On Sunday, Matthew, Mito and I went to the movies. We saw "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy. It was very entertaining. Lots of action, ok story, some cool effects... not the movie of the year but a good way to spend 2 hours. After that we went to a few places in the mall looking for bargains to take with us on our trip to Miami next week. Nothing extraordinary but it was nice to spend some time with good friends and just hang out.

Today I am in Kona, Hawaii, for work, and I feel like my weekend is not over yet. Despite a difficult start yesterday and a near cancellation, we finally made it here at 1am, more than 4 hours late.
This morning I had breakfast and went for a long walk along the shore. I made it back to the hotel for lunch and hung out by the pool in the afternoon. The hotel is beautiful and the grounds are amazing. There are trams and boats to take you all around the resort (that is how big it is). There are water falls everywhere, water slides, lagoons. It feels like the Hawaiian Disneyland. :-)

Gardening #4 - Jardinage #4

I am finally done with gardening at the church. I planted the last plants this afternoon. I hope they will all look good together once they are all settled and it will be beautiful. It will take several months for the Blue Star Creeper to take over the star and I cannot wait to see how it looks when the space is all filled.

J'ai finalement terminé avec le jardinage a l'église. J'ai mis en terre les dernières plantes cet après-midi. J'espère qu'elles vont bien aller ensembles et qu'une fois que les racines auront bien pris, tout sera très beau. Il faudra plusieurs mois d'attente pour que l'Isotoma Fluviatilis remplisse l'étoile et il me tarde de voir comment ce sera.

Gardening #3 - Jardinage #3

Third step today towards the finish design. I planted some blue "Isotoma Fluviatilis" (Blue Star Creeper) in the star. I only had to plant patches and the grass will take over on its own and eventually fill the star. I chose this particular plant because it is easy to grow and it blooms during the whole summer getting covered with small star-shape light blue flowers. Appropriate since it is growing inside a star.

Troisième étape. J'ai plante de l'Isotoma Fluviatilis bleue dans l'étoile. Il m'a suffit de planter des morceaux et l'herbe prendra racine et remplira l'étoile après quelques mois. J'ai choisi ce couvre-sol parce que pendant presque tout l'été il se couvre de petites fleurs bleu pâle, en forme d'étoile. Parfait puisque ça va pousser a l'interieur d'une étoile.

Gardening #2 - Jardinage #2

Again today I did a little gardening. The second step of my design was to mark the star with bark. The star will be filled with low grass and I will plant some flowers on the outside. More work tomorrow.


Suite de mon jardinage. La deuxième étape fut de tracer l'étoile avec de la sciure de bois. L'étoile sera remplie avec une herbe courte et je planterai des fleurs a l'extérieur. Suite demain.

Gardening - Jardinage

Since Matthew "volunteered" us to take care of a 12x12 feet box at the Church, we had not done a lot. I have been flying every week this month from Thursday to Sunday. Monday night, Matthew has Ensemble rehearsal and Wednesday night we have Chorus rehearsal. That leaves us with Tuesday night but either him or I have had plans on that night as well. We did clean the box from weeds and whatever plants were in there. I had an idea and we needed to take out everything, except for the tree in the middle. We did that weeks ago with Michael's help, but since then nothing.

Finally Monday afternoon, I went to the nursery to get some plants and yesterday went to "our box" to start working. After another trip at the nursery to get more plants I was happy with the first step. It took way longer than I thought it would. That tree in the middle is a pain to work around. The roots are not necessarily big but there are a zillion on them, making it difficult to dig and the position I was in was probably not good for my back. I also kept on banging my head on the low branches while moving from one spot to the next. But it was still an enjoyable afternoon. I can clear my head when I garden. I am focused on what I am doing and do not think of anything else. Second step today.




Matthew s'est porté volontaire, et moi aussi par la même occasion, pour prendre soin d'un carré de terre devant l'église ou on répète avec la Chorale. Cela fait plusieurs semaines que l'on a eu note "boite" de 12x12 pieds et jusqu'à présent on avait pas fait grand chose. Ce mois-ci j'ai travaillé chaque semaine du Jeudi au Dimanche. Matthew a répétition avec son groupe Lundi soir et Mercredi on a répétition avec la Chorale. Cela ne nous laisse que les Mardis, mais soit lui ou moi avions des choses prévues ce soir-la aussi. On a quand même nettoyé le carré et enlevé les mauvaises herbes avec Michael, il y a quelques semaines mais depuis plus rien. J'ai une idée pour le "design" et seul l'arbre qui est en plein milieu est resté.

Lundi après-midi je suis finalement allé acheter des plantes. Hier j'ai commencé le travail (j'ai du acheter des plantes supplémentaires) et je suis satisfait de la première étape. Cela a pris beaucoup plus de temps que prévu, mais cet arbre au milieu rend les fouilles assez difficiles a cause de toutes les racines. En plus avec mon dos, je ne peux pas rester longtemps dans la même position ou alors je me cognais la tête contre les branches de l'arbre qui sont très basses. Mais j'ai quand même passe une bonne après-midi. Jardiner me relaxe et je ne pense a rien d'autre quand je suis concentre sur ce que je fais. Deuxième étape aujourd'hui.

GEORGE MICHAEL

AWESOME CONCERT.

I have always been a fan of George Michael's voice, music, and message in some of his songs. I had actually never seen him live in concert so I was really excited to be there for his return after so many years away from the spotlight.

During the last 17 years away from US stages, he was known to Americans more for his troubles with the law, than his recent hits. I was a little worried that this would still be held against him for this tour. I was happy to see that it was not the case. The first show was at the San Diego Sports Arena. The stadium was packed and as the show went along, people were singing all the hits (except for the latest songs that never made it here).

His voice was flawless and strong. There are a couple of my favorites songs ("Praying for time", "I want your sex") that he did not do, but I know he cannot please everybody. For "One More Try," he upped the gospel vibe, which I loved, singing with the background vocalists in a circle around him. He threw in a couple covers too, offering a striking rendition of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" as well as a sultry cover of The Police's "Roxanne". As much as I like those songs and enjoyed them, I would have loved more of "George's own material".

Before performing "Amazing" he told us that he dedicated the song to his partner, Kenny, showing his complete openness about his sexuality. Some of the lyrics of "An easier affair" show that as well.

The stage was simple and amazing at the same time. The multilevel structures that housed the musicians were positioned between three giant video screens that provided stunning images to enhance the performance. At the beginning of the show, it looked like it was raining blue and red sparkles and it gave me goose bumps because it looked like it was actually "raining". The middle screen curved down and was part of the stage on which George sang and danced. For appearing to be bare, the stage was actually incredible, being literally lit up.

I enjoyed every second of the show and hope that it does well all over the country.

Mad TV - United Airlines

J'étais un peu fatigue ce jour-la. I was a little under the weather that day.

Un peu d'humour - A little humor

Nouveau "look"

La semaine dernière Norman était malade et au lieu de se reposer en lisant un livre ou en regardant la télé il a crée pour moi le petit icône qui se trouve a cote de mon adresse internet. J'ai trouve que c'était vraiment bien alors je lui ai demande de me faire une pancarte que je pourrais utiliser pour mon blog. Qu'est-ce que vous en pensez?

Last week, Norman was sick and instead of resting while reading a good book or watch TV, he created the small icon next to my web address. I loved it so much that I asked him to create a matching banner for my blog. What do you think?

Coast to coast

Yesterday after flying back to Los Angeles from Florida, driving home to San Diego, a quick lunch and a shower, instead of taking a nap, I had to go to rehearsal! I have already missed the three allowed each season and although I was tired, I could not miss another one. We practiced from 1:30pm to 5pm and I actually felt alright. We have a little more than one month until we go to Miami for GALA 08 and as we get more familiar with the music, the excitement for our trip also grows. I still have a lot to learn and need to memorize my lyrics by Wednesday. I know what I will be doing for the next three days.
After rehearsal yesterday, Matthew and I and some of the boys went to Baja Betty for cocktails. That is a thing I have not done in a long time and I am glad I went. Usually after a trip, I just need peace and quiet. At work I am in an enclosed environment for hours with passengers. At home, I try to avoid crowded places. I would rather spend a quiet afternoon or evening with a few close friends.
For some reason yesterday, I felt like being with the "boys". We had a couple cocktails and lots of laughs while eying cute guys passing by us.

Back at home Matthew prepared a healthy dinner and we ate sitting down at the table while having a great conversation about religion. We rarely have meals together because of our schedules but even when we are both home, we usually take our food to the living room in front the TV. It was nice to eat dinner and not have our minds wandering while watching meaningless stories on the screen.

Trip Down Under

I think everyone is over me bragging about how great Sydney and Australia are. I just had another awesome trip down under. I was afraid the weather would not be very cooperative since it is the beginning of Fall for them, but I got lucky. We had sunshine and blue sky and a temperature in the high 70s the whole lay-over until the day we left.
The second day of the stay, I walked all over town with Christopher. We also took the bus to the little town of Coogee and did the walk to Bondi Beach along the ocean. It was once again absolutely gorgeous. This was my 4th or 5th time doing the walk and it is still breathtaking. We had a lovely lunch at the Bondi Iceberg and walk around the beach before heading back to Sydney.

Kid For A Day

We all live crazy lives. Fast-paced, busy, stressing lives. We try to keep up with work, with our bills, with our commitments and we rarely have time to ourselves anymore.
Being able to spend an entire day, with no worries, not thinking of anything but have fun and enjoy the moment can be quite an endeavor. Fortunately I have the luxury sometimes to spend my lay-over doing NOTHING if I choose to. At home there always is something to do; laundry, house cleaning, bills, etc... On lay-overs I can just rest and be lazy although most of the time, I try to do something. Visit the city, a museum, go to the movies, or just walk around town.
This last trip, I was flying with my friend Joanne and because we had a whole day in Orlando, we decided we would go visit one of the parks. She has never been to any of them so we decided to go to the Magic Kingdom. We worked all night from Los Angeles to Orlando where we landed around 6am. We got to the hotel, took a shower and were ready for the 8:20am shuttle to Disney World.
We were there for the park's opening and spent the entire day there. The lines were not too bad, the longest was 45 minutes, and although we did not do all the rides, we did most of the ones we wanted to. We caught the 6:15pm shuttle back to the hotel.
Since we had had a late lunch in the park, we sat outside in the hotel patio and ordered desserts. A perfect way to end a joyful, carefree day.




To get to the photo albums click on the link below. Pour acceder aux albums photos suivez le lien ci-dessous.

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Earth Week

In this time when more and more of us become aware of the impact that we have on our planet, I realize how selfish of a species we have been. There is a line in the movie "The Matrix" when one of the "Men in Black" says: "Humans are like a virus. They multiply and destroy everything around them" (or close to those words). That line always struck with me. How did we get to this point? Did just the ability to think, lead us to this behavior? Why do we think that we are not One with Nature but above it? All other aspects of our world seems to live in synergy, taking and giving back in a balanced act. We just keep on taking and do not think one second that we have to give back anything. And despite of a mountain of scientific evidence, still some think that most of us are just overreacting and that the planet will regulate itself. What if it does not. Do we really want to take the chance and find out when it is too late that we could and should have done something? The planet could get rid of what is destroying it altogether. We think that with our technological advances we can control our environment when Nature has shown us time and time again that we are powerless against it. We still cannot predict tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes...etc. We have warnings that we can read better now, but is that enough? We do not measure up against the formidable force that is Nature. So instead of trying to find ways to harness something that cannot be tamed, it seems more logical to me that we learn to live in harmony with it.
It is sad that we need Earth Day or Earth Week to have people think of the planet. Everyday should be Earth Day. With everything we do, we should think "What impact will my actions have on the world?". The problem is that we see ourselves as individuals. "What damage could little me do to the Big World?" We forget that there are now billions of little me thinking the same way and affecting our climate and the world we live in, like never before. So I have to start with the little me and hope that all other little me in the world will do their individual part. I cannot expect to make a big change on my own. It is the sum of all little changes that will make a difference.
A Native American proverb says: "We did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children".
Would we like it if someone gave back to us something that they borrowed, after they broke it?

Too much

The Pope arrived yesterday in Washington DC. He flew from Italy on Shepherd One and landed at Andrews Air Force Base in the afternoon. He brought over several of his Popemobiles which he will be using during his six day visit..... I don't even know where to go with that. This is just too funny.

The same but different

On Friday, my friend Joanne drove down from Los Angeles to spend the day with me. (To know who Joanne is, go back to my entries "Hong Kong in 40 hours" in December 07, and "Summer in January" in January 08). The weather was hot and beautiful and we had such a great day.
I love spending time with Joanne and talking with her. You always surround yourself with like minded people. People who tend to view the world and life in general, the same way you do (or close to it). At first, Joanne would not be one of those persons. We have different views on a lot of things; religion, politics, life... What is great though is that she is not closed minded and is able to have a conversation and listen to your arguments and share her point of view with you. Maybe it is just the two of us together. We are able to do that in a non threatening way. We are just trying to understand why the other thinks that way. I do not try to convince her that I am right and vice versa. It is an exchange. We go back an forth with points and counterpoints. Sometimes it gets clear why we think a certain way about something, sometimes we get stumped. And that is okay. I would give a good argument and she would say, "Okay, I see why you say that. Let me think about it and I will get back to you". And we go on with our conversation. We might or might not come back to that same point, but if we do because she has more questions or she has more insight on the topic, then there we go again. And I might realize that her argument is completely valid. That does not necessarily means that I am changing my point of view on a specific issue, but it helps me understand why she would see things a different way. It gives both of us an insight on the thinking process of the other person. I think that the more we talk, the more we realize how similar we are. Our values and the way we live our lives might be different, but once you look past the surface and do that without judgement, we actually are quite alike....

Spring Fever?

Spring is finally here and I get the flu. I guess the flu shot I took at the beginning of winter does not work in Spring. I have been home since Monday with no voice and my whole body aching. My roommate Matthew has been looking after me although he walks around with his Lysol anti-flu germs spay. This is certainly not what I had planned for my birthday. I am finally feeling better and I can talk again, although if I was singing this season, I would be in the Bass section. I hate being sick so hopefully in a couple of days I will be back to normal.

Visite Francaise - French visit

Valerie and Carole arrived from Paris Saturday afternoon and drove down to San Diego. They got here without any troubles and after a short evening together, they went to bed exhausted.
Sunday we went to the beautiful Hotel Del Coronado for the champagne brunch with Michael, Norman, and Matthew.

Another day in Paradise

I am back in Sydney for the fourth time in three month. After a great flight with a wonderful crew, we landed at King Smith Airport under a beautiful cloudless blue sky and sunny weather.
The rest of my crew went to sleep but I did not want to waste one single minute so I went for a walk/run to enjoy the sun and the cool breeze. It is absolutely gorgeous today. The temperature is perfect at 28 degrees (82F). I make a big circle around town, strolling down my favorite streets, and enjoying the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

At 5pm I meet with Margot and Romeo to go to dinner. We walk to one of our usual spots, Made in Italy. They have awesome salads and excellent pizzas. there we run into a few other colleagues from other crews. Some have been there for 9 days due to a mechanical issue with their aircraft. I wish that would happen to me one day; a mini vacations in Sydney. Not this time though, I need to get home to welcome my friend Valerie who is arriving from Paris on Saturday.

After dinner Romeo and I go out for "adult beverages" and we stay out way later than I had anticipated. We get back to the hotel around 1am! After flying 14 hours and being up all day and all evening I guess I held on quite well.



The second day we meet at 10am. We decided to go on the walk from Cooggee to Bondi. It is a beautiful walk on top of the cliffs along the ocean. The weather is superb and we enjoy the 1 and 1/2 hour walk. By the time we arrive in Bondi we have worked up an appetite. We have a lovely lunch at the Bondi Icebergs overlooking the beach. After lunch we simply take the bus back to Sydney. Deanne and Romeo go back to the hotel and Margot and I go for coffee by the Opera house. We have decided to go to the movie but we have a little time before the show.



The movie that we saw is "Le scaphandre et le papillon" (The diving bell and the butterfly). It is a very poignant film and I probably would have been a little reticent had I known what is was about. All I knew is that it was an Oscar nominated film.

Here is a review from the New York Times that summarizes my feelings and experience.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/movies/30divi.html

Du Japon à l'Allemagne - From Japan to Germany

Je sais qu'éventuellement il me faudra remettre les pieds sur terre mais pour l'instant je profite pleinement de mon planning. Après chaque vol, je me dis que le prochain ne sera pas aussi intéressant mais ce n'a pas encore été le cas. Après la Chine et le Japon, me voila parti en Allemagne. Le séjour malheureusement est trop court mais qu'importe c'est toujours mieux qu'un vol intérieur.

Mon équipage est super et nous nous entendons tous bien. Nous allons nous promener après notre arrivée a l'hotel et le soir allons diner dans un restaurant Turc! Nous finissons la soirée dans un bar pour boire un coup et passer un bon moment.



I know that eventually I will have to come back to reality but right now I am just enjoying my planning. After each trip, I tell myself that the next one will not be this interesting but it has not been the case yet. After china and Japan I went to Germany. The lay-over is too short but it is still better than a domestic trip.

My crew is awesome and we all get along great. We go out for a walk after getting to the hotel and then to diner in a Turkish restaurant that evening. We end up in a bar for a drink and have a good time.

To get to the photo albums click on the link below. Pour acceder aux albums photos suivez le lien ci-dessous.

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Spiritual High

This week I left for Narita not actually believing that my schedule has been so good lately. It seems that every time I feel like I have reached a turning point because I am fed up with work and the lack of control on where I travel to, things take a 180 degrees. In January I had my best schedule since 9/11 and I was ready to be not so lucky in February. Since I was on vacations the first 2 weeks of the month, I thought I would have to pay for all this. So far it has not been the case. I went to Honk Kong last week and Tokyo this week.
This last trip to Narita was another reason why I love my job. Besides the financial difference, you actually get to go places and do something. Most domestic lay-overs are short and you usually stay in a hotel by the airport. You get there, go to bed, get back on a plane in the morning. Internationally you still have time, although stays have gotten shorter and shorter, to visit and experience the cities where you are.
I took the shuttle to the Keisei train station in Narita and walked to the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. I have been there years ago on one of my very first trips to Japan. Today is a beautiful, sunny but brisk day. It is very windy and the sun has a hard time fighting the cold air. There is barely anybody else on the ground and I feel like I have the whole place to myself. The temple is in the middle of the town but the grounds are quiet and peaceful and I have them almost to myself. I walk around for almost 2 hours and take in as much as I can. I guess it had been a long time since my visit as I do not recall a lot of the spots.



To get to the photo albums click on the link below. Pour acceder aux albums photos suivez le lien ci-dessous.

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Hong Kong in 40 hours, alone

What a difference a crew can make. My last trip to Hong Kong in December was one of the best ever because my crew was awesome and we did a lot together (see entry "Hong Kong in 40 hours" below).
This time my crew was nice but definitely older and people had their little routine which did not include playing tourist and hanging together. Which was fine; I am used to do a lot on my own on lay-overs or even on vacations.
On this trip I walked a lot and visited areas we did not go to in December. The weather was still beautiful and I took the subway just to go to and from Kowloon.



To get to the photo albums click on the link below. Pour acceder aux albums photos suivez le lien ci-dessous.

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Cruise 02/08

Day 1
There we are. The day has finally arrived. After a few close calls we were able to keep Michael in the dark about our destination. Until the last minute he probably thought that we were on our way to the airport. He hates surprises and this mystery was killing. But he was a good sport and apart from trying to trick me into giving him any indication that would have given him a clue, he waited for today. He got nothing from Norman either who got him even more confused by packing winter clothes along with what we would really need for our trip.

So here we are on the Dawn Princess. Actually of the four of us, I am the only one who has been on a cruise before. It is my 4th one. I think all three are a little overwhelmed but hopefully very excited at the same time. We have all been busy but Matt, Mike and Norm will benefit the most of this week off. In January, I flew more than I usually do but because of the great trips, I feel like I have been on vacations. We settle, then explore the ship. After dinner we are all tired and retire early.

Day 2
Since we all went to bed early I woke up at 3:33am; then I looked at the time every hour after that. Finally it is 7:15 and I get ready to go to the gym...I had forgotten that we changed time zone and now it is actually 8:30, time we had decided upon tu go to breakfast. So we go to breakfast. The gym is not going anywhere.

We had a good and relaxing day. Tonight we are all dressed up for dinner and enjoy a wonderful meal followed by a show.

Day3
Gym. We are entering the bay of Cabo San Lucas and the scenery is pretty. Mike saw a whale breach but all I saw were white spouts of water as at least 4 or 5 whales moved not far from the ship. We leave the ship after breakfast to go ashore.

Colors surround us. The sky is cloudless now and the sun is shinning. The cool breeze keeps the temperature down though. The water is a deeper blue but gently turns to a beautiful hue of green as you get closer to shore. The sand is a pale gold color and feels coarse under the feet. Not the soft feeling I am used to. The rock formations are different shades of brown. From soft curves to straight jagged edges, they pull you in as you look for familiar shapes.

Day 4
By the time I make it to the gym we already are inside the harbor of the port of Mazatlan. The surroundings look completely different. We went from a vacation spot with facilities that sprung up (and still do) from the tourists' needs to an old town where people live and work.
After breakfast we disembark and take a cab to go to Old Town. We visit the cathedral where they are actually performing a mass for Ash Wednesday. A quick walk around the town square and we are not sure of what else to do. The town is not particularly pretty nor interesting. People go about their business and their daily lives.
We take an open cab to go to the Golden Zone where the beach is. We have lunch there. It is rather breezy and chilly so we decide to go back to the ship.

Day 5
We are at the Blue Chairs in Puerto Vallarta. We came here after our ride to Chicos Paradise for lunch. The setting is pretty. The weather is beautiful, warm and sunny; all those chairs facing the ocean; all those beautiful bodies... parading up and down the beach. I do not know why this has no appeal to me. I know that when on vacations you need to relax, let loose a little, have some fun but this is just not my idea of vacations. I do not understand that you would actually fly to another country to lay on a beach and drink everyday. Vacations for me of course are a time of relaxation, but also a time to experience new things and new cultures. I want to discover new places and know a little bit more about the world around me. There is not enough time (and usually not enough money) to visit all the countries I want to go to.

Day 6 & 7
We spend 2 days at see on our way back to San Diego. We relax and play trivia and spend time with the friends that we made on the ship, Matt and Ryan.

Day 8
We are back home. At least I have a few more days off before I have to go back to work. That is not the case for the others.

Cruising down the coast - February 08

The pictures in the videos are in no particular order. To get to the photo albums click on the link below.
Pour acceder aux albums photos suivez le lien ci-dessous.

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Summer "Down Under"

Troisième vol en Australie. C'est probablement mon meilleur planning depuis que je suis avec United. Ce serait super si ça pouvait être comme ça tous les mois. Le retour à la réalité sera dur le mois prochain mais au moins j'en aurais bien profité. Cette fois-ci j'ai travaillé de nouveau avec Michelle, qui elle aussi était avec moi à Hong Kong en Décembre. Avec Nathaly, une autre collegue nous avions plein de projets pour notre séjour. Nous sommes arrivés à Sydney le 26, qui est "Australia Day" (la fête nationale) et il y avait du monde partout et des manifestations prévues dans toute la ville. Le temps magnifique s'est prété aux festivités.

Le lendemain nous sommes allés en randonnée dans les "Blue Mountains" (Montagnes Bleues) avec Marese une amie à Nathaly. Nous avons passé une journée superbe. Je n'en dis pas plus et vous laisse regarder la vidéo. Pour accéder aux albums photos, utilisez le lien sous la grille photos à gauche.



Third trip to Australia. This probably is the best schedule I ever had since I have been with United. It would be wonderful if it could always be like this. The return to reality will be harsh next month but I would have enjoyed every second of it. This time I worked again with Michelle who was also with me on the Hong Kong trip in December. Wit another colleague, Nathaly, we had a lot planned for our stay. We arrived in Sydney on the 26, which is Australia Day (their 4th of July) and there were people everywhere. There were things planned all around town and the awesome weather allowed all the festivities.

The next day we went hiking in the Blue Mountains with Marese, one of Nathaly's friends. We spent a great day. I will not say more and just let you watch the video. To get to the photo album click on the link under the picture grid on the left.

Summer in January

When I got my schedule for January, I thought there had been a mistake. I was number 34 for an International schedule. I thought maybe about 2000 people died or misbid or both. I did not want to get excited and waited for the crew desk to call and tell me that there had been a oomputer glitch.

I was home a couple of days and played a little bit with my new "toy". For Christmas, I bought myself an an iMac and barely took it out of the box before leaving for my trip on the 26. I have wanted one for a long time but my design or graphic programs were all made for Windows. I finally took the leap. It is beautiful! I know that is a little corny but it truly is a beautiful machine aesthetically speaking. I love the fact that I do not have a tower anymore since all the components are in the screen. Even the keyboard is smaller and slimmer than my old one. I went from 15 cables behind my desk to only 5 and 3 are for the cable modem and the router. If I had put those in Matt's room (like I almost did because of technical difficulties) I would have just 2 cables. How awesome is that. I still have a lot to learn before becoming an "official" Mac user but I am sure with time, I will master Leopard.



Quand j'ai eu mon planning pour Janvier, j'ai cru qu'il y avait une erreur. J'étais numero 34 pour une ligne internationale. J'ai pensé que soit 2000 personnes étaient mortes ou avaient oublié de mettre leur demandes dans l'ordinateur. Je ne voulais pas m'exciter trop vite de peur que le boulot m'appelle pour me dire qu'il y avait eu un problème avec notre système informatique.

J'étais à la maison pendant quelques jours et je me suis amusé avec mon nouveu jouet. Pour Noël, je me suis offert un nouvel ordinateur, un iMac et jusque la j'avais a peine eu le temps de l'enlever de sa boite avant de partir en vol le 26 Décembre. Cela faisait longtemps que j'en voulais un mais les programmes informatiques que j'utilise étaient tous pour Windows. J'ai finalement franchi le pas. Il est tres beau! Je sais c'est un peu bête mais c'est vraiment une belle machine. Je n'ai plus de console puique tous les éléments sont dans l'écran. Même le clavier est plus petit que celui que j'avais avant. Je suis passé de 15 cables derrière mon bureau à seulement 5 et 3 sont pour le cable et le routeur. Si je les avaient mis dans la chambre de Matthew comme j'ai failli le faire à cause de difficultés techniques, j'aurais seulement 2 cables. C'est super. J'ai encore beaucoup à apprendre avant de devenir un "vrai" utilisateur de Mac mais je suis sur que je saurais vite dompter Lepoard.

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January 1st came and nothing happened. The crew desk did not call and I left for Australia on that day. Sydney is my favorite lay-over. The city is beautiful and we are there for 53 hours. Our next longest lay-over is HKG with 40 hours. Pretty much everywhere else we go, we only stay a quick 25 hours.

On that first trip I was working again with Joanne, and we started making plans right away. The crew was ok but we did not really click with anybody else so once there we did our own things, just the two of us. It is summer right now in Australia and the weather was just perfect. We worked out, walked around town, went to the movies.....

Our second day we went on a wine tour in the Hunter Valley, which Joanne chose.....ironic since she does not drink! She did taste a few of the wines but even without that it was an awesome day. The weather was great and we visited some beautiful areas.



Le 1er Janvier je suis parti en Australie. Sydney est mon séjour préféré. La ville est superbe et nous sommes là pour 53 heures. Aprè ça le plus long séjour est Hong Kong avec 40 heures. Tous nos autres séjours internationaux sont de 25 heures.

Sur ce vol, j'ai travaillé de nouveau avec Joanne et nous avons commencé tout de suite à planifier notre visite. C'est le printemps en ce moment en Australie et le temps etait parfait. Nous avons fait de l'exercice, marché un peu partout, sommes allés au ciné...

Le deuxieme jour nous avons fait la visite de plusieurs vignobles dans la Hunter Valley....c'est assez ironique puique c'est ce que Joanne voulait faire, mais elle ne boit pas d'alcohol. Elle a gouté a quelques vins mais même sans ça, ce fut une journée super.

Hong Kong in 40 hours

Those past few months have just flown by so quickly. December was overall a good month. Work was just ok until the last week when I got a wonderful trip to HKG with a great crew and an awesome lay-over. We all got along great and hung out together. I had not been with such a group of flight attendants who wanted to do things together in a long time. I guess it was to be expected since I had not been there in more than 7 years and others had never been there, so we were all excited. Joanne, one of my crew members, is from Hong Kong and speaks cantonese so it was definitely a big plus to have her with us, bargaining at the market and ordering food.

Hong Kong and Kowloon are amazing, mixing the future with the past. The architecture is breathtaking. Skyscrapers old and new stand next to each other and form this very interesting patchwork with large avenues and small one way street. Signs hang everywhere; above the sidewalk, above the street, between building; it is a neon wonderland. It is very difficult to describe how I felt being there. It is so different from what I know. I obviously stand out a lot in a crowd and contrary to many places that I have visited where I blend in a little, here I totally feel like an outsider.

The language baffles me although thankfully most signs are also in English. Again contrary to latin based languages that I can identify with, the calligraphy and the spoken form are completely foreign. There is no way to guess anything which definitely intensify the "being alone in another world" feeling. I wondered if Chinese people feel the same way when they moved to America.