The Latest Antics

Another 7 months, another reserve. Not super exciting stuff, but I've had only one local shitty trip, a trip to London to see Flip and another trip to the UK to Newcastle, one of our newer destinations.

Newcastle was an "interesting" trip for me. It was a chilly 1 degree when we landed and I realised there was FROST on the ground. Cold. Our hotel was in the middle of what looked like an industrial estate full of large shops like Ikea and massive shopping malls. We all got rugged up with as many layers as possible and set out for the 5 minute walk to the shops. Once we got there we split up, as I wanted to just wander and I think the others did too. Without sounding too harsh, Newcastle seemed to be a bit of a hole. It was full of teenage mothers pushing multiple prams, screaming with mouths full of bad teeth at snotty nosed children (literally snot hanging out) and resembling Vicky Pollard from Little Britain, saying things like "this fing wot you know nuffin about". Certainly an eye opener! I grabbed some nice shower gel, soothers and then some fruit from Marks & Spencer and hooted straight back to the hotel to watch some telly. I swear my tear ducts froze up on the walk home, the wind was so icy!!



Every year we have recurrent testing so that we're certified to fly for yet another year, and have all our qualifications up to date. CPR tests, simulator scenarios and security sessions. Blah blah. The worst part about it is having to go back to training college for two days, but this year we had the pleasure of sitting our exams in the brand new shiny building, complete with gorgeous views of the creek.



I wasn't keen that my SEP testing was during reserve, as I didn't know when I'd be flying or studying, but it was a blessing really - it meant two LESS days that I'd be on reserve and susceptible to crappy flights. With a few days of mad cramming, everything went according to plan and I was released with a new license and an eagerness to get right out of the building! The new simulators are pretty cool, complete with fake fire and heaps of coconut smelling smoke (think primary school disco smoke machines!) and a pretty good cafeteria. For those of you doing SEP any time soon, I recommend the chicken caesar salad.



Seeing Flip in London was great - it was so bloody cold that I almost froze to death on the way to meet her! The trains were DISASTROUSLY delayed, which made for an almost comical (if I hadn't been so stressed) last-minute dash to get on the last train back to my hotel. We wandered around the winter wonderland set up at Hyde Park Corner eating massive steaming hot German hot dogs and buying some yummy fudge and lollies. Rugged up to my eyeballs and feeling that I looked either like a superhero or some kind of space invader with my big puffer jacket and knee high boots (that come out of my cupboard about once a year!), we hit the Haagen Daas restaurant, yes RESTAURANT, and had ice-cream for dinner. Very indulgent! Exchanging belated birthday presents, Flip bought me the HOTTEST pink clutch bag/purse I've ever seen. I squealed with excitement, as only the week before I'd been bemoaning the fact that I didn't have a pink bag. It's already had an outing, down to my favourite cafe by the beach for a late lunch.

Recently a mate invited me to go into the desert for the afternoon and I naively thought we were having a picnic or something. Not so. We were dune bashing up and down some of the biggest sand dunes I've EVER seen! While the boys let the air out of the tyres on the jeeps, I stood on the step of the wrangler, gazing out at the multitude of sand and excitedly wondered what my afternoon would be like.





Would I see camels? Would we see dunes as big as Dean promised? Would we flip the cars and be stranded in the desert and become bedouins? Well, we DID see big dunes, but don't think little ripples, think BUILDING SIZED DUNES!!! With the windows open and hooning like we didn't have a care in the world, we got covered with the waves of sand pouring in. We had sand in our ears, in our hair and even in our pockets! We even drove past a rather confused looking camel. I did a flight the next day and STILL had sand under my eyelids!





We've had a few nights out, the most recent was two nights ago. Celebrating Jesse's birthday, we went out to Ginseng for dinner and then out to one of Dubai's dodgiest clubs, ZINC. After shooters of sambucca it seemed like a great idea to chase them down with magnums of Moet. Numerous glasses made me rather fuzzy and Zinc didn't seem so bad after all. Jena's new boyfriend Steed made his first group debut and was a smash hit. He's one of our pilots and is just hilarious. Ash and I scored a lift home in a convertible and the next day were marvelling at our lifestyle and the tales we'll tell our children one day - magnums of champagne and convertible rides down Dubai's main road at 3.30am. We're certainly very lucky and we don't forget it for a second.







I did a Brissie trip at the end of last month and it was great to see the family again. Stella, Isaac and Sienna had a sleep-over at our place and woah, kids are exhausting! They were up until all hours, due to the excitement of a night at Maj's house and then up at 6am cat-hunting, as they call it. I have three gorgeous cats, and the kids love them. Sadly, their affection isn't reciprocated by the cats, who shoot through the moment they hear the kids climbing out of the car!






After visit to Gran & Pop's for morning tea and lunch with Nanna, followed by popping in to see a friends mum who's not been well and THEN a spot of grocery shopping, it was time to say my goodbyes and fly back to Singapore. I'm always amazed by how quickly the 9 day trip goes, but it's so good to get home to see everyone that I'd be happy to do it all again every month.

Princess Pea and the Minxy Mobile

After bemoaning the fact that "I'll never drive in Dubai because of all the wankers on the road", I went and did the unthinkable.

That's right - I bought a car!!!

Her name is Princess Pea and I bought her from Renee (a fellow Aussie) who's heading home for good next month. Keen to offload and find a new home for her car, I decided that if I'm staying another year and am already fed up with the non-existent taxi situation, it's worth my long-term sanity to make such a purchase.

Princess Pea is a 1999 VW Polo and for a bargain price she's now all mine! I'm pleased to say that this is the start of many a grand adventure and I just can't wait to hoon around like a local.

I've discovered where the horn is and I'm not afraid to use it! I've worked out that if you act just as unpredictably as the rest of Dubai's insane traffic, no one will bother you and they also won't come near you! So, here's to changing lanes abruptly, honking the horn constantly and turning on my hazards during the rain. Nah, just kidding! I'll be honking, but I won't forget my well learnt road rules from home.

On the second day I had the car, Jena dubbed her the Minxy Mobile and we embarked on a mission to Ikea. It was....interesting. The trip from my place to Ikea should take 20 mins. It took an hour and on our journey we were treated to a drive by of the airport, featuring the airshow (very exciting and made me think of HOT fighter pilots in sexy uniforms!), a few of Dubai's bridges and finally a few signs that pointed us in the right direction. If we hadn't been chattering non-stop and a big fat truck hadn't been in the way, I wouldn't have missed the exit sign and we'd have been there in the expected time. Never mind, we hooted around Ikea, buying plants and then delightedly packed them into the car and drove home. Jena nursed the massive tree I bought for my bedroom and with our eyes firmly open and searching for signs, we made it home in 20 minutes and only drove on the wrong side of the road once!!!

Yesterday featured a trip to the Mall of the Emirates (MOE to us locals) and it was navigationally successful. While I'm vaguely aware of the direction of things in Dubai, my lack of attention while travelling in taxis attributes to my poor navigational skills. After a few false starts, it was an enjoyable trip and I was thrilled to be able to wheel my trolley into the undercover parking lot and put it all in MY CAR and drive home. No more waiting 3 hours for a taxi that smells like the arse end of an unwashed camel and having to provide my own directions.

Next stop - day trip to Jumeirah Beach Park - let the adventures begin!!!

My Birthday WEEK

Very excited to be heading back to the mother land for my 25th birthday, I eagerly got out of bed when the alarm went off and showered, finished packing and painted on my hooker-red lips. Ash and I excitedly boarded the school bus, our suitcases laden with birthday celebration outfits and burst into the briefing room. My friend Dean was there, as well as Stefan who I recently did a Brissie trip with and we all had a good chat and then got down to business. The pilots came in, and with the general declaration in his hand, the captain looked around and said "Lauren, where's the party?" The gen dec has all our birthdays on there and as mine was the next day, he figured there'd be a bit of a bash. He was most definitely on the right track!

On board, we chatter excitedly about our plans for the trip and what we'd be doing for my birthday. I usually HATE direct Australia flights with a passion that only rivals my hatred of celery, people who can't pronounce 'hospital', 'spaghetti' and 'bag' correctly and people who don't say thanks when you hold a door open for them. I jumped at the chance to do this flight because Ash was on it and I couldn't get a Brisbane trip, so figured that being in Sydney was the next best thing.



We finally landed and it was my birthday! Woooooooo hoooooooo! 25 at last, I ripped into my presents when I got to the hotel, read a lovely card from Jono, talked to him until the jet-lag prevented me from talking coherently and then passed out. Ash and I wandered into the mall later that day for some shopping and lunch and where did we end up for lunch on such a special day? HUNGRY JACKS. Ha ha ha. I had visions of a a late brekky/lunch at a classy little cafe somewhere, but after some shopping and Ash's eyebrow appointment we were starving and needed to eat. With whopper meals in tow, we sat at some glittery red stools and scoffed down our purchases. Refreshed, full and super greasy, we scooted off for some more shopping before an afternoon nap and dinner.



Dinner at the hotel was gorgeous - we ate at GLASS the restaurant on the second floor and marvelled at the beauty of it. A very classy joint indeed. It made up for hungry jacks at lunch ten-fold! Due to our no-alcohol-withing-12-hours-of-a-flight rule, we managed to squeeze in one cocktail before our curfew and enjoyed a delicious dinner and desert. Soft, delicious lamb, mashed potatoes, veges and then a passion fruit souffle with lavender ice cream was the loveliest way to celebrate my birthday. We were joined by Dean and also Lauren and had a lovely night.

Up early the next day for our trip to Christchurch, we chattered away, planning dinner for that night. Once we landed, we bought a bottle of wine that went straight into the freezer for chilling once we got to the hotel and had drinks in the ever-so-hard-to-find crew lounge on the very top floor hiding behind many a closed and locked door and even up a flight of circular stairs!!



Off to dinner we went, wrapped up in our huge coats. We were a group of about 11 crew, rather impressive, given the crew track record when the words "sure I'll be down for dinner" are uttered. No one ever turns up. We settled down at a huge table and proceeded to order delicious steaks, more mashed potato and wine. Lots of wine. We had a great meal, with lots of laughter and then it was time to head to a local club. By this time, the group had dwindled down to about 7. Straight to the bar, Mike the captain ordered shots called Aftershock. Woah. POTENT. I thought I was breathing cinnamon scented fire for about half an hour!

We did some dancing, drank many more drinks and played some pool. I officially won the title of the world's worst pool player. I suck.



Munching on meat pies on the way back to the hotel, we happily made plans for the next night in Sydney. The flight back was uneventful and we all got ready as soon as we hit the hotel. It was a late landing, probably about 8pm, so we didn't have time for dinner. For any of you staying in the Sydney Hilton, MAKE SURE you go downstairs to the Marble Bar and have a Rasberry Beret - they are super dooper delicious and I estimate I drank about 8! At 50% off for crew, they're a very tasty $7 drink!



After some good, but way too loud live music at the Marble Bar, we set off in search of The Slip Inn, the place "Our Princess Mary" met her prince Frederik. I must admit, there were certainly NOT any princes there that night, or even anyone slightly resembling someone princely. I thought it was a bit of a dive, but it made for a good night. On the way home, we got completely drenched after running around in an unexpected downpour - Aussies just love a bit of puddle jumping!





We had the pleasure of flying a my friend Katja into Sydney on the first day, as she'd recently resigned and was returning to Sydney. It was lovely to be part of her final flight, and got her a bit loaded on Moet during the flight and she was farewelled by a very happy crew on landing. She came out with us on the second night in Sydney and it was lovely to see her so happy to be home.



After a rather late night, I dragged myself out of bed for some lunch in the mall with Dean and then it was time to get ready for the flight. about 20 hours later, we landed back into Dubai and I was a little sad to see everyone leave. It was a fantastic trip and a fantastic birthday. I've decided that 25 is going to be one hell of a year!