Now that there will be more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) available soon, I can’t wait to travel again.

Singapore Airlines’ shares went up after eight more countries were added onto the VTL list. I should have bought more of their stocks when it was at $3+. Damn damn damn.

Recently I met up with an ex colleague who moved back to Singapore from KL for her son’s education and to keep her Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) status.

From trolley dollies to aunties…

Our conversation revolved around airline retrenchments, foreigners in Singapore, lifestyle adjustments, our part time jobs and our kids.

We lamented we are the classic examples of educated people who somehow cannot manage to have a high flying career and command a high pay. This has been the case even before we joined the part time working mummy world.

How are you? Is everything ok?

Then she informed me her husband was retrenched and took up a contract role that only pays 10% of a pilot now. I expected her to push MLM products during our catchup but it did not happen. They still have a helper so it can’t be that bad. Surely they would have saved for rainy days from those years of drawing a pilot income?

I really respect people who can put their pride away and take up any jobs instead of blaming the whole world for their situation. Glad they are coping well. These are the kind of foreigners we need in Singapore.

The last time we met was 15 years ago, we were at Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to lodge a complain on our ex employer for withholding our pay and not paying our medical bills even though we were injured during work. We even rounded up several people who were in the same situation to lodge a mass complain hoping to trigger investigations by MOM.

Damn. Some kind of balls we had back then. We all have that friend whom we do daring things together.

No transport allowance, no pay for overtime and no benefits but we still took up the job due to various reasons. People think being an air crew is glamorous but being an air crew for which airline is important. Definitely not for budget last time.

I must say the budget airline world and Singapore’s employment laws has improved tremendously over the years. Thanks to us pioneers.

I miss the days where I took off and land more times than taking a cab in a day but I’ve left that world behind for good. Real reason is I am 15kg heavier and obese in Asian standards and impossible to be a flight attendant again. LOL!

Sometimes I wondered if my next flight will crash because I have used up my flying quota.

I miss the unlimited free tickets but I’ve since learnt from personal experience that paid business trips in (at least) Business class on Singapore Airlines are the best kind of flights to be on after joining corporate.

I have not reached the travel business class for holiday level yet, maybe not in this lifetime so the next best is paying for your own flight ticket on (at least any) commercial airlines for holidays and taking time to explore cities is the best kind of holiday one can have.

But the best reason to be on any plane is for a holiday.

Hey SG Government, hurry up and speed up VTL to Thailand and Malaysia so I can go and return my wishes (还原)!