AIRBOY

In the Limelight... Cabin Crew prepare dancefloor for arrival

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

OOhhhhh dear. Another night, another nightclub. It's way too cheap here to not go out. Especially when Emirates pays for our dr

In the Limelight... Cabin Crew prepare dancefloor for arrival

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

OOhhhhh dear. Another night, another nightclub. It's way too cheap here to not go out. Especially when Emirates pays for our drinks, that's when it gets even better. Plan B (the club in Wafi City) was our destination tonight, and boy did it rock. DJ played some good ol' tunes mixed some commercial goodness. But it wasn't about the music, but much about who was there dancing their booty along with me ! Can I only thank the new french connections here, Matt Landers, Dali, Samir, Fred (et sa copine), Greg, Nivine, Matt and the lovely Celia [ ;-) ]. This was a night to be proud of. It started very nicely, I had some quick dinner at Wagamama (again, gotta love that Katsu Chicken Curry with Japo rice !!). Then went onto 21st to meet the french gang so we could move on to Plan B as quick as we could. It's the place that every Thursday night is packed with newly graduated Emirates Staff. They get free drinks all night long. If you're lucky enough and you know someone from the happy batches, then you're in for a hell of a night drinking on behalf of Emirates !! It cannot get better ! Anyways, that's all from me. I just came back and I have great difficulty in putting these letters into an understandable order... Check out the pictures : svgallery=plan B

In the Limelight... Cabin Crew prepare dancefloor for arrival

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Radiohead : Details sur leur album à télécharger…

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Tom Yorke et ses amis ont envoyé un email aux fans leur annonçant qu'ils recevront un email contenant un code d'activation pour leur permettre de télécharger le fichier ZIP de 48.4 Mo : dix chansons. Les mp3 ne seront pas protégés par un DRM donc légalement, ils pourront partager les morceaux avec n'importe qui ! Si ça ce n'est pas de la news !

? : Man Ray…

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Les White Stripes ont publié sur leur Myspace, leur site officiel et dans leur newsletter une citation de Man Ray : "The tricks of today are the truths of tomorrow." - Man Ray X XV MMVII. Aucune autre information. Juste la citation. Si vous vous rendez sur leur site officiel, une rubrique nommée "?" est disponible proposant deux appareils photos old-school. Les 333 premiers fans qui achetent la paire d'appareils recevront un cadeau mistère... A mon avis pour satisfaire 333 personnes il se peut que cela soit un concert. Je ne voit pas autre chause a part peut être un vinyl spécial...

JOANNA NEWSOM // YS

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

All classic records deserve their own creation myth, and Joanna Newsom’s second album has a pretty good one. The story begins, for our purposes, in a small studio in Los Angeles. Steve Albini, working with characteristic crisp precision, has been hired to record Newsom’s voice and harp, to capture the movement of air and her callused fingers across the strings. Newsom has brought five songs to the sessions: the shortest, "Cosmia", lasts for seven minutes and the longest, "Only Skin", stretches to nearly 17. None of the five have choruses as such. Instead, they are great fervid torrents of words that elide close nature observations with a visceral sexuality – recalling, perhaps, Walt Whitman’s epic 19th Century poem, Leaves Of Grass. The exact meanings may be cloaked in allegory and metaphor, but these are intensely personal songs that have been given an intimate, focused treatment. Newsom’s ultimate vision for the record is much more expansive, though. The Californian’s debut, 2004’s "The Milk-Eyed Mender", presented a striking talent, but one which was habitually bundled in with Devendra Banhart’s acid-folk caravan, or dismissed as a shrill, medieval Björk. In fact, Newsom is anything but whimsical and naïve, and she studied classical composition at college (amusingly, she seems faintly ashamed of being unable to read 35 musical parts on a score at once). Inspired by Van Dyke Parks’ 1968 baroque marvel, "Song Cycle", she convinces Parks to work on orchestral arrangements which will orbit her harp and voice. Newsom and Parks collaborate for six months, preparing the score. When the rich instrumentation is added, it chases Newsom and her harp across wild terrain, gusting around her melodies, emphasising the high drama of these five remarkable songs. Still, though, the project continues. Jim O’Rourke fastidiously mixes the recordings, surely aware of their kinship with the work of Judee Sill, one of his heroes. A cover painting in the style of the Pre-Raphaelites is commissioned, with an inscrutable Newsom holding a sickle and a cosmia moth. A title is found: "Ys", pronounced "Ees", the name of a mythical Breton city that was flooded as punishment for the decadence of its inhabitants. Certainly, "Ys" is a lavish album, and it’s easy to assume that Newsom has been excessively decadent herself. Conceived on such a vast scale, the potential for self-indulgence is massive. There’s a risk, too, of prog folly: Pre-Raphaelite homages loaded with obscure symbolism can easily look like Marillion covers; a brisk Googling reveals Ys to be the name of an online fantasy game. But for the 56 minutes that "Ys" lasts, all the doubts evaporate. Every elaboration has a purpose, every labyrinthine melodic detour feels necessary rather than contrived. Tempting as it is to fixate on the gilded reputations of her associates, this is unequivocally Newsom’s album. It’s her ambition, her saturated images, her bloodied stamina behind it all. Uncut’s editor compares "Ys" to Nico’s "Marble Index", for its astonishing single-mindedness, the sense – notwithstanding those collaborators, that orchestra – that this is a hermetic, determinedly personal trip. What’s immediately arresting is Newsom’s wholehearted engagement with life and love: vivid, fleshly, rapturous. Not for her the vagueness of most supposedly pastoral songwriters. If anything, the meticulous evocations of nature are closer to another 19th Century American writer, Henry David Thoreau. Newsom also has lovely taste in words – "sassafras", "meteoroid", "hydrocephalitic", "spelunking", "inchoate" – and she savours every one. The environment, spiritual and physical love are intertwined. "Push me back into a tree," she demands in "Sawdust And Diamonds", the one track where voice and harp are unadorned by Parks’ curlicues. There’s an earthiness here, too, which proves Newsom is nothing like the winsome damsel who critics have previously fetishised. That some of these ecstasies may be directed towards her boyfriend, Bill ‘Smog’ Callahan, adds an extra frisson to the backstory - how striking the contrast between this unabashed passion and the devious, novelistic lyrics of Smog. Newsom’s narratives could not be more different: "When I cut your hair, and leave the birds all the trimmings, I am the happiest woman amongst all women," she sings in "Only Skin" (her vocals, incidentally, are much less mannered than on "The Milk-Eyed Mender"). Even when she tackles mortality, she does so with vigour: "Life is thundering blissful towards death," she incants, later in the same song. Once you’re hooked, "Ys" reveals a new highlight with every listen. Today, two passages stand out. The first comes near the end of "Emily", after around 11 minutes: as Newsom’s voice fades away, the strings become sombre and staccato, and she seems awed, meditative, stunned by the enormity of what she has created. The second is 13 and a half minutes into "Only Skin", a song extraordinary even in this company. A banjo and Bill Callahan’s lugubrious baritone shadow Newsom, by now multi-tracked and moving with a seasick roll that recalls Kate Bush on "Army Dreamers". "If the love of a woman or two, dear, could move you to such heights," she concludes, "then all I can do is do, my darling, right by you." All we can do, of course, is play it again and again. What began as Joanna Newsom’s obsession can easily become a listener’s obsession, too. By John Mulvey

Un Gorillaz sur Facebook !

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Un des Gorillaz, plus exactement, le personnage nommé

Timbaland prépare son “Shock Value II”

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Timbaland, le superproducteur, aurait déjà enregistré plusieurs titre pour son "Shock Value II" avec Gwen Stefani, Akon et Linkin Park. Après le succès de son précédent

Daft Punk’s “Alive 2007″

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Live recording of their set at Bercy on 14 June 2007. Coming out 19 November. Check it out!

M83 - Run Into Flowers (Jackson Midnight Fuck Remix)

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s something you won’t hear from me very often: a few months ago I stumbled upon a tune by a French indie band, remixed by a French producer. And I loved it. Jackson Fourgeaud is a Parisian electronic music anomaly. His work is irrational, completely out of place in an era of off-the-shelf tin-can electro epitomised by the likes of Mylo and Justice. He would fit in better somewhere in the middle of Cornwall or Berlin. Jackson started producing music at the age of 15, using the name “Jackson & His Computer Band,” and after the relative success of his album “Smash” in 2003 released on Sound of Barclay, was promptly signed up by Sheffield’s pioneering label, Warp. In 2006, Cologne DJ and Kompakt records guru Michael Mayer’s Fabric 13 mix came out, a CD which is still hailed today as one of the best to have been released by the famous London club. The standout track on the album was an IDM bit, poetically called “Run Into Flowers” by French electro-indie hybrids M83 and remixed by, you guessed it, our man Jackson. Sometimes, you hear a piece of music and you lose all sense of reality. Your idea of what can be done with a computer is pushed that bit further. It feels like you’ve just discovered music, drugs and sex all at once. It’s an epiphany. For seven minutes and thirty seconds, you embark on a journey of contradictions. You’re swallowed whole by a tide of consistent mashed-up beats, of ecstasy with sporadic moments of anguish and nostalgia, of utter disregard to rhythmic convention. The smooth synth line, omnipresent throughout, is constantly disturbed by small slips, tiny tweaks and bizarre blurbs, velvet voices and withering waves, which shake you up violently and let you glide through the track with a lustrous steadiness. Yet all of it somehow seems adequate. By the end of it, you feel like you’ve just listened to an unbelievably well-produced, coherent, classic piece of electronic music, sublimely blending aural majesty with concrete music. Close your eyes, put some very good headphones on, and let your emotions drift away. M83 – Run Into Flowers (Jackson Midnight Fuck Remix) Download here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/147049571a4878/ Jackson & His Computer Band official website: http://www.jacksonandhiscomputerband.com

Led Zeppelin: première partie.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Un des concerts les plus attendus en cette fin d'année, celui de Led zeppelin le 10 décembre prochain à Londres, et c'est The Cult qui en fera la première partie. Le groupe de Ian Astbury fait ainsi de nouveau la première partie d'un groupe de légende puisqu'ils avaient déjà ouverts l'été dernier pour les Who sur plusieurs dates. Après la parenthèse avec la reformation des Doors en 2003, Astbury se consacre de nouveau à son groupe. The Cult vient de sortir un nouvel album en octobre dernier intitulé "Born Into This". Stan Cast.

Users Online

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

This is a breakdown of who on Airboy at the moment. It's updated live. Refresh to enjoy more. [page_useronline]

In Dubai...

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I'm in Dubai

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Hello Hello Hello. Well, finally got here safe & sound. As I was telling you in the previous post, we had a great flight... We arrived in Dubai International on time, spent 20 minutes on the transit bus (the airport is massive) and my fellow colleagues are cool. There is Nivine (French/Lebanese), Gilbert (Lebanese), Benjamin (French), Mathieu (French), Gregory (French). Those were the ones I traveled with from Paris CDG. They will be in the same Training Batch as me, starting next Sunday (tomorrow). I've moved in with someone called Khalil (haven't met him yet) in an enormous flat on Sheik Al Zayed Road - the major carriage way crossing Dubai - it's noizy but very central. It's bloody hot here. It's around 28°C and blazing sunshine. Taking advantage of it to work my tan. Will be posting pictures as soon as I take them. I've been wandering around all afternoon. Checking out the facilities. Have seen the Emirates Laundry where I can have my suits dry-cleaned ! The grocery shop is at the bottom of the building too. Thank god we have restaurants around ! Just walked passed a Chinese one. Seems nice. And believe it or not, I'm in wonderland : 20 metres away from my building, I have a selection of fast food including Subway, McDonalds, KFC, Starbuck, Pizza Hut, Burger King, YES BURGER KING ! So I won't be starving Mum, don't you worry ! Also along the pavement is this wannabe French Café where I can be spoilt to croissants, opéra cakes, mille-feuille and WIFI connection !! Been sitting at their terrace for almost 3 hours now ! Luuuuuving it to bits !

Ab-initio 1169, Training

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Airline Jargon

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

This darn thing

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Clubbing in Singapore, buying a new MacBook

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Hi there ya'll, hope everything is ok with you ! Just came back from an exciting trip over to Singapore

DOWNLOADABLES #49 /

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Ever wondered what Ben Folds would sound like if he'd adventured himself dozn the road of Hip-Rap galore ? Well the answer is here, today for you in DOWMLOADABLES #48. Along with the Mystery Jet's (pictured left) cover of Pop Idol Lewis's 'Bleeding Love', great cover actually. Also on today's playlist is a very well known track I dugg up from the vault this afternoon : Mr. Sandman, featured in numerous commercial ads in the past... Hey one of my recent favourite includes Sharon Jones which I'm adding a cover here today, be sure to check it out as it rocks the boogie outta your best soul record !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20Bitches%20Aint%20Shit%20(Dr%20Dre%20cover).mp3] Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit (Dr. DRE cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20Mr.%20Sandman.mp3] The Chordettes - Mr. Sandman (original) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/13%20Its%20a%20Man%20World%20(James%20Brown%20cover).mp3] Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - It's A Man's World (James Brown cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Bleeding%20Love%20(Leona%20Lewis%20Cover).mp3] Mystery Jets - Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Music%20Sounds%20Better%20With%20You%20(TLGB%20Remix).mp3] Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (TLGB remix)

That's all for today, be sure to check the other DLs using the related post thingy right >THIS<. Ciao !

DOWNLOADABLES #50 / Highway t

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Still in Paris, haven't gone anywhere else...yet. Loving up the very high-speed connexion we have at home to watch streamings of The Office, the American version of course as well as uploading you some tracks like this amazing cover of Little Wings originally by Jimi Hendrix here covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, beautiful piece ! A bit of new stuff and a little of old makes a perfect balance today ! Under My Thumb by the Rolling Stone covered by The Who, how cool is that folks !?? Otherwise some new dancefloor shakers named after E.S.L. take on the Beastie Boys and re-adapting their fantastic track "Girls" into punk-cabaret something... check it out ! In another genre, Skanatra does a tribute to, well you've guessed it, New York crooner Sinatra with 'New York, New York'. And finally some nice remixes from around the web. I have another 5 days left in Paris, it's going way too quick !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/04%20Little%20Wing%20(%20Jimi%20Hendrix%20Cover%20).mp3] Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Little Wings (Jimi Hendrix cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/05%20Under%20My%20Thumb.mp3] The Who - Under My Thumb (Rolling Stones cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/11%20Girls%20(Beastie%20Boys%20cover).mp3] E.S.L. - Girls (Beastie Boys cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/17%20New%20York%20New%20York.mp3] Skanatra - New York, New York [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/24%20Panic%20(The%20Smiths).mp3] Spoon - Panic (The Smiths cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/A%20Cause%20Des%20Garcons%20(Tepr%20Remix).mp3] Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons (Tepr remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Smack%20My%20Bitch%20Up%20(Justice%20remix).mp3] Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up (Justice remix)

Enjoy the TUNES !

CBC smoke-free ?

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Mondovision

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #55 / Santogold special

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

[MEDIA=12]

7 turnarounds and countin

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Airboy does New York

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Polls Archive

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Blocked in the UAE ????

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Houston, Texas.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

What better place to be than Houston, Texas, four days before the big election day here in the US to bring up the only political orientated post I'll be doing anytime soon. I'm very politically ignorant, that is absolutely no secret. Apathetic in fact. As the days draw by before US citizens vote for the next President, my view on the whole thing is simple. They vote for history or they vote like they did 8 years ago.

How can I say this delicately...

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I know, I can feel it. He's waiting there, peeping, ready to catch me round the corner as soon as I cross that infamous line. It's a bummer I can't share all the crispyness that air travel involves. All the moments I went through. You guys probably read a third of what REALLY went on during these 9 months. If ever you see Karl Lagarfeld dressed with a Visibility Jacket, this will most probably mean I had to go silent, under the radar.

If your plan is to spend NYE in Paris...

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Then you have come to the right place. Like my dear cousin Julia, you'll be pumping it up high in the French Capital. There multiple things to do. But if you want to remember your stay, you'll need to dish out a fair amount of EUROS. You need to be extremely well prepared for that night if you're planning on eating in a restaurant. You will need to book well in advance. Most restaurants will have a set menu for a fixed price. Usually without the booze. So you can add a bottle or two on top. Champagne is not included in most cases. The best advice I can give you is to wonder around a nice area like St-Germain or the Marais, find a cute place and then make your plan for the night. You do not want to be stuck in the metro when 12 rings. Contrary to popular belief, there is no "rule" on how to dress for a major event like New Year's Eve in Paris, and while the city counts a greater-than-average number of impeccably-dressed fashionistas, plenty of others hit the town in jeans and warm sweaters to enjoy the New Year. Do make sure you follow any dress codes for individual restaurants, New Year's parties, or other events, though-- it's not unusual for higher-end venues to apply stringent dress codes against sneakers, jeans, or t-shirts at the door. That said, having spent lots of NYE in Paris, dress code is maniac at club and even bars. Make sure you have your Christian Louboutin shoes and a Chanel dress at least if you're heading out to high-end clubs. Not forgetting your platinum AMEX, it should come in handy. If you're the kind of "cliche" type then you'll probably want to head out to The Champs-Elysees. Starting at around 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve, people start to flock to the famous street, often bringing along bottles and plastic flutes. From many places on the Champs-Elysees, you can get a good view of the Eiffel Tower, which explodes into a sparkling dance of light at the stroke of midnight. Major fireworks displays can usually be seen from the Champs-Elysees, and there are plenty of spots to go dancing or dining before or after midnight in the area, that's if you've booked a table of course. Although the ambiance here is usually "bon enfant" (literally-- "good child", or harmless), celebrating on the Champs-Elysees calls for you to be especially aware of your personal belongings, as pickpocketing is common in large crowds, it can become scary, just be careful. Also, this won't be the party of choice for you if you're claustrophobic or crowd-shy. The Sacre Coeur Cathedral plaza in Montmartre is another favorite, and significantly calmer, place to bid farewell to the current year. Assuming the skies are relatively clear, the knolltop vantage affords spectacular views of the entire Paris skyline, so you're sure to see any fireworks being launched around Paris. While still crowded, the Montmartre street party is more laid-back than its Champs-Elysees counterpart, and there are plenty of bars, cabarets, and clubs to explore in Montmartre and nearby Pigalle. If you're looking for a less conventional way to celebrate New Year's in Paris, partying in Montmartre may be the ticket. A lot of bars are open all night long, offering A perfect NYE in Paris involves Champagne, friends and gloves !

Christmas already ???

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Test

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

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Links

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Spendin' all your money on me, up on me, on me.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and NaDonna, Karan, they be sharin'... it's with those lyrics in mind that today I had this great visual. I have the perfect soundtrack for a viral video. Imagine a set of cabin crew in an aircraft and 'My Humps' from Black Eyed Peas blasting on the PA ! Can't you picture the ordeal ? Well I can. With some extras thrown in there, this could end up in a hilarious piece for internet history. But to do so it has to be edgy. Meaning props and costumes must relate to a real airline and be set in an aircraft or service trainer. With dummy passengers playing their part. With every line of the lyrics we could come up with a scene/clip. Just imagine. I'm gonna start and ask you to follow so we have a collab going on, and maybe someday we'll have permission to go forward and shoot the video... Who knows, this might come sooner than you think ! Before I go anywhere else, here's the song to remind you the kind of mood/ambiance we're in : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/05_My_Humps.mp3] Pick two lines or more from the lyrics and then append a description of the scene you would love to shoot/see in the video. Carry on in the comment section ! For this part :

"I mix your milk wit my cocoa puff, Milky, milky cocoa, Mix your milk with my cocoa puff, milky, milky riiiiiiight."

I would totally see a first class crew making a hot chocolate in the galley, stirring the cup slooooowly making all these weird face, even kissing the cup with glossy lipstick, looking at the camera intriguingly... You can of course, make changes to lyrics to suit the video. Make way for your imagination ! And comment your ideas below !

What you gon' do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk? I'ma get, get, get, get, you drunk, Get you love drunk off my hump. My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps (Check it out) I drive these brothers crazy, I do it on the daily, They treat me really nicely, They buy me all these ices. Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and NaDonna Karan, they be sharin' All their money got me wearin' fly Brother I ain't askin, They say they love my ass ‘n, Seven Jeans, True Religion's, I say no, but they keep givin' So I keep on takin' And no I ain't taken We can keep on datin' I keep on demonstrating. My love (love), my love, my love, my love (love) You love my lady lumps (love), My hump, my hump, my hump (love), My humps they got you, She's got me spending. (Oh) Spendin' all your money on me and spending time on me. She's got me spendin'. (Oh) Spendin' all your money on me, up on me, on me What you gon' do with all that junk? All that junk inside that trunk? I'ma get, get, get, get, you drunk, Get you love drunk off my hump. What you gon' do with all that ass? All that ass inside them jeans? I'm a make, make, make, make you scream Make you scream, make you scream. Cos of my hump (ha), my hump, my hump, my hump (what). My hump, my hump, my hump (ha), my lovely lady lumps (Check it out) I met a girl down at the disco. She said hey, hey, hey yea let's go. I could be your baby, you can be my honey Let's spend time not money. I mix your milk wit my cocoa puff, Milky, milky cocoa, Mix your milk with my cocoa puff, milky, milky riiiiiiight. They say I'm really sexy, The boys they wanna sex me. They always standing next to me, Always dancing next to me, Tryin' a feel my hump, hump. Lookin' at my lump, lump. You can look but you can't touch it, If you touch it I'ma start some drama, You don't want no drama, No, no drama, no, no, no, no drama So don't pull on my hand boy, You ain't my man, boy, I'm just tryn'a dance boy, And move my hump. My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump. My lovely lady lumps (lumps) My lovely lady lumps (lumps) My lovely lady lumps (lumps) In the back and in the front (lumps) My lovin' got you, She's got me spendin'. (Oh) Spendin' all your money on me and spending time on me. She's got me spendin'. (Oh) Spendin' all your money on me, up on me, on me. What you gon' do with all that junk? All that junk inside that trunk? I'ma get, get, get, get you drunk, Get you love drunk off my hump. What you gon' do with all that ass? All that ass inside them jeans? I'ma make, make, make, make you scream Make you scream, make you scream. What you gon' do with all that junk? All that junk inside that trunk? I'ma get, get, get, get you drunk, Get you love drunk off this hump. What you gon' do wit all that breast? All that breast inside that shirt? I'ma make, make, make, make you work Make you work, work, make you work. (A-ha, a-ha, a-ha, a-ha) [x4] She's got me spendin'. (Oh) Spendin' all your money on me and spendin' time on me She's got me spendin'. (Oh) Spendin' all your money on me, up on me, on me.

Altantis in Dubai. A random rant, before I leave for Mauritius.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Altantis in Dubai. A random rant, before I leave for Mauritius.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Ok so I have like 2 hours to kill before getting ready for my Mauritius trip. The last few days were super busy. For around 5 days now, I've been up in the morning at civilized hours. Able to catc

Ever wonder what happens during turbulence ??

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

This is a photo taken by a friend of mine after severe turbulence between Manchester and Dubai. It can happen anytime and most of the time is predictable. But "clear air pockets" are the worst ones. Sudden and violent they can cause substantial damage to the aircraft as well as injuries. This damage wasn't caused by an angry passenger or a suicidal Flight Attendant but rather by a ignorant passenger who didn't think that his seatbelt was useful. And this damage was caused by him slamming head first in the overhead bins/PSUs. No need to mention the injuries sustained in not having his seat belt fastened tight and low....

Dealing with complete fools at the Mashreq Bank in Dubai

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Once in a while I get agitated beyond my reasonable levels. Usually when facing banks. I did get exceptional service from my French Bank back who actually did care about my situation when I had to relocate. Giving me a great deal and great service.

Frequent Flyers vs Traytable Folders

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

It's fascinating watching people evolve in airports and aircrafts. You can so evidently make categories. Some know exactly what they're doing, some less. Just sitting on my jumpseat monitoring the way people walk down to the lavatories is something crew or passengers should do when bored. You'll find that there's different attitudes in the way people walk to the toilets :

The confident piss-taker. This one is the deadliest for your common sense. He's the kind to stretch his arms, making them crack just above your head as he walks past. The one that takes a whole half hour to complete his pretentious parade between 16C down the back. Usually kitted out with a fitted t-shirt, muscles hanging out, and of course rubbing his tummy as he looks at every passenger. I mean WHY ?? HOW does it benefit you as a person just showing off like that ?? WHEN did that start ? I can't help but laugh at anyone of them when they come by. It kills their EGO instantly.
The sorryshy traveler. Those are cute but ooooh soo annoying when it comes to say sorry. Usually skinny and able to easily avoid obstacles like John 6-foot and his legs shooting out in the aisle and that head of Kevins-who-is-now-fast-asleep loosely dangling back and forth. They'd barely touch anything they'd jump up and down saying sorry. They also usually die three or four times during the flight because they hold themselves responsible for flushing that loud vaccuum toilet. They come out of there with their head hiding behind their shoulders... Fun sight, the best part is to see them close the toilet door with extreme delicacy (after flushing the loudest lavs one can flush). Whatever you do, do not try to give some kind of counselling to them. They'll end up suicidal for their actions before you reach top of descent.
The Fabulous Frequent Flyer. Now this one needs to be mentioned because if you look closely they'll take a look at each and every toilet available and make a precise calculation at which one will be available first. They find a spot on the aircraft where they can overlook the whole pee-parade. Usually dressed in loosewear (because they know), dark if possible (you never know when Kevin will spill his colorful drink on your pants). They might also be wearing hotel slippers during cruise (and cruise only, because they're safety "aware" and know accidents occure mostly during critical phases). Finally if you look closely the FFF will not look at his fellow passengers, he will look at where he's heading, keeping out of the crap happening below his nose.
The smiley. He's one of a kind and does not appear on every flight. You'll usually see him when your flight is heading somewhere nice (think Mauritius or Thailand). There's nothing special about him apart from the fact that whenever he lifts his sorry ass from the seat, he bloody smiles. And I mean a mile long one. You can't miss it. He's there to make your day ! He's my personal fave.

I could write pages and pages about people on aircrafts or airports but finding the words to describe what I want to communicate is something I find very hard. My vocabulary is very limited (improving but limited). Oh and I think I'll take a picture of myself in one of the lavatories to add the already growing trend Heather over at Another Flight Attendant Writing About Flying (and other stuff) setup recently. I have no excuse, I'm not in uniform !

Glitzy, glam, over-the-top.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I was in the taxi on my way to Mall Of The Emirates yesterday. And along Sheikh Zayed Road, billboards are part of the scenery. You really can't miss them because they're about as long as the Queen Mary 2 and as high as any other building surrounding them. They all advertise real estate or luxury goods in general. One of the funniest tagline would be "Bespoke residences for the distinguished few". Seeing those make me laugh inside. Bitterly. This is a country where social differences are the most flagrant and the most apart. But what caught my eye yesterday were the smaller billboards posted on the streetlamps closer to MOE. They were advertising for the Arab Journalism Award that would take place at the Atlantis Hotel on Palm Jumeira today. And I laughed even more when you see the connection. Journalism in the UAE is very clean, censored if you will. You will not find anything compromising the Sheikh's views on any topic what so ever. And that alone I think is a little sad. We live in a country with very little freedom of speech and they'd like you to think otherwise. Being a blogger here is kind of a risky business. You get the sense of that as soon as you get quite a following. People warn you on such and such content being published, "you should take that down" some say. And I have said that to others too. I cannot say anything too damaging either for Emirates, Dubai or it's political system. They have been promoting Dubai so hard in the last few years that anyone who dares to bitch about something they deem contradictory would see you escorted at the customs and booted on a plane back where you came from. I, myself refrain from posting stuff I wouldn't of thought twice of making public if I was in France. And with people overlooking what I write it makes it very difficult for me to spill the beans. But that doesn't mean I haven't got my own opinions. I just can't share them. So basically having a journalism award held in Dubai is little edgy to me. Another example would be the different advertisement being showcased on CNN or other mediums. They show you a spankin' clean side of Dubai. But you'll see for yourself as soon as you ride from the airport to tho wherever you're staying that the commercial you saw communicates quite to the opposite. Sure what they advertise is here, but it is what's in between all these things that they will not showcase. For example, they show you the "working" metro service. You arrive in Dubai expecting to roam around the city in a brand new metro system but you are surprised its still in construction. I call that overpromising and underdelivering. Very bad for an Emirate that relies solely on tourism. Oil being in the neighbouring Emirate of Abu Dhabi. They've recently invited a plethor of Travel experts, Leisure & Lifestyle journalists from around the world to see for themselves. The odd thing here is that they'll be writting about Dubai, but would they write something bad if their expenses were covered entirely by the tourism board (flights, hotels, meals, shuttles, transport around the city...everything single penny)?? Would they have come over to Dubai even if they werent invited ? I'm not so sure. Lonely planet resumed it quite nicely :

Glitzy, glam, over-the-top and a little overexposed, Dubai lives for attention. On the surface it’s materialistic beyond anyone’s wildest dreams and by treating every visitor like a VIP, visitors respond by spending like VIPs, only to need resuscitating when the next month’s credit-card bill arrives. But this is the whole idea. We’re talking about a city that virtually invented the ‘shopping festival’ (Dubai Shopping Festival, or DSF), the simple premise of which was to get people to travel to Dubai and spend money. With myriad shopping malls, flamboyant hotels, a dizzying array of dining options and hip clubs and bars, it’s all just too easy. Driven by Sheikh Mohammed, a leader who doesn’t understand the word ‘no’, visitors and potential residents are flocking to this Middle East metropolis in increasing numbers with the promise that Dubai is like no other city on earth. And Sheikh Mohammed is delivering.

Airboy does Paris #3

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

This is it. My holidays are over. 8 hectic days cycling up and down the grey streets of Paris, catching up with as many people as possible. I slept a lot less than usual for some reason. On average I clocked 6 hour nights, enough to squeeze everything I wanted to do, everyone I wanted to see. This is the problem though : updating your facebook status saying "I'm in Paris, weeeehoooo" will get you an incredible amount of phone calls for beers and drinks. Unfortunately sometimes you cannot be everywhere. So I had to turn down some cool events and parties. But nevermind I will catch up next time I'm in Paris. The first day was spent with Mum & Dad in Paris, terrace hopping - as you do. The weather all week was absolutely beautiful until Saturday, where it chucked it down, leaving us stranded at home with a couple of DVDs to watch (Deathproof and The Incredibles). Paris in the summer is just BLISS ! I do not understand parisians who leave in the summer months. It's just a shame. The city is empty of neurotic drivers, lunatic pedestrians and chicks wear so much less : eye-candy wherever you step ! White Tank Tops (a la GAP) and jeans ( a la DIESEL, the ones that give those long legs) and heels. Heels of course, you're in Paris ! svgallery=CDG1 I can honestly say I'm the king of all terraces in Paris. I have been to so many of them I could sell a guide about them ! The second day was spent with Tall Ben, Gregory and Chaouki drinking our heads off the whole afternoon and going for a Crepe at restaurant ! We loved it ! Real, tasty crepes (pancakes) filled with all sorts of ingredients. I personally went for a Crepe Charlot ("t" isn't pronouced here) which included some bolognese, a fried egg and some tomato mixed with basil coulis. Just jaw-dropping good and damn simple ! A good french dinner isn't complete with a nice wine, so we went for a Chablis and got hammered by the end of the dinner. Being the loudest on the streets where we were sitting. Engaging tennis conversation with the rest of the customers around us. Debating about french politics and Gael Monfils (fernch tennis player who got knocked out in the Rolland Garros quarter finals). We finally made it to the pudding. We all had crepes with sugar, some with melted chocolate on top... I had to shoot after that so jumped on a Velib (rented bicycles available all around Paris) and made my way to my best mates place where high school friends were awaiting. The following day was mostly spent on the subway system, to my dismay. I had to be in the south of Paris (deep into the suburbs) where Greg was having his 30th Birthday luncheon. I had never ventured so far down on the suburban trains. It was quite a challenge. I wasn't sure I took the right train at first so got a little nervous. Called Tall Ben to confirm the destination and finally made it on the right carriage. Dozed off for around 45 minutes listening to the iPod while I was getting sunburnt with the sun filtering through the graffittied windows ! Got there safe and sound. Greg's mum picked me up and drove me to their home. We had a blast there, with killer barbeque, some tasty wine (again) and plenty of sun. I really got burnt after the whole afternoon in the sun. I had to rush back into Paris because Granny was due to arrivce at 1725 via Eurostar but didn't make it in time. Thankfully FatherOfSodwee was already on location. I joined them at home. It's so nice to see Granny again. It had been such a long time. svgallery=CDG2 The next day I took Granny and Aunty round Paris for a power walk of the famous sights. Roaming around The Louvre Museum and the quaysides. Again in full blast UV-rays. But this time I was prepared. I had sun cream on. Regularly having pit stops for beer in cafes.

The Dubai Metro. Some insightful comments...

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Ok, first day of the grand opening of the Dubai Metro and here are some

Open day in Seville today... expect more to come.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

[download id="141"]

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

[download id="144"] [download id="145"]

My Xmas Wishlist !

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Hey it's that time of year. The time of year you roam around malls and highstreets desperately trying to find the perfect gift for me. Yeah I know, it's a tough one. How not to upset me ? How to get me the perfect gift and save a hell a lot of precious self-shopping time... Well here's a breakdown of the top gifts you can think of getting me for 2009.

#TEN

Anything by Animal Rummy really, a silkscreen to pimp my room the nicest way possible would really make my day. If you really want to make Airboy happy and gain a few brownie points at the same time, you can try your luck at finding a silkscreen from the White Stripes European Tour 2005 or even 2007. Here are some examples : [gallery link="file" orderby="rand"]

It is not meant to squeeze lemons; it is meant to start conversations.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

So I just landed (two hours ago) in Dubai after a hectic trip from Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. I had spent 4 days with the family for Christmas. 4 days is way too short by the way. Had a cool time though. But wasn't looking forward to the return leg. Knowing full and well the security screening would be a bitch because of that twat who wanted to blow himself in that American jet. Another great reason for our "very professional" Securitas staff deployed at CDG airport to give some rude orders and bark at the airport customers like cattle. No wonder that place is the most unwelcoming airport in the world. I think it permanently holds that record. But that was a piece of cake compared to what I had to go through at check-in. It's all very old-fashioned and unefficient as you can expect from french people. I had booked a firm annual leave ticket for that stretch because I knew full and well how awful the loads were going to be and how suicidal traveling on an Emirates subload ticket would be. Rocked up to check-in and was told to wait until 30 minutes before departure on standby. I graced the check-in agent with a grin smile : "No maam, I'm traveling on a Annual Leave Ticket, meaning I have a seat on this flight, you will not play tricks on me this time!"... She then goes to check with her senior.... Doesn't say a word, but visibly annoyed, she asks me to weigh the luggage, including the cabin bags. I proceed. "Sir, you have 3 carry-on luggage and one is over the limit of 7 kgs" (as she says that, she pulls one of those "gotcha you little prick" smiles). I, out of extreme politeness, smile back. Keep my cool and say : "Maam, I work with carry-on luggage on a daily basis, I work INSIDE the cabin you're filling up...where, on a daily basis, I have to lift overweight cabin bags that people like yourself let through without any consideration. I brake my back everyday for mothers who have little kevins in their arms, a huge carry-on and no will to lift the luggage they managed to trail around the whole terminal before boarding the plane. You are not going to tell me you enforce this policy because I will simply not believe a single word you saying". So if I can carry the 15kgs plus bags you guys let through for us to deal with... This means I can deal with my own crap. These 3 pieces of carry-on luggage ARE coming with me. Thank you very much". No answer, instead, a boarding pass with an aisle seat : 25D. I finally make it home. After the most boring flight ever. I connect my laptop up and all, get on the portal to check my roster because it's the 28th and it should be out since the 26th. Not even surprised at this point, I discover Crew Rostering are taking the piss again. It's the flippin 28th, 3 days away from New Years Eve and I still can't make any plans WHAT SO EVER because I could be flying on the 1st. It's digging my head in big time, not only because it's the end of December and we have things to do (ie getting on with our personal lives), but because it's not the first time this has happened. In fact it's been an ongoing joke for the past 5 months. Like a continuous April Fools. And it's getting very fustrating. As always, crew are getting very creative with their Facebook statuses. Otherwise that's it from me at this point. About to hit the sack. I'm knackered. Peace out fools.

Magazine

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Airboy Paper Ed

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

[magazine_overview]

You Got MILK ? | DOWNLOADABLES #91

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Hey ! It's going round DXB and facebook like some kind of magic. Here are two picture taken in the mid-galley on a flying aircraft and they're sooo hilarious I decided to have them to illustrate those ever popular mp3's : DOWNLOADABLES #91 The culprit of this "shit-I-was-caught-by-mrs-Wintour-heck-my-career-is-ovaaah" moment let me use her image for these two album covers : So with no further blahblah, here's the 91st edition : And before I leave you to make better use of your day, I'd like to plug TH E CREW LOUNGE [twitter] hosted by Bobby and Sara who fly for a living across the pond (you can download the entire podcast once you hit play. You'll see the "download" link)... [wpaudio url="http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/tcl18.mp3" text="The Crew Lounge - Ep. 18 - News & Reviews" dl="http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/?dl_id=213"]

The Kooks // Inside In - Inside Out

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:13:38 +0000

Ces petits prodiges de Brighton savent comment nous recharger les batteries via une pop racée et bondissante. Ils ont le crédit de la jeunesse, celle qui fit la gloire autrefois de Supergrass et The Jam.

Bordel ! Tirons la sonnette d’alarme et prévenons d’emblée avant que l’incendie ne se propage à toute vitesse : The Kooks vous file un sacré coup de vieux dans la gueule ! Avec même pas 19 ans d’âge moyen au compteur, ce quatuor incarne aux côtés de The Subways et The Artic Monkeys la nouvelle garde du rock britannique juvénile et insouciante. Et il est fort à parier que cette bande de morveux va infliger quelques rides à la concurrence tant leur baptême du feu, le retournant Inside In/Inside Out, déborde de mélodies accrocheuses.

Toutefois, à la différence de la pop survitaminée mais un brin limitée des Subways, The Kooks possède d’autres cordes à son arc. Luke Pritchard (chanteur, 19 ans) et Hugh Harris, (guitariste, 17 ans !) ont déjà assimilé une somme d’influences solide : le raffinement britpop, le punk mod habillé The Jam, mais aussi les accents dub des Specials et le sens du groove à la Funkadelic. Une adaptation qui dénote, tandis que d’autres camarades d’école s’empêtrent dans un post-rock déprimant et sans saveur ou bien s’emmêlent les pieds avec leur pédale d’effet Delay estampillé 80’s. Et lorsqu’on apprend que ces garnements nous viennent de Brighton, la ville la plus branchée d’Angleterre, on n’est finalement pas très étonné.

Le son des Kooks est à la fois brut et revigorant, comme une claque lancée sur la joue qui nous réchaufferait par grand froid : des guitares tordantes, une rythmique bondissante plutôt contagieuse servie par un romantisme typiquement insulaire. Comme chez The Coral, ils assument entièrement leur parti pris de bâtir une pop dénuée d’accords déprimants, préférant se concentrer sur des refrains vigoureux et exigeants, sans pour autant verser dans la niaiserie. Nos jeunes loufoques parlent de choses de leur âge, de béguin pas vraiment réciproque, de petits seins et de problèmes d’érection (leur sympathique hymne “Eddie’s Gun”) et de cette naïveté assumée qui fait tant leur charme.

Ce serait peut-être un peu trop tôt pour crier au génie, mais il plane chez The Kooks cette odeur de parfum volatil qui ne tient que le temps d’un premier album : l’insouciance du premier Supergrass, le romantisme brûlant du “This Charming Man” des Smiths, les audaces mélodiques du High land Hard Rain d’Atzec Camera, le sens direct des La’s, la “Teenage Kicks” attitude des Undertones... ces plaisirs captés dans l’instant et si durs à réitérer.

Cela démarre subtilement avec une promenade manquée au bord de mer, “Seaside”, une pop song acoustique intimiste et naïve comme on en entend rarement ces temps-ci. La fougue resplendissante des Rickenbacker, qui reprennent ensuite leur droits le temps de trois titres hargneux : “Eddie’s Gun”, “See The World” et le notable “Sofa Song”, qui aurait pu être gargarisé par Morrissey du temps où ces jeunots n’étaient même pas encore nés. Le tempo ne ralentit pas, mais le rythme devient parfois plus syncopé sur certains titres empruntés aux Specials, comme “Matchbox” et “Time Awaits”. Ce groupe sait aussi insuffler du groove sur ses couplets avant de lâcher un refrain avec panache (“Naive”, “Ooh La”).

Superbement produit par Tony Hoffer (Supergrass, Belle & Sebastian), ces quatorze titres offrent assez de rebondissements pour tenir en haleine jusqu’au bout. Quant à l’avenir, The Kooks ont désormais de sérieuses prédispositions pour atteindre un maximum d’oreilles, cette même aptitude décelée chez Richard Ashcroft et Noel Ghallagher à jeter en pâture quelques singles désarmants de simplicité.

Re : Bordel, et dire qu’ils ont commencé à répéter sur “Reptilia” des Strokes, l’horloge du temps tourne trop vite. Non vraiment, c’est dur.

(article écrit par Paul-Ramone, le 29 janvier 2006 pour pinkushion.com)

The Kooks

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:24:33 +0000

The Black Keys

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:32:34 +0000

The Black Keys // Magic Potion

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:33:17 +0000

Les Black Keys, dont c’est déjà le quatrième album, avaient jusqu’ici une réputation relativement confidentielle. Cette dernière livraison, sur un label plus prestigieux (V2), devrait rendre justice au duo venu de l’Ohio. Il faut dire que la « Magic Potion » qu’ils nous concoctent a tout pour satisfaire l’amateur de rock’n’roll qui se respecte. Un minimalisme qui conserve l’essentiel, un gros son qui nous emmène droit à Memphis, une voix qui sait chanter le blues... Bref, tout ce que le rock a pu perdre à mesure qu’il gagnait en sophistication est ici scrupuleusement préservé et entretenu. Parions que la musique des Black Keys réjouirait un Nick Cohn, pour qui Dylan et les Beatles ont tué la vraie musique rock. La « potion » est donc tout sauf une innovation époustouflante, plutôt le bon vieux breuvage de John Lee Hooker et des studios Sun.

Est-ce que tout cela, dira-t-on, ne sent pas la nostalgie, voire le fétichisme régressif ? Impossible d’avoir ce sentiment à l’écoute de Magic Potion : l’authenticité est bien au rendez-vous, et la tradition n’est là que pour donner un support à une expression actuelle. On pense évidemment aux White Stripes, dont la formation instrumentale est exactement celle des Black Keys. Mais là où Jack White (sur scène du moins) évoque les hurlements d’un Little Richard, le chanteur-guitariste Dan Auerbach lorgne plus du côté de Gene Vincent ou Carl Perkins, voire carrément de la soul. Mais la comparaison s’avère plus cruelle lorsqu’il s’agit du songwriting, car les faux frère et sœur aux rayures rouges et noires ont ici une supériorité évidente, d’autant plus que leur éclectisme contraste avec la « formule » à laquelle les Black Keys se tiennent avec rigueur. Malgré tout, ce choix n’est sans doute pas moins respectable, et une telle comparaison a d’ailleurs sa part inévitable d’arbitraire ou d’injustice... Dans leurs plus beaux moments (“You’re The One”), les Keys sont capables d’évoquer Marc Bolan ou John Lennon, pour la recherche de l’épure et du retour aux sources qu’il a poursuivis tout au long de sa carrière solo.

Le problème est surtout que, malgré l’excellence vocale de son chanteur, l’émotion est rarement au rendez-vous du blues-rock des Black Keys. On reste loin, très loin, du choc qu’avait pu provoquer l’irruption d’une P.J. Harvey, aux références musicales comparables. Des chansons comme “Strange Desire” » ou “The Flame” parviennent toutefois à sortir du lot : leur rythme lancinant parvient à dégager une certaine poésie, sans doute également parce que la guitare s’y fait un peu plus discrète. Celle-ci, qui évoque volontiers Hendrix et Led Zeppelin, en profite pour leur emprunter de manière assez flagrante quelques riffs, au prix parfois d’une certaine lassitude. Mais l’originalité de la démarche des Keys est bien de nous épargner une énième imitation des hurlements de Robert Plant. A l’écoute de ce mélange qui ne perd jamais totalement sa saveur, on se prend d’ailleurs à déplorer tout ce que le rock a pu perdre en laissant les vociférations des hard-rockers préempter l’héritage du blues.

Pour le reste, les rabat-joie ne manqueront pas de bons arguments pour ramener les Black Keys à leur juste place. Mineur ? Certes. Un brin passéiste ? Sans aucun doute. Répétitif ? Assurément. Mais la potion des Keys est aussi simple et efficace que le rock’n’roll. Et ils ont tout juste ce qu’il faut de talent et d’énergie pour qu’on se laisse prendre à leur jeu.

(article écrit par Sheldrake, le 4 octobre 2006 pour pinkushion.com)

Holden

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:48:50 +0000

Holden à la Maroquinerie, le 5 mai 2006

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:50:08 +0000

Quelques semaines avant leur tournée officielle qui débutera cet été, les parisiens de Holden étaient vendredi dernier à la Maroquinerie pour un tour de chauffe tout à fait convaincant.

Après le passage de Gepe, trio chilien aux accents d’électro-pop-folk, c’est au tour de Holden de prendre le contrôle de la Maroquinerie vers 21 heures. Retrouvailles chaleureuses avec la scène et un public de connaisseurs pour la plupart. Le set démarre en douceur avec les titres de Chevrotine fidèles à l’album. Puis Armelle entonne la mélodie vaguement rétro d’"Une fraction de seconde", hommage à Pedrolira, suivi d’autres coups d’oeil dans le rétro : "Tunis" et "Une lueur tiède", chantée par le pianiste. Tout ce qu’on aime chez Holden, la délicatesse du jeu, les guitares atmosphériques, l’architecture sonore bien en place nous est servi sur un plateau. Holden ne force pas le trait, ne s’aventure pas dans l’inconnu, ne perd pas son temps mais enchaîne avec application des pop-songs faussement légères. Puis l’hommage à Murat arrive avec le très beau morceau "L’Orage" chanté en duo par Armelle et Ludo. "Encore un petit artiste qui n’a pas beaucoup de talent", ironise la chanteuse qui cache mal son admiration. A l’écoute du morceau, on croit sentir l’odeur de terre mouillée après la pluie, le parfum de genévrier gorgé d’eau, on devine l’éclaircie dans le ciel. Et l’on regrette beaucoup l’absence de l’Auvergnat. La force du groupe est là, dans cette faculté de restituer des sensations physiques avec des sons et une intonation de voix. Comme le langoureux "Madrid" terrassé par la chaleur du sud. Avec le schizophrénique "Comme je suis", le vernis craque un peu et les premières ombres apparaissent, rapidement confirmées par une reprise jazzy de Sun Ra en guise de rappel. Holden dilue ses inquiétudes dans une suavité pudique et préfère suggérer plutôt que trop appuyer. On leur sait gré de tant de délicatesse et d’élégance et on leur souhaite bonne route sur les chemins d’une plus large reconnaissance.

(article écrit par Vlad, le 6 juin 2006 pour pinkushion.com)

262229203_2b96058424_o.jpg

Sodwee — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 00:00:12 +0000

http://thesparks.wordpress.com/files/2006/11/262229203_2b96058424_o.jpg

The Dresden Dolls, London Astoria (12/05/06)

Sodwee — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:53:20 +0000

Les Dresden Dolls ? Un duo composé d'une pianiste – chanteuse (Amanda Palmer) et d'un batteur, accessoirement guitariste (Brian Viglione) se situant dans un registre cabaretpunkogothique. Tout un programme en somme ! Je suis tombée amoureuse de suite de ce duo hors du commun et c'est pour cette raison que je me retrouve, pour la première fois, devant la mythique salle de l'Astoria à Londres. A peine arrivée, je sens déjà que ce concert sera unique. Le public londonien qui attend gentiment devant la salle est tout simplement magnifique. Tout l'univers haut en couleurs des Poupées de Dresde est présent : chapeau melon, chaussettes hautes rayées noires et blanches, visage peint en blanc, vampire, anges et fées, punkette tatouée…tout est là ! Je me délecte de cette ambiance digne des cabarets les plus fous. Et cela continue à l'intérieur de la salle : des momies cherchent à se défaire de leurs bandelettes au milieu de la foule. Le duo aime aider les artistes alors nous avons droit à une première "première partie" : Thomas, qui invente lui-même ses propres instruments. Déjanté, touche – à – tout, il débranche sa guitare pour venir chanter dans la fosse. Viennent ensuite les Bang On, un autre duo que les Dresden Dolls ont découvert en sillonnant les rues d'Edimbourg. Percussionnistes, ils tapent sur des vieilles poubelles métalliques, utilisent des fourches et savent interagir avec le public. La "vraie" première partie arrive sur scène. Il s'agit du groupe Devotchka qui allie visuel de fanfare et sonorités festives (on peut entendre leur morceau How It Ends en ouverture de l'hilarant Little Miss Sunshine, en ce moment sur vos écrans !). L'ambiance musette et de bals espagnols envahit la salle et c'est limite si nous ne nous prenons pas tous par le bras pour entamer une farandole ! Leur reprise de Venus In Furs des Velvet Underground est méconnaissable et vaut le détour : une sonorité hispanique pour cette chanson hypnotique. A la fin de leur show, ils sont rejoints par les Dresden Dolls : Brian à la batterie, Amanda, toute fleurie, au chant. Ils entament alors une deuxième reprise : Oh What A World de Rufus Wainwright. L'apparition des deux Dolls électrise la salle. La chanson finie, Devotchka et les Dresden Dolls laissent place à une trapéziste. Et oui ! A l'Astoria, pendant un concert de rock, nous avons assisté au numéro d'une acrobate habillée aux couleurs du duo. La scène est ensuite débarrassée ; y sont installés la batterie de Brian et le piano d'Amanda. Et puis les voilà : Amanda en T-shirt, culotte et jarretières, Brian en chapeau melon et le visage peint en blanc. Toute la puissance des Dresden se révèle enfin. Elle est magique. Amanda se déchaîne sur son piano, sa voix grave et unique chauffe toute la salle. Nous n'avons pas besoin d'être conquis : nous le somme déjà, par le charme de Brian et de ses jeux de mime, par la complicité qui existe entre eux deux, par leur jeu avec le public, par l'interprétation toujours juste. Le duo a déjà ses classiques et quand arrive le tour de "Coin-Operated Boy", "Good Day" ou "Bad Habit" le public se joint au chant et les Dresden s'amusent à changer la rythmique de leurs morceaux afin de na pas laisser la tâche trop facile aux fans ! Les nouvelles chansons ne sont pas en reste : "Sex Changes", "Backstabber", "Mrs. O.", "Dirty Business"… La set-list est un savant mélange des chansons du premier opus éponyme et de Yes, Virginia... (sorti en avril 2006) Et comment parler d'un concert des Dresden Dolls sans parler des reprises ? Un passage obligé dans tout show du duo, alors quand les premières notes de War Pigs des Black Sabbat se fait entendre, la salle est en délire. Brian incite le public à le suivre et celui n'a aucun problème à entrer dans le rythme. Le dernier morceau du set est "leur" reprise, ils aiment tellement ce morceau qu'ils se l'ont totalement approprié, l'ont dresdendollisé et le jouent à chaque concert. Il s'agit d'Amsterdam, de Jaques Brel. Guitare, voix tout simplement. Amanda s'empare de sa bière pour chanter avec conviction les histoires des marins d'Amsterdam, Brian la suit à la guitare. Ce classique est renouvelé par un duo qui entend parfaitement le sens des paroles, qui sait ce qu'il chante. La reprise, dans les pays anglophones, est chantée en anglais mais quand la tournée atteint les contrées francophones, Amanda la chante dans un français parfait ; elle n'en est que plus bouleversante. Plongez dans l'univers des Dresden Dolls, entrez dans leur originalité et, même soyez fous, adoptez les chaussettes rayées noires et blanches, vous verrez alors que la créativité existe encore. Des vidéos de leurs live à Paris et à Londres sont disponible sur mon Youtube (vous trouverez le lien à droite !)

The Zutons

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:51:24 +0000

THE ZUTONS // TIRED OF HANGIN’ AROUND

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:52:28 +0000

Mais "Who Killed The Zutons" ? Leur premier album qui a raflé un Mercury, conquérant silencieusement 600 000 paires d'oreilles avec pour seul plan marketing, le bouche-à-oreille, Les Zutons, comme leur mentors de The Coral sont restés en périphérie de la hype de l'époque en restant dans le son 1960's. Et bien peu à changé depuis. En étant un groupe de rock restant à l'essentiel, les Zutons garde leur aspect lisse et carré. Ce qui garde le groupe si spécial sont les paroles de David McCabe’s qu'il crache avec un mélange de franchise emotionnelle et du rythme bien pensé. Arrangé avec simplicité pour en faire ressortir le meilleur. Comme souvent à Liverpool, il y plus qu'une touche d'amour, notamment avec le saxophone d'Abi Harding qui donne aux morceaux une profondeur "jazzy" et rendant ainsi une tournure beaucoup plus pop. Le premier single, “Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love?” sonne très Glam, rappellant même le "Tiger Feet" de Mud. Mais ses paroles montrent comment McCabe pique ses morceaux avec plusieurs références à la paranoïa et autres états de démance.“You’ve Got A Friend In Me” révèle l'aspect le plus pervers d'un duo pop depuis The Beautiful South avec “You Keep It All In”, jusqu'à ce que le duo se révèle entièrement dans leur déséspoir. “Someone Watching Over Me" qui pioche à travers les cauchemars d'un homme pris par la solitude sur des accords de piano descendant, est dupé par “I Know I’ll Never Leave” dans laquelle le chanteur est enfermé dans un appartement ghetto...et comme dans la plupart des chansons de l'album, ce n'est qu'une fable folle construite sur un souffrance intérieure. Les Zutons semble être capable de faire de la musique fabuleuse, mais ils restent sur leur garde et devrait plutôt se lâcher. (Par Nick Hasted @ Uncut.co.uk, traduit par Sodwee pour The Sparks)

Damien Rice

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:53:41 +0000

DAMIEN RICE // 9

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:55:02 +0000

Le succès progressif des débuts de Rice en 2002, avec l'album "O", l'a fait passé du statut de culte à celui de la sur-exposition. Heureusement, cela n'a pas atteint ses compositions. "9" est un disque délicat et, quelques fois, austère, flirtant avec le mélodramatique, avec un Damien Rice explorant les entrailles d'un terrible heurt romantique. Sa dette à Léonard Cohen est évidente et, alors que la musique enfle parfois dans un tonnerre lugubre (sonnant même comme Pj Harvey sur "Me, My Yoke And I"), Rice est à son meilleur niveau quand il est calme. La voix sur "Elephant" est courageuse, se posant sur un terrain juste au bord de l'embarras, et le single "9 crimes" est un tendre duo avec sa partenaire de toujours Lisa Hannigan. Les fans de "O" apprécieront la douce simplicité de "Dogs", tandis que "Accidental Babies", ressemblant à du Nick Cave, est une sinistre exploration intime de la jalousie. By Alastair McKay, Traduction : Sabbie A noter que Damien Rice sera en tournée dans toute la France en mars 2007. Si vous êtes intéressés, dépêchez-vous, les places partent très vite.

The Beatles

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:56:27 +0000

THE BEATLES // LOVE

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:56:56 +0000

Avec la forêt tropicale Amazonienne, il y a peu de ressources naturelles qui ont pû être autant saignées que le catalogue musical des Beatles. Antologisés, lobotomisés, et plus généralement pillés dans le seul but d'un gain commercial, le public semble avoir mis un coup de frein à cet élan au vu des resultats de "Let It Be... Naked" de 2003. Jusqu'a maintenant. Enthousiasmé par une longue amitié entre George Harrison et le fondateur du Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberté. Et avec l'autorisation de l'Axe du Pouvoir (Paul, Ringo et Yoko) : "Love" est le dernier ajout dans un catalogue déjà bien fourni. "Love" est un concentré des morceaux les plus accèssible des Beatles, sans réelles idées compilé par Giles Martin avec comme assistant Père George. Le tout servi en Dolby Surround 5.1 (peut être le seul argument de vente qu'ils ai pû trouver). On commence donc avec "Because". On entre directement dans le solo de batterie de "The End", qui ensuite martèle généreusement avec le riff d'ouverture de “Hard Day’s Night”, en vacillant directement dans “Get Back”. Et avant que vous ne vous en rendiez compte, fini sa route avec “Stars On 45”. De là, c'est une avalanche musicale de "Beatleology" (“Eleanor Rigby”, “A Day In The Life”, “Here Comes The Sun”), toutes surfaite avec des extraits aussi rares qu'imprévisibles de leur discothèque. Ils nous offrent ensuite, mains tendues, “Drive My Car/The Word/What You’re Doing” comme un flot continu de leur époque noir et overdosée, allant crescendo avec “Come Together/Dear Prudence” et finalement atteignant le nirvana avec les drônes “Tomorrow Never Knows” et “Within You Without You” qui se marient vraiment très bien. Où un morceaux a eu le droit de rester seul (“Back In The USSR”, “Revolution”), il vient chargé avec les voix doublées, une instrumentation simpliste, ou - pourquoi pas? - le son si different d'une sitar.Si l'echelle est loin d'être compréhensible, "Love" représente un ovni pour les fans des Beatles, qui pourraient passer le reste de leur vies argumentant sur si le son dérive de “No Reply” ou de “Paperback Writer”. Les fanatiques aimeront une version demo déterrée de “Strawberry Fields Forever”. Mais sans aucun doute, c'est pour la quête de l'innovation que les lauriers iront à Monsieur Martin. (Par Paul Moody pour Uncut, traduit par Sodwee pour The Spark.)

joannanewsome031106_w.jpg

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:59:07 +0000

Joanna

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:59:47 +0000

Private: Privé: JOANNA NEWSOM // YS

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 21:00:10 +0000

JOANNA NEWSOM

Sodwee — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 21:52:11 +0000

spakrsheader.jpg

Sodwee — Fri, 04 May 2007 20:15:48 +0000

http://thesparks.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/spakrsheader.jpg

Amy Winehouse - Rehab (desert eagles remix)

Sodwee — Fri, 04 May 2007 20:32:50 +0000

Alors, vous connaissez sans doute le nouvel album d'Amy Winehouse, Back To Black, il fait un carton en ce moment un peu partout dans le monde. Déjà quelques remix ont fait leur apparition sur les blogs, en voici un justement qui est pas mal du tout ! Vous pouvez soit l'écouter directement grâce à la BOX sur le coté ou cliquer sur le lien que je vous donne ci-dessous pour télécharger le morceau !

http://www.box.net/shared/bcmj1sme6k

Je vais mettre en ligne le live d'Amsterdam Paradiso dans quelques minutes !! restez vigilants !

Amy Winehouse - Paradiso Amsterdam

Sodwee — Fri, 04 May 2007 20:53:27 +0000

Amy Winehouse - Live at Paradiso [Amsterdam] 8th Feb. 2007

Sodwee — Fri, 04 May 2007 20:58:17 +0000

Amy Winehouse, encore oui, mais cette foi-ci avec un live entier! Live at Paradiso - Amsterdam. Suivez le lien pour télécharger ! Ou vous pouvez commencer par ecouter avec la BOX ci-contre ! http://www.box.net/shared/tzr1no2f43

L A U N C H

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 01:19:30 +0000

Nous lançons aujourd'hui D I S C O H E A T !

In Rainbows - Radiohead

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:42:44 +0000

Radiohead : le nouvel album

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:45:25 +0000

Thom Yorke et ses amis ont envoyé un email aux fans leur annonçant qu'ils recevront un email contenant un code d'activation pour leur permettre de télécharger le fichier ZIP de 48.4 Mo : dix chansons. Les mp3 ne seront pas protégés par un DRM donc légalement, ils pourront partager les morceaux avec n'importe qui ! Si ça ce n'est pas de la news !

Moby, “Last Night”

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:53:50 +0000

"Last Night" sera le titre du prochain album de Moby. Selon son site internet, la star de l'electro-rock dit avoir pris un son beaucoup plus électronique. L'album est prévu pour le printemps 2008.

Moby

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:53:57 +0000

Les Sorties de la semaine… 9 Octobre 2007

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:00:46 +0000

Band Of Horses - 'Cease To Begin'
Beirut - 'The Flying Club Cup'
Vanessa Carlton - 'Heroes & Thieves'
The Fiery Furnaces - 'Widow City'
Deborah Harry - 'Necessary Evil'
Kid Rock - 'Rock'n'Roll Jesus'
Jennifer Lopez - 'Brave'
Puddle Of Mudd - 'Famous'
Stereophonics - 'Pull The Pin'

Alison Goldfrapp

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:13:29 +0000

Goldfrapp, un album l’an prochain

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:14:15 +0000

Le groupe anglais Goldfrapp emmené par la chanteuse Alison Goldfrapp vient d'ajouter les dernières touches au prochain album prévu pour début 2008 ont-ils fait savoir sur leur site officiel.

Kylie Minogue

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:18:29 +0000

Kylie Minogue, nouveau single pour novembre

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:18:59 +0000

La chanteuse prévoit un comeback pour novembre avec un single intitulé "2 Hearts" qui sortira le 12 novembre 2007 en plusieurs formats incluant des remixes et autres goodies. Les fans pourront télécharger ce morceau dès le 5 novembre sur les plateformes légales. Son album sortire quant à lui le 26 novembre et sera simplement dénommé "X".

Amy Winehouse

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:28:47 +0000

Amy Winehouse & Mark Ronson : un nouvel album en préparation !

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:28:55 +0000

Mark Ronson a déclaré que Amy Winehouse était en manque de session studio en ce moment. Qu'elle n'avait qu'une envie c'est d'y retourner. Mais que cela ne pourrait se faire qu'a la fin de sa tournée prévue pour Novembre de cette année. Selon Ronson, les influences pour l'album seront celle de Phil Spector et l'album "Wall Of Sound".

GreenDay - Billie Joe

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:37:32 +0000

Green Day a 45 chansons pour son nouvel album.

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:38:47 +0000

Billie Joe Armstrong donne quelques révélations sur l’enregistrement. Le groupe travaille actuellement sur la suite « d “American Idiot” en 2004. « Nous avons beaucoup de musique, peut être 45 chansons, c’est un peu le chaos. Je veux me plonger dans ce que je suis et dans ce que je ressens. Nous faisons ce métier depuis 20 ans, nous voulons être sûr que nous restons honnêtes avec nous même. Je veux aussi rester en contact avec la réalité, et pour l’instant je stagne. » La plupart de leur travail a été écrit au piano plutôt qu’à la guitare, Armstrong a déclaré que la date de sortie était incertaine pour l’instant. Source : Zegut

HS / quand une bloggueuse est coincée chez elle, que fait-elle ?

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:33:15 +0000

C'est grâce à un message posté sur son blog que Laura a.k.a. Miss Modernage a pu retrouver la liberté hier dans la matinée ! Oui, coincée chez elle à cause d'un dysfonctionnement dans sa serrure, elle a posté un message à l'aide pour qu'une personne puisse venir la libérer. Après moults essais, et quelques mise à jour de son message (oui même temps qu'elle tentait de dévérouiller la porte elle actualisait son blog !), elle a finalement pu retrouver l'air frais de New-York ! Fabuleux ! THUMBS UP LAURA FOR YOUR GREAT & ENTERTAINING ENTRY !

discoheat cover art

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:31:41 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #1

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:34:48 +0000

Du bon bon cru cette semaine... La crême hype du moment reprend des titres légendaires pour le bonheur de nos ouïes... A apprècier sans modération : le live des Monkeys qui déménage grandement. Ainsi ainsi que la reprise de No Diggity des Klaxons. Et pour finir l'orgasme suprême de The Gossip reprenant Careless Whisper de George Michael/Wham!... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhuuuuummmmmm A la semaine prochaine !

The Klaxons > No Diggity [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/No%20Diggity.mp3] The Gossip > Careless Whisper [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/18%20Careless%20Whisper.mp3] Arctic Monkeys > From the Ritz to the Rubbles (live) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/04%20From%20The%20Ritz%20To%20The%20Rubble%20(live).mp3] CSS > Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above (Calvin Harris Remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/Let's%20Make%20Love%20And%20Listen%20To%20Death%20From%20Above%20(Calvin%20Harris%20Remix).mp3]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #2

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:18:15 +0000

Amy Winehouse reprend du service - exact, elle était en "convalescence" depuis plusieurs semaines. C'est avec le iTunes Music Festival 2007 qu'elle nous revient en grande forme avec plusieurs reprises vraiment axé Ska notemment avec deux reprises des Specials énormissimes... Enfin vous verrez bien, quand elle s'y met, elle remue pas mal ! Clic droit puis "enregistrer la cible sous"... pour télécharger. Et c'est gratuit donc faites en part autour de vous!

Disclaimer

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:43:06 +0000

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We will make readily available to customers information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.

We are committed to conducting our enterprise in accordance with these principles in order to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information is protected and maintained.

Michael Jackson

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:55:42 +0000

Michael Jackson parle à ses fans ! Enfin !

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 22:57:23 +0000

Après plusieurs mois, ou années ?? On ne sait même plus, le King Of Pop s'est décidé à envoyer un email à ses fans. Il leur précisent qu'il a d'excellentes nouvelles pour eux dans les semaines à venir. En gros, pour faire bref, Wacko devrait avoir un album pondu avant le printemps prochain ! YEEEESSS du bon groove pour l'été !

Christina Aguilera

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:03:08 +0000

Aguilera + Franklin = DUO CHOC

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:04:05 +0000

Selon DJ Premiere, (celui-là même qui avait travailler avec la nano-diva sur "Back To Basics") Christina Aguilera et Aretha Franklin feront un duo ensemble pour l'album d'Aretha "Jewels In The Crown: All Star Duets With the Queen" qui sortira probablement d'ici la fin de l'année.

The Police

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:08:29 +0000

The Police : 2 concerts annulés.

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:08:42 +0000

The Police a annulé deux de ses concerts européens car Sting souffre de maux de gorges. Les deux dates en question sont :

Antwerp (Belgique) le 2 octobre 2007
Manheim (Allemagne) le 3 octobre 2007

Prince

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:11:53 +0000

Prince & Amy Winehouse se retrouverons en studio !

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:13:12 +0000

Les deux accolite d'un fameux after-show londonien (rappellez-vous Prince avait invité Whinehouse pour chanter à l'un de ses after-show de l'O2 Arena) se retrouverons en studio dans le Minnesota après Noël selon Prince in-personna.

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #3

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:18:08 +0000

Alors on arrête pas en si bon chemin, voici quelques perles dénichées sur la toile. Qui l'eu cru ?!! Arcade Fire s'empare de notre France Gall nationale avec la reprise de Poupée de Cire Poupée de Son, plaisant à souhait ! Le fameux No Love Lost de Joy Division repris par LCD ça c'est la classe. Un millésime.

LCD Soundsystem > No Love Lost (Joy Division cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/No%20Love%20Lost%20(Joy%20Division%20cover).mp3] Arcade Fire > Poupée de Cire Poupée de Son (France Gall cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/Poupee%20de%20Cire%20Poupee%20de%20Son%20(France%20Gall%20cover).mp3] Peaches > Cheated Hearts (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/Cheated%20Hearts%20(Yeah%20Yeah%20Yeahs%20cover).mp3] Groove Armada > Crazy For You (Madonna cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/05%20Crazy%20For%20You%20(Madonna%20cover).mp3] Plain White T's > Umbrella (Rihanna Cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/15%20Umbrella%20(Rihanna%20Cover).mp3]

Madonna

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:42:56 +0000

Madonna change de major !

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:43:07 +0000

Madonna serait sur le point de quitter la Warner. Elle devrait vraisemblablement signer avec Live Nation, une boîte de production de concerts (même boîte qui produit les concerts de la Madonne). Ce nouveau contrat pourrait lui rapporter £60 millions (livres sterling) environ 600 millions de francs! Elle serait donc rattacher à Live Nation pour 10 ans, avec 3 albums à fournir et une tournée pour chacun de ces futurs albums. Le contrat stipule aussi qu'elle pourrait faire de son nom de scène une license afin de faire encore plus de fric ! Elle a quand même le sens du business cette quadra !

Debbie Harry

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:47:27 +0000

Debbie Harry en solo !

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:47:58 +0000

14 ans après le groupe Blondie, Debbie Harry prévoit de faire une tournée US pour son tout dernier album "Necessary Evil". La tournée commencera le 8 novembre dans sa ville natale : New York. Suite de la tournée :

New York, NY Fillmore (Novembre 8)
Glenside, PA Keswick Theater (9)  
Ledyard, CT Foxwoods Casino (10)  
Washington, DC 9:30 Club (13)  
Asheville, NC Orange Peel (14)  
Miami, FL Jackie Gleason Theatre (16)
 Tampa, FL Tampa Theatre (17)  
Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall (20)  
Toronto, ONT Phoenix Theater (23)
Indianapolis, IN Vogue (24)  
Tulsa, OK Brady Theater (27)  
Dallas, TX House of Blues (28)  
Kansas City, MO Ameristar Casino (30)
Denver, CO Bluebird Theatre (Decembre 1)
Anaheim, CA House of Blues (4) 
Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theater (7)  
Las Vegas, NV Santa Fe Station Casino (8)  
San Francisco, CA Fillmore (9)

Britney Spears

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:55:13 +0000

L’album de Britney sera en avance.

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:55:40 +0000

Le label de Britney Spears - Jive Records - a annoncé que l'album "Blackout" de Britney Spears sortira le 30 octobre prochain au lieu du 13 novembre initialement pour éviter les leaks (fuites illégales) de l'album et de morceaux démo et non terminés.

boombox-header.jpg

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:41:03 +0000

http://discoheat.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/boombox-header.jpg

boombox-header2.jpg

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:41:35 +0000

http://discoheat.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/boombox-header2.jpg

Taped

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:57:46 +0000

Do Not Hotlink !

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 02:18:20 +0000

M.I.A.

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:17:37 +0000

M.I.A. et Yelle: Une rencontre très fluo

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:19:51 +0000

Selon les inrocks.com M.I.A., la sulfureuse londonienne et Yelle, la bretonne sucrée, se sont rencontrées, histoire d'enregistrer un morceau. La terre australe est propice aux rencontres explosives. Les deux chanteuses ont profité de leur tournée australienne respective, lors du festival itinérant Parklife, pour établir les contours de leur collaboration. M.I.A. ayant d'abord manifesté son admiration pour Yelle, celle ci s'est empressée de lui retourner le compliment. Facilitant ainsi le lien entre deux univers pas si éloignés. Le fruit de ce travail a été récolté par Tepr et Grand Marnier, les deux producteurs attitrés de Yelle. Le morceau s'intitule Popo Mind Control mais à ce jour, aucune date de sortie n'a été précisée.

Justice

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:24:49 +0000

Justice invite Michael Jackson

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:26:16 +0000

selon les inrocks.com le duo électro a livré une prestation drôlatique de son single "D.A.N.C.E." dans le show télévisé américain "Jimmy Kimmel Live". Les français ont profité de leur mini tournée américaine (du 11 au 21 octobre 2007) pour jouer leur premier single en live sur la chaîne nationale ABC. Les américains n'ont pas été déçu. Sur scène, point de Gaspard Augé ni de Xavier de Rosnay mais quelques superstars de la pop en version clonée. Stevie Wonder, Prince, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart et surtout Mickael Jackson (le morceau D.A.N.C.E. lui rend hommage) dans un même groupe, il fallait oser! Voir la vidéo : Youtube

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #4

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:00:27 +0000

Pour ce quatrième volet des "downloadable sweets" par Sodwee, nous avons collecté sept morceaux d'horizons differents. En commençant par notre préféré : la reprise d'All That She Wants par les Kooks, ça me rappelle avec un peu de nostalgie les années collège, pas vous ? Pour tout vous dire, je crois même que c'est bien le premier single que j'ai acheté avec mon argent de poche... 30 francs à l'époque, c'est cher pour du Ace Of Base ! Amy toujours dans la dentelle vocale avec Cupid de Johnny Cash, posée, idéal pour un apéro en amoureux... The Raconteurs énérgique sur Teenage Kicks des Undertones, Lily Allen reconnaissable avec Don't Get me Wrong, initialement Pretenders, les Foo avec une reprise pas mal des Wings, et un remix par BITA (comprenez Bugz In The Attic) du fameux Oh My Gosh, hit UK à l'époque suivant Romeo (un classique, si vous ne connaissez pas allez vite dénicher celui-ci !).

Amy Winehouse > Cupid (Johnny Cash cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/03%20Cupid%20(Johnny%20Nash%20cover).mp3] The Kooks > All That She Wants (Ace Of Base cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/2-07%20All%20That%20She%20Wants%20(Ace%20Of%20Base%20Cover).mp3] Basement Jaxx > Oh My gosh (Bugz In The Attic remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/03%20Oh%20My%20Gosh%20(Bugz%20in%20the%20Attic%20Remix).mp3] The Raconteurs > Teenage Kicks (The Undertones cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/12%20Teenage%20Kicks%20(The%20Undertones%20cover).mp3] Lily Allen > Don't Get Me Wrong (The Pretenders cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/20%20Don't%20Get%20Me%20Wrong%20(The%20Pretenders%20cover).mp3] Daft Punk > Technologic (Digitalism remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/Technologic%20(digitalism%20remix).mp3] Foo Fighters > Band On The Run (Wings Cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/08%20Band%20On%20The%20Run%20(Wings%20cover).mp3]

Luke Pritchard - The Kooks

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:23:23 +0000

The Kooks travaillent sur un nouvel album

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:24:38 +0000

NME révèle que les Kooks sont en studio avec Tony Hoffer, le personnag/producteur derrière Inside In/Inside Out. Luke Pritchard déclare aussi que le groupe a déjà entre 80 et 90 chansons prête a être enregistrées. Parmis lesquelles 'Do You Wanna Make Love To Me', 'Sway', 'See The Sun' et 'Hard To Bear' qui figurerons sur le prochain album sans aucun doute.

Coldplay

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:28:11 +0000

Le nouveau Coldplay en mixage…

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:29:30 +0000

Selon NME Jon Hopkins aurait travailler avec Chris Martin sur une des chanson et que l'album est en phase de mixage en ce moment même. Il ne devrait donc pas tarder a sortir leur quatrième album !

The White Stripes

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:39:13 +0000

The White Stripes ont tourné un nouveau clip pour Conquest

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:41:49 +0000

Nous savons par de précieuses source (ici et là) que le clip de Conquest sortira le 15 octobre prochain. Il sera réalisé par Diane Martel. Et ce lundi 15 octobre 2007, les White Stripes vont mettre en vente ds appareils photos de type Holgas spécialement produit pour le groupe ! Les 333 premiers acquéreurs se verront offrir un cadeau mystère !

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #5

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 21:37:24 +0000

Après un début en fanfare, nous entrons maintenant dans la phase de croisière, encore plus de morceaux, de la qualité cela-dit, à ne pas manquer la reprise de I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor par le grand, l'unique Tom Jones et Tegan & Sara reprennant le hit de Rihanna : Umbrella !

Ben Folds > Such Great Heights (Postal Service cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-5/116%20Such%20Great%20Heights%20(Postal%20Service%20Cover).mp3] Bono > Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (The Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-5/16%20Lucy%20In%20The%20Sky%20With%20Diamonds.mp3] Tegan & Sara > Umbrella (Rihannna cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-5/32%20Umbrella%20(Rhianna%20Cover).mp3] Tom Jones > I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (Arctic Monkeys cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-5/I%20Bet%20You%20Look%20Good%20On%20The%20Dancefloor.mp3] KT Tunstall > I Want You Back (Jackson 5 cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-5/I%20Want%20You%20Back%20(Jackson%205%20Cover).mp3] Arctic Monkeys > Take It Or Leave It ( The Strokes cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-5/Take%20It%20Or%20Leave%20It%20(The%20Strokes%20Cover).mp3]

Review > “Blue Magic” - Jay-Z

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:53:44 +0000

Quand Jay-Z a annoncé qu'il revenait de sa retraite musicale, beaucoup se sont questionnés si il pouvait refaire ses entrées dans les charts avec des platinums a tour de bras... Avec "Blue Magic", le premier single issu de l'album "American Gangster" du 6 novembre prochain, il sonne comme le même "artisan du hit" qui se proclame "meilleur rappeur de tous les temps"... Avec l'aide du génial Pharell et son partenaire de Neptunes Chad Hugo à la production, d'arrangements choisis et le flow posé et confidant de Jay-Z on sait maintenant que sa musique se bonifie avec le temps. "Blue Magic" se révèle être un morceau mature grâce à la touche de Pharell et son sample de "Hold On" (un morceau de En Vogue). A recommander !

Leslie Feist

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:07:21 +0000

Review > “1,2,3,4″ - Feist

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:08:08 +0000

Ca c'est le genre de morceau que les DP (directeur de programmation) refuseraient de faire passer sur les ondes, insistant sur le fait qu'il sonne carrément différent pour être sur le TOP 40 ou sur les A-list... etc. Seulement, quand cette même chanson devient un hit simplement parce qu'elle illustre la publicité pour l'iPod Nano... Alors là c'est une autre histoire... "1,2,3,4" est tout à fait le genre de chanson qui vous intrigue à la première écoute tellement elle est mignonne et bizarre et c'est justement là que son charme opère. Considerez là comme la chanson pop par excellence ! "1,2,3,4" est l'une des perles que l'on peut trouver sur le deuxième album de Feist "The Reminder".

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #6

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:24:02 +0000

C'est du cousu main ! Made in France ! Sodwee te propose une série quasi inédite, apprécie, fait durer jusqu'a la prochaine update :

Tracy Chapman > Fast Car (Feature Cast remix)
Mark Ronson & The Daptone Horns > God Put A Smile On You (Coldplay cover)
Ben Kweller > La Bamba / Twist & Shout / Undone
Mark Ronson > Just (Radiohead cover)
U2 > MOFO (live from Mexico)
Lil Wayne > Help (The Beatles cover)

The Hives

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:58:02 +0000

Sorties de la semaine : 15 octobre 2007

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:58:16 +0000

A l'essentiel, voici les sorties anglo-saxonnes de la semaine : Albums :

Underworld - 'Oblivion With Bells'
Lil Mama - 'Voice Of The Young People'
James Murphy - 'Fabriclive 36'
Roisin Murphy - 'Overpowered'
The Hives - 'The Black And White Album'

Singles :

Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse - 'Valerie'
Timbaland - 'Apologise'
Gym Class Heroes - 'Queen & I'
Lethal Bizzle - 'Police On My Back'
The Cloud Room - 'Hey Now Now'
Lightspeed Champion - 'Midnight Surprise'
Fink - 'Little Blue Mailbox'
Kevin Michael feat. Wyclef Jean - 'It Don't Make Any Difference'
Gwen Stefani - ' Now That You Got It'
Newton Faulkner - 'All I Got'
Take That - 'Rule The World'
Mika - 'Happy Ending'

Kaiser Chiefs

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:02:42 +0000

Kaiser Chiefs annoncent un nouveau single

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:02:57 +0000

Les Kaiser Chiefs, ce groupe révélé il y a deux avec "I Predict A riot", tube européen, sort un single censé supporter leur nouvel album "Angry Mob"... Le single sortira le 12 novembre prochain au Royaume-Uni et s'intitulera 'Love Is Not A Competition (But I'm Winning)'. Le single sera disponible que dans un seul format : un vinyle 7" disponible uniquement sur leur site officiel.

Bertrand Cantat - Noir Désir

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:14:12 +0000

Bertrand Cantat libéré !

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:14:25 +0000

La liberté pour Bertrand Cantat. Comme on s'y attendait, le juge d'application des peines a accepté la demande de libération conditionnelle du chanteur de Noir Désir. Condamné à huit ans de prison pour des coups mortels sur sa compagne Marie Trintignant en juillet 2003 en Lituanie, il va sortir de prison mardi, après avoir purgé la moitié de sa peine. Le parquet avait donné un avis favorable sous certaines conditions. [source]

Wu-Tang Klan

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:18:58 +0000

Wu-Tang Clan “The Heart Gently Weeps” ou le premier sample des Beatles

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:19:12 +0000

Le prochain single de Wu-Tang Clan, incluant une reprise du titre des Beatles 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. Sont présents sur le titre 'The Heart Gently Weeps' Raekwon, et Method Man, ainsi que le guitariste des Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante et pour les voix Erykah Badu. C’est la première fois qu’une chanson des Beatles est utilisée comme sample, le nouvel album du Wu-Tang, '8 Diagrams', sera disponible à partir du 4 Décembre. Pour écouter c’est là [Source ]

Led Zeppelin

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:30:08 +0000

Le back catalogue entier de Led Zeppelin disponible digitalement !

Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:33:04 +0000

Le catalogue entier de Led Zep sera mis à disposition digitalement sur les plateformes légales telles que l'iTunes Music Store dès le 13 novembre prochain a annoncé la Warner, de quoi remplir un temps soit peu les caisses de ce navire en difficulté face au chutes des ventes physique de disques... Et rappellons que le mytique groupe se reformera le 26 novembre prochain pour un concert en l'honneur de Ahmet Ertegun, ancien fondateur et PDG défunt de Atlantic Records avec qui les Led Zep ont enregistré tous leur albums.

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Sodwee — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:12:25 +0000

http://discoheat.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/1547946510_c9823baf52_o.jpg

Amy Winehouse

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:06:46 +0000

Winehouse & Babyshambles enregistre une chanson

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:06:56 +0000

Les Babyshambles, avec Pete Doherty, ont enregistrer une nouvelle chanson avec Amy Winehouse dans le Wiltshire, près du centre de ré-éducation pour toxicomanes où mr Doherty séjournait. La chanson est très Ska d'après le groupe. Ils planifiaient de faire une reprise de Billie Holiday mais finalement ils se sont mis a écrire une chanson. Amy Winehouse joue de la guitare et chante sur le morceau.

U2

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:10:20 +0000

U2 dans le BTP !

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:10:30 +0000

U2 va faire construire le premier gratte-ciel de Dublin avec l'architecte Norman Foster (celui a qui l'on doit le cornichon de Londres et le pont de Millau). Il doit culminer à 120 mètres de haut. Le groupe l'a nommé avec originalité : "The U2 Tower". Leur studio se retrouvera au dernier étage de ce building. Le projet devrait leur coûter 200 Millions d'Euros.

Britney Spears - shaved

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:25:29 +0000

Tracklist de “Blackout”, le nouvel album de Britney Spears

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:25:42 +0000

Britney Spears révèle et confirme le tracklist de son dernier album "Blackout", quatre ans après l'album "In The Zone" et quelques mètre de coke plus tard... C'est donc avec 12 chanson que miss "Bad Trip" nous revient. Notez que Pharell Williams (la moitié des Neptunes) a écrit, produit et chanté sur "Why Should I Be Sad". L'album sort le 30 Octobre aux Etats-Unis. [ad#ad-2]

"Gimme More"
"Piece of Me"
"Radar"
"Break the Ice"
"Heaven on Earth"
"Get Naked (I Got a Plan)"
"Freakshow"
"Toy Soldier"
"Hot As Ice"
"Ooh Ooh Baby"
"Perfect Lover"
"Why Should I Be Sad"

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #7

Sodwee — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:00:47 +0000

La reprise par les Rythmes Digitales de DANCE, le tube planétaire de notre groupe de frenchie préféré du moment est d'une classe sans pareille ! Surtout après nous avoir bombarder médiatiquement avec ce duo ! Autrement une chanson douce pour changer, la reprise de Your Song par Mike Skinner des Streets, un exemple à suivre mes jeunes amis ! Et ne ratez surtout pas l'exceptionnel live de Black Jack Davey par The White Stripes où la guitare de Jack et la méchante grosse caisse de Meg font un malheur... Bonne écoute !

Justice > D.A.N.C.E. (Les Rythmes Digitales remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-7/03%20D.A.N.C.E.%20(Les%20Rythmes%20Digitales%20Remix).mp3] The Streets > Your Song (Elton John cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-7/05%20Your%20Song%20(Elton%20John%20cover).mp3] Lily Allen > Naïve (The Kooks cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-7/12%20Naive%20(The%20Kooks%20cover).mp3] The White Stripes > Black Jack Davey [live] (Bob Dylan cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-7/27%20Black%20Jack%20Davey%20(Bob%20Dylan)%20-%202005-10-02.mp3]

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Sodwee — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:14:09 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:22:27 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:31:29 +0000

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Stay Tuned*

Sodwee — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:13:27 +0000

*Restez connecté(e), nous avons préparé pour vous une serie de DOWNLOADABLE SWEETS exceptionnelle jusqu'a mardi prochain. De quoi vous faire passer un bon weekend musical à défaut de rugby. Nous posterons en moyenne 4 nouveaux morceaux par jour. Abonnez-vous au flux RSS afin de ne rater aucunes des exclus à venir ! Nous avons aussi plusieurs projets en cours, dont un podcast (peut être), nous sommes encore au stade embryonnaire mais il se pourrait que nous ayons quelquechose de construit avant la fin de l'année. STAY TUNED !

Les audioblogs incontournables…

Sodwee — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:57:38 +0000

Voici une petite liste de blogs incontournables traitant principalement de musique, en général, mon inspiration vient de là, mes idées mp3 aussi ! here is some love fellow bloggers :

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #8

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:00:51 +0000

C'est le hit de l'année, la chanteuse Rihanna a réussi à entrer dans le Hall Of Fame des chansons les plus reprises par d'autres artistes avec son tube "Umbrella" extrait de son premier album "Good Girl Gone Bad". Ici Mandy Moore apporte son coté "sensuelle et intouchable" à une chanson qui est ma foi très écoutable ! Jack Johnson nous gâte aussi avec une reprise des Stripes qui reste dans son esprit avec une touche Johnson que l'on remarque dès les premiers accords de sa guitare sèche ! Et on finira en apothéose avec la reprise énorme de Take Your Mamma des Scissor Sisters par les Zutons (je vous le rappelle, eux-mêmes repris par Winehouse...) ! Que du bon, que du bon chers visiteurs!

Jack Johnson > My Doorbell (White Stripes cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-8/My%20Doorbell%20(White%20Stripes%20cover).mp3] Mylo > Sweet Child Of Mine (Gun's & Roses cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-8/Sweet%20Child%20of%20Mine%20(Guns%20&%20Roses%20cover).Mp3] The Zutons > Take Your Mamma (Scissor Sisters cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-8/Take%20Your%20Mama%20(Scissors%20Sisters%20Cover).mp3] Mandy Moore > Umbrella (Rihanna cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-8/Umbrella%20(Rihanna%20Cover).mp3]

Amy préfére le Zenith !

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:23:34 +0000

Amy Winehouse jouera au Zenith au lieu de l'Olympia. Les places restantes sont affichées au prix de 44 euros sur fnac.com. La vente commence lundi prochain à 10h00 pétantes.

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #9

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:51:56 +0000

Neuvième édition, du lourd, plutôt du très lourd avec une reprise de Gin & Juice par Phish, ce groupe rock/funk des années 80... Vour verrez pas besoin de beats et autres artifact propre au Hip-Hop pour qu'une chanson vous fasse remuer du derrière ! Sinon, une très bonne reprise de Last Nite par The Detroit Cobras, groupe qui a ouvert entre autres pour The White Stripes. Les Cobras sont originaire de Detroit. Et pour la fantaisie du jour, un featuring de LCD Soundsystem sur "My Love" du Justin que tout le monde connait !

The Detroit Cobras > Last Nite (The Strokes cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-9/20%20Last%20Nite%20(The%20Strokes%20cover).mp3] Beyoncé > Déjà Vu (Freemasons remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-9/Deja%20Vu%20%20(Freemasons%20remix).mp3] Phish > Gin & Juice (Snoop Dog cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-9/Gin%20&%20Juice%20(Snoop%20Dog%20cover).mp3] Justin Timberlake > My Love (Featuring LCD Soundsystem) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-9/My%20Love%20feat%20LCD%20Soundsystem%20(Diplo%20Remix).mp3]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #10

Sodwee — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 15:07:43 +0000

The Hourly Radio est un groupe que j'ai découvert avec cette chanson "Crime Does Pay", c'est donc avec bonheur que je vous propose son remix par Will Eastman. Le fameux Culture Club par dj LBR qui tourne d'ailleurs dans tous les Frog & Rosbif de Gaule aux alentours de Happy Hour... Et le remix de Slow (kylie Minogue) par les Chemicals qui est terrible !

Feist > Inside & Out (The Audience Honey remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-10/01%20Inside%20And%20Out%20(The%20Audience%20Honey%20Remix).mp3] The Hourly Radio > Crime Does Pay (Will Eastman remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-10/06%20Crime%20Does%20Pay%20(WIll%20Eastman%20Blisspop%20Remix).mp3] Culture Club > Do You Really Want To Hurt me (DJ LBR remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-10/Do%20You%20Really%20Want%20To%20Hurt%20Me%20(DJ%20LBR%20remix).mp3] Phish > Ecstasy (acoustic version) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-10/Ecstasy%20(acoustic).mp3] Kylie Minogue > Slow (Chemical Brothers remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-10/Slow%20(Chemical%20Brothers%20remix).mp3]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #11

Sodwee — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 14:32:07 +0000

J'ai peut être beaucoup d'Arctic Monkeys en ce moment mais après ce live démentiel de "From The Ritz To The Rubble" d'il y a déjà quelques jours. Je ne peux pas passer outre le fait de partager cette version très spéciale de "Diamonds Are Forever" ! Sinon les coqueluches du moment The Klaxons, égérie de Justice (toutes ses premières parties). Le rock band de Ed Bangers... enfin voilà ils chantent ici en français - believe it or not ! - pour le bonheur de nos oreilles ! Et pour continuer dans ce qu'il y a de très bon. Qu'est-ce que vous dites d'une reprise plutôt reggae de Karma Police ? Dites merci à Citizen Cope.

Arctic Monkeys > Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-11/Diamonds%20Are%20Forever%20(Live%20Glasto%202007).mp3] The Klaxons > As Above, So Below (french version) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-11/02%20As%20Above,%20So%20Below%20(French).mp3] Citizen Cope > Karma Police (Radiohead cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-11/Karma%20Police%20(Radiohead%20cover).mp3] U2 > Even Better Than The Real Thing [live] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-11/03%20Even%20Better%20Than%20The%20Real%20Thing.mp3]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #12

Sodwee — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:57:10 +0000

No Comment, *DOWNLOAD ALL OR DIE*

The Roots > You Got Me feat. Jill Scott [live] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-12/You%20Got%20Me%20feat.%20Jill%20Scott%20(live).mp3] Toot's & The Maytals > 54-56 That's My Number [live] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-12/54-46,%20That's%20My%20Number%20(live).mp3] Garbage / The Distillers / No Doubt > Call Me (Blondie cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-12/01%20Call%20Me%20(Live).mp3] LCD Soundsystem > Daft Punk Is Playing At My House [live] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-12/Daft%20Punk%20Is%20Playing%20at%20My%20House%20(live).mp3] Prince > Purple Rain [live at Super Bowl] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-12/Purple%20Rain%20(live%20at%20Super%20Bowl).mp3]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #13

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:59:17 +0000

Kate Nash n'aurait pas fait apparition ici sans avoir repris un morceau des Monkeys ! Les Yeah Yeah Yeahs tiennent une place privilègiée ici, quelque soit le morceau ! Jill Scott est une diva et Norah Jones arrive pas très loin derrière !

Kate Nash > Fluorescent Adolescent (Arctic Monkeys cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-13/02%20Fluorescent%20Adolescent%20(Arctic%20Monkeys%20Cover%20-%20Live%20Lounge).mp3] Yeah Yeah Yeahs > Diamond Sea (Sonic Youth cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-13/Diamond%20Sea%20(Sonic%20Youth).mp3] Jill Scott > Golden (Kenny Dope remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-13/Golden%20(Kenny%20Dope%20Rmx).mp3] Norah Jones > Ocean Noise (Arcade Fire cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-13/Ocean%20of%20Noise%20(Arcade%20Fire%20Cover).mp3]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #14

Sodwee — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 15:57:01 +0000

Des vocales superbement posées pour une belle reprise. Merci Corinne ! Le fameux Hey Ya revisité par Razorlight, un must ! Puis un live sensasssssss de la part des Dire Straits et d'Eric Clapton sur Layla. Et on fini par mon groupe préféré du moment : Les Arctic Monkeys reprennant Love Machine des Girls Aloud (L'équivalent en vraiment moins bien des Spice Girls, oui je sais la comparaison n'est pas flagrante mais cela vous montre à quel point elles sont vraiment nases).

Corinne Bailey Rae > Munich (Editors cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-14/01%20Munich%20(Editors%20cover).mp3] Razorlight > Hey Ya (Outkast cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-14/Hey%20Ya.mp3] Dire Straits & Eric Clapton > Layla [live] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-14/Layla%20(Live).mp3] Arctic Monkeys > Love Machine (Girls Aloud cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-14/Love%20Machine%20(Girls%20Aloud%20cover).MP3]

[poll=8]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #15

Sodwee — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 11:26:58 +0000

Coup de coeur de la journée, Ryan Adams, encore un qui n’aurait pas pu chanter pour moi a un de mes anniversaires… mais c’est bien avec Wonderwall, le classique singalong de Oasis qu’on lui permet de le laisser chanter. Je suis pas d’humeur aujoud’hui alors je vous ai préparé un ptit Moby, il triture complètement Beat It de Wacko… A écouter quand même. Va plutôt faire du thé ! Et pour remonter le moral des troupes féminine postées en Irak, Beth Ditto remixée par Le Tigre !! AHHHHHHHH

TV On The Radio > Staring At The Sun [live] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-15/02%20Staring%20At%20The%20Sun%20%28U2%20Cover%29.mp3] Ryan Adams > Wonderwall (Oasis cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-15/08%20Wonderwall%20%28Oasis%20cover%29.mp3] Michael Jackson > Beat It (Moby remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-15/Beat%20It%20%28Moby%20remix%29.mp3] The Gossip > Standing In The Way Of Control (Le Tigre remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-15/Standing%20in%20the%20Way%20of%20Control.mp3]

[poll=7]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #16

Sodwee — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:51:02 +0000

Un [classic] disco pour aujourd’hui avec Mr. Vain de Culture Beat, vous ne savez pas qui interprête, sans nul doute, mais en l’écoutant vous reconnaitrez instantannément ! Sinon une reprise bien sympathique des Beatles par Oasis avec I Am The Walrus et pour finir une superbe reprise de Graceland par Hot Chip ! En attendant le concert (ou pas) d’Amy Winehouse j’écoute The Gossip en boucle, particulièrement “Listen Up!”. Et vous ?

Culture Beat > Mr. Vain (Mr. House) [classic] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-16/05%20Mr.%20Vain%20%28Mr.%20House%29.mp3] Oasis > I Am The Walrus [live] (Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-16/13%20I%20Am%20The%20Walrus%20%28live%20Beatles%20cover%29.mp3] Hot Chip > Graceland (Paul Simon cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-16/Graceland%20%28Paul%20Simon%20Cover%29.mp3]

[poll=6]

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #17

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:14:00 +0000

Dr DRE détonne vraiment pas mal avec ce remix, paru sur la BO de Goldmember (Austin Powers). La fabuleuse Corinne nous en met plein les oreilles avec la reprise des Racs… 27 ???? Inconnu au bataillon mais surprend aussi ! Et puis un petit mash marrant de deux toxicomaniaques.

The Rolling Stones > Miss You (Dr. DRE remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/02%20Miss%20You%20%28Dr.%20Dre%20Remix%29.mp3] Corinne Bailey Rae > Steady As She Goes (Raconteurs cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/20%20Steady%20As%20She%20Goes%20%28Raconteurs%20Cover%29.mp3] 27 > Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/Crazy%20%28Gnarls%20Barkley%20cover%29.mp3] Britney Spears & Amy Winehouse > Toxic Rehab (mash) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/Toxic%20Rehab.mp3]

[poll=2]

wordpress2007-10-30xml

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:42:26 +0000

http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/disco/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/wordpress2007-10-30xml

Nouveautés…

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:37:02 +0000

Bienvenue sur le tout nouveau www.sodwee.com. Nous avons fusionner discoheat et sodwee.com afin de moins s'éparpiller. Nous posterons donc des news musicales, des infos concerts etc mais surtout et pas des moindre, dans la mesure du possible, nous posterons des MP3 de reprises (covers) et de remixs quotidiennement. Vous avez dès maintenant la possibilité de voter pour votre morceau préféré chaque jour et donner votre avis dans les commentaires ! Notez aussi que vous disposer d'un service gratuit de newsletter ("NewsLTR" dans le menu en haut de la page) afin que vous puisser être informé(e) directement dans votre boîte aux lettres des derniers MP3 mis en ligne, l'inscription prends 20 secondes chrono alors n'hésitez pas !

D O W N L O A D A B L E S W E E T S #18

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:28:22 +0000

Halloween S P E C I A L : *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* En Vogue, ce trio vocal fait désormais partie des années 90. Je les remets sur le plat du jour avec une reprise surprenante de Yesterday des Beatles. Sia, chanteuse australienne qui fait aussi partie du groupe Zero 7, part ici en solo, elle nous offre Paranoïd Androïd de RadioHead. Le chanteur Irlandais Damien Rice est connu pour ses reprises lors de ses concerts, et bien voilà l’une de ses meilleures reprises jusqu’a ce jour : When Doves Cry de Prince. Et pour finir, Shirley Manson nous gâte d’un Wild Horses live lors de l’un des ses concerts avec Garbage. Les Rolling Stones, en reprise c’est quand même le must !

EnVogue > Yesterday (Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-18/09%20Yesterday%20%28Beatles%20cover%29.mp3] Sia > Paranoïd Androïd (Radiohead cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-18/11%20Paranoid%20Android%20%28Radiohead%20cover%29.mp3] Damien Rice > When Doves Cry (Prince cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-18/13%20When%20Doves%20Cry%20%28Prince%20cover%29.mp3] Garbage > Wild Horses (Rolling Stones cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-18/Wild%20Horses%20%28Rolling%20Stones%20cover%29.mp3]

[poll=3]

Kate Moss

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:09:26 +0000

Kate Moss ne touchera pas les Royalties grâce aux Babyshambles

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:11:31 +0000

Selon le Sun (tabloïd anglais), Kate Moss ne voudrait pas toucher les royalties pour les quatres chansons qu'elle aurait co-écrite avec Pete Doherty pour le dernier album des Babyshambles Shotter's Nation. Elle aurait déclaré que tout cela n'avait rien avoir avec l'argent. Qu'elle préférait le savoir dans son coeur plutôt que dans son porte-monnaie.

The Who : une tournée asiatique.

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:20:21 +0000

The Who prévoient de passer par la case Asie pour l'année 2008. Après avoir fait une tournée en Europe il vont s'arrêter de part le Japon puis l'Australie. Il vont aussi sortir un DOCU-DVD dans les mois à venir s'intitulant "Amazing Journey, The Story Of The Who". Un DVD retrçant l'histoire du groupe, de la formation au split et à la reformation.

Un documentaire pour Gorillaz

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:25:55 +0000

Gorillaz, mené par Damon Albarn et Jamie Hewlett, sortira un DVD sur le making-of du groupe, du dessin à la musique : "Bananaz". Ce film a été réalisé par Ceri Levy, producteur du documentaire de 1994 sur Blur. En vous rappelant que Gorillaz est un groupe aux multiples platinum, et qu'il est à l'origine, une petite discussion au restaurant entre les deux créateurs précédemment cités !

Goldfrapp sortira son album le 25 Février 2008

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:29:45 +0000

Selon le myspace du groupe (myspace.com/goldfrapp) le nouvel album de Alison Goldfrapp et de son groupe sortira le 25 février prochain et se nommera "Seventh Tree".

Les sorties notable de la semaine…

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:31:48 +0000

Enter Shikari - 'Take To The Skies'
Buck 65 - 'Situation'
Britney Spears - 'Blackout'
UnkleJam - 'UnkleJam'
Arrested Development - 'Since The Last Time'
Avenged Sevenfold - 'Avenged Sevenfold'
Backstreet Boys - 'Unbreakable'
Various - 'I'm Not There' soundtrack

Oasis doit se retrouver en studio pour le prochain album

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:35:53 +0000

Oasis, le groupe phare des années 90 au Royaume-Uni doit se retrouver aux célèbres studios de Abbey Road pour enregistrer leur prochain album. Ils entrent à Abbey Road le 5 novembre prochain !

Kurt Cobain, n’est plus le mort qui touche le plus de tune !

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:42:07 +0000

Kurt Cobain ne fait plus partie de la fameuse liste des célébrités mortes qui rapportent le plus d'argent. Il a été dépassé par le grand Elvis. Voici la liste de Forbes :

1. Elvis Presley (£29m) 2. John Lennon (£22m) 3. Charles M. Schulz (£17.5m) 4. George Harrison (£11m) 5. Albert Einstein (£9m) 6. Andy Warhol (£7.5m) 7. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) (£7.5m) 8. Tupac Shakur (£4.5m) 9. Marilyn Monroe (£3.5m) 10. Steve McQueen (£3m) 11. James Brown (£2.5m) 12. Bob Marley (£2m) 13. James Dean (£1.7m)

The B-52’s annonce leur premier album depuis 16 ans.

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:51:20 +0000

Selon Zegut, le groupe retrouve sa formation d’origine avec Cindy Wilson, et devrait sortir un album « Funplex » en février prochain. Le guitariste Keith Strickland a déclaré à Rolling Stone « Nous allons faire une tournée et nous avons donc besoin de nouvelles chansons pour le spectacle, nous allons en profiter pour faire un nouvel album. » Les nouveaux titres sont fidèles au style des B-52s 'Pump', 'Love In The Year 3000', 'Deviant Ingredient' et 'Juliet Of The Spirits'. Ils ont déjà testé plusieurs titres en public, et la réaction a été plutôt positive.

DOWNLOADABLES #19

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:29:57 +0000

Après l'énorme succès outre atlantique de Calvin Harris avec Acceptable In The 80's, la voici reprise sans vergogne par The Editors. Autrement une agréable reprise tout en douceur de Smells Like Teen Spirit par Tori Amos et SoundGarden nous offrent Come Together des Beatles un peu plus up-tempo.

The Editors > Acceptable In The 80's (Calvin Harris cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-19/02%20Acceptable%20In%20The%2080s%20(Calvin%20Harris%20cover).mp3] SoundGarden > Come Together (Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-19/03%20Come%20Together%20(Beatles%20Cover).mp3] Tori Amos > Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-19/12%20Smells%20Like%20Teen%20Spirit%20(Nirvana%20cover).mp3]

[poll=4]

Un Gorillaz sur Facebook!

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:14:46 +0000

Un des Gorillaz, plus exactement, le personnage nommé Murdoc Niccals est sur Facebook. Les créateurs du super-faux-groupe ont créé un profil officiel du chanteur animé. Devenez son ami et découvrez des photos de lui quand il était petit !

Timbaland prépare son “Shock Value II”

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:19:08 +0000

Timbaland, le superproducteur, aurait déjà enregistré plusieurs titre pour son "Shock Value II" avec Gwen Stefani, Akon et Linkin Park. Après le succès de son précédent album, on attend le prochain avec impatience. En attendant il travaille sur l'album de sa protégée Keri Hilson avec qui il avait fait un duo sur "The Way I Are" sorti plus tôt cette année.

Brendan Benson, Keane et Lily Allen en trio ce soir !

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:25:39 +0000

Les trois artistes se retrouverons ce soir sur la scène du Brixton Academy à Londres pour un concert de charité aux profits de l'association "War Child". Ils chanterons en duo d'après quelques bonnes sources !

Peter Bjorn & John annonce une tournée nord-américaine

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:30:25 +0000

Peter Bjorn & John, le groupe qui a pondu "Young Folks" le jingle de Louise-Bourgoin-miss-météo-sur-canal-plus, ont annoncé une tournée aux Etats-Unis. Voici les dates :

Houston Warehouse Live (23 Novembre)
Dallas Palladium Ballroom (24 Novembre)
Indianapolis Vogue (27 Novembre)
Cleveland Beachland Ballroom (29 Novembre)
Louisville Headliners Music Hall (30 Novembre)
Cincinnati Bogarts (2 Decembre)
Millvale Mr. Smalls Theatre (3 Decembre)

Hallowinehouse

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:36:42 +0000

Amy Winehouse se transforme en bête de foire pour Halloween... Voici quelques photos récupérées sur internet !

DOWNLOADABLES #20

Sodwee — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:29:57 +0000

Le grand, l’unique Bob est remixé à tout va en ce moment, et sans peine que Mark Ronson, aussi génial producteur de Winehouse, vient ici redonner un peu de glorious noise pour Most Likely You Go Your Way. Muse n’aurait pas été posté ici s’il n’avaient pas été remixé par Soulwax (aussi 2 Many Dj’s) le duo belge, as des platines. Une reprise de Satisfaction par Grateful Dead, ça donne, bah… c’est du gros bruit ! Et pour finir, un superbe mash entre le single de l’année 2006 (selon pitchfork) et le gigantesque Rehab de Winehouse.

Bob Dylan > Most Likely You Go Your Way (Mark Ronson remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-20/01%20Most%20Likely%20You%20Go%20Your%20Way%20%28Mark%20Ronson%20remix%29.mp3] Muse > Muscle Museum (Soulwax remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-20/Muscle%20Museum%20%28Soulwax%20Remix%29.mp3] Grateful Dead > Satisfaction (Rolling Stones cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-20/Satisfaction%20%28Rolling%20Stones%20cover%29.mp3] Peter Bjorn & John VS Amy Winehouse > Young Folks In Rehab (dj Top Cat remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-20/Young%20Folks%20in%20Rehab%20%28DJ%20Top%20Cat%20remix%29.mp3]

[poll=5]

Led Zeppelin reporte son come-back

Sodwee — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:37:10 +0000

Le retour de Led Zeppelin au 02 Arena de Londres le 26 Novembre prochain a été reporté au 10 Décembre. Jimmy Page a subi un accident à un de ses doigts l'obligeant à le laisser aux repos et loin de sa guitare ! Le come-back du légendaire groupe de rock des années 70 est le moment le plus attendus de l'année par beaucoup, les places se sont arrachées à des prix exorbitant. Les fans ne pouvant pas assister au concert le 10 Décembre pourrons se faire rembourser en se présentant au point de vente avant le 14 Novembre à midi. Jimmy Page déclare :

"Je suis déçu de devoir reporter le concert de deux semaines mais Led Zeppelin a toujours placé la barre très haut en ce qui concerne nos concerts, et nous pensons que reporter le concert a été la bonne décision et permettra à mon doigt de se rétablir dans de bonnes conditions et enfin de répondre à nos attentes et à celles des fans pour le concert de notre come-back"

Alicia Keys annonce des concert pour le Royaume-Uni

Sodwee — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:42:43 +0000

La chanteuse R'n'B/Soul sortira son nouvel album le 11 novembre prochain et débutera sa tournée anglo-saxonne le 25 Février 2008 à Glasgow. Voici le reste des dates, elle ajoutera sûrement quelques dates Européennes dans la foulée...

Glasgow SECC (25 Février 2008)
Manchester MEN Arena (26 Février 2008)
Birmingham NIA (28 Février 2008)
London O2 Arena (29 Février 2008)

DISCOHEAT : the teaser

Sodwee — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:18:01 +0000

Voici le teaser pour DISCOHEAT qui circule en ce moment même sur le net : [youtube NmGqH4KtD0c nolink] [ratings]

DOWNLOADABLES #21

Sodwee — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 10:09:43 +0000

Justice nous prouve encore leur pouvoir de rendre une chanson de Justin un peu plus attrayante. Ben Gibbard ??? Mais d'où sort-il ? Mais oui le chanteur de Death Cab For A Cutie et sa reprise de Thriller est une des meilleures que j'ai entendue à ce jour ! Jane's Addiction n'avait pas fait titiller les bafles de mes enceintes depuis un bon bout de temps. Les revoici avec une superbe reprise en live de Sympathy For The Devil des papys du rock : The Rolling Stones. Et pour finir, dans l'étrange et l'innatendu. Willy Mason reprend GrandMaster Flash dans un genre folk !

Justin Timberlake > Lovestoned / I Think She Knows (Justice remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-21/02%20Lovestoned%20I%20Think%20She%20Knows%20(Justice%20Remix).mp3] Ben Gibbard > Thriller (Michael Jackson cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-21/06%20Thriller%20(Michael%20Jackson%20Cover).mp3] Jane's Addiction > Sympathy For The Devil (Rolling Stone cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-21/Sympathy%20For%20The%20Devil%20(Rolling%20Stones%20cover).mp3] Willy Mason > The Message (Grandmaster Flash cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-21/The%20Message%20(Grandmaster%20Flash%20Cover).mp3]

[poll=9]

DOWNLOADABLES #22

Sodwee — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 09:19:49 +0000

Love Will Tear Us Appart est un classique dans le genre, mais Jose Gonzales y ajoute sa touche personelle : c'est du bon ! Arcade Fire toujours "hypemasters" avec une reprise des Smiths : Still Ill...

30 Seconds To Mars > Stronger (Kanye West cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-22/04%20Stronger%20(Kanye%20West%20cover).mp3] Jose Gonzales > Love Will Tear Us Appart (Joy Division cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-22/12%20Love%20Will%20Tear%20Us%20Apart%20(Joy%20Division%20cover).mp3] Bloc Party vs Coldplay > Hunting For Witches In My Place [mash] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-22/Hunting%20For%20Witches%20In%20My%20Place.mp3] The Arcade Fire > Still Ill (The Smiths cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-22/Still%20Ill%20(The%20Smiths%20Cover).mp3]

[poll=10]

The Verve revient après 9 ans d’absence !

Sodwee — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:18:08 +0000

Le groupe The Verve, à l'origine de l'énorme tube "Bittersweet Symphony, est remonter sur scène avant-hier au Glasgow Academy pour un set de 90 minutes non-stop sans première partie. Voici la setlist du concert. Il seront en tournée dès le mois de décembre.

'This is Music'
'Sonnet'
'All In The Mind'
'Weeping Willow'
'Life's An Ocean'
'Space And Time'
'Sit And Wonder' (New Song)
'Velvet Morning'
'Already There'
'Let The Damage Begin'
'A Northern Soul'
'The Drugs Don't Work'
'The Rolling People'
'Bitter Sweet Symphony'
'Man Called Sun'
'Lucky Man'
'Come On

trouver les bons tons…

Sodwee — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:52:47 +0000

Sans connotations aucune, j'ai mis plusieurs jours pour trouver les couleurs, et l'aspect général du site que je voulais. C'est pas si facile que ça de trouver les bonnes couleurs. Je me suis aidé du bien utile "Adobe Kuler" pour trouver le mariage idéal. Cela reste très froid. Comme je les aimes ! Dites-moi ce que vous en pensez en laissant vos commentaires. La photo ci-contre est à créditer au compte de Martin Leroy tout juste parvenu sur FLICKR.com Notez aussi que nous avons ajouter des sondages pour chaque DOWNLOADABLES que nous postons. Ainsi que tous les outils nécéssaires pour vous faciliter le bookmarkage sur technorati, DIGG et consorts afin de faire connaître le site au plus grand nombre. N'hésitez pas à en parler autour de vous!

DOWNLOADABLES #23

Sodwee — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 09:29:43 +0000

AHhhhhhhThe Eels reprennent ZZ Top yyyeeeeeahhh ! Autrement, ne vous attendez à rien de très spécial sur la reprise de Björk "Human Behavior". Mais rien que pour la chanson, elle vaut le détour. Sinon Xiu Xiu, un groupe indie experimental découvre Joy Division... Et pourquoi ne pas poster Brown Sugar en live de Ryan Adams quant on a pu poster son excellent Wonderwall il y a quelques jours ??

The Decemberists > Human Behavior (Björk cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-23/05%20Human%20Behaviour%20(Bjork%20Cover).mp3] Ryan Adams > Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-23/30%20Brown%20Sugar%20(Rolling%20Stone%20cover).mp3] Xiu Xiu > Ceremony (Joy Division cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-23/Ceremony%20(Joy%20Division%20Cover).mp3] The Eels > La Grange (ZZ Top cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-23/La%20Grange%20(ZZ%20Top%20cover).mp3]

[poll=11]

The Police : L’interrogatoire continue.

Sodwee — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:36:09 +0000

Les mémoires du guitariste de Police deviennent un documentaire. Andy Summers prépare un film “One Train Later”, incluant 25 000 photos de la collection du guitariste, ainsi que des images de la tournée actuelle du groupe. Lauren Lazin est en négociation pour la réalisation du film, et Nicolas Cage devrait le produire selon Hollywood Reporter. Le documentaire retracera la vie de Summers depuis son enfance en Angleterre à sa rencontre avec les légendes de la musique, en passant par la reformation de Police. Les producteurs espèrent terminer le film pour le Festival Sundance en 2009. source : Zegut

Ôôôô saint Flash & Contributors

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 03:17:43 +0000

Nous avons ajouter à l'interface une nouveauté qui va réjouir plusieurs de nos visiteurs. Oui, en effet après quelques mails de "feedback" (suggestions constructives proposées par une personne pour un service ou bien délivré) sur le site, les visiteurs voulaient entendre les mp3 avant de les télécharger afin de ne pas perdre de temps... La solution est là et en service : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/03%20Cupid%20(Johnny%20Nash%20cover).mp3] Vous pourrez avoir un aperçu intégral des mp3 proposés. Je vous rappelle que pour télécharger un/plusieurs mp3 depuis le site, faites un clic-droit puis selectionnez "Enregistrer la/le cible/lien sous..." puis choisissez un endroit où vous retrouverez le morceau que vous venez de télécharger... Ajoutez ce dernier à votre bibliothèque iTunes par exemple. Autrement SODWEE.COM recherche des contributeurs pour étoffer le contenu du site. Vous avez la fibre pour tout ce qui est musique en général, vous assister à 18 concerts par jour mais vous ne savez pas comment vous faites. Vous écoutez l’intégralité de votre iPod en moins d’une journée tout en lisant Rock & Folk. Vous achetez vos galettes les yeux fermés. Vous détestez Perez Hilton. Vous avez des écouteurs gréffés à la place des doigts. Alors vous avez le profil idéal pour rejoindre notre équipe. Nous vous attendons. Inscrivez-vous en suivant les instructions après avoir cliquer ici. Ecrivez-nous un article sur l’artiste ou le groupe que vous souhaitez. Pour toutes questions veuillez m’envoyer un email : [contactform]

Arctic Monkeys sortent Teddy Picker

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 03:43:30 +0000

Les Arctic Monkeys, ce quatuor explosif originaire de Sheffield, sortira un single le 3 décembre prochain intitulé "Teddy Picker" sous le label Domino. Les B-sides sont 'Bad Woman’ (une reprise de Pat Farrell And The Believers) avec comme accompagnateur vocal Richard Hawley. Les deux autres morceaux sont 'The Death Ramps’ and 'Nettles’. tag:alexturner,arcticmonkeys

DOWNLOADABLES #24

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:42:41 +0000

Vous connaissez Bloc Party ! Vous connaissez "Banquet", leur lead-track ! Vous ne connaissez pas Slowbear The Great ? C'est tout à fait normal. Découvrez-les avec cette reprise ! Sinon les devenus grands, The Shins, reprennent pour nos ptites oreilles le grand Breathe de Pink Floyd. Sinon comme à peu près tous les 5 jours, une reprise de Bob Dylan. Chez moi, c'est sans modération !

The Shins > Breathe (Pink Floyd cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-24/01%20Breathe%20(Pink%20Floyd%20Cover).mp3]
Cat Power > I Found A Reason (Velvet Underground cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-24/07%20I%20Found%20A%20Reason.mp3]
Slowbear The Great > Banquet (Bloc Party cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-24/Banquet%20(Bloc%20Party%20Cover).mp3]
Willie Nelson & Calexico > Senor (Bob Dylan cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-24/Senor%20(Bob%20Dylan%20cover).mp3]

[poll=12]

RADIOHEAD SIGNE AVEC XL RECORDINGS

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:48:53 +0000

Le dernier album de Radiohead, In Rainbows, fera son atterrissage dans le monde physique grâce au label indépendant XL Recordings. La maison de disques, qui compte dans son catalogue d’autres artistes renommés (The White Stripes), se félicite de cette nouvelle arrivée. Pour Richard Russell, son fondateur, “Radiohead est une source d’inspiration permanente pour nous tous parce qu’ils font immanquablement passer la créativité en priorité. XL est plus qu’honorée de travailler avec Radiohead”.

In Rainbows est sorti le 10 octobre en téléchargement à un prix fixé par l’internaute. 1 200 000 téléchargements auraient été enregistrés le jour-même, avec une moyenne de six euros versés à chaque fois. La version physique de l’album doit voir le jour dans le courant de l’année prochaine. Le groupe n’a annoncé aucune date de concert pour l’instant mais un coffret est prévu pour Noël. Source : CDV

4 morts lors d’un concert de Carl Cox au Vénézuela

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:40:20 +0000

4 morts et 9 bléssés ont été dénombrés lors du set de Carl Cox au Red Noise Festival à La Rinconada Terrace au Vénézuela. Les tirs ont été tirés dix minutes après que Carl Cox ai commencé sont concert par un forcené qui, selon les enquêteurs, ferait partie d'un gang. Une vidéo circule déjà sur internet : [youtube WvnUijWDvAE] Cox à déclaré peu après l'incident :

"Je suis profondément choqué et encore abasourdi par les évènements qui se sont produit samedi dernier. Mes condoléences vont aux victimes qui n'ont malheuresement pas pu échapper à cet acte de barbarie. J'ai été informé que la fusillade provenait d'un membre de gang et que je suis atristé que quelqu'un puisse agir de la sorte dans une soirée où 7000 personnes s'amusent..."

DOWNLOADABLES #24bis

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:25:06 +0000

Je n'ai pas pu resisté, j'ai donc craqué ! QUATRE morceaux de plus pour aujourd'hui parce que ce sont des bombes sonores ! *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

Michael Jackson > Billie Jean (Chemical Brothers remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-28bis/Billy%20Jean%20(Chemical%20Brothers%20remix).mp3] Danni Carlos > Don't Speak (No Doubt cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-28bis/Don't%20Speak%20(No%20Doubt%20cover).mp3] The Ramones > Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-28bis/Have%20You%20Ever%20Seen%20the%20Rain%20(CCR%20cover).mp3] Marie Digby > Makes Me Wonder (Maroon 5 cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-28bis/Makes%20Me%20Wonder%20(Maroon%205%20cover).mp3]

[poll=17]

Becoming a Trolly Dolly

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:54:04 +0000

Hi all, You'll understand that I've just started applying for airlines. The furthest I came to Cabin Crew was attending Emirates Airline Recruitment Open Day on the 24th of November 2007 in Paris. I past all the selection stage and was happy to make it through to Interview Stage after a stressfull, nerve stretching 3 days in a dull, boring hotel in Roissy (CDG Paris airpot closest civilized village). I'm now waiting for my Blessed phone call from Dubai. I'm hoping to join the team early next year if ever I get the job ! For those who would like to join on one of those Open Days, you will have to provide the following :

CV/resume
6 Passport Photo
Full Lenght photo 10x15 cm in Business Attire
2 Full Lenght casual photos
2 Photocopies of the relevant pages of your Passport
1 proof (photocopy) of working with current employer (if any)
Photocopies of your certificates
Your smile & politeness
Your brain.

Prepare yourself for a long day, eat loads while you can, bring some snacks, drinks from local supermarket cause hotel markets are just a rip off. Sleep loads before the actual day. We were approx. 215 at the Paris Open Day (OD). Here are the stages you'll go through (order may change depending on recruiters/location/etc):

Meet Recruiting Officers, give them your CV + Photos
Round 1 > CV shorlisting > Everyone leaves conference room
Everyone goes back in, they hand out congrats or regrets...
Round 2 > One2One with Recruitment Officers, lasts for around 2 minutes > Everyone leaves conference room
Everyone goes back in, they hand out congrats or regrets...
Round 3 > English Test / Personality Test > Everyone leaves conference room
Everyone goes back in, they hand out congrats or regrets...
Round 4 > Group excercise > Everyone leaves conference room
Everyone goes back in, they hand out congrats or regrets...
You're in for you're Final Interview. You may need to do a psychology test which is computerized.
FINAL INTERVIEW > One 2 One for at least 40 minutes

Make sure you are very very well groomed, shaved, short hair, suit, tie, white long sleeved shirt with black shoes. NO MAKE UP (males), light perfume, clean nails/hands. After the final interview you are free to lead your normal life, as Emirates will contact you regarding your job offer might it be a YES! or a NO!

About

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:54:04 +0000

Real Name:

Ben

Sex:

Male

Age:

Birthyear:

1985

Hometown:

Paris, France (CDG)

Currently lives in:

Dubai (DXB)

Political Views:

Apathetic

Religious Views:

Red, black, white stripes.

Interests:

will facebook for food. Paypal accepted : sodwee@gmail.com

Favorite Music:

10 Years, The Academy Is, Adam Green, AFI, The Album Leaf, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead€, Animal Collective, Antony and the Johnsons, Arcade Fire, Architecture In Helsinki, Arco, Artic Monkeys, Arlo Guthrie, the Ataris, Athlete, Azure Ray, Babyshambles, Badly Drawn Boy, the Beatles, Beck, Belle &; , Sebastian, Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, Ben Lee, Black Mountain, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bloc Party, Bob Dylan, Bonnie €œPrince€? Billy, Bound Stems, the Bravery, Bright Eyes, British Sea Power, Broken Social Scene, Bruce Springsteen, Burden Brothers, the Caesars, Caetano Veloso, Cake, Calexico, Captains of Industry, Caribou, Cat Power, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Clash, Clem Snide, Coheed &; , Cambria, Coldplay, Colin Hay, Crooked Fingers, Cursive, Damien Marley, Damien Rice, the Dandy Warhols, Danger Doom, Dashboard Confessional, David Banner, David Bowie, the Dears, Death Cab for Cutie, Death From Above 1979, the Decemberists, Desaparecidos, Devendra Banhart, Dinosaur Jr., Dios (Malos), the Dismemberment Plan, Doves, the Dresden Dolls, Dressy Bessy, Eagles of Death Metal, Editors, Eef Barzelay, Eisley, Elected, Elefant, Elkland, Elliott Smith, Elton John, Eric Metronome, the Faint, Feist, the Fiery Furnaces, Fischerspooner, the Foo Fighters, the Frames, Franz Ferdinand, Gang of Four, the Go! Team, Gomez, the Good Life, Gorillaz, Graham Coxon, Green Day, Guided By Voices, Hawthorne Heights, the Hives, the Hold Steady, The White Stripes, The Raconteurs

Favorite TV Shows:

C'est Pas Sorcier

Favorite Movies:

The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Star Wars, Cidade de Deus, The Usual Suspects, The Matrix, Apocalypse Now, Reservoir Dogs, Full Metal Jacket, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, The Incredibles, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Big Lebowski, Casino Royale, La Haine

Favorite Books:

Perceval, les mystères du CSS, La grande époque du HTML, L'arrivée du Javascript

Favorite Quotations:

Yeah, we cool. Two things. Don't tell nobody about this. This shit is between me, you, and Mr. Soon-To-Be-Living-The-Rest-of-His-Short-Ass-Life-In-Agonizing-Pain Rapist here. It ain't nobody else's business. Two: you leave town tonight, right now. And when you're gone, you stay gone, or you be gone. You lost all your L.A. privileges. Deal? This me a few months ago for a shoot on a Paris roof top. Photo taken by Jeremy Saint-Peyre.

About Me:

I like well balanced proportions. I usually avoid talking to people if I don't appreciate them. I won't spit at anyone, unless you have a very long forehead. I hate underage drinkers. I have issues with automatic vending machines.I do beer. I very rarely speak to non-human species. I love coca-cola. No really, I like most people.

topban2.jpg

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:35:44 +0000

http://teacoffeeorme.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/topban2.jpg

topban.jpg

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:36:48 +0000

http://teacoffeeorme.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/topban.jpg

LAX - LHR - DXB - WTF

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:43:35 +0000

Aberdeen, SD (ABR) Abilene, TX (ABI) Adak Island, AK (ADK) Akiachak, AK (KKI) Akiak, AK (AKI) Akron/Canton, OH (CAK) Akuton, AK (KQA) Alakanuk, AK (AUK) Alamogordo, NM (ALM) Alamosa, CO (ALS) Albany, NY (ALB) Albany, OR - Bus service (CVO) Albany, OR - Bus service (QWY) Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) Aleknagik, AK (WKK) Alexandria, LA (AEX) Allakaket, AK (AET) Allentown, PA (ABE) Alliance, NE (AIA) Alpena, MI (APN) Altoona, PA (AOO) Amarillo, TX (AMA) Ambler, AK (ABL) Anaktueuk, AK (AKP) Anchorage, AK (ANC) Angoon, AK (AGN) Aniak, AK (ANI) Anvik, AK (ANV) Appleton, WI (ATW) Arcata, CA (ACV) Arctic Village, AK (ARC) Asheville, NC (AVL) Ashland, KY/Huntington, WV (HTS) Aspen, CO (ASE) Athens, GA (AHN) Atka, AK (AKB) Atlanta, GA (ATL) Atlantic City, NJ (AIY) Atqasuk, AK (ATK) Augusta, GA (AGS) Augusta, ME (AUG) Austin, TX (AUS)

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Bakersfield, CA (BFL) Baltimore, MD (BWI) Bangor, ME (BGR) Bar Harbour, ME (BHB) Barrow, AK (BRW) Barter Island, AK (BTI) Baton Rouge, LA (BTR) Bay City, MI (MBS) Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX (BPT) Beaver Creek, CO - Van service (ZBV) Beaver, AK (WBQ) Beckley, WV (BKW) Bedford, MA (BED) Belleville, IL (BLV) Bellingham, WA (BLI) Bemidji, MN (BJI) Benton Harbor, MI (BEH) Bethel, AK (BET) Bethlehem, PA (ABE) Bettles, AK (BTT) Billings, MT (BIL) Biloxi/Gulfport, MS (GPT) Binghamton, NY (BGM) Birch Creek, AK (KBC) Birmingham, AL (BHM) Bismarck, ND (BIS) Block Island, RI (BID) Bloomington, IL (BMI) Bluefield, WV (BLF) Boise, ID (BOI) Boston, MA (BOS) Boulder, CO - Bus service (XHH) Boulder, CO - Hiltons Har H (WHH) Boulder, CO - Municipal Airport (WBU) Boundary, AK (BYA) Bowling Green, KY (BWG) Bozeman, MT (BZN) Bradford, PA (BFD) Brainerd, MN (BRD) Brawnwood, TX (BWD) Breckenridge, CO - Van service (QKB) Bristol, VA (TRI) Brookings, SD (BKX) Brooks Lodge, AK (RBH) Brownsville, TX (BRO) Brunswick, GA (BQK) Buckland, AK (BKC) Buffalo, NY (BUF) Bullhead City/Laughlin, AZ (IFP) Burbank, CA (BUR) Burlington, IA (BRL) Burlington, VT (BTV) Butte, MT (BTM)

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Canton/Akron, OH (CAK) Cape Girardeau, MO (CGI) Cape Lisburne, AK (LUR) Cape Newenham, AK (EHM) Carbondale, IL (MDH) Carlsbad, CA (CLD) Carlsbad, NM (CNM) Carmel, CA (MRY) Casper, WY (CPR) Cedar City, UT (CDC) Cedar Rapids, IA (CID) Central, AK (CEM) Chadron, NE (CDR) Chalkyitsik, AK (CIK) Champaign/Urbana, IL (CMI) Charleston, SC (CHS) Charleston, WV (CRW) Charlotte, NC (CLT) Charlottesville, VA (CHO) Chattanooga, TN (CHA) Chefornak, AK (CYF) Chevak, AK (VAK) Cheyenne, WY (CYS) Chicago, IL - All airports (CHI) Chicago, IL - Midway (MDW) Chicago, IL - O'Hare (ORD) Chicken, AK (CKX) Chico, CA (CIC) Chignik, AK - Fisheries (KCG) Chignik, AK - (KCQ) Chignik, AK - Lagoon (KCL) Chisana, AK (CZN) Chisholm/Hibbing, MN (HIB) Chuathbaluk, AK (CHU) Cincinnati, OH (CVG) Circle Hot Springs, AK (CHP) Circle, AK (IRC) Clarks Point, AK (CLP) Clarksburg, WV (CKB) Clearwater/St Petersburg, FL (PIE) Cleveland, OH (CLE) Clovis, NM (CVN) Cody/Yellowstone, WY (COD) Coffee Point, AK (CFA) Coffman Cove, AK (KCC) Cold Bay, AK (CDB) College Station, TX (CLL) Colorado Springs, CO (COS) Columbia, MO (COU) Columbia, SC (CAE) Columbus, GA (CSG) Columbus, MS (GTR) Columbus, OH (CMH) Concord, CA (CCR) Concordia, KS (CNK) Copper Mountain, CO - Van service (QCE) Cordova, AK (CDV) Corpus Christi, TX (CRP) Cortez, CO (CEZ) Craig, AK (CGA) Crescent City, CA (CEC) Crooked Creek, AK (CKO) Cube Cove, AK (CUW) Cumberland, MD (CBE)

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Dallas, TX - Love Field (DAL) Dallas, TX - Dallas/Ft Worth Intl. (DFW) Dayton, OH (DAY) Daytona Beach, FL (DAB) Decatur, IL (DEC) Deering, AK (DRG) Del Reo, TX (DRT) Delta Junction, AK (DJN) Denver, CO - International (DEN) Denver, CO - Longmont Bus service (QWM) Des Moines, IA (DSM) Detroit, MI - All airports (DTT) Detroit, MI - Metro/Wayne County (DTW) Devil's Lake, ND (DVL) Dickinson, ND (DIK) Dillingham, AK (DLG) Dodge City, KS (DDC) Dothan, AL (DHN) Dubois, PA (DUJ) Dubuque, IA (DBQ) Duluth, MN (DLH) Durango, CO (DRO) Durham, NC (RDU) Durham/Raleigh, NC (RDU) Dutch Harbor, AK (DUT)

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Easton, PA (ABE) Eau Claire, WI (EAU) Edna Bay, AK (EDA) Eek, AK (EEK) Ekuk, AK (KKU) Ekwok, AK (KEK) El Centro, CA (IPL) El Dorado, AR (ELD) El Paso, TX (ELP) Elfin Cove, AK (ELV) Elim, AK (ELI) Elko, NV (EKO) Elmira, NY (ELM) Ely, MN (LYU) Emmonak, AK (EMK) Endicott, NY (BGM) Enid, OK (WDG) Erie, PA (ERI) Escanaba, MI (ESC) Eugene, OR (EUG) Eureka/Arcata, CA (ACV) Eureka, NV (EUE) Evansville, IN (EVV)

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Fairbanks, AK (FAI) Fargo, ND (FAR) Farmington, NM (FMN) Fayetteville, AR - Municipal/Drake (FYV) Fayetteville, AR - Northwest Arkansas Regional (XNA) Fayetteville, NC (FAY) Flagstaff, AZ (FLG) Flint, MI (FNT) Florence, SC (FLO) Florence/Muscle Shoals/Sheffield, AL (MSL) Fort Collins/Loveland, CO - Municipal Airport (FNL) Fort Collins/Loveland, CO - Bus service (QWF) Fort Dodge, IA (FOD) Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) Fort Leonard Wood, MO (TBN) Fort Myers, FL (RSW) Fort Smith, AR (FSM) Fort Walton Beach, FL (VPS) Fort Wayne, IN (FWA) Fort Worth/Dallas, TX (DFW) Franklin, PA (FKL) Fresno, CA (FAT)

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Gainesville, FL (GNV) Gallup, NM (GUP) Garden City, KS (GCK) Gary, IN (GYY) Gillette, WY (GCC) Gladewater/Kilgore, TX (GGG) Glasgow, MT (GGW) Glendive, MT (GDV) Golovin, AK (GLV) Goodnews Bay, AK (GNU) Grand Canyon, AZ - Heliport (JGC) Grand Canyon, AZ - National Park (GCN) Grand Forks, ND (GFK) Grand Island, NE (GRI) Grand Junction, CO (GJT) Grand Rapids, MI (GRR) Grand Rapids, MN (GPZ) Grayling, AK (KGX) Great Falls, MT (GTF) Green Bay, WI (GRB) Greensboro, NC (GSO) Greenville, MS (GLH) Greenville, NC (PGV) Greenville/Spartanburg, SC (GSP) Groton/New London, CT (GON) Gulfport, MS (GPT) Gunnison, CO (GUC) Gustavus, AK (GST)

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Hagerstown, MD (HGR) Hailey, ID (SUN) Haines, AK (HNS) Hampton, VA (PHF) Hana, HI - Island of Maui (HNM) Hanapepe, HI (PAK) Hancock, MI (CMX) Hanover, NH (LEB) Harlingen, TX (HRL) Harrisburg, PA (MDT) Harrison, AR (HRO) Hartford, CT (BDL) Havasupai, AZ (HAE) Havre, MT (HVR) Hayden, CO (HDN) Hays, KS (HYS) Healy Lake, AK (HKB) Helena, MT (HLN) Hendersonville, NC (AVL) Hibbing/Chisholm, MN (HIB) Hickory, NC (HKY) High Point, NC (GSO) Hilo, HI - Island of Hawaii (ITO) Hilton Head, SC (HHH) Hobbs, NM (HBB) Hollis, AK (HYL) Holy Cross, AK (HCR) Homer, AK (HOM) Honolulu, HI - Island of Oahu (HNL) Hoolehua, HI - Island of Molokai (MKK) Hoonah, AK (HNH) Hooper Bay, AK (HPB) Hot Springs, AR (HOT) Houston, TX - All airports (HOU) Houston, TX - Hobby (HOU) Houston, TX - Intercontinental (IAH) Hughes, AK (HUS) Huntington, WV/Ashland, KY (HTS) Huntsville, AL (HSV) Huron, SD (HON) Huslia, AK (HSL) Hyannis, MA (HYA) Hydaburg, AK (HYG)

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Idaho Falls, ID (IDA) Igiugig, AK (IGG) Iliamna, AK (ILI) Imperial, CA (IPL) Indianapolis, IN (IND) International Falls, MN (INL) Inyokern, CA (IYK) Iron Mountain, MI (IMT) Ironwood, MI (IWD) Islip, NY (ISP) Ithaca, NY (ITH)

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Jackson Hole, WY (JAC) Jackson, MS (JAN) Jackson, TN (MKL) Jacksonville, FL (JAX) Jacksonville, NC (OAJ) Jamestown, ND (JMS) Jamestown, NY (JHW) Janesville, WI (JVL) Johnson City, NY (BGM) Johnson City, TN (TRI) Johnstown, PA (JST) Jonesboro, AR (JBR) Joplin, MO (JLN) Juneau, AK (JNU)

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Kahului, HI - Island of Maui, (OGG) Kake, AK (KAE) Kakhonak, AK (KNK) Kalamazoo, MI (AZO) Kalaupapa, HI - Island of Molokai, (LUP) Kalskag, AK (KLG) Kaltag, AK (KAL) Kamuela, HI - Island of Hawaii, (MUE) Kansas City, MO (MCI) Kapalua, HI - Island of Maui, (JHM) Kasaan, AK (KXA) Kasigluk, AK (KUK) Kauai Island/Lihue, HI (LIH) Kearney, NE (EAR) Keene, NH (EEN) Kenai, AK (ENA) Ketchikan, AK (KTN) Key West, FL (EYW) Keystone, CO - Van service (QKS) Kiana, AK (IAN) Kilgore/Gladewater, TX (GGG) Killeen, TX (ILE) King Cove, AK (KVC) King Salmon, AK (AKN) Kingman, AZ (IGM) Kingsport, TN (TRI) Kipnuk, AK (KPN) Kirksville, MO (IRK) Kivalina, AK (KVL) Klamath Falls, OR (LMT) Klawock, AK (KLW) Knoxville, TN (TYS) Kobuk, AK (OBU) Kodiak, AK (ADQ) Kona, HI - Island of Hawaii (KOA) Kongiganak, AK (KKH) Kotlik, AK (KOT) Kotzebue, AK (OTZ) Koyukuk, AK (KYU) Kwethluk, AK (KWT) Kwigillingok, AK (KWK)

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La Crosse, WI (LSE) Lafayette, IN (LAF) Lafayette, LA (LFT) Lake Charles, LA (LCH) Lake Havasu City, AZ (HII) Lake Minchumina, AK (LMA) Lanai City, HI - Island of Lanai (LNY) Lancaster, PA (LNS) Lansing, MI (LAN) Laramie, WY (LAR) Laredo, TX (LRD) Las Vegas, NV (LAS) Latrobe, PA (LBE) Laurel, MS (PIB) Lawton, OK (LAW) Lebanon, NH (LEB) Levelock, AK (KLL) Lewisburg, WV (LWB) Lewiston, ID (LWS) Lewistown, MT (LWT) Lexington, KY (LEX) Liberal, KS (LBL) Lihue, HI - Island of Kaui (LIH) Lincoln, NE (LNK) Little Rock, AR (LIT) Long Beach, CA (LGB) Longview, TX (GGG) Lopez Island, WA (LPS) Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Louisville, KY (SDF) Loveland/Fort Collins, CO - Municipal Airport (FNL) Loveland/Fort Collins, CO - Bus service (QWF) Lubbock, TX (LBB)

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Macon, GA (MCN) Madison, WI (MSN) Madras, OR (MDJ) Manchester, NH (MHT) Manhattan, KS (MHK) Manistee, MI (MBL) Mankato, MN (MKT) Manley Hot Springs, AK (MLY) Manokotak, AK (KMO) Marietta, OH/Parkersburg, WV (PKB) Marion, IL (MWA) Marquette, MI (MQT) Marshall, AK (MLL) Martha's Vineyard, MA (MVY) Martinsburg, PA (AOO) Mason City, IA (MCW) Massena, NY (MSS) Maui, HI (OGG) Mcallen, TX (MFE) Mccook, NE (MCK) Mcgrath, AK (MCG) Medford, OR (MFR) Mekoryuk, AK (MYU) Melbourne, FL (MLB) Memphis, TN (MEM) Merced, CA (MCE) Meridian, MS (MEI) Metlakatla, AK (MTM) Meyers Chuck, AK (WMK) Miami, FL - International (MIA) Miami, FL - Sea Plane Base (MPB) Midland, MI (MBS) Midland/Odessa, TX (MAF) Miles City, MT (MLS) Milwaukee, WI (MKE) Minneapolis, MN (MSP) Minot, ND (MOT) Minto, AK (MNT) Mission, TX (MFE) Missoula, MT (MSO) Moab, UT (CNY) Mobile, AL (MOB) Modesto, CA (MOD) Moline, IL (MLI) Monroe, LA (MLU) Monterey, CA (MRY) Montgomery, AL (MGM) Montrose, CO (MTJ) Morgantown, WV (MGW) Moses Lake, WA (MWH) Mountain Home, AR (WMH) Mountain Village, AK (MOU) Muscle Shoals, AL (MSL) Muskegon, MI (MKG) Myrtle Beach, SC (MYR)

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Nantucket, MA (ACK) Napakiak, AK (WNA) Napaskiak, AK (PKA) Naples, FL (APF) Nashville, TN (BNA) Naukiti, AK (NKI) Nelson Lagoon, AK (NLG) New Chenega, AK (NCN) New Haven, CT (HVN) New Koliganek, AK (KGK) New London/Groton (GON) New Orleans, LA (MSY) New Stuyahok, AK (KNW) New York, NY - All airports (NYC) New York, NY - Kennedy (JFK) New York, NY - La Guardia (LGA) Newark, NJ (EWR) Newburgh/Stewart Field, NY (SWF) Newport News, VA (PHF) Newtok, AK (WWT) Nightmute, AK (NME) Nikolai, AK (NIB) Nikolski, AK (IKO) Noatak, AK (WTK) Nome, AK (OME) Nondalton, AK (NNL) Noorvik, AK (ORV) Norfolk, NE (OFK) Norfolk, VA (ORF) North Bend, OR (OTH) North Platte, NE (LBF) Northway, AK (ORT) Nuiqsut, AK (NUI) Nulato, AK (NUL) Nunapitchuk, AK (NUP)

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Oakland, CA (OAK) Odessa/Midland, TX (MAF) Ogdensburg, NY (OGS) Oklahoma City, OK (OKC) Omaha, NE (OMA) Ontario, CA (ONT) Orange County, CA (SNA) Orlando, FL - Herndon (ORL) Orlando, FL - International (MCO) Oshkosh, WI (OSH) Ottumwa, IA (OTM) Owensboro, KY (OWB) Oxnard/Ventura, CA (OXR)

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Paducah, KY (PAH) Page, AZ (PGA) Palm Springs, CA (PSP) Panama City, FL (PFN) Parkersburg, WV/Marietta, OH (PKB) Pasco, WA (PSC) Pedro Bay, AK (PDB) Pelican, AK (PEC) Pellston, MI (PLN) Pendleton, OR (PDT) Pensacola, FL (PNS) Peoria, IL (PIA) Perryville, AK (KPV) Petersburg, AK (PSG) Philadelphia, PA - International (PHL) Philadelphia, PA - Trenton/Mercer NJ (TTN) Phoenix, AZ (PHX) Pierre, SD (PIR) Pilot Point, AK - Ugashnik Bay (UGB) Pilot Point, AK (PIP) Pilot Station, AK (PQS) Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) Platinum, AK (PTU) Plattsburgh, NY (PLB) Pocatello, ID (PIH) Point Baker, AK (KPB) Point Hope, AK (PHO) Point Lay, AK (PIZ) Ponca City, OK (PNC) Ponce, Puerto Rico (PSE) Port Alsworth, AK (PTA) Port Angeles, WA (CLM) Port Arthur/Beaumont, TX (BPT) Port Clarence, AK (KPC) Port Heiden, AK (PTH) Port Moller, AK (PML) Port Protection, AK (PPV) Portage Creek, AK (PCA) Portland, ME (PWM) Portland, OR (PDX) Portsmouth, NH (PSM) Poughkeepsie, NY (POU) Prescott, AZ (PRC) Presque Isle, ME (PQI) Princeton, WV (BLF) Providence, RI (PVD) Provincetown, MA (PVC) Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse, AK (SCC) Pueblo, CO (PUB) Pullman, WA (PUW)

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Quincy, IL (UIN) Quinhagak, AK (KWN)

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Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) Rampart, AK (RMP) Rapid City, SD (RAP) Reading, PA (RDG) Red Devil, AK (RDV) Redding, CA (RDD) Redmond, OR (RDM) Reno, NV (RNO) Rhinelander, WI, (RHI) Richmond, VA (RIC) Riverton, WY (RIW) Roanoke, VA (ROA) Roche Harbor, WA (RCE) Rochester, MN (RST) Rochester, NY (ROC) Rock Springs, WY (RKS) Rockford, IL (RFD) Rockland, ME (RKD) Rosario, WA (RSJ) Roswell, NM (ROW) Ruby, AK (RBY) Russian Mission, AK (RSH) Rutland, VT (RUT)

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Sacramento, CA (SMF) Saginaw, MI (MBS) Saint Cloud, MN (STC) Saint George Island, AK (STG) Saint George, UT (SGU) Saint Louis, MO (STL) Saint Mary's, AK (KSM) Saint Michael, AK (SMK) Saint Paul Island, AK (SNP) Salem, OR (SLE) Salina, KS (SLN) Salisbury-Ocean City, MD (SBY) Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) San Angelo, TX (SJT) San Antonio, TX (SAT) San Diego, CA (SAN) San Francisco, CA (SFO) San Jose, CA (SJC) San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) San Luis Obispo, CA (SBP) Sand Point, AK (SDP) Sanford, FL (SFB) Santa Ana, CA (SNA) Santa Barbara, CA (SBA) Santa Fe, NM (SAF) Santa Maria, CA (SMX) Santa Rosa, CA (STS) Saranac Lake, NY (SLK) Sarasota, FL (SRQ) Sault Ste Marie, MI, (CIU) Savannah, GA (SAV) Savoonga, AK (SVA) Scammon Bay, AK (SCM) Scottsbluff, NE (BFF) Scranton, PA (AVP) Seattle, WA - Lake Union SPB (LKE) Seattle, WA - Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA) Selawik, AK (WLK) Seward, AK (SWD) Shageluk, AK (SHX) Shaktoolik, AK (SKK) Sheffield/Florence/Muscle Shoals, AL (MSL) Sheldon Point, AK (SXP) Sheridan, WY (SHR) Shishmaref, AK (SHH) Shreveport, LA (SHV) Shungnak, AK (SHG) Silver City, NM (SVC) Sioux City, IA (SUX) Sioux Falls, SD (FSD) Sitka, AK (SIT) Skagway, AK (SGY) Sleetmore, AK (SLQ) South Bend, IN (SBN) South Naknek, AK (WSN) Southern Pines, NC (SOP) Spartanburg/Greenville, SC (GSP) Spokane, WA (GEG) Springfield, IL (SPI) Springfield, MO (SGF) St Petersburg/Clearwater, FL (PIE) State College/University Park, PA (SCE) Staunton, VA (SHD) Steamboat Springs, CO (SBS) Stebbins, AK (WBB) Stevens Point/Wausau, WI (CWA) Stevens Village, AK (SVS) Stewart Field/Newburgh, NY (SWF) Stockton, CA (SCK) Stony River, AK (SRV) Sun Valley, ID (SUN) Syracuse, NY (SYR)

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Takotna, AK (TCT) Talkeetna, AK (TKA) Tallahassee, FL (TLH) Tampa, FL (TPA) Tanana, AK (TAL) Taos, NM (TSM) Tatitlek, AK (TEK) Teller Mission, AK (KTS) Telluride, CO (TEX) Tenakee Springs, AK (TKE) Terre Haute, IN (HUF) Tetlin, AK (TEH) Texarkana, AR (TXK) Thief River Falls, MN (TVF) Thorne Bay, AK (KTB) Tin City, AK (TNC) Togiak Village, AK (TOG) Tok, AK (TKJ) Toksook Bay, AK (OOK) Toledo, OH (TOL) Topeka, KS (FOE) Traverse City, MI (TVC) Trenton/Mercer, NJ (TTN) Tucson, AZ (TUS) Tulsa, OK (TUL) Tuluksak, AK (TLT) Tuntutuliak, AK (WTL) Tununak, AK (TNK) Tupelo, MS (TUP) Tuscaloosa, AL (TCL) Twin Falls, ID (TWF) Twin Hills, AK (TWA) Tyler, TX (TYR)

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Unalakleet, AK (UNK) Urbana/Champaign, IL (CMI) Utica, NY (UCA) Utopia Creek, AK (UTO)

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Vail, CO - Eagle County Airport (EGE) Vail, CO - Van service (QBF) Valdez, AK (VDZ) Valdosta, GA (VLD) Valparaiso, FL (VPS) Venetie, AK (VEE) Ventura/Oxnard, CA (OXR) Vernal, UT (VEL) Victoria, TX (VCT) Visalia, CA (VIS)

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Waco, TX (ACT) Wainwright, AK (AIN) Wales, AK (WAA) Walla Walla, WA (ALW) Washington DC - All airports (WAS) Washington DC - Dulles (IAD) Washington DC - National (DCA) Waterfall, AK (KWF) Waterloo, IA (ALO) Watertown, NY (ART) Watertown, SD (ATY) Wausau/Stevens Point, WI (CWA) Wenatchee, WA (EAT) West Palm Beach, FL (PBI) West Yellowstone, MT (WYS) Westchester County, NY (HPN) Westerly, RI (WST) Westsound, WA (WSX) Whale Pass, AK (WWP) White Mountain, AK (WMO) White River, VT (LEB) Wichita Falls, TX (SPS) Wichita, KS (ICT) Wilkes Barre, PA (AVP) Williamsburg, VA (PHF) Williamsport, PA (IPT) Williston, ND (ISN) Wilmington, NC (ILM) Windsor Locks, CT (BDL) Worcester, MA (ORH) Worland, WY (WRL) Wrangell, AK (WRG)

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Yakima, WA (YKM) Yakutat, AK (YAK) Yellowstone/Cody, WY (COD) Youngstown, OH (YNG) Yuma, AZ (YUM)

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Canadian Provinces

AB - Alberta BC - British Columbia MB - Manitoba NB - New Brunswick NL - Newfoundland NS - Nova Scotia NT - Northwest Territory NU - Nunavut ON - Ontario PE - Prince Edward Island QC - Quebec SK - Saskatchewan YT - Yukon Territory Abbotsford, BC (YXX) Akulivik, QC (AKV) Aldershot, ON - Rail service (XLY) Alexandria,ON - Rail service (XFS) Alma, QC (YTF) Anahim Lake, BC (YAA) Angling Lake, ON (YAX) Arctic Bay, NU (YAB) Arviat, NU (YEK) Attawapiskat, ON (YAT) Aupaluk, QC (YPJ) Bagotville, QC (YBG) Baie Comeau, QC (YBC) Baker Lake, NU (YBK) Bathhurst, NB (ZBF) Bearskin Lake, ON (XBE) Bella Bella, BC (ZEL) Bella Coola, BC (QBC) Belleville, ON - Rail service (XVV) Berens River, MB (YBV) Big Trout, ON (YTL) Black Tickle, NL (YBI) Blanc Sablon, QC (YBX) Bonaventure, QC (YVB) Brampton, ON - Rail service (XPN) Brandon, MB (YBR) Brantford, ON - Rail service (XFV) Brochet, MB (YBT) Brockville, ON (XBR) Burns Lake, BC (YPZ) Calgary, AB (YYC) Cambridge Bay, NU (YCB) Campbell River, BC (YBL) Campbellton, NB - Rail service (XAZ) Cape Dorset, NU (YTE) Capreol, ON - Rail service (XAW) Cartwright, NL (YRF) Casselman, ON - Rail service (XZB) Castlegar, BC (YCG) Cat Lake, ON (YAC) Chambord, QC - Rail service (XCI) Chandler, QC - Rail service (XDL) Chapleau, ON (YLD) Charlottetown, NL (YHG) Charlottetown, PE (YYG) Chatham, ON (XCM) Chemainus, BC - Rail service (XHS) Chesterfield Inlet, NU (YCS) Chevery, QC (YHR) Chibougamau, QC (YMT) Chisasibi, QC (YKU) Churchill Falls, NL (ZUM) Churchill, MB - Rail service (XAD) Churchill, MB (YYQ) Clyde River, NU (YCY) Cobourg, ON - Rail service (XGJ) Colville Lake, NT (YCK) Comox, BC (YQQ) Coral Harbour, NU (YZS) Cornwall, ON (YCC) Coteau, QC - Rail service (XGK) Courtenay, BC (YCA) Cranbrook, BC (YXC) Cross Lake, MB (YCR) Dauphin, MB (YDN) Davis Inlet, NL (YDI) Dawson City, YT (YDA) Dawson Creek, BC (YDQ) Deer Lake, NL (YDF) Deer Lake, ON (YVZ) Deline, NT (YWJ) Drummondville, QC - Rail service (XDM) Dryden, ON (YHD) Duncan/Quam, BC (DUQ) East Main, QC (ZEM) Edmonton, AB - Rail service (XZL) Edmonton, AB - International (YEG) Esquimalt, BC (YPF) Flin Flon, MB (YFO) Fond du Lac, SK (ZFD) Fort Albany, ON (YFA) Fort Chipewyan, AB (YPY) Fort Frances, ON (YAG) Fort Good Hope, NT (YGH) Fort Hope, ON (YFH) Fort Mcmurray, AB (YMM) Fort Nelson, BC (YYE) Fort Severn, ON (YER) Fort Simpson, NT (YFS) Fort Smith, NT (YSM) Fort St John, BC (YXJ) Fox Harbour/St Lewis, NL (YFX) Fredericton Junction, NB - Rail service (XFC) Fredericton, NB (YFC) Gander, NL (YQX) Gaspe, QC - Rail service (XDD) Gaspe, QC (YGP) Georgetown, ON - Rail service (XHM) Gethsemani, QC (ZGS) Gillam, MB (YGX) Gillies Bay, BC (YGB) Gjoa Haven, NU (YHK) Glencoe, ON - Rail service (XZC) Gods Narrows, MB (YGO) Gods River, MB (ZGI) Goose Bay, NL (YYR) Grande Prairie, AB (YQU) Grimsby, ON (XGY) Grise Fiord, NU (YGZ) Guelph, ON - Rail service (XIA) Halifax, NS - Rail service (XDG) Halifax, NS - International (YHZ) Hall Beach, NU (YUX) Hamilton, ON (YHM) Havre St Pierre, QC (YGV) Hay River, NT (YHY) Hervey, QC - Rail service (XDU) High Level, AB (YOJ) Holman, NT (YHI) Hopedale, NL (YHO) Houston, BC - Bus station (ZHO) Hudson Bay, SK (YHB) Igloolik, NU (YGT) Iles De La Madeleine, QC (YGR) Ilford, MB (ILF) Ingersoll, ON - Rail service (XIB) Inukjuak, QC (YPH) Inuvik, NT (YEV) Iqaluit, NU (YFB) Island Lake/Garden Hill (YIV) Ivujivik, QC (YIK) Jasper, AB - Rail service (XDH) Joliette, QC - Rail service (XJL) Jonquiere, QC - Rail service (XJQ) Kamloops, BC (YKA) Kangiqsualujjuaq, QC (XGR) Kangiqsujuaq, QC (YWB) Kangirsuk, QC (YKG) Kapuskasing, ON (YYU) Kasabonika, ON (XKS) Kaschechewan, ON (ZKE) Keewaywin, ON (KEW) Kegaska, QC (ZKG) Kelowna, BC (YLW) Kenora, ON (YQK) Kimmirut/Lake Harbour NU (YLC) Kingfisher Lake, ON (KIF) Kingston, ON - Rail service (XEG) Kingston, ON - Norman Rogers Airport (YGK) Kitchener, ON (YKF) Klemtu, BC (YKT) Kugaaruk, NU (YBB) Kugluktuk/Coppermine, NU (YCO) Kuujjuaq, QC (YVP) Kuujjuarapik, QC (YGW) La Grande, QC (YGL) La Ronge, SK (YVC) La Tabatiere, QC (ZLT) La Tuque, QC (YLQ) Lac Brochet, MB (XLB) Lac Edouard, QC - Rail service (XEE) Ladysmith, BC - Rail service (XEH) Langford, BC - Rail service (XEJ) Lansdowne House, ON (YLH) Leaf Rapids, MB (YLR) Lethbridge, AB (YQL) Lloydminister, AB (YLL) London, ON - Rail service (XDQ) London, ON - Municipal Airport (YXU) Lutselke/Snowdrift, NT (YSG) Mary's Harbour, NL (YMH) Maxville, ON - Rail service (XID) Medicine Hat, AB (YXH) Melville, SK - Rail service (XEK) Miramichi, NB - Rail service (XEY) Moncton, NB - Rail service (XDP) Moncton, NB - Airport (YQM) Mont Joli, QC (YYY) Montreal, QC - Dorval Rail service (XAX) Montreal, QC - Downtown Rail service (YMY) Montreal, QC - St Lambert Rail service (XLM) Montreal, QC - all airports (YMQ) Montreal, QC - Dorval (YUL) Montreal, QC - Mirabel (YMX) Moosonee, ON (YMO) Muskrat Dam, ON (MSA) Nain, NL (YDP) Nakina, ON (YQN) Nanaimo, BC - Harbour Airport (ZNA) Nanaimo, BC - Cassidy Airport (YCD) Nanisivik, NU (YSR) Napanee, ON - Rail service (XIF) Natashquan, QC (YNA) Nemiscau, QC (YNS) New Carlisle, QC - Rail service (XEL) New Richmond, QC - Rail service (XEM) Niagara Falls, ON - Rail service (XLV) Noranda/Rouyn, QC (YUY) Norman Wells, NT (YVQ) North Bay, ON (YYB) North Spirit Lake, ON (YNO) Norway House, MB (YNE) Ogoki, ON (YOG) Old Crow, YT (YOC) Opapamiska Lake, ON (YBS) Oshawa, ON (YOO) Ottawa, ON - Rail service (XDS) Ottawa, ON - International (YOW) Oxford House, MB (YOH) Pakuashipi, QC (YIF) Pangnirtung, NU (YXP) Parent, QC - Rail service (XFE) Parksville, BC - Rail service (XPB) Paulatuk, NT (YPC) Peace River, AB (YPE) Peawanuck, ON (YPO) Pembroke, ON (YTA) Penticton, BC (YYF) Perce, QC - Rail service (XFG) Pickle Lake, ON (YPL) Pikangikum, ON (YPM) Pointe-aux-Trembles, QC - Rail service (XPX) Points North Landing, SK (YNL) Pond Inlet, NU (YIO) Poplar Hill, ON (YHP) Port Alberni, BC (YPB) Port Hardy, BC (YZT) Port Hope Simpson, NL (YHA) Port Meiner, QC (YPN) Postville, NL (YSO) Povungnituk, QC (YPX) Powell River, BC (YPW) Prescott, ON - Rail service (XII) Prince Albert, SK (YPA) Prince George, BC - Rail service (XDV) Prince George, BC (YXS) Prince Rupert, BC - Rail service (XDW) Prince Rupert, BC - Digby Island Airport (YPR) Pukatawagan, MB - (XPK) Qikiqtarjuaq, NU (YVM) Qualicum, BC (XQU) Quaqtaq, QC (YQC) Quebec, QC - International Airport (YQB) Quebec, QC - Charny Rail service (YFZ) Quebec, QC - Levis Rail service (XLK) Quebec, QC - Quebec Station Rail service (XLJ) Quebec, QC - Sainte-Foy Rail service (XFY) Quesnel, BC (YQZ) Rae Lakes, NT (YRA) Rainbow Lake, AB (YOP) Rankin Inlet, NU (YRT) Red Lake, ON (YRL) Red Sucker Lake, MB (YRS) Regina, SK (YQR) Repulse Bay, NU (YUT) Resolute, NU (YRB) Rigolet, NL (YRG) Rimouski, QC (YXK) Riviere-a-Pierre, QC - Rail service (XRP) Roberval, QC (YRJ) Round Lake, ON (ZRJ) Rouyn/Noranda, QC (YUY) Sachigo Lake, ON (ZPB) Sachs Harbour, NT (YSY) Sackville, NB - Rail service (XKV) Saint Hyacinthe, QC - Rail service (XIM) Saint John, NB (YSJ) Saint Johns, NL (YYT) Saint Leonard, NB (YSL) Salluit, QC (YZG) Sandy Lake, ON (ZSJ) Sanikiluaq, NU (YSK) Sarnia, ON - Rail service (XDX) Sarnia, ON (YZR) Saskatoon, SK (YXE) Sault Ste-Marie, ON (YAM) Schefferville, QC (YKL) Senneterre, QC - Rail service (XFK) Sept-Iles, QC (YZV) Shamattawa, MB (ZTM) Shawinigan, QC - Rail service (XFL) Shawnigan, BC - Rail service (XFM) Sioux Lookout, ON (YXL) Smith Falls, ON (YSH) Smithers, BC (YYD) Snare Lake, NT (YFJ) South Indian Lake, MB (XSI) St Anthony, NL (YAY) St Catharines, ON (YCM) St Marys, ON - Rail service (XIO) Ste Therese Point, MB (YST) Stephenville, NL (YJT) Stony Rapids, SK (YSF) Strathroy, ON - Rail service (XTY) Sudbury, ON - Rail service (XDY) Sudbury, ON (YSB) Summer Beaver, ON (SUR) Swan River, MB (ZJN) Sydney, NS (YQY) Tadoule Lake, MB (XTL) Taloyoak, NU (YYH) Tasiujuaq, QC (YTQ) Terrace, BC (YXT) Tete-a-La Baleine, QC (ZTB) The Pas, MB - Rail service (XDZ) The Pas, MB (YQD) Thicket Portage, MB (YTD) Thompson, MB (YTH) Thunder Bay, ON (YQT) Timmins, ON (YTS) Tofino, BC, (YAZ) Toronto, ON - Downtown Rail service (YBZ) Toronto, ON - Guildwood Rail service (XLQ) Toronto, ON - Toronto Island Airport (YTZ) Toronto, ON - International (YYZ) Truro, NS - Rail service (XLZ) Tuktoyaktuk, NT (YUB) Tulita/Fort Norman, NT (ZFN) Umiujag, QC (YUD) Uranium City, SK (YBE) Val-d'Or, QC (YVO) Vancouver, BC - Coal Harbour (CXH) Vancouver, BC - Rail service (XEA) Vancouver, BC - International (YVR) Victoria, BC - Inner Harbor (YWH) Victoria, BC - International (YYJ) Wabush, NL (YWK) Waskaganish, QC (YKQ) Watford, ON - Rail service (XWA) Webequie, ON (YWP) Wemindji, QC (YNC) Weymont, QC - Rail service (XFQ) Wha Ti/Lac La Martre, NT (YLE) Whale Cove, NU (YXN) White River, ON (YWR) Whitehorse, YT (YXY) Williams Harbour, NL (YWM) Williams Lake, BC (YWL) Windsor, ON - Rail service (XEC) Windsor, ON (YQG) Winnipeg, MB - Rail service (XEF) Winnipeg, MB - International (YWG) Wollaston Lake, SK (ZWL) Woodstock, ON - Rail service (XIP) Wunnummin Lake, ON (WNN) Wyoming, ON - Rail service (XWY) Yarmouth, NS (YQI) Yellowknife, NT (YZF) York Landing, MB (ZAC)

International code list

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Aalborg, Denmark (AAL) Aalesund, Norway (AES) Aarhus, Denmark - Bus service (ZID) Aarhus, Denmark - Tirstrup (AAR) Aasiaat, Greenland (JEG) Abadan, Iran (ABD) Abakan, Russia (ABA) Aberdeen, United Kingdom (ABZ) Abha, Saudi Arabia (AHB) Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (ABJ) Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (AUH) Abu Simbel, Egypt (ABS) Abuja, Nigeria (ABV) Acapulco, Mexico (ACA) Acarigua, Venezuela (AGV) Accra, Ghana (ACC) Adana, Turkey (ADA) Addis Ababa, Ethopia (ADD) Adelaide, Australia (ADL) Aden, Yemen (ADE) Adler/Sochi, Russia (AER) Adrar, Algeria (AZR) Afutara, Soloman Islands (AFT) Agadir, Morocco (AGA) Agartala, India (IXA) Agaun, Papua New Guinea (AUP) Agen, France (AGF) Agra, India (AGR) Agri, Turkey (AJI) Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN) Aguascalientes, Mexico (AGU) Aguni, Japan (AGJ) Ahmedabad, India (AMD) Ahwaz, Iran (AWZ) Ailuk Island, Marshall Islands (AIM) Aioun El Atrouss, Mauritania (AEO) Airok, Marshall Islands (AIC) Aitutaki, Cook Islands (AIT) Aizawl, India (AJL) Ajaccio, France (AJA) Akita, Japan (AXT) Aksu, China (AKU) Aktyubinsk, Kazakhstan (AKX) Akureyri, Iceland (AEY) Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (AAN) Al Arish, Egypt (AAC) Al Ghaydah, Yemen (AAY) Al Hoceima, Morocco (AHU) Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia (ABT) Albury, Australia (ABX) Alderney, United Kingdom (ACI) Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic (ALP) Alexander Bay, South Africa (ALJ) Alexandria, Egypt (ALY) Alexandroupolis, Greece (AXD) Al-Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (FJR) Alghero, Italy (AHO) Algiers, Algeria (ALG) Alicante, Spain (ALC) Alice Springs, Australia (ASP) Almaty, Kazakhstan (AKX) Almeria, Spain (LEI) Alor Island, Indonesia (ARD) Alorsetar, Malaysia (AOR) Alotau, Papua New Guinea (GUR) Alta, Norway (ALF) Altamira, Brazil (ATM) Altay, China (AAT) Altenrhein, Switzerland (ACH) Alto Rio Senguerr, Argentina (ARR) Amami O Shima, Japan (ASJ) Amazon Bay, Papua New Guinea (AZB) Ambanja, Madagascar (IVA) Ambatomainty, Madagascar (AMY) Ambatondrazaka, Madagascar (WAM) Ambon, Indonesia (AMQ) Amboseli, Kenya (ASV) Amderma, Russia (AMV) Amman, Jordan - Queen Alia International (AMM) Amman, Jordan - Civil/Marka Airport (ADJ) Amritsar, India (ATQ) Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) Anadyr, Russia (DYR) Analalava, Madagascar (HVA) Anapa, Russia (AAQ) Ancona, Italy (AOI) Andenes, Norway (ANX) Andizhan, Uzbekistan (AZN) Aneityum, Vanuatu (AUY) Angelholm/Helsingborg, Sweden (JHE) Angers, France - Marce (ANE) Angers, France - Rail service (QXG) Anggi, Indonesia (AGD) Anging, China (AQG) Angouleme, France (ANG) Anguilla, Anguilla (AXA) Aniwa, Vanuatu (AWD) Ankang, China (AKA) Ankara, Turkey - Esenboga (ESB) Ankara, Turkey - Etimesqut (ANK) Ankavandra, Madagascar (JVA) Annaba, Algeria (AAE) Annecy, France (NCY) Antalaha, Madagascar (ANM) Antalya, Turkey (AYT) Antaninvarivo, Madgascar (TNR) Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) Antofagasta, Chile (ANF) Antsalova, Madagascar (WAQ) Antsiranana, Madagascar (DIE) Antsohihy, Madagascar (WAI) Antwerp, Belgium - Deurne Airport (ANR) Antwerp, Belgium - Bus service (ZAY) Aomori, Japan (AOJ) Aosta, Italy (AOT) Apartado, Colombia (APO) Apia, Western Samoa (APW) Apia, Western Samoa (FGI) Aqaba, Jordan (AQJ) Araca, Brazil (AJU) Aracatuba, Brazil (ARU) Arad, Romania (ARW) Aragip, Papua New Guinea (ARP) Araguaina, Brazil (AUX) Arapoti, Brazil (AAG) Arar, Saudi Arabia (RAE) Arauca, Colombia (AUC) Arba Mintch, Ethiopia (AMH) Ardabil, Iran (ADU) Arequipa, Peru (AQP) Argelholm/Helsingborg, Sweden (AGH) Argyle, Australia (GYL) Arica, Chile (ARI) Arkangelsk, Russia (ARH) Armenia, Colombia (AXM) Armidale, Australia (ARM) Arthur's Town, Bahamas (ATC) Arua, Uganda (RUA) Aruba, Aruba (AUA) Arusha, Tanzania (ARK) Arvidsjaur, Sweden (AJR) Asahikawa, Japan (AKJ) Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (ASB) Asmara, Eritrea (ASM) Asosa, Ethopia (ASO) Assiut, Egypt (ATZ) Astana, Kazakhstan (TSE) Astrakhan, Russia (ASF) Asturias, Spain and Canary Islands (OVD) Asuncion, Paraguay (ASU) Aswan, Egypt (ASW) Ataq, Yemen (AXK) Athens, Greece (ATH) Atiu Island, Cook Islands (AIU) Atoifi, Solomon Islands (ATD) Atuona, French Polynesia (AUQ) Atyrau, Kazakhstan (GUW) Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) Augsburg/Munich, Germany (AGB) Auki, Solomon Islands (AKS) Aur Island, Marshall Islands (AUL) Aurangabad, India (IXU) Aurillac, France (AUR) Aurukun, Australia (AUU) Avignon, France (AVN) Ayawaki, Indonesia (AYW) Ayers Rock, Australia (AYQ)

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Babo, Indonesia (BXB) Bacolod, Philippines (BCD) Badajcz, Spain (BJZ) Bade, Indonesia (BXD) Badu Island, Australia (BDD) Bagdogra, India (IXB) Baharpar, Ethiopia (BJR) Bahawalpur, Pakistan (BHV) Bahia Blanca, Argentina (BHI) Bahia Pinas, Panama (BFQ) Bahia Solano, Colombia (BSC) Bahrain, Bahrain (BAH) Baia Mare, Romania (BAY) Baimuru, Papua New Guinea (VMU) Baku, Azerbaijan (GYD) Balalae, Solomon Islands (BAS) Balikesir, Turkey (BZI) Balikpapan, Indonesia (BPN) Balimo, Papua New Guinea (OPU) Ballina, Australia (BNK) Balmaceda, Chile (BBA) Bam, Iran (BXR) Bamaga, Australia (ABM) Bamako, Mali (BKO) Banda Aceh, Indonesia (BTJ) Bandar Abbas, Iran (BND) Bandar Lampung, Indonesia - Branti (TKG) Bandar Lengeh, Iran (BDH) Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei (BWN) Bandung, Indonesia (BDO) Bangalore, India (BLR) Bangda, China (BPX) Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) Banja Luka, Bosnia Herzegovina (BNX) Banjarmasin, Indonesia (BDJ) Banjul, Gambia (BJL) Banmethuot, Viet Nam - Phung-Doc (BMV) Bannu, Pakistan (BNP) Banqui, Central African Republic (BGF) Baoshan, China (BSD) Baotou, China (BAV) Baracoa, Cuba (BCA) Barcaldine, Australia (BCI) Barcelona, Spain (BCN) Barcelona, Venezuela (BLA) Bardufoss, Norway (BDU) Bari, Italy (BRI) Barinas, Venezuela (BNS) Bario, Malaysia (BBN) Barisal, Bangladesh (BZL) Barnaul, Russia (BAX) Barquisimeto, Venezuela (BRM) Barra Colorado, Costa Rica (BCL) Barra, United Kingdom (BRR) Barran Cabermeja, Colombia (EJA) Barranquilla, Colombia (BAQ) Barreiras, Brazil (BRA) Basco, Philippines (BSO) Basel, Switzerland (BSL) Basel/Mulhouse Railway Station, Switzerland (ZDH) Bashehr, Iran (BUZ) Bastia, France (BIA) Batam, Indonesia (BTH) Bathurst Island, Australia (BRT) Bathurst, Australia (BHS) Batman, Turkey (BAL) Batna, Algeria (BLJ) Batom, Indonesia (BXM) Batsfijord, Norway (BJF) Battambang, Cambodia (BBM) Batumi, Georgia (BUS) Batuna, Solomon Islands (BPF) Bauru, Brazil (BAU) Bayamo, Cuba (BYM) Bayreuth, Germany (BYU) Bechar, Algeria (CBH) Bedourie, Australia (BEU) Beef Island, British Virgin Islands (EIS) Beica, Ethiopia (BEI) Beida, Libya - La Braq (LAQ) Beihai, China (BHY) Beijing, China (PEK) Beira, Mozambique (BEW) Beirut, Lebanon (BEY) Bejaia, Algeria (BJA) Belaga, Mozambique (BLG) Belem, Brazil (BEL) Belep Island, New Caledonia (BMY) Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (BFS) Belfast, United Kingdom (BHD) Belgorod, Russia (EGO) Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro - Beograd (BEG) Belize City, Belize - International (BZE) Belize City, Belize - Municipal (TZA) Bellona, Solomon Islands (BNY) Belo, Madagascar (BMD) Belo Horizonte, Brazil - Tancredo Neves Intl. (CNF) Belo Horizonte, Brazil - Pampulha (PLU) Benbecula, United Kingdom (BEB) Benghazi, Libya (BEN) Bengkulu, Indonesia (BKS) Berau, Indonesia (BEJ) Berbera, Somalia (BBO) Bergen, Norway (BGO) Bergerac, France (EGC) Berlevag, Norway (BVG) Berlin, Germany - All airports (BER) Berlin, Germany - Tegel (TXL) Berlin, Germany - Tempelhof (THF) Berlin, Germany - Schoenefeld (SXF) Bermuda, Bermuda (BDA) Berne, Switzerland - Belp Airport (BRN) Berne, Switzerland - Rail service (ZDJ) Besalampy, Madagascar (BPY) Beziers, France (BZR) Bhadrapur, Nepal (BDP) Bhairawa, Nepal (BWA) Bhamo, Myanmar (BMO) Bharatpur, Nepal (BHR) Bhavnagar, India (BHU) Bhopal, India (BHO) Bhubaneswar, India (BBI) Bhuj, India (BHJ) Biak, Indonesia (BIK) Biarritz, France (BIQ) Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands (BII) Bilbao, Spain (BIO) Billund, Denmark (BLL) Bima, Indonesia (BMU) Bimini, Bahamas (BIM) Bimini, Bahamas (NSB) Bintulu, Malaysia (BTU) Bintuni, Indonesia (NTI) Biratragar, Nepal (BIR) Birdsville, Australia (BVI) Birmingham, United Kingdom (BHX) Bisha, Saudi Arabia (BHH) Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (FRU) Biskra, Algeria (BSK) Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (OXB) Blackall, Australia (BKQ) Blackpool, United Kingdom (BLK) Blackwater, Australia (BLT) Blagoveschensk, Russia (BQS) Blantyre, Malawi (BLZ) Blenheim, New Zealand (BHE) Blo Horizonte, Brazil (CNF) Bloemfontein, South Africa (BFN) Boa Vista, Cape Verde (BVC) Boang, Papua New Guinea (BOV) Boavista, Brazil (BVB) Bocas Del Toro, Panama (BOC) Bodo, Norway (BOO) Bodrum, Turkey (BJV) Bogota, Colombia (BOG) Boiju Island, Australia (GIC) Bojnord, Iran (BJB) Bokondini, Indonesia (BUI) Bol, Croatia (BWK) Bolzano, Italy (BZO) Boma, Congo (BOA) Bombay, India (BOM) Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (BON) Bonn, Germany (BNJ) Bora Bora, French Polynesia (BOB) Bordeaux, France (BOD) Borg El Arab, Egypt (HBE) Borkum, Germany (BMK) Borlange, Sweden (BLE) Bornholm, Denmark (RNN) Borroloola, Australia (BOX) Bossaro, Somalia (BSA) Boulia, Australia (BQL) Bourgas, Bulgaria (BOJ) Bourke, Australia (BRK) Bournemouth, United Kingdom (BOH) Brack, Libya (BCQ) Brampton Island, Australia (BMP) Brasilia, DF, Brazil (BSB) Bratislava, Slovakia (BTS) Bratsk, Russia (BTK) Braunschweig, Denmark (BWE) Brazzaville, Congo (BZV) Bremen, Germany (BRE) Brest, France (BES) Brewarrina, Australia (BWQ) Bridgetown, Barbados (BGI) Brindisi, Italy (BDS) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (BNE) Bristol, United Kingdom (BRS) Brive-La-Gaillarde, France - Laroche(BVE) Brno, Czech Republic - Turany (BRQ) Brno, Czech Republic - Bus service (ZDN) Broken Hill, Australia (BHQ) Bronnoysund, Norway (BNN) Broome, Australia (BME) Brus Laguna, Honduras (BHG) Brussels, Belgium - National (BRU) Brussels, Belgium - Rail service (ZYR) Brussels, Belguim - Charleroi (CRL) Bucaramanga, Colombia (BGA) Bucharest, Romania - Baneasa (BBU) Bucharest, Romania - Otopeni International (OTP) Budapest, Hungary (BUD) Buenos Aires, Argentina - Jorge Newbery (AEP) Buenos Aires, Argentina - Ministro Pistarini (EZE) Bugulma, Russia (UUA) Bujumbura, Burundi (BJM) Buka, Papua New Guinea (BUA) Bukhara, Uzbekistan (BHK) Bukoba, Malaysia (BKZ) Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (BUQ) Bulgulma, Russia (UUA) Bundaberg, Australia (BDB) Bunsil, Papua New Guinea (BXZ) Burao, Somalia (BUO) Bureta, Fiji (LEV) Buri Ram, Thailand (BFV) Burketown, Australia (BUC) Burnie, Australia (BWT) Busan, South Korea - Gimhae (PUS) Butuan, Philippines (BXU) Bydgoszcz, Poland (BZG)

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Cabo San Lucas, 'Los Cabos', Mexico (SJD) Caen, France (CFR) Cagayan De Oro, Philippines - Lumbia (CGY) Cagliari, Italy (CAG) Cairns, Australia (CNS) Cairo, Egypt (CAI) Cajamarca, Peru (CJA) Calabar, Nigeria (CBQ) Calama, Chile (CJC) Calcutta, India (CCU) Cali, Colombia (CLO) Calvi, France (CLY) Camaguey, Cuba (CMW) Cambridge, United Kingdom (CBG) Camodoro, Argentina (CRD) Campbeltown, United Kingdom (CAL) Campeche, Mexico (CPE) Campina Grande, Brazil (CPV) Campinas, Brazil (CPQ) Campo Grande, Brazil (CGR) Campos, Brazil (CAW) Canaima, Venezuela (CAS) Canberra, Australia (CBR) Cancun, Mexico (CUN) Cannes, France - Mandelieu (CEQ) Cannes, France - Coisette Heliport (JCA) Cannes, France - Vieux Port (QYW) Canouan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (CIW) Cap Haitien, Haiti (CAP) Cape Orford, Papua New Guinea (CPI) Cape Town, South Africa (CPT) Cape Vogel, Papua New Guinea (CVL) Caracas, Venezuela (CCS) Carajas, Brazil (CKS) Carcassonne, France (CCF) Cardiff, United Kingdom (CWL) Carnarvon, Australia (CVQ) Carrillo, Costa Rica (RIK) Cartagena, Colombia (CTG) Carupani, Venezuela (CUP) Casablanca, Morocco - Anfa (CAS) Casablanca, Morocco - Mohamed V (CMN) Cascavel, Brazil (CAC) Casino, Australia (CSI) Castaway, Fiji (CST) Castres, France (DCM) Catamarca, Argentina (CTC) Catania, Italy (CTA) Caucasia, Colombia (CAQ) Caxias Do Sul, Brazil (CXJ) Cayenne, French Guiana (CAY) Cayman Brac Is, Cambodia (CYB) Cayo Largo Del Sur, Cuba (CYO) Cebu, Philippines - Matan International (CEB) Cedun, Australia (CED) Ceuta, Spain and Canary Islands (JCU) Chah-Bahar, Iran (ZBR) Chambery, France (CMF) Chandigarh, India (IXC) Changchun, China (CGQ) Changde, China (CGD) Changuinda, Panama (CHX) Changzhou, China (CZX) Chania, Greece (CHQ) Chaoyang, China (CHG) Chapeco, Brazil (XAP) Charleville, Australia (CTL) Chatham Island, New Zealand (CHT) Cheboksary, Russia (CSY) Chelybinsk, Russia (CEK) Chennai, India (MAA) Cheongju, South Korea (CJJ) Cherepovets, Russia (CEE) Chergdu, China (CTU) Chester, United Kingdom (CEG) Chetumal, Mexico (CTM) Chevepovets, Russia (CEE) Chi Mei, Taiwan (CMJ) Chiang Mai, Thailand (CNX) Chiang Rai, Thailand (CEI) Chiayi, Taiwan (CYI) Chicayo, Peru (CIX) Chifeng, China (CIF) Chihuahua, Mexico (CUU) Chillan, Chile (YAI) Chipata, Zambia (CIP) Chisinau, Republic of Moldova (KIV) Chita, Russia (HTA) Chitral, Pakistan (CJL) Chitre, Panama (CTD) Chittagong, Bangladesh (CGP) Choiseul Bay, Solomon Islands (CHY) Chongqing, China (CKG) Christchurch, New Zealand (CHC) Christmas Island, Christmas Island (XCH) Cicia, Fiji (ICI) Ciego De Avila, Cuba (AVI) Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela (CBL) Ciudad Del Carmen, Mexico (CME) Ciudad del Este, Paraguay (AGT) Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (CJS) Ciudad Obregon, Mexico (CEN) Ciudad Victoria, Mexico (CVM) Clermont-ferrand, France (CFE) Cleve, Australia (CVC) Cloncurry, Australia (CNJ) Club Makokola, Malawi (CMK) Cluj, Romania (CLJ) Cobar, Australia (CAZ) Cobija, Bolivia (CIJ) Cochabamba, Bolivia (CBB) Cochin, India (COK) Coconut Island, Australia (CNC) Cocos Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands (CCK) Coen, Australia (CUQ) Coffs Harbor, Australia (CFS) Coimbatore, India (CJB) Colima, Mexico (CLQ) Cologne, Germany - Rail service (QKL) Cologne, Germany - Cologne/Bonn (CGN) Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB) Colon, Panama (ONX) Conakry, Guinea (CKY) Concepcion, Chile (CCP) Concordia, Argentina (COC) Condoto, Colombia (COG) Constanta, Romania (CND) Constantine, Algeria (CZL) Contadora, Panama (OTD) Coober Pedy, Australia (CPD) Cooktown, Australia (CTN) Cooma, NS, Australia (OOM) Coonamble, Australia (CNB) Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH) Copiapo, Chile (CPO) Cordoba, Argentina (COR) Cork, Ireland (ORK) Coro, Venezuela (CZE) Corozal, Belize (CZH) Corrientes, Argentina (CNQ) Corumba, Brazil (CMG) Corvo Island, Portugal (CVU) Cotabato, Philippines (CBO) Cotarou, Benin (COC) Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (CXB) Cozumel, Mexico (CZM) Craig Cove, Vanuatu (CCV) Criciuma, Brazil (CCM) Croker Island, Australia (CKI) Crooked Island, Bahamas (CRI) Crotone, Italy (CRV) Cruzeiro Do Sul, Brazil (CZS) Cucata, Colombia (CUC) Cuenca, Ecuador (CUE) Cuernavaca, Mexico (CVJ) Cuiaba, Brazil (CGB) Culiacan, Mexico (CUL) Cumana, Venezuela (CUM) Cunnamulla, Australia (CMA) Curacao, Netherlands Antilles (CUR) Curitiba, Brazil (CWB) Cuzco, Peru (CUZ)

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Da Nang, Viet Nam (DAD) Dabra, Indonesia (DRH) Daegu, South Korea (TAE) Dakar, Senegal (DKR) Dakhla, Morocco (VIL) Dalaman, Turkey (DLM) Dalat, Viet Nam - Lienkhang DLI) Dali City, China (DLU) Dalian, China (DLC) Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic (DAM) Dammam, Saudi Arabia (DMM) Dangriga, Belize (DGA) Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (DAR) Darnley Island, QL, Australia (NLF) Daru, Papua New Guinea (DAU) Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (DRW) Datadawai, Indonesia (DTD) Davao, Philipines - Mati (DVO) David, Panama (DAV) Dawe, Myanmar (TVY) Daxian, China (DAX) Dayang, China (DYG) Daydream Is, Australia (DDI) Deauville, France (DOL) Debra Marcos, Ethiopia (DBM) Debra Tabor, Ethiopia (DBT) Deirezzor, Syria - Al Jafrah (DEZ) Delhi, India (DEL) Dembidollo, Ethiopia (DEM) Denham, Australia (DNM) Denizli, Turkey (DNZ) Denpasar Bali, Indonesia (DPS) Dera Ghazi, Pakistan (DEA) Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan (DSK) Derby, Australia (DRB) Derim, Papua New Guinea (DER) Dessie, Ethiopia (DSE) Devonport, Australia (DPO) Dhaka, Bangledesh - Zia International (DAC) Dibrugarn, India (DIB) Dien Bien Phu, Viet Nam - Gialam (DIN) Dijon, France (DIJ) Dili, Indonesia (DIL) Dillons Bay, Vanuata (DLY) Dimapur, India (DMU) Dinard, France (DNR) Dipolog, Philippines (DPL) Dire Dawa, Ethiopia (DIR) Div, India (DIU) Diyarbakir, Turkey (DIY) Djanet, Algeria (DJG) Djerba, Tunisia (DJE) Djibouti, Djibouti (JIB) Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine (DNK) Dobo, Indonesia (DOB) Dodoma, Tanzania (DOD) Dodoima, Papua New Guinea (DDM) Doha, Qatar (DOH) Dominica, Dominica - Cane Field (DCF) Dominica, Dominica - Melville Hall (DOM) Donegal, Ireland (CFN) Donetsk, Ukraine (DOK) Dongola, Sudan (DOG) Doomadgee, Australia (DMD) Dortmund, Germany (DTM) Dourados, Brazil (DOU) Dovala, Cameroon (DLA) Dresden, Germany (DRS) Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Bus Station (XNB) Dubai, United Arab Emirates - International (DXB) Dubbo, Australia (DBO) Dublin, Ireland (DUB) Dubrovnik, Croatia (DBV) Dumaguete, Philippines (DGT) Dumai, Indonesia (DUM) Dundee, United Kingdom (DND) Dunedin, New Zealand (DUD) Dunhuang, China (DNH) Dunk Island, Australia (DKI) Durango, Mexico (DGO) Durban, South Africa (DUR) Dushanbe, Tajikistan (DYU) Dusseldorf, Germany - International (DUS) Dusseldorf, Germany - Moenchen-Gl. (MGL) Dusseldorf, Germany - Rail service (QDU) Dzaoudzi, Mayotte (DZA)

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East London, South Africa (ELS) Ebon, Marshall Islands (EBO) Eday, United Kingdom (EOI) Edinburgh, United Kingdom (EDI) Edremit, Turkey (EDO) Edward River, Australia (EDR) Egilsstadir, Iceland (EGS) Eindhoven, Netherlands (EIN) Eisenach, Germany (EIB) Ekaterinburg, Russia (SVX) El Bolsan, Argentina (EHL) El Fasher, Sudan (ELF) El Maiten, Argentina (EMX) El Obeid, Sudan (EBD) El Oved, Algeria (ELU) El Portillo/Samana, Dominician Republic - El Portillo(EPS) El Real, Panama (ELE) El Salvador, Chile (ESR) El Vigia, Venezuela (VIG) El Yopal, Colombia (EYP) Elat, Italy (ETH) Elazig, Turkey (EZS) Elba Island, Italy (EBA) Elcho Island, Australia (ELC) Eldoret, Kenya (EDL) Eleuthera Island, Bahamas (ELH) Elista, Russia (ESL) Emae, Vanuata (EAE) Embessa, Papua New Guinea (EMS) Emerald, Australia (EMD) Emo, Papua New Guinea (EMO) Enarotali, Indonesia (EWI) Ende, Indonesia (ENE) Enewetak Island, Marshall Islands (ENT) Enontekio, Finland (ENF) Enshi, China (ENH) Entebbe, Uganda (EBB) Enugu, Nigeria (ENU) Epinal, France (EPL) Ercan, Cyprus (ECN) Erfurt, Germany (ERF) Erzincan, Turkey (ERC) Erzurum, Turkey (ERZ) Esbjerg, Denmark - Esbjerg Airport (EBJ) Esbjerg, Denmark - Rail service (ZBB) Esmeraldas, Ecuador (ESM) Esperance, Australia (EPR) Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu (SON) Esquel, Argentina (EQS) Eveter, United Kingdom (EXT) Ewer, Indonesia (EWE) Exmouth Gulf, Australia (EXM)

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Fagernes, Norway (VDB) Fair Isle, United Kingdom (FIE) Faisalabad, Pakistan (LYP) Fajard, Puerto Rico (FAJ) Fak Fak, Indonesia (FKQ) Fakarava, French Polynesia (FAV) Farafangana, Madagascar (RVA) Faro, Portugal (FAO) Faroe Islands, Faroe Islands (FAE) Fera Island, Solomon Islands (FRE) Fergana, Uzbekistan (FEG) Fernando De Noronha, Brazil (FEN) Fez, Morocco (FEZ) Fianarantsoa, Madagascar (WFI) Figari, France (FSC) Filton, United Kingdom (FZO) Finkenwerder, Germany (XFW) Fitzroy Crossing, Australia (FIZ) Flensburg, Germany (FLF) Florence, Italy - Gal Galilei (PSA) Florence, Italy - Peretola (FLR) Florencia, Colombia (FLA) Flores Island, Portugal (FLW) Flores, Guatemala (FRS) Florianopolis, Brazil (FLN) Floro, Norway (FRO) Foggia, Italy (FOG) Forde, Norway (FDE) Formosa, Argentina (FMA) Fort Dauphin, Madagascar (FTU) Fort De France, Martinique (FDF) Fortaleza, Brazil (FOR) Franca, Brazil (FRC) Franceville, Gabon (MVB) Francistown, Botswana (FRW) Frankfurt, Germany - Hahn (HHN) Frankfurt, Germany - International (FRA) Fredericia, Denmark (ZBJ) Freeport, Bahamas (FPO) Freetown, Sierra Leone - Lungi Intl (FNA) Friedrichshafer, Germany (FDH) Fuerteventura, Spain (FUE) Fukuoka, Japan (FUK) Fukue, Japan (FUJ) Fukushima, Japan (FKS) Funafuti Atol, Tuvalu (FUN) Funchal, Portugal (FNC) Futuna Island, Vanuatu (FTA) Futuna Island, Wallis and Futuna Islands (FUT) Fuyang, China (FUG) Fuzhou, China (FOC)

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Gaborone, Botswana (GBE) Gafsa, Tunisia (GAF) Gagnoa, Cote D'Ivoire (GGN) Galapagos, Ecuador (GPS) Gallivare, Sweden (GEV) Galway, Ireland (GWY) Gamba, Gabon (GAX) Gambela, Ethiopia (GMB) Gan Island, Maldives (GAN) Gangneung, South Korea (KAG) Garachine, Panama (GHE) Garaina, Papua New Guinea (GAR) Garasa, Papua New Guinea (GRL) Garden Point, Australia (GPN) Garoua, Cameroon (GOV) Gassim, Saudi Arabia (ELQ) Gaua, Vanuatu (ZGU) Gawahati, India (GAU) Gaza City, Occupied Palestinian Territory (GZA) Gaziatep, Turkey (GZT) Gdansk, Poland (GDN) Gebe, Indonesia (GEB) Gelendzik, Russia (GDZ) Geneina, Sudan (EGN) General Santos, Philippines (GES) Geneva, Switzerland (GVA) Genoa, Italy (GOA) George Town, Bahamas (GGT) George, South Africa (GRJ) Georgetown, Guyana (GEO) Geraldton, Australia, (GET) Gerona, Spain (GRO) Ghadames, Libya (LTD) Ghardala, Algeria (GHA) Ghat, Libya (GHT) Gibraltar, Gibraltar (GIB) Gilgit, Pakistan (GIL) Gisborne, New Zealand (GIS) Gizan, Saudi Arabia (GIZ) Gizo, Solomon Islands (GZO) Gladstone, Australia (GLT) Glasgow, United Kingdom - Glasgow International (GLA) Glasgow, United Kingdom - Prestwick (PIK) Glen Innes, Australia (GLI) Goa, India (GOI) Goba, Ethiopia (GOB) Gobernador Gregores, Argentina (GGS) Gode/Iddidole, Ethopia (GDE) Goiania, Brazil (GYN) Gold Coast, QL, Australia (OOL) Golfito, Costa Rica (GLF) Golmud, China (GOQ) Gonalia, Papua New Guinea (GOE) Gondari, Ethiopia (GDQ) Gore, Ethiopia (GOR) Goroka, Papua New Guinea (GKA) Gorontalo, Indonesia (GTO) Gothenburg, Sweden - Landvetter (GOT) Gothenburg, Sweden - Saeve (GSE) Goulburn Island, Australia (GBL) Goundam, Mali (GUD) Gove, Australia (GOV) Governors Harbour, Bahamas (GHB) Governador Valadares, Brazil (GVR) Goya, CR, Argentina (OYA) Gozo, Malta (GZM) Graciosa Island, Portugal (GRW) Grafton, Australia (GFN) Granada, Spain (GRX) Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (GCM) Grand Turk Island, Turks and Caicos Islands (GDT) Graz, Austria (GRZ) Grenada, Grenada, (GND) Grenoble, France (GNB) Griffith, Australia (GFF) Grimsey, Iceland (GRY) Groennedal, Greenland (JGR) Groningen, Netherlands (GRQ) Groofe Eylandt, Australia (GTE) Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL) Guam (GUM) Guanaja, Honduras (GJA) Guanajuato, Mexico (BJX) Guangzhou, China (CAN) Guantanamo, Cuba (GAO) Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA) Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE) Guayaramerin, Bolivia (GYA) Guaymas, Mexico (GYM) Guernsey, United Kingdom (GCI) Guerrero Negro, Mexico (GUB) Guilin, China (KWL) Guiria, Venezuela (GUI) Gulu, Uganda (ULU) Gulyang, China (KWE) Gunsan, South Korea (KUV) Gurayat, Saudi Arabia (URY) Gwadar, Pakistan (GWD) Gwangju, South Korea (KWJ) Gwalior, India (GWL) Gyandzha, Azerbaijan (KVD) Gyourmri, Armenia (LWN)

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HaApa, Tonga (HPA) Hachijo Jima, Japan (HAC) Hagfors, Sweden (HFS) Haifa, Israel (HFA) Haikou, China (HAK) Hail, Saudi Arabia (HAS) Hailar, China (HLD) Haiphong, Viet Nam - Catbi (HPH) Hakodate, Japan (HKD) Halberstadt, Germany (ZHQ) Halls Creek, Australia (HCQ) Halmstad, Sweden (HAD) Hamburg, Germany - Fuhisbuettel (HAM) Hamburg, Germany - Luebeck (LBC) Hamilton Island, Australia (HTI) Hamilton, Bermuda (BDA) Hamilton, New Zealand (HLZ) Hammerfest, Norway (HFT) Hangzhou, China (HGH) Hanimaadhoo, Maldives (HAQ) Hanoi, Viet Nam - Noibai (HAN) Hanover, Germany (HAJ) Hanzhang, China (HZG) Harare, Zimbabwe (HRE) Harbin, China (HRB) Hargeisa, Somolia (HGA) Harstad-Narvik, Norway (EVE) Hassi Messaoud, Algeria (HME) Hasvik, Norway (HAA) Hat Yai, Thailand (HDY) Hateruma, Japan (HTR) Haugesund, Norway (HAU) Havana, Cuba (HAV) Hayman Island, Australia (HIS) Hefei, China (HFE) Heidelberg, Germany (HDB) Helgoland, Germany (HGL) Helsinki, Finland (HEL) Heno, Myanmar (HEH) Heraklian, Greece (HER) Heringsdorf, Germany (HDF) Hermavan, Sweden (HMV) Hermosillo, Mexico (HMO) Herning, Denmark (XAK) Hervey Bay, Australia (HVB) Hiroshima, Japan - International (HIJ) Hiroshima, Japan - Hiroshima West (HIW) Hivaro, Papua New Guinea (HIT) Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (SGN) Hobart, Australia (HBA) Hodeidah, Yemen (HOD) Hoedspruit, South Africa (HDS) Hof, Germany (HOQ) Hofuf, Saudi Arabia (HOF) Hohhot, China (HET) Hokitika, New Zealand (HKK) Holguin, Cuba (HOG) Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) Honiara, Solomon Islands (HIR) Honningsvag, Norway (HVG) Hooker, Australia (HOK) Horn Island Australia (HID) Hornafjordur, Iceland (HFN) Horta, Portugal (HOR) Hoskins, Papua New Guinea (HKN) Hotan, China (HTN) Houeisay, Laos (HOE) Houn, Libya (HUQ) Huahine, French Polynesia (HUH) Hualien, Taiwan - Phi Bai (HUN) Hualtin, Thailand (HHQ) Huanuco, French Polynesia (HUU) Huargyan, China (HYN) Huatulco, Mexico (HUX) Hudiksvall, Sweden (HUV) Hue, Viet Nam (HUI) Hughenden, Australia (HGD) Hultsfred, Sweden (HLF) Humberside, United Kingdom (HUY) Hurghada, Egypt (HRG) Hwange Nat Park, Zimbabwe (HWN) Hyderabad, India (HYD)

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Iasi, Romania (IAS) Ibague, Colombia (IBE) Ibiza, Spain (IBZ) Igarka, Russia (IAA) Iguassu Falls, PR, Brazil (IGU) Iguazu, Argentina (IGR) Ihu, Papua New Guinea (IHU) Ile Des Pins, New Caledonia (ILP) Ilheus, Brazil (IOS) Illaga, Indonesia (ILA) Iloilo, Philippines - Mandurriao (ILO) Ilu, Indonesia (IUL) Ilulissat, Greenland (JAV) Imperatriz, Brazil (IMP) Imphal, India (IMF) In Amenas, Algeria (IAM) Inagua, Bahamas (IGA) Inanwatan, Indonesia (INX) Indagen, Papua New Guinea (IDN) Indore, India (IDR) Innsbruck, Austria (INN) Inta, Russia (INA) Invercargill, New Zealand (IVC) Inverell, Australia (IVR) Inverness, United Kingdom (INV) Ioannina, Greece (IOA) Ioma, Papua New Guinea (IOP) Ipatinga, Brazil (IPN) Ipiales, Colombia (IPI) Ipil, Philippines (IPE) Ipoh, Malaysia (IPH) Ipota, Vanuatu (IPA) Iquique, Chile (IQQ) Iquitos, Peru (IQT) Irkutsk, Russia (IKT) Isafjordur, Iceland (IFJ) Isfahan, Iran (IFN) Ishigakij, Japan (ISG) Islamabad, Pakistan (ISB) Island Lake/Garden Hill, Canada (YIV) Islay, United Kingdom (ILY) Isle of Man, United Kingdom (IOM) Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom - St Marys (ISC) Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom - Tresco (TSO) Istanbul, Turkey (IST) Itaituba, Brazil (ITB) Itokama, Papua New Guinea (ITK) Ivalo, Finland (IVL) Ivano-Frankovsk, Ukraine (IFO) Iwami, Japan (IWJ) Ixtapa, Mexico (ZIH) Ixtepec, Mexico (IZT) Izmir, Turkey (ADB) Izumo, Japan (IZO)

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Jabor, Marshall Islands (JAT) Jacareacanga, Brazil (JCR) Jacobabad, Pakistan (JAG) Jacquinot Bay, Papua New Guinea (JAQ) Jaipur, India (JAI) Jakarta, Indonesia (CGK) Jalapa, Mexico (JAL) Jaluit Island, Marshall Islands (UIT) Jambi. Indonesia (DJB) Jamnagar, India (JGA) Janakpur, Nepal (JKR) Jaque, Panama (JQE) Jayapura, Indonesia (DJJ) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (JED) Jeh, Marshall Islands (JEJ) Jeju, South Korea - Jeju Airport, metro area (CJU) Jerez De La Frontere, Spain (XRY) Jersey, United Kingdom (JER) Jessore, Bangladesh (JSR) Jiamusi, China (JMU) Jiayuguan, China (JGN) Jijel, Algeria (GJL) Jijiga, Ethiopia (JIJ) Jimma, Ethiopia (JIM) Jinan, China (TNA) Jingdezhen, China (JDZ) Jinghong, China (JHG) Jinja, Uganda (JIN) Jinjiang, China (JJN) Jinju, South Korea - Sancheon (HIN) Jinka, Ethiopia (BCO) Jinzhou, China (JNZ) Ji-Parana, Brazil (JPR) Jiwani, Pakistan (JIW) Joao Pessoa, Brazil (JPA) Jodhpur, India (JDH) Joensuu, Finland (JOE) Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB) Johnston Island, US Minor Outlying Islands (JON) Johor, Malaysia (JHB) Joinville, Brazil (JOI) Jommu, India (IXJ) Jomsom, Nepal (JMO) Jonkoping, Sweden (JKG) Jorhat, India (JRH) Jose De San Martin, Argentina (JSM) Jouf, Saudi Arabia (AJF) Juazeiro Do Norte, Brazil (JDO) Juist, Germany (JUI) Juiz De Fora, Brazil (JDF) Jujuy, Argentina (JUJ) Julia Creek, Australia (JCK) Juliaca, Peru (JUL) Juzha, China (JUZ) Jyvaskyla, Finland (JYV)

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Kaadedhdhoo, Maldives (KDM) Kaben, Marshall Islands (KBT) Kabri Dar, Ethiopia (ABK) Kabul, Afghanistan (KBL) Kabwun, Papua New Guinea (KBM) Kadanwari, Pakistan (KCF) Kadhonoo, Maldives (KDO) Kaintiba, Papua New Guinea (KZF) Kaitaia, New Zealand (KAT) Kajaani, Finland (KAJ) Kalbarri, Australia (KAX) Kaliningrad, Russia (KGD) Kambuaya, Indonesia (KBX) Kameshli, Syrian Arab Republic (KAC) Kamur, Indonesia (KCD) Kamusi, Papua New Guinea (KUY) Kano, Nigeria (KAN) Karachi, Pakistan - Quaid-E-Azam International (KHI) Kardia, Estonia (KDL) Kariba, Zimbabwe (KAB) Karlsruhe/Badern Baden, Germany (FKB) Karpathos, Greece (AOK) Karubaga, Indonesia (KBF) Kasaba Bay, Zambia (ZKB) Kasama, Zambia (KAA) Kasane, Botswana (BBK) Katherine, NT, Australia (KTR) Kathmandu, Nepal (KTM) Katowice, Poland (KTW) Kaunas, Lithuania (KUN) Kavala, Greece (KVA) Kavieng, Papua New Guinea (KVG) Kawthaung, Myanmar (KAW) Kayseri, Turkey (ASR) Kazan,, Russia (KZN) Kefallinia, Greece (EFL) Kendari, Indonesia (KDI) Kerkyra, Greece (CFU) Khajuraho, India (HJR) Kharga, Egypt (UVL) Kharkov, Ukraine (HRK) Khudzhand, Tajikistan (LBD) Khuzdar, Pakistan (KDD) Kiev, Ukraine - Zhulhany (IEV) Kiev, Ukraine - Borispol (KBP) Kigali, Rwanda (KGL) Kigoma, Tanzania (TKQ) Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (JRO) Kimmirut/Lake Harbour, Canada (YLC) Kingston, Jamaica - Norman Manley (KIN) Kingston, Jamaica - Tinson (KTP) Kinshasa, Congo (FIH) Kirakira, Solomon Islands (IRA) Kitadaito, Japan (KTD) Kittila, Finland (KTT) Kiunga, Papua New Guinea (UNG) Kiwayu, Kenya (KWY) Knock, Ireland (NOC) Kochi, Japan (KCZ) Koh Samui, Thailand (USM) Kolkata, India (CCU) Kolobrzeg, Poland (QJY) Komsomolsk Na Amure, Russia (KXK) Konya, Turkey (KYA) Koror, Palau (ROR) Koszalin, Poland (OSZ) Kota Bharu, Malaysia (KBR) Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (BKI) Kowanyama, QL, Australia (KWM) Kozhikode, India (CCJ) Krabi, Thailand (KBV) Krakow, Poland (KRK) Krivoy Rog, Ukraine (KWG) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL) Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia (TGG) Kuantan, Malaysia (KUA) Kubin Island, QL, Australia (KUG) Kuching, Malaysia (KCH) Kahramanmaras, Turkey (KCM) Kudat, Malaysia (KUD) Kufrah, Libya (AKF) Kulusuk, Greenland (KUS) Kumejima, Japan (UEO) Kundiawa, Papau New Guinea (CMU) Kuopio, Finland (KUO) Kuri, Papua New Guinea (KUQ) Kushiro, Japan (KUH) Kutaisi, Georgia (KUT) Kuusamo, Finland (KAO) Kuwait, Kuwait (KWI) Kwajalein, Marshall Islands (KWA) Kyzyl, Russia (KYZ)

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La Ceiba, Honduras (LCE) La Coruna, Spain (LCG) La Palma, Panama (PLP) La Paz, Bolivia (LPB) La Paz, Mexico (LAP) La Rioja, Argentina (IRJ) La Romana, Dominican Republic (LRM) La Serena, Chile (LSC) Laayoune, Morocco (EUN) Labasa, Fiji (LBS) Lablab, Papua New Guinea (LAB) Labuan Bajo, Indonesia (LBJ) Labuan, Malaysia (LBU) Lae Island, Marshall Islands (LML) Lae, Papua New Guinea (LAE) Lages, SC, Brazil (LAJ) Lago Agrio, Ecuador (LGQ) Lago Argentina, Argentina (ING) Lagos, Nigeria (LOS) Lahadbatu, Malaysia (LDU) Lahore, Pakistan (LHE) Lakeba, Fiji (LKB) Lakselv, Norway (LKL) Lalibela, Ethiopia (LLI) Lamap, Vanuatu (LPM) Lamen Bay, Vanuatu (LNB) Lamezia-Terme, Italy (SUF) Lampang, Thailand (LPI) Lampedusa, Italy (LMP) Lamu, Kenya (LAU) Lands End, United Kingdom (LEQ) Langguri, Indonesia (LUV) Langkawi, Malaysia (LGK) Lannion, France (LAI) Lanzarote, Spain (ACE) Lanzhau, Guinea (LHW) Lanzhou, China (ZGC) Laoag, Philippines (LAO) Lappeenranta, Finland (LPP) Larantuka, Indonesia (LKA) Larnaca, Cyprus (LCA) Larochelle, France (LRH) Las Palmas, Spain (LPA) Las Piedras, Venezuela (LSP) Latakia, Syria (LTK) Laucala Island, Fiji (LUC) Launceston, TS, Australia (LST) Luanda, Angola (LAD) Laverton, WA, Australia (LVO) Lawas, Malaysia (LWY) Le Havre, France (LEH) Le Mans, France (ZLN) Le Puy, France (LPY) Le Touquet, France (LTQ) Learmonth, WA, Australia (LEA) Leeds, United Kingdom (LBA) Legaspi, Philippines (LGP) Leh, India (IXL) Leinster, WA, Australia (LER) Leipzig, Germany (LEJ) Leknes, Norway (LKN) Lemnos, Greece (LXS) Leon, Mexico (BJX) Leonora, WA, Australia (LNO) Leticia, Colombia (LET) Lhasa, China (LXA) Lianyungang, China (LYG) Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR) Libreville, Gabon (LBV) Lichinga, Mozambique (VXC) Liege, Belgium (LGG) Lifa, New Caledonia (LIF) Lightning Ridge, NS, Australia (LHG) Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea (LNV) Lijiang City, China (LJG) Likiep Island, Marshall Islands (LIK) Lille, France - Lesquin (LIL) Lille, France - Rail service (XDB) Lilongwe, Malawi (LLW) Lima, Peru (LIM) Limbang, Malaysia (LMN) Limoges, France (LIG) Lindeman Island, QL, Australia (LDC) Lindi, Tanzania (LDI) Linkoping, Sweden (LPI) Linyi, China (LYI) Linz, Austria (LNZ) Lisbon, Portugal (LIS) Lismore, NS, Australia (LSY) Liuzhou, China (LZH) Liverpool, United Kingdom (LPL) Livingstone, Zambia (LVI) Lizard Island, QL, Australia (LZR) Ljubliana, Slovenia (LJU) Lockhart River, Australia (IRG) Loen, Marshall Islands (LOF) Loja, Ecuador (LOH) Lome, Togo (LFW) London, United Kingdom - All airports (LON) London, United Kingdom - Biggin Hill (BQH) London, United Kingdom - Gatwick (LGW) London, United Kingdom - Heathrow (LHR) London, United Kingdom - London City (LCY) London, United Kingdom - Luton (LTN) London, United Kingdom - Stansted (STN) Londonderry, United Kingdom (LDY) London-Paddington, United Kingdom - Rail service (QQP) Londrina, PR, Brazil (LDB) Long Apung, Indonesia (LPU) Long Banga, Malaysia (LBP) Long Bawan, Indonesia (LBW) Long Island, Australia (HAP) Long Island/Deadmans Cay, Bahamas (LGI) Long Lellang, Malaysia (LGL) Long Seridan, Malaysia (ODN) Longana, Vanuatu (LOD) Longreach, QL, Australia (LRE) Longyearbyen, Svalbard & Jan Mayen Island (LYR) Lonorore, Vanuatu (LNE) Lord Howe Island, NS, Australia (LDH) Loreto, Mexico (LTO) Lorient, France (LRT) Los Cabos, Mexico (SJD) Los Mochis, Mexico (LMM) Losuia, Papua New Guinea (LSA) Lourdes/Tarbes, France (LDE) Lozaro Cardenas, Mexico (LZC) Luanda, Angola (LAD) Luang Namtha, Laos (LXG) Luang Prabang, Laos (LPQ) Lucknow, India (LKO) Luderitz, Namibia (LUD) Lugano, Switzerland (LUG) Lugansk, Uganda (VSG) Lukla, Nepal (LUA) Lulea, Sweden (LLA) Lumbashi, Congo (FBM) Luoyang, China (LYA) Lusaka, Zambia (LUN) Luwuk, Indonesia (LUW) Luxembourg, Luxembourg (LUX) Luxi, China (LUM) Luxor, Egypt (LXR) Luzhou, China (LZO) Lvov, Ukraine (LWO) Lyoksele, Sweden (LYC) Lyon, France - Satolas (LYS) Lyon, France - Lyon Part-Dieu Rail service (XYD)

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Maastricht, Netherlands (MST) Mabuiag Island, QL, Australia (UBB) Macapa, AP, Brazil (MCP) Macas, Ecuador (XMS) Macau, China (MFM) Maceio, AL, Brazil (MCZ) Machala, Ecuador (MCH) Mackay, QL, Australia (MKY) Madang, Papua New Guinea (MAG) Madinah, Saudi Arabia (MED) Madrid, Spain (MAD) Madurai, India (IXM) Mae Hong Son, Thailand (HGN) Mae Sot, Thailand (MAQ) Maewo, Vanuatu (MWF) Mafia, Tanzania (MFA) Magadan, Russia (GDX) Magnitogorsk, Russia (MQF) Mahanoro, Madagascar (VVB) Mahe Island, Seychelles (SEZ) Maintirano, Madagascar (MXT) Maio, Cape Verde (MMO) Majkin, Marshall Islands (MJE) Majunga, Madagascar (MJN) Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ) Makale, Ethiopia (MQX) Makhachkala, Russia (MCX) Makokou, Gabon (MKU) Makung, Taiwan (MZG) Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (SSG) Malacca, Malaysia (MKZ) Malaga, Spain (AGP) Malakai, Sudan (MAK) Malargue, MD, Argentina (LGS) Malatya, Turkey (MLX) Male, Maldives (MLE) Malindi, Kenya (MYD) Malmo, Sweden (MMX) Maloelap Island, Marshall Islands (MAV) Malololailai, Fiji (PTF) Malta, Malta (MLA) Mampikony, Madagascar (WMP) Mana Island, Fiji (MNF) Manado, Indonesia (MDC) Managua, Nicaragua (MGA) Manakara, Madagascar (WVK) Mananara, Madagascar (WMR) Manang, Nepal (NGX) Mananjary, Madagascar (MNJ) Manaus, AM, Brazil (MAO) Manchester, United Kingdom (MAN) Mandalay, Myanmar (MDL) Mandritsara, Madagascar (WMA) Mangaia Island, Cook Islands (MGS) Mangalore, India (IXE) Mangrove Cay, Bahamas (MAY) Mangu, Zambia (MNR) Manguna, Papua New Guinea (MFO) Manihi, French Polynesia (XMH) Manihiki Island, Cook Islands (MHX) Manila, Philippines (MNL) Maningrioa, NT, Australia (MNG) Manizales, Colombia (MZL) Manja, Madagascar (MJA) Mannheim, Germany (MHG) Manokwari, Indonesia (MKW) Manston, United Kingdom (MSE) Manta, Ecuador (MEC) Manus Island, Papua New Guinea (MAS) Manzanillo, Cuba (MZO) Manzanillo, Mexico (ZLO) Manzini, Swaziland (MTS) Mao, Chad (AMO) Maota Savaii Is, Western Samoa (MXS) Maputo, Mozambique (MPM) Mar Del Plata, BA, Argentina (MDQ) Mara Lodges, Kenya (MRE) Maraba, PA, Brazil (MAB) Maracaibo, Venezuela (MAR) Maracay, Venezuela (MYC) Mare, New Caledonia (MEE) Margate, South Africa (MGH) Maribor, Slovenia (MBX) Mariehamn, Finland (MHQ) Mariitsoq, Greenland (JSU) Marilia, SP, Brazil (MII) Maringa, PR, Brazil (MGF) Mariupol, Ukraine (MPW) Maroantsetra, Madagascar (WMN) Marova, Cameroon (MVR) Marseille, France (MRS) Marsh Harbour, Bahamas (MHH) Marudi, Malaysia (MUR) Maryborough, QL, Australia (MBH) Masbate, Philippines (MBT) Maseru, Lesotho (MSU) Mashad, Iran (MHD) Matamoros, Mexico (MAM) Mataram, Indonesia (AMI) Matsumoto, Japan (MMJ) Matsuyama, Japan (MYJ) Maturin, Venezuela (MUN) Mauke Island, Cook Islands (MUK) Maulmyine, Myanmar (MNU) Maumere, Indonesia (MOF) Maun, Botswana (MUB) Maupiti, French Polynesia (MAU) Mauritius, Mauritius (MRU) Mayaguana, Bahamas (MYG) Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (MAZ) Mazatlan, Mexico (MZT) Mbandaka, Congo (MDK) Mbuji Mayi, Congo (MJM) Mcarthur River, NT, Australia (MCV) Medan, Indonesia (MES) Medellin, Colombia - Enrique Olaya Herrera (EOH) Medellin, Colombia - Jose Marie Cordova (MDE) Meekatharra, WA, Australia (MKR) Mehamn, Norway (MEH) Meixian, China (MXZ) Mejit Island, Marshall Islands (MJB) Mekane Selam, Ethiopia (MKS) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (MEL) Melilla, Spain (MLN) Memanbetsu, Japan (MMB) Mendi, Ethiopia (NDM) Mendi, Papua New Guinea (MDU) Mendoza, MD, Argentina (MDZ) Menorca, Spain (MAH) Menyamya, Papua New Guinea (MYX) Merauke, Indonesia (MKQ) Merave, Sudan (MWE) Merdey, Indonesia (RDE) Merida, Mexico (MID) Merida, Venezuela (MRD) Merimbula, NS, Australia (MIM) Mersa Matruh, Egypt (MUH) Metz/Nancy, France (ETZ) Mexicali, Mexico (MXL) Mexico City, Mexico (MEX) Mfume, Zambia (MFU) Miandrivazo, Madagascar (ZVA) Middle Caicos, Turks and Caicos (MDS) Midway Island, US Minor Outlying Islands (MDY) Mikkeli, Finland (MIK) Mikonos, Greece (JMK) Milan, Italy - Orio Al Serio (BGY) Milan, Italy - Linate (LIN) Milan, Italy - Malpensa (MXP) Milan, Italy - Parma (PMF) Mildura, VI, Australia (MQL) Mili Island, Marshall Islands (MIJ) Milingimbi, NT, Australia (MGT) Minami Daito, Japan (MMD) Minatitla, Mexico (MTT) Mindiptana, Indonesia (MDP) Mineralnye Vody, Russia (MRV) Minsk, Belarus - Minsk International 1 (MHP) Minsk, Belarus - Minsk International 2 (MSQ) Miri, Malaysia (MYY) Mirnyj, Russia (MJZ) Misawa, Japan (MSJ) Misima Island, Papua New Guinea (MIS) Misurata, Libya (MRA) Mitiaro Island, Cook Islands (MOI) MiyakeJima, Japan (MYE) Miyako Jima, Japan (MMY) Mizan Teferi, Ethiopia (MTF) Mo I Rana, Norway (MQN) Moa, Cuba (MOA) Moala, Fiji (MFJ) Moanamani, Indonesia (ONI) Moanda, Congo (MNB) Moanda, Gabon (MFF) Mogadishu, Somalia (MGQ) Mohenjodaro, Denmark (MJD) Mokpo, South Korea (MPK) Mokuti Lodge, Namibia (OKU) Molde, Norway (MOL) Mombasa, Kenya (MBA) Monastir, Tunisia (MIR) Monbetsu, Japan (MBE) Monclova, Mexico (LOV) Monkey Mia, WA, Australia (MJK) Mono, Solomon Islands (MNY) Monrovia, Liberia (ROB) Monte Carlo, Monaco (MCM) Monte Dourado, PA, Brazil (MEU) Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ) Monteria, Colombia (MTR) Monterrey, Mexico (MTY) Montes Claros, MG, Brazil (MOC) Montevideo, Uruguay (MVD) Montpellier, France (MPL) Montserrat, Montserrat (MNI) Moorea, French Polynesia (MOZ) Mopti, Mali (MZI) Mora, Sweden (MXX) Morafenobe, Madagascar (TVA) Morambe, Madagascar (MXM) Moranbah, QL, Australia (MOV) Moree, NS, Australia (MRZ) Morelia, Mexico (MLM) Morioka, Japan (HNA) Mornington, QL, Australia (ONG) Moro, Papua New Guinea (MXH) Morondava, Madagascar (MOQ) Moroni, Comoros (HAH) Moruya, NS, Australia (MYA) Moscow, Russia - all locations (MOW) Moscow, Russia - Bykovo (BKA) Moscow, Russia - Domodedovo (DME) Moscow, Russia - Sheremetyevo (SVO) Moscow, Russia - Vnukovo (VKO) Mosjoen, Norway (MJF) Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (OMO) Mota Lava, Vanuatu (MTV) Mouila, Gabon (MJL) Mount Cook, New Zealand (MON) Mount Gambier, SA, Australia (MGB) Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea (HGU) Mount Hotham, VI, Australia (MHU) Mount Isa, Australia (ISA) Mount Keith, WA, Australia (WME) Mount Magnet, WA, Australia (MMG) Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands (MPN) Mpacha, Namibia (MPA) Mtwara, Tanzania (MYW) Mucuri, BA, Brazil (MVS) Mudanjiang, China (MDG) Mudgee, Australia (DGE) Muenster, Germany (FMO) Mukan, Malaysia (MKM) Mulhouse, France (MLH) Mulia, Indonesia (LII) Multan, Pakistan (MUX) Mulu, Malaysia (MZV) Mumbai, India (BOM) Munda, Solomon Islands (MUA) Munich, Germany (MUC) Murcia, Spain (MJV) Murmansk, Russia (MMK) Murray Island, QL, Australia (MYI) Mus, Turkey (MSR) Muscat, Oman (MCT) Musoma, Tanzania (MUZ) Muzaffarabad, Pakistan (MFG) Mwanza, Tanzania (MWZ) Myeik, Myanmar (MGZ) Myitkyina, Myanmar (MYT) Mytilene, Greece (MJT) Mzuzu, Malawi (ZZU)

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Nabire, Indonesia (NBX) Nacala, Mozambique (MNC) Nadar, Morocco (NDR) Nadi, Fiji (NAN) Nadym, Russia (NYM) Naga, Philippines (WNP) Nagasaki, Japan (NGS) Nagoya, Japan - Chubu CentrAir Intl (NGO) Nagoya, Japan - Nagoya Komaki APT (NGO) Nagpur, India (NAG) Nairobi, Kenya - Jomo Kenyatta Intl (NBO) Nairobi, Kenya - Wilson (WIL) Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan (NAJ) Nakhon Ratchosima, Thailand (NAK) Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand (NST) Nalchik, Russia (NAL) Namangan, Uzbekistan (NMA) Namatana, Papua New Guinea (ATN) Namorik Island, Marshall Islands (NDK) Nampula, Mozambique (APL) Namsos, Norway (OSY) Namudi, Papua New Guinea (NDI) Nan, Thailand (NNT) Nanchong, China (NAO) Nanking/Nanjing, China (NKG) Nanning, China (NNG) Nanortalik, Greenland (JNN) Nantes, France - Nantes Atlantique (NTE) Nantes, France - Rail service (QJZ) Nantong, China (NTG) Nanyang, China (NNY) Nanyuki, Kenya (NYK) Napier-Hastings, New Zealand (NPE) Naples, Italy (NAP) Narathiwat, Thailand (NAW) Narrabri, NS, Australia (NAA) Narsaq, Greenland (JNS) Narsarsuaq, Greenland (UAK) Narvik, Norway (NVK) Naryan-Mar, Russia (NNM) Nassau, Bahamas - Paradise Island (NAS) Natadi, Congo (MAT) Natal, RN, Brazil (NAT) Nauru Island, Nauru (INU) Navegantes, SC, Brazil (NVT) Nawabshah, Pakistan (WNS) NayUrengoy, Russia (NUX) Ndola, Zambia (NLA) Neerlerit Inaat, Greenland (CNP) Nefteyugansk, Russia (NFG) Neghelli, Ethiopia (EGL) Negril, Jamaica (NEG) Neiva, Colombia (NVA) Nejran, Saudi Arabia (EAM) Nelso, New Zealand (NSN) Nelspruit, South Africa (NLP) Nema, Mauritania (EMN) Neryjungri, Russia (NER) Neuquen, NE, Argentina (NQN) Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis (NEV) New London/Groton (GON) New Plymouth, New Zealand (NPL) Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia - Belmont (BEO) Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (NTL) Newcastle, United Kingdom (NCL) Newman, WA, Australia (ZNE) Newquay, United Kingdom (NQY) Ngaoundere, Cameroon (NGE) Ngau Island, Fiji (NGI) Ngukurr, NT, Australia (RPM) Nha Trang, Viet Nam (NHA) Niamey, Niger (NIM) Nice, France (NCE) Nicosia, Cyprus (NIC) Nimes, France (FNI) Ningbo, China (NGB) Nioko, Congo (NIX) Niuafo'ou, Tonga (NFO) Niuatoputapu, Tonga (NTT) Niue Island, Niue (IUE) Nizhnevartovsk, Russia (NJC) Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia (GOJ) Nojabrxsk, Russia (NOJ) Ndjamena, Chad (NDJ) Norderney, Germany (NRD) Nordholz-Speika, Germany (NDZ) Norfolk Island, Norfolk Island (NLK) Noril'sk, Russia (NSK) Normanton, QL, Australia (NTN) Norrkoping, Sweden (NRK) Norsup, Vanuatu (NUS) North Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands (NCA) North Eleuthera, Bahamas (ELH) North Ronaldsay, United Kingdom (NRL) Norwich, United Kingdom (NWI) Nosara Beach, Costa Rica (NOB) Nossi-be, Madagascar (NOS) Nottingham, United Kingdom (EMA) Nouadhiba, Mauritania (NDB) Nouakchott, Mauritania (NKC) Noumea, New Caledonia - Tontouta (NOU) Noumea, New Caledonia - Magenta (GEA) Novgorod, Russia (NVR) Novokuznetsk, Russia (NOZ) Novosibirsk, Russia - Tolmachevo (OVB) Nueva Gerona, Cuba (GER) Nuevo Laredo, Mexico (NLD) Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia (NHV) Nuku'Alofa, Tonga (TBU) Nukus, Uzbekistan (NCU) Numbulwar, NT, Australia (NUB) Nunukan, Indonesia (NNX) Nuremberg, Germany - Rail service (ZAQ) Nuremberg, Germany (NUE) Nuuk, Greenland (GOH) Nyala, Sudan (UYL) Nyaung, Myanmar (NYU) Nyngan, NS, Australia (NYN)

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Oaxaca, Mexico (OAX) Obano, Indonesia (OBD) Obihiro, Japan (OBO) Ocho Rios, Jamaica (OCJ) Odense, Denmark (ZBQ) Odessa, Ukraine (ODS) Ohrid, Macedonia (OHD) Oita, Japan (OIT) Okaba, Indonedia (OKQ) Okayama, Japan (OKJ) Okhotsk, Russia (OHO) Okinawa, Japan (OKA) Okoshiri, Japan (OIR) Oksibil, Indonesia (OKL) Olbia, Italy (OLB) Olpoi, Vanuatu (OLJ) Olympic Dam, SA, Australia (OLP) Omboue, Gabon (OMB) Omsk, Russia (OMS) Ondangwa, Namibia (OND) Oradea, Romania (OMR) Oran, Algeria (ORN) Orange, New South Wales, Australia (OAG) Oranjemund, Namibia (OMD) Orebro, Sweeden - Obrebro-Bofors (ORB) Orenburg, Russia (REN) Ormara, Pakistan (ORW) Ornskoldsvik, Sweden (OER) Orsk, Russia (OSW) Orsta-Volda, Norway (HOV) Osaka, Japan - all airports (OSA) Osaka, Japan - Itami (ITM) Osaka, Japan - Kansai Intl (KIX) Oshima, Japan (OIM) Osijek, Croatia (OSI) Oskarshamn, Sweden (OSK) Oslo, Norway (OSL) Torp Airport Oslo, Norway - Sandefjord (TRF) Ostersund, Sweden (OSD) Ostrava, Czech Republic (OSR) Otu, Colombia (OTU) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (OUA) Ouargla, Algeria (OGX) Ouarzazate, Morocco (OZZ) Oudomxay, Laos (ODY) Oujda, Morocco (OUD) Oulu, Finland (OUL) Ouvea, New Caledonia (UVE) Ovda, Israel (VDA) Oyem, Gabon (OYE)

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Paama, Vanuatu (PBJ) Paamiut, Greenland (JFR) Padang, Indonesia (PDG) Paderborn, Germany (PAD) Pago Pago, American Samoa (PPG) Pakse, Laos (PKZ) Pakuba, Uganda (PAF) Palacios, Honduras (PCH) Palang Karaya, Indonesia (PKY) Palanga, Lithuania (PLQ) Palembang, Indonesia (PLM) Palenque, Mexico (PQM) Palermo, Sicily, Italy (PMO) Palma Mallorca, Spain and Canary Islands (PMI) Palmar, Costa Rica (PMZ) Palmas, TO, Brazil (PMW) Palmerston North, New Zealand (PMR) Palu, Indonesia (PLW) Pamplona, Spain (PNA) Panama City, Panama - Tocumen Intl (PTY) Panama City, Panama - Paitilla (PAC) Pangkalanboun, Indonesia (PKN) Pangkalpinang, Indonesia (PGK) Panjger, Pakistan (PJG) Pantelleria, Italy (PNL) Papa Westray, United Kingdom (PPW) Papeete, French Polynesia (PPT) Paphos, Cyprus (PFO) Para Chinar, Pakistan (PAJ) Paraburdoo, WA, Australia (PBO) Paradise Island, Bahamas (PID) Paramaribo, Suriname - Zanderij Intl (PBM) Paramaribo, Suriname - Zorg En Hoop (ORG) Parana, ER, Argentina (PRA) Parasi, Solomon Islands (PRS) Paris, France - All airports (PAR) Paris, France - Charles Degaulle (CDG) Paris, France - Orly (ORY) Paris, France - Beauvais-Tille (BVA) Parma/Milan, Italy (PMF) Parnaiba, PI, Brazil (PHB) Paro, Bhutan (PBH) Pasni, Pakistan (PSI) Paso de Los Libres, Argentina (AOL) Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil (PFB) Pasto, Colombia (PSO) Patna, India (PAT) Patras, Greece (GPA) Pau, France (PUF) Pavlodar, Kazakhstan (PWQ) Pechora, Russia (PEX) Pekanbaru, Indonesia (PKU) Pelotas, RS, Brazil (PET) Pemba, Mozambique (POL) Pemba, Tanzania - Wawi (PMA) Penang, Malaysia (PEN) Penrhyn Island, Cook Islands (PYE) Penzance, United Kingdom (PZE) Pereira, Colombia (PEI) Perigueux, France (PGX) Perito Moreno, SC, Argentina (PMQ) Perm, Russia (PEE) Perpignan, France (PGF) Perth, Western Australia, Australia (PER) Perugia, Italy (PEG) Pescara, Italy (PSR) Peshawar, Pakistan (PEW) Petrolina, PE, Brazil (PNZ) Petropaulousk-Kamchats, Russia (PKC) Petrozavodsk, Russia (PES) Phalaborwa, South Africa (PHW) Phitsanulok, Thailand (PHS) Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PNH) Phrae, Thailand (PRH) Phu Quoc, Viet Nam - Duong Dang (PQC) Phuket, Thailand (HKT) Pico Island, Portugal (PIX) Piedras Negras, Mexico (PDS) Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (PZB) Pietersburb, South Africa (PTG) Pingtung, Taiwan (PIF) Pisa, Italy - Gal Galilei (PSA) Pituffik, Greenland (THU) Piura, Peru (PIU) Placencia, Belize (PLJ) Pleiku, Viet Nam (PXU) Plettenburg Bay, South Africa (PBZ) Plymouth, United Kingdom (PLH) Podgoriea, Serbia and Montenegro - Golubovci (TGD) Pohnpei, Micronesia (PNI) Pointe Noire, Congo (PNR) Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe (PTP) Poitiers, France - Biard (PIS) Poitiers, France - Rail service (XOP) Pokhara, Nepal (PKR) Poltava, Ukraine (PLV) Polyarnyj, Russia (PYJ) Ponce, Puerto Rico (PSE) Ponta Delgada, Portugal (PDL) Ponta Pora, MS, Brazil (PMG) Pontianak, Indonesia (PNK) Popondetta, Papua New Guinea (PNP) Popraol/Tatry, Slovakia (TAT) Porbandar, India (PBD) Pori, Finland (POR) Porlamar, Venezuela (PMV) Port Antonio, Jamaica (POT) Port Au Prince, Haiti (PAP) Port Augusta, SA, Australia (PUG) Port Berge, Madagascar (WPB) Port Blair, India (IXZ) Port Elizabeth, South Africa (PLZ) Port Gentil, Gabon (POG) Port Harcourt, Nigeria (PHC) Port Headland, WA, Australia (PHE) Port Lincoln, SA, Australia (PLO) Port Macquarie, NS, Australia (PQQ) Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (POM) Port of Spain, Trinidad (POS) Port Stanley, Falkland Islands (PSY) Port Sudan, Sudan (PZU) Port Vila, Vanuatu (VLI) Portland, VI, Australia (PTJ) Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil (POA) Porto Santo, Portugal (PXO) Porto Seguro, Brazil (BPS) Porto Velho, RO, Brazil (PVH) Porto, Portugal (OPO) Portoviejo, Ecuador (PVO) Posadas, MI, Argentina (PSS) Poza Rico, Mexico (PAZ) Poznan, Poland (POZ) Prague, Czech Republic (PRG) Praia, Cape Verde (RAI) Pres. Roque Saenz Pena, CH, Argentina (PRQ) Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil (PPB) Preveza/Lefkas, Greece (PVK) Pristina, Serbia and Montenegro (PRN) Proserpine, QL, Australia (PPP) Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (PLS) Pucallpa, Peru (PCL) Puebla, Mexico (PBC) Puerto Ayacucha, Venezuela (PYH) Puerto Berria, Colombia (PBE) Puerto del Rosario, Spain (FUE) Puerto Deseado, SC, Argentina (PUD) Puerto Escondido, Mexico (PXM) Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica (PJM) Puerto Lempira, Honduras (PEU) Puerto Madryn, CB, Argentina (PMY) Puerto Maldonado, Peru (PEM) Puerto Montt, Chile (PMC) Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela (PZO) Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP) Puerto Princesa, Philippines (PPS) Puerto Suarez, Bolivia (PSZ) Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (PVR) Pula, Croatia (PUY) Pune, India (PNQ) Punta Arenas, Chile (PUQ) Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) Punta Del Este, Uruguay (PDP) Punta Gorda, Belize (PND) Punta Islita, Costa Rica (PBP) Puttaparthi, India (PUT) Putussibau, Indonesia (PSU) Pyongyang, North Korea (FNJ)

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Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia (AQI) Qaqortoq, Greenland (JJU) Qiemo, China (IQM) Qingdao, China (TAO) Qiqihar, China (NDG) Queenstown, New Zealand (ZQN) Quelimane, Mozambique (UEL) Quepos, Costa Rica (XQP) Queretaro, Mexico (QRO) Quetta, Pakistan (UET) Qui Nhon, Viet Nam (UIH) Quibdo, Colombia (UIB) Quimper, France (UIP) Quipi, QL, Australia (ULP) Quito, Ecuador (UIO)

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Rabaraba, Papua New Guinea (RBP) Rabat, Morocco (RBA) Rabaul, Papua New Guinea (RAB) Rach Gia, Viet Nam (VKG) Raduzhnyi, Russia (RAT) Rafha, Saudi Arabia (RAH) Rafsanjan, Iran (RJN) Raiatea, French Polynesia (RFP) Rajkot, India (RAJ) Rajshahi, Bangladesh (RJH) Ramato, Solomon Islands (RBV) Ramingining, NT, Australia (RAM) Ranchi, India (IXR) Ranong, Thailand (UNN) Rarotonga, Cook Islands (RAR) Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (RKT) Rasht, Iran (RAS) Ratanakiri, Cambodia (RBE) Rawala Kot, Pakistan (RAZ) Rebun, Japan (RBJ) Recife, PE, Brazil (REC) Reconquista, SF, Argentina (RCQ) Reggio Calabria, Italy (REG) Rennell, Solomon Islands (RNL) Rennes, France (RNS) Resistencia, CW, Argentina (RES) Reus, Spain and Canary Islands (REU) Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) Reynossa, Mexico (REX) Rhodes, Gabon (RHO) Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil (RAO) Riberalta, Bolivia (RIB) Richards Bay, South Africa (RCB) Richmond, QL, Australia (RCM) Riga, Latvia (RIX) Rijeka, Croatia (RJK) Rimini, Italy (RMI) Rio Branco, AC, Brazil (RBR) Rio Cuarto, CD, Argentina (RCU) Rio De Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (GIG) Rio Gallegos, Argentina - Internacional (RGL) Rio Grande, RS, Brazil (RIG) Rio Grande, TF, Argentina (RGA) Rio Mayo, CB, Argentina (ROY) Rio Verde, GO, Brazil (RVD) Riohacha, Colombia (RCH) Rishiri, Japan (RIS) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (RUH) Riyan Mukalla, Yemen (RIY) Roane, France (RNE) Roatan, Honduras (RTB) Roch Gia, Viet Nam (VKG) Rock Sound, Bahamas (RSD) Rockhampton, QL, Australia (ROK) Rodez, France (RDZ) Rodrigues Island, Mauritius (RRG) Roervik, Norway (RVK) Rognan, Norway (ZXM) Roma, QL, Australia (RMA) Rome, Italy - All airports (ROM) Rome, Italy - Ciampino (CIA) Rome, Italy - Leonardo Da Vinci/Fiumicino (FCO) Rongelap Island, Marshall Islands (RNP) Ronneby, Sweden (RNB) Roros, Norway (RRS) Rorutu, French Polynesia (RUR) Rosario, SF, Argentina (ROS) Rosh Pina, Iceland (RPN) Rost, Norway (RET) Rostock-Laage, Germany (RLG) Rostov, Russia (ROV) Rota, Northern Mariana Islands (ROP) Rotorua, New Zealand (ROT) Rotterdam, Netherlands (RTM) Rouen, France (URO) Rovaniemi, Finland (RVN)

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S. Cristobal del Casas, Mexico (SZT) Saarbruecken, Germany (QFZ) Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (STX) Saint Lucia, ST. LUCIA (SLU) Saint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles (SXM) Saint Petersburg, Russia - Pulkovo (LED) Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (STT) Saint Tropez, France - La Mole (LTT) Saint Tropez, France (XPZ) Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (SPN) Sakon Nakhon, Thailand (SNO) Salehard, Russia (SLY) Salt Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands (SLX) Saltillo, Mexico (SLW) Salvadore, BA, Brazil (SSA) Salzburg, Austria (SZG) Samara, Russia (KUF) Sambaua, Madagascar (SVB) Samburu, Kenya (UAS) Samos, Greece (SMI) San Andres Island, Colombia (ADZ) San Antonio Oesta, RN, Argentina (OES) San Antonio, Venezuela (SVZ) San Carlos, Argentina (BRC) San Jose, Costa Rica - Juan Santa Maria (SJO) San Jose, Costa Rica - Tobias Bolanos Int'l (SYQ) San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) San Juan, SJ, Argentina (UAQ) San Julian, SC, Argentina (ULA) San Luis Potosi, Mexico (SLP) San Luis, SL, Argentina (LUQ) San Marino, San Marino (SAI) San Martin De Los Andes, Argentina (CPC) San Miguel, Panama (NMG) San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP) San Rafael, Argentina (AFA) San Salvador, Bahamas (ZSA) San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL) San Sebastian, Spain (EAS) Sana'a, Yemen (SAH) Sanday, United Kingdom (NDY) Santa Ana, Solomon Islands (NNB) Santa Barbara, Ed, Venezuela (STB) Santa Cruz De La Palma, Spain and Canary Islands - La Palma (SPC) Santa Cruz, Bolivia (VVI) Santa Maria, Brazil (RIA) Santa Maria, Portugal (SMA) Santa Marta, Colombia (SMR) Santa Rosa, LP, Argentina (RSA) Santarem, PA, Brazil (STM) Sante Marie, Madagascar (SMS) Santiago, Chile (SCL) Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI) Santo Angelo, Brazil (GEL) Santo Antao, Cape Verde (NTO) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - Herrera (HEX) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - Las Americas (SDQ) Santo Domingo, Venezuela (STD) Sanya, China (SYX) Sao Nicolau, Cape Verde (SNE) Sao Paulo, Brazil - Congonhas (CGH) Sao Paulo, Brazil - Viracopos (VCP) Sao Paulo, Brazil - Guarulhos Intl (GRU) Sao Tome Is., Sao Tome and Principe (TMS) Sao Vicente, Cape Verde (VXE) Sapporo, Japan - Chitose (CTS) Sapporo, Japan - Okadama (OKD) Sara, Vanuatu (SSR) Saratov, Russia (RTW) Sarmi, Indonesia (ZRM) Satu Mare, Romania (SUJ) Satwag, Papua New Guinea (SWG) Sau Luiz, MA, Brazil (SLZ) Saumlaki, Indonesia (SXK) Savannakhet, Laos (ZVK) Savonlinna, Finland (SVL) Savusavu, Fiji (SVU) Sayaboury, Laos (ZBY) Sege, Solomon Islands (EGM) Seiyun, Yemen (GXF) Selje, Norway (QFK) Semarang, Indonesia (SRG) Senggo, Indonesia (ZEG) Seoul, South Korea - All Airports (SEL) Seoul, South Korea - Gimpo International (GMP) Seoul, South Korea - Incheon International (ICN) Servi, Indonesia (ZRI) Sesriem, Namibia (SZM) Sevilla, Spain and Canary Islands (SVQ) Shanghai, China (PVG) Shannon, Ireland (SNN) Shantou, China (SWA) Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (SSH) Sheffield, United Kingdom (SZD) Shenzhen, China (SZX) Shetland Islands, United Kingdom - Lerwick/Tingwall (LWK) Shetland Islands, United Kingdom - Sumburgh (LSI) Shillavo, Ethiopia (HIL) Shimkent, Kazakhstan (CIT) Shiraz, Iran (SYZ) Shonai, Japan (SYO) Shute Harbor, Australia (JHQ) Siem Reap, Cambodia (REP) Silchar, India (IXS) Simao, China (SYM) Sinak, Indonesia (NKD) Singapore, Singapore - Changi (SIN) Singapore, Singapore - Seletar (XSP) Sintang, Indonesia (SQG) Sisimiut, Greenland (JHS) Sittwe, Myanmar (AKY) Sivas, Turkey (VAS) Skiathos, Greece (JSI) Skopie, Macedonia (FYROM) (SKP) Skovde, Sweden (KVB) Skukuza, South Africa (SZK) Sligo, Ireland (SXL) Soalala, Madagascar (DWB) Soderham, Sweden (SOO) Sofia, Bulgaria (SOF) Sognolal, Norway (SOG) Solo City, Indonesia (SOC) Son-La, Viet Nam - Na-San (SQH) Sorkjosen, Norway (SOJ) Sorocaba, Brazil (SOD) South Andros, Bahamas (TZN) South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands (XSC) South Hampton, United Kingdom (SOU) South Molle Island, QL, Australia (SOI) Split, Croatia (SPU) Spring Point, Bahamas (AXP) Srinagar, India (SXR) St. Croix Island, U.S. Virgin Islands (STX) St Denis de la Reunion, Reunion (RUN) St Kitts, St Kitts and Nevis (SKB) St Pierre, St Pierre and Miquelon (FSP) St Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVD) St. Etienne, France (EBU) St. Eustatius, Netherlands Antilles (EUX) St. Lucia, St. Lucia - Hawnorra (UVF) St. Lucia, St. Lucia (UVF) St. Petersburg, Russia (LED) St. Pierre de la Reunion, Reunion (ZSE) St. Thomas Island, U.S. Virgin Islands (STT) Stavropol, Russia (STW) Stavanger, Norway (SVG) Stella Maris, Bahamas (SML) Stockholm, Sweden - All airports (STO) Stockholm, Sweden - Arlanda (ARN) Stockholm, Sweden - Bromma (BMA) Stornoway, United Kingdom (SYY) Storuman, Sweden (SQO) Strasbourg, France - Bus service (XER) Strasbourg, France - Entzheim (SXB) Stronsay, United Kingdom (SOY) Stung Treng, Cambodia (TNX) Stuttgart, Germany - Echterdingen (STR) Stuttgart, Germany - Rail service (ZWS) Suavanao, Solomon Islands (VAO) Sucre, Bolivia (SRE) Sue Island, QL, Australia (SYU) Sui, Pakistan (SUL) Sukhotthai, Thailand (THS) Sun City, South Africa (NTY) Sunshine Coast, QL, Australia (MCY) Surabaya, Indonesia (SUB) Surat Thani, Thailand (URT) Suva, Fiji (SUV) Sveg, Sweden (EVG) Svolvaer, Norway (SVJ) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (SYD) Sylhet, Bangladesh (ZYL) Szczecin, Poland (SZZ)

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Taba, Egypt (TCP) Tabarka, Tunisia (TBJ) Tabatinga, AM, Brazil (TBT) Tabora, Tanzania (TBO) Tabriz, Iran (TBZ) Tabubil, Papua New Guinea (TBG) Tabuk, Saudi Arabia (TUU) Tacheng, China (TCG) Tachilek, Myanmar (THL) Tacloban, Philippines (TAC) Tacna, Peru (TCQ) Taichung, Taiwan (TXG) Taif, Saudi Arabia (TIF) Tainan, Taiwan (TNN) Taipei, Taiwan - Sung Shan (TSA) Taipei, Taiwan - Chiang Kai Shek (TPE) Taitung, Taiwan (TTT) Taiyuan, China (TYN) Taiz, Yemen (TAI) Tallinn, Estonia (TLL) Tamanrasset, Algeria (TMR) Tamarindo, Costa Rica (TNO) Tamatave, Madagascar (TMM) Tambohorano, Madagascar(WTA) Tambolaka, Indonesia (TMC) Tambor, Costa Rica (TMU) Tampere, Finland (TMP) Tampico, Mexico (TAM) Tamworth, NS, Australia (TMW) Tanahmerah, Indonesia (TMH) Tangier, Morocco (TNG) Tanjung Pandan, Indonesia (TJQ) Tanjung Selor, Indonesia (TJS) Tanna, Vanuatu (TAH) Tapachula, Mexico (TAP) Tarakan, Indonesia (TRK) Taramajma, Japan (TRA) Taranto, Italy (TAR) Tarapoto, Peru (TPP) Tarawa, Kiribati (TRW) Taree, NS, Australia (TRO) Tari, Papua New Guinea (TIZ) Tarija, Bolivia (TJA) Tashkent, Uzbekistan (TAS) Taupo, New Zealand (TUO) Tauranga, New Zealand (TRG) Taveuni, Fiji (TVU) Tawau, Malaysia (TWU) Tbessa, Algeria (TEE) Tbilisi, Georgia (TBS) Tchibanga, Gabon (TCH) Te Anau, New Zealand (TEU) Teesside, United Kingdom (MME) Tefe, AM, Brazil (TFF) Tegucigalpa, Honduras (TGU) Tehran, Iran - Mehrabad (THR) Tekadu, Papua New Guinea (TKB) Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV) Tembagapura, Indonesia (TIM) Teminabuan, Indonesia (TXM) Temuco, Chile (ZCO) Tenerife, Spain and Canary Islands - Norte Los Rodeos (TFN) Tenerife, Spain and the Canary Islands - Sur Reina Sofia (TFS) Tennant Creek, NT, Australia (TCA) Tepic, Mexico (TPQ) Terceira Island, Portugal (TER) Teresina, PI, Brazil (THE) Termez, Uzbekistan (TMJ) Ternate, Indonesia (TTE) Tetabedi, Papua New Guinea (TDB) Tete, Mozambique (TET) Tetuan, Morocco (TTU) Tezpur, India (TEZ) Thandwe, Myanmar (SNW) Thangool, QL, Australia (THG) Thargomindah, QL, Australia (XTG) The Bight, Bahamas (TBI) Thessaloniki, Greece (SKG) Thira, Greece (JTR) Thiruvananthapuram, India (TRV) Thorshofn, Iceland (THO) Thursday Island, QL, Australia (TIS) Tianjn, China (TSN) Tiaret, Algeria (TID) Tiga, New Caledonia (TGJ) Tijuana, Mexico (TIJ) Tikehau Atoll, French Polynesia (TIH) Tiksi, Russia (IKS) Timaru, New Zealand (TIU) Timimoun, Algeria (TMX) Timosoara, Romania (TSR) Tindouf, Algeria (TIN) Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands (TIQ) Tioljikja, Mauritania (TIY) Tioman, Malaysia (TOD) Tippi, Ethiopia (TIE) Tirana, Albania (TIA) Tiree, United Kingdom (TRE) Tirgu Mures, Romania (TGM) Tiruchirapally, India (TRZ) Tirupati, India (TIR) Tivat, Serbia and Montenegro (TIV) Tlemcen, Algeria (TLM) Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago (TAB) Tobruk, Libya (TOB) Tokunoshima, Japan (TKN) Tokushima, Japan (TKS) Tokyo, Japan - All airports (TYO) Tokyo, Japan - Haneda (HND) Tokyo, Japan - Narita (NRT) Toledo, PR, Brazil (TOW) Toluco, Mexico (TLC) Tom Price, WA, Australia (TPR) Tomanggong, Malaysia (TMG) Tombouctou, Mali (TOM) Tomsk, Russia (TOF) Tongliao, China (TGO) Tongoa, Vanuatu (TGH) Toowoomba, QL, Australia (TWB) Torreon, Mexico (TRC) Torres, Vanuatu (TOH) Torsby, Sweden (TYF) Tortola, British Virgin Islands (TOV) Tortoli, Italy (TTB) Tortuquero, Costa Rica (TTQ) Tottori, Japan (TTJ) Touho, New Caledonia (TOU) Toulon, France (TLN) Toulouse, France (TLS) Tours, France (TUF) Tours, France - Rail service (XSH) Townsville, QL, Australia (TSV) Toyama, Japan (TOY) Tozeur, Tunisia (TOE) Trabzon, Turkey (TZX) Trang, Thailand (TST) Trapani, Italy (TPS) Traralgon, VI, Australia (TGN) Treasure Cay, Bahamas (TCB) Trelew, CB, Argentina (REL) Trieste, Italy (TRS) Trinidad, Bolivia (TDD) Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago (POS) Tripoli, Libya (TIP) Trollhattan, Sweden (THN) Trombetas, PA, Brazil (TMT) Tromso, Norway (TOS) Trondheim, Norway (TRD) Trujillo, Honduras (TJI) Trujillo, Peru (TRU) Truk, Micronesia (TKK) Tsaratanana, Madagascar (TTS) Tsiroanomandidy, Madagascar (WTS) Tsumeb, Namibia (TSB) Tsushima, Japan (TSJ) Tubuai, French Polynesia (TUB) Tucuman, TU, Argentina (TUC) Tucupita, Venezuela (TUV) Tucurui, PA, Brazil (TUR) Tufi, Papua New Guinea (TFI) Tuguegarao, Philippines (TUG) Tulcan, Ecuador (TUA) Tulear, Madagascar (TLE) Tum, Ethiopia (TUJ) Tumaco, Colombia (TCO) Tumbes, Peru (TBP) Tunis, Tunisia (TUN) Tunxi, China (TXN) Turaif, Saudi Arabia (TUI) Turbat, Pakistan (TUK) Turin, Italy (TRN) Turku, Finland (TKU) Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico (TGZ) Tyumen, Russia (TJM)

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Ube, Japan (UBJ) Uberaba, MG, Brazil (UBA) Uberlandia, MG, Brazil (UDI) Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand (UBP) Udaipur, India (UDR) Udon Thani, Thailand (UTH) Ufa, Russia (UFA) Ujae Island, Marshall Islands (UJE) Ujung Pandang, Indonesia (UPG) Ukhta, Russia (UCT) Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (ULN) Ulanhot, China (HLH) Ulan-Ude, Russia (UUD) Ulei, Vanuatu (ULB) Uliastai, Mongolia (ULY) Ulithi, Micronesia (ULI) Ulsan, South Korea (USN) Ulundi, South Africa (ULD) Umea, Sweden (UME) Umtata, South Africa (UTT) Upernavik, Greenland (JUV) Upington, South Africa (UTN) Uraj, Russia (URJ) Uralsk, Kazakhstan (URA) Urgench, Uzbekistan (UGC) Urmieh, Iran (OMH) Uroubi, Papua New Guinea (URU) Uruapan, Mexico (UPN) Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil (URG) Urumqi, China (URC) Useless Loop, WA, Australia (USL) Ushuaia, TF, Argentina (USH) Usinsk, Russia (USK) Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan (UKK) Ust-Ilimsk, Russia (UIK) Utapao, Thailand (UTP) Utila, Honduras (UII) Utirik Island, Marshall Islands (UTK) Uummannaq, Greeland (UMD) Uzhgorod, Ukraine (UDJ)

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Vaasa, Finland (VAA) Vadodara, India (BDQ) Vadso, Norway (VDS) Valdivia, Chile (ZAL) Valencia, Spain (VLC) Valencia, Venezuela (VLN) Valenciennes, France (XVS) Valera, Venezuela (VLV) Valesdir, Vanuatu (VLS) Valladolid, Spain and Canary Islands (VLL) Valledupar, Colombia (VUP) Valverde, Spain and Canary Islands - Hierro (VDE) Van, Turkey (VAN) Vancouver, BC (YVR) Vanimo, Papua New Guinea (VAI) Vanuabalavu, Fiji (VBV) Varanasi, India (VNS) Vardoe, Norway (VAW) Varginha, MG, Brazil (VAG) Varkaus, Finland (VRK) Varna, Bulgaria (VAR) Vasteras, Sweden (VST) Vatomatry, Madagascar (VAT) Vava'u, Tonga (VAV) Vaxjo, Sweden (VXO) V.C. Bird International, Antigua & Barbuda (ANU) Venice, Italy - Marco Polo (VCE) Venice, Italy - Treviso (TSF) Veracruz, Mexico (VER) Varadero, Cuba (VRA) Verona, Italy (VRN) Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland (VEY) Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (VFA) Victoria River Downs, NT, Australia (VCD) Viedma, RN, Argentina (VDM) Vienna, Austria (VIE) Vientiane, Laos - Wattay (VTE) Vieques, Puerto Rico (VQS) Vigo, Spain (VGO) Vilanculos, Mozambique (VNX) Vilhelmina, Sweden (VHM) Vilhena, Brazil (BVH) Villa Gesell, BA, Argentina (VLG) Villa Mercedes, SL, Argentina (VME) Villahermosa, Mexico (VSA) Vilnius, Lithuania (VNO) Vinh City, Viet Nam (VII) Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands (VIJ) Visby, Sweden (VBY) Vishakhapatnam, India (VTZ) Vitebsk, Belarus (VTB) Vitoria da Conquista, BA, Brazil (VDC) Vitoria, Spain and Canary Islands (VIT) Vivigani, Papua New Guinea (VIV) Vladikavkaz, Russia (OGZ) Vladivostok, Russia (VVO) Vohemar, Madagascar (VOH) Volgodonsk, Russia (VLK) Volgograd, Russia (VOG) Vopnafjordur, Iceland (VPN) Vorkuta, Russia (VKT) Voronezh, Russia (VOZ)

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Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia (WAE) Wadi Halfa, Sudan (WHF) Wagethe, Indonesia (WET) Wagga Wagga, NS, Australia (WGA) Wahai, Indonesia (WBA) Waingapo, Indonesia (WGP) Wakkanai, Japan (WKJ) Walaha, Vanuatu (WLH) Walgett, NS, Australia (WGE) Wallis Island, Wallis and Futuna Islands (WLS) Walvis Bay, Namibia (WVB) Wamena, Indonesia (WMX) Wanaka, New Zealand (WKA) Wanganui, New Zealand (WAG) Wangerooge, Germany (AGE) Wanigela, Papua New Guinea (AGL) Wanxian, China (WXN) Warsaw, Poland (WAW) Wasior, Indonesia (WSR) Wasu, Papua New Guinea (WSU) Waterford, Ireland (WAT) Wau, Papua New Guinea (WUG) Wau, Sudan (WUU) Wedau, Papua New Guinea (WED) Wedjh, Saudi Arabia (EJH) Weihai, China (WEH) Weipa, QL, Australia (WEI) Wellington, New Zealand (WLG) Wenzhou, China (WNZ) Westerland, Germany (GWT) Westport, New Zealand (WSZ) Westray, United Kingdom (WRY) Wewak, Papua New Guinea (WWK) Whakatane, New Zealand (WHK) Whangarei, New Zealand (WRE) Whyalla, SA, Australia (WYA) Wick, United Kingdom (WIC) Wilhelmshaven, Germany (WVN) Wiluna, WA, Australia (WUN) Windarra, QL, Australia (WNR) Winton, QL, Australia (WIN) Woja, Marshall Islands (WJA) Wonan, Taiwan (WOT) WonJu, South Korea (WJU) Wotho Island, Marshall Islands (WTO) Wotje Island, Marshall Islands (WTE) Wroclaw, Poland (WRO) Wudinna, SA, Australia (WUD) Wuhan, China (WUH) Wuyishan, China (WUS) Wyndham, WA, Australia (WYN)

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Xiamen, China (XMN) Xi An, China - Xianyang (XIY) Xiangfan, China (XFN) Xichang, China (XIC) Xieng Khouang, Laos (XKH) Xilinhot, China (XIL) Xining, China (XNN) Xuzhou, China (XUZ)

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Yakutsk, Russia (YKS) Yalumet, Papua New Guinea (KYX) Yam Island, QL, Australia (XMY) Yamagata, Japan (GAJ) Yan'an, China (ENY) Yanbu, Saudi Arabia (YNB) Yancheng, China (YNZ) Yandina, Solomon Islands (XYA) Yangon, Myanmar (RGN) Yanji, China (YNJ) Yantai, China (YNT) Yaounde, Cameroon (YAO) Yap, Micronesia (YAP) Yaroslavl, Russia (IAR) Yazd, Iran (AZD) Yelimane, Mali (EYL) Yeosu, South Korea (RSU) Yerevan, Armenia (EVN) Yibin, China (YBP) Yichang, China (YIH) Yinchuan, China (INC) Yining, China (YIN) Yiwu, China (YIW) Yogyakarta, Indonesia (JOG) Yonago, Japan (YGJ) Yonaguni Jima, Japan (OGN) Yorke Island, QL, Australia (OKR) Yoronjima, Japan (RNJ) Yulin, China (UYN) Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia (UUS)

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Zadar, Croatia (ZAD) Zagreb, Croatia (ZAG) Zahedan, Iran (ZAH) Zakinthos Island, Greece (ZTH) Zamboanga, Philippines (ZAM) Zanzibar, Tanzania - Kisauni (ZNZ) Zaporozhye, Ukraine (OZH) Zaragoza, Spain and Canary Islands (ZAZ) Zhanjiang, China (ZHA) Zhaotong, China (ZAT) Zhengzha, China (CGO) Zhob, Pakistan (PZH) Zhoushan, China (HSN) Zhuhai, China (ZUH) Zielana, Poland (IEG) Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, Mexico (ZIH) Zouerate, Mauritania (OUZ) Zugapa, Indonesia (UGU) Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH)

Airport Codes

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:50:45 +0000

Yeah, so I've decided in an blunt move impulsed by my beloved little brain, that I would learn by heart all existing Airport Codes. And I've also added a page will all of them so you guys can monitor my progress...

iPhone

Sodwee — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:25:24 +0000

I all, well the almighty iPhone just came out yesterday in France, and I will be getting mine in about 2 hours from now. I've been dreading the official release of that beauty since first announcement by Mr Jobs quite some time ago in Cupertino. I will update you guys later on how my fingers pinch, flick and touch the little gadget.

Blogging from my phone

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:30:01 +0000

I all, as you know now, I have my new iphone. Sending this post through to you over wireless means of communication. I’ll be updating this blog as often as I can providing I have a connexion of course. I haven’t heard back from emirates yet. No news is good news !! That is all I have on offer for now. Cherrio

Venice & cool places

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:10:59 +0000

uploaded on 20th November, 2007

hi there, just been to venice and wanted to share some pictures with you!!

Kebe.

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:20:49 +0000

uploaded on 1st December, 2007

Sipping havana club…

Sodwee — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:40:37 +0000

uploaded on 2nd December, 2007

Just a quick one to say i'm enjoying myself in front of a havana &
coke. Been working this morning, it's now my weekend...
--
Ben

stress and how to deal with it

Sodwee — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:07:24 +0000

I've got a few weeks before I get the response from emirates airline. I'm already seeing myself as a CC or flight attendant already but the chances are so very slim that I'm pretty scared of what to do next. I also have a flatshare pending and can't realy give an ok go for this either. Hopefully and with the little luck I have I might be living in Dubai sometime early next time.

Well Well Well

Sodwee — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:45:27 +0000

Need Gas ? We have it !!! Yes so I got THE MOTHER OF ALL CALLS yesterday, will be joining the Emirates Cabin Crew Shenanigans on the 14th of March 2008. In approximately 2 months and a half. Thrilled Thrilled Thrilled ! Waiting for further information with the email they supposed to send me. Medicals await. A whole load of stress coming up too ! I can finally rejoice to the fact I'll be resigning my shitty old position at the Westin Paris Hotel. Finished with being slaved around like a dog, shitty wage and shitty working conditions. Hurrrrayyy.

2050622346_d5906db58d_b.jpg

Sodwee — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:17:24 +0000

http://teacoffeeorme.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/2050622346_d5906db58d_b.jpg

M E D I C A L S !!!!!!!!!

Sodwee — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 01:04:10 +0000

Next step in that rush to Dubai, is of course the famous and dreaded medicals. To add to the challenge, they have to be completed in 2 weeks only. So when you're working full time in some office, you can battle hard to find a slot in the middle of the day for X-rays without pissing off your boss... Anyway most of it is quite straighforward. But the whole thing has to be written in English or translated into English by an official translator, adding to the immense fortune you already spent on X-rays. Administration here in France SUCKS MAJOR HELL ! All they care about is you standing in the queue, this is how french buraucracy operates : NO QUEUE, NO PAPERS. I've got a whollaping 2 months also before my plane thrusts off towards Middle Eastern Sin City and still having trouble gathering all the info the HR office needs. I've got one week before the medicals deadline, and I've so far managed to get ONE X-ray in. Dentals will be a piece of cake, Mum found out that her Dentist will do it in english. My best bet for the moment is to crash at the American Hospital Of Paris and get all of my forms completed there. The only problem is that they are not part of the über-social security France can offer : meaning I will have to dish out some cash to get it those medicals done ASAP. But hopefully this will save some hassle. OOOh BIG NEWS ! I've resigned from Hotel Westin Paris ! Such a relief, will be done with this shithole in 1 week and a half. Boss isn't talking to me anymore : way too cool. It's oooh sooo crackin' how he ignores me, love it to bits, it's like I'm not part of the team anymore, makes me laugh. How can a GM be so childish ? I cannot understand. Voilà, that's where I stand for now. If you happen to be a French Citizen, in France, doing his medicals for Emirates then get in touch I would like to know how you get on ! Just so you guys know, I'm at the moment tripping on Daft Punk's "ALIVE" album. Jam that masterpiece in your iPod and you'll thank me while you'll listen to it during your commuting. Many friends are finding out and want to take me for drinks. The answer, unfortunately, at least for this coming week will be a NO. I'm passing medicals so want them to be clean ! Here are some pictures I took at New Years Eve 2008 :

Daft Punk - ALIVE 2007

Sodwee — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 01:13:41 +0000

Update : Medicals !

Sodwee — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:37:34 +0000

I'm finally into the whole thing now, I can see clearly now the rain has gone as Jimmy would say. Been running around like a headless chicken for the last week, 18 hours per day is quite long, especially for a lightweight like me. Anyway, just been for Chest X-rays, got it in English as asked but only got one single line saying "Chest X-ray normal.". Hope this will get the OK. I decided not to go for the well-to-expensive-exclusive-jetsetting American Hospital Of Paris (in the heart of Neuilly, President Nicolas Sarkozy was mayor of that rich ass town) because they quoted me 1000 euros for basic medical exams which obviously is ludacris in a country where you can get them for FREE.Meeting with GP this evening, so will get on more about how it goes in the next post !

tarmac2.jpg

Sodwee — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 01:58:48 +0000

http://teacoffeeorme.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/tarmac2.jpg

Contact

Sodwee — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:08:12 +0000

Use this form to get in touch with me. I'll try to answer ASAP. It is robot/spam protected ! Bear with me, I receive quite a few emails daily. It might take a few minutes for me to respond like it could take a few days. Try adding me on Facebook, this might be a quicker way to get in touch as I'm a total addict...

[contact-form 1 "Contact form 1"]

Medicals sent !

Sodwee — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:00:15 +0000

Ok, it's around 3 o' clock in the morning, just sent the medicals to Dubai, and the sun there is about to show up. Their offices open in about a few minutes from now !! I'm dreading what they gonna say. Hope everything is ok. Doctor said so. Cross fingers !

For those in need of information about the medicals

Sodwee — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:18:22 +0000

Here is what you will have to provide to join Emirates Airline as far as medicals are concerned :

HIV report
Haemoglobin Count
A Detailed Chest X Ray report about heart and lungs.
Audiogram report & graph (graph is very important for approval of such)
Cervical smear test report (for females only - if applicable)
Dental certificate
Vaccination certificate with the initial course date.
Eye test: we require you to do an eye test whether you are wearing glasses/contact lenses or not

I spent around 450 euros to do all those, most of them will be refunded by French Social Security, but make sure you speak to your General Practician first. It took me around 5 full days to complete (and I'm not sure they are complete actually, will find out soon I guess). If you have any questions, please feel free in sending me an email

Next hurdle ?

Sodwee — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:55:47 +0000

I have a Mount-Fuji-like of things to do before I jet off to the middle east. Here's a memo for myself :

~~Empty my locker at the hotel, it's full of nonsense, I got about 20 pens, 6 cork-screws and hundreds of bottle caps (from the time I used to empty my pockets from a shift into that locker).~~ DONE !
Get a brand new ID card.
Get a shiny new French Passport.
Get Photographs of myself taken in Business Attire, meaning with a suit so, in the unfortunate case of me tresspassing in a plane crash, they'd have a cool looking photo of me to publish in newspapers, and of course with SkyBlue backdrop : the standard in this industry.
Get brothers and folks official papers (Birth Certificates & passports) scanned and mailed to Emirates HR, for traval benefits.
Get written references from former employers/managers.
Get letter of resignation from the WestShite Hotel Paris.
Pack for Dubai.
Say goodbye to everyone, maybe organise something here in Paris.
Plan a little getaway in Toulouse with Doodles and the crew.
Go to Dentist for a few removals here and there, fillings etc...
Sort out the iPhone hooha with, get it officially unblocked by Orange.
Banking details.
Scan important papers...

I could go on for ages. So yeah, Ben will be a busy boy in the future weeks, but at least I won't have to drag my arse down to place Vendôme! and will be able to enjoy the peeps I haven't seen in a while too !

Photo Albums

Sodwee — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:08:42 +0000

This page will take a while to load, please be patient.

These are all the pictures I took while flying around the world. Use the menu below to jump to a specific album.

Paris | Dubai | Kuala Lumpur | Bangkok | Hong Kong | Jakarta | Jeddah | Manila | Mauritius | Melbourne | New York | Sao Paulo | Singapore | Venice | Paris Leaving do | Emirates Training | FrogPubs

Paris

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Paris Leaving Party

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Emirates Training

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Dub-Dub

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Kuala Lumpur

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Bangkok

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Hong Kong

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Jakarta

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Jeddah

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Manila

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Mauritius

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New York City

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Sao Paulo

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Singapore-Melbourne

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Venice

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FrogPubs

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs & The Editors

Sodwee — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:58:37 +0000

I needed to share this with you guys. These are two tracks I can't get away from, the almighty Yeah Yeah Yeahs ' Pin track and a brilliant cover of "Feel Good Inc."from the Editors (a major 2007 breakthrough band...) during Jo Whiley's Live Lounge. Enjoy ! [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/specials/02%20Pin.mp3] Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Pin [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/specials/Feel%20Good%20Inc.%20(Gorillaz%20cover).mp3] The Editors - Feel Good Inc. (Gorillaz cover)

BLOOOODY RADIOLOGISTS

Sodwee — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:55:34 +0000

How hard is it for a HIGHLY educated Radiologist (with like at least 10 years of high education, not mentioning the many english courses he had to take in order to get his license) to type me up an English Report ? This bloomin' ¨***%¨¨*%ker wouldn't type up a 3 line report in english because he's too much of a stooopid lazy ass. Got in his office, told him I needed a full detailed report in english about heart and lungs, that is what he came up with :

"CHEST X-RAY NORMAL"

And that is a fact. Now what kind of Doctor is that ? I'm in despare.

Vintage Flight Attendant - Cabin Crew

Sodwee — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:44:23 +0000

Landlords

Sodwee — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:46:17 +0000

Ok I finally gathered all the papers I needed to update for the medical handbook. Yet another stressful day. Been waiting for the landlord all afternoon in order for HIM to change our leaking tap in the kitchen, as well as the leaking tap in the toilets. UPDATE : The landlord has finally made his way into the flat ! Patience is a vertue, patience put into practice (today was one) gives you a whole new design and layout for this blog. You'll be able to read, listen and watch with the added features of having your blog self-hosted (on my own server...). One month till we drive to Wales, visit Granny and family. Then off to Normandy to say goodbye to the other half of the smala. One month left to :

Get new ID / Passport
Written References
Toulouse
Send Refund Papers to Secu
Unblock Iphone
Fill In the Expat Forms
Get Dental X-rays updated
Get 2 wisdom teeth out (ouch).

How do you enroll in an Airline ? Here's the definite answer.

Sodwee — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:54:35 +0000

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=LcwKtl8yzoY[/youtube] Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcwKtl8yzoY In fact, I never saw this video until the open day. Dad actually forced to apply online.It was a gamble I knew I wouldn't match their criteria. To little did I know...

A to Z : Joining Emirates Cabin Crew

Sodwee — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 03:04:02 +0000

Many have asked how to join the company as Cabin Crew, many questions. I'll try my best to answer them in ONE post. I'll try to give a detailed chronology of how you could get a job working for Emirates, but that is only based on my experience so far. There's probably other ways to join but I'll go for the most common one, the one that applies to any wannabees out there. I'll also try to design some sort of chart to be even clearer. Ok, the first questions you ask yourself BEFORE joining ANY airline company, targeting a Cabin Crew/flight attendant job are :

Is it really want I want to be doing ?
Am I afraid of staying up 20 hours straight with make-up, shoes and customers to please in an aircraft ?
Will I be OK with moving to a foreign country (Dubai UAE, for example) or not ?
Being on the move 24/7, christmas, NYE, Holiday periods bothers me ?
Does a strict/standard driven atmosphere bores you already ?
Wearing a uniform is a burden ?
SMILE 24/7 doesn't suit you ?

There's a lot more to add, but if the answers to those few questions is negative, then I think you should reconsider your objective. Otherwise you can move on and read the rest !

You like working in a team ?
You like meeting new people every day ?
You like moving around ?
You like the customer service industry ?
You like satisfying others might it be colleagues or customers ?
You like learning new cultures ?
You speak TWO languages ?

Those aren't the only questions but if the answer is yes to all of those, then you have the kind of profile airline companies are looking for. Ok, so we've been through the first screening, or "self-screening". Many screenings are to come in the future of your application with Emirates. The next step is to apply for an Open Day/Assessment Day with the airline. Those Open Days are regurlarly held in major cities where Fly Emirates operates. Held around twice a year depending on the country, this can vary and I won't be able to give you any information towards that. I went to the Open Day in Paris last year and I will base this breakdown on the stages I've been through. I think it's the same procedure everywhere with little differences. Now that you're ok with the pros & cons of being a flight attendant / Stewardess / Cabin Crew you can start applying online. Go to http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com and look for the box in which a link is named "Register your interest here if there are no suitable vacancies". Read the whole pages, they will give you basic information on working with them, living in Dubai etc etc. You'll also have to comply with those requirements :

Minimum age 21 years at the time of application.
Minimum arm reach of 212 cms (on tip toes), which will enable you to reach emergency equipment on all aircraft types.
Educated to at least high school standard.
Medically fit to meet aircrew requirements.
Fluent in written and spoken English (fluency in another language is an asset).
Previous experience in the service/hospitality industry is an advantage.
Finally, you will be the sort of person who has the natural ability to provide excellent service within a team environment.

Then click the given link (Click "register"), and you'll be taken to the online application form... You'll have to create a Cabin Crew Application that they'll refer to until you are actually successful to join. Fill in every single thing they ask (red star next to a field means it is required information). It will take you quite some time. Never close the window until you've completed the whole form or you're information won't be saved. After you've completed the form you'll receive a automatic confirmation email with your reference number, password and what have you... The waiting begins here. Hold on because Emirates will take your patience to the limits, and that is just the beginning. If you fit in what they are looking for they will send you an invitation to a Open/Assessment Day nearest to your home (mine was Paris). You'll be given a date, time & place. Usually a conference center or hotel with conference rooms near a international airport. For the Open Day you will need to bring along with you :

Updated CV (Curriculum Vitae) > Now, on the CV, make it clear and un-cluttered, if you've had any previous customer service experience then this is a very good idea to have at the top of your resume. Remember, if you haven't got any previous customer service experience it is not a problem, you'll probably strike them with something else ! If they think they can train you in customer service they WILL DO IT !
6 Passport Size Photographs > business attire, neatly groomed, looking gorgeous, no scarfs, light make-up for women, non for men ! and most importantly SMILE (even french citizens should smile on those Passport photos). A genuine smile will make the difference when your file is in that pile.
2 Full Sized (10x15 cm) Photographs in Business Attire > Suit, white shirt, tie and shoes for men / Knee length skirt or dress with skin coloured stockings (no scarf) for women. Those photographs will be presented a round table of judges back in Dubai as per the recruitment officer I had, so keep SMILING, give the best of you !
2 casual Full Sized (10x15 cm) Photographs > those photos must be of you in a natural setting, casually dressed, not smoking nor drinking. Alone is best, if you haven't got any alone, then ones where the recruitment officer can recognize you.
Photocopy of your Passport
Photocopies of School Certificates
PENS and I'm not joking.

That's all you'll need to bring. Get ready for those days, as they'll be testing your patience, nerves and your will of becoming a Cabin Crew. 2 or 3 days before the actual day, gather everything you need in a safe place, so you don't have to run around and search for that piece of paper. Get your hair cut if needed. You'll also need to know where you'll be going on the day, where the hotel is situated, how long it takes to get there etc etc. You don't want to arrive late ot not at all after all this prep ! On the day. Wake nice and early. EAT EAT EAT your breakfast ! Have a hella good shower, don't forget to bring nibbles/sandwich with you and a bottle of any kind of soft you want : you'll thank me later. Get ready for a very long day. Then jet off to the given location. I suggest you get there 30-45 minutes earlier (say 8.30 am) in order to get in line with the first attendees. You'll then be in the first group and will be able to leave earlier that day...etc... If you haven't had your coffee yet, it's time. Mind you 4 star hotels aren't cheap, and that's where the Open Day will be held. You'll notice when you have that expensive coffee that you're not the only one attending the Open Day. Many people tend to show up, like the day I was there, 215 showed up. That is why you need to get in early. Get to know the people around you, make contact. Stay polite though. They will be the only people you'll see for the next three days if you're successfull in every stage (I'm gonna break them down in the next paragraph), and possibly some of them will become your colleagues in Dubai ! The Day begins at 9.00 am sharp :

They will call everyone in the conference room to drop CV/resume & photos. Remember as you're doing that to smile and be polite, answer the recruitment officer looking in the eyes etc etc, give a good first impression. Be organised with your papers. Say thank you. Take a seat and wait till everyone as given theirs.
The 2 recruitment officers will then give you an introduction to the company and on how the day will go on, show a video and then proceed to a first screening of your resume & height reach (212 cm on tip-toes without shoes). You will have approximately 2 minutes to convince them. She will call your number and will watch your allure as you walk to him/her. He/she will ask you a quick question on something that interests them in your CV, why you speak such and such language and maybe something about customer service. This is where your ability to speak english will be tested, your genuine smile will make the difference and your general attitude will strike. Take it easy, do not stress, there is no need at this point. Answer quickly, ask to repeat if you need to. Be short, specific and open. Keep looking at the person when he/she speaks, make sure she knows you're listenning. Don't over do it. Say thank you when she says she's done with you. Go back to your seat. and then wait, and wait more... until the officers have finished screening everyone.
Everyone will be invited to leave the room for the officer to pick out the successfull ones. You'll then be all invited back in for the results. You'll either get a "Congratulations, you have successfully passed this stage of the...." or a "We regret we cannot...". This will be the procedure between each screening or assessment.
The successfull ones will be invited back into the conference room for an other screening. This time depending on the number of applicants, you may be divided into two groups. They will invite you to fill in a PF16 or Personality Test. This is basically a test to sum up your personality (it has no impact on your success of the screening. You'll then be invited to pass and english test. Now this test will be decisive. You'll be given 45 minutes to complete it. It will be an understanding and essay type of test. Nothing too complicated, but requires quite a decent level in English to complete.
You'll then get the usual Congrats / Regrets procedure...
If you're successful you'll be invited to the assessment groups. You'll be given a group number in which you'll have to evolve within a group discussion on a given topic/situation. The aim here is to see if you're likely to develop and react well in a group/team. There's no right or wrong answers, you only have to dose your contribution to the group in a good way, politely with confidence and without interupting your colleagues. Reacting to their opinions and balancing with your... Recap, recentre the discussion if necessary, you and your team will have to focus on the objective given by the recruitment officer. She will taken notes during the whole process and she will then ask if you have all agreed on the situation/topic and will invite you to wait outside while she takes a decision.
You'll go through the"congrats/regrets" part again.
After that if you're successfull, you'll be invited the following days for a private 2-to-1 or one2one Final Interview with the recruitment officers where they will ask you multiple questions about previous work experience and hobbies etc etc. The usual basic interview. They will also put you into situations like "what was the worst customer you had to wait at your restaurant" for example.
That is the last hurdle in the Open Day. More waiting is to come. You'll be notified by email if you have not succeeded or by phone if you've passed.

By That time it's nearly bed time or even more. Once you get your Phone Call (4-6 weeks later) saying you successfully passed your final interview, she will send you details on the medical handbook you'll have to provide prior to joining, the date you supposed to be flying in Dubai and the Contract. Yes because you're not technically hired until you pass the medicals. So you'll have quite an extensive list of medical stuff to do :

HIV report
Haemoglobin Count
A Detailed Chest X Ray report about heart and lungs.
Audiogram report & graph (graph is very important for approval of such)
Cervical smear test report (for females only - if applicable)
Dental certificate
Vaccination certificate with the initial course date.
Eye test: we require you to do an eye test whether you are wearing glasses/contact lenses or not

I spent around 350 euros to do all those, most of them will be refunded by French Social Security, but make sure you speak to your General Practician first. It took me around 5 full days to complete You'll have to scan and send those medicals via email as soon as you have completed them. And guess what, it's not over ! You'll also have to scan & send the signed contract, yours & your relatives passports, birth certificates. After that you'll get another call saying you passed the medicals and ready to join. After receiving the Final Approval call, you'll be notified by email of the date & time of you leaving flight to Dubai. Emirates wont cover the costs of transportation from your home to the designated ALD airport (ALD "annual leave destination", the destination you're entitled to for 1 annual free ticket). You'll also have to scan and email your "Letter of acceptance of resignation" from your present employer or notify by email Emirates if you're unemployed. On joining Emirates (joining starts the day you leave for Dubai with e-Ticket & visa), you will have to give a list of documents listed below :

Passport & Entry Permit (With date of arrival & stamp on it)
Original Medical & Dental reports with X-rays
20 passport size photographs with blue background (polaroïd & digital not accepted)
4 photographs (size 3'x3.5') without spectacles nor headgear (GCAA requirement)
Original & one set of photocopies of educational/professional qualification certificates for verification purposes only
Documentary evidence in English : - Copies of Passport & Birth certificates from your parents, spouse, brothers and sisters or other benificiaries (if unable to submit those when joining you have the option to hand them in to the HR office within 3 months after joining).

Ladies and Gentlemen, Once your Final Approval has been sent to you, you'll smell the end of "paper work madness / Scan & Email addiction" coming right at you ! This email came on the very last week (on the Tuesday, and supposed to fly out on the Friday). But it doesn't all end here. You should send them your Letter Of Resignation from your employer (obviously, if you're not employed, then notify by email). And generally a few days later you'll get your e-Ticket and Visa. They will be sent by mail so keep a good eye on your inbox. Once that received you'll have to confirm you have received them, a simple email will do fine. This was A to Z Joining Emirates Cabin Crew. I will post more stories in a different posts from now on, because this one is getting long and very boring to read. Bookmark this blog for future reference ! I'm flying out on Friday 14th March 2008 and will be updating as much as possible from Dubai providing I can access internet ! Hope this will clarify (or not) your perception of the Open Day and what comes after... PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FAQ, if you can't find your answer please use the form at the top of the page so I can answer it !

Map

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:33:08 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #33

Sodwee — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:15:45 +0000

Adele > Last Nite (The Strokes Cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/Last%20Nite%20(The%20Strokes%20Cover).mp3] Tom Jones > She Drives Me Crazy (Fine Young Cannibals cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/She%20drives%20me%20crazy%20(Fine%20Youg%20Cannibals%20cover).mp3] Michael Jackson > Come Together (The Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/08%20Come%20Together.mp3] Swamp Dogg > Lady Madonna (The Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/03%20Lady%20Madonna.mp3] Laura Love > Come As You Are (Nirvana cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/09%20Come%20As%20You%20Are%20(Nirvana%20cover).mp3] Timbaland VS. The Gossip > The Way I Are Standing In The Way (mash) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/The%20Way%20I%20Are%20Standing%20In%20The%20Way.mp3] La Pompe Moderne > Plus Dur, Meilleur, Plus Vite, Plus Fort (Daft Punk cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/04%20Plus%20Dur%20Meilleur%20Plus%20Rapide%20Plus%20Fort%20(Daft%20Punk%20Cover).mp3] Moulin Rouge Cast > Roxanne (The Police cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/Roxanne%20(The%20Police%20cover).mp3] The BossHoss > Toxic (Britney Spears cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-37/Toxic%20(Britney%20spears).mp3]

Sunday Jukebox & random thoughts

Sodwee — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:29:21 +0000

Howdy ! Cowboy style, I've manage to be courageous enough to get my arse over to the very nice dentist mother recommended. Yeah, I had to get rid of my upper-wisdomteeth so I could fly to Dubai without stressing over the fact I'd have to remove them over there in unknown conditions... So the dentist trauma is over. She rightfully injected a real good dose of anesthetic so she could deal with them easily and not having jump around in pain. And hell it was quick. We we're done in just over 15 minutes. Couldn't believe it. My previous dentist took around 3 times more for the lower part of my jaw... hummmm... Anyways, haven't heard anything from Emirates regarding my medicals yet, hopefully they will be calling me soon. Flatmate(s) now knows that I'll be gone by the end of February, so I'm kind of relieved, it's a weight off my back. I can now search for a "colocataire" (flatmate in french). Voilà been out yesterday at Café OZ in central Paris, they were celebrating god knows which official Aussie date, I think it was Australia Day, well that's what I heard. Got two beer down the neck, this helped get the holes in my gum swell down and stop bleeding, I recommend it ! Instead of pain killers. And I've compiled some awesome music for you guys to enjoy. Feel free to download as much as you want, get an eargasm :

Banking, Relocating & Australia Day

Sodwee — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:24:26 +0000

In a never-seen-before banking drama, ie Societe General loosing 5 billion euros with one simple little click of a computer mouse, I'm about to change current account. It might seem very boring, but because I'm supposed to be relocating in March I'm looking into the bank underbelly of hidden costs and services/unservices they can offer. So far so good with Société Générale, no problems, a little pricey but they give efficient and quality service, as far as I've experienced it, meaning not having to deal with bank managers. Been a good boy with my pennies. Anyways thats not the point of this post. I wanted to highlight the fact that moving abroad will include having another bank account in order to be paid in UAD's (United Arab Dollars). I will also keep my french account and wanted a special account with reduced fees for moving dosh around as much as I can, plus an international card. So Benny boy will have a MasterCard for his spendings. Why a MasterCard when you have so little money ? you might ask ! Well since I need my french account to go through the first few months of training and relocating... I need a card and a account for me to pay for living costs in Dubai, IKEA shopping for instance, without paying an extraordinary amount of banking fees. And whilst I'll be working for Emirates I won't be paid until another month after arrival.

So I've contacted the special Expatriates Department of the bank, was very surprised they even had that sort of department, and got all the info I needed from a very gentle and passionate women over the phone. I was way back in the 1920's you could get such service ! And she advised me to go for a special expats account where you can withdraw cash at foreign ATMs without paying any banking fees, move dosh from one account to another without any banking fees etc etc. So this seems the perfect fit for someone traveling. I was happy. This, actually, made my day ! Knowing I won't spend much in Banking fees etc is a relief. For practically the same banking fee I'm paying at the moment ! I'm in desperate need of flip flops, t-shirts and shorts too ! I'll get round this in the next post I think ! In a more joyful subject, it was Australia Day party we went to last Saturday, us, being those french ignorant little devils, we didn't know, so before I rant along : Happy Australia Day to anyone who reads this blog and to contacts of mine (I'm thinking Konrad, Aussie Nat and Phil Allas) living down under. Alex, a HEC grad student, Liam, a Bartender here in Paris and myself hit up Café OZ, the second australian ambassy, not knowing what special day it was for our fellow Aussies and this is what we encountered : A packed sweat-stinking pub with mostly australians, a few kiwis and many lost french couples not knowing what to do. Hilarious it was, pumping atmosphere, good DJ blasting cool 80's tunes mixed with more recent crap. Nice adress, check it out as soon as you land in Parreeee

Radiohead Close 2007 With a Free Gig and Everyone’s Invited. Kind Of.

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:17:13 +0000

Ensuring that no other band has the slightest chance of being the most talked about in 2007, Radiohead are closing the year that belonged to their record, In Rainbows, with a full pre-recorded live performance of it on NYE. From Dead Air Space:

As you may now have heard we will be broadcasting a pre-recording of some songs and other bits on New Years Eve..
you will be able to view it online from here at midnight new years eve, uk time that is…

this is a wee celebration of the release of the physical manifestation of ‘in rainbows’.

Wait a minute, people are actually going to buy this physical manifestation in stores? (Yes, I did pay $90 for the Discbox and its lovely, thank you.) Thom must be referring to all of the Brazilians, Argentineans, Japanese and his own mother who somewhow missed out on it.

Watch the webcast, going by the very Radioheadish name of ’scotch_mist’ on Radiohead.tv ‘live’ on January 1st, 11am Sydney time, or subscribe to the In Rainbows podcast here. But hey, I’m sure the widget I installed on your mum’s Facebook would have told you all this already, right?

Van Morisson - Gloria (Murge remix)

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:44:52 +0000

Remixed

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:55:12 +0000

Here's a selection of remixes, some better than others. I suggest you go for the Murge ones as they've got a wiggle out of me. Also the Prince one will get your party rockin' ! [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/specials/Gloria%20(Murge%20Remix).mp3] Van Morisson - Gloria (Murge Remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/remixed/Discotraxxxx%20(Poligono%20Remix).mp3] Ladytron - Discotraxxx (Poligono Remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/remixed/Ghost%20(Murge%20Remix).mp3] Tegan & Sara - Walking With A Ghost (Murge Remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/remixed/1999%20(BRichs%20NYE%20Work%20Out).mp3] Prince - 1999 (B. Rich's NYE Work Out)

Making contact & Keeping it.

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:58:23 +0000

If you're looking for some CABIN CREW contacts, we have 3 top web destinations for you. Get make-up on, pamper yourself and pimp your profile. Here are the 3 best Flight Attendant websites/forums on the web. This is where I basically got to know about how to succeed in selection processes, got to know the job a little more and made contacts via specifically designated forums for Dubai/Emirates crew members or wannabies. Great atmosphere in those actually. No bitching, which is a classic on other nerdy/geeky forums (one of the reasons I hate those kind of places). But in the end you'll add a lot of information about the job and how things generally work. Remember stick to the topic when you're answering or you'll get a bollocking from one of the moderators !

French Speakers : PNC-CONTACT

English Speakers : PPrune Forums (this is cabin crew/flight deck mecca for who is interested in any aspect of the industry !)

English Speakers : CabinCrew.com (quite vague and inaccessible sometimes due to server overload

That was for making contact, now you wonder how you're gonna keep those contact in a safe place, maintain them etc. Well the answer lies with the internet phenomenom called Facebook. Something everyone has heard off, unless you've lived disconnected from the real world since 1952. It is a very simple effective way of keeping in touch with your relatives and friends whereever you might be. It also lets you display pictures, videos and update what they call a mini-feed of what's happening in your life. At the time I'm writting these pithy words, probably half the damn planet has a profile on this addicting website. Note that the logo has changed into on more eye-catching artefact. It changes whenever you change page or reload. Thus limiting the lenght of boredom when you read this blog. Hope you lik them, because I do ! And because we love you so very much, we can offer you the latest in N.E.R.D. music material. This is the song that has leaked from their forthcoming album : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/everybodynose.mp3]

N.E.R.D. - Everybody Nose

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:45:25 +0000

Saturday Jukebox - Adele, the new Winehouse...

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:03:26 +0000

Adele has been the discovery of 2008 back in the UK. As french are so far behind in music business we'll probably hear of her in late 2012. But Airboy is digging this Winehouse-without-crack-nor-booze singer. Young & Talented. Thanks to this internet buzz along with her appearance on the Live Lounge by Jo Whiley (hottest radio animator), and not to mention her numerous videos on Youtube plus Later With Jools Holland made her breakout. Here are two of my favourite songs :

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/08-right-as-rain.mp3] Adele - Right As Rain
[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/my-same.mp3] Adele - My Same

Otherwise, some classic tunes to follow. Eargasm with the cover version of Crazy by Twenty Seven (27)... Enjoy !

The Rolling Stones > Miss You (Dr. DRE remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/02%20Miss%20You%20%28Dr.%20Dre%20Remix%29.mp3] Corinne Bailey Rae > Steady As She Goes (Raconteurs cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/20%20Steady%20As%20She%20Goes%20%28Raconteurs%20Cover%29.mp3] 27 > Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/Crazy%20%28Gnarls%20Barkley%20cover%29.mp3] Britney Spears & Amy Winehouse > Toxic Rehab (mash) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/live/sound/discoheat/DS-17/Toxic%20Rehab.mp3]

Adele - Right As Rain - 19

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:22:03 +0000

Adele - My Same - 19

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 16:23:42 +0000

Santogold - Shuv It

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:17:06 +0000

Santogold - Creator

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:21:52 +0000

Santogold - predictable breakout in 2008

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:24:44 +0000

Sorry for posting so many things today, but everytime I come across something worth the publics' ears, I think I should share it. You've probably heard sensational M.I.A.'s album "Kala" last year, with lead-track named "Jimmy". You know that hindu-indie-80's kind of sound with indian dancers and all that. Well, we have a sister ! She's from Brooklyn and she actually brings a fresher side to what MIA does already nicely. Backed up by many star DJ & producers such as Switch, Sinden, Diplo, Spank Rock et Radioclit, Santogold might just be the big 2008 breakout. At least, here at Airboy, we thinks. But how would you describe her music ? It's a brilliant mix between 70's reggae, 80's punk and 90's Hip Hop. The best thing now, is for you to listen, and that's where we come in handy :

Santogold - Shuv It (my favourite right now) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/shuv-it.mp3] Santogold - Creator [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/creator.mp3]

wordpress2008-02-04xml

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:22:28 +0000

http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/wordpress2008-02-04xml

wordpress2008-02-04xml

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:59:18 +0000

http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/wordpress2008-02-04xml

Stats / Users Online

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:08:21 +0000

This is a breakdown of who's on Airboy at the moment. It's updated live. Refresh to enjoy more. [page_useronline]

Nikka Costa - The Denial Twist

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:26:26 +0000

How to butcher a song ?

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:32:19 +0000

12MC has this über-post about a random singer called Nikka Costa covering "The Denial Twist" by The White Stripes. Here's the full post :

Filing this one under “WTF” is an understatement. Nikka Costa’s jive talkin’ take on “The Denial Twist” is hands down the most unnecessary White Stripes’ cover this side of Jack Johnson’s sleep-inducing rendition of “We’re Going To Be Friends” from the Curious George Soundtrack. Admittedly, I have no idea who Nikka Costa is. But after a few seconds of hearing her totally funked up, bam-chicka-bam butchering of the Get Behind Me Satan classic - it sounds like some kind of nightmare episode of Idol circa 2017 with the unimaginative theme of ‘Funkin’ Up Noughties Garage Rock!’ Further Costa research (aka - Wiki-stalking) reveals that one of her songs “featured extensively in the critically-acclaimed television series ‘Arrested Development’, so she can’t be that bad. Oh wait, she can - “In 2006 Nikka and her husband Justin recorded and performed the theme to the short-lived CBS sitcom ‘Courting Alex’, which starred Jenna Elfman.” [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/the-denial-twist-white-stripes-cover.mp3] Nikka Costa - The Denial Twist (White Stripes cover)

You gotta love the fact that a few chosen words can have a massive impact. Thanks Angus for brightening up our days and making us laugh ! And for that matter, saving the Stripes' dignity.

Duffy - Warwick Avenue

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:34:02 +0000

Duffy

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:54:04 +0000

Duffy or the 60's revival

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:01:46 +0000

It's those times when all you do during your spare time is listen to music. And spare time I have. So, browsing new artists on websites like the hype machine and other hipster blogs (see blogroll in the side bar)... I came across the likes of Santogold and Adele which I've already talked about in previous posts. Today was Duffy's turn, and boy she gave me an eargasm. Again. She's from North Wales, a little pad I'm very attached to, just because Granny lives over there and it's very green. She's called Duffy, she's Welsh and has blonde ambitions. She's about to take over self-destructing Winehouse & Dusty Springfield together, and believe me, she has the guts to do so. Set your time machines back to the 60's and all the good times of that period, meaning Motown, Stax, Atlantic and what have you. She will release an album on the 3rd of March named "Rockferry" with golden tracks like "Warwick Avenue" and "Mercy" set to be released on Feb 25th. You can listen to them two below... (and download them, because I'm feeling extra generous). Not to mention her UK shows are sold out. Tell me what you think below in the comments section !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/111-duffy-warwick-avenue.mp3] Duffy - Warcick Avenue [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Duffy%20-%20Mercy.mp3] Duffy - Mercy

earbuds

Sodwee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:20:40 +0000

Sodwee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:27:55 +0000

ear

Sodwee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:28:18 +0000

earbudz

Sodwee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:57:31 +0000

BG

Sodwee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:05:29 +0000

Sodwee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:22:31 +0000

Sodwee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:22:46 +0000

God I can't wait.

Sodwee — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:41:15 +0000

A month and seven days before I lift off for sunny 26° celsius Dubai, and that's a fact. I've practically finished all the stuff I need to bring over (documents wise), have just booked a photoshoot for those pictures, done another set of X-rays. I only need to go shopping for Shirts, T-shirts, Shorts, Havanaïa flops because they are the only one I dare to wear. The Others look dead cheap. Maybe a pair of shades and finally a big ass suitcase. Mum should be part of the expedition this coming Saturday, and maybe my Aunt that is coming over from Kent ! Should be fun. Otherwise, well nothing much happening. The search for a flatmate has ended, A few hours after posting the ad in numerous watering holes aka FrogPubs, not to name them, I got a response. Amazing how Paris is saturated with people looking for homes. It is actually a crisis here. Looking for a place here is a nightmare. So when a big flat is up on the market for so little money, you get rushed into ! Amazing. Should be moving out pretty soon if every goes to plan, like around the 15-17th of February. I'll be camping on Mum & Dad's balcony until I leave on the 14th of March.

That's the best I could do to illustrate the post !

Not much is happening here in France, a part from the fact that Nicolas Sarkozy got married, to a model named Carla Bruni. She also sings but you wouldn't know her because that's how well she sings. And that french are passionate about the "Super Tuesday" frenzyness that is going on by Oncle Sam's. Voilà quoi. That's all for now. Back to our ordinary lives. Sorry I haven't got any musical goodies. Will try to post one up soon. Come back for more !

DOWNLOADABLES #34

Sodwee — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:08:51 +0000

Another jukebox special here with a great - let's not be shy here - let's just say awesome cover of the now infamous "Back To Black" performed by a band called "The Blacks". Five Star, for realz. Otherwise some other goodies, especially the Beatles cover by No Doubt. Ska style it really rocks.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Back%20to%20Black.mp3] The Blacks - Back To Black (Amy Winehouse cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Sexual%20Healing%20(Marvin%20Gaye).mp3] Hot Chip - Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cove) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Ob-La-Di%20Ob-La-Da%20(live).mp3] No Doubt - Ob la di Ob la da (The Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Surfin%20USA%20(Beach%20Boys).mp3] Warren Zevon - Surfin' USA (Beach Boys cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Temptation%20(Heaven%2017%20cover).MP3] Jarvis Cocker & Beth Ditto - Temptation (Heaven 17 sover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Popular.mp3] Scary Mansion - Popular (Nada Surf cover)

This is how bands have come into fashion by making brilliant cover versions of various artists or bands. It's a trend. Website/blogs are picking it up. We're just a little drop in the big pond. Enjoy your music !

The Rolling Stones - Under My Thumb

Sodwee — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:33:12 +0000

She's under my thumb

Sodwee — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:53:00 +0000

Saturday. The best day so far this week. I was randomly shuffling my numerous MP3's this early afternoon and the following track came up and I just froze whilst I was hoovering around in the flat. With a gracious & swift move of my left leg, I pointed with my toe at the switch to turn the ~~noisy~~ hell machine off and just posed there the whole duration of the song. You wonder why...?

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/under-my-thumb.mp3] The Rolling Stones - Under My Thumb

Well you might join me in this one. After listenning to this piece, I felt like I was back in those summer days, those smells, freshly cut lawn, perfume mixed with sweat when you're on the tube etc. etc. And it felt even better when you looked outside to see the day with blooming sunshine, blue sky and relative heat. When you listen to that song, I really think the Marimba does the difference. Skip the Marimba and you're in Aberdeen in no time, the wind "en sus". I think you've had enough of me blabering about the Rolling Stones' classic on the 'Aftermath' album released in 1966. Today was fun, thanks to Mick Jagger and me treating myself to all new clothes and suitcase. Prepin' for Dubai and it's heatwaves/sunshine/dust. Went straight to American Apparel to get myself kitted out. They truly have the best choice in terms of t-shirts, and the cut is perfect for each one. Colors are wild too. Before that, Mum (+aunty Ali + Mark + Sarah & Dad) took me to the biggest department store (Galeries Lafayette) to find some shirts and a tie. Yep it's an odd sight but I'll need them once I'm in Dubai. So all in all, my credit card has burnt. I've polluted mother earth with a few more plastic bags. Fair traded with cotton farmers, and ate a healthy lunch.

Logo - Airboy XS

Sodwee — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:52:51 +0000

The Cool Kids

Sodwee — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:59:25 +0000

Estelle

Sodwee — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:07:39 +0000

The Cool Kids / Estelle / DOWNLOADABLES #35

Sodwee — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:18:30 +0000

Another day, another post. We have been quite busy here in Paris. Begining to feel like a Housewife. Cleaning the flat thoroughly, with bleach. Smells hella nice now. I didn't mention I was cleaning the flat listening, as ever, to new music. My mac is being treated like a king, blasting new tunes through his tiny speakers. Here is what I've downloaded lately. And, I'll let you download them too ! Right-Click on the green links and select "Save Target As...". First off will be this duo from the US, The Cool Kids : From their rope chains to their spare, bass-heavy beats, Chuck and Mikey bring a knowing wink to the style of Eighties heroes like Eric B and EPMD. Their anthem, "88," cops a mantra from Nas' "Made You Look": "Do the Smurf, do the wop, baseball bat/Rooftop like I'm bringin' '88 back." And yet on singles like "I Rock" and "Black Mags," the duo sounds effortlessly of-the-moment, earning its boast of being "the black Beastie Boys."

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/01%20Black%20Mags.mp3] The Cool Kids - Black Mags [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Action%20Figures.mp3] The Cool Kids - Action Figures [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Gold%20and%20a%20Pager.mp3] The Cool Kids - Gold & A Pager [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Mikey%20Rocks.mp3] The Cool Kids - Mikey Rocks

Second in the list will be Estelle for her Lauryn Hill + John Legend feel to her stuff. Check this out, she's gonna hit the roof this year. Estelle started a label, released mix tapes and approached a pre-College Dropout Kanye West cold after spotting him outside Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles in Los Angeles. Kanye hooked her up with John Legend, and the two R&B singers hit it off at a studio the next day, and later collaborated on The 18th Day, her debut full-length, which got play nearly everywhere but the States. Together, Legend and Estelle also prepped her forthcoming album, Shine, the first release on Legend's Homeschool Records. Kanye, Mark Ronson, Swizz Beatz and Cee-Lo make cameos on the disc, which swings with the boogie funk of "American Boy" and reggae-rooted tracks like "Magnificent."

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/48%201980.mp3] Estelle - 1980 [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/03%20American%20Boy.mp3] Estelle Ft. Kanye West - American Boy

And to finish of a kaleidoscope of mp3 to download and appreciate...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/01%20Run.mp3] Gnarls Barkley - Run [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/02%20Wow%20(MSTRKRFT%20remix).mp3] Kylie Minogue - Wow (MSTRKRKT remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/Great%20DJ.mp3] The Ting Tings - Great DJ

The Do

Sodwee — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:28:14 +0000

The Do - On My Shoulders

Sodwee — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:32:46 +0000

Good french music : The Dø

Sodwee — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:34:51 +0000

As you may now know, I have got something against french variety (variété) music. It's probably the most depressing genre one can come across. It is saturated with songs from around five major artists. Each one of them pooping a new track every week. French love that. An obvious example would be Johnny Halliday : and I can hear you say, "but he's got to be anything but french with a name like this", that's exactly it. He's dead fake, and you can smell it from miles. And France loves him to bits. He's a huge rock star here. It's bad fellas, it's bad. Anyway, sometime good things happen in France. Good things occur in various shapes. Like it's nearly summer here in Paris. Like there's a new band out lately that brakes the whole "french music sucks" slogan. Mum came back from work the other day and triggered this conversation :

- Hiya Yaya (thats how she calls me > don't laugh, I can almost hear you !), how are you ? - Fine momma, how are you ? - Ace darling, listen, I've got something for you to download (the word buy as totally disappeared from our family's vocabulary) -What is it ? - It's music, it's a french band. - Mum, you know me, it's against my principles... - Yaya when will you understand that good music can be produced by French Citizens ??! - Momma, you know as well as I do that 96% of what French make music-wise is totally worthless. They even have to import Celine Dion and make her french so that people here buy flippin' CDs... - Just bare with me a second and download 'The Do', it's a Franco-Finnish band and they hitting high at the mo. believe me you won't regret it. - Ok, only because it's half Finnish!

So I did, I downloaded a track from this band, and there it is : It's a Parisian act with a unique sound and burgeoning buzz are the half-Finnish, half-Parisian husband-wife duo The Dø. Their excellent debut album, A Mouthful, dropped in France last week, “On My Shoulders” has carried the album into the Top 20 in France with its massive success as a single. It forfeits the playful bounce of many of the record’s standout tracks in favor of a darker, more dramatic vibe, but it’s a hell of a song and is just another reason to get very excited about the Dø in ‘08.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/03-on-my-shoulders.mp3] The Dø - On My Shoulders

[youtube:http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=2v0L3RU2gaE]

The "Make Someone's Day" smile.

Sodwee — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:27:47 +0000

This is the smile I'll have to put up with in every situation you could imagine. For the next few years at least. And when I mean 'every situation' I really mean every situation. Might it be a difficult customer, waiting for 8 hr delayed flight, an emergency landing with panic onboard and many more situations. I should probably duck-tape my face.

Luke Doucet

Sodwee — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:02:27 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #36

Sodwee — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:09:16 +0000

Alright you ladies. Airboy has a range of tunes for you tonight ! From the all new Goldfrapp, to the all new King Of Pop : Billie Jean 2008. DL#36 holds some golden tracks like Luke Doucet's remake of 'Lovecats', Jack Penate's 1234 of Feist and an exclusive Neptunes remix of Milkshake, Kelis' debut hit single, now a classic. You'll find two tracks from artist Luke Doucet because we ! He's from Canadialand and is becoming a grown figure in the country. So why does the rest of the world need to know him or his music ? Well the answer lies within his cover version of "The Lovecats"... EARGASM !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/01%20A&E.mp3] A&E - Goldfrapp [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/01%20Common%20People.mp3] William Shatner ft. Joe Jackson - Common People (Pulp cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/01%20Long%20Haul%20Driver.mp3] Luke Doucet - Long Haul Driver [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/03%20The%20Lovecats%20(The%20Cure%20cover).mp3] Luke Doucet - The Lovecats (The Cure cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/04%20That's%20Me%20Trying.mp3] William Shatner ft. Aimee Mann & Ben Folds - That's Me Trying [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/11%20Fortunate%20Son%20(CCR%20cover).mp3] Death Cab For A Cutie - Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/1234%20(Feist%20cover).mp3] Jack Penate - 1234 (Feist cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/15%20Billie%20Jean%202008.mp3] Michael Jackson & Kanye West - Billie Jean 2008 [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/In%20My%20Place%20(Coldplay%20cover).mp3] Jem - In My Place (Coldplay cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/Milkshake%20(neptunes%20remix).mp3] Kelis ft. Pharrell - Milkshake (Neptunes remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/Seven%20Nation%20Army%20(White%20Stripes%20cover).mp3] Kate Nash - Seven Nation Army (White Stripes cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-35/Sayin%20Somethin%20Toxic.mp3] Dunproofin' - Sayin' Somethin' Toxic (mash)

And that will be it for today. Of course if something else pops up during the day, I'll be posting right away for your guilty pleasure. By the look of the stats you're diggin' Adele very much ! Thanks Google ! Oh And I'll also be moving out of the flatshare ! Yes good things come to an end, but better things are to come ! So, with the suitcase I've just bought, I should be able to pack everything and roll it 50 metres to my folks' house. ONE MONTH left before I leave. Pressure is on !

Airboy RSS Feed

Sodwee — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:37:57 +0000

Facebook - Add Me

Sodwee — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 04:04:30 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #37

Sodwee — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:38:07 +0000

Hey Hey Hey !! Just moved back to base, mum & dad's in fact. And a brand new flatscreenilicious in my Bedroom !! Oh well those DVD evenings, with home made pop-corn in front of the old rusty tube won't be regreted I can tell you ! Anyways, "gotta a little something for ya". It's Saturday, and in a normal human being life, this is the day most of us go out to party. I, instead staying at home. It's bloody cold out there and the thought of going out is just giving me shivers. I went to see Juno, and spent a hilarious one hour and a half. Great flix. Voilà :

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-37/01%20Satisfaction%20(Rolling%20Stones%20cover).mp3] Cat Power - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Rolling Stones cover)

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-37/06%20I%20Wanna%20Be%20Your%20Lover%20(Bob%20Dylan%20cover).mp3] Yo La Tengo - I Wanna Be Your Lover (Bob Dylan cover)

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-37/11%20I'm%20So%20Excited%20(Pointer%20Sisters%20cover).mp3] Le Tigre - I'm So Excited (The Pointer Sisters cover)

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-37/Madonna%20vs.%20M.I.A.%20-%20UR%20Hung%20Up.mp3] Madonna vs. M.I.A. - UR Hung Up (DJ Monster Mo remix)

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-37/When%20the%20sun%20goes%20down%20(Dale%20B%20remix).mp3] Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down (Dale B remix)

DOWNLOADABLES #38 / How hard it is to sleep at night...

Sodwee — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:01:28 +0000

Hola mujeres, hola muchachos, Back with the sleeping devils, at the time I'm writing these words it's 3.30 am in the morning. Can't get to bloody sleep, it's hard being on vacation. Getting used to staying up late and stuff doesn't do me good. Next week's UK stint will arrange all this for sure. It's even harder in the ~~morning~~ afternoon when you get up. Like you feel really really bad rising at around 2 in the afternoon, it feels like you've missed someting important : lunch. As for finances it's a plus "non-negligeable", I save a few pennies this way. I wonder how this will be when flying around the world and eating at very onholy hours???! Today's DL#38 includes some quality tunes from various horizons. We have Hip Hop, Rock, and a must have Span-Salsa like cover of Nina Simone's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". And this cover had been featured in a very popular blockbuster 2 or 3 years back. Share your answer in the comment below ! Also on today's menu, a really well put together cover of Daft Punk's "Digital Love". Back to basics. And I'll let you discover the other stuff we've served you >>> React in the comments at the bottom !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-38/01%20Crazy%20In%20Love%20(Beyonce%20cover).mp3] The Magic Numbers - Crazy In Love (Beyoncé cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-38/06%20Digital%20Love%20(Daft%20Punk%20cover).mp3] Mobius Band - Digital Love (Daft Punk cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-38/07%20Orange%20Crush%20(REM%20cover).mp3] The Editors - Orange Crush (REM cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-38/10%20Dont%20Let%20Me%20Be%20Misunderstood%20(Nina%20Simone%20cover).mp3] Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (Nina Simone cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-38/Masters%20of%20War%20(Bob%20Dylan%20cover).mp3] The Roots - Masters Of War (Bob Dylan cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/airboy-38/Sweet%20Dreams%20(Eurythmics%20cover).mp3] Bat For Lashes - Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics cover)

Arctic Monkeys - 505

Sodwee — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:16:03 +0000

I'm going back to 505

Sodwee — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:19:16 +0000

How could I've ~~missed~~ forgot of such a track ? huh ? Can some one explain ? It just blows my mind listening to it. Ok, it's now 5 o' clock and I may be tired but, those lyrics are just amazing. Climax ? Well I'd say the part where Mister Turner lets the dogs out (listen to the track below to get the idea) :

"But I crumble completely when you cry" [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/12-505.mp3] Arctic Monkeys - 505

But no, I figure the first two lines are just memorable and well found for an intro. They say pretty much everything but you're gagging for even more and thats where the rest of the song delivers. Along with the drummers beautiful piece. And that guitar work aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh. All I can do is melt. None the less the rest of the album is really worth a listen. You can totally get the progression from the previous album. Nice and mature. Here are the lyrics :

I'm going back to 505, If its a 7 hour flight or a 45 minute drive, In my imagination you're waiting lying on your side, With your hands between your thighs, Stop and wait a sec, Oh when you look at me like that my darling, What did you expect, I probably still adore you with your hands around my neck, Or I did last time I checked, Not shy of a spark, A knife twists at the thought that I should fall short of the mark, Frightened by the bite though its no harsher than the bark, Middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start, I'm going back to 505, If its a 7 hour flight or a 45 minute drive, In my imagination you're waiting lying on your side, With your hands between your thighs, But I crumble completely when you cry, It seems like once again you've had to greet me with goodbye, I'm always just about to go and spoil a surprise, Take my hands off of your eyes too soon, I'm going back to 505, If its a 7 hour flight or a 45 minute drive, In my imagination you're waiting lying on your side, With your hands between your thighs and a smile!

Networking & talented people I know of

Sodwee — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:43:13 +0000

So this post is dedicated to people I really think are talented and deserve a little promotion via my ever so popular blog (ouch!). Maybe one day they'll thank me for having boosted their career. I can only hope. So far the only thing I have done is annoy them with my OC (Online Credibility). Jeremy Saint-Peyre is a young amateur photographer. He plans on attenting a french school of photography next year, and I really hope he makes it because dat man got skilllz. The thing he really would like to do is to be a War Reporter. Flick through his flickr account and you'll understand straight away what his work is about. Here's a snippet and his face... You can click to enlarge the pictures.

Next one up would totally be Paul Grelet (his book online), an award winning graphist, with a truck load of diplomas backing up his undeniably good pencil/felt skills. Also webdesigner at times, Paul makes the most out of his computer and delivers, sharp, well executed art. He already exhibits part of his work and has worked in renowned companies such as Publicis Drugstore. You have to take a glimpse at his work so far via his website. Here are some examples.

So voilà quoi, if any of you happen to be viewing this page and think you have some jobs/opportunities for those two peeps of mine, then don't hesitate to send me an email and I'll will Mos Def forward it to them ! Cheers.

Ferry, Culinary Delights & Ablutions.

Sodwee — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:43:15 +0000

One small chug over the Channel, one giant leap into British gastronomy. This is what we encountered as soon as we alit from the raft as we like to call our means of cheap & cheerful transportation. Heading towards the romantic town named after ablutions, ie Bath, we had our pit stop in the most highly reknowned eating place - this side of Tokyo - LITTLE CHEF where the high point on the menu was the "LOADED ROLL" - ie think of anything you could possibly want at breafast, shove it in a roll and bob's your uncle -and if any of you are thinking of sending off an application form, women without moustaches or beer bellies needn't bother, you don't stand a snwoballs chance in hell. Nick (my brother), Dad and myself went for the "Amy Winehouse" breakfast special called "Early Starter", not to be confused with educational toys for toddlers, which consists of a large plate of exceptional culinary delights : Eggs, Bacon, Bangers, Toast, hash browns & the most delightful heinz baked beans. To be honest this is totally what we needed to fuel up, a nice greasy start to the day. In other words, a breakfast for men with hair on their chest. ugh! Let me tell about you our trip over the most frequented strech of H2O on earth, The Channel. We departed from Ouistreham near Caen on Friday night, seconds before midnight. Our raft, was then invaded with healthy looking truck drivers drowning their kilometres in a few pints of beer. All of them cheering to the cheesy DJ set. Thankfully, we had booked a supersized bridal suite on seven deck with a magnificient view of a dirty porthole. After a few pints and a gin & tonic in "Derby" bar, we decided to dunk for the bunks. Morning strikes through our salt-stained window with a horrible tune that wakes us up in time for disembarking. We then headed towards Salisbury (not the same Salisbury as in the Peter Gabriel song) and its wonderful roadside troughing attractions (I'll avoid describing the neighboring customers...) As my pithy words go to press, we're about to invade the ablutions town named Bath where my aunty Caroline dwells. After that, our journey will continue into the dreaded moutains & vales of Mordor, ooops I mean't Wales. This celtic country is known for it's highway dwarf pirates and slutty fairies trying to mugg you as you stop at crossroads. No to mention the pickpocketing mountain trolls near Builth Wells... Granny will be waiting for us in Llandre, near Aberystyth, waving at us as we enter the extensive lands that she owns just like Queen Betty as she welcomes Prince Charles to the Buckingham hovel. I will be posting pictures and maybe, if you're good, videos. But for that I need a decent internet connexion. And this is the greatest challenge we will have to face as we're heading to Wales. Everybody knows that Welsh people have many things to show off, such as sheep, little shacky pubs, beautiful countryside, but as far as internet goes, it's like looking for the Holy Grail. As far as Emirates goes, I haven't received any news from them since I sent the updated medical handbook to them, and that was like 3 or 4 weeks ago. But I'm expecting a call sometime next week. I also realised that I forgot to do some portrait pictures for their filing. So I'll have to dash over to the photoprint shop and get a couple shots done. I also need some written references. I'm getting more and more excited about the whole thing. And the waiting is getting harder as the days draw by. Moved all my stuff from the flatshare and someone has already moved back in, assuring me the guaranty back, something like 800 euros, to cash in. Not bad. Will have enough money to spend for the first 2 months in Dubai. I'm also planning on having some farewell party in the heart & vibrant part of my hometown. As Alethea is leaving Paris for the UK in March too, we decided to do a joint venture and have some friends round a "yet-to-be-determined" restaurant. And then carry on to one of our favourite watering holes in the heart of Paris. Will most definately be a pub of some sort. Should be fun.

Stalling in the wild Welsh hills & Retail therapy

Sodwee — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:52:10 +0000

Sunday started off with a climatic Welsh classic. Nooooooo, not steaming tropical temperatures with a 100% humidity... But JUST a 100% humidity. However, undeterred and undaunted and once we'd fitted windscreen wipers to our sunglasses, and put the platforms soles on the wellies, we were ready to rock. First the heavy mob, mucked out the byre getting rid of prehistoric poop and a rotten IKEA style shed. We used it for firewood. After warming up the muscles, we all had a well earned rest multi-tasting Granny's home-made cakes & biscuits (I have one right now in my gob). The afternoon was spent with a ramble over the back fields to Dole & Vicky and Gwynant's (pronounced gwi-nant) where yours truly strutted his stuff on the Quad Bike (photos below). Mum in a strategic move, managed to hitch a lift on the back of that devil machine which she regreted deeply only moments later. We started off well. After a quick ascension to the top of the fields (bear in mind, Wales is a hilly place), we stopped, or should I say stalled to admire the view and take a few pictures. However, when we started up again, the quad wouldn't tick over. Leaving us high, literally, and dry. My fore-fingers were about to drop off when Mum decided to take things in hand, meaning running back down the fields for help, which wasn't long in coming in the shape of a Masey-Ferguson driven by Gwynant. With a quick flip of a spanner, pushing a couple of buttons the show was back on the road. We left leaving a flock of hungry and bitterly disappointed sheep who thought we were bringing nuts for their daily diet. Monday strikes with another climatic classic : SUNSHINE & BLUE SKY. But instead of going for the great outdoors that our beloved country has to offer. We as city dwellers, favoured a warm shopping spree. Gathering for the upcoming summer shenanigans. I bought a pair of tacky & inexpensive swimming shorts. Making me the best suited guy on the beach this year. Cool shades were also part of the list. Shoes, t-shirt made their way into the swag bag before we called it a day and headed home. Here's a selection of pictures I took in Wales.... Click the Thumbnails to enlarge.

Sodwee — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:45:50 +0000

Alex Khadivi - Point FMR éphèmere - Paris - Sodwee - Airboy

Sodwee — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:28:32 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #39

Sodwee — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:32:54 +0000

#39, wow. Didn't think I would come that far with covers & rare tracks from talented artists & bands and still be succesful statistically talking. So today we have some specials, talking more specifically of a track one of my good friend Alex K sent me a few days ago, funk to it's 1990's best. You'll remember the song from those sweaty nights in your favourite disco (send him your love, by the way he'll be resident at the Point FMR in the 19th district of Paris starting in two weeks. That's promotion for him, he'll buy me a drink for that). And some other treats to add to the lack of updates of this past week, due mainly to the fact that Wales only holds 3 internet access points, I feel sorry for them.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/airboy-39/BeatIt.mp3] Supergrass - Beat It (Michael Jackson cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/airboy-39/Bleeding%20Love%20(Leona%20Lewis%20Cover).mp3] The Wombats - Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/airboy-39/DANCE%20(Justice%20cover).mp3] Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - D.A.N.C.E. (Justice cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/airboy-39/Dont%20Look%20Back%20in%20Anger%20(Oasis%20cover).mp3] Devendra Banhart & Noah Georgeson - Don't Look Back In Anger (Oasis cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/airboy-39/Ready%20For%20The%20Floor%20(Hot%20Chip%20cover).mp3] Duffy - Ready For The Floor (Hot Chip cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/airboy-39/We%20re%20Going%20To%20Be%20Friends%20(The%20White%20Stripes%20cover).mp3] Bree Sharp - We're Going To Be Friends (The White Stripes cover) > The Special from... [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/airboy-39/Remember%20Me.mp3] Blue Boy - Remember Me

Alex Khadivi - Airboy - Sodwee

Sodwee — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:10:03 +0000

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:23:08 +0000

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:28:23 +0000

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:36:40 +0000

ornament - rule line - sodwee - airboy

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:52:05 +0000

Sly & The Family Stone - Sodwee - Airboy

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:54:34 +0000

Songs on repeat

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:56:01 +0000

I usually don't listen to tracks over and over again. I'll most likely get fed up by the second play. But sometimes you just can't get away with a song. Here is a tiny and non-exhaustive list of tunes I'm glad to play endlessly. Just because they've got that something special at a certain point, but for the sake of it, you just play it the whole way through, making it a living hell for those sharing your flatshare (my folks in fact). Nine days 'seulement' before I jet off unless told otherwise by Emirates. Can't wait, haven't packed anything yet, but have stocked up on things such as deodorant, shampoo, razorblades, after shave... Yeah, don't wanna run out of the stuff.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/02-sing-a-simple-song.mp3] Sly & The Family Stone - Sing A Simple Song Climax : I'm livin' livin' livin' life with all its ups and downs I'm givin' givin' givin' love and smilin' at the frowns You're in trouble when you find it's hard for you to smile A simple song might make it better for a little while
[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/04-truck-turner.mp3] Isaac Hayes - Truck Turner Climax : When the trumpets and the bass go wild, and then Isaac starts singin'. Also because I totally picture myself being in a Dodge (the car) ridin' thru LAX
[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/gonna-have-a-good-time.mp3] Easybeats - Good Times Climax : That guitar riff turnz me bananazz and the lyrics : Boney Moroney is gonna be with him, I said, long Tall Sally is gonna be with slim, Short fat Freddy is gonna be there to

L.E.S. Artistes by Santogold. How a music video should look like...

Sodwee — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:47:40 +0000

After telling you about this upcoming talent named Santogold over a month ago, the video has landed and it frackin' rocks. It was directed by Nima Nourizadeh, the whole thing on the horse is just amazing. And I'm telling you, even Angus @ 12MC will be flabagasted ! [dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/santogold/video/x4m94i_santogold-les-artistes_music[/dailymotion] In other news, I'm glad to see Adele has aired on french MTV. And that Duffy is growing on French Ears, which is quite a challenge. Only Turner, Franklin & Winehouse did it before !

French know how to party !

Sodwee — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:45:17 +0000

Yesterday's Saturday Blow Out with the french friend circle of mine was a total success in every way possible. Although earlier in the afternoon we had great difficulty organising and communicating the venue. Each of the organisers had a different plan in mind and texting everyone with theirs. Making it hugely confusing for the attendees. None the less, after a phone briefing, we managed to set a one off party at a friends of mine : Paul, very near to Bastille, very central and big enough to cater for at least 20 of us ! We were celebrating my leaving, Ivan's leaving to unknown lands and Remi's Birthday. Went round the supermarket to load up on goodies, pizzas and beer. Then headed to Paul's place. And on went the partyyyyyy. Pictures are here to attest (click to enlarge) :

Julien Doré" class="pc_img" height="75" width="75" /> Julien Doré" class="pc_img" height="75" width="75" /> Julien Doré" class="pc_img" height="75" width="75" />

KT Tunstall - My Doorbell

Sodwee — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:55:12 +0000

Tristan Prettyman - How Bizarre

Sodwee — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:59:07 +0000

The Frames - Toxic

Sodwee — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:02:00 +0000

The Frames - Where Is My Mind

Sodwee — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:05:13 +0000

KT Tunstall - Photos / Picture

Sodwee — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:11:03 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #40 / We're facing a situation here.

Sodwee — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:12:39 +0000

Let's start with the good part. It's #40 in our downloading spree and we have classics for ya today ! Right-Click away little devils cause, this might be the last DOWNLOADABLE in a while as I'm leaving for Dub-Dub-Dubai on Friday. And I really have no idea if I

A. have the time to post stuff upon Airboy Blog

B. will find an internet connexion in my appartment

So take advantage of these few tracks. I know it's not fifteen like the previous posts but you can track back to the other posts if you've missed some MP3's. Oh ! And many of you are asking where some of the tracks have gone, well some of them have been deleted from the server for space. So that you can have some new ones every odd day! If you're kind enough I could probably send you the missing mp3 via mail only. But that's if you're female, good looking and single... Enough talking, here's the gold, with a brilliant cover from Miss Tunstall :

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/my-doorbell-white-stripes-cover.mp3] KT Tunstall - My Doorbell (The White Stripes cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/04-how-bizarre-omc-cover.mp3] CFCF - How Bizarre (OMC cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/16-toxic-britney-spears-cover.mp3] Tristan Prettyman - Toxic (Britney Spears cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/18-where-is-my-mind-pixies-cover.mp3] The Frames - Where Is My Mind (The Pixies cover)

And to finish with what sounds like not very good news. I have still not seen the colour of my leaving ticking for Dubai, and we're 4 days away from the fatal date. I've been calling emailing, pestering them on the phone but couldn't get an ounce of response. So I will be hangin' on the phone the major part of tomorrow against my plans, like I haven't got much to do ! Anyhow, all is good in a perfect world for me ladies. Oh yeah, I'm also feeling the adrenaline rush. And some butterflies are making out in my belly too...

With a little help for my friends...

Sodwee — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:01:37 +0000

My friends have entered a contest to have their Alien Remake be part of the "Be Kind, Rewind" DVD bonuses. The contest was launched by Michel Gondry & Dailymotion. The 3 winners will have their remake published in the DVD along with the movie. Take a look below. It's funny & creative and deserves some attention : [dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/group/103122/video/x4npcw_aliensuede_fun[/dailymotion] Let's now hope they get on that DVD !!

Dub-Dub here I come !

Sodwee — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:19:00 +0000

Yeeeepeeee woot woot ! Got my final approval yesterday, along with the e-Ticket & Visa from Emirates. That was after an epic start to the week wondering if Emirates Cabin Crew Departement had forgoten about me ! Well half of it is true. I had sent via email the remaining stuff they needed to clear my situation as an incoming worker. Having dual nationality might sound cool but certainly complicates the simple tasks like getting a visa issued. The woman dealing with my "file" at the other end got mixed up with my english passport stating a french address... so she needed to send me an email asking me different questions (ie do you own property, do have voting rights etc etc). So sent that form back but it seems she never got it until I had to phone in yesterday and see what had happened. Turns out that my "file" was somewhat dismissed so it became a RED ALERT and was dealt with priority as soon as I had hung up. To my surprise 3 emails came in 20 minutes later each one of them holding important briefings on my arrival, my e-ticket & visa to enter UAE. I'm releaved, but it's a whole new game starting now. I have to pack, shave, cut my hair, photocopy a few papers, clean my room out(Dad wants to turn it into an "Entertainment Room"), and other unsignificant stuff I can't think of. Oh Yeah maybe some laundry ! I have a restaurant booked for Thursday night with my folks & brothers, should be very nice to have the last evening with them. And tomorrow, I don't know what is up. Maybe some shenanigans but I'm more on the chill mood at the moment. Don't want to go crazy or anything. I'll keep you guys updated as much as I can in the forthcoming days and weeks. Keep me updated with your comments, THEY ARE APPRECIATED.

DXB............CDG

Sodwee — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:49:50 +0000

Mum & Dad took me é brother to the restaurant yesterday for a last gathering "en famille". I'd been out all week socializing with multiple friends and didn't get the time to fit my folks in the whole hoooha.
So we finally decided to head for an French 'resto' near Colonel Fabien (that is a metro station in Paris). the restaurant was real nice, but as Dad said, the music was a little too loud to enjoy the night fully. In a joint agreement, we headed home for a digestive. After some tchit-tchat, I crawled into bed, so I could pop-up in a decent shape the next morning. And it Happened to be the morning was due to leave. (When I say morning, I'm talking 12H00 to 15H00.
Got up this morning quite early, got showered and turned my self into an egg looking little bastard, shaving the entire beard I had grown. Damn!
By half-eleven this morning it was time to rock off to the airport, where mum & dad would leave me. Check-in was real quick as not expected. Boarding was equally easy, we had drinks to wait and the entertainment system kept me busy the whole flight. To the point where the light coming from the screen was to hard to bare and decided to spin out the computer to right this piece.
The flight as been really calm, no child under 4 to shoot, no scilly wankers around fooling with the peanuts. Really it was peaceful. Cabin Crew were very nice, they invited us at the back to have a chat, so we could ask questions if we wanted. We will be arriving in DXB (Dubai) at around midnight. We'll be heading to our accomodations. Now I have no idea what so ever of how these will look like ! So I'll let you know with pictures as soon I can take them and send them oveer to the internetzz
Otherwise, nothing much on the personal side, I'm boiling sitting in the tin tube. And HELL I'M DYING FOR A CIGARETTE !

I'm in Dubai !

Sodwee — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:04:54 +0000

Video of My flat

Sodwee — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:36:34 +0000

Here's a little summury of my first day in Dub-Dub... [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOfA1A28km0[/youtube]

Flat Pictures & Grooming Day

Sodwee — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:48:12 +0000

Hi all here a little sneak peek at our Grooming Day here in Dubai. We basically played around with expensive creams for dry skin etc etc. I also included pictures of my flat as the video is not of a good enough quality to really see anything, so here goes :

Sodwee beach parasol airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:27:19 +0000

Beach and clubbin' in Dubai

Sodwee — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:31:34 +0000

Hola all ! I'm still in Dubai, UAE, taking care of myself ! Have already been to the beach (who wouldn't anyway) and loved the white sands, blue water and scorching sunshine. It is located in Jumeirah Beach Park which is a privately owned piece of land turned into Beach Heaven. With a lush green/flowered park before you get to the very clean beach. No litter lying about. It's great. Otherwise, yesterday was our first training session in SEP (Safety & Emergency Procedures). The facilities are "State Of The Art". Emirates have spent a huge amount of money on their infrastructure to provide the best possible knowledge and practice to SEP ignorants like myself. We theorised on Basic Aeronautics, Turbulences for the first two hours of our training and then went onto practicals for the rest of the day. Meaning we had an Boing 777 (said triple seven) simulator for ourselves to practice turbulence in. It's basically role play in a moving simulator reproducing turbulences in mid air. We had a demo by the trainers then we had to impersonate the cabin crew and do a role play. First time hands on the galley cart, talking to dummy passengers. We had a laugh, but it's damn serious and trainers are here to remind you. And it went on to Boing Door Operating. Open, close in normal operation. Then Open in Emergency... Strict procedures are to follow otherwise you might just knock a ground staff to death with the deploying slide-raft... Anyways, it's all very interesting and all new to me so I'm absorbing alot of information at the same time. By the end of the day, you're nakered. Ready for a shower, something to eat and a little nap. And the real fun starts here ! Jeremy, from Malta, one of our fellow batch mates, organised a first outing session with all the girls & guys from our Ab-Initio. The Shenanigans took place in what is called the BIGGEST DISCO IN UAE called "The Lodge". And believe me, it's humengous ! We all congregated to the open air dancefloor, and did a quick meet & greet with everyone, picture taking and then got our moves out on the dancefloor. To electronic/dance music until the wee hours of the night. Pictures follow... It was hilarious, everyone having a good time and dancing the night away after such a stressful and intense start to the week. It's what each one of us needed : letting it all out with a few drinks.

SEP training with Emirates. Ditching.

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:32:33 +0000

THERE WILL NOT BE ANY PHOTOS OF THE DITCHING AS WE TRAIN IN A RESTRICTED AREA WITHIN THE COLLEGE. AND BECAUSE MY CAMERA IS NOT WATERPROOF. SORRY ! We got wet today ! Completely drenched. Today was our chance to prove we could correctly board the slide/raft from sea. Meaning if you happen to find yourself in the freezing water at sea, and that your raft is in reasonable reach, you can swim up close, grab straps and climb upon the floating device, with no help of course. Hard job all together. Remember, we've just had an emergency ditching, in other words, we landed on water. Now this is considered as CATASTROPHIC and would be Captain's last resort. So far, realistically, there as not been any surviving crew per our Trainer. And the chances of surviving a ditching are close to nothing. But you never know, you might just be able to find you're way out from the aircraft, after evacuating remaining - living - passengers, open an available exit, did the appropriate procedure to inflate your future home and finally quit the aircraft safely.... HIGHLY UNLIKELY. You'd be setting yourself on this raft, massive dinguy with your remaining survivors. Back to climbing on the device. I didn't mention that we were completely dressed, top to bottom, adding to the weight you had to pull in order to climb on the raft. NOT EASY ! I climbed in first although I was told to let the ladies go first. But it was close to our lunch break and didn't want to starve. We had been through stressful and huge pressure 10 minutes prior to ditching because we drilled our anticipated landings so hard. Still making mistakes. And feeling the trainers despare... Anyway here are some photos of the manuals we have : YES WE HAVE TO READ/LEARN THIS IN 3 WEEKS.

We will have assessments on Thursday, so I'll leave you to it, and I'll put my nose into that red thing ! Cheers !

Drills. Meeting people.

Sodwee — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:51:05 +0000

Hooooooowdy Hooooo Never have my grey cells worked so intensively in such a short amount of time. The last two days of this week were particularly hard to overcome. Information is stuffed into our heads and they expect us to apply it to practical exercises. It's not vague information like other subjects. We're talking numbers, positions, drills, procedures to follow by the letter and be as accurate as possible. Like for example, we have an emergency evacuation somewhere over the North Sea. Well in order to prevent any deaths (I didn't say we could save any), us as Cabin Crew would follow certain procedures to maximise the evacuation process and finally help save as many lives as possible. And this starts from take-off. Once a situation arises, then we have to act like lions and be ready for the worse, no matter what state the aircraft is in ! So there is emergency equipment located in various areas of the aircraft. Every Cabin Crew is assigned to a door, that she or he will operate in an evacuation. Along with the door, we are responsible for a section of the passengers sitting close to that door we're in charge of. In an evacuation situation we would secure that portion of the aircraft, locate the emergency equipment we would take with us on the raft, and we are expected to do so. In order to learn all these drills, our Red Manual (see previous posts) will list all the doors and their responsibilities. WE HAVE TO LEARN THEM OFF BY HEART ALONG WITH THE LOCATION OF ALL THE EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT LOCATED ON THE AIRCRAFT ! It's a big deal. If we don't, we do not pass GCAA (General Civil Aviation Authority) requirements. And therefore are not able to fly. So this weekend will be devoted to those drills and learning them by heart in order to pass the exam on Monday. We'll be gathering with my batch mates to practice. Otherwise, a few of the trainees here with me have come up to me and recognized me as Airboy. I'm thinking of Maria (Australia), Oli (London/Brazil?), Melissa who lives in the same building as me... and others I can't remember the names (sooo sooorrryy). Nice to see the blog is getting some audience, thanks google ! Yesterday was Thursday, and it's party night in Cabin Crew minds here. Get smashed and dance away to music till the clubs close. That is a basic here ! After long hard weeks, the moment we can let things go is on Thurdays & Fridays. So we hit up Souk Madinat Jumeirah which is located near Burj Al Arab 7 star Hotel to start off the evening and have a few drinks. The place is huge, part of Jumeirah Beach Hotel and has many lounge bars. Packed with tourists and foreign crowds. Fun but not enough. So we decided to hit up Barasti but by that time I was feeling hella tired. Remember we get up at 5.30 am every morning and it was 2 o' clock in the morning when I got to bed ! And today was dedicated to homework... Voilà, that's all from me here ! Speak to you soon !

Sun, Shades & Sex Appeal.

Sodwee — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:12:28 +0000

Here are some pictures I gathered from other batchmates. Don't we look zzzzzzexxxxy ?! I am one lucky fella ! Otherwise, we have a big test tomorrow on General Safety, Loose Emergency Equipment and Drills. Have been studying this evening, around 2 hours sharp. I'm in good condition. Heating salads Mum, you should be proud of ya boy ! Erm still hot'n'sticky out here. Tanning gently. Big week ahead. So will be posting sporadicaly for the next few days ! Your comments are welcome ! Oh yeah and this guy deserves our hats off : Jeremy, BORN TO ENTERTAIN (cracks everyone up anytime for free !). Great Spirit !

Jeremy Grech - Emirates - airboy cabin crew

Sodwee — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:51:57 +0000

Jeremy, Gilbert & Matt at Emirates Crew Training - Airboy - Sodwee cabin crew

Sodwee — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:53:45 +0000

IKEA, taxis, last day of SEP.

Sodwee — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:04:41 +0000

As Dubai is quite young, meaning it sprung up at a very rapid pace. The sightseeing here is quasi-inexistant (old town Dubai is supposed to be a definite tick on your list, as well as the museum). On the other hand one can, if feeling particularly bored or lonely, visit the many malls scattered around the city and/or sightsee numerous towers. Most of them are just inhumanly huge. Each one of them wanting to be bigger than it's neighbour. But quite frankly, malls are the best cultural thing to do with a lot of spare time on your hands. People here spend a lot of time in 3 specific places while not at work, namely :

In their Air-Conditionned Room/Home.

In their big, fat, long, huge, wide, white 4x4's vehicle (air-conditionned too).

In their favourite biggest, most luxurious Mall, which is also - of course - air-conditionned.

In malls you'll see every layer of civilization present in Dubai, and no matter their origin, wealth or religion, they will congregate to those malls and spend a enormous amount of time away from the direct sunshine and heat of the outside. Not necessarily to spend money, but just like an English couple would walk a muddy path and find it thrilling, or a French would invite his neighbours for a drink or maybe more and speak nonsense, then getting into an argument... By the way Flip-Flops are the way forward here. So I decided to go for a sightsee, experiencing the cultural things that malls have. I headed to IKEA, in the Festival Center near Al Garhoud bridge for those who know how to locate themselves in Dubai. I needed to revamp the flatshare and make it a little more attractive. Since I moved in this flat, me & my flatmate have been walking on horrible mats every morning... A Zebra one, a Lion one, a Cheetah one and a hidious Tiger one. All faded with time (the previous tenant had very bad decorating tastes). So here I am in IKEA. The only place that feels like home ! Yeah everything in IKEA looks exactly the same and this is why it's so nice ! So grabbed a basket, thinking I wouldn't need any more than bathroom set and a few glasses. I was wrong the whole way ! You know the IKEA trick just as well as I do but you force yourself into thinking you'll only spend that much money, then you finally realize that not only you will need a big trolley, but you'll be spending A HELL A LOT MORE THAN PLANNED ! It has happenned to me again ! only when in for a couple items but came out of the air-conditionned swedish heaven with a trolley load of goodness :

A pair of Japanese-like table lamps

A 120cm tall Japanes-like living room lamp

Blankets to cover the disguting sofas (one cream white & a brown-greenish one)

4 black cushions to complement the sofas

a bathroom set

an alarm clock

2 sets of glasses (cocktail & regular tumblers)

a drying rack for the sink

a set of trouser hangers

Bath rugs

to corridor matts

a table cover (that matches the sofas)...

and some other things I can't remember

All in all a very good shopping session that made my day. The downfall was at the check out point. My Credit Card wasn't so happy. She overheated. But IKEA will remain IKEA right !? So spent around 700 dirhams which isn't an awful lot compared to european countries. Came home and started unpacking to pimp my flat. Before that I had the great pleasure of waiting a cab for God knows how long in heat and mosquito infested area of the Festival City Mall taxi rank. Waited there for almost 1h and a half before getting the chance to cool down in a Toyota ! Today was spent entirely at the Emirates Aviation Training College where we did mock exams of doors operations, cabin systems and communications as well as emergency equipment tests. Very misleading because of the three different types of aircraft we'll be flying on : Airbus A330-200, A340-300 and A340-500. They are quite different from Boeing ones. And french engineers didn't make it easy for us either ! WHO ON EARTH would name lavatories in an un-orderly manner ? This is just an example, many things just seem not thought after. Like they just named things out of the blue, just because they thought it sounded OK. Ohhh well I guess we're gonna have to learn them... Tomorrow is EXAM DAY and we'll be tested on arming/disarming Airbus doors, emergency equipments and drills. Very stressful as this exam will determine if we're competent or not for the aircrafts we'll be operating on. Passing the exam will lead us to GMT (general medical training) or First Aid as you like to call it ! We'll be giving birth to dummies, wrapping ourselves in bandages and so on...this will last for a week and then onto service (again, provided we pass the exams). Otherwise here are some picture, those are the girls from my class :

and some more pictures from Momoko (Japanese girl in my class) :

Pictures, more pictures NO WORDS !

Sodwee — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:53:35 +0000

I am your faaaaatherrr...

Sodwee — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:56:33 +0000

Medically Shocked / C.R.E.A.M. / Consolers Of The Lonely

Sodwee — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:37:30 +0000

Alright. You're probably wondering why the title of this blog post contains the Acronym C.R.E.A.M.. Well, I've been browsing through many useless, senseless pages of the world wide waste and stumbled across this "Best HipHop/Rap Acronyms to date" and thought this deserved some attention. I'd never been aware until now of these acronyms and to be honest I'm quite surprised ! Now what does CREAM stand for apart from being my favourite Prince (the artist) song ??! Well according to this site (sorry I've forgotten where it lies, and what the link is, but google it you'll find it) C.R.E.A.M. stands for Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Stunning, no ? Not really I agree, but experiencing my new living style, here in Dubai, it is very relevant. How many hidious Hummers have I come across ? How many Bentleys park along side my tower ? Far too many for a normal human being like me ! Otherwise, training is still carrying on as planned, we're in the middle of First Aid and should expect an exam for this Thursday. It isn't as interesting as the SEP, many topics we cover are common sense and are actually very boring. Been covering a wide range of sicknesses that can occur onboard an aircraft (ie Diabetes, Heart Attack...). For those who think that Cabin Crew are only robots that serve chicken along with a Gin & Tonic are totally wrong ! We're here for your safety FIRST damn it! We'd most probably save your life in an emergency evacuation and/or if you happen to have a Heart Attack or anything life threatning we can overcome, you'd be happy to swing a nice little "thank you" our way ! Not to mention the crazy pregnant ladies that fly 36 weeks into their gestation and WE have to deliver their progeniture in the back galley with minimum equipment ! Yeah, you might not know that but we're also trained to deliver babies. So it's intensive learning. All week. Non-stop. Thank God I've finished my homework so I can concentrate on studying things I didn't quite assimilate during the day ! Otherwise the latest Raconteurs album as just dropped a few days ago. It's weirdly named "Consolers Of The Lonely". Another Jack White thing. Great rock album with catchy melodies, nice little ballads and some good ol' guitar here and there ! Oh and for the first time in Raconteurs history, a piano appears in the album ! It's a definite buy (or download, depends how cheap you are !). The heat is getting us as the days go by ! The breeze makes a HUGE difference in the afternoon. Having three layers of clothing doesn't help either.I've been receiving a lot of 'thank you' emails from people around the world about the information I'm giving out on this blog concerning the interview process and the open day thingy. I must thank you, yes you reading these lines at the moment for visiting this website. You're the ones who push me to write even more ! Is it good ? I don't know, but it certainly helps some of you guys ! If you can't find the answers to your questions, please do send me an email and, within the limits of my knowledge, I'll do my best to give you a quick response. But bare in mind, I'm not all the time in front of the computer and it should take around 2 days for you to get a email back ! We just arrived in Dubai and already we're asked to take some holidays ! isn't great !?? So I've got 12 days to take before the end of June. I'll most probably come back home with the free ticket provided. But I'd also like to go east and visit my cousin in Thailand or even go straight to Japan (Tokyo). Providing I have enough cash to get there. We'll be graduating on the 24th of April, if everything goes to plan. Can't wait now to reach this date! We'll be rostered to fly and another important thing : we get our FACE card which will give us 50% off in clubs, bars, gyms and many other places like restaurants. Can't wait. Culturally we're also learning a hell a lot of stuff just chatting and being with people from around the world, here's a little summary of things I've learned in the past few weeks : - swear words in Portuguese/Brazilian - swear words in Afrikaans - showing your teeth in Asian countries while you laugh is considered as rude (that's why they cover their mouths when they crack up!) - People are very different from one city to another in South Africa (Durban people differ greatly from Jo'burg or Pretoria people) per Hannah & Alicia from my class ! - Japanese love Hello Kitty & Spiderman - All kinds of diets and eating patterns (main topic during lunch brakes with all the girls sitting around the table), this is when I usually turn my iPod on !!! - Lebanese love to recap things ! - Philipinos laugh more than they talk. - Koreans are very shy ! - Best clubs & bars around London (thanks to Mel who used to be an Ibiza Angel). - South African people are very funny ! - They all have misconceptions about french people !

360° Club / First Aid is OOOOVVVVEEEERRRR !

Sodwee — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:25:14 +0000

It was time for us to let ourselves go. After last week's short weekend we decided to have it the good way this week ! Headed to a well known club here called 360° and damn it was good ! Last week alone our least favourite cheap French DJ David Guetta played a set there. The club looks like a frying pan with an open top and circle bar. Open air, sofas all around and good music ! Best times.... We went with Glasgow born Tracey (she's absolutely wild) and Melaarrrrrnie from England as well as their flatmate Kim (from Cornwall), Szilvia from America/Greece/Hungary and the french gang (ie Nivine & myself). We were then joined by Raphaël and his mate JB and Mouiz from London ! Here are the pics.

Otherwise, just been certified as a First Aider. Been through exams and practical assessments yesterday, finished early and zoomed off for some retail therapy at the Mall Of Emirates (also known as MOE). Treated myself to Ray-Ban sunglasses and a new pair of Pimp My Ride style Converse trainers. Ate donuts, drunk a smoothie and decided to go home for some housework (hate the sounding of that word). Mastered the washing machine and dryer, managed to clean up my room and troll down with my uniform to the laundry, hard work all in all. Sunday we'll be starting Service Standards and apparently ab-initio 1170 is mixing up with us !! Thats going to be such a laugh knowing Scottish Tracey will be with us. And along with that even more eye-watering sights to look out for !!! ahhhhhhhhh. So we've only got two weeks left before graduating. Looking forward to tonight as another lot of French (that I know from the open day) are arriving in Dub-Dub...Namely Fred, Samir and others... Voila that's all from the Sandpit. Speak to ya'll soon!

However...

Sodwee — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:00:02 +0000

Sorry guys I haven't updated this for a while but was extremely busy for the past week and my pattern has changed. I'm now in night classes from 4 in the afternoon till around midnight. This was a complete change from our previous morning pattern. Everyone is feeling nakered by half past four ! None the less training is still going well. We've been doing mock-ups and learning on different Skywards programs that Emirates has to offer. We were also given a hell a lot of in-flight magazines to read through and learn. We also needed to know by heart all the airport codes (GRU, DXB, CDG etc) that Emirates fly into as well as the phonetic alphabet ( Alpha, Bravo...etc). This was the worst part. Most of the Service Standards training is provided in the old building of the training college where to simulators are kept, an Airbus one and a Boeing one. Will full operating galleys and real airline food. We are given a scenario and have to deal with it. From taxi to take-off, cruising & the meal/bar service, to landing and buh-byes.... It's extremely fun and the learning doing practicals is even more efficient. Giggles all around... Unfortunately the air-conditionning in the Airbus simulator (the one we were practicing in) didn't work. So it was like serving the meal cart in the middle of the desert with our 3-layer uniform. Not comfortable. Anyways, been through that nicely. Today is our only day off as we'll be having rostering, IT training etc tomorrow. Most of the trainees in my class know where they'll be flying for their suppy flights. I don't. Bugger. I will hopefully find out tomorrow. Life is Dubai is treating me very well with sunshine all day long, heat and even more irritating driving from the locals ! However. This is a flight attendant favourite word. Every single sentence a Trolly Dolly can come up with will hold this word, no matter what ! It's getting on my nerves. but as from I can gather it is the service standard in the aviation industry Last night was a good night out. Although we were completely nakered from our day at training, we decided to all meet up in Barasti which is an open air beach club/pub. Music was OK, targeted to a anglo-saxon crowd obviously. Lounges & deck-chairs all over so one can enjoy his Heineken chatting up the closest lady. Managed to stay awake until around 2pm, and decided to head home. Photos are to come... We've also met the french joiners from last week. They've been busy with their induction week and just started SEP. I think they're enjoying it as much as I did ! I've got one week to go until Graduation. Busy organising graduation party at a nice joint. Although being it Friday here, no one is working. It's hard getting in touch with Restaurant Managers and stuff. Will definately come up with something thought ! Can't wait ! More next week hopefully ! Thanks again for all your kind messages !

Barasti, Dubai, UAE photos

Sodwee — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:56:57 +0000

Graduation, suppy flights

Sodwee — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:20:44 +0000

Hey ya'll. IMPORTANT INFO : My roster is published every month, you can view it on the left hand side of the webpage. It might change here and there according to scheduling. But generally speaking it will remain the same. It just for those in desperate need of accurate information (I'm thinking of you Dad !!) so you know where I'm at... I've just finished Service Standards training, an intense, two week haul towards Graduation. Happening tomorrow (Thursday 24th April 2008). But before I go into detail, I'd like to thank Melissa for her link on her blog as well as Angus over at Twelve Major Chords (His cousin actually workss for Emirates, how random !) for their funny reads and linkshares. So after doing a DXB-LHR (Dubai - London Heathrow) mock up, which lasted for around an hour and a half, everyone of operating crew had lost half a stone just by sweating and thinking too much. We got so many questions from our "High Valued" customers that our brain motherboards just sparked and started to melt. The passengers we were serving were Ab-Initios a week behind us. I must say they were really quiet and nice. Thanks for the comments ! I can only remember Noha from the lot ! Thumbs up for you in your mock up ! Got our feedback and tomorrow is the big day ! We got briefed as what to do during presentation and actual Graduation. I thought I was done and over with procedures. But apparently we're supposed to line up in a certain order etc.. Fair enough. We're also undergoing a final grooming check as well as a Aircraft Door Check. Before we can actually hold our GCAA/SEP licenses in hand. Looking to tomorrow evening as well. We've managed to book a table at Shangri-La (a five star hotel in Sheikh Zayed) for our Graduation dinner. Ladies will be stunning, and can't wait. After that we'll be meeting everyone at Plan B normally for free "corporate" drinks I should say, meaning, we're not paying for any !!! hihihihihih. Long day tomorrow, I must sleep enough ! Now, the real big deal is my suppy flight on Monday. I'm flying to Doha, Quatar, it's a 45 minute hop and service is extremely quick on those flights, and I'm dreading my service as it will be my first time on carts and what have you!... Actually I'm looking forward to all this. Can't wait. Sure I'll be taking photos if I'm allowed. Thankfully, the SFS is French, so at least I have someone to relate too if I was to go mental ahah! Everything here is going fine for those of you that are asking. Sun, Shades, and Cream. Never forget the sun cream or you'll end up looking like a moving traffic light ! Seen a few at college ! Won't name them thought (you know who you are !). I also have confirmed leave between at the end of June, not as I'd planned it but I'll have it anyways. Better than nothing! I'll update you guys with more information about flying and our Graduation by the of the Weekend hopefully ! Stay tuned, bookmark the blog or add it to your blogroll ! I'm still struggling to answer to every one of you who are sending emails but stay put cause I'm going through them as we speak !. Keep them coming in ! I'm more than happy to answer your questions ! Special big-up to Nick (brother), Mum, Dad, Fee, Doodles, Thea, Hadrien, Martin, Pierre, Paul, Ento, Remi, Bobick, Sarah, Heloïse, Marie, Jeremy, Julie, Aléri in Paris and elsewhere and Big-up to Mel, Nivine, Dali, Sophie, Medi, Samir, Greg, Matt, Ben, Momoko, Feli, Ginger, Szilvia, Richard, Tracey, Christie, Hannah,Aroa, Oli, Khalil, Daniel, Raphael, Benoit, Lea, Alicia, Jihad, Gilbert, Jeremy, Fabianna, Criselle, and many others here in Dubai ! Nice to have met you ! As for today, that's it. Over to our studios in Lalaland.

Emirates Aviation College Graduation Picture - Sodwee, Airboy - Flight Attendant, Cabin Crew

Sodwee — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:12:15 +0000

WeeeeHoooo I'm done with training !

Sodwee — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:14:48 +0000

Well, it has been exactly 6 weeks since a whole batch of us started Emirates Aviation College Training. Six weeks of non-stop learning and having a laugh every single day. Six weeks of meeting & getting to know new people. Six weeks of learning thousands of lines of procedures, apply them. Six weeks of continuous evaluation, exams and last but not least 6 weeks of eating Thaï Chicken sandwiches, Chicken Byriani and drinking Redbulls all day long. I must say a big THANK YOU to our trainers :

Ruth (SEP)

Benita (SEP)

Donna (GMT)

Jihad (GMT)

Houssam (Service)

Agnieska (Service)

Wonderful people with high standard training skills. Even more rewarding at the end of the day for us. So the whole Thursday was dedicated to Graduation. We started at dawn with some HR, Securty and Scheduling talks, another load of information to go through. Felt like I was going to sleep at times because of the early start. Then came grooming check for every one of us. Spot check on nails & uniform for men, and a full check for ladies : Hats, lipstick, make-up, stockings and shoes. We were seating in a state of the art auditorium for the ceremony and at 1.30 pm sharp, the Graduation began. The place was packed with colleagues in uniform, relatives and senior management. There was also Business Class & First Class Grads, SFS grads and Ab-initio Grads. A total of around 130 graduates. It was really fun. We got to shake hands with Terry Daly (SVP Service Delivery) our Cabin Crew Manager and got our certificates. Then a video of the training & grooming was shown to all of the attendance. I appeared for a few seconds moisturising my hands looking terribly bored !! Everything was picture perfect. We were invited on the terrace for some cakes and juices. I decided to leave for home soon after. I had other things on mind ! Yeah. I was in desperate need of offering myself a graduation present ! So after dumping my uniform at the laundry, I headed off to Mall Of The Emirates for some retail therapy. I came across this amazing piece of technology. No not a satellite phone the size of your thumb ! Nope, not a interactive shaver ! But a very slick, touch sensitive HiFi System with real good sound ! Needless to say I was tempted. I got it straight away ! Now I can enjoy full powered sound in the living room. I think my flatmate is going to be delighted too. Got back just in time to change into dinner clothes and ran to Shangri-La for some 5 star buffet and unlimited drinks. Amazing setting with an extensive, beautiful buffet. Three Ab-Initios decided to go to that hotel so we ended up being quite numerous. All for the better ! Had a brilliant time there. But every one was feeling the urge to just let it go & dance. Of course this was near to impossible in a posh posh hotel lobby. So we gathered every one and headed to Plan B (the name of the Club) where drinks were offered until late and paid by Emirates. So as you would understand, we got absolutely wasted on cocktails, wine and beers. Fooling around like headless chickens. I think we all had a blast.

More pictures to come ! Stay tuned.

No Comment. Pictures.

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:13:57 +0000

Doha........and back. First Suppy !

Sodwee — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:33:05 +0000

Yes, ladies & gentlemen, Sodwee has finally made it to the galley in full uniform! Doha was our destination today. A quick hop over the sea and down again. All in all, a 50 minute flight on average. On average only. Because sometimes, things happen. Even on your first suppy (validation flight, cabin crew first flight) flight. Today our flight out of Dubai had some technical difficulties in providing cool air to the cabin, and more importantly to the wings and everything that comes with those wings (ie fuel, flaps, directional parts, hydraulics and other stuff). So this was a rare fault in the aircraft that Captain had to make the decision of going back to stand to make the necessary repairs in order for us to take-off safely and with air-con. That i, with sweaty passengers on-board dying for some fresh air and coolness. Us sweating like hell, providing drinks to our passengers. Every one of them was kind thought. So it wasn't to hard. One of them actually came up to the galley and thanked us for the work and apologozised for us to work in those heat conditions. But we were all fine. A few drinks in the back and we were rocking ! So an hour and a half after Scheduled Time of Departure (that is STD, for future reference guys). We made it to the runway after securing the cabin and ourselves. I was in the cockpit by then enjoying the full view of tarmac strip lying before my eyes ! What a sensation. It is nothing compared to the cabin view (yeah, there's actually no view from the cabin !) Anyways great friendly Captain & FO (First Officer), I didn't forget their names or anything, just don't want to spare confidential information here, bare with me. Seat Belt Sign was off, and I had to storm through the Business Class cabin in order to get ready for our flash service. Sandwiches & Juices. Serve 130 pax (passengers) in 20 minutes. This wasn't a full cabin, a full economy cabin can hold up to 265 pax. Imagine the "bordel" on a 20 minutes service sprint ! However we did just fine and manage to attend every pax's need. Including extra drinks and sandwiches. By then it was time to secure the cabin again for our landing in Doha. An airport in the middle of the desert with a very small airport compared to Dubai. This is what we call a turnaround fligh, that means we do no stay for a layover. We go straight back to Dubai with another load of passengers and cargo. We did the exact same service on the way back. Landed in Dubai perfectly. Came back home, Found my flatmate typing away on his keyboard... I knew we had internet installed the moment he lifted his eyes up and saw me coming in... His smile up to his ears said it all ! Internet is a life saver especially on reserve months when you're kinda stuck at home ! That is all from my side. Sorry I didn't take any pictures, I was way to busy to think about gettingg my camera out. But surely in the future, when my brain gets the whole process, I will probably have time to think about taking my snaps. Speak to you soon !

I, the couch potato.

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:41:59 +0000

Been at home for three days now, doing pretty much nothing but reading blogs, buying a TV, eating like a pig, drinking unlawful sodas and being a coutch potato and soaking up the sun every now and then. To my surprise, many fellow Emirates Flight Attendants are writting their experience on blogs. All of them are very interesting, so giv'em some link love people !

The Flying Kiwi

Kissaboo - Around The Globe

Alixander's Blog

Melissa FA blog

Pink Poodle On The Runway

Aerobatic Ash

Daniel's Jube Eye

Blurker No More

Tampax Towers

Lisa's Cabin Crew Blog

Tarino

If you guys have a blog about All things aviation, please send me a buzz and I'll uptade my links. I'm more than happy to share it with the world ! In other news, I'll be flying this coming Friday out to Bangalore in India, with one of my fellow ABinitio class mates. She's wild and happely named Alicia. Hope to have some fun, no doubt actually ! Can't wait for my Layover to come !

Record Store Day - Sodwee / Airboy - Music Downloads MP3's

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:34:56 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #41 / From Dubai !

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:03:38 +0000

I know it's been a hell a long wait for those in desperate need of sound waves. But I'm back in Black. Ready to spill out some good ol' tunes for you people. I'll concentrate on covers today and make two exceptions, one for our beloved and soon-to-be overhyped Santogold, as well as for our favourite Rocking Grandpa, yes, you've guessed it : Mick Jagger. As I'm writting these lines, a cover of Ball & Biscuit from The White Stripes performed by the Long Goners just came whispering through my ears and, to be honest, it's amazingly done. Country-ish feel, nice swing, a must, I'll post it upon here foooww shuuuw... Also on today's menu, can I suggest The Puppini Sisters with a brilliant cover of Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love"... Feel grumpy in the morning ?? This track will wake you up just like a dozen Redbulls will ! God, 3rd listen and I'm in deep love... Voilà. In the future I'll try and be a bit more frequent in sending tracks on the blog. But bare with me I haven't got the fastest internet connexion in the world...! Anyhow, enjoy these DOWNLOADABLES...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/05%20Charmed%20Life.mp3] Mick Jagger - Charmed Life [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Run%20For%20Cover%20(Bradley%20D%20Edit).mp3] Santogold - Run For Cover (Bradley D Edit) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/10%20Ball%20Biscuit%20(The%20White%20Stripes%20cover).mp3] Long Goners - Ball & Biscuit(The White Stripes cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/14%20Toxic%20(Britney%20Cover).mp3] The Chapin Sisters - Toxic (Britney Spears cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Creep%20(Radiohead%20cover).mp3] Prince [live @ Coachella 2008] - Creep (Radiohead cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/Crazy%20In%20Love%20(Beyonce%20Cover).mp3] The Puppini Sisters - Crazy In Love (Beyoncé cover)
[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/08%20Purple%20Rain%20(Prince%20cover).mp3] Valdez - Purple Rain (Prince cover)

That's all from me in Dubai, UAE (that's in the Middle East folks !), will be back soon with mmmmmmore updates and tunes. Please leave comments about the tracks, I'll be more than happy to have your opinion. Have a good day !

Twenty Two Wheelchairs, One Aircraft.

Sodwee — Mon, 05 May 2008 11:16:27 +0000

There's so much to write about my last few days here in Dubai that I'll just input you with the most delightful moments I had. The last two flights were to India. One to Bangalore which was packed but really nice and easy. The second one, a Ahmadabad turnaround was epic. Especially the return flight. One of the problems we encounter on Indian flights is the amount of Duty Free the passengers buy in Dubai to take back home. They have way more plastic bags than actual luggage.But I'll come back to those flights a little later... Now, you don't probably know, but preparing a flight takes a gigantic amount of logistics, from catering, cleaners, cabin crew, flight deck crew, engineering, fuel, Entertainment System Maintenance and so on for ages. Airports are the most organised places I've seen so far ! Now Cabin Crew need to prepare their flight. And it starts right when you rise out of bed. Say 4 hours before the actual departure time, we have to get ready, put the uniform on and wait for the bus downstairs our accomodation (it usually picks us up around 2.20 hours before STD (scheduled time of departure). It takes the bus around 35 minutes to do the round of the few buildings on my side of Sheikh Zayed Road. Then direction CBC (Crew Briefing Center) where we'll have to sign-in our flight, find out where the briefing will be held and then go there, wait for everyone to arrive and commence briefing. We'll be checked on our documents, we'll have general information about passenger load and a safety talk. Of course if by any chance you don't have the required documents, you do not answer a question correctly, you can be offloaded the flight. So this part of the day is quite stressful. Now it all depends on who's your Purser (Cabin Senior) or your SFS... It's usually fine but I've heard wonderful stories !! After that we have to go through customs and board on a designated shuttle that will take us to the aircraft. In a normal airport that would take around 5-10 minutes. But because, the Emiraties love the word BIG, they decided the spread the tarmac across the whole country. In actual time it takes us around 20 minutes for us to reach our aircraft. Ok so last night was my flight to Ahmedabad (in India again) and our load was light on the way out. Making the service quick & easy for us. Leaving more time to chat and have something to eat. We were on time. Once in Ahmedabad we were informed that not only economy was packed (282 pax), not a seat to spare, but that 22 of the passengers would come on Wheelchairs ! 22 bloomin' wheelchairs ! How safe is that on an Aircraft ? The boarding was just nightmare ! Every other couple separated by 15 rows, luggage way to big to be stored in the overheads and mosquitos having a go at us the whole time ! What a mess. God knows how, by the end of boarding, we were still on time ready to fly back to Dubai. Some lucky pax got Business Class seats because there was no one in first class so we upgraded a few passengers to their benefit ! Service on the way back was looooooooonnnnnngggg. I did the bar for the first time. Took me around 1 hour to serve every on. Funny thing about Indian flights is that when you ask what they want, they just nod their heads sideways, not saying yes or no. Making it very difficult for us to understand. Ending up giving what they might not asked for !Oh well. Got back this morning at around 6 o' clock. Sign-off and straight back home fo some well deserved rest. Was is bed by 8h00. Newt flight I'm looking forward to, I have a Dubai - Singapore - Melbourne and back with layover in each port !! Can't wait ! Speak to you soon. Have a good day !

Bangalore, India - Sodwee / Airboy Map

Sodwee — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:54:45 +0000

Amhadabad, India - Airboy - Sodwee

Sodwee — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:11:34 +0000

Ben & Alicia Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:01:40 +0000

Crew Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:03:33 +0000

The Ting Tings - Shut Up And Let Me Go

Sodwee — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:18:41 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #42 / Shut Up & Let Me Go

Sodwee — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:35:55 +0000

I really think the guy who chooses the music for the iPod Ads is a GENIUS. Not only does he pick hyped up little bands or artists (according to the blogosphere always) but manages to send them to stardom in a few seconds from airing these Ads... So the lucky ones who got prime-time across every single television set in the US get the big payday ! So, for your pleasure today, I think you should download "Shut Up & Let Me Go" by the Ting Tings. It's a really catchy song with lickalicious guitars and drumtastic percussions ! Prince struggling to get the Coachella to sing as one is on the "Come Together" cover originally by The Beatles of course. Finally some random tracks I gathered in the past few days.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/01%20Im%20Glad%20(Captain%20Beefheart%20cover).mp3] The Black Keys - I'm Glad (Captain Beefheart cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Come%20Together%20(The%20Beatles%20Cover).mp3] Prince - Come Together (The Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Shut%20Up%20And%20Let%20Me%20Go.mp3] The Ting Tings - Shut Up & Let Me Go [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/live/sound/discoheat/No%20Diggity.mp3] The Klaxons - No Diggity (Blackstreet cover)

Skype cartoon

Sodwee — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:04:03 +0000

MotherOfSodwee

Sodwee — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:32:22 +0000

MotherOfSodwee finally embraces technology.

Sodwee — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:34:24 +0000

Today was one of a kind for me. I saw my Mother actually, pro-actively, use the computer back home ! One might say "welll errrr... you know Ben errr... your Mother probably knows how to use a keyboard, and the mouse and press the power button so why are you going on about this ??!!". Precisely ! Not long ago, Dad and Nick (my brother) went on a shopping frenzie downtown for a brand new 20" inch iMac with built-in webcam to my Mother's despare. In her world, computer = work. At that time she didn't expect to see her FAVOURITE SON leave for the sandpit, thousands of miles away with no means of seeing me realtime. Well thanks to technology, a few swedish geeks and a decent internet connexion. There she is video-chatting to her FAVOURITE SON realtime across the internetz with Skype. And believe me it's a comedy show when Mother finds herself in front of a camera. You know how you keep looking at the playback of yourself instead of the camera, when you constantly try to find the best profile of yourself, like you were on CNN ! Yeah Mum was doing all of that ! And I just sat there watching her, I couldn't stop laughing. Not only she video-chat now, but she also leaves comment on this very blog !! She checks it every day, promotes it at work and sends a gazillion times more emails than she would normally do ! It's all good. Now the next step is to get her on Facebook ! Only then, the loop will be complete ! Sodwee sends a huge hug to MotherOfSodwee.

Sodwee — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:57:29 +0000

Sodwee — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:02:37 +0000

Dubai - Singapore - Melbourne - Singapore - Dubai

Sodwee — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:03:06 +0000

Hey, now wonder I wasn't updating the blog the past few days, no wonder my phone didn't answer, no wonder my emails kept coming in, but never found a way out, no wonder I was absent from MSN for a total of around 5 days ! Yes Sodwee went on a little trip across the Indian Sea, over to "green clean galore" Singapore. Stayed there for a few hours and then jetted off to "Winter struck Melbourne". Crashed there for a few hours, then back to Singapore for another 24 hours. All in all, it was a great trip, with great crew. Managed a few pictures, some good sleep and amazing food in Singapore. Duty in between was fun, still loving the whole thing of being a Cabin Crew with Emirates. Opted for a tailor-made job. Living the high life. Staying in nice hotels in the middle of the citie. Click on "Go Full Size" below the viewer to see the selected photo in full size... svgallery=singapore-melbourne Singapore was a blast. Never saw anything like it. How can millions of people cramp themselves in such a tiny space, get millions of tourists on top of that, keep the place spotlessly clean and make money out of it ???? Can't figure it out ! Can you ? Maybe I've been converted to the Dubai lifestyle, or even the Paris one. Not quite sure yet. Yep so after a 7 hour flight from Dubai into Singapore, we off-loaded and went straight for our hotel rooms down at the Carlton. Right in the city center. What strikes at first is how green the place is. Coming from the desert, the sand and the beige color in general, I can assure you it makes a HUUUUUUUGE difference to your eyes. They totally drown in this plethor of vegetation. Flowers all around the international airport, along the highways, on the pavements, e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e ! The Road are covered by arches of trees, letting a few sun rays to come through and keeping the tarmac nice & cool. Unlike the one in Dubai. It was hell humid. Stepping of the aircraft was a shocker. I started to sweat like a p******** in toys'r'us. After having a well deserved shower, I headed down to the lobby for a Tiger Beer (or two...), the national beer there. Also treated myself to a Club Sandwich. Singapore is globally known for it's shopping paradise. And, Dear, to they live up to your expectations, it's a national sport here per TNN (a tourism channel showing a loop of things to do in Singapore : mainly shopping). So, keen on spending a few calories, I stormed down to Bugis Junction where the malls are. Ended up with a few bags of goodies, I will not disclose any of the contents as people will be reading these lines and I want to keep the surprise. The highlight of the day was probably immersing myself into the crowds in that huge maze-like indoor market selling funky teen t-shirts, bags, crazy watches, slush puppies, and general asian teenager stuff (meaning colorful & useless). Great time there. It was packed with teenagers of course. Then went to bed because I would've duck-taped my eyes if I'd stayed up longer. The next day was spent flying again. Another 7 odd hours into Melbourne. The weather a little more pleasant, but way colder. Remember it's winter there so we were treated to a mere 15°C upon arrival at around 1'o'clock in the morning. Not much time to do anything so we all decided to congregate in the lobby and have some late night beer there. Ended up tipsy and ordering pizzas, going to Seven/Eleven for meatpies and finished in bed by 5 in the morning. The following ~~morning~~ afternoon, woke up, having slept like a baby in that KING SIZE bed ! Room Service had left Cadbury chocolate for us so had that for Breakies. By the time I got showered, shaved and got my suitcase closed after numerous attempts, I finally crawled myself down for the meeting before our flight back to Singapore. Another 7 hours in the pressurised tube, amongst a crazy Maltese group, led by an insane 50 year old, who laughed his head off the whole way through ! Didn't drink half an optic either ! Crazy peeps. The call bell kept on ringing, leaving us with no chattin' time what so ever. Nor sit down rest. Back in Singapore for our last layover, another 24 hours this time dedicated to food. Spicy food in fact ! I also pushed myself to eat Sting-Ray (you know that flat fish). It tasted just like chicken. But I ordered the best chicken in the world : Black Pepper Super Spicy Hot Chix with fried-up rice and veggies. mouth watering guys. This food court was located at Newton flyover, a few seconds away in the cab from Raffles Hotel (yes, the same hotel that came up with the Singapore Sling). We went there with a local cabin crew called Rosh, along with J-Rad from the States, Lucy from the UK, Anoosha from NZ (Iran) and Nicole, also from Singapore. Good, good night discussing Conspiracy Theories for September 11. Very funny ! It was five, by the time I reached my room. Now I haven't been staying in hotel that much. Across the entire span of my living life, I probably crashed into a dozen hotels. They give you these cards that you swipe to get in your room. Well for some reason I kept the ones from Melbourne and our previous stop in Singapore... And trying to figure out which one would successfully open the door was a difficult task at five in the morning, with a few Tigers in the belly and a few thousand miles in the head : You get slightly agitated. Thank God I was the only one in the corridor. As you've probably noticed by now, the galleries have changed, making it easy for you to scroll through the pictures instead of being sent to Facebook. I'll try my best to put full-size picture. But this depends entirely on the space I have available. Anyways, enough from me, catch up with you soon. And keep me updated, send me links, leave comment etc ! And please do check out this blog : TobyTime http://www.tobysears.blogspot.com/

Sodwee — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:19:19 +0000

Sodwee — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:20:36 +0000

The Ducs-Ovnies to play FREE GIG in Paris

Sodwee — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:23:28 +0000

Add this event to your facebook profile now !

Good friends of mine gathered together and formed a rocking band. 70's Rock, 60's Blues. They'll be performing at "Le Cleub des Arbres", 25 rue des Bleuets 75011 Paris on Friday 30th of May 2008. I highly recommend these guys, not because they're my pals but because they want you to spend some quality time at a quality gig ! They recently had a photo shoot with Jérémy Saint-Peyre (http://flickr.com/photos/zedou-pingouin/) and had their poster done by a young rising artist in Paris (Paul Grelet) :

Barber Shop

Sodwee — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:09:42 +0000

A feeling from hell.

Sodwee — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:22:44 +0000

I bet someone before had the same ordeal as I've experienced today. I came to the conclusion, this very day, to get my hair trimmed. It was getting on my nerves big time. For common people, making their way to the hairdresser is not a big deal, but I'd rather have my leg swaped than having to face a change of hairdresser. I managed to get myself out of bed to stroll around Satwa (a kinda run-down part of Dubai, right behind the skyscrapers strip on Sheikh Zayed Road). This part of town is home to a lot of Indians and is quite poor in comparison to other parts of Dubai. It's like walking through the 18th district of Paris after you've remained in custody in the 8th for so long, same sort of thing. I was told they had Barber Shops down there and I could get a cut for like 15 Dirhams (2 euros for you europeans). So I went, thinking it was a cheap alternative. Little did I know... I came up to these shops and the look of the haidressers in there just put me off ! It was like I was back in the 1970's, all of them wearing flares (pattes d'eph) with the most utterly old-school 80's looking haircuts. It was actually funny to come across something like that. But hell did I not want a Hasselhoff do ! Next decision was to head to Mall Of The Emirates and crach into Franck Provost (a well known hairdressers in France) branch and get a decent cut there. I was taken care of very quickly... Got soaped and sat in front of the dreaded mirror. I did not open my eyes throughout the whole operation. The guy did it in a few minutes, adjusting here and there, spraying water at times etc. In a matter of minutes, 10 or so, he was done. Opened my eyes and never saw anything like it. It was actually well cut, against all expectations ! Now I know where I'll be heading for clippers !

In other brilliant news, way more exciting than my hair drama, can we all make a very warm welcome to Sebastien Davies, proud son of Misses Alethea Davies ! Baby Seb was born on the 13th of May 2008 at around 8.10 am. Congratulations to Thea and wish you happy living together my dear ! She'll be sending pictures soon so you'll all see the toddler's cute face !

Thea's baby - Sebastien - Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:47:57 +0000

Thea's baby - Sebastien - Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:48:58 +0000

Airboy's favourite Toddler

Sodwee — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:50:55 +0000

Hey I promised I'd post some pictures of Sebastien, Thea's new born baby. So here you go : Ain't he cute ! aaaaaaawwwww... Wish you the best !

Michael Jackson - Live Dangerous Tour, Bucarest - Sodwee Airboy blog

Sodwee — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:24:14 +0000

Arhgggh these Fridays....

Sodwee — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:37:26 +0000

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/a-conversation-with-evita.mp3] A conversation with Evita...

Fridays here are like Sunday elsewhere. über-boring. Everything is shut, no one in the city and it's the only day one can actually enjoy the fact he has a balcony because the noise from Sheikh Zayed Road is reduced by something like 2%. Thankfully enough, Airboy had gone to get is haircut yesterday and swirled round Virgin Megastore for a couple of DVDs. I felt like having good memories back and grabbed the one and only "Michael Jackson Dangerous Tour Live in Bucarest". Along with "La Haine" and "Redacted". And boy was I right ! Havign The King Of Pop full blast on our new Surround set was E-P-I-C ! That gig definately goes way up there with the best gig of all time. Those moves man, all you do during the whole show is just stare at those flippin' magic shoes. Another entertaining side of this DVD is of course the trend at the time, that was 1992, and man they dress like clowns, you know, those horrid jeans, flat caps and those plastic pink sport trousers... Highlight of the concert was most probably "Black Or White" & of course the whole Moonwalk with Billie Jean in the background ! Not only does it put you in a good mood, but straight after the closing song you start trying out those bloody steps without getting there and then you realise every one on Sheikh Zayed can now see you move akwardly because of the see-through window tinting at night ! Shame on me. I'm about to cook some pasta with Tandoori chicken wings, along with some deliciously home-made Uncle Ben's pasta sauce, sweet & sour ! Will be flying tomorrow, nothing exciting though, it's a turnaround to Tehran. My US visa is coming up too, should be exciting because every one from our ABinitio is going there at the same time and we'll probably organise a lunch or something then ! Can't wait ! Thanks also to everyone sending those kind emails, I'm thinking of Mat The Flying Kiwi, Raine, Bardia from Aussie Land, Wai-ling, Andre, Aadil, Sonja, Joe, Rima, Charlaine, Eglute, Sandrine, Samantha and others ... Keep your comments flying in ! I really appreciate feedback, questions and weird proposals (lol, you know who you are, target someone else!).

A conversation with Evita

Sodwee — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:28:29 +0000

Jackson 5 - Sodwee Airboy Music Blog

Sodwee — Sat, 17 May 2008 20:31:39 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #42

Sodwee — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:16:48 +0000

I've managed to recover from my Tehran (Iran) flight, only sleeping a mere 2 hours before duty. My sleeping pattern is all screwed up. Crew was really nice. Straight forward and helpful. The way back was a little more tidious but overall was nice, quick & easy. I actually like turnarounds. It's just nice to know you'll be back home in a short time. Gives you something to look for. After my King Of Pop jumbo post yesterday I thought I'd go back to the essentials and bring the Mighty Five up front and let you enjoy great cover of Jackson Browne named "Doctor My Eyes". Bring on the Mojo! I wish I could grow an afro like this ! Otherwise, another of my favourite artist, M.I.A. with a classic here : "$20". Also, after receiving many death threats for having taken the Ryan Adams cover of "Wonderwall" (originally by Oasis) down, I re-upped it today for your guilty pleasure. Apparently even Oasis does it this way now !! How cool is that... Daft Punk makes the headlines one way or another two or three times a week at the moment on the famous music blogs so I decided to follow the trend and post a brilliant cover of "Digital Love" by Alphabeat... You gotta love the uhhh-ooh in that track. Finally the once hyped up indie piece named Peter Bjorn & John have been covered numerous times for me to not post. So there you go, today DOWNLOADABLES. Enjoy, comment and send me covers if you have any spare ! Would be a pleasure to post them upon here. Have a good day ... OOOh I nearly forgot the biggest-depressing-rock-band-to-whine-in-their-mic had a new track given out for free on the internetz, namely COLDPLAY with "Violet Hill". When the first two verses kick in, you know they already have a hit in their hands. That their tune will hit #1 spots in every single chart. Ooooooh well, I guess we'll have to put up with them for another year.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/01%20Violet%20Hill.mp3] Coldplay - Violet Hill [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/01%20Young%20Folks%20(Peter%20Bjorn%20and%20John%20cover).mp3] Shogu Tokumaru - Young Folks (Peter Bjorn & John cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/07%2020%20dollars.mp3] M.I.A. - $20 [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/08%20Wonderwall%20(Oasis%20cover).mp3] Ryan Adams - Wonderwall (Oasis cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Digital%20Love%20(Daft%20Punk%20cover).mp3] Alphabeat - Digital Love (Daft Punk cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Doctor%20My%20Eyes%20(Jackson%20Browne%20cover).mp3] Jackson 5 - Doctor My Eyes (Jackson Browne cover)

That's it from me ! Peace out foolz !

Ben in Cairo - Sodwee / Airboy.

Sodwee — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:26:56 +0000

Airboy in Cairo - Fly Emirates Sodwee Blog picture photo

Sodwee — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:39:32 +0000

Pyramids, Pharaons, Nile, Egyptian Hospitality... Well NONE of that for you Airboy

Sodwee — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:40:06 +0000

Airboy Music by Sodwee the cover art

Sodwee — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:26:55 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #43 / Taking it real easy...

Sodwee — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:51:29 +0000

Hi all, new DOWNLOADABLES available, it's 4-3 / it's for free (it rhymes). Taking it very easy these past few days, all i'm looking at now is layovers ! So I'll be outta Dubai and that is what's good, meaning less spending, more saving, seeing more green and breathing fresh air. Less beige too. Will be heading to Jakarta this Saturday, then my last layover will be Manilla. Been doing nonsense the past two days, treating myself to DVD's (again), going over to the "noman's land" which is 21st Century Tower to Gregory's flat to watch DVDs there also, being total fools and listen to good 90's music. Eating Haagen Daaz ice creams, Pizza Hut specials and all sorts of junk food. In between stuffing myself, I redesigned the cover art for the mp3's, so you lucky new generation iPod freaks can enjoy some eye-candy while listenning to some boogalicious tunes. Otherwise I had an email last week from MotherOfSodwee ~~saying~~ begging me to post this link (click the green link to open) on Airboy, it's a five-piece band called Man And Unable [MAU], they make good sound, and by the look of it, are really good at making hilarious videos too (I'll let you discover those, see the rabbit one first !) No more BlaBla, let's get down to business. Some good old live performance by critically acclaimed band Coldplay here live @ Glastonbury, treating the crowd to a cover of Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Outta My Head"... Another great one will me Groove Armada's cover of Madonna's "Crazy For You". Also headlining today is my favourite Hop-Hip band at the moment, The Cool Kids, I've already mentioned them earlier this year. They're a combo from the US on the same wave length as NAS and his 80's infused rap, we have here a great come-back of good ghetto music... I was hooked to that bassline ! We have made a little space for US and A's favourite french singer-songwriter Yael Naïm and her cover of Björk's "Bachelorette"... And since I'm now living on the African Continent, we'll have Youssou N' Dour in the playlist with Touba-Daru Sallam, a track I came across today, and of which I thought was great...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Can't%20Get%20You%20Out%20Of%20My%20Head%20(Kylie%20Minogue%20Cover).mp3] Coldplay - Can't Get You Outta My Head (Kylie Minogue cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Stove%20Top%20Oven%20Fresh%20Baked%20Goods.mp3] The Cool Kids - Stove Top Oven Fresh Baked Goods [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Bachelorette%20(Bjork%20Cover).mp3] Yael Naïm - Bachelorette (Björk cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Touba%20-%20Daru%20Salaam.mp3] Youssou N' Dour feat. Fathy Salam - Touba Daru Sallam [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/05%20Crazy%20For%20You%20(Madonna%20Cover).mp3] Groove Armada - Crazy For You (Madonna cover)

Voilà!

Cabin Crew prepare dancefloor for arrival

Sodwee — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:51:00 +0000

OOhhhhh dear. Another night, another nightclub. It's way too cheap here to not go out. Especially when Emirates pays for our drinks, that's when it gets even better. Plan B (the club in Wafi City) was our destination tonight, and boy did it rock. DJ played some good ol' tunes mixed with some commercial goodness. But it wasn't about the music, but much about who was there dancing their booty along with me ! Can I only thank the new french connections here, Matt Landers, Dali, Samir, Fred (et sa copine), Greg, Nivine, Matt and the lovely Celia [ ;-) ]. This was a night to be proud of. It started very nicely, I had some quick dinner at Wagamama (again, gotta love that Katsu Chicken Curry with Japo rice !!). Then went onto 21st to meet the french gang so we could move on to Plan B as quick as we could. It's the place that every Thursday night is packed with newly graduated Emirates Staff. They get free drinks all night long. If you're lucky enough and you know someone from the happy batches, then you're in for a hell of a night drinking on behalf of Emirates !! It cannot get better ! Anyways, that's all from me. I just came back and I have great difficulty in putting these letters into an understandable order... Check out the pictures : svgallery=PlanB

Jakarta Layover...

Sodwee — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:26:04 +0000

Hum. How can I say. Well I think this was the best layover so far. Our trip started in briefing room, even before our briefing we were trying to organise a safari (which never occured) and everyone was happy to go there. Which makes a big difference with the karma on-board. The crew was really nice, big-up to Nancy, Nabila, Tamara, Bridget, Celishia, Fabian and Asami ! A really good mix of funny people with great team spirit ! Easy flight out to Kuala Lumpur, even with a full load and an even easier sector from KUL to Jakarta (Indonesia), we wee only seving 100 people all together. We landed safely. We boarded the crew bus that takes us to our hotel set in palm trees, a luxuriant flora. The rooms were spacious and the pool was dreamy ! My thing is to have a couple beers before even trying to get to bed, so that it knocks you down after a 10 hour flight. Even better when you're sat by the pool on one of the deck chairs with your iPod screwed on... The next day I went into the city, for some shopping and a stroll round. It was clammy and humid, 29°C. Lovely weather. Walking around in the street was a little awkward thought because every single person was looking straight at me as if I was guilty of something so I by the time I had reach the mall I had enough and decided to go back to the hotel. Treated myself to the expert hands of a masseuse for a 2 hour non-stop massage, complete with Chocolate spread, salt exfoliating and moisturizing rub. Loved it so much I fell asleep during the whole process ! wow I was feeling good after that. Especially the chocolate par, where the chocolate mixture gets dry and cracks under your movements, nice sensation. I then enjoyed some bobbing around in the pool and it was time to go to bed for our returning double sector. Came back to CBC (crew briefing center) and managed to get my roster for June. Happy all around, I have NO TURNAROUNDS WHAT SO EVER ! Got 2 Paris flights, one Singapore - Melbourne and a Milan - Nice double sector ! I'm thrilled, I'll be able to catch up with Mum, Dad & nick as well as my mates in Paris, see my all new Zen Style bedroom and just get a feel of the ~~beautiful~~ shit weather there ! svgallery=jakarta

Background Roster Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:22:45 +0000

Cassius Clay - Mohammed Ali - Boxer - Sodwee Airboy audioblog mp3

Sodwee — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:47:00 +0000

Bedtime For Toys - Sodwee Airboy audioblog cabin crew with Emirates !

Sodwee — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:14:14 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #44 / It's Bedtime For Toys!

Sodwee — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:19:30 +0000

Cassius Clay, some of you may know that name, yes It's Mohammed Ali's previous name or the name he was born under before changing. And did you know he sang ? No, me neither, he released a couple tunes back in the days and we have one for you today, a cover of Ben E. King's beautiful "Stand By Me". It's been a week since I've posted new mp3s so for waiting that long, you guys get 9 today ! I'm über-generous, I know. I won't go into too much details with those cover, just a quick word to say that Lisa Li-Lund's cover of "Cry Me A River" originally sung by Justin Timberlake is a killer, along with Bedtime For Toys' cover of September (orinigal by Earth Wind & Fire), which reminds me of a Daft Punk kind of song, but that's only my opinion. Voilà you have it all underneath, if you'd like to download them, that's not a problem, right click the green links under the players, then select "save targert link to...". You then should drag it to your favourite music player, that will be iTunes right ?

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/03%20Walk%20of%20Life%20(Dire%20Straits%20cover).mp3] Shooter Jennings - Walk Of Life (Dire Straits cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/09%20Dont%20Stop%20til%20You%20Get%20Enough%20(Michael%20Jackson%20cover).mp3] Julian Coryell - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (Michael Jackson cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/11%20Stand%20By%20Me%20(Ben%20E%20King%20cover).mp3] Cassius Clay - Stand By Me (Ben E. King cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/12%20Girls%20Just%20Wanna%20Have%20Fun%20(Cindy%20Lauper%20cover).mp3] Russian Red - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cindy Lauper cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Cry%20Me%20a%20River%20(Justin%20Timberlake%20Cover).mp3] Lisa Li-Lund - Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Eye%20of%20the%20Tiger%20(Survivor%20cover).mp3] Josh Joplin - Eye Of The Tiger (Survivor cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/Hurricane%20(Bob%20Dylan%20cover).mp3] Ani DiFranco - Hurricane (Bob Dylan cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/I%20Love%20Rock%20and%20Roll%20(original).mp3] The Arrows - I Love Rock'n'Roll (original track) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/%7Eredcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/September%20(Earth%20Wind%20and%20Fire%20cover).mp3] Bedtime For Toys - September (Earth Wind & Firecover)

Voilà, enjoy your music, catch the sun and leave your comment below !

Airboy's GrooveJet - Sodwee DOWNLOADABLES... Click to access all MP3s...

Sodwee — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:08:06 +0000

plane bullet sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:19:17 +0000

Facecard FACE Flight Attendant Club Of Emirates - Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:22:56 +0000

FACECARD BLING

Sodwee — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:33:49 +0000

Holllla. This is THE card I've been waiting for over a month now. And I'm glad I've finally got my hands on it ! It's total BLING in your pocket. Forget about your diamond incrusted grillz, dis is da shiz foolz. That card entitles you to many, say countless discounts around Dubai and also overseas. Most airlines have their own too. It's a quite a money saver when you go out considering the amount one cabin crew spends here in Dubai on drinks and other nightlife fees... It also works for selected museums and cultural places around the globe. Voilà I'm happy, I'm a member of the Club ! In other news I'm preparing for a Manila trip tonight leaving at 3 in the morning. So I'm gonna hit the sack for a few hours and set the ~~wake up call~~ alarm clock so I can pack and leave early enough to print stuff down at CBC. Will, of course, post pictures when I get back from the Philippines ! Peace out !

Cabin Crew take your seats !

Sodwee — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:01:49 +0000

Heyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaa !!!! Woop Woop I'm back from Manila, in very good spirits ! Philippinos are a friendly bunch, fact, on the other hand, your traffic su*** major hell. ahah. But it was all very interesting sights in the end. I have fallen in love with those chrome buses (check out the pictures below). I think they're total BLING, just like my FACEcard. I'm also addicted to mayhem in city centers, and for that matter I had plenty and even leftovers ! Electric cables running everywhere, bikes with 8 people riding on, buses that look like spacecrafts, flyovers tangled with each other spaghetti style. I got what I wanted. A true layover with enough happening around the hotel so I could walk out the air-conditioning and feel the vibe. After meeting up with SFS, Roberta and the captain for a tasteful Thaï buffet round the corner, we headed for some well-deserved San Miguel (this is the beer) at the hotel bar. It's 8 hours flying, so you're pretty much ready for some nicotine, malt & hops by the time you get out of the uniform... After a 13 hours sleep, a quick update on news "Onnllyy On CNN" and a good shower I was off for some good old shopping. Didn't go insane at all Mum... Just got a brand new Bench watch with dual time. I was getting annoyed not knowing the time back home so I came across this trendy watch, yet within the Emirates Grooming Standards. It has dual time meaning, it shows two displays, one for your home country (ie Dub-Dub), and another to display the time in the country your visiting. It's extremely practical and would advise it to anyone travelling around good ol' mother Earth. That's all I got. Grabbed something to eat and it was time to get changed. svgallery=manila Of course this wasn't the end. We had to hop back to Dubai. The flight was again full, 385 passengers in Economy and 42 in Business class. It's alot, believe me. You only realise how many people these aircraft carry when you stand on the ramp to say goodbye. It's a never ending flow... And saying "buh-bye" to 400 people within 5 minutes takes some effort, believe me ! Anyways, that's not the point. During cruising, the ride got bumpier, with turbulence and us Cabin Crew fighting gravity to have those trays delivered without having to crouch down to pick up the fallen cutlery or spill drinks over a passengers head. At one point Captain came on the PA (Passenger Announcement) and ordered to take our seats. If you're travelling, and you hear "Cabin Crew Take Your Seat", this means, you'll be on a rollercoaster anytime soon. That's why cabin crew will stop whatever they're doing, even if they're about to serve the meal you've been waiting for ages and you're starving, but for our safety and yours ultimately, we need to sit down, relax, and hold onto our Cart. Another PA will be heard saying something along the lines of "Cabin Crew realeased for duty". This means we'll resume our service, and check on damage and/or injuries. The rest of the flight was a breeze. Next flight is a Paris flight. So I'm hoping on seeing my loved ones. Request for cheap cigarettes cartridges will not be accepted, I'm sorry Anthony, but I don't know you, and I have limited amount of space in my suitcase. As you can imagine... Again I'd like to thank Colon (what a strange nickname...), Anthony, Jihan, Melissa, Paul & Andres from Facebook for their emails and support. I really appreciate... That's all from me, I shall now close my eyes, take a nap and let you discover a those pictures if you haven't seen them yet.

A to Z Joining Emirates Airline as Cabin Crew

Sodwee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:18:53 +0000

[faq list Joining Emirates]

FAQ about Emirates Airline

Sodwee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:28:47 +0000

Airboy is dedicated to help you guys. Browse through those questions, you might just find the answer you're looking for. This is an index to all the questions answered so far. Feel free to add your questions to this FAQ so that I can answer them and share with the other visitors (use form at the bottom of the page). AND AGAIN CHECK IF YOUR QUESTION HASN'T ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED. I RECEIVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS TO ANSWER REPEATS, PLEASE DO UNDERSTAND AND TAKE A LOOK BELOW FOR YOUR QUESTION... thank you. To view answers, simply click on the question : [faq list Joining Emirates] Use this form below to send me a question. Please use clean English so I can directly copy and paste your questions into the blog. TXT MSG like sentences are a pain to edit. It might take a little while for me to answer, please be patient. [faq ask Joining Emirates] Thanks.

Airboy Email Logo

Sodwee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:14:18 +0000

Shutter Shades Kanye West sunglasses eye wear sodwee airboy emirates

Sodwee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:52:21 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #45 / Frequently Asked Questions

Sodwee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:58:58 +0000

With the worst band name ever, the strangest song title man as ever came across... let me introduce you guys to Ratatat or the new sensation in electro/pop over in Europe and elsewhere on the blogospere. Fresh out of the studio, here's a little sneak peak at their latest "LP3" album. It also happens to be my favourite track. Feels like that Mojito at the end of my deckchair isn't going to last very long if I listen to stuff like that ! I've also included a remix by them, a nice piece of music originally from the one and only Kanye (I admit, I've purchased some Shutter Shades on eBay today !). On todays plat du jour, may I suggest Duffy's beautiful cover of "Cry To Me", sang by Solomon Burke in the first place ! That voice just remains stuck into your brain...no ? For wine, what about our house wine ? French of course. This fench/scandinavian duo knows how to come out with hit singles, here is the proof ! Woop, the Queen of Soul Marlena, our favourite at the moment, is back on the decks with Diplo's remix, a must hav... *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07%20Shempi.mp3] Ratatat - Shempi [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/05%20Get%20em%20High%20(Ratatat%20Remix).mp3] Kanye West - Get 'Em High (Ratatat remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Cry%20To%20Me%20(Solomon%20Burke%20cover).mp3] Duffy - Cry To Me (Solomon Burke cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/06%20Stay%20(Just%20A%20Little%20Bit%20More).mp3] The Do - Stay (Just A Little Bit More) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20Fool%20(Blur%20Cover).mp3] Then - Fool (Blur cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/California%20Soul%20(Diplo%20Remix).mp3] Marlena Shaw - California Soul (Diplo remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Shove%20It%20(Toy%20Selectah%20Cumbia%20Refix).mp3] Santogold - Shove It (Toy Selectah Cumbia Refix)

Finally I'd like to point at a very interesting thing for you future Emirates Cabin Crew, if you have any kind of question please direct yourself to the FAQ from the left menu. If a questions isn't already in the FAQ, please to sent it via the appropriate form on the page. And just for the sake of having a giggle, here's our favourite Air Hostess, Pam Ann : [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge_x1U2rYBo[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwxAgoKi4k0[/youtube]

Airboy's Blind Test #1 by Sodwee

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:33:22 +0000

Airboy's Blind Test #1

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:40:44 +0000

This is the first time I'm doing something like this. This is a Blind Test, it's online and you could win a surprise. All you have to do is listen to this track and find out the artists along with the song titles. The first person to leave a comment with ALL THE CORRECT answers gets a chance to win a surprise gift. Please make sure you leave a valid email so I can contact you for your details. Be careful, one or two tricky ones were thrown in the mix. Think twice before sumitting your listing, only the first set of answers from one person will be taken into account, don't be smart with me I can see your IP address ! Remember I need ARTIST or BAND + SONG TITLE. You have until the 6th of June 2008 to enter the game. Good Luck ! Simply click on the "Play" button below to listen to the track. Important : Your answers will not appear straight away so the other contestant don't have it easy ! I will post all the answers on the 6th of June along with the winner.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/AirboysBlindTest1.mp3] Download the file here

Emirates rolling out the new EK uniforms with the A380

Sodwee — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:18:46 +0000

Straight from The Flying Kiwi With the launch of the A380 aircraft, Emirates has decided to freshen up their image, and give all the crew who fly on this aircraft some brand new threads. Goodbye Powder Blue, and Hello Chocolate and Beige!... Not a huge change for the girls, as the company still wanted the instant brand recognition that we ARE Emirates, as we sashay through the terminal, but we now will look a lot more modern, in our chic new outfits. Many will miss the potato-sack-esque style of the current image, designed back in 1997, but I know that many more will appreciate this new and exciting look! While the A380 crew will launch the uniform from 01 August 2008, the remainder of the company will be strutting their stuff from the New Year. Without much further ado, let me show to you the photos provided this week in the launch of the new get-up...

Major back-office shuffle, front end tweaks !

Sodwee — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:41:47 +0000

[As you've might of noticed, on the home page, you only see part of each post, this is to avoid having an overload/clutter of images and other content that takes really long to load,this will also greatly increase my page views, but you don't need to know that. To cut a long story short : to read the entire post please click on the title !] Hey guys, I've been busy upgrading the back-office for this website for the past hour or so. Sorry for the inconvenience caused if you've crashed into an ugly page. But with extreme luck, everything is working fine. On the front end part, this means, the things you readers will see, I have included a very snazz tweak which enables you to extend your reading experience thanks to the "Related Posts" section on every page. Once you finish reading a post, scroll down and you'll see what's related to what you've just read. Also on the plate today, RSS. Yes that's right another boring acronym. No for realz, this is the shiz. RSS will enable you to stay UP TO DATE with the latest news from Airboy. Including the DOWNLOADABLES I will post in the future. SO if you're using Safari or Firefox, just click on the logo located in the address bar to suscribe. It will automatically add a bookmark that will update itself without you even knowing ! Or else, if you're using a RSS reader such as Newsgator, Bloglines or Newsvibes, then select the appropriate chiclet in the left column to suscribe. It's easy and will make your life easier ! Enjoy. If you guys wanna start up your own blog/website and don't have extensive knowledge of HTML/PHP or even is you're too lazy (like me) to write code everyday, then that is the best option for you ! It's dead easy to use and is very efficient. So yeah, back-office is back in order and looking lush compared to the other version ! I'm happy this went without too many problems !

RSS logo Airboy - Sodwee

Sodwee — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:09:05 +0000

Fly, iron & fly again.

Sodwee — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:18:14 +0000

So. This month I've been rostered for french destinations thrice. Because every single flight must have a destination language speaker (does that make sense ?). It's good. It means I get to go back home for a very short period of time, but for free. And I get payed for it too. The allowance in Paris is around 104 euros (or around 600 AED), which is spent half an hour later on your taxi ride home...! The flight over to Paris was the lightest load I'd encountered since I started, and probably the last time I experience it ! We had 60 pax in economy on a B777-300 which can hold around 300 "self-loading freight" souls. Service was a joy ride ! Passengers in economy had a 5-star service. They payed for eco, and got a business class service ! Hows that uh ? Anyways, the crew was fun, flew with : Celia from Portugal (I randomly went out clubbing with her because she knew Nivine, another french crazy chick that started at EK with me), Kristy from Vancouver in Canada, Tasnuva from Bangladesh, Jing from China, Sergio from Brazil, Masud from Bangladesh, Yei from South Korea and a few more. Our SFSs were fun too, namely Binu from India and Judy from Kenya ! So got into CDG, awarded the most un-welcoming airport in the world. Went straight to the hotel to pick up the cash and grabbed a cab home. Mum, Dad, Nick & Granny welcomed me home after 3 months in the desert, they had australian friends round for dinner so it was nice to have a chat. Finally took a shower and lifted to go see Hadrien at his. Fun times, nice to catch up on the latest gossip. The day after, I've managed to see Fiona for a little lunch at Westin near Place Vendôme and a stroll in the park ! Too short tho, because I had to head back home and slide my uniform, shave and take another ludacrisly expensive taxi ride to the hotel. Check out the pictures below... svgallery=paris Since then I been well asleep in my flat in Dubai. Had around 14 hours of deep, much needed rest. Too much in fact because I only have a few hours before leaving for FCO (Milan) and then Nice (NCE). So the only thing I did between waking up and getting back into bed was ironing. The uniform mainly. I needed a fresh set because Butler's are to darn slow at delivering the laundry you submit, it takes them 3 days to wash your uniform. That's if they haven't lost an item along the way. I'm missing a pair of trousers and it's already been 4 weeks they've been looking for without a sign. Anyways, I'm about to hit the sack so I'll keep you updated within the next few days. In other news we have a winner for our #1 Blind Test and that is Aurélien from Paris, France. You've won a surprise gift, please send me an email for your address and details ! The answers were in order :

RUN DMC vs Jason Nevins - It’s like that
Timbaland (feat Keri Hilson & DOE) - Way I are
Madonna - Vogue
Kanye West feat Dwele - Flashing Lights
Kanye West Feat Jay-Z - Diamonds from Sierra Leone
The White Stripes - Catch Hell blues
Manu Chao - King of Bongo
The Doors - Peace Frog
Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand - Let me thnik about it
Cock robin - The Promise you made
M.I.A. - Jimmy
The Do - On My Shoulder
Will I Am - Impatient

Nice one ! Have a good day. I'll post the next Blind Test in 3 days ! Stay tuned, there's always something to win ! Peace out !

Poopee poopee poo pee... Watching planes go by...

Sodwee — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:00:07 +0000

Reminds me of my brother back in the days ! Just a quick video post from the magnificient, green and peaceful english countryside as pictured by Constable : Heathrow. Yes I thought I was going to Nice via Rome up until about 4-ish yesterday when Crew Controller called me and said I was no longer invited to join the Nice bound flight EK 095 but instead join the London Heathrow flight EK 001 leaving at approximately the same time. Now I know I regret it deeply. One hour from city center. 50 pounds away in the cab... I mean we have the dreamiest location... NOT ! But you know, nervermind, I'll stuff myself with Club Sandwiches and lobby peanuts until we lift off again tomorrow. Until then goodbye ! And I'm sorry, no pictures unless you like the looks of melting tarmac and industrial estate panoramas.

Tattoo body layout Emirates Airline !

Sodwee — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:22:54 +0000

emirates airline tattoos is it OK ?

Sodwee — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:38:10 +0000

Tattoos & Emirates Cabin Crew...

Sodwee — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:44:44 +0000

After answering over 20 emails about tattoos and Emirates policy about them let me make things clearer. You can have tattoos, but as you're working in a customer service environment it needs to be ultra discreet. It should not interfere with the relationship you build with a customer. A tattoo might be seen as rude/disgraceful/etc etc by another person while you might think it's the most beautiful/coolest/arty thing you've ever seen. That can create a great gap in customer service. This is why Emirates has a policy about it. And here is how they picture it : A tattoo with Emirates is OK, only and ONLY IF it is below neck meaning underneath the collar (further away from collar the better) and above knees. Tattoos should NOT appear at any time under any circumstances. YES they will ask you if you have any tattoos during the interview, this is for post-mortem issues as they say. But of course it is also for them to know if it's OK. Yes many crew here have tattoos. Two girls from my batch got sent home (yes sent back to their home country) after the medical visit because their tattoo was showing and they didn't say. So be sure to say you have a tattoo or else try your luck, but don't blame them if they find out Hope this makes things clearer. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, check the FAQ before you send me an email, might it be on Facebook, or other forums. The answer you're looking for is probably already there ! Now, if you have a question, you see it as not yet been answered and you've use the search option at the top of this page (underneath the logo) you are welcome to send me an email or use the FAQ form...

Sneakers / Converse - Santogold Julian Casablancas Pharell for Sodwee Aibroy

Sodwee — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:58:24 +0000

Sneakers / Converse - Santogold Julian Casablancas Pharell for Sodwee Aibroy

airboy's converse sneakers !

Sodwee — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:33:12 +0000

airboy's converse sneakers !

DOWNLOADABLES #46 / Converse almighty !

Sodwee — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:36:49 +0000

Number 46 peeps. We come a long way since our first DOWNLOADABLES ! Now a weekly stint into fresh, hyped up tracks that make the blogosphere go crazy. Remember, what is published here, will sooner or later be played on Radio, like all the Adele tracks we've posted, the Santogold marathon we had a few months earlier or any other cool stuff like The Cool Kids... If you have any tracks you'd like to see upon here, please drop us a line with the track in the attachements ! If it goes through our selection process, it will most likely end up here ! Anyways, here's todays line-up, download the MP3s and enjoy !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20Where%20Is%20My%20Mind%20(Pixies%20Cover).mp3] The Blue Ribbon Gee Club - Where Is My Mind? (Pixies cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/09%20Rock%20Me%20Mama%20(Bob%20Dylan%20Cover).mp3] Jason Weblay with Reverand Peyton - Rock Me Mama (Bob Dylan cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/10%20Beat%20It%20(Michael%20Jackson%20Cover).mp3] The Last Dinosaur - Beat It (Michael Jackson cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/02%20Cold%20Shoulder%20(Basement%20Jaxx%20remix).mp3] Adele - Cold Shoulder (Basement Jaxx remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20My%20Drive%20Thru%20ft.%20Santogold%20&%20Julian%20Casablancas.mp3] N.E.R.D feat. Santogold & Julian Casablancas - My Drive Thru [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/02%20Back%20To%20Black%20(Amy%20Winehouse%20cover).mp3] Elbow - Back To Black (Amy Winehouse cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/The%20Boys%20(Calvin%20Harris%20Cover).mp3] Dragonette - The Boys (Calvin Harris cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Young%20Folks.mp3] The Kooks - Young Folks (Peter, Bjorn and John cover)

The picture above is from the new Ad for Converse. They're hitting the music scene pretty hard these days, asking influencial music makers to strike the pose in their notorious sneakers. They happen to be my favourite footwear... So it's like a 2 in 1 for Airboy !! What more can I ask for ? Here's my latest Pimp My Ride pair :

What's wrong with me?

Sodwee — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:11:41 +0000

Another two days in Dubai and this urge to clean the flat just struck again. It's hard to resist. We have a balcony here, it's the best thing about the flat I've found so far. The balcony is huge but we cannot use it. If you happen to stay more than 10 minutes out there in the afternoon you'll just bake. Don't want to turn into bacon anytime soon. The problem with useless balconies, it that they get dirty very rapidly. Especially in hostile weather like Dubai. Here sand gets everywhere. A little humidity strikes and, oohhh well, the sand just sticks permanently to the tile surface of the balcony, making it even more of a hassle to clean. I think many of the Blue Building occupants will understand. The solution is water. Spread water all over and you're done. Unless (yes there's always something to stop you doing something good in Dubai) the drains are blocked or so small that even a drop of H2O has great difficulty getting through. So by the time you've managed to bring the sand/water with your "raclette" (french word for that tool that looks like a hairless brush for water surfaces) close to the drain... well... it doesn't go down. The goowy water just sits there. The drain isn't a drain, it's just fake. Architects are high all the time here ! I'm such a lucky bastard this month ! I'm getting to go back home for the second time. Unless I'm pulled out for some other flight, like last time for the "London Deathrow". So I'll have another 24hrs in Paaaarrreeee. It's going to be another marathon trying to fit everyone I want to see in just a few hours. Will try my best thought ! In any case I'll be back for more on the 24th till the 4th of July. Otherwise, nothing special... Will write about the Paris stint some time at the end of this week. Stay tuned, download as much as you want, it's free, there's nothing like free stuff ! Enjoy.

CDG who? CDG what ?

Sodwee — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:44:59 +0000

Hey just landed in Dub-Dub after an eventful layover in Paaarrrreee, my hometown. Started of in briefing where the crew was bubbling up their 24h stay in the capital of love. All smiles they were ! It's crazy to realise that you lived and come from a town that everyone knows, that everyone wants to see once in their life... just bizarre. Anyways, let me introduce you to the amazing crew on-board our brand new Boeing triple 7- 300... Annie from Aussieland, Keenan from blizzard heaven Vancouver, in Canada, Soshima from Mauritius, Bidy from India, Yasmine from Ghana, Rohit from India, Caroline from France and finally our SFSs Mohssen from Lebanon with Malin from Sweden ! Great Flippin crew, I never giggled so much an entire flight. from DXB to CDG and back. On the way there, they were all planning their layover schedule, planning the stay to the minute ! Gave them some advice for transport and places to crash for an espresso, a rude waiter and so forth. Got there, picked up my allowance, then zoooooomed off to drop my suitcase at home, have a shower and check upon friends... Leaving 40 euros on the way for a cab... God they rip you off sharp these days ! Or maybe I'm getting used to dish out so little here in Dub-Dub... Managed to catch up with the fernch gang, Doodles, Fee and others as well as MotherOfSodwee,FatherOfSodwee & Nick (becoming a grill specialist, serving deliciouly cooked burgers with exquisite sauces and shredded salad). The way back was even more fun, not only because we knew each other from the previous flight but because we had new joiners Jupiter and another guy I forgot to ask the name (sorry, if you're reading, but I'm a gold fish when it comes to remembering names...). We stormed the airport hall in Charles De Gaulle Paris at around 2 o'clock ready to go through customs when a random bloke screams "Sooooodweeeee" loud and clear.... I turned back in a glamourous gesture, skidding my wheely and looking aimlessly into the crowd. A few seconds go by, seeing Jupiter this new joiner here at Emirates coming towards me to shake hands. He's been a reader of the blog for the past few months and we've been in contact ever since he applied for the job. Good to see this blog works !! The feeling of being known and not know the person who knows you is weird! The next step that got fellow crew wondering why I knew so many people from the airport is when Raphael a crew with us on Emirates showed up and shake hands also ! I then explained and the glam was over !! During cruising and after service we had the 2 new Joiners plus 2 other Emirates staff back in the galley for some gossip, polaroïd pictures and some more giggles ! It was fun although we had Managers as PAX aboard. Anyways the flight ended beautifully, no injuries, no damages. An ALL CLEAR. I'm now at home writing this post. Check out the pictures below for an peak at galley action ! svgallery=EK074 Next trip is SIN-MEL-SIN, can't wait to go see what I've missed on the previous trip ! Buh Bye !

Our New CBC !

Sodwee — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:02:28 +0000

The Flying Kiwi strikes again with hot news from the world inside Emirates. He took the tour of the new facilities that Crew On Duty will enjoy at the new Crew Briefing Center. We were invited but I didn't go, I was down route in Paris when the tours were scheduled... But thanks to Mat and his long going curiosity, he reports for the sandwiche hungry, costa coffee loving crew... Crew Briefing Centre [CBC] (noun); An Emirates Flight Attendants home away from home, formerly in the shape of a run-down portacabin containing threadbare carpet, a failing intercom system, and a barcode reader or ten that don't work. Now in the form of the World's First crew airport, featuring every modern facility that matches a world-class passenger terminal. Our new home. As of the end of June, we will say goodbye to our old premises, and relocate to our exotic new location consisting of two entire floors of the brand new Emirates Group Headquarters building, a purpose built gargantuous structure, recently opened next to the new Dubai International Airport Terminal. In preparation for its fully operational cutover date, they have been running tours of the facilities to familiarise the crew so we look less like lost lambs and more like lost lambs with half a clue. And a good idea too, as upon stepping inside, you realise just how amazing our new CBC is. After being dropped off at the dedicated Crew Departure Level, you process yourself through the eGate automated immigration system and head directly to one of 16 self-service Crew Check-in stations. Swipe your ID card, which will then take you through a series of interactive touch-screen instructions, instantly telling you which of the 36 breifing rooms to proceed to, it will print you a bag tag for your flight, and give you all kinds of additional information for your flight. If you have been lucky enough to be selected for the random Drug and Alcohol Screening, the check-in system will tell you, and you proceed to the specially designed pee-in-the-cup room. If not, you then drop your bag off onto the conveyor belt, and it gets taken into the complex underground maze of automated baggage sorting tracks, and loaded onto your bus without you having to lift a finger! Each of the 36 breifing rooms is themed in one or more of the 100 Emirates destinations, and without waiting to swallow, I began my search for the Christchurch room. Breifing Room 11. Along with Bangalore and Doha (which to be honest, I wasn't interested nor bothered to look at), Christchurch adorns the walls of CBR11, where photos of the Chalice, 'Kiwi-Crossing' road signs, the Old Stone House, and Whale Watching in Kaikoura, along with a brief blurb of our wonderful city are plastered over the walls of the room! 56 inch Plasma TV screens in every room provide important information about the flight, including passenger loads, crew names/photos/check-in status, minutes until departure, which bus to board to take you to your aircraft and a myriad of other technological fabulosity! Our new Airport Standby facility, for the times when you are on reserve, now includes several couches, internet surfing stations, showers, bathrooms, relaxation rooms with reclining lounge chairs and a refreshment zone. There are three additional Crew Lounge facilities for socialising before departure, one which will contain a Costa Coffee shop, there is also a new dedicated Crew Duty Free shop in Arrivals selling everything a regular shop would. Once their licence comes through, they will even stock alcohol, which they promise will be even cheaper than elsewhere. The Arrivals floor consists of four Baggage Reclaim belts, exactly like being in any passenger arrival hall, thousands upon thousands of crew mail boxes, which is handy considering they plan on growing the crew numbers from the current 9000 we have, up to 21000 by the end of 2012! A truly amazing facility which is unfortunate that the public won't get to use, but really confirms how great it can be to work for such a rapidly developing and cash-rich airline.

The Roots by Airboy Sodwee

Sodwee — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:42:49 +0000

The Roots by Airboy Sodwee

Creedence Clearwater Revival by Airboy Sodwee

Sodwee — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:26:19 +0000

Creedence Clearwater Revival by Airboy Sodwee

DOWNLOADABLES #47 / 31.214039131 Gigabytes and counting

Sodwee — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:27:37 +0000

Yeeeeehaaaaaaaa, you guys have been downloading 31.2 gigabytes of music in June alone (and we're only the 15th). Our predicted traffic for mp3 downloads should top around 70 Gb by the end of the month ! 70 Gigs fools, that's around 2.5 Gbs A DAY !!! That's gigantic. So we have discovered some truly amazing covers and remixes so far and today is no different. Today feels special, I'm posting up some of my favourite tune of all time, plus a GOLD tracklist of cover & remixes that, no doubt, you'll love and listen as much as I do ! Some of the tracks, like The Roots "Seed 2.0" are on my top list of most played tracks in iTunes, iPhone and iPod along with "Suzie Q" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and "Y Control" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. So just for the sake of sharing my love for these 3 songs, I'm putting them upon the blog. First up is a really nicely done remix of Wino's "TDOTO" by Al Usher, nice apéro tune, complete with a Gin & Tonic, slice and ice and you're away ! Following is the Ting Tings iPod commercial soundtrack remixed by a mounting person in the remix industry, mister Christian Vorbeau ! He's been remixing beauty tracks with his own twist and was always spot on. Then two original track by Justice & N.E.R.D. I'll let you react to those in the comment section. The best cover today must Baby Charles' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor". She managed to turn one of the Monkeys best tune into a Soul masterpiece ! Also Fatty Prince reggae version of Snoop Dogg's "Gin & Juice" is a must have ! Impress your friends, play them some of these tunes ! The rest of the tracks I let you discover ! Please react in the comments ! Send me some mp3s ! Always happy to listen to new tracks !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20Tears%20Dry%20On%20Their%20Own%20(Al%20Usher%20Remix).mp3] Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own (Al Usher remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Shut%20Up%20and%20Let%20Me%20Go%20(Christian%20Vorbau%20Remix).mp3] The Ting Tings - Shut Up & Let Me Go (Christian Vorbeau remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Sure%20You%20Will.mp3] Justice - Sure You Will [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Yeah%20You.mp3] N.E.R.D. - Yeah You [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Seed%202.0.mp3] The Roots - Seed 2.0 [*DOWNLOAD OR DIE*] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/10%20Y%20Control.mp3] Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control [*DOWNLOAD OR DIE*] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/09%20I%20Bet%20You%20Look%20Good%20On%20The%20Dancefloor%20(Arctic%20Monkeys%20cover).mp3] Baby Charles - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor ( Arctic Monkeys cover) [*DOWNLOAD OR DIE*] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Gin%20and%20Juice%20(Snoop%20Dogg%20cover).mp3] Fatty Prince - Gin & Juice (Snoop Dogg cover) [*DOWNLOAD OR DIE*] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Girls%20Just%20Wanna%20Have%20Fun%20(Cyndi%20Lauper%20Cover).mp3] Greg Laswell - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cindy Lauper cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07%20Gimme%20Gimme%20Gimmen%20(Black%20Flag%20cover).mp3] Dirty Projectors - Gimme Gimme Gimme (Black Flag cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/1234%20(Feist%20cover).mp3] Bikini - 1 2 3 4 (Feist cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Suzie%20Q.mp3] Creedence Clearwater Revival - Suzie Q [*DOWNLOAD OR DIE*]

That's it for now. Enjoy and speak to you later !

mops

Sodwee — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:19:44 +0000

bucket

Sodwee — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:19:46 +0000

The mop dilemma

Sodwee — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:36:09 +0000

A new day in Dub-Dub, a new adventure. I woke up in a spasm today, eyes wide open in a nanosecond. To my misfortune, I had not put the air-conditionning on for the night, thus waking up in a horrible hot bedroom. The waking up process over. I decided to take a tour of the flat and see what I needed to buy to stock up. I made myself a little list that went like this :

Binbags
Mop
Bucket
Cleaning product
Pot noodles
Listerine Coolmints (the ones that dissolve on your tongue)
Anti-perspirant
TimeOut Dubai

So I got ready and around 3 hours later I was OK to step out the flat and wonder 400 metres South East to the LIFCO supermarket to purchase all these items. Got myself a basket and dumped everything in it (forgetting the binbags, but I'll make use of the zillions plastic bags we have here). Climbed the few steps to the upper level to sort myself out with a brand new mop and bucket. That's where trouble starts. I stood in front of the mops for around 10 minutes not knowing which one to choose. I must of looked like a stupid dork but I was clueless. "Should I go for the fluffy one with pink feathers ? Or should I stay on the low key and grab the grey one with micro-fibres that absorb 2.5 litres of water in one dip ??? Or maybe this flat one with a cloth...". They have many options, each one of them doing something the other doesn't ! How a 20 year old, with no knowledge in mops & buckets can ease his way through the choices ? It's a real dilemma. I didn't want to ask a staff member, because this would of been the most shameful thing to do. In the end I picked up the low key one. Remember I had to walk back up Sheik Zayed Road, and being seen with a mop assorted with feathers is not the best of sights in the UAE... Now the bucket, they had a few there too. By that time I was hungry for pot noodles so I decided to pick the first one that came to hand. Checked out and walked at a rapid pace up to my building. Thank god no one I knew saw me... In other exilerating news, I've changed some of the logos, all you need to do to view them is change page or refresh.... Of course that's if you have anything else to do with your day ! Voilà. That was today's post ! Fab innit ?

airboy tv set by sodwee

Sodwee — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:00:03 +0000

airboy tv set by sodwee

airboy tv small by sodwee

Sodwee — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:00:37 +0000

airboy tv small by sodwee

AirboyTV is On Air !

Sodwee — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:40:15 +0000

After thinking of it for a few minutes (no more) I decided to upload some footage from the past months, thanks to Youtube you can now view snippets of life as a Cabin Crew for Emirates. As you'd expect, it's in Full HD with pristine sound.... or not. But hey gives you something to watch after Desperate Housewives right ?! In the very very very near future, I'll be the proud owner of a brand new MacBook Black edition, I've been waiting long enough and my iBook G4 has done me good. Still runs but he needs a good old rest ! So, as soon as I drop my stuff at the hotel in Singapore, I'll be out to Wheelock Place where a brand new iShop has open and that's where I'll buy my machine, cheaper than anywhere else (except china maybe). And with the new MacBook comes fitted an iSight camera, enabling me to video-conference with MotherOfSodwee, FatherOfSodwee & BrotherOfSodwee back home. Should be interesting. No wonder I'll record some of the conversations to share with you! Mother is such a laugh when it comes to deal with technology ! I'm also in the process of scripting (that's a big word) some mini-episodes of things we, cabin crew, do in Dubai. So stay tunes and I'll let you know when to switch AirboyTV on and appreciate the new content. Although it's meaningless, you might get a kick out of it.

M.I.A - Paper Planes

Sodwee — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:07:04 +0000

M.I.A - Paper Planes from Sodwee.com

M.I.A. @ airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:10:13 +0000

M.I.A. @ airboy.sodwee.com

M.I.A. to retire ? Let's hope she's not thrown out of the US and A !

Sodwee — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:11:02 +0000

It's no secret that we heart M.I.A. here at Airboy and we've just heard that she's announced her retirement from music and live shows at the Bonnaroo Festival a couple days ago. Now that's a bummer. We'll rely on Santogold from now on to bring the good tacky 80's Hip-Hop sound to our stereo's ! In the meantime please appreciate this mp3, you're welcome to singalong and act the lyrics as much as you want. No shame at all. Oh and please read the lyrics... M.I.A. had some troubles with immigration earlier on this year, that's why she came up with this track, and IT'S A KILLER ! [*DOWNLOAD OR DIE*] !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/11-paper-planes.mp3] M.I.A - Paper Planes _______________________________________________ I fly like paper, get high like planes If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name If you come around here, I make 'em all day I get one down in a second if you wait I fly like paper, get high like planes If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name If you come around here, I make 'em all day I get one down in a second if you wait Sometimes I feel sitting on trains Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game Everyone's a winner now we're making that fame Bonafide hustler making my name Sometimes I feel sitting on trains Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game Everyone's a winner now we're making that fame Bonafide hustler making my name All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!) And take your money All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!) And take your money All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!) And take your money Pirate skulls and bones Sticks and stones and weed and bombs Running when we hit 'em Lethal poison through their system Pirate skulls and bones Sticks and stones and weed and bombs Running when we hit 'em Lethal poison through their system No one on the corner has swag like us Hit me on my banner prepaid wireless We pack and deliver like UPS trucks A radio in hell just pumping that gas No one on the corner has swag like us Hit me on my banner prepaid wireless We pack and deliver like UPS trucks A radio in hell just pumping that gas All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!) And take your money All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!) And take your money All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!) And take your money M.I.A. Third world democracy Yeah, I got more records than the K.G.B. So, uh, no funny business Some some some I some I murder Some I some I let go Some some some I some I murder Some I some I let go

bgairboy

Sodwee — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:09:47 +0000

Private message for MotherOfSodwee.

Sodwee — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:02:51 +0000

Mum, click the BIG PLAY BUTTON, you can't miss it :

Singapore meets Airboy

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:57:49 +0000

Hey just returned from a pleasant trip over to Singapore and Melbourne. The crew was very entertaining, from Captain to Grade2's I think we all had a great time enjoying ourselves. We landed in Singapore for our first stop and I had ONE objective in mind : Getting myself kitted out with a brand new MacBook at a discounted price compared to other countries I've been to so far. So dumped my suitcase at the hotel and I jumped in a cab to Orchard Road, the main shopping strip in SIN. I had reviewed the shopping places I was most likely to find the desired object. The name of the shop is iShop, it's an authorized Apple Reseller and it looks like any other Apple Retail Store... Went in, pointed at what I wanted (the black MacBook), got the credit card out and literally burnt the damn chip !! I must of spent 15 minutes in the shop to the surprise of the sellers in there. Not used to see such an easy customer. They offered me a neoprene sleeve for good custom ! Got a cab back to the hotel and started fiddling with my new toy... I'm in trance with the video-conferencing on Skype with NotherOfSodwee and the rest of the family !!! The only downside for the moment is that I'm used to the french keyboard and typing has never felt like such a burden before ! But I'm getting used to it as I'm typing more and more. Next stop on the route was Melbourne with 17 hours layover. Enough time to meet the crew downstairs for a few beers and a laugh. Good times. Some sleep and we were off again bound to Singapore. Where we had agreed to go out for the night. The SFS had some friends there so they could take us to the Attica nightclub for free and with VIP passes too. All this on a Friday night !! Pictures below... svgallery=singapore After a good nightout, finished off with a Breakfast at 6 am at McDonalds. Treating myself to a McCriddle, yek, disgusting thing I still have the backtaste after 2 days ! All in all a good trip, check out the video also, for some live report. I'm officially on leave now, will be leaving on the 24th for Paris, I will keep you updated from there. In the meantime, have fun !

Mystery Jets by Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:36:57 +0000

Mystery Jets by Sodwee Airboy

DOWNLOADABLES #48 / Leona Lewis gets covered...It's the end folks!

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:43:57 +0000

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20Bitches%20Aint%20Shit%20(Dr%20Dre%20cover).mp3] Ben Folds - Bitches Ain't Shit (Dr. DRE cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/01%20Mr.%20Sandman.mp3] The Chordettes - Mr. Sandman (original) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/13%20Its%20a%20Man%20World%20(James%20Brown%20cover).mp3] Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - It's A Man's World (James Brown cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Bleeding%20Love%20(Leona%20Lewis%20Cover).mp3] Mystery Jets - Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Music%20Sounds%20Better%20With%20You%20(TLGB%20Remix).mp3] Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You (TLGB remix)

That's all for today, be sure to check the other DLs using the related post thingy right >THIS<. Ciao !

kid with baguette by sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:54:33 +0000

kid with baguette by sodwee airboy

license-4 by sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:54:35 +0000

license-4 by sodwee airboy

paris-sign by sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:54:35 +0000

paris-sign by sodwee airboy

I'm Parisien, I Love Rien.

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:14:55 +0000

This is a clipping I have been reading in the Emirates in-flight magazine whilst flying back home today. I really do think it pictures realistically our generation and it's relationship with communicating and using social networks these days. It specifically is true as far as Airboy is concerned. The other day, my flatmate's friend (Daniel) was amazed at how many people read the blog daily....

Whenever Peter Hirshberg is at a party, someone eventually pulls out a camera and takes a snapshot with him in it. Hirshberg - chair at the executive committee for the blog search company Technorati - performs a quick mental calculation: Does the photographer look like one of these people who will immediatly dash home and post all their candids on Flickr ? "If I think it's going to end up on the web, I straighten up more, put on the right smile" Hirshberg says. "Because if it goes online, people I know will most probably see it.". Hirshberg has a blog; which means a couple hundred people, some strangers, some friends, regularly follow his comings and goings, his Facebook updates, his online photo trail. Any time he does something embarassing or stupid, those people will know. So in essence, Hirshberg has to behave like a very minor version of Brad Pitt. He's got to watch out for the papparazzi, be careful with his public image. But he's not a celebrity. He's a microcelebrity. Microcelebrity is the phenomenom of being extremely well known not to millions but to a small group or niche. As DIY media reach ever deeper into our lives, it's happening to more and more of us. Got a Facebook account ? A whack load of pictures on Flickr ? Odds are there are complete strangers who know about you, and maybe even talk about you. If you really want to see the future, check out teenagers and twentysomethings. WHen they go to a party, they make sure they're dressed for their close up - because there will be photos, and those photos will end up online. In managing their web presence, they understand the impact of logos, images and fonts. And they're increasingly careful to use pseudonyms or private accounts when they want to wall off the more intimate details of their lives. I now use a few coy tricks to communicate with those who follow me online. Whent the backlog of unanswered messages in my inbox grows too huge, I'll post a message to Facebook or Twitter pleading "Snowed under by work" in the hope that my audience will cut me some slack. In essence I'm sending out press releases. Adapting to microcelebrety means learning to manage our own identity and "message" almost like a self contained public relations department. "People are using the same techniques used on Madison Avenue to manage their personal lives", says Theresa Senft, a media studies professor and one of the first to identify the rise of microfame. "Corporation are getting humanised, humans are getting corporatised." You could regard this as a sad development - the whole BRAND CALLED YOU meme brought to its grim apotheosis. But haven't our lives always been a little public and stage-managed ? Small town living is a hotbed of bloglike gossip. Every time we get dressed - in power suits, nerdy casual wear or goth piercing - we're broadcasting a message about ourselves. Microcelebrity simply makes the social engineering we've always done a little more overt - and maybe a little more honest.

I think there's not pretention in being a blogger, only Perez Hilton will disagree, some might think otherwise but sharing your ideas is the main goal here, sharing information is another. Being known for what you share is a side effect, some appreciate it ! some don't ! In other news, As you might of gathered, I've landed in Paris CDG 2 days ago at around half eight. Dad came to pick me up against a bottle of whiskey, that was the deal. Oh yeah nearly forgot to mention Dubai Intl. is flippin' HUGE ! ONE good thing though, they have FREE WIFI, unlike european airports, which is a life saver while you wait for boarding. Flight over was pretty much uneventful, Samir, a guy that was at the Emirates Open Day with me was on duty so I got someone to talk to at least. But I gotta say, the company of my MacBook is sufficient on a 6 hour flight! Khalas Bla-bla. When I get picked up, Dad will zoom straight into town for a drink with MotherOfSodwee, and exam-free BrotherOfSodwee. I have no idea what I'm up to next but surely will check out on the french gang and the english tomorrow.

Arrrhhh and the smell of that freshly baked baguette floating from every street corner is just divine. I completely forgot the taste of a REAL FRESH baguette until I munched my way into one early in the afternoon. Dubai lacks desperately of a good french bakery. I was feeling like that kid in the picture. Reminds me of the burden that Mum or Dad used to delegate to their progenitures without choice and with insistance : "It's your turn today, Ben, to get the baguettes, it's either that or you end up doing the washing up for the rest rest of the week, and don't forget, I want them baguettes nice and NOT OVERCOOKED ! AND DON'T EAT HALF OF IT BEFORE YOU COME HOME OR I'LL SEND YOU GET SOME MORE!" aaaaawww memories memories... Finally taking some quality time enjoying my numerous beers at sun filled terraces, enjoying the sights of a Parisian-empty Paris, they seem to have deserted the place which is very nice. Seeing pals, partying here and there... more updates soon... But before I go can I leave you with some entertaining shizzz Hadrien, a mate of mine here, introduced me yesterday. Have you ever wondered what the American Navy was up to when they're not invading a country ? Well here is your answer :

im parisien i love rien sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:24:28 +0000

im parisien i love rien sodwee airboy

July Roster, good start but a heck of a finish !

Sodwee — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:10:04 +0000

Good start with nice layovers, a Brazil stint and a wild BKK also ! But look, the end of my month is hell !

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	XX	XX
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
XX	DXB - GRU	out	GRU - DXB	XX	XX	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - KUL	out	KUL - DXB	XX	DXB - BKK	out	BKK - DXB
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
DXB - BOM	BOM - DXB	DXB - THR	THR - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - KHI+
29	30	31
DXB - DAC	DAC - DXB	DXB - JED

jimi hendrix - sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:09:41 +0000

jimi hendrix - sodwee airboy

DOWNLOADABLES #49 / From Paaarrreeeee

Sodwee — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:12:47 +0000

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/04%20Little%20Wing%20(%20Jimi%20Hendrix%20Cover%20).mp3] Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Little Wings (Jimi Hendrix cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/05%20Under%20My%20Thumb.mp3] The Who - Under My Thumb (Rolling Stones cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/11%20Girls%20(Beastie%20Boys%20cover).mp3] E.S.L. - Girls (Beastie Boys cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/17%20New%20York%20New%20York.mp3] Skanatra - New York, New York [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/24%20Panic%20(The%20Smiths).mp3] Spoon - Panic (The Smiths cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/A%20Cause%20Des%20Garcons%20(Tepr%20Remix).mp3] Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons (Tepr remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/Smack%20My%20Bitch%20Up%20(Justice%20remix).mp3] Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up (Justice remix)

Enjoy the TUNES !

bulletroster

Sodwee — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:26:30 +0000

amybeyoncejackwhiteglasto08

Sodwee — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:15:44 +0000

amybeyoncejackwhiteglasto08

Don't Say Nuthin - The Roots

Sodwee — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:33:11 +0000

Don't Say Nuthin - The Roots

I have 99 problems and the Velib' ain't one

Sodwee — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:16:08 +0000

I would of given an arm amd a leg (or maybe two) to be part of this picture. This was taken this past weekend during Jay-Z's set at uber-fest Glastonbury, Amy Winehouse, Jack White & Beyonce TOGETHER, Having the best voice since Joplin, the most talented guitar player of the 21st century and the most beautiful "derrière" in the music industry is just pure fantasy ! What do you think Jack White is up to behind there ???!!! Anyways, talking rap/hip to the hop, my entire day was spent solving Jay's '99 Problems' and cruising to Don't Say Nuthin by The Roots [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/dont-say-nuthin.mp3] . With extreme luck, the sun was out all day, not a cloud in sight nor a parisian. Absolutely fantastic. Riding along river Seine with historic buildings (meaning over 30 year old buildings, unlike some sandpit I know) all the way was refreshing. Not seeing the Beige color, White Range Rovers/Porsche Cayenne's and being able to do things outside was very relaxing. Yesterday was mostly spent in the Luxembourg gardens catching up on the gossip with Dan Doodles and Fiona a.k.a. Mini-Fee. She'd brought beers over and to be honest I felt tipsy after 3 hours in the sun drinking on Heinees. Nonetheless, Doodles and myself thought this wasn't enough and headed towards a famous watering hole down Bercy Village, a place named "The Frog @ Bercy Village". They brew they own beer there, but surprisingly after working there for so many years as a barman I opted for Corona & Lime, leaving the 'Inseine' beer to the football fans inside. Good laughs. Check out the pictures below, stay tuned more to come ! svgallery=parisleave Tomorrow is hell day, I should be spending a good part of it on the phone pestering Orange (my cellphone provider) sking them to change my Plan because I'm spending a fortune sending text messages around the world, also calling the Court of Justice to solve this driving license kaffuffle I endured a few years back, losing a couple hundred EUROS in the process and finally taking care of the Social Security problem I'm facing : I'm paying this insurance company to get refunds for my medicals/drugs but they haven't sent a penny through since I signed the contract ! So, yeah beautiful day in perspective... Yeeppeee! I actually miss flying ! Is that a good or bad sign ? Also, I think this blog is in Portuguese, he has added us to his blogroll and I think we need to do the same even tho I don't understand a damn thing, looks like he's digging Emirates !

facebook-logo

Sodwee — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:25:24 +0000

facebook-logo

Airboy's music spreadin' fooooolzzz

Sodwee — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:28:38 +0000

In an attempt to educate the masses to good international tunes, to avoid mainstream MTV crap and so much more... With the help of social network FACEBOOK my fellow readers you can spread the love for amazing music by adding the Airboy's Music Facebook Application which will display a neet MP3 player right in the sidebar of your profile. It won't clogg it either. And finally you'll make Airboy very very very happy for sharing your love for good music ! Music will be updated anytime we upload more DOWNLOADABLES to the blog so you don't have to fret about having the same songs on your profile ! Click on the image below to add this cool app to your profile !

You also probably noticed the player is also here on the blog, you can crank up your soundsystem and enjoy some tunes while you read my uber-fantastic adventures ! yey ! Check it out on the right !

15-push-the-feeling-on

Sodwee — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:48:59 +0000

velib by sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:06:50 +0000

velib by sodwee airboy

Dub-Dub, I'm back !

Sodwee — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:09:33 +0000

Writing this piece from somewhere over Bulgaria and as far as internet goes, France and french airports in general are just an utter expensive joke. it's pay pay pay everywhere for everything ! Coming over I was surprised to find that Dubai International had FREE WIFI. But my hopes went a little overboard with french airports. Searched for a WIFI access here in Roissy and you'll be shocked at how many there's available : Not a dozen like many other places but just ONE ! And of course it doesn't come cheap. It kindly asks you for credit card details and all, but Airboy wasn't having it that way and scouted around the terminal aimlessly searching for a WIFI hotspot, laptop in the air, swirling around looking very dumb. In vain. I was stuck in that ugly airport without internet. And Airboy without internet for more than 4 hours is just as sad as The Wino not having her morning line! So I decided to do everything offline, which I finally managed to do. In a bolt of genius I copied every link I needed for this post before we left home. Now I can show off my new macbook and play like Execs do... shamefully... muuuuahahahahha. Ok, alright, I've rambled too much about WIFI, let's move on. It's been 12 days now that I've landed in the country most well known for it's cheese and beauuuuuuutiful wine but not for it's whining cab-drivers and dogpile scattered pavements, nor it's homegrown scumbags asking for cigarettes every step you take down the road and how annoying American tourists can be on the Metro (they talk really loud, thinking they're alone in the wagon), but we love you none the less, you actually make us laugh. I've had it all, from Mum pushing me to drink Gin & Tonic for aperos on the balcony with Sharon Jones blaring through the speakers, talking non-sense for hours, to attending a "Summer Of Love 70s" party in a pub downtown with my ex colleagues from FROGPUBS joined by infamous Alex K. (hilarious night by the way). Caught up with a lot of mates, old high school ones especially. Loved it, they haven't changed since I left 4 months ago. Come back 8 years later they'll still be there doing the same thing in the same place. French are very immobile jobwise. They fought long enough to work 16 hours a week and have half the year as payed holidays so now they just stay in their position, insuring some sort of income but mainly being on holiday. I don't understand. Check out all the pictures below for a visual insight of Airboy's outings. svgallery=parisleave2 Otherwise most of my time was spent outside drinking beer, pimping outrageously the automated bike system offered by the 'Mairie de Paris'. It's actually a great way to get around Paris. If you ever drop by, please do avoid the tube and get yourself on one of these velibs for the day. Foreign or not, you guys will love it. Get used to parisian road rage and you're off for a great ride down amazing streets with amazing assets : women (in summer especially) are exquisite. It's also cheaper than buying a metro ticket... You now have no excuse what-so-EVER. I'm very happy to have spent some time with Mum, Dad & Nick... They seem really happy, Nicky getting geared up to spend a year out in Sydney/Melbourne by November, so he's working his ass off in a fast-food restaurant making enough money to live down under. Mum & Dad have shifted gears in holiday making lately. Booking a brilliant tour of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Now that their favourite sons are not joining them on vacation anymore, they ditched the cheap camping holidays in brittany for some swish 'eco' tour of wonderful places. Good for them I say. Nick & myself will organise a stay in Seychelles just to beat them at it ! Flight back to Dub-Dub was a breeze. Big up to that crew, can't remember your name, but you were at Lima 3. Forgot how warm it was ! Also got my Starwood Preferred Guest membership card. Weird how things go around... Only 5 months ago I was working for them, glad I'm out, enjoying their hospitality ! Anyhow, that's it from me, stay tuned cause I'm uploading DOWNLOADABLES #50 sometime over the weekend, I promise some old school tunes, some cheese and covers of course. You can't miss it. Be there or be square !

DOWNLOADABLES #50 by Sodwee Airboy

Sodwee — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:40:42 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #50 by Sodwee Airboy

cheese icon by sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:47:17 +0000

cheese icon by sodwee airboy

dizzee-rascal by sodwee airboy

Sodwee — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:21:40 +0000

dizzee-rascal by sodwee airboy

DOWNLOADABLES #50 / It's cover GALORE !

Sodwee — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:22:48 +0000

Already 50 DOWNLOADABLES ! I would of never of thought these would be so successful. Bringing visitors from all over the world looking for good covers. Todays edition is a little special because I'm serving you guys with a truck load of covers, never posted before on Airboy. From all genres too. Along with that I'm posting a few cheese and classic tracks for your little guilty pleasure. Be sure to download them all cause I'm getting very limited with server space and they might be deleted in the very near future. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Peace out fools...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/01%20I%20Wanna%20Sex%20You%20Up.mp3] Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/01%20Is%20this%20Real.mp3] Dizzee Rascal - Is This Real [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/01%20Run%20On%20(Moby%20cover).mp3] Carbon Leaf - Run On (Moby cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/02%20Inner%20Feeling%20_%20Sweat%20(A%20La%20La%20La%20La%20Song).mp3] Inner Feeling - Sweat (A la la la long song) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/03%20Send%20Me%20On%20My%20Way.mp3] Rusted Roots - Send Me On My Way [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/04%20S.O.S..mp3] The Last Shadow Puppets - S.O.S. (Rihanna cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/04%20Say%20Aha.mp3] Santogold - Say Aha ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/15-push-the-feeling-on.mp3] Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/American%20Boy%20(feat.%20Kanye%20West)%20(Kill%20The%20Noise%20Remix).mp3] Estelle ft. Kanye West - American Boy (Kill The Noise remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Every%20Breath%20You%20Take%20(Police%20Cover).mp3] Frankmusic - Every Breath You Take (Police cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Faith%20(George%20Michael%20Cover).mp3] The Boy Least Likely To - Faith (George Michael cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Green%20Light.mp3] John Legend ft. Andre 3000 - Green Light ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Le%20Jerk%20(Thierry%20Hazard%20Cover).mp3] ER2 - Le Jerk (Thierry Hazard cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/My%20Love%20(Justin%20Timberlake%20cover).mp3] The Klaxons - My Love (Justin Timberlake cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Rappers%20Delight.mp3] Sugar Hill Gang - Rapper Delight [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Summer%20Of%2069%20(Bryan%20Adams%20Cover).mp3] PYT - Summer Of 69 (Bryan Adams cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Take%20On%20Me%20(A%20Ha%20Cover).mp3] RAC ft Karl Kling - Take On me (Aha cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Violet%20Hill%20(Coldplay%20cover).mp3] The Kooks - Violet Hill (Coldplay cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Wot%20(Captain%20Sensible%20Cover).mp3] Lismore - Wot (Captain Sensible cover)

pffew! Nearly died after all that ! Please leave your reactions to these tracks in the comment section below, your submissions are welcome, send me an email with your mp3s and they'll end up on here !

The Ducs-Ovnies, poster by Paul Grelet at airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:40:10 +0000

The Ducs-Ovnies, poster by Paul Grelet at airboy.sodwee.com

Forced to promote

Sodwee — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:59:26 +0000

This band is in desperate need to sign some mayjahhh contract ! Nojust kiddin, they just need you to enjoy yourself with a beer listenning to their tunes. IT'S FREE, you can't say no to free stuff can you ? Check out their MyShitSpace NOW. The illustrator for this magnificient poster is professionally acclaimed Paul Grelet, winner of many awards and distinctions, please visit his online book. And this is a preview of what they can come up with on stage :

LIVE "Sur mon sofa" des Ducs-Ovnies Uploaded by pablomolotof

bgairboy

Sodwee — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:40:23 +0000

bgairboy2

Sodwee — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:40:26 +0000

bgairboy3

Sodwee — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:40:33 +0000

2408202137_ba4c9c7fe4_b

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:11:04 +0000

CRC Crew Rest Compartment by Airboy Sodwee

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:11:15 +0000

CRC Crew Rest Compartment by Airboy Sodwee

Non-Stop Fernando. Non Ducor, Duco. Sao Paulo layover.

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:44:06 +0000

Airboy had the great pleasure of discovering his first flight on the July roster was to Sao Paulo in Brazil. My two flatmates Khalil & Daniel (the latter is technically not my flatmate but he likes our sofas very much) had been bidding for this one every month without any luck... You kinda guess their reaction when they found out my roster on the blog... Anyways after three days of doing the couch potato at home in Dubai, occasionally lifting my arse to get some drinks in the fridge and going out to see Hancock at MOE's (that's Mall Of The Emirates for the hype kids in town, more on this horrible experience in another post). I was getting ready for my Xtra long flight over most of the African continent and a long stretch of cold water, namely the Atlantic ocean. The good thing about this flight is A, the hours you can get out of it, the way there and back count for a third of your flying hours for the month. So if you're one of those lasy flight attendant, having 3 GRUs in a month rounds up your wage nicely without working that much. B, the easy in-flight service with nice passengers along with maximum rest in the CRC (Crew Rest Compartment). But before I go on about my short stay in San Paulo, please take a little moment to watch the entire 14hrs and 40 minutes of this Emirates Advert where Fernando talks NON-STOP about Brazilian culture and his home town : Ok, I think he gets on your nerves before the third minute... So the flight over was nice, with 150 pax in economy leaving us with quite some time to socialize with the rest of the crew and do some aisle PR. Then comes our brakes, in this case we had 5 hours to sleep or watch movies depending on how tired you were. In order to be recognizable if the aircraft ever has to crash land while we're sleeping, we have to put on these sky blue pyjamas with 'crew' sowed on the back. Mine is way to big for me so I look like a small kid with the bottom of my pants trailing behind me and sleeves touching the ground... But they are comfortable. Sleeping in the bunk is heaven (well close to it at 36000 feet in the air) after 16 hours on your feet. Despite the fact the air-con blows straight in your nose, despite the fact the handset screen is on full blast the whole time and it's in front of your eyes, despite the turbulence we encountered during MY sleep, I managed to sleep 4 hours straight. Waking up fresh and alert for the rest of the service and the final approach into San Paulo. A CRC looks like the one in the picture below, minus the catwalk models enjoying a cup of coffee in their uniforms... Now, Sao Paulo is Gigantic, I didn't realise until I woke up after going for numerous drinks with the flight deck crew in the hotel bar. This city is the 4th largest populated village in the world, holding 18.6 millions souls in its boundaries. The view from my room is amazing. All I could see was buildings, buildings and more buildings for miles and miles away. The ride from the airport to the hotel was long, I managed to grab another few minutes of sleep before we entered the Hyatt and its beautiful lobby. That's when you realise how lucky we are to travel the world and stay in nice places. Something I've noticed is the number of helicopters going round in the skies of SP, apparently the city holds the largest fleet of Helicopters, scoring 400 machines. That is more than NYC. Why so many you might ask ? Well it's a simple cause/effect equation : the city is notorious for it's gargantuesque traffic jams and because the millionaires can't stand sitting in line, and because global warming isn't part of their vocabulary they prefer to jet around the city using their propellers. My day off in Sao Paulo was spent at the Ibirapuera park which is the largest urban park in the city and is the equivalent to Central Park in NYC. It features some great architectural buildings such as the Ibirapuera Auditorium with its funny curves. The day out was exactly what I was looking for. After jumping in a cab with a non-english speaking driver, I asked him to take me to this park using my only two portuguese words : 'Obrigado' for thank you and 'Bom Dia' for Hello/Good Day. That's all I needed. The cabby tried to start a conversation but dropped it after I waved my arms not understanding what he was saying. Good ride thought, through the city and to the park. walked around. enjoyed it very much. Came back for late lunch in the Restaurant for a Club Sandwich and Skype session with FamilyOfSodwee. Also chatted to pals back in Paris with MSN, catching up on the news with CNN in the background. svgallery=saopaulo

thats-not-my-name-ting-tings-cover

Sodwee — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:47:09 +0000

That's Not My Name (The Ting Tings cover) - Dizzee Rascal

The Ting Tings @ Airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:09:21 +0000

The Ting Tings @ Airboy.sodwee.com

tingtingscoverart

Sodwee — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:10:21 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #51 / The track that will get you over the weekend.

Sodwee — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:11:21 +0000

I've been hooked up ever since I found about Dizzee Rascal covering The Ting Tings. The song is even better than 'Shut Up & Let Me go' that was featured in the new iPod commercial. This one rocks the hell outta your brains ! And Dizzee's version is quite something, please make sure you get both version so you get a taste of both worlds :

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/thats-not-my-name-ting-tings-cover.mp3] Dizzee Rascal - That's Not My Name (The Ting Tings cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Thats%20Not%20My%20Name.mp3] The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name Lyrics : Four little words just to get me along It's a difficulty and I'm biting on my tongue and I I keep stalling, keeping me together People around gotta find something to say now Holding back, everyday the same Don't wanna be a loner Listen to me, oh no I never say anything at all But with nothing to consider they forget my name (ame, ame, ame) They call me 'Hell' They call me 'Stacey' They call me 'her' They call me 'Jane' That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name They call me 'Quiet Girl' But I'm a riot Mary, jo, lisa Always the same That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name I miss the catch if they throw me the ball I'm the last chick standing up against the wall Keep up, falling, these heels they keep me boring Getting clamped up and sitting on the fence now So alone all the time and I Lock myself away Listen to me, Oh No! Although I'm dressed up, out and all with Everything considered they forget my name (ame, ame, ame) They call me 'Hell' They call me 'Stacey' They call me 'Her' They call me 'Jane' That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name They call me 'Quiet Girl' But I'm a riot Mary, jo, lisa Always the same That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name That's not my name Are you calling me darling? Are you calling me bird? Are you calling me darling? Are you calling me bird?

Zulu India November Charlie

Sodwee — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:55:09 +0000

You pretty sure, on a day like Saturday, that most undecided crew will head to Zulu India November Charlie a.k.a. Zinc for a cheap night out. Well, not to upset the trend and be a total moron, Airboy followed the masses to this notorious bar/club at around midnight only to discover they had salsa going on. Thankfully enough, by 12pm they had some okay music going on with a dude going totally insane on the congas. The beat was pumping. The club filled in quite quickly. At one point in the 'soiree' Rodriguo (above & below), a really friendly chap came up to me and said " Are you Airboy ?" I replied, "yes you're right, that's me" and he followed on saying he loved the blog and that it actually helped him apply for Emirates and that he followed my boring adventures around the world on a daily basis. Well all I can say is 'Keep on reading my friend' and BIG-UP to you and your friends !! Here is a picture of him on the far left with his friends... I am sorry in advance for not recognizing you... The funny thong about ZINC is the crowd there. It's a really good mixture of crew members, some more crew members and finally even more crew members. It feels like being on a 777-300 packed with off-duty staff going to Ibiza. Anyways, this is why I like this place so much, it's not about the music, not about the people working there, it's about the people you meet there. Also, owner of the ZINC, please train yout bar staff to make decent marguaritas, cause Nivine, my fellow french mate nearly puked on the first sip ! Check out the pictures of the night below : svgallery=zinc

rodriguo @ airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:07:47 +0000

rodriguo @ airboy.sodwee.com

Melissa likes to call it Stink. After Party in Sharjah

Sodwee — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:06:31 +0000

That is Zinc as per my fellow neighblogger Melissa likes to call it. R'n'B night yesterday. Not too much of a brain knocker but was ok enough to get in the boogie, with the help of mother Heineken. The lights came up too soon so we had to think quick before our party mood was to decrease. So we indeed acted quick and jumped into a taxi from Crowne Plaza and swoooooshed off to some place behind the airport, very near to the Sharjah fence I guess. The landmark was called Razooki. That's where they've put the new joiners just after they filled Sheik Zayed Road buildings. God it's no man's land over there. I'm glad I'm living in the oldest building in Sheik Zayed ! Anyways I'm off to buy a new iron cause the other didn't get along very well with the Ironing board, it metled the synthetic thingy covering the actual frame of the board... Nothing too exciting I know. So I'm off to LIFCO for some much needed shopping. I HAVE TO iron those uniform shirts before my KUL trip tonight at midnight ! Voila, enjoy the pictures below svgallery=zinc2

Deadhead from Kuala Lumpur - KLIA for the hypsters.

Sodwee — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:11:59 +0000

I was impatient to fly over to Kuala Lumpur this month. It was part of my top ten destinations I was eager to get hold of. I really like Asia. The food, the people, the atmosphere is completely different. You only realise this when you mix with the crowds in busy streets or districts like Bukit Bintang (a thriving part of Kuala Lumpur), and get your hands all greased up eating something you have no idea what's in it but still tastes divine. The hotel we crashed in was right bang in the center of the city, with breathtaking views of the Petronas Towers. Lit up at night, these mega structures look absolutely unreal. A little on the Star Wars side I must admit (check out the pictures below). But before discovering the city we had to work, reward always comes after. Got myself all prepped up for the flight and ten minutes before leaving home (that's Dubai) I checked my roster again to make sure my timing was puuuurfect for the pick-up. And to my surprise, I figured out that on the way back I was to be deadheading. Meaning I was payed to sitback, enjoy and relax for the entire KUL - DXB sector. How badass is that my friends ?? The fact I was deadheading along with the rest of the crew is because Emirates added an extra flight that day to cater for increased demand. Remember it's peak season here in Dubai, everyone flees the scorching temperatures to find enjoyable weather elsewhere. So usually we get to fly business because, nonetheless, we're still on duty. But unfortunately for us, the flight was chock'a'block and we had to take our seats in economy - duh. Nevermind, I managed to sleep enough, watch movies and eat a few biscuits. svgallery=KUL Ok, so Kuala Lumpur is an amazing city, I think I've said that already. The skytrain is a must do, it's not as thrilling as I expected but very convenient to scout around. Cheap, dead cheap also. I wanted to walk across the skybridge of the Petronas Towers but they only issued tickets for a visit that would take place a few hours later, leaving me with no option but to take a picture from the ground. In any case, at that time clouds were blocking the views so I didn't feel too guttered. Instead I walked around the city, with rain pouring down the whole morning, but after being in the desert for 5 months now, It came as a blessing. The smell of rain on asphalt is something I've missed. So I was happy with a smile on my face the whole time. I was looking for a military surplus shop which I finally found near the McDonalds in Bukit Bintang. It didn't sell much vintage stuff though, so I grabbed a few goodies for a mate back in Paris. On I went to check out the new mall called Pavillon. All kitted out with white spotless marble floors and glass roof. Amazing place. By that time I was feeling pekish so I grabbed something off a stall on the corner of a street, it was some kind of chicken, I won't be able to describe the taste of it, but believe me I dribbled. Now I was ready for some sleep so I headed back to the hotel, hooked up the laptop, answered a few emails and got some music playing to get my brain some sleep. By 9pm, the wake up call blasted through my ears - yes the telephone was right next to my head - I jumped. Got a shower and got ready for my easy flight back to the sandpit.

johnny_cash_el_paso_mugshot_1965

Sodwee — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:57:56 +0000

johnny_cash_el_paso_mugshot_1965

DOWNLOADABLES #52 / Ring Of Fire

Sodwee — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:08:55 +0000

After having slept over 17 hours too many hours, I woke up in the middle of the night only to post a few covers as I didn't upload mp3s in quite some time. You've also noticed it, and rightfully, you sent emails in asking what was going on ! Well I've been away and busy for the past few days and not able to post tracks up here. So here we are, a whole new set of mp3s for you to download. We come up with some classic tune today, from Shirley covering the Doors, to That Kid Named Miles covering legendary Cash. Today is 5 star tracks. Do not dismiss that cover of Song 2 (orignally by Blur) here performed by Trash Yourself and The Toxic Avenger. Great stuff. Enjoy the rest of the tracks. I'm going to cook some pot noodles and go back to bed ! I love my life !! Peace out. Oh and the picture on the left is a mugshot of Cash at El Paso Prison...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/12%20Dancing%20Queen%20(ABBA%20Cover).mp3] The Yayhoos - Dancing Queen (Abba cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/2000%20Miles%20(The%20Pretenders%20cover).mp3] Coldplay - 2000 Miles (The Pretenders cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Light%20My%20Fire%20(The%20Doors%20cover).mp3] Shirley Bassey - Light My Fire (The Doors cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Song%202%20(Blur%20cover).mp3] Trash Yourself And The Toxic Avenger - Song 2 (Blur cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/07%20Crazy%20(Gnarls%20Barkley%20cover).mp3] Waikey!Waikey! - Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/11%20Ring%20Of%20Fire%20(Johnny%20Cash%20cover).mp3] That Kid Named Miles - Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/03%20American%20Woman%20(The%20Who%20cover).mp3] Butthole Surfers - American Woman (The Who cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Thats%20Not%20My%20Name.mp3] Keane - Under Pressure (Queen cover)

That's all folks ! Keep reading ! Comment below !

icemakers

Sodwee — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:24:30 +0000

samplr-coverart by Sodwee for Airboy

Sodwee — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:24:53 +0000

samplr-coverart by Sodwee for Airboy

DOWNLOADABLES #53 / Airboy's Samplr

Sodwee — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:55:14 +0000

Before I go anywhere with my rambles, if you appreciate the blog, and you're using FACEBOOK, please do go add the page as your favourite : you'll get the latest posts notice everytime I update here, the ultimate cool attitude and in addition to all that, your Web-Credibility will increase significantly... You really can't beat it ! I had to, I had to, I had to. I was up really early today after the sleepathon I endured the previous night. Enjoyed a trip to IKEA for some shelves and of course as it happens every time I go to IKEA, ended up with some useless bits and bobs like puzzle & stick shaped ice-cube trays... Otherwise this afternoon was entirely dedicated to listening to new & old tunes. But at one point I decided to look into the recent hits and which song they'd sampled to make it big. And believe me it's a hella nice trip back in time. Crank it up, listen carefully and try to find the hits made out of these tracks... Of course, it is my pleasure to let you download them at your will !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/2-13%20I%20Got%20The%20(Blues).mp3] Labby SIffre - I Got The > Used in Eminem's 'My Name Is', dubbed by Dr. DRE himself. [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/French%20Kiss%20(The%20Original%20Und.mp3] Lil' Louis - French Kiss > Used in Lagaf's 'Bo le Lavabo', dumbest french song by a local presenter. [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/10%20Edge%20Of%20Seventeen.mp3] Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· > Used in Destiny's Child 'Bootylicious', Stevie Nicks also performed in Fleetwood Mac and appeared with a guitar in the Bootylicious video... [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/08%20House%20music.mp3] Eddie Amador - House Music > Used the track 'Together Forever' by Exodus, but cannot find the mp3 anywhre, so I put the kickass tune up... this is a good warm up for your summer parties ! [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/05%20Venus.mp3] The Shocking Blue - Venus ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· > Bananarama covered these folks for the hit we all know off. [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/02%20Grandmas%20Hands.mp3] Bill Withers - Grandma's Hands ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· > Used by Blackstreet for the song 'No Diggity'. This one is my favourite... When soul gets ya !

Airboy does Bangkok

Sodwee — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:35:46 +0000

Just a quick video post cause I have no time to write anything right now, I'm supposed to shave and get ready :

Speeding in Bangkok

Sodwee — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:17:09 +0000

I couldn't update you guys from Bangkok because I was running out of time. So all I did was post a video. I've had a great time there. The flight over was easy and short. That's what's good about those less than 8hr flight layovers : leaving you nice a fresh ready for some action once you arrive, unlike my Sao Paulo one. Deplaned fine and reach the hotel after a 50 minute ride on a very joyful bus, I recall. The windows were orned with pink curtains, nicely put together with flower neckleces and all sorts of Thai bling. The crew was really nice, we organised a dinner out round the corner from the hotel in a Thai restaurant. Ate some tasty chicken, beef and spring rolls. By the time we had finished I was ready for bed. I forgot to mention that we faced a downpour of rain the whole way through. It chucked it down buckets full. Monsoon like. Some of the crew went for foot massages before hitting the sack. But all that food got me sleepy. The next day, the weather was far more appropriate for sightseeing. But Bangkok is big, I didn't know where to start so I boarded a Tuk-Tuk or Rickshaw, a very fun way to ride from A to B. Loved it so much that I hoped on a few other... haggling the price each and every time. I think it's a better way to see the city than being sat in a horrible looking PINK taxi. The thrills you get from such a ride are great, they speed like mad, break like mad and still manage to keep them metal things on the road. At one point he had to refill his tiny tank, so he told me in an approximate english : "Hey buddy I need gas, gimme two minutes", I was thinking in a Parisian way and told to myself that it would take around half an hour for the guy to refill his tank but no, 30 seconds later, KHALAS, yala, he hopped on and away we went !

He dropped me off at MBK avenue which is a big shopping mall central Bangkok. It was Sunday and I expected a deserted place. Little did I know. The place was heaving with locals and tourists. Stalls and little shops spreading over 5 floors. I spent around 45 minutes in there and shot out. Nothing special apart from fake, ugly looking D&G bags, fake Diesel tees and fake iPhones ! Hopped on a Tuk-Tuk again and headed back for some rest at the hotel. Check out the few pictures I took : svgallery=bangkok

nick-worm

Sodwee — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:09:00 +0000

BrotherOfSodwee dressed up as a worm

Guidelines for BrotherOfSodwee

Sodwee — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:16:58 +0000

My parents left for a 3 week vacation to Nicaragua & Costa Rica, crocodile spotting, hiking around volcanos, eating cockroaches and sleeping on banana leaves. Thus leaving BrotherOfSodwee ALONE at home in Paris, France. He's 19 years old, and of course all the troubles that comes with it ! We've all been there at one point. Try to recall the times you got a whole flat/house to yourself, a bunch of wild party tweens and no school what so ever. Dangerous mix I say. So that's for you Nick, an entire post on how to behave at home while Mum & Dad are walking on red hot ashes scoring some lifelong friendship ties with the locals : You will :

Wash-up everyday
Discard your dirty clothes in the linen basket as Mum visually described you countless times
Water the plant every two days, not too much, in order to avoid a cataclysm when the owners come back
Not have more than 3 guests under the age of 20 at any one point
Close the door EVERY time you leave the flat, not only one lock, but ALL 3 of them
Close all open windows
Go to bed at reasonable hours, before midnight proven to be very restful for your body
Update your Mother & Father of any damages on a daily basis, that ranges from the scratch on the wooden floor to flooding the flat because you forgot to put the washing machine output into the drain
Refill the fridge with Milk, Yogurts, Cheese and Beers 2 days prior to the owners arriving in Paris
Refill the bar in the lounge, because you can't fool parents on how much is left in a bottle
Empty the mail box daily, and arrange them nicely on the kitchen table, in chronological order
Pick each and every crumble you scattered around the kitchen floor BEFORE Mum comes back
Keep a tally of your household expenses on a sheet of paper, sum it up at the end and ask for refund AS SOON AS Father steps in the flat
Be kind to the neighbours
Not play the music like you're at Madison Square Garden
Not talk loud when drinking on the balcony, the sound reverbs to other neighbouring balconies
Go to work every day fresh & happy. Hangovers are not tolerated in the Food & Beverage industry
Earn enough cash to get yourself out of France
Not ride scooters and mopeds around Paris without MY prior approbation
Take the tube like everyone else
Ride the Velib' bicycle sharing system on a daily basis
Restock the freezer with Dad's favourite ice-creams, Dim-Sum and green beans.
Hoover the flat weekly
Change beding weekly
Not play Pro Evolution Soccer at 5 o'clock in the morning

I think that's a good start, remember I have my eyes on you. Otherwise not many things have happened since my 24hr BKK. Oh yeah been to Bombay and back, got a new free DVD from Emirates explaining how to get around the new CBC premises *sigh*. I have looked into getting a driving license here in the UAE, seems cheaper that France, and much shorter in training, which suits me perfectly. I also have weeks of laundry to iron. I have only turnarounds left for this month. Can't wait for the 27th when our rosters come out and our pay drops in our accounts !! Whoohooo it's all very exciting............... NOOOOOOT !

new-converse-airboy

Sodwee — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:18:54 +0000

new-converse-airboy

iphone at airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:29:01 +0000

iphone at airboy.sodwee.com

Airboy blog On-the-go... Day off in DXB

Sodwee — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:36:07 +0000

Today was sloth day. But for the first time in MANY many weeks, I got out of bed before 9 am. In fact I was up by 6.30 am because my body clock is F-word up. So I had the leisure of actually planning my day. I needed some grocery so I went down Mall Of The Emirates (not a grocery shopping destination I know) but I felt like it was time to get yet another pair of converse. Here's the buy : Yeah you're gonna say "how can you wear those ???" and I say : "simply, Street Credibility !". I also went window licking for Mother's birthday but didn't find anything yet. Anyway, this is not the main purpose of the post. I have an exciting new feature to show off. I've been working all day on this... I'm happy to announce for you beautiful/cool iPhone and iPod Touch owners that the blog is viewable/compatible with those devices. It's a sleak, lighter, iphone-like layout so that it loads even faster when browsing with your phones over EDGE or 3G network... You can also leave comments right from your iPhone too. So there's no excuse of you being downroute and not checking your favourite blog !! Make sure you add the blog to your favourites. Tonight I'll be off for a Karachi turnaround, *pfffff*, with an Airbus, that's even more promising. Arrrghh.

DOWNLOADABLES #54 / The power of old 80's french classics

Sodwee — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:38:44 +0000

Before you start complaining.... I'm sorry for posting this video. If it wasn't for her body lines, if it wasn't for the amazing remake of O-zone's hit single video for 'Dragosta Din Tei', if it wasn't for having a desire to fly her I wouldn't be wasting my time (and yours for that matter) talking about her. This girl, is from Belgium, a country stuck in between France, Britain and Germany with the likes of Brussels as the European Capital and their love for french fries. To put it simply, she's on the same label as once famed Technotronic with their only hit 'Technotronic'. That should give you a rough idea of what her music actually sounds like. Well to be brutally honest, I think this track will makes it's way up the charts, it's already the most downloaded ringtone in Spain *sigh* and in the very near future I see her track being remixed by top-notch DJs. It's just a prediction though, she might just be well forgotten by the end of August. She mainly transforms classic 80's french songs into EUROpop crazyness. Thats her job. What do you guys think ? Am I being a tasteless today ? Enough. What about some sizzling tunes for today's DOWNLOADABLES ??? uh?

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/01%20Pioneers%20(Bloc%20Party%20Cover).mp3] Mystery Jets - Pioneers (Bloc Party cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/04%20Heart%20of%20Glass%20(Blondie%20cover).mp3] Annie Bethancourt - Heart Of Glass (Blondie cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/06%20Sir%20Duke%20(Stevie%20Wonder%20cover).mp3] Mutual Admiration Society - Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/10%20Hey%20Joe%20(Hendrix%20cover).mp3] Jerry Douglas - Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/14%20Mercy%20Mercy%20Me%20(Marvin%20Gaye%20cover).mp3] The Strokes - Mercy Mercy Me (Marvin Gaye cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/2-14%20Gloria%20(Van%20Morisson%20cover).mp3] Jimi Hendrix - Gloria (Van Morisson cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Come%20Together%20(Beatles%20cover)%202.mp3] Robin Williams & Bobby McFerrin - Come Together (Beatles cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Come%20Together%20(Beatles%20cover).mp3] Ike & Tina Turner - Come Together (Beatles cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Hello%20I%20Love%20You%20(The%20Doors%20Cover).mp3] The Cure - Hello I Love You (The Doors cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Mah%20Na%20Mah%20Na%20(Muppets%20cover).mp3] Asylum Street Spankers - Mah Nah Mah Nah (Muppets cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Sharp%20Dressed%20Man%20(ZZ%20Top%20cover).mp3] Dragonette - Sharped Dressed Man (ZZ Top cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Song%202%20(Blur%20cover).mp3] Jack Shite - She's A Lady (Tom Jones cover)

Turning the Shangri-La buffet upside down... August roster

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:18:08 +0000

Jeezz, never ate so much in such a short lapse of time. It was Nivine's birthday yesterday, 25th. So we had to make things big. We booked a table at Shangri-La's for the evening Buffet which is amazing. That is where we went 4 months ago for our graduation party dinner and boy it was nice... grilled chicken skewers, sushi by the dozen, marshmellows with melted milk chocolate running down a heated fountain..... ahhhhhhhhh. We were joined by fellow batch mates Zane from South Africa, Sil, Nivine's flatmate and the usual suspects, namely : Ben, Gregory, Matt, Richard & Jupiter. Down at the restaurant we also caught up with another gang of francophone (Raphael, Nadia...).Very good start to the night. We managed to get our hands on much appreciated food anf then decided it was time for some drinks down at Long's Bar which happens to be 20 metres away from my flat... Then by 1 o' clock we trotted our way down to Zinc for some moves. The usual night really. Really fun night. Check out the picture below. svgallery=shangrila Also on todays agenda was the monthly adrenaline rush in the build up to the publication of our rosters for the month of August. Not disappointed, but I still have Bombay, Doha and Tehran turnarounds (sic) which I'm having an overdose of lately. The highlight is defo the JFK (New York ladies and gentlemen) with the one and only Melanie and also my not one, not two but threeeeeee HKGs (Hong Kong)... She was the wild bacthmate and we haven't flown together at all. Actually I haven't flown with anyone since the start apart from Alicia on one of my suppy... So August roster goes like this :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
DXB - BOM	BOM - DXB	XX	DXB - BOM - DXB	XX	DXB - HKG	out
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
HKG - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - HKG	out	HKG - DXB	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
XX	DXB - HKG	out	HKG - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - IKA
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
IKA - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - DOH - DXB	XX	XX	XX
29	30	31
XX	DXB - JFK	out

Thinking of the layout of this month, I'm thinking of swaping one of my HKGs for something else... Does anyone want my turnarounds ??

airboylogo

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:06:40 +0000

airboywatermark

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:24:23 +0000

santogold

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:05:46 +0000

santogold

DOWNLOADABLES #55 / Jamaican Boy + Santogold

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:10:29 +0000

Boys, girls we have THE almighty remake of super smash hit track 'American Boy', you know the tune you hear everywhere, everytime... Well Bost, Bim, Brisa Roche and Lone Ranger have got together in a dream team to deliver what should be the almighty cover of this summer. The track is named Jamaican Boy and is a killer track. Please go forward and download the mp3... Also Diplo/Santogold have released a mixtape with unseen remixes and new material, and we have it for you today : eargasm ! By the way, they're all DOD today, no excuse !

MP3 removed following artist request : Discover Bost & Bim Ft Brisa RochÃ© & Lone Ranger! [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/11%20Anne%20(Switch%20Mix).mp3] Santogold - Anne (Switch remix) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/20%20Get%20It%20Up%20(Radioclit%20Mix%20ft.%20MIA%20and%20Gorilla%20Zoe).mp3] Santogold, Gorilla ZOE & M.I.A. - Get It Up (Radioclit remix) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Unstoppable-Night%20Dub.mp3] Santogold & Benga - Unstoppable / Night Dub ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Right%20Brigade%20(hidden%20track).mp3] Santogold & Diplo - Right Brigade ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE·

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santogold by airboy sodwee

Sodwee — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:23:42 +0000

santogold by airboy sodwee

Emirates does Big Mama Jamma

Sodwee — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:18:04 +0000

It's been THE TALK for a few weeks now in Cabin Crew land Dubai and elsewhere in the aviation industry. The first Big Mama Jamma (or A3 not tiny) has been delivered to Emirates today in Hamburg with HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum as host. This is a milestone in Emirates path to owning the skies. They haven't stopped growing since they've started, despite the rising fuel costs and the industry's general unfitness. As a matter of fact, and to show off I'm sure, His Heighness decided to make a coup and simply ordered another 60 wide-bodied aircrafts with both Boeing & Airbus. Our fleet currently consists of a whopping 118 aircrafts, add to this the crazy 58 A380 + the other 60 on order, it brings the total amount of aircrafts operating for Emirates at mindblowing 236 machines. ANd who will operates the 236 cabins ? Well you can only guess ! We'll be 21000 Cabin Crew by 2012, that's as far as the plans go. You wonder how they do it. When every other airline struggles (I'm thinking Ryannair, and all major American carriers)... I guess being closer to oil rigs makes it easier to pump jetfuel in those wings. Anyways, after a lot of gossip, Emirates finally unveiled the Cabin Features of the Big Mama. Our First Class passengers will enjoy and shower and execs club at 38000 feet while our Economy passengers, well, will still digg in the chicken curries with a lot more friends to make down in the back galley. Check the pictures below svgallery=a380 A6-EDA (or commonly known as A6-Echo Delta Alpha here amongst crew) will make it's first approach in the Sandpit tomorrow sometime in the day. I might actually see the monster since I have a flight leaving early evening for Doha (Quatar), let's hope. I do not know if all this is a coincidence, but today was my first look inside the new CBC, Crew Briefing Center, at the new EGHQ (Emirates Group Head Quarters), where us cabin crew will start our trips. It's basically a maze, with slippery marble flooring, countless briefing rooms, e-gates, self-checking kiosks and plasma TVs all over the shop. It's way better than our portacabins we used to pile in. Quite impressed I must say. for a sneak peak, check those photos below : svgallery=cbc Photos by Melissa & The Flying Kiwi Khalas for today folks, will be doing turnarounds for the rest of the weeks so no doubt I'll pop by the blog and say what has been going on in Crazy Dub-Dub.

nymagvulture by airboy sodwee

Sodwee — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:04:15 +0000

nymagvulture by airboy sodwee

bgairboy5

Sodwee — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:14:33 +0000

plz find job 4 me in ur feiled

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:55:27 +0000

Hey it's been a success right from the start ! You peeps have been pouring in the blog since it's very first day. Many of you come from Northern America and also a lot from Asia. I receive dozens of emails daily, I'm sorry in advance to those I have yet to respond but I'm not always in front of the computer. I really need to clear the backlog ASAP. So here are the statistics, they range from 4th of February 2008 to 30th July 2008 :

The blog is 220 posts old
We have 3227 tags registered
29 899 unique visitors
65 774 page views
53,86 % of you use Firefox (applause)
749 of you have visited the blog between 26 and 50 times in that period
583 of you are addicted to Airboy, visited the blog between 101 and 200 times in that period (wow)
11,24 % have typed in airboy.sodwee.com directly in your address bar
64,92 % have found the blog with links on other websites
23,84 % of you used a search engine to find Airboy (google generally)
"Airboy" is the top keyword used to find the blog in search engines followed closely by "Sodwee" then "Emirates Cabin Crew"
You guys downloaded a whopping 153 981 mp3s worth 259.7 Gigabytes or 71% of my total bandwith

All in all this is great ! We recently introduced google ads on various pages so we can cover the costs of hosting all these mp3s as well as the blog. If you want to help please click on the ad in the left column of the blog, you'll see it at the bottom... Relating to the popularity of the blog so far, we get dozens of emails every day asking questions on how to join the Cabin Crew team of Emirates, a majority of you guys ask genuine questions but sometimes I open my inbox only to find very funny/weird emails. The last one to date was from Amber, the email read :

hi My name is Amber,i am 22 years old,graduate in commerce line.i also done it english language course and computers.plz find job 4 me in ur feiled.

I only just woke up when I got this, and didn't realize how amazing this was until I came back to it a few hours later ! This is the best email to date, Amber you get the GOLDENemail Award for making my day ! I didn't reply yet, actually I don't know what to reply. If you guys have questions please refer to the FAQ and other Emirates related posts BEFORE you send an email. If a question is not answered within the blog I am most happy to reply to your emails, but please be sensible ! Also, some of you have sent in enquiries about ticketing and bookings with Emirates, just a reminder, I'm not a travel agent, please refer to www.emirates.com for information about your trips and ticketing.

songoftheday by Airboy sodwee

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:18:03 +0000

songoftheday by Airboy sodwee

Song Of The Day / Los Super Elegantes

Sodwee — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:21:48 +0000

It’s spanish, it’s catchy, it has the deadliest bass line ever, and it’s the Song Of The Day on Airboy. Be the first to download the song and wiggle your derriere all night long ! I love it so much it’s been playing in Blue Building for the last 3 hours. I think my neighbours are going crazy at this very minute.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/02%20Dance%20(ESG%20cover).mp3]
Los Super Elegantes - Dance (ESG cover) (mp3)

Snoop Dogg - My Medicine

Sodwee — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:38:44 +0000

Snoop Dogg - My Medicine

The mo' dedicated the mo' medicated

Sodwee — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:41:39 +0000

A little more mainstream today, but mainstream isn't so bad when it comes to Snoop Dogg. He came up with a brilliant country track called My Medicine... dedicating the song to no other than Cash, how thoughtful is that uh ?? Go go go go go download peeps !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/16-my-medicine.mp3]
Snoop Dogg - My Medicine

And not much on the plate other than a dreadful Jeddah turnaround, a bombay tonight, and another bombay in two days. I'm just a lucky little bastard. Can't wait to be on layovers again.

The true definition of a row of seats

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:02:54 +0000

Row : noun. (r)

A series of objects or people placed next to each other, usually in a straight line.

A succession without a break or gap in time

A line of adjacent seats, as in a theater, auditorium, classroom, or seats in an aircraft.

End of July for Airboy wasn't what he had dreamt of... far from it. Crew Scheduling have something against me. I'm feeling exhausted after doing 7 turnarounds in a row, and not the easiest ones (Bombay > Tehran > Karachi > Doha > Jeddah > Bombay > Bombay). Adding to the already challenging Jeddah flight, it was delayed big time because of Jeddah's ground staff thinking seats 23H, 43B, 17G and 34D make one single row ! WRONG, COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY WROOOOOONG : 16A-B-D-E-F-G-H-K makes a bloody row......God. And as predicted, an entire family was separated all over Economy. Leaving us award-winning Cabin Crew to deal with the issue. Shifting single males here and there, playing a real-life puzzle with human beings. But one family to reunite is ok........ish, depending of course on how large that family is. But trying to reunite 16 entire smalas is a totally different story. Needless to say the crew was on the tipping point, and we hadn't even left the bloomin tarmac yet. After take-off we got the lights dimmed so that our passengers could sleep tight and relieve some of the call-bells. I will skip the rest of the flight and save you from WOWing at my adventures and the stories we've experienced in what is called a quick, straightforward turnaround.... *sigh* So with all those delays, missing our take-off slots and landing in Dub-Dub nearly 2 hours late... I managed to find a bus with the little grey cells I had left from the trip and got home at around 4 in the morning. Of course I went to bed presto. Waking up in time for my next flight. The Almighty Bombay. So in fact I had two flights the same day. Of course there was 11 hours in between, leaving me as fresh as an expired maquerel in it's foil tin to perform another 12 hour shift. So gathered my cool, hopped on the bus and left for CBC (BTW we're moving tomorrow for the new one). Thank god the crew was fun and we got along very well from the start until finish. I flew with the girl (Corrine) who took care of Lima 3 on my return to Dubai after my leave. As well as Lilian, Khalsom, Cathy, Anna and Ilona. Good laughs. The flight over was a breeze, with a fairly light load and some very nice pax. But, with fatigue kicking in, the return was quite hard. It's over now, one more Bombay left and I'm indulging myself with some nice layovers... at last. Hong Kong (possible swap with a Nagoya, hope schedz approve this one) thrice, then 2 more turnarounds and finally a long awaited JFK (New York). I've already got in touch with Matt (a journalist for Business Week I met whilst working in FrogPubs back in Paris), so he's willing to tour the Big Apple, also Lee (whom I also met at FrogPubs) will be enjoying drinks with Airboy in Hong Kong. In the meantime go check the picture I took before our return sector from Jeddah : svgallery=jeddah

bannerforumxs

Sodwee — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:19:15 +0000

meetthefolks

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:21:49 +0000

Flippin' Razr phone / Meet my folks.

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:31:15 +0000

To the thousands who tried to call me in the past few days, just wanted to say that key #3 on the keypad of my 3 month old Moto Razr as called it a day. And the number 3 happens to be part of the PIN code used to unlock the hackin' device. So I'm left with no phone what so ever because my french snazy iPhone is endlessly searching for a network here in Dubai and I can't receive nor send text messages or even make calls. Fiona, that is why... I'm left with my landline, but the cord isn't long enough to follow outside the flat. Also I'm glad to say my Turnathon as ended in great style with a Dubai - Bombay - Dubai and an hour and a half buse ride from aircraft to new CBC to home. Awesome, I'm now looking forward to my HKGs (Hong Kong) if the swap for a NGO (Nagoya, Japan) do not come through. Some news from South and Central America where my folks are having a blast. So far they've been watching Turtles lay eggs in front of the Pacific ocean, swam in the Pacific. Walked round active and non-active volcanos, drinking local beer called Tano, dipped in thermal natural springs, making friends with the locals and took hundred of pictures. So MotherOfSodwee promised a little stint on the blog in the form of a blog post or even a video post if you guys are lucky... They should be back in Paris sooner or later, I'm not synced with their plans so it's only a wild guess. I figure they'll Skype me as soon as they hit Paris. Hey, by the way you haven't met my parents. I think I have the puuuuurrrrfect picture for a first encounter. Meet my folks (click image to enlarge picture) : This was taken at my Dad's 50th birthday party held in Paris, the theme for the night was Insects/Flowers for the crazy english lot, and "Back to the 50's" for the more down to earth frenchies. It was one hell of a party. I didn't expect that many people turning up in costumes and. One of my folks friends turned up in a complete cardboard Cockroach outfit.... HILARIOUS. I'll post the entire photo collector collection as soon as I get the green light from Father/Mother. Voila. another day, another blog post. Tomorrow I'll be phone hunting at Carrefour in Mall Of The Emirates. OOOh joy.

bgairboy6

Sodwee — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:56:18 +0000

Airboy does the typhoon in Hong Kong

Sodwee — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:59:02 +0000

Hey long time no speak. I'll correct this and offer you an entirely new post about my last trip to HKG. As you may know by now, I had put down a bid on the system for Hong Kong... When the roster were published, I had 3 back to back Hong Kongs awaiting. Not so good as I like variety in my roster. So I started swaping here and there. Especially with a Mauritius 36hrs layover... Checked the progress today and Crew Schedzz have APPROVED the swap. So I4m thrilled to know that in two days I'll be laughing at honeymooners on the white sand of the beautiful beaches MRU has to offer. Ok, that's a brief summary of the last few days. Let me focus a little bit more on Hong Kong. A part from being one of the biggest container ports in the world, and I saw stacks of them while busing to our hotel, Hong Kong is a thriving, cosmopolitan city I was eager to discover. Unfortunately, we're in the middle of natural disaster month here in the far east. As a result our departure was delayed for 1h30 minutes from DXB. Leaving us to enjoy the all new crew lounges available at the new CBC (wifi too). Note to all Cabin Crew, lounge #2 has a FREE COFFEE MACHINE (the question is : for how long ??) serving cappucinos, moccacinos and chocomilk for your cafeine needs. That is serious competition for Costa - Rip Off - Coffees. Anyways, as soon as the captain heard of the skies clearing up in Hong Kong we were given the green light to board our Airbus 330-200. I hate Airbus so much. The flight over was long, but pax managed to behave an not hit that call bell too much. But into Hong Kong was a roller coaster. The Flight Deck had warned us of possible bumps into our final approach but never experienced winds of the typhoon aftermath. And it was fun ! Passengers felt a little worried and I was loving my Romeo 3 jumpseat as I could see their faces turning white as we landed on the rain drenched runway. But with extreme handling from the Captain we safely landed. And the passengers clapped their hands away......... *sigh*. Deplaned swiftly and headed for the hotel. Not as good as I thought it would be. We were put up in less than central Hong Kong, in a 1980's era hotel with a dark, unlit lobby (they had difficulties with electricity has we arrived. Thankfully they had a generator to provide us with hot water ! Promising for a country hosting the Olympics 2 days later. Anyways wanted to go sightseeing but the weather wasn't with me the whole day, it was grey and with rain showers all along the day. So i went for a nice Italian at the top of the hotel with a view over the harbour and ate Duck in balsamic reduction with amazing rosemary spuds. By the time I'd finished my plate it was wake up call and I needed to get myself shaved before leaving for our return sector. Here is a little insight of my HKG stint, hope you enjoy :

Sodwee on the roof tops of paris

Sodwee — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:21:09 +0000

Sodwee on the roof tops of paris

Sodwee facebook avatar

Sodwee — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:21:11 +0000

Sodwee facebook avatar

bgairboy7

Sodwee — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:49:44 +0000

Good Cop-Baby Cop / Pictures of Nicaragua-Costa Rica

Sodwee — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:55:58 +0000

This is kind of old, but still makes it in my top ten funniest video to have surfaced since 1996. There's actually two of them of which you can crack up to just below. You will recognize a very famous actor (one of the most paid as a matter of fact). Mister Ferrell. And my parents have just returned from their journey deep into the jungle. They've brought back some good stuff as well as brilliant pictures. Be sure to check out the selection I've compiled for you today. As promised MotherOfSodwee is knocking up a little rant about her holidays and will post it as soon as she finds the "enter" key on the keypad, but this might take quite some time. Stay tuned in the next few days as we post some juicy content..... more on this laterzzzz. And the long awaited pictures from my folks's vacation : svgallery=costarica

MotherOfSodwee / Vivienne Gill @ sodwee.airboy.com

Sodwee — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:07:44 +0000

MotherOfSodwee / Vivienne Gill @ sodwee.airboy.com

Dopplr / My travels

Sodwee — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:34:35 +0000

Where I've been so far with EK :

My Past 10 Trips :

This is where I'm going next !

MotherOfSodwee : Adventures with the Ticas and the Nicas

Sodwee — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:29:53 +0000

Airboy has the great pleasure of welcoming MotherOfSodwee for her debut blogging experience. Please do leave comments and reactions to her stories. First up is her trip to Central America with beloved FatherOfSodwee. Photos are below... Well here we are just back from the most amazing 3 week trip to Costa Rica & Nicaragua.....first of all a few hard facts relating to the 2 countries...... COSTA RICA : population 4,2 million.Their standard of living is the highest of all the Central American countries. A democracy, current president is Oscar Arias. Shares a boundary with Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Capital city San Jose. The only country not to have an army. The population call themselves Ticos (for the men) and Ticas (for the women) A third of the population is less than 15 years old. NICARGUA : population approx 6 million, biggest country in Central America and also the poorest, shares a border with Honduras to the North and Costa Rica to the South, Pacific to the west and the Carribbean to the east. Capital city Managua. The peolple there call themselves "Nicas". Current president Daniel Ortega. Ok that's enough of the geography lesson, and more of impressions......the first 2 weeks of the trip were organised around a discovery of the volcanoes, tropical forests, the flora and fauna of the 2 countries, first of all in Costa Rica and then moving up into Nicaragua. We were a party of 9 altogether + our Nicaraguan guide Alicia and our driver Diego. Day 1 started off with a walk to see our first crater lake at Poas volcano, which was a sharp turquoisey green colour and a walk around the crater lake. Lush vegetation everywhere, wet tropical forest. After that bathed in the thermal spas at foot of the volcano Arenal, a heady 39° - 42° depending on the pool you were soaking in. It was actually pouring down with rain as we soaked in our pools, sipping coctails and watching my toe nail varnish disintegrate before my very eyes in the sulphur pools.....shock resistant varnish L'Oreal ??? I think not !!! The following 5 days were spent walking around Rincon de la Vieja, watching the red lava flow down the sides of Arenal volcano in the dark, bathing in more sulphur pools, getting close up to mud pools bubbling away at approx 100°C, fumeroles, smoking craters, dips and swims in crystalline rivers and sun dappled waterfalls....it was really spectacular stuff !!!! We then found ourselves on the frontier crossing to pass into Nicaragua where we said goodbye to Diego our drive and the decadence of having our own private minibus to transport us around and hello to a more "hands on" approach to the trip thankfully Alicia our guide was still with us and made the border formalities extremely easy as she did everything for us...that was quite something to behold actually, just the activity going on in the frontier area, huge juggernauts banging through on the dirt roads, no tarmac anywhere, dust billowing everywhere, families moving through from one side to the other, hawkers and sellers for hamacs, drinks, snacks, ice cream, you name it it seemed to be there..... Alicia finally got us through the redtape and from there we headed to st Juan del Sur. A well-known beach resort onthe south west coast of the Pacific. Had some lunch there then caught our first local bus for a village called Ostionale - our first stop in Nicaragua staying at a fishing village. The bus journey was pretty eventful Eric didn't want to let the ruksacks out of his sight so went up on the roof to keep an eye on things it took a few hours after the journey for this stomach to find it's way back to the right place in his body. Up on te roof he was joined by an individual rather the worse for wear in the alcohol department - who pulled a knife on him, fortunately the bloke was too ratted to do anything dangerous with it but as a result got thrown off the top into the bus, whereupon he started being a complete pain in the ass and hassling all the women in the bus - he finally got chucked out for good 2 miles on....huzzah!! The fishing village Ostionale was great, very basic and just beginning to welcome in tourists who stay with the inhabitants in their homes, we ate fresh fish caught locally, red snapper accompanied with rice n' beans. We had a ramble along the coast the next day, empty beaches, white sands, you know like the advert kind of stuff....beautiful, mangroves, crabs everywhere. The following day we saw tortoises coming from the sea to lay their eggs.......amazing, they lay between 150-170 eggs each time.......had a hop over to Ometepe island to see more volcanoes and then we went up to Grenada, a Spanish colonial city on the north west edge of Nicaragua Lake. Chilled out a bit there, cruised the town, drank a few beers and checked out the "in" place to be in the evening, the "Café Nuit", to listen to some live music and strut our stuff to the reggaeton and salsa music......challenging stuff mind !!! That's when we left the group and continued on our own up to Las Penitas a paradisiac place on the coast west of Leon. The hotel was rustic simple feet in the ocean, hamacs everywhere, the best cocktails ever and fresh caught fish lobster and shrimp on the menu every night !!! What more could you wish for.......nothing...... so we stayed for 5 days and then started the marathon trip home.....just to finish if you do get the chance to visit, seize it as this part of the world is truly fabulous, still relatively unspoilt, not yet swarming with tourists, meanwhile hope you enjoy the photos........... svgallery=costarica

Vivienne Gill MotherOfSodwee in Nicaragua

Sodwee — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Vivienne Gill MotherOfSodwee in Nicaragua

airboydopplr

Sodwee — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:23:08 +0000

airboydopplr2

Sodwee — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:56:42 +0000

Airboy does Mauritius !

Sodwee — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:10:52 +0000

This WAS one of the best layovers I have yet experienced. Lovely, enjoyable crew set in Paradise for 36 hours. We were bound for Mauritius on my favourite flying machine (B777-300) meaning I had a few meters between my jumpseat and the first row of Golddigging pax in front of me. Yeah, no lie, they do pick their noses from time to time without thinking a member of the Cabin Crew is actually sitting opposite them and watching in disgust. I think we're dressed up in some sort of lavatory camouflage for them not to see us... None the less, this was pretty much an eventless trip over waters apart from a few hectic turbulences half way down the line.

svgallery=mauritius

We got to our hotel at around 10 in the morning, it is situated 15 minutes from the airport. It's just a dream come true when you finally discover the private beach they have with the amazing lodge-like buildings... The rooms are ALL looking over this paradise with balconies so you can enjoy a little salted air at the end of the day with a nice G&T. Not to mention the all inclusive package that left our dear stomachs in pain after eating so much !

svgallery=mauritius2

But the highlight of this trip was the beach of course, the sun and finally our day out boat trip with our local guide Charlie. He took us round the lagoon in a speed-boat and some music until we reached the so called "Paradise Island". And P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E it was ! Check out the pictures below for all the shenanigans.

svgallery=mauritius3

We stayed all day out in the sun and I scored some painful burns despite having spread sunblock all over. But it was worth the hassle...

Honkers (updated with pictures)

Sodwee — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 21:04:10 +0000

Honkers was better than I expected. We managed to have a hell of a laugh on the way over with a great Purser (I wont disclose his identity for obvious confidential reasons) as well as a wicked crew & flight deck. Also part of the crew was Marlon, a reader of this very blog and owner himself of a blog. We got to Hong Kong at around midnight, as planned, and decided to hit the famous Fooong Looook Wy or whatever the district is called for some good ol' drinks. Ended up with a crowd of locals having fun and in need of western attention. Crazy. We ended up in a club called "Fong Underground" shaking out derrieres till the early hours. But that wasn't enough. We made a pit stop at 7/Eleven and stocked up on Tsingtao until we bumped into one of our DXB-HKG passenger... He recognized us and sent his wishes.... Good times all in all. I'm now back at the hotel writting those words. Will be hitting the town tomorrow... Pictures to come (Sorry the USB cable didn't make it to the cabin bag as it usually does). More on the trip as I hit the sandpit. 'Parte dos' of the Hong Kong layover was a nice and easy stroll around Central District. Home to many, let say countless designer shops and the well known IFC mall. For now over a month, I've been looking for the perfect Birthday present for my Mother. And today only did I manage to find it. It's now official I HAVE IT ! No words on it though. Voila I'm about to catch up with some sleep before we board bound to Dub-Dub. And as promised, here are the pictures : svgallery=hongkong

Daft Punk @ Airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:27:37 +0000

Daft Punk @ Airboy.sodwee.com

DOWNLOADABLES #56 / Fressssssssshh

Sodwee — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:48:19 +0000

I know it's been a long time since I posted some tracks on Airboy, and today I'm fixing it with the likes of Portland Cello Project, Madison, Predo The Lion, Senor Coconut, Firebrand Boy and others. They all do covers, some killer ones too. Feel free to download those tunes at your will. All you have to do is preview them with the player (click the play button) and if you like what you hear... right click the green song titles with your mouse nice and hard, select "Save target link as..." and save it to your hard drive. it's simple. MotherOfSodwee figured it out so there is no reason why you cannot. I really like the Daft Punk cover of "Around The World" by Senor Coconut, I will actually use it in my next video, me thinkz... And the LA Riot remix of The Ting Tings "That's Not My Name" rocks the hell. On a more Soulful note, Gabriella Cilmi's cover of JTs "Cry Me A River" is just an eargasm. For the rest of the tracks I'll let you discover for yourself. Add your comments below... Note for Cabin Crew, join the social network www.dopplr.com and check out the cool features they offer such as places to go downroute etc... It's also a good way to know where your fellow crew friends are at... Thus you can sync your life with them...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/17%20Around%20the%20world%20(Daft%20Punk%20cover).mp3] Senor Coconut - Around The World (Daft Punk cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/Such%20Great%20Heighs%20(Postal%20Service%20cover).mp3] Firebrand Boy - Such Great Heights (The Postal Service cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/03%20Paper%20Planes%20(MIA%20cover).mp3] Panda Riot - Paper Planes (M.I.A. cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/03%20Girls%20Just%20Wanna%20Have%20Fun%20(Cindi%20Lauper%20cover).mp3] Death Cab For A Cutie - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cindy Lauper cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/Lollipop%20(Lil%20Wayne%20Cover).mp3] Madison - Lollipop (Lil' Wayne cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/09%20Toxic%20(Britney%20Spears%20cover).mp3] Portland Cello Project - Toxic (Britney Spears cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/03%20Cry%20Me%20A%20River%20(Justin%20Timberlake%20Cover).mp3] Gabriella Cilmi - Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/2008%20That%27s%20Not%20My%20Name%20(LA%20Riots%20Remix).mp3] The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name (L.A. Riot remix)

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picture-1

Sodwee — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:11:06 +0000

eghq

Sodwee — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:18:11 +0000

Emirates Group Headquarters Dubai @ Airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:31:54 +0000

Emirates Group Headquarters Dubai @ Airboy.sodwee.com

Getting lost in the HQ

Sodwee — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:34:21 +0000

Airboy had a busy day. Usually I spend my days off hanging around the flat like a sloth, but today I felt like wondering out of the building, into the scorching sun none the less. I ended up in Emirates Group Headquarters. This place is amazingly huge. It doesn't look like it from the outside but once you step inside, you're greeted with marble floors, escalators here, there everywhere, ID gates every 3 step you make, and finally a monumental atrium at the center of the building, where co-workers have their lunches. It's like a little village. A grocery, numerous food counters, Stores, ATMs, offices, Costa-rip-off-but-we-love-it-Coffee and other goodies await the desperate crew in need of entertainment. The only problem with huge places with no particular floor plan or signage is that you get lost fairly instantly. I had to ask my way a dozen times before I could find the FedEx counter. Yet it's no surprise I couldn't find it because it's tucked away 2 storeys below ground level in what seems like no mans land. I finally got to the counter only to find a surprised colleague asking me what I was doing here and what I wanted ! I replied with a smile : "I gather you don't see many people... I'm here to send some stuff, FedEx is good at this right?". I had to send some goodies to Europe and because Emirates looks after us very well here, we get 50% off on all FedEx prices and to make it even more hassle free, they deduct it directly from your salary (meaning you can forget your credit card and still manage to send that souvenir from Tokyo you just bought for your loved one). Left the B2 floor to head to Etisalat which is easier to find because it's on the atrium floor. I went there to suscribe to TV with E-vision so I can watch Pimp My Ride and get the latest pop gossip from VH1. They have a good deal for crew with free installation and some other xtras. Suscribed now waiting for the Etisalat chaps to come in and install the box. I needed TV because reserves will be very boring and it's coming up soon so I'm gearing up. On the way back home I also managed to fit in a hop into MMI, our local booze shop. The reason behind that is that I needed to process my Liquor License for me to be able to purchase and retain alcohol here in Dubai. Remember, we're under Muslim laws and Alcohol is prohibited pretty much everywhere except in Hotels and Resorts. So I did after filling in some papers... The license should be ready in 30 days or so. No rush tho, Long's bar is just 20 seconds away from home. Finally made a few minor tweaks to the blog. You are now able to send any blog post via email to your friends and a printer friendly version of the blog is also available so you can print away without emptying your ink cartridges. That's all for today, oh no, hoovering left to do.

eghq1

Sodwee — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:47:23 +0000

pharrel NERD NER*D airboy sodwee

Sodwee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:18:26 +0000

everyone-nose-remix

Sodwee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:26:15 +0000

All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom | your nose is Atlaaantaaa !

Sodwee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:38:27 +0000

Simple beats, sleak production makes a killing track. Add the actual King Of Hop Hype, a kick ass video, some very very very very very V-E-R-Y SNAAAZ eye-wear and you get an Effin' remix that will make your ears bleed like never before ! This track is maaaayyjahhhh KABoooooooooooSH ! Also, If you have any idea where I can get those "I'm-style-icon-and-I-assume-it" shades then drop me a mail ASAP ! Otherwise, be good to yourself and download this extremely hot remix of N*E*R*D's new hit from their last album. It features N*E*R*D remixing their already cool "Everyone Nose" with Pusha T, Lupe Fiasco & no other than Kanye West himself. Turn the volume knob right up and enjoy this track very loud ! It contains explicit lyrics, please lock your kids away.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/everyone-nose-remix.mp3] N*E*R*D ft. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco & Pusha T - Everyone Nose Remix

And to round off this post nicely, please check out the video that comes with this remix :

bdaymum

Sodwee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:29:06 +0000

bdaynick

Sodwee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:31:34 +0000

bdad

Sodwee — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:33:40 +0000

Airboy does NYC / Teaser

Sodwee — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:00:30 +0000

I've asked his correspondants across the Atlantic to shoot some special footage before I come over for my next layover. The soundtrack is courtesy of the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing "Date With A Night". Here is the result... A long hip-hop version will be posted as I come back from the trip...

Airboy does NYC | Teaser
envoyé par Sodwee

Be sure to stay tuned in the next couple of weeks as we have some juicy stuff to share ! Go comment !

Brazilians forsee our rosters

Sodwee — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:48:06 +0000

At the end of every month the adrenaline rush starts to pump frantically in anticipation of the rosters and payslips. It's the best moment as we're able to see where we'll be heading for the next month. Not only that, it enables us to sketch a plan of some sort for the month ahead too. Us Grade 2's get our rosters on the 27th. So having Brazilians (K & D)at home is puuuuuurfect... Not only it's carnaval on a daily basis, but they have this ability to forsee their roster before everyone else. It takes an herculean effort to check those hundreds of flight for every day throughout the whole month... I know some might say why we don't wait another 2 days and get a neatly crafted personalized roster... but the pressure is too big, it's like changing the clock to 2 hours ahead on christmas to open the presents a little earlier... you know that feeling.... The fact that amazing turnaround destinations such as Hyderabad or worse for worse, Cairo, are hoovering above our heads like a Sword of Damocles. And because it's an automatic system that allocates flights depending on many factors like your seniority, the group you're in and so forth, the odds of knowing where you'll be flying are close to nil. So you can only imagine what kind of state the 10,000 crew here in Dubai are in. So to cut a long story short, I have managed to look up my roster partly and discovered I'll be home twice, checking out Osaka (KIX) twice and the rest of the planning remains mystery until the 27th. Bam Bam Mayjjjjjjjjjjjahhhhhhhhh KABooooooooooooooooSH !

Happy Birthday to MotherOfSodwee !

Sodwee — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:03:38 +0000

September Roster is MAGNIFIQUE

Sodwee — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:54:40 +0000

This month is my top bid, after working like a British Airways FA last month doing back to backs of Turnarounds and such here is my roster for September !! Share your anger in the comments.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	DXB - CDG
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
out	CDG - DXB	XX	DXB - CDG	out	CDG - DXB	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - CDG	out	CDG - DXB	XX	XX	XX	DXB - KIX
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
out	KIX - DXB	XX	XX	XX	DXB - KIX	out
29	30	31
KIX - DXB	XX	XX

XX = Day Off out = layover hols = Holidays

Airboy Does Paris

Sodwee — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:31:02 +0000

Airboy Does Paris

Mainstream isn't so bad, or is it ?

Sodwee — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:06:12 +0000

Songs that DO NOT & WILL NEVER make it to my iPod but somehow managed to squeeze in this week's top played tracks on my laptop. [eyes look down in shame].

Leona Lewis - Better With Time } I don't know what happened with this one but I admit I had to listen, I mean come on, the hottie girl is on top of the charts at the moment how can I not listen to her.
Lil' Wayne - Lollipop } Just because the lyrics are so carefully picked.
Infernal - From Paris To Berlin } It's my alarm clock tune, and YES it IS a valid excuse.
Muse - New Born } This band is actually a BIG NO GO anywhere near my devices, but this song matches perfectly the daily walk down Sheikh Zayed toward LIFCO (supermarket).
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive } No excuse what so ever. I apologize, my speakers are now fighting back.
Shola Ama - You Might Need Somebody } One Hit Wonder, felt nostalgic.
Vengaboyz - We're Going To Ibiza } Erm, this is probably the worst one. I think I needed a laugh or something.
Dido - Here With Me } I thought it was raining, but obviously it wasn't.
Bronski Beat - Why } Ahah this was my attempt at a workout session.

On the other hand, here are the newish bands & artists we and that deserved a credit on the blog :

Kenna - Say Goodbye To Love
The Last Shadow Puppets - Standing Next To Me
Gabriella Cilmi
The Script
Panda Riot
Flobots
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D
S A N T O G O L D

Bedtime For Toys

Voili voilou. This was todays post.

Airboy Sodwee

Sodwee — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:41:10 +0000

Airboy Sodwee

DOWNLOADABLES #57 / No One Knows

Sodwee — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:18:12 +0000

Our last post on N*E*R*D sparked some frenzie amongst you music afficionados and today I'm adding to the ever so popular DOWNLOADABLES. But with a twist, only one cover and some new material that has just began airing on UK radios as well as top notch internet-cool-indie webradios I won't name. I have also changed the cover art to go with this month parisian trend. I feeling uber-lazy today so I'll just let you discover the tunes for yourself and carry on with my laundry... Just a hint, The Divine Comedy did a brilliant cover of "No One Knows" originally by QOTSA (Queen Of The Stone Age for the non educated).

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/04%20Say%20Goodbye%20To%20Love.mp3] Kenna - Say Goodbye To Love [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/No%20One%20Knows.mp3] The Divine Comedy - No One Knows (Queen Of The Stone Age cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/01%20Superstition%20(Justice%20JNSTY%20Remix%20_%20Edit).mp3] Stevie Wonder - Superstition (Justice remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/04%20Stepping%20Stone.mp3] Duffy - Stepping Stone [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/02%20Sweet%20About%20Me.mp3] Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/California%20Soul.mp3] Marlena Shaw - California Soul ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE MERCYLESSLY·

On another note, I wanted to share this with for quite some time now. One of my friends here in Dub-Dub, Benjamin it was, showed me a killing video on his Playstation 3 the other day, and I thought I'd post it up here. It's a band called Gush (I think they are French, from Brittany) and this track called "Blow Frankie" is damn catchy. Love the dance routine the lead singer puts together. Very primitive but oh so funny.

Finally while we're at it, check this student video for their end of year project. They had to come up with a music video so they thought kicking any other music video out on MTV at the moment was the only way to do it. It's unbelievably well executed I say : University Lipdub (HS Furtwangen) from DASKAjA on Vimeo.

marjorie_dawes

Sodwee — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:27:07 +0000

My light hearted response to hate mail.

Sodwee — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:28:13 +0000

Yeah cuz I've been receiving some hate mail lately of very fustrated people. That's my response. Had a kick out of it too ! Send me more hate mail, or "Gimme More" as Britney would say! Make someone's day ! By the way, the sound clip is from the infamous Little Britain series. In particular Marjorie Dawes.

Happy Birthday to BrotherOfSodwee

Sodwee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:03:41 +0000

Happy Birthday Bro. Have fun, drink moderately. Unfortunately, I will be in New York and unable to attend the shenaningans. Will you forgive me ? I'll will try my best to call you from the Big Apple so you get a feel of how good my layover is !! I did write this five weeks ago, it's called a scheduled post so that I do not forget to say Happy Bday. Ain't it cool !?? When I turned 20 I was forced to drink a yard of ale at 8 o' clock in the evening and finish the soiree with 20 shots of tequila, salt and lime... You can only imagine how I felt after that. I think I didn't even come back home that day so I could detox and face Mother with dignity.

Airboy does New York City

Sodwee — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:16:59 +0000

The prospect of having to spend 14 hours with not-so-frequent flyers, and therefore very demanding, wasn't the best of rewards. Fortunately, we landed safely in the [free] country. I spent half the flight trying to explain we'll be handing out customs leaflets and immigration cards before our approach of JFK international to my passengers misunderstanding. There were very unattentive to the video we played them detailing every aspect of American Immigration... Next thing you know, they complain their In-flight system doesn't work and want a bloody upgrade to F/C ! By the way passengers would complain for not having peanuts and DEMAND an upgrade... *sigh*. The best thing about being FG1 (crew that operate in First Class) is that they don't have to deal with those unreal crazy pax because there is no where else to upgrade ! Anyway.

For the bigger part of the flight it was OK, especially the time when you can lie down and relax in a peaceful environment such as the CRC (Crew Rest Compartment). Get some sleep with the so called PowerNap, then wake up in an awful state and serve some more. Landed in New York City and didn't feel that bad so decided with Mel, Bourane and myself to head downtown for some sightseeing. That's where troubles started. We planned our way up to 5th Avenue very badly as we got miserably lost in the subway. Instead of heading downtown we we're riding out to the suburbs. So as soon as we realised, we jumped of only to take another wrong train that drove us even further away of where we were supposed to end up. At that point we decided to ask. Can I add that we didn't have a map or nuthin' and decided to go for the adventure. After some wise questionning of locals they gave us the way to 5th avenue. So all in all we probably spent over 1 hour and a half in that stinky, sweaty, hot subway. Emerging just two blocks away from the famed avenue, the sun had come out and it started to get warmer. Perfect weather to walk arounf the city and getting a feel for it. I could easily see myself living there, in one the rooftop loft I spotted in Manhattan... But we'll leave that until I make a few bucks more. We hoped on the tube again for Times Square and Broadway which was eye-poping and really fun. Did the usual photo pose in front of all the led screens and what have you. We ate some sandwiches and strolled our way back up to Central Park and my favourite sight of the day : The Apple Store. No buys though, the queue at the counter was way too long for me to stay in line. So it was a quick zip-in zip-out and we went to relax in the Park nearby. We had walked quite a fair bit by that time and our legs were doing the wobbly. So we tried to head back to the hotel but, as things never happen thrice, we got lost a fourth time. This time we thought we were going the right way but at a split of this yellow line we managed to take the wrong carriage and ended up somewhere far north of where we were supposed to be. So we came back on our footsteps and took the other split. We finally made it to our hotel in Brooklyn and slept until wake up call. Check out the pictures below : svgallery=newyork CHeeriooo !

subwaynycairboy

Sodwee — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:28:30 +0000

06-billie-jean-michael-jackson-cover

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:06:09 +0000

21_chris_cornell

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:19:14 +0000

Ohh nooooo he didn't !

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:19:45 +0000

I think I have found the worst cover ever performed by the worst artist to have made it to MTV, to mankinds despare. It's 4 minutes and 27 seconds of pure agony, the kinda sound that comes across as pain, the kind of track you'd only play to get your barking dog to shut it and stay quiet, you know. It actually sounds like he's giving birth to a donkey and singing at the same time. If you get the visuals, you'll understand what I'm trying to say. The murderer is named Chris Cornell, a shitious American amateur rock musician best known as the lead singer and songwriter for rock bands Soundgarden (oh God, I can remember how bad this band was, I was only 12 at the time and still in my Ace Of Base period) and Audioslave (slightly better but still light years away from the worst Eurovision winner). And this fella thought it would be a cool idea to cover the one and only King Of Pop. The Almighty "Billie Jean" gets slaughtered big time by Cornell's awful, gutural vocals and his approximate acoustic guitar work. It sounds like he wants to impress his audience here (a bunch of fustrated swedish tween groupies payed to attend his unplugged jam session). Only thinking of his performance gives me the goosebumps - in a hyper-bad way. Should I publicize his rendition or should I just carry on with what I like best ? Ok I need to make my point here so I'm gonna share this track with you. And if you're a Chris Cornell fan, GO HIDE NOW or if brave enough, you can leave a comment/reaction/hatemail in the comment section below with your name and email so I can respond...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/06-billie-jean-michael-jackson-cover.mp3] Chris Cornell - Billie Jean (Michael Jackson cover)

ITW / Miss M, landlordess of Tampax Towers

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:27:02 +0000

If you're a die hard fan of Airboy, you've probably read about Melissa and her adventures in the Sandpit through her blog TampaxTowers because we mentioned her quite a few times. We, at Airboy, discovered her ramblings way back when I was still serving those minted Americans at the Westin Hotel in Paris. It was back when I applied to be a Cabin Crew for Emirates and before my Open Day. I googled "Emirates Cabin Crew Blog" - as many of you do daily - and clicked the first link I saw (unfortunately for misses now, I have the first spot up there in the results mwouahahahahah). I got hooked... along with other bloggers I will try to interview later on.

http://tampaxtowers.blogspot.com

Not only did I get the job. Not only did I move to Dubai 6 months ago. I even got a flat under miss M. We met a couple times already but with our messy rosters it is hard to have a chat. In actual fact it's a right Kerfuffle. So where where we, oh yeah... I have attempted to interview her via email, although I could have hoped on the lift and ask her some questions, but no, we Cabin Crew like to keep our distances. But in a matter of minutes, M. came with the answer to my email. So here is the entire ITW of Landlordess of the Tampax Towers blog. Airboy : Hi there Melissa, hope you're nice and comfy, cause this might take some time. No flights to catch in the next hour or so ? Melissa : Well I am supposed to be sleeping for a Doha... A : Sorry I'm pestering you during your rest... Ok, let's carry on, you have a blog called Tampax Towers upon the internetz and it's getting quite a fair amount of readers... How do you cope with the sudden fame ? M : I kinda had to edit some previous posts, the blog was featured in a local newspaper here and some people at work had alerted me to it, and I didn't want to end up the next Queen of the Sky. Aside from that I haven't had to do anything differently, anyone that has read it has been supportive and in general the response has been positive. A : Oh well, I heard you have friends in the higher spheres such as Tiger Woods, what is he like ? M : Er, I just have a photo with him taken last year during the Dubai Desert classic. He was really sweet to us girls, kept offering us chocolates from the refreshment fridges they have at every tee on the course, and got really excited when he saw there were Kit Kats in there. A : Right O'. What is this love/hate relationship you maintain with Etisalat, tell us more about it ! M : They screw up my internet! And now that it's working, they haven't sent me a single bill! It's been 3 months now and I've been to the branch in person twice now to sort this out, I mean I want to give them money but if they don't send me a bill of course my payments are gonna be late! Grrrr. A : I had a few issues with them, I've suscribed for their TV pack a month ago and they still haven't showed up... but that's for later. Ok now down to business. How long does it take you to get that lipstick on ? What about that hat & scarf, how do you manage to keep it as beige as it is ?? You know with the wind it can get stained either with foundation or that red stuff... tell our other Cabin Crew readers how you deal with such an issue ! M : Two words - wet wipes. A : The other day I was in the crew bus dosing off to my iPod after a horrible turnaround and you climbed on... You didn't want to disturb me, was this part of the "Promote Privacy" policy you were following ? Did you actually take your shoes off and walked on your toes so I could take a nap ? M : I didn't disturb you because your body language screamed "Do Not Disturb". Plus I feared that if I introduced yourself whilst you were fragile after such a flight, that the can of Coke you had in your hand would prompty end up somewhere on my uniform. Lemme guess, you're not that much of a morning person... A : Google LOL. It's true though, I look like a year old lettuce after dreadful turnarounds... awww classic... Ok next question, you're in the bus heading to the CBC for a flight bound for Hyderabad in India, which track will your iPod Touch play ? M : Anything by Ben Folds. Ben folds sounds something like this : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/22%20Brick%20(Acoustic).mp3] Ben Folds - Brick (acoustic) A : And if it was a flight to Perth, Australia ? M : The Flight of the Conchords album. The Flight Of The Conchords sounds something like this : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/01%20Business%20Time.mp3] The Flight Of The Conchords - Business Time A : Tell us more about your hometown, Perth, can you describe the city for our readers ? The people, maybe tell us where to go while on Layover there !?? That would be fantastic. M : If you're on a layover go to Northbridge as it's where the decent clubs and resturants are. Go for a bike ride along the river if the weather's nice. If you have a day free, you can go to Fremantle (Freo) and have the best Fish & Chips at Cicerellos, then skull a coffee at Gino's on the Cappucino strip. And don't be surprised if you can't find a 7/11 or Starbucks. There aren't any. A : Ohhh sounds snazzz. I come from Paaaaaarrrreeeee ! Have you ever been there ? M : Yes but not since 2005 A : What did you like best apart from the cheese, the bread, the monuments, the shopping, the great fashion style we have and of course the awesomeness of French males...? M : The accent. Actually any Euro accent I find zexy. A : Tell us about the worst flight you have ever operated, be kind, loose the names for confidential reasons... ! M : It was Moscow around Feb this year. I have a post about it on my blog, but to summarise there was blood, urine, faeces and vomit everywhere in Economy. There were even punches thrown. Thank goodness I was working business. Mind you, I would do a Moscow layover again in a heartbeat. A : If you had the liberty of choosing your door for a flight, which one would it be and why ? M : It depends on which cabin. In economy I always chose the galley if there was one, if not then I would chose the most aft RHS door because passengers wouldn't see your bloodshot eyes from sleep deprivation. In premium cabins it was always the Duty Free, cause I need the $$$ for my next big investment gamble. A : I bet you had a crush on a Crew before, give us names ! M : I'm not giving any names, but yes there was one. I got really hurt. That's all I'm saying. A : Back in Dubai now... What could you add to the city's already thriving environment to make your life here much more enjoyable ? (for example, I could definately do with a french bakery at the bottom of the building instead of a Avis Rental Car boutique)... M : I would love a fresh juice bar somewhere on my side of SZR. And a Spinneys within walking distance. And a Lime Tree cafe. A : Ok, what do you think of our wonderful taxi drivers ? A one word sentence can do the trick... M : Dangerous A : What is your favourite container in the AFT galley ? Tell me you luuuuuuuuuuve these Ginger Nuts ! M : The baby amenities, because you can play tricks with the new GR2's using a nappy and a bar of chocolate. And any day when the dry stores have Oreos is a good day indeed. A : Did you ever get lost trying to find the FedEx counter in the headquarters ? M : No, I refuse to send mail from here, the one and only time I sent something it arrived 5 months late. A : No ! I would of guess so, I'm the only sad twat who looks for a FedEx counter on my days off... *sigh*. Do you miss you training college days ? M : No. Aside from getting gasto from the Cafeteria, there was a huge falling out within our batch. I quite like the SEP recurrent days though. A : We have potentially dangerous jobs up there at 35,000 feet, but on ground, have you ever feared for your life here in Dubai ? M : Only in a Taxi A : Ok so I think we'll wrap it up here, one last question. How did you find out about Airboy and his blog ? M : I have spies around the internets. Gotta know who my competition are ;-) A : Thanks ever so much for taking your week off to answer my questions, much appreciated. Speak to you soon and keep blogging ! So that's our first Interview ever wrapped. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting this together. I've sent a couple questions over to other CCs around Dubai so surely we'll have some more of those in the near future. Arrivedecci people. Speak to you soon.

jumpseat

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:55:24 +0000

australiam

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:17:33 +0000

Sarah Palin & John McCain on Airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:26:41 +0000

Sarah Palin & John McCain on Airboy.sodwee.com

I admit.

Sodwee — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:38:36 +0000

Yes I have spent 45 minutes of my spare time watching the Republican National Convention on YouTube today. I never thought a political convention would so entertaining ! They had flocks of elderly cheering their hearts out to the point one of them collapsed in the moshpit, and flags, balloons, amazing video backdrops, a very family orientated speech, large pan shots of Palin's teen mother Bristol and so forth. I also wanted to go out on a search of the funniest picture I could find on the wannabe VP (Vice President). I didn't have to go too far... A simple query on the googlez image search and there I was flooded with thousands of crazy pictures of the most saught after woman in the US and A. Here's my pick, she is seen here holding John McCain in her arms, don't they look so cute together ? So by now you probably know who I would of voted for if I had been a US Citizen. Thankfully I'm French. In other exciting news for the day I got another extraordinary email sent through the FAQ about Emirates Airlines... and it read :

" how do we measure minimum arm reach of 212cm on tip toes ? "

If you have any idea of what kind of answer I can send back, then I'm all yours. Because I'm clueless. Bravo Bikersrock you get the Gold Najm for best email of the week ! If you are the author of this email and reading this, please forgive me but I had to share this. I send all my apologies your way...

madonna-concert-car_795367c

Sodwee — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:07:58 +0000

madonna_502112a

Sodwee — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:08:06 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #58 / Blue Monday in Hollywood

Sodwee — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:01:56 +0000

On our quest to educate the masses to new cool tunes... today is no different and here's the DOWNLOADABLES many of you have been waiting for, it's more of a Madonna special than anything else but hey !. Some kick ass material awaits your blessed speakers ! All I can say is that I fell in love with The Cloud Room's cover of "Blue Monday" (New Order cover) as well as Cansei de Ser Sexy's try at having a punk/synth fueled version of Hollywood by the 50 year young Madonna. Otherwise enjoy the rest of the mp3s !! React in the comment section...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Blue%20Monday%20(New%20Order%20Cover).mp3] The Cloud Room - Blue Monday (New Order cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Kids%20(MGMT%20Cover).mp3] The Kooks - Kids (MGMT cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/16%20Like%20A%20Virgin%20(Madonna%20Cover).mp3] Ryan Adams - Like A Virgin (Madonna cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/01%20Lollipop%20Cover.mp3] Dave Days - Lillipop (Lil' Wayne cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/12%20Ray%20Of%20Light%20(Madonna%20Cover).mp3] Natasha Beddingfield - Ray Of Light (Madonna cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Take%20On%20Me%20(A%20Ha%20Cover).mp3] RAC ft. Karl Kling - Take On Me (A-ha cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/What%20A%20Wonderful%20World%20(Louis%20Armstrong%20Cover).mp3] The Flaming Lips - What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/10%20Hollywood%20(Madonna%20cover).mp3] Cansei de Ser Sexy - Hollywood (Madonna cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/14%20California%20Dreamin%20(Mamas%20and%20The%20Papas%20Cover).mp3] Guster - California Dreamin' (The Mamas & The Papas cover)

the good old days

Sodwee — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:58:55 +0000

I've just dug up the photo archives that have been hidden within the abysse of my hard-drive and found some pretty hilarious pictures. Before I started living the high life being a Cabin Crew for Emirates I used to work in the restaurant/bar industry in Paris. I started Geography at University after high-school but I was so eager to see something of the world, so eager to earn my own dosh and just get out of the academic system for a while... I dumped the course after 6 months. In any case my attendance at the classes wasn't brilliant either so I thought I could do something more productive with my life. I started giving out CV all over Paris for a summer job and Dad recomended me to drop one by The Frog @ Bercy Village in the 12th District of Paris. So I did. I was surprised when Tory (General Manager) called me two days later to have "a chat" as she said, it was nothing more than a conventional job interview. I started a day later as a bus boy, running back and forth from the Sri-Lankan filled kitchen to the customers tables, serving Quesadillas and Beefburgers to the hungry punters. What was supposed to be a summer job, finally ended up in being a 3 year debauchery (pictures are here to prove it). I went up the social ladder in that pub, from Bus Boy to Barman and then moving on to be Shift Manager in one of the other branches they have in Paris then Toulouse in the south of France. In between serving "home-brewed" beers and hand-made beefburger patties, we would have a hell of a time secretly drinking shots to boost the stamina and sell more beers. Of course, the pub industry is quite well known for indulging their staff with brilliant perks, like the €1 pint of lager or half price meals... So you can only imagine the state of the barmaids/barmans/waiters after closing... I can certainly say I had the best time. Especially when my other friends were hard at work finishing their mid term exams and what have you. I met so many crazy people in those 4 years (in total) working with FrogPubs. Everyone was off the hook in that company, from top to bottom, and I'm not talking about the kitchen staff cause they are something of their kind ! Customers used to love it when the whole staff would start a dance routine to Prince's "Kiss" song instead of taking orders !! I keep blurred fond memories of that place. Big up to whoever knows me from there ! svgallery=frog Otherwise I also found some pictures from the training days in Dubai... our SEP training as well as first aid and service. Take a look. I miss my batchmates but it is a nightmare trying to organise a night out as everyone is flying different times and places ! svgallery=training Finally I'll be heading to Europe this Sunday, to Paris exactly, my hometown... I've been waiting for this flight to happen for the past 3 months and I'm already dribbling in anticipation ! Will tell you all about it in the next "Airboy does XXX"... Stay tuned ! OHHHHH and before I woom off, the photo albums are back up for your viewing pleasure. You will find the link to the page at the top left of this one in the navigation box... Enjoy.

picture-1

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:59:17 +0000

coletteairboy

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:12:11 +0000

airboycolette

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:19:30 +0000

malta-077

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:50:11 +0000

pamann

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:09:38 +0000

Tu connais Colette ??!

Sodwee — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:04:03 +0000

In a moment of lucidity the other day, hoovering, I was thinking which tune could summarize the Parisian atmosphere best... I went through a lot of tracks and couldn't find the perfect one. Until today. The only problem is that the track wasn't made by Frenchies. But Belgians. A pair of amazing DJs named 2 Many DJs or Soulwax which either you prefer, it doesn't really matter. These two guys rock the hell, literally. I have a good friend (wannabe DJ himself) who sent me a bunch of their material - their whole discography in fact - and this track was part of the bundle. So, let me explain "le pourquoi du comment". There is a "boutique" on 213 rue St Honore in the heart of Paris that is an institution for whoever is a style-eater, fashion-maniac and/or a cool "avant-garde" dude. It's basically an event store that changes theme/artist/designer every week. The shop is called COLETTE and is supra well known in the industry for setting standards, discovering new artists, getting exclusives on limited edition stuff and so on. And because Colette (which is also the name of the lady who owns the trademark) is a celebrity of her own, she asked these two DJs to make a mix for her so that the shoppers go on a musical rollercoaster. The result is amazing and encapsulates the whole feeling of Paris, you can almost smell the pouring rain on the warm tarmac... and that dog turd balancing on the edge of the pavement.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Mix%20for%20Colette%2004.mp3] 2 Many DJs - Mix for Colette 2004

With french vocals here and there, the likes of Peaches, Chicks On Speed and no other than Johnny Depp's wife Vanessa Paradis (once famed for singing Joe Le Taxi). It's 16 minutes long, and it's freakin' E-P-I-C ! If you're in Paris and looking for gifts, limited edition sneakers or else that is a good stop, it can get a little pricey, but it's Paaaaaaarrrrrreeeeeee ! Until then, be sure to download this mp3 because it's defo a MUST HAVE. Visit www.colette.fr for more.

kiwi

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:08:47 +0000

ITW / The Flying Kiwi a.k.a. Mat

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:30:38 +0000

This is our second interview of a Cabin Crew based in Dub-Dub. And today we have a Kiwi blogger to ask questions to !! Mister is from New Zealand and has been working with Emirates long enough to analyze every single passenger profile within 3 seconds. He updates his blog with witty, well written and hilarious entries, be sure to check out his travel rants and suscribe to the feed. The Flying Kiwi works in First Class on the A380, the new Jumbo Jet.

http://matcleaver.blogspot.com

We found out about the Flying Kiwi as we were searching for even more information on Emirates. As the corporate website only gives just a few pieces of information, the crew/employee blogs are the direction to take if you need some in depth gossip about the company you're going to work for. So here goes, we thank Mat for his time and kindness for answering those questions and we hope you like it !

Airboy : Hi there Mat, how are you doing today ? No doors to man in the next few minutes cause I have a few questions for ya. Let me introduce you. You're a blogger amongst the lucky A380 fleet here in Dub-Dub. You've recently graduated and now fully operational on the new Big Mamma that Emirates has just introduced. As I've said you're a blogger and the proud Daddy of The Flying Kiwi... Tell us more about you apart from the fact that you were born on the same day as I ! Mat : Ah yes, September Babies we are. I hail from the bottom of the world, New Zealand, Christchurch to be exact. Lord of the Rings Country. Growing up I had no interest in becoming a Flight Attendant, being that I used to be Ground Staff for an airline in NZL I had a typically narrow-minded view on what Cabin Crew are all about. I knew however that when Virgin Blue began recruiting in my country back in 2003 for the launch of their new International Airline, Pacific Blue, I HAD to work for them. Jobs as Cabin Crew were advertised first, and so I applied, and was selected as the one of the 50 'Launch Crew' and have never looked back. This chapter of my life is perhaps the happiest and most rewarding. A : Ok, let's carry on, you have a blog called The Flying Kiwi upon the internetz and it's getting quite a fair amount of readers... Why did you start writting, any particular aim or is just for fun ? M : When I moved to Dubai to work for Emirates I used to send a mass-email to my nearest and dearest back home which used to become so long-winded and packed FULL of the adventures I had been on. I decided to launch The Flying Kiwi primarily for these people back there, as a less obtrusive way for them to read about these adventures, in their own time, and not just when I forced an email upon them. I never actually intended to have the global readership that I now have. It is very strange that people in every corner of the world are actually interested in what I am upto, but it now also means that I have to be a bit more selective in what I write about. A : Right, what is like to be on the biggest pressurized tube in the world ? Any advice for our passengers as what to NOT DO onboard ? M : The A380... Well, for me, working upstairs in the First Class cabin absolutely has its advantages. When you are up there, you have no concept that there is an entire 'other plane' below you with 399 hungry Economy Class customers ringing their callbells. For me, I have 14 people dining the flight away, which makes things very nice. What not to do? If I were a passenger, I wouldn't bash and knock myself against the walls of the main-deck installed CRC (crew rest compatment). It gets us very upset as we try and sleep inside it. It is about as soundproof as a tin-can in a hail storm :-) A : Ahah. I've read that you digg windmills big time, what so special about them ? When did your relationship with them start ? M : Look, I can appreciate a good windmill, can't we all. I wouldnt say it is much of a romantic relationship, but sure, as they say, when in Holland, do as the Hollandese (??) do! So if that means a love for windmills then I am there. A : I had a few issues with them, but that's for later. Ok now down to business. As part of the A380 fleet you were one of the lucky few to get a new uniform to parade about in CBC, how does that feel ? What kind of looks do you get us in our beige potato bags and sky blue jackets ? M : The new uniform is great. It feels so smart and much more professional and corporate than the beige and blue number I used to don. It is not so much the looks that we give to the old uniform wearers, its the looks that we get from them. The Cabin Crew are great, they look at us and 99% of the time have really positive things to say. Its the Flight Crew that seem to look us up and down, without saying much at all. I am yet to work out if that is a good thing or not! A : Yeh I know, I'm jealous. Because you only get 2 flights a month, what the heck do you do in Dubai for the rest of time ?? I would like to know ! M : We are VERY fortunate at the moment to have just 2 or 3 flights in a month. Without wanting to disregard the other great crew we have working really hard on the mainfleet, we really need the downtime to recover after a journey on that superjumbo beast! As with the introduction of any new aircraft into a fleet, there are teething problems, and as all the world's eyes are on us to deliver the best inflight product, we are, at times, close to tears on board as things arent working around us, as they should, while we try our best to hold it together, for the sake of the airline image and the customer experince. But once I have recovered after a duty, it is so nice to sleep. In my own bed. Luxury! It has also given me a chance to really get into the gym, socialise over a Tall Latte, and I am about to begin teaching myself Spanish. Fortunately, I have also had the chance to travel; Amsterdam and Hamburg in the last month. A : Ok next question, you're in the bus heading to the CBC for a flight bound for New York, you know you'll have 400 hungry passengers by the time you board the plane, which track will your iPod Touch play ? M : Thankfully I dont have to worry about 400 mouths, just 14, so my main thought is wondering whether I will remember my SEP knowledge! Yes, we only have one aircraft to remember now, but because it can be 2 to 3 weeks between flights, it means we have to refresh our memories more often! The ol' iPod Touch has all sorts of music to get me going... It is about 0530am when I am on the bus heading to work for a New York so it has to be something motivating to make me want to be awake so early! A : And if it was a flight to NZ on a A330-200 ? M : I would be wondering, first of all, whether an A330-200 would make it all the way to New Zealand, but I would be getting in the mood with a bit of Kiwiana, maybe Welcome Home by Dave Dobbyn. The song that would make most expat Kiwi's weep with homesickness for a month! A : Tell us more about your hometown, can you describe the city for our readers ? The people, maybe tell us where to go while on Layover there !?? That would be fantastic. M : Christchurch... The most English City outside of England. It can sometimes be a bit sleepy, but I think that is part of its charm. People are really welcoming and friendly, and this gives the most amazing lifestyle to grow up in. People have space, we have homes with huge sections to have gardens and back lawns. The Avon River flows through the central city and summer time in Hagley Park is unmatched with its never-ending free concerts and outdoor wine and food festivals. In 24hrs, on a layover, you would be a fool to miss out on a walk around the Botanical Gardens in Spring, New Regent Street with its chic cafes and boutiques. For late night antics, the restaurants on The Strip (Oxford Tce) turn into pumping nightclubs, but be warned, Christchurch folk tend to save their nocturnal ways for Thu, Fri & Sat nights only, and you wouldnt head to the clubs until 23:30 or later. Coffee and Bagels are a must at Yellow Rocket in Cathedral Square. Mmmm. I'm starting to salivate at the thought! A : I come from Paaaaaarrrreeeee ! Have you ever been there ? M : ONCE! I was so excited! I recruited one of the guys from my crew, a Danish guy, to show me the ropes. As we stay at the airport, we took the train into central Paris and explored so much we got back to the hotel 15min before the wakeup call. I was so exhausted, I ended up having to deadhead for the second half of the flight as I got really sick from the lack of energy! Whoops! A : What did you like best apart from the cheese, the bread, the monuments, the shopping, and what have you...? M : The culture on every street! It was winter, so I loved seeing everyone dressed up in their big coats. Eating lunch on the Champs Elysees was a highlight, despite having to mortgage my life away to afford it, it was one of those must-do things. A : Tell us about the worst flight you have ever operated, be kind, loose the names for confidential reasons... ! M : Jeddah. I was unfortunate in my days as a Gr2 (economy class crew) to get one of these beauties at least once a month. For those of you in the know, trying to swap a JED is like winning the Powerball Jackpot, it doesnt happen. I may have used words I am not proud of, on several of those flights, but some people can be so incredibly unreasonable when it comes to finding a non-existant Chicken Biryani at 35,000ft. A : If you had the liberty of choosing your door for a flight, which one would it be and why ? M : If I was on the mainfleet, I would be taking not a door, but downgrading myself to Economy and selfishly using my seniority and getting myself the R5A position. The BEST position on the aircraft. Nowadays, on the A380, I wouldnt have a clue. I have only had 2 flights in the last 3 months, so I don't know yet what each onboard position does! A : I bet you had a crush on a Crew before, give us names ! M : 3 years ago I met my crush as we both sat as passengers on a Qantas flight in New Zealand. We are still together now and having moved to Dubai together we are having the time of our lives. A : Back in Dubai now... What could you add to the city's already thriving environment to make your life here much more enjoyable ? (for example, I could definately do with a french bakery at the bottom of the building instead of a Avis Rental Car boutique)... M : More lanes on the roads! 6 lanes in each direction along Sheikh Zayed Rd just arent enough. I think a Driver Education campaign would go a long way to changing the traffic environment. A few less grey hairs would have sprouted!! A : Ok, what do you think of our wonderful taxi drivers ? A one word sentence can do the trick... M : Thank god I have my own car! A : What is your favourite container in the AFT galley ? Tell me you luuuuuuuuuuve those Ginger Nuts ! M : It depends on whether we are talking about the Main Deck AFT Galley or the Upper Deck AFT Galley. Ginger Nuts? Since when do we have Ginger Nuts? I need to go down to Economy Class more often, we just have revolting Digestives up the front. I don't need to be any more regular... A : Did you ever get lost trying to find the FedEx counter in the headquarters ? M : Ummm, can't say I have... But with the lack of signage in that building, you could be forgiven for losing your way to the toilet! A : No ! I would of guess so, I'm the only sad twat who looks for a FedEx counter on my days off... *sigh*. Do you miss your training college days ? M : Not really... I am there so much these days anyway! The new college is SO much better than the old one. I certainly don't miss the dungeon lunch room, nor the 'Old College Smell' - it would be in your clothes for weeks!! A : We have potentially dangerous jobs up there at 35,000 feet, but on ground, have you ever feared for your life in Dubai ? M : When the Brits issued their recent UAE terror threat, I will be honest, and tell you I registered myself with the Kiwi Consulate, just in case something happened to me! A : Ok so I think we'll wrap it up here, one last question. How did you find out about Airboy and his blog ? M : I think you found me!!!? A : Big up for answering all those questions ! Happy blogging !

Hey this was our second ITW and we thinks we'll have some more coming your way very soon !

READ THE PREVIOUS INTERVIEW, CLICK HERE !

57040

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:16:55 +0000

Airboy does Paris

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:22:14 +0000

Blimey, it's so nice to be back in the hood. Where I grew up. Nice to see Father, Mother and Brother all well and having a blast with their new toy : a blender. Mum's enthusiasm about the machine is beyond belief. She's so excited about making fresh pina coladas that she had to show me the thing as soon as I stepped in the flat after a 6 hour flight ! Dad aswell is quite fond of his blender. He also bought a recipe book to go along and will for sure make some amazing fresh fruit smoothies when I go back in two days ! Otherwise no photos what so ever this time, just a video that you can watch above. Why ? Because I spent the whole time with my loved one. Yes and I forgot my camera as I rushed into a cab forgetting the camera and her present... Ohhh well. I guess FedEx will come in handy after all. Paris was a blast as usual. Indulged myself with the legendary "demi" (which is a half pint of beer in a french brasserie) at a terrace on the St-Louis island bang in the center of the city, catching the sun while the thousands of tourists pass by looking upwards and walking straight through dogpile. The terrace we were at is located just meters away from where this pictures was taken from...

My next drip is another Paris which I'm also looking forwrd to, because I have friends on the flight. Richard, the only guy in town to have an Italian wheel cover on the back of his Jeep Wrangler will be joining the shenanigans as well as my Flatmate's friend Juan. I do not know yet if I'll be taking them round town once we land but somehow I know we'll have a good time on our way to Paaaarreeee. Be sure to tune in later on in the week to find out.

You can download the music from the video by clicking here

Voili voilou !

ITW | J-rad the American Boy

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:13:13 +0000

An American in Dubai, working for Emirates, is like a Maui in Iceland, you don't find them at every corner. This is the reason why we were forced to interview the only guy in town that gives FREE yoga lessons at 35,000 feet above sea level. This guy is hyper, he fuels up on Vitamins before each flight, no lie, and makes sure you have a blast onboard. Here is his interview. Check out his amazing pictures by clicking the link below... Puhhhhhhh-leaaaase weeeeeeeelcome JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ-rad !

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ifly2Dubai

Airboy : Good morning Jarad (pronounced J-rad), Let me introduce you to our readers, you're a very new-ish recruit here in Dubai, you actually joined like 1/2 weeks before me. We met on a flight to Singapore I think it was and stayed somewhat in contact since then. You're were born in the US and to a Flight Attendant mother. You are known for bursting out moves in the AFT galley when no one is around but many of us here in Dubai know your obsession... Anything else you want to add to your introduction ? J-rad :Well correction Airboy, I bust out moves even when people are watching... I even invite passenger into the rear galley for yoga stretches. But that's only on the Boeing 777 galley because you would kill yourself on an airbus trying to do the Downward Facing Dog. Other than that I think you hit the nail on the head. Wait one more thing... "American Boy" has officially become my Dubai theme song replacing my previous anthem "Pretty Fly for a White Guy." Crew insist on singing it whenever they're in my presence. A : Nice, ok so... you are a regular at this watering hole called Zulu India November Charlie or ZINC for the masses. What attracts you to this place, are you knocking up an anthropology thesis on how Cabin Crew behave in the late hours ? J-rad : Ah it's a splendid mix of people ranging from hookers to cabin crew (and some cabin crew who I think might be hookers) all packed into a rather small room blending together into a .. Ok I'll cut the crap it's mainly the 50% discount on booze and the cheesy 80's beats the DJ spins out on Monday night that bring me to our beloved second home. Another big draw is the people. The theme song from cheers sums it all up: Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see,our troubles are all the same.You wanna be where everybody knows Your name. You wanna go where people know, people are all the same, You wanna go where everybody knows your name... Not only do they know my name they all point at me when American Boy comes on. A : So you were born in America, not many crew here belong to this fraternity. Describe briefly what it feels like to be an American in Dub-Dub and how it affects your work. How many other American crew did you meet, knowing there isn't that much... J-rad : We are an endangered species here at Emirates. Fraternity we are not. That word means there's organizing. We're not at all organized like the Brazilian and the Maltese mafias. I've attempted to gather us together thru a Myspace group but there's only three members, one of which is not even crew. Being in American is Dubai is nice because Dubai in many ways is trying to be like a major US city. Well a US city on steroids. So I find many things in common with my old home and it's very comfortable for me. It affects my work in the way that everyone seems to be obsessed with America so when I introduce myself to my crew at the start of the flight I can guarantee by the end of the trip I will be asked 17 times: "What part of the states are you from?" and I will also know every state the members of the crew have visited as they all love to tell me. I've only met about 6 other Americans in Emirates A : I also heard you write a seasonal email to a large crowd back home... Any interesting stuff for us ? What about launching a photoblog because I know you love your camera as much as I love my Macbook...! J-rad : The reason I choose e-mail is because I think I would get pulled into my manger's office if my mailings were made public on a blog. In my e-mail I try to relay in words the crazy experiences we have as crew in the Middle East to my fellow Americans back home. They're amazed by the things that go down on the ground and in the skies in this part of the world. So I put a lot of Dubai life stories in there. I do love my Canon and taking photos. It's one of the main reasons I do this job. I want to be a travel photojournalist some day. I used to be a newspaper reporter and would enjoy getting back to that if ever my stint as a galley rat ends. But yes there could be a photo blog coming soon. I'm inspired by your site Airboy. I preview of my work is found here : http://picasaweb.google.com/Ifly2Dubai A : I'm a crane-aholic, that is why I moved out here. Are you ? J-rad : Yep they taste like chicken! And the airline business here is thriving... A : What is your favorite aircraft to work on and why ? J-rad : THE BOIENG 777. What did you think I was going to say I'm American? I'm going to piss you off right here Airboy, but the French are good at making wines not airplanes. I can't stand large Airbus models and fear for my life when I'm on them. I love the 777 because it doesn't sound like it's going to fall apart when it's taking off and landing like an Airbus. We Americans love big vehicles. So the bigger is better theory adds to my fascination of this plane. I think it's a well designed aircraft for crew. I like the ride, the space, the crew rest area, the galley space. It's a long list and as I mentioned earlier it has ample room in the back galley for several people to hold a yoga session. I also like the fact that like me it's made in the USA. We make planes better than we make cars that's for sure. I'm glad I work for Emirates as we will soon become the largest operator of 777 in the world. What can I say, they have good taste. A : Your favourite container ? J-rad : Ahh good questions. It's a toss up between dry stores and amenities. Well since we can use any of the stuff in the amenities container outside of the aircraft I will go with dry stores. Love the fruit biscuits in there. A : You are tall. Well taller than me, how do you maintain a good relationship with those overhead bins ? J-rad : Well yes I am tall. 6 feet 3 inches if you care to know. My relationship is not a good one with the bins because we meet way to often. Just about every flight my head and the hatrack will make beautiful music together. But being a tall cabin crew is not always a good thing. Sure we can close the bins and reach every container in the galley but having such a long frame means you have lots of back trouble from all the lifting. I've already done a month of physical therapy. So if I'm your cabin crew don't even think of asking me to put your bag in the bin. It's a no go! A : Ok, you're in the crew bus on your way to CBC, you have a flight for Mumbai, what will your iPod play ?? J-rad : Ok let me get my iPod... lets see here. Ok "You drive me Crazy" made famous by Miss Spears. I actually have a nice collection of Punjabi and Hindi beats on my iPod and I do listen to them before a flight to India. The chaotic melodies get me in the mood for the madness that awaits on board. To tell you the truth I have songs for each destination. Example "One Night in Bangkok" for my favorite city in Asia and Boney M's "Rasputin" would be the song of choice for Moscow. My iPod plays a big part in my job. I must listen to at least one good pop song before a flight to get me all bubbly and hyped to deal with the public. A : and for a flight to New York ? J-rad : Same as Mumbai. New York should be named New India. But my song for New York is Madonna's "I Love New York." Or something from Old Blue Eyes. Sinatra's music gets me in the New York spirit. A : Tell us about the worst flight you have ever operated, be kind, loose the names for confidential reasons... ! J-rad : I don't operate bad flights. I think every flight is amazing and if it's "challenging" (I don't use the words bad flight any more. I refer to them as challenging flights) then at least I will have something to write about in my e-mail blog. But I know you want something juicy here so I will say on a recent flight I really didn't like a certain crew member I was working with. I like hygiene and cleanliness. I threw a coffee away and made a fresh cup. A : If you had the liberty of choosing your door for a flight, which one would it be and why ? J-rad : I choose R5A. That's the mid galley position on the 777 which I fly 70 percent of the time. I like it for two reasons. I'm a galley rat and love being in control of the mid galley. The second reason is the location of the jump seat is in the tail and the rear of the aircraft has been proven to be the safest location to be sitting in case of a crash, if there is such a thing. Over wing is a BBQ central. All the fuel is located there and if my plane goes down I want a fighting chance. But I picked Emirates to work for because of their interest in safety and their safety record so I hope to never have to put my theory to the test. A : Haven't you had enough of going to Singapore ? J-rad : Well my wallet has. It loves to open up in Singapore. But yes, as this point in my career I don't enjoy going on repeat visits to places other than Malta, Manila and Bangkok and a few other choice destinations. They do love sending me to Southeast Asia. I've only flown to two European destination in the past six months. A : Back in Dubai now... What could you add to the city's already thriving environment to make your life here much more enjoyable ? (for example, I could definately do with a DVD rental at the bottom of the building instead of a Avis Rental Car boutique)... J-rad : TACO BELL and more Mexican restaurants. I'm killing for Taco Bell. This is the longest in my life I've had to go without it. For yall that don't know what it is. It's a Mexican food (although Mexicans would cringe at the thought of me calling it that) fast food restaurant in the US. I've heard they have one in Manila and have attempted many times to find it, as I get sent to Manila instead of New York all the time. There are many American restaurant brands in Dubai. The most I've ever seen outside of the US. But no Taco Bell. I would keep them in business if they were here. A : Ok, what do you think of our wonderful taxi drivers ? A one word sentence can do the trick... J-rad : Rude, no sense of direction, speak no English, can be agressive, bad music taste, selective with who they pick up and where they will take you, hate their lives, hate our lives, and surprisingly clean cars. I read recently that Dubai was sending them back to school. But to learn about the History of the area. That's the last thing they need to be taught. Let's start with location of major buildings. I think that would be a more applicable lesson. A : Lets imagine for a second you could pick celebrities to man the different doors on a B777-300 who would they be and explain why ! J-rad : What kind of question is that? Ellen Degeneres would be my perfect match. I would pick her to sit across at the opposite door because your door buddy should be someone who matches your personality. We both would be checking out our cabin for the hot chicks, we would always be Interviewing the three people in front of us, and I think we would have some amazing dance competitions in the back galley. As for the other doors I would choose Pam Ann as my Purser. If you don't know who she is and you're reading this blog you are missing out. Go youtube her. I would put models in the first class cabin because that cabin needs a facelift. All the hot crew are in economy. Other than that I will stick with my regular everyday Emirates cabin crew. We're an entertaining lot. A : Wagamama or Mcdonalds on a monday night ? J-rad : Wagamama come on. 50% off and it's good for you. I've never eaten a meal at McDonalds in Dubai. That would be way too American of me. A : Pepsi or Coca-Cola ? J-rad : Neither I only drink Water and booze. A : We have potentially dangerous jobs up there at 35,000 feet, but on ground, have you ever feared for your life in Dubai ? J-rad : Yes, in a taxi cab and when I'm in my friends apartment on the 49 floor of her high rise. American's have issues with tall buildings and Middle Easterners. I live on the 5th floor of my highrise. But Dubai is a very safe place and that's why I love living here. So the fear of death came much more often in the states. A : Ok so I think we'll wrap it up here, one last question. How did you find out about Airboy and his blog ? J-rad : Um I flew with you when you were just a baby flight attendant and I was a pre-teen steward. A : Thanks ever so much for staying up till the wee hours of the day to answer my questions, much appreciated. Speak to you soon and keep blogging ! J-rad : No problem I should have been getting much needed rest but this was way more fun. Thank you for giving me the chance to meet your readers and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I had staying awake until 7 am to finish it. It's nice to be on this side of the interview for a change and from a professional's point of view, great interview Airboy.

READ THE PREVIOUS INTERVIEW, CLICK HERE !

pinkpoodleontherunway airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:58:41 +0000

pinkpoodleontherunway airboy.sodwee.com

Happy Birthday To FatherOfSodwee

Sodwee — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:03:06 +0000

06-dont-wanna-be-left-out

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:21:31 +0000

Airboy does Paris...again.

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:52:11 +0000

This was my second Paris this month, and I have another one coming up. The crew on this one was exceptional. From the purser to the Grade 2s, we all had fun on-board. Both ways. Riccardo (Richard) managed to swap a flight to be on this CDG. And Juan, one of my flatmate Khalils friend was part of the trip too. The fun began in briefing against all odds. With jokes from around the table etc etc. I'll skip the uneventful flight towards Paris. We landed safely and after some water therapy (shower), Hannah, Nicolyn, Richard and myself got into a cab for central Paris. Where I would lead them to the Louvre and direct them to the Eiffel Tower. In between we had some pictures taken near the Tuileries fountains. Then I went off to meet my parents and brother in a bar near Bastille. Good times there and swooooshed off to my mates pad not far from there. All in all a great little stay in the city of love. The journey back was even more merrier. Najoua, a reader of the blog was travelling to Dubai for Holidays and I didn't know. She came to the back and introduced herself to my surprise !! How often a reader of your own blog travels on the same aircraft you're operating ?? I wonder. Also on the plane was Chaouki who will be starting his training tomorrow with Emirates. Good luck to him, make the most of it buddy ! TO finish of, here are some pictures : svgallery=paris2

kanyevma

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:06:02 +0000

kanyevma1

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:13:30 +0000

New logos unleashed

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:49:13 +0000

It was time to refresh those logos a little so I went for the legendary lomographic / polaroid look for the new ones. Check them all below... Your comments are welcomed. If anything needs a revamp on the website please tell me so I can work on it. Suggestions welcomed. svgallery=logo

DOWNLOADABLES #59 / Kanye does the VMAs

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:35:39 +0000

After vowing he would never return to the MTV Music Video Awards at last years event. Kanye West did his usual surprise and showed up in a thrilling set for this years VMAs. And not to sing an old tune but simply a new single he'll be releasing in the next few weeks. Unfortunately for you West fans we have the spoiler. It's lying around the blogosphere and I couldn't resist the temptation. The track in called "Love Lockdown" and the beats and percussions in there just make me wanna....! Along with that we have a brilliant cover from Rihanna's Fashion Rock show where she covered the ultimate "Vogue" by Madonna. And she did it in a zeexy way ! For your hungry ears we also have a MAG-NI-FI-CIENT cover of U2s "With Or Without You". It's an electro piece based in Denver and named Breath Carolina that has come up with the most original cover of U2 I have listenned to. Otherwise, I haven't said a single word on my favourite favourite favourite band on this blog so I will start today. If you've stalked me enough (googled me), you probably found some other websites I run. Like www.whitestripes.fr. You've guessed by now I'm a huge fan of the White Stripes. I started liking them back in 2000 when White Blood Cells came out and since then it's been a love affair. I run the biggest francophone fansite and have hundreds of mp3 downloads daily thus leaving me very poor at the end of every month when I have to pay for the hosting... But I love what I do. If you too are an absolute fan of the delightful duo, you're most welcome to pay us a visit and download some exclusive bootlegs we have ready for you. But I'm most proud of the band's Facebook page which boasts more than 125,000 fans !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/02%20Lets%20Dance%20(David%20Bowie).mp3] The Futureheads - Let's Dance (David Bowie cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/03%20Back%20To%20Black%20(Amy%20Winehouse%20Cover).mp3] Lightspeed Champion - Back To Black (Amy Winehouse cover) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Love%20Lockdown.mp3] Kanye West - Love Lockdown ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Stronger%20(Nic%20Nells%20Bootleg%20Remix).mp3] Kanye West - Stronger (Nic Nells remix) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Vogue%20(Madonna%20Cover).mp3] Rihanna - Vogue (Madonna cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/With%20or%20Without%20You%20(U2%20cover).mp3] Breath Carolina - With Or Without You (U2 cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE IN AGONISING PAIN·

Finally within the next day or two a very canine Supastar will be answering our questions ! Park yourself in front of the screen cause you do not want to miss this !

ITW / The Pink Poodle has landed!

Sodwee — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:05:44 +0000

The Pink Poodle his her nickname. She was the first blogger we got to read in search of the whole Emirates hooha and still makes it to our Top 10 RSS feed chart. That is when she actually posts an entry. But man, when Lauren (her real name), takes it to the keyboard, you're 100% sure it'll be just as entertaining as watching The Dark Knight with Gold Class tickets and no kids in the theater. We managed to squeeze a few questions in her uber-busy schedule and we thank her for her time. Enjoy the rest and do please check out her blog :

http://pinkpoodleprincess.blogspot.com/

Airboy : Hi dee Hooo Lauren, Let me introduce you to our readers, you're a a crew here in Dubai, working First Class on the main fleet (B777/A340/A330) and you are most well known for updating a cracking blog named Pink Poodle On The Runway about your life in the Sandpit. Anything you'd like to add to your intro ? Lauren : Airboy, you've kind of covered it all! I'll be turning 26 next month and as this is my first experience of life outside the parental next, I frequently find myself slightly disillusioned and oddly bemused by life in our fast-paced plastic neighbourhood. A : Nice, ok so... did you know that I picked up on "Sandpit" whilst reading your blog ? L : A few people comment on that - no one really realises just how unfinished Dubai is. Everywhere I go I'm tripping over a pile of sand. Or walking around a corner and into the face of a sand storm that embeds itself in my lip gloss! I also meant it in the affectionate sense of a great big place to explore and play in - kind of like when we were kids there were so many treasures to discover in the sandpit. A : You live in what was once the tallest residencial building in the world. How does that affect your everyday life ? How long do you spend in elevator every day ? What is your view like ? L : I live on the 21st floor, so the average elevator ride takes maybe a minute or two to my floor. Not being a big fan of littered and smelly lifts, I can only spend a maximum of 5 minutes a day doing happy laps up and down the building. My view is quite nice - I look out at the Burj Dubai Tower, the Al Marooj complex and straight down at the chaos that is our beloved 12 lane highway. A : Ahah. You're the second Aussie we're interviewing, a few days ago it was Melissa, why is there so many Australian crew working for Emirates ? L : Well I can tell you it's certainly NOT the pay! I guess because Australia is so far from the rest of the world that lots of Aussies see Emirates as a great chance for a working holiday. Dubai has become such a central point between the UK and Europe, allowing us to easily and cheaply visit many countries that we'd not have the chance to or be able to afford to all the way from Australia. A : How long have you beem working for Emirates, and how is it so far ? L : I've been working for Emirates for nearly 3 years now. My contract is up for renewal at the end of November, so it's an exciting time. I only ever really thought I'd stay for a year, but time flies when you're having fun! A : I must say I'm hooked to your blog, so are many other readers I suppose. But it seems you're very busy these days because you update it very sporadically !! L : Yeah, things have been pretty busy lately. I no longer have the leisure of oodles of days off (like some economy crew I know!) and I find I"m flying a lot more than I used to. I figure that readers don't really want a daily update of how I spend my summer days sitting on the couch watching telly! I tend to go to the same destinations these days, so find that the chance for a really great blog story doesn't come along every day.

READ THE PREVIOUS INTERVIEW, CLICK HERE !

A : What is your favourite aircraft to work on and why ? L : Definitely Boeing. Boeing anything, just not Airbus. I think Airbus = Scarebus. They're all creaky and old and rattling with super crappy air-con systems and are just damn scary! The purser on my last flight told me that in Emirates' history, our Boeing aircraft have only lost 7 engines but the A340-500s alone have lost something like 21. Now, I don't know how accurate that is, but it wouldn't surprise me. A : Your favourite container in the AFT galley ? L : I don't got into the AFT galley if I can't help it but I'll say anything that has food in it! A : I have a tendency in looking for the one and only can of Coca-Cola (not Pepsi) onboard everytime I get to the galley, is that just me or do you have any kind of weird gimmicks you want to share ? L : Yes! I'm always on the hunt for the lone can of Coke but I'm quick to get my hands on the cherry tomatos, corned beef slices and that funny little coffee flavoured sugary cake slice in the crew food trays! I'm also hopelessly addicted to that lemon-mint juice that is loaded in first class on turnarounds. Here's a tip for all other addictees: YOU CAN BUY IT AT SPINNEYS!!! A : Ok, you're in the crew bus on your way to CBC, you have a flight for Trivandrum in India, what will your iPod play ?? L : I think some Scissor Sisters would pep me up a little. A : and for a flight bound for Down Under ? L : Ooh, some Powderfinger to get me in the Aussie mood! Powderfinger sounds something like this: [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/06-dont-wanna-be-left-out.mp3] Powderfinger - Don't Wanna Be Left Out A : Tell us about the worst flight you have ever operated, be kind, loose the names ! L : Oh, it was a doozy. Bombay, the 5th flight on my very first roster. January 2006. Take-off at about 11pm. It was a three class flight but it was one of our B777 ER's so the cabin felt never-ending! All three cabins were full of workers who were on their two-yearly trip home. They [beep] to high heaven and were just so [beep] I thought I'd [beep]. I know how much they look forward to their holidays and how little they earn and NOW I know about the pitiful living situations they have here in Dubai and how difficult their lives are but from the disastrous boarding experience, to the grabbing hands, to the eye-watering stench and to the distressed look on the face of a male Aussie mate who was also crew with me that night will be something I'll never forget. I felt so [beep] after that flight I came home in the early hours the next day, had a scorching hot shower and scrubbed my skin almost raw. It was gross. I don't do those flights anymore if I can help it! The experience spurred me on to become the queen of swaps!! A : If you had the liberty of choosing your door for a flight, which one would it be and why ? L : L1. It means I get to do the galley, avoid duty free and avoid the cabin on really busy crowded flights. That said, I only really ever have a maximum of 18 passengers anymore, so I really can't complain! Back in my economy days I used to take either L3 or R3 because the cabin was smaller for boarding and it meant during the service I'd take the bar cart. R5 was good too because pasengers couldn't see you if you fell asleep on your jumpseat! A : I bet you had a crush on a Crew before, give us names or a detailed description ! L : I won't give you his name, there has to be some mystery! It also has a great deal to do with plane brain....I can't remember it! I once did a Melbourne/Auckland trip with a deliciously handsome Italian FO. He was tall, with chocolate brown eyes and light brown hair. He was convinced I was Spanish because of my colouring so I let him roll with that. It was a really fun trip, with the crew doing lots of dinners and drinking and late night trips to dirty kebab shops. I was working in Business Class at the time and remember doing a midnight dash in my smurf pjs with one of the crew all the way from the bunks up into the cockpit because we couldn't sleep. I've seen this spunky FO a few times around since but never flew with him again. Shame we can't look up their rosters and swap onto their flights.....as stalkerish as that sounds! A : Back in Dubai now... What could you add to the city's already thriving environment to make your life here much more enjoyable ? (for example, I could definately do with a french bakery at the bottom of the building instead of a Avis Rental Car boutique)... L : I have a few suggestions and they should all be at the bottom of my building: A Lime Tree Cafe that doesn't allow Jumeirah Janes and their prams; a private teleporting elevator that can deliver me to anywhere in Dubai at the mere suggestion of thought. And yes, a decent bakery that uses preservatives in their bread so it doesn't go mouldy in two days! A : I followed live you're first driving experience through your blog and the time you got pulled over by Police, has your roadrage evolved since then ? L : I was SO mad that day! I really wanted to unleash the wrath but thought it wouldn't be a good idea. My road rage has evolved to complete intollerance for all the wankers that drive in Dubai. I find it insulting that some of our pilots who can fly 300-tonne aircraft have to take 40 lessons before they're allowed to get a license but people from certain sub-continents that have no road rules can pretty much get a license with a bag of rice. They're dangerous, have no concept of driving etiquette or the consequences of their frantic, hazard-light lane-weaving antics. That said, I don't drive in peak hour traffic anymore. A : Your favourite shop/retail on Sheikh Zayed Rd, apart from spinneys ? L : Costa do a pretty good iced chocolate drink and our little Towers Grocery store have everything except our beloved Nando's Perinaise sauce. A : Did you ever get lost trying to find the FedEx counter in the headquarters ? L : I didn't even know there is a FedEx counter!! Can you give me directions? I'm seriously navigationally challenged, so take it easy... A : Yeah, go for the lifts besides the Cabin Crew Service Center, and go down to B2, the counter is there. If you had the chance to award yourself with a Gold Najm, what would it be for ? L : Creating that private teleporting elevator, marketing it to all the rich and famous, making squillions and then donating a large chunk of the proceeds to the children's foundation. After buying that gorgeous baby pink couch I saw in The One recently! A : We have potentially dangerous jobs up there at 35,000 feet, but on ground, have you ever feared for your life in Dubai ? L : Not so far, but today's tremors from the fallout of the earthquake in Iran was scary. I was contemplating catching the lift downstairs in case the building fell over but I'm still in my pjs, so didn't want to get spotted fleeing in my fluffy pink slippers! I also had some concerns about the Burj Dubai tower that have since been laid to rest by one of the head engineers from the project - I question was if it was to fall, would it fall like a tree and come through my bedroom window or would it implode and save us all? In case you're wondering, it'll implode. A : Ok so I think we'll wrap it up here, one last question. How did you find out about Airboy and his blog ? L : You found me and commended on my blog! I might ask you the same question! A : Thanks ever so much for taking your week off to answer my questions, much appreciated. Speak to you soon and keep blogging ! L : Considering my answers have been almost 2 weeks in the making, thanks for your patience. Can't wait to read your more frequently-posted-than-mine adventure!

When boredom kicks in

Sodwee — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:16:22 +0000

And when I mean boredom I mean to the extreme. I was forced to watch the most viewed and most discussed video on the Youtubes, that how deeply affected I am when it comes to entertain myself. Fortunately, with the help of my camera (the built-in iSight of my MacBook) and a killer app like iMovie, I was able to shredd a few minutes of this boring Sunday into something I could come up with. Khalil brought this beanbag and I love it so I used it in the video... And while I'm at it, if you're looking for space to host your own videos I suggest the great www.vimeo.com that has a sleak embeded video player like this one below. It also keeps the pristine quality of the uploaded video unlike Youtube or Dailymotion for instance. . Airboy does Boredom from Airboy Sodwee on Vimeo.

Welsh One Hit Wonder by MotherOfSodwee

Sodwee — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:33:14 +0000

This was her first encounter with what is commonly called a webcam. She had to do something stupid so Mother came up with this idea of doing an impression of a fallen welsh star that thinks she's still making the top of the charts. With an unpronouncable name in mind she sets off into 4 minutes of absolute cute interview. She even sings a piece for you viewers. Check it out ! Mother is waiting for your reactions in the comment section below ! MotherOfSodwee | Welsh One Hit Wonder from Airboy Sodwee on Vimeo.

motherofsodwee

Sodwee — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:42:54 +0000

macnapoleondynamite

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:12:44 +0000

Nerd Surgery

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:13:39 +0000

Today was spent upgrading our current Wordpress back-office to the newly released 2.6.4 version of the ultimate blogging platform tool around on the internet at the moment. We're big fans at Airboy and cannot get away from the fact that if you want to start your own hosted blog, then this is the way to go. Hassle free blogging, automatic upgrades and so forth. So you probably didn't notice us upgrading to a new engine but we did, swiftly. It's been a frantic few hours here at the headquarters. A team of 56 (few of them did strike the pose for the team picture below, but obviously we could'nt fit everyone in, in any case some of them were too ugly/nerdy to be pictured) were specially recruited for their coding magic and their cold blooded attitude to deal with the upgrade. We're now fully operational and ready to rock'n'roll. We also added a few more features to the blog. For those who are RSSaholics like myself then you'll totally digg the category/tags RSS feeds we've included. Let me explain for those who don't understand a thing I'm rambling about. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It's what enables you to stay up to date with your favourites blog and news site you've suscribed to. Now, at Airboy, it used to be limited to the posts. But today we can announce that you can follow, for example, only the posts that include music/mp3s. To do so just click on the Tag named "mp3" and if you're running Firefox (and I hope you do), click the RSS logo in the address bar, Firefox will then give you the option to suscribe to the general Airboy RSS feed or the MP3 | Airboy RSS feed. Choose the latter and whenever I post a new post including a track or some kind of sound, you'll be notified via your RSS reader in Firefox. Does that make any sense or did I just waste some of your time here ? Otherwise, we did a little PHP coding to clean up some glitches we noticed. And we've improved the caching system of the website so that design/images part of the overall layout are updated to the minute.And to finish with boring geek jargon, we added a numbered pagination for the index page, the search results and the archives pages to clarify the browsing. Or in other words, added a linear navigation to the blog. Overall nothing you'd be interested in but I thought some Geeks/Nerds out there would like to know. If by any chance you stumble over a bug, fault in the blog, please do notify me so I can work on it. Finally I can proudly say I have passed my Probation Period with Emirates and can now enjoy the likes of insanely cheap plane tickets and numerous discounts in hotel around the world. The only downside this coming month will be my reserve of which I'm soooooooooooooooooo not looking for.

Beauty and the Geek

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:24:25 +0000

prince

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:08:47 +0000

pages

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:10:59 +0000

Taxi drivers don't need no education

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:41:53 +0000

With Eric Prydz's remix of Another Brick In The Wall blasting out of my stereo. I recall my last trip to Paris. I didn't write anything straight after landing like I usually do because I was in a inspirational black hole. After reading some others blogs, I felt it was the right time to hit the keyboard and send you some news. Now that St Germain, a french DJ/producer, is playing chill out tunes on my stereo I can dive into my Paris layover and what I did then. Click to enlarge... We landed at 8.20 pm bang on and rushed to the hotel to pick up the much needed allowance. It's around 110 euros. This might sound like a lot but with the prices french charge you, it quickly becomes a nightmare country to be spending in. Everything is so expensive in France. The good thermometer is the meter in the taxis. For a 15 minute ride from the Airport hotel to my parents place cost me 50 euros (Half my allowance might I add). And usually a ride with a french cab driver isn't the best of start to a layover in Parrrreee. They are 95% of the time either extremely rude or moaning about the social disaster that is France or it's one-of-a-kind President that likes expensive pens & watches. That's all they talk about. Or maybe they'll ask you where you come from and spill out another misconception about your country. Being a very experienced Paris Cab Passenger I act as rudely as they do so they shut it for the rest of my ride. I can then swiftly glue my headphones on and pretend I don't hear what they're rambling on about. It works pretty damn well. I could of taken the subway system to my folks flat but that would of ripped apart my belief in public transportation. And I was not suprised when the French First Officer told me about her nightmare trip the night before to downtown Paris on the RER where half the counters to get your tickets were closed (even during rush hour). Leaving suburbians to queue for half an hour to get their tickets or rightfully bypass the gates and ride for free as she did.

Sometimes french do very good music. Just like this band called The Dø. We discovered them a while back but can't get enough of them, it's way to catchy to dismiss, especially the "tss-tss-tss-tss-tss" part of the song. Check out their debut single below ! [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/03%20On%20My%20Shoulders.mp3] The Dø - On My Shoulders (mp3) Otherwise here is the only french songs ones MUST HAVE, these are my personal favourites. That is a good starting point to learn french. I can totally picture SuperJihan singing along to those tracks : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Jai%20demande%20a%20la%20lune.mp3] Indochine - J'ai Demande A La Lune [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/04%20If%20I%20Ever%20Feel%20Better.mp3] Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/aventurier.mp3] Indochine - L'aventurier [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Le%20Vent%20Nous%20Portera.mp3] Noir Desir - Le Vent Nous Portera

So when I finally hit the 19th district in the North Eastern part of Paris, I started to smile again. Got my stuff out the cab and strolled proudly towards my parents. Mother opened the doors with a Gin & Tonic in hand to welcome me. She knows how little time I have before cut-off point (we cannot drink 12 hours prior to a duty) so she makes the most of my stay. Of course I didn't drink on my own, she joined in with a Sancerre white and Dad with three fingers of his sherrished Springbank whisky. We yapped along until I was ready to hit the town again (it was around half eleven at night). I hopped in another cab and went for the 11th district. Peeps the 11th is where it all happens. If you want to experience what Paris is really like, amongst real parisian wildlife, please avoid tourist traps, go for the hidden little terraces and bars of the 11th district. There I joined the french side of my mates and yapped more with them. It was only in the early hours of the day that I decided to head home for some sleep. And blimey I slept well ! The next day was pure lazyness. Enjoyed the sunfilled balcony that Dad takes pride in... complete with plants & flowers to accompany you in Zen paradise. Amy Winehouse screaming out the Hi-Fi system. I was in heaven. By 6 o' clock it was time to shut the Wino's mouth and get ready for the flight back to Dub-Dub. Mother came back just in time to say goodbye and then climbed in yet another expensive taxi back to the airport hotel where my colleagues were waiting. svgallery=paris3 I love doing Paris flights. They are so easy. French will not bother you endlessly with call bells because they are so used to get their own drink down in the back galley on Air France flights. All they need is a smile from a hottie on board, some red wine and an extra piece of bread. That's it. They will leave you alone for the rest of the flight. The only ones to bother you in your galley chat with fellow Cabin Crew is the sole American seated way up there in 17 Bravo that keeps wanting for more water. He stopped when we commonly agreed to spare him a bottle so he would stop pressing that awful button. With a lot of time to spare between the end of service and the final approach into Dubai, I decided to visit the aircraft in more detail. Went to see the FGones at the front as I needed some info for my future Osaka flights. I love Japanese crew, they're so helpful, kind and heavenly cute. Got my information and then downgraded to J/C (or business) to check out the fruit platter. I only eat fresh fruit onboard whenever were heading back to Dubai as the fruit tastes much nicer. I forgot to mention I went to see the flight deck for some newspaper reading because it is the only place where it's peaceful enough for one to read his daily dose of world drama. Did I mention I had friends travelling on this flight too ?? No, well Dali & Nadia, two french Cabin Crew here in the Sandpit were part of the flight. Nice to have them and have a laugh with them. By the time I got back to cattle class, it was time for us to get prepared for the landing, or in other words, parading with white latex gloves, collecting blankets and headsets and then sit your bum in the jumpseat. We hit the tarmac and the 34 degrees Celsius of Dubai. Instantly bringing rashes all around my shirt collar as it rubs against my frail skin. Back home after an hour and a half I enjoyed the rest of the day in my bed, gently cuddled by the sweeping flow of the air-conditioning.

DOWNLOADABLES #60 / It's raw

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:19:16 +0000

Not much to say apart from the fact that Kanye West spins out re-releases of his Love Lockdown track. He wasn't too happy with the previous version so he decided to head back to the studios and re-master his latest hit. Love Lockdown #2 is only slightly better. Download it today ! Otherwise, we're in a good mood today so we've uploaded some Jackson 5 remix and two brilliant covers of "1999" originally by Prince and another Justin Timberlake remake of "My Love". Enjoy.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Love%20Lockdown%20%232.mp3] Kanye West - Love Lockdown (Mastered) [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/My%20Love%20(Justin%20Timberlake%20Cover).mp3] Tender Forever - My Love (Justin Timberlake cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/02%20I%20Want%20You%20Back%20(Z-Trip%20Remix).mp3] Jackson Five - I Want You Back (Z-trip remix) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/02%201999%20(Prince%20cover).mp3] Infinite Lives vs Stade - 1999 (Prince cover)

bgbg

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:03:54 +0000

Airboys @ airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:47:40 +0000

Airboys @ airboy.sodwee.com

A view from my office @ airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:47:48 +0000

Airboy hard at work @ airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:47:57 +0000

picture-2

Sodwee — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:11:29 +0000

09:12 a view from my office.

Sodwee — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:46:31 +0000

This is a typical day at work. This is posted as I'm flying out to Osaka, Japan. Will post pictures of the layover the minute I come back home. If you have further questions about Emirates and would like to start networking, you can add me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. Check where I'm at thanks to Dopplr.com. That'l all from me. Peace out !

Airboy does Osaka

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:44:52 +0000

Airboy Does Osaka | HQ from Airboy Sodwee on Vimeo. So here we are, in the bus taking us back to the airport. The girls are behind yapping away like it's not permitted. Gossiping in their own langage : Japanese. I can only take so much so I got the laptop out with some good background music to write something for the 45 minutes ride from central Osaka to Kansai Intl. The stay was amazing. Set in a beautiful hotel, felt like Lost In Translation all over again, without Johansson to spare me a few good lines. I saw a lot of locals, power walking to their day jobs, power walking back home for supper and power walking to visit the ancient castle I went to. Osaka Castle to be precise, or Osaka-jo in Japanese. One thing I've noticed is the huge number of bicycles around. The town itself is very flat, allowing the seniors to wonder around on two wheels with their sunbrella fixed on their bike. Another crazy sight. But the most entertaining part of the layover was most probably walking around the town for around 5 hours. Got a face tan along the way too. Mini-shops Japanese style, tiny streets with grocery stores all along and what have you. Loved it to bit. Also walking by the most outrageously dressed teens was a show to itself. Dressed in crazy colors, with Mount Fuji hair dos and stuff. But I think what I'll take away with me, as sad as I am, would be the amazing lavatories they have. With seat warmers, sprinklers and steam nozzles to make sure you leave the restroom nice and clean ! I made sure I played with them also, you can check out the video above for a glance at what I like to play with. I should be coming back to Osaka in 3 days, leaving me some time to recover from the 10 hour flight and organize something like a day trip to Kyoto. I will leave you with the pictures and the video. Until then goodbye and have a nice day ! svgallery=osaka

parapara1

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:24:48 +0000

パラパラ or ParaPara

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:27:13 +0000

Having set foot in ParaPara land Japan. Having miserably failed an attempt to demonstrate my パラパラ skills to the crew onboard my Osaka flight. I will tell you more about this crazy thing. But hey ! You are wondering what ParaPara is ? Well take a look at these sad frenchies having a go at what only Japanese can achieve (not to mention but the guy in the stripe t-shirt looks dead serious about his new hobby !)...

It must take quite some time to remember all those moves. Way too much for my little brain. It's already a miracle if I can remember 5 crew names out of 16 (but sometimes, you gotta admit it's hard trying to memorise Korean names or even Thai names !).

So ParaPara was born in Japan a few years ago. Para Para is performed using mostly arm movements; very little lower body movement is involved save for perhaps moving one's hips or stepping in place, although a few routines require more detailed leg motions. It has been speculated that it is a descendant of the traditional Bon Odori dance. The dance originated from the early days in the 80's when men working in the VIP room in clubs would choreograph dances to impress the women. The dance style then grew from there. The dances are performed to fast, upbeat music such as Eurobeat. Fans of Para Para dancing often call themselves "Paralists".

To finish off, please take a look at the guy who brought the movement, the guy looks soooooo over bored doing his routine. Also Mickey Mouse is part of the ordeal if you care to watch !

disque_evian0003

Sodwee — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:42:02 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #61 / Evian knows how to

Sodwee — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:07:20 +0000

Many of us frenchies will remember the classic Evian adverts we've been hammered with. Needless to say they ROCK. Ohh boy did they pin it right up their in the world of Best Ads Ever ! They've made a few version but the two below just show how overpaid artists can be so creative (talking about the guy who came up with the cartoon animation). Now a good part of the success for the advert came from KCPK, a group of toddlers who thought Mercury could rejuvenate for the 21st century. They did indeed kick mud in our faces with that cover and we're proud to announce today that we have found the mp3 in the dark corners of the internetz. We have it ! It's here for your guilty pleasure ! Along with that, we have Eric Prydz cover of Another Brick In The Wall originally from Pink Floyd. It's a boogie ooooooogie tune too. Slam it in your next party, it's a sure hit. And by popular demand and a dozen emails, here is the track from my last video. They are called Trash Yourself and The Toxic Avenger and came up with this amazing cover of Blur's Song 2 !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/We%20Will%20Rock%20You.mp3] KCPK - We Will Rock You (Queen cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE in extreme pain· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/01%20Proper%20Education%20(Radio%20Edit).mp3] Eric Prydz - Proper Education (Pink Floyd cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIE in discomfort· [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Song%202%20(Blur%20cover).mp3] Trash Yourself & The Toxic Avenger - Song 2 (Blur cover) ·DOWNLOAD OR DIG your own grave·

In other news, today was a busy day. I ended up in IKEA again... for some bed covers, curtains, lamshades, frames and all sorts of non sense. It felt good. Also, Etisalat FI-NA-LLY came to install the bloody box after a month of yelling at them through the phone and them telling me "they will come tomorrow...[pause]... Inch'Allah".... I mean come on... In any case I'm now VH1 enabled and updated with news via the mother of all channels : CNN ! So I am now fully kitted out for my reserve month in October... TV, internet, music, DVDs and a comfortable room is what I need. Bring it on !

g550_copy

Sodwee — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:55:17 +0000

wetfloor

Sodwee — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:45:17 +0000

Making love to the telephone in October

Sodwee — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:53:53 +0000

Yes, that's right. I'll be sleeping with my telephone right next to me for the whole month of October (minus 11 days) cause it's my reserve month. Probably the worst month a Cabin Crew doesn't look forward to. Basically it means you're on standby to fill gaps for missing/hangover/sick/depressed/partygoers colleagues. You're at home hanging over the telephone waiting for a call from our dearest scheduling to tell you you're bound for a destination. It could be anywhere. I hope I get pulled out only for the nicest layovers ! Anyways I managed to squeeze in a few holidays in there too so I can getaway from boredom a little and adventure somewhere nice... Here's it was my roster looks like :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
RSV	RSV	XX	hols	hols	hols	hols
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
hols	XX	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV
29	30	31
RSV	RSV	RSV

XX = Day Off RSV = Standby out = layover hols = Holidays

ITW | 'G' to the 'O' to the 'T'

Sodwee — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:56:13 +0000

Today's interview involves an ex commercial Flight Attendant from Down Under (again !) now converted to Corporate travel. Or in your own words, she operates doors on private jets and serves execs/minted people. her nickname his GirlOnTour and she owns a blog too. We have no idea where she lives or who she works for as she wants to keep this information confidential. The only thing we know is that she likes her mop as much as we like our dry store containers. She likes weird drinks and she lives on a compound somewhere in the desert. Please do add her blog to your faves ! No more rambling, here's the fifth ITW of the series !

http://girlontour.blogspot.com/

Airboy : Hi GirlOnTour, that is your nickname on the world wide webz, we have not met you, we do not know your real name, we do not know who you work for. None the less, we indeed do know you work for an airline somewhere in the middle east, that you just turned into your 30s, that you have a blog, and that you live on a compound! Would you like to give our readers a little more insight of your persona ? We'd sure love to know a little more ! 'G' to the 'O' to the 'T'... G-O-T: Funny, never thought of using that acronym. It could work. I like interesting sounding web blog names, being relatively new to this whole concept, I am still amused by the different names out there and how they can or cannot grab your attention.
A : Nice, ok so... Have you wished Ramadan Kareem to anyone yet ?
GOT : Hmmm interesting question, but unfortunately no I have not. I am a real newbie to this Ramadan thing and I am not quite sure what it means exactly, so I get a little bashful when I don't completely understand something. I am actually just on my way to an Iftar though however so does that count as being involved in the whole Ramadan experience?
A : You just got wheels ! What is freedom like ?
GOT : OMG it is amaaaazing! However, what you think freedom is and what I think it is are two completely different things. Women are still not allowed to drive in this country so if I venture off the compound, I have to get a cab or as I have so cleverly worked out very early on, I made friends with men who owned cars. Still scary however to get on the roads in the this country, I cannot believe how many drivers have death wishes. Quite fortunate on the compound however, dangerous driving is prohibited and penalties are enforced. A : You just started your blog and after reading the whole, I have noticed something: you fly corporate. What does it involve, did you fly celebs ? GOT : Corporate flying is a refreshing change from Commercial (I have almost 6 years commercial flying prior to this) however there are good and bad with both. Corporate flying is unrostered, unscheduled and unlimited destinations. I love it as on a whole I spend more time in my own bed,although I still get to go away for periods at a time. This year I have been on a 5 day trip to London, 7 days in Austria, a week in Montreal and 3 weeks in the US. Corporate involves more preparation than commercial where you as crew just turn up to the plane. We have to plan the menu, deal with catering, and clean the plane at the end of a sector so you see there is good and bad with both, but I do love it. As for celebs, I do not fly them right now, however in a previous incarnation, I was unfortunate to fly a certain well know Kiwi actor on an Australian low cost carrier, and he failed to secure his belongings when I had asked politely. He kept to his character and grunted and swore at me....probably not a good idea to repeat what I said to him, but it was along the lines of "you were a great actor is this film, now let me be a fantastic flight attendant and secure you items please!" Oops A : What kind of aircraft do you operate ? GOT : Hmmm it's a secret, but let me just say it is sexy little jet... A : What is life on a compound like ? GOT : Very surreal, some days it feels like I am on the set of the Truman show, other times Big Brother and sometimes like Edward Scissorhands (you know the houses where everyone drove home from work at the same time every day and the homes all looked identical) However it is nice to have relatively laid back surrounds in a country that is very different from the one I grew up in. Now I have a scooter I can get around very easily in camp and there is a lot to do ie gym, pools, tennis, movies, etc
A : What triggered the decision of becoming a Cabin Crew ?
GOT : Well I actually just fell into it. A friend from banking days, followed her dream when a new airline started up in Oz, and at a moment, where I was between jobs, thinking of flunking out of Uni, and leaving a long term relationship, the offer came up. I have never looked back. Helped with the break up immediately!I took 12months off flying 3 years ago, vowing to never go back and almost a year to the day of leaving my first flying job I was back on a Jumbo. It gets in your blood.
A : What do you think of Dubai, what kind of misconceptions (because we all have misconceptions about Dub-Dub don't we !??), have you ever been here ?
GOT :To be honest I have only ever transited in Dubai and infact I just wrote a post on it (no plug intended). This week I am coming to play in the land of the Burj for 3 days on my way to my next holiday destination....that's a secret for now though. It does amaze me how many people come to Dubai for a holiday or their honeymoon...I only ever think of it as a gateway onto somewhere else, but I could be mistaken. I will be visiting friends who have lived their for sometime, so perhaps they will show me otherwise this weekend.
A : Coming from a Customer Service background, what do you find most irritating from the ones you serve ?
GOT : Hmmm, I have wonderful pax right now, but in the past I think the main grief I faced was from Business Class Pax as they are a little above Economy (and don't they know it!) but not yet made it to First (where aren't they usually just the best?!?). Usually I just get a bit annoyed with sub standard (even in restaurants and hotels as i have such a high standard of service for myself that I expect nothing less in return as you are the paying customer so I treat my passengers the same.
A : You live out of a suitcase like many of us Crew do. Did you ever unpack between two flights (I personally haven't and will never do) and what are the essentials that will make it to your suitcase ??
GOT : As a commercial FA I never really unpacked and I always had two of everything as far as my toiletries go as there was no point only having one. Made my life a little simpler
A : Favourite layover and why ?
GOT : At the moment HK....I cannot understand why it came to be but I guess the amazing shopping, never stopping nightlife and great expat atmosphere helped. You could always pick the different crews here too, Virgin Atlantic would generally be the blondes sitting in a group at the Feather Boa, British Airways would be the party til you drop seeing in the morn at Dusk til Dawn and Emirates...well I never got to meet any of them, although they stayed in the same hotel as us.
A : Tell us about the worst flight you have ever operated, be kind, loose the names for confidential reasons... !
GOT :Well this is a hard one, but really the HK return leg to London was without fail always a nightmare! We had one less crew member than most commercial airlines, and the flight was a 12 hour flight through the day time. Pax get bored, crew get exhausted, tempers are frayed then at the end of it all, we have to deal with London Heathrow at the busiest time of day being sent off to a standoff bay and waiting upto 2 hours for the transfers buses as this is changeover time for the drivers....you can only imagine...oh yeah and I had to prepare a cabin for an emergency landing due to an oven fire, oh and a decompression too.
A : We - at Airboy - love animals, especially dogs, but we do not mind cats either. You recently met with Sam. How is the wrestling going on. As your BF made any more arm to the creature (the last drama scene was a wet cat out from an unexpected shower) ?
GOT : Sam is a weird one let me tell you. He is now an outdoor cat, and comes in for some cuddles on the couch and some playful biting and scratching. I have been warned by friends who have lived in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, that desert cats really are different, I guess because they are all inbred and part feral, but it is all apart of the fun I guess. He is black too and that means good luck so I could do with some of that! As for the BF I think he is worried he is being replaced, but no such luck! A : Your dream base ? GOT : Hmmm my favourite place in the world right now is Hawaii, Oahu. I have been back twice in one year, and although really touristy, the North Shore has the BEST atmosphere and I guess I am just an island girl at heart. I have some friends who fly for Hawaiian Airlines however the industry is very temperamental over there...plus there is the problem of Green Card (can you tell I have already looked into it?)
A : We love talking music, who is your favourite artist ? What would you listen to before a flight and the most important question, do you own an iPod ?
GOT : Yes I own an Ipod, and I use it mainly for running at the gym or around the Golf Course when the weather cools down. At the moment I am really into Ting Tings, That's Not My Name (private joke but I had not heard it and my best pal K tried to sing it to me in Ibiza in her cartoon voice, and when I finally heard it a month ago, it reminded me of her). I love soo many different styles but Mos Def, Kanya West, Veruca Salt, Billy Talent, Lady Soverign, M.I.A, Mark Ronson, NOFX, Beastie Boys, Prodigy, Silverchair, Unkle to name a few. I have been known to listen to Fast Life by Freestylers on repeat on the crew bus to pump me up for a long haul flight if I am tired, to the point where the crew accused me of assaulting their eardrums!
A : Anything you would die for near your home ? (for example, I could definately do with a french bakery at the bottom of the building instead of a Avis Rental Car boutique)...
GOT : I would love love love a Boost Juice (all the Aussie readers will know what I am talking about here) and a really decent Health Food store....oh and so I don't appear too health conscious and boring I would definitely love a bottle shop (alcohol is not legal in this country either)
A : What was your occupation before becoming a crew ?
GOT : Well where do I begin??? I had to run through it all for my boyfriend last week and he feel asleep halfway through the list. Ok keep up with me here (I will simplify it a bit); I have been a Receptionist/Secretary, a TV Make-up Artist, Student Teacher (Art, English and Home Economics), Call Centre Consultant, Business Analyst (Banking), Waitress, Recruiter (Banking again) then Crew. There were more but they were whilst I was a poor student and probably irrelevant.
A : Lets imagine for a second you could pick celebrities to man the different doors on your aircraft who would they be and explain why !
GOT : Well we only have one FA onboard and only one door to man really, so I think I would have to pick Charlize Theron, purely because she is amazing and she would have to sit next to me (we only have one double jumpseat on board) so she would have no excuse not to talk to me (stalker alert??). However come to think of it, I don't think she would fit on my plane. He head would hit the ceiling.
A : Burger King or Mcdonalds on a monday night ?
GOT : Hmmm I am sorry I am uber boring when it comes to this (in a previous life I would have picked Burger King but it is not my kind of food now) Love sushi and anything tasty and vegan (yawn!)
A : Pepsi or Coca-Cola ?
GOT : Neither but I would go a Green Smoothie (my addiction right now) Oranges, Apples, Kiwi, Pineapple, Watermelon, Spinach and Romaine Lettuce Blended together...DO NOT KNOCK IT TIL YOU TRY IT...delish and a better pick me up than a coffee!
A : We have potentially dangerous jobs up there at 35,000 feet, but on ground, have you ever feared for your life ?
GOT : Oooh yeah plenty of times, and most of them when I was living in London. I lived in a very big gang warfare area, but apparently unless I was involved in the fighting myself I was pretty safe. One day when I was living and working there, I walked out of my house to goto to the tube on my way to work and there had been a triple shooting at the end of my street. The following week there was a revenge shooting only 2 doors up from there. That week I had been fortunate enough to see 2 dead bodies in the street. It was around that time I started to think about moving elsewhere.
A : Have you ever been to Paris, my homeland, if yes, what were your highlights ?
GOT : Love love love Paris. On a recent post I wrote about going to Portugal as our first destination was sold out (flights I mean!) and this destination we missed out on was Pareeee. I first went to Paris in late 2006 and wow it just blew my mind. As per usual, food took a front seat in my mini break to Paris. My favourite place Relais Gascon in Montmartre and it was for the magnificent salad that was prior to my vegan days (bacon, potato, foie gras, yum!). Also loved how clean the streets were and that the homeless people at least had shelter by living in tents on the street. Very interesting.
A : Thanks ever so much for taking your week off to answer my questions, much appreciated. Speak to you soon and keep blogging !
GOT : Hey I really enjoyed it! Just sorry it took me so long to sit down and do it. I look forward to seeing the finished product and also continuing to follow your blog! A : Speak to you soon ! Ciao !

READ THE PREVIOUS INTERVIEW, CLICK HERE !

telephone2

Sodwee — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:58:53 +0000

AA009679

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Sodwee — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:59:42 +0000

britneyspears

Sodwee — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:05:02 +0000

wino

Sodwee — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:24:25 +0000

Najmed !

Sodwee — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:57:46 +0000

Oh my oh my ! It all started as any layover would start : OK. Flying over was a breeze as always with Japan bound flights. Passengers were great, slept all the way. Landed in Osaka, Japan, nine hours later feeling fine. Hit up the hotel, ordered my sacred Club Sandwich and hit the sack for some sleep. Woke up next morning afternoon feeling great. Took the shuttle to JR Osaka Station and stormed in the HEP Five clothing mall. MAn I never saw a place with so many teens going crazy over a Hello Kitty Belt !!!!! It was like going to the zoo only without the cage protecting you from the hungry animals. Loved it. I crashed into that shop and saw what I'd been looking for for years. An amazing looking leather jacket with a perfect fit, which is hard to find for a chap with my body frame. So tried it on and what have you. Bear in mind I didn't take a single look at the price tag. When I eventually looked up the dangling cardboard.... I was put off. I was disgusted. Saving up for a flat back home has it's downsides I can tell you ! Otherwise I'd heat that chip card like no other ! Osaka is a fun place. Heaving with locals. Like an ant colony on a Sunday shopping spree. By then my legs were feeling the pain and sat my bum in a cab back to the hotel. Ended up watching a re-run of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart & Bill Clinton on CNN. Giggled and started to get ready for our return sector to DXB (Dubai). Little did I knew. svgallery=osaka2 Having planned my rest for a 10 hour flight with 2 hour Crew Rest I didn't sleep in the afternoon thinking I would catch up during rest. Hitched up to the airport in the bus, all was going according to plan until we were ready to pushback. This is when Captain made a Purser Call (which comes across as trouble for the crew). We continued serving our pax the towels and kit bags as if nothing troubled us. Captain made a PA (Public Announcement) letting the passengers & crew know that due to technical difficulties with a leak we had to deplane all passengers for us to assess the problem and attempt a dispatch an hour and a half later. But of course this is the aviation industry, and one hour and half is more likely to turn into 3 hours and a never ending wait for both the crew and the passengers. All smiles we were. They had to pump the jet fuel out of a wing find, band aid and secure the leak before they could even repump the fuel inside the wing. And were not talking a few gallons here, were talking 20 tons. Pumping out that much fuel takes around 40 minutes alone. Once the engineers could attend the problem we were already looking at alternatives. We had 2 options. Going forward with the prospect of working over 20 hours in our uniforms and get home or staying in Osaka a night more and leaving our passengers to rot in the terminal. The latter was later ditched because it would cost the company a hell a lot of cash, and organizing such a thing in the middle of the night is not the best of things to do. So we had to cater for the passengers inside the terminal with what we had onboard. By that time it was already 4 hours behind scheduled departure. The crew was starting to get tired and you could see passengers turning red... I can just tell you that the crew did a fab job catering and attending these passengers. They all understood what the problem was and for safety reasons we could not let the mamma fly with a leak... 5 hours after scheduled departure we finally gave clearance to board again not knowing the final decision of the engineers on ground. But in order to catch up with time as little as we could we decided to board the pax. So we did. All smiles we were. We finally got the OK GO 30 minutes later and we were taxiing for the runway. Took off and headed back to Dub-Dub. In what was a record flight time back 9 hours something we made it safe and sound in the sandpit. Passengers left the plane with smiles as we greeted them goodbye. They were thankful for the effort we put in as crew to compensate as much as we could for the inconvenience. As a matter of fact, we had to give out food to fasting passengers on ground in Osaka so they could eat before fast started. The surprise came when everyone left the plane and only crew remained. We were greeted by 3 Cabin Crew Managers who left their offices to thank us for the hard work on this flight and awarded us with Merit Najm Awards. Najm stands for star in Arabic. I can only say I was drenched after this flight. I didn't sleep much and being in a uniform for 22 hours doesn't make it smell nice either. The big difference on these kind of flights is the crew/team you're in. We had a good laugh no matter what (as per the pictures) and I think it showed. Nonetheless, please don't let this happen again as my legs feel like sponges right now !

doorsurprise

Sodwee — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:40:46 +0000

strip

Sodwee — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:40:48 +0000

23 cup cakes later

Sodwee — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:01:43 +0000

How to get more visitors? Leak Womanizer from Britney Spears next album

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:42:40 +0000

In an attempt to drive more visitors to the blog we decided to post a leaked single from Britney Spears's forthcoming album. The track is called Womanizer and has just premiered on "select" radio stations in the US of A. We purposely do not like it because we thought she'd come up with something more in the style of Toxic which was great but hey....

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/01%20Womanizer.mp3] Britney Spears - Womanizer

We heart misses Wino for her attitude. For her excess and of course for her voice. MotherOfSodwee and I had the bestest of times when we gatecrashed her gig in Paris back in 2007, it was her last concert before her stint in Rehab. She was singing away beautifully with her red wine in one hand and her Marguarita in the other. The gig was amazing, especially the musicians and backing singers. Here's an unreleased track for your guilty pleasure. It's so sad she'll be dying before the end of the year though. We would of loved another album next year ! Ohhh well.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/1-05%20Will%20You%20Still%20Love%20Me%20Tomorrow.mp3] Amy Winehouse - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

The Jumeirah Jane. Eid Mubarak. Sarah Palin ITW.

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:58:26 +0000

With time on my hands, I decided to look for a decent definition of the Jumeirah Jane expression that we expats use on a daily basis here in Dubai. To simplify, a Jumeirah Jane is a middle-aged housewife with at least a working husband, a very young kid, a 14 year old tween having a blast at smoking a cigarette and buying outrageous clothes at Mall Of The Emirates while she's at home watching BBC Prime, an SUV, a pilipino filipino maid and most importantly a villa located in Jumeirah (one of the best housing spots in the Dubai Emirate). She wonders countless hours in the numerous malls to her offering. Usually is astonishingly rude. Speaks to herself on which color curtains she should go for. But this expat writer as come up with another 4 different Janes ! We're sorry we couldn't get a picture to illustrate this article, but these days JJs are extremely hard to find because they're all in afternoon tea groups gossiping on increase of rents in Dubai. Anyway, here's what Desert Idleness has to say about this endangered species.

1. Original Jane Has spent most of the last decade and perhaps even more withering away in her bougainvillea-strewn Jumeirah home. Other Janes view a friendship with her as something to be proud of. Her kids go to JESS (English Speaking School), she shops at Wafi 'because it's the best', and plays tennis with 'the girls' at the One & Only when her husband's out of town and she's feeling lonely. 2. New Money Jane Her previous life back home was relatively simple and modest until the 'Dear Husband' found a job here in the desertscape and suddenly both of them transformed their lifestyle. Personifies arrogance, name drops at every opportunity and queues up without shame at the Horse Races for the Ahlan! Mag phototaking sessions. She takes the maid for Spinneys shopping trips to push the trolley and to do the general housekeeping ('I don't do domestics darling!') Ensures the house is spic and span ('Our maid scrubs the tiles, wipes the roof tiles and lives in a two-by-four room but we make sure she is very much a part of the family!') and religiously attends coffee mornings at the Lime Tree Cafe. This Jane is generally terrified of moving back home to her modest upbringing and enjoys the bubble life of Dubai. Loses the ability of holding deep conversation and will eventually wither away into insignificance. 3. Jittery Jane This Jane moved to Dubai a few years ago on a slightly-more-than-modest package and has faced a hard time since. Jittery Jane lives on the outskirts of Satwa but has no qualms calling the locality Jumeirah. On the outside she is very much a Jane but on the inside she fears the extravagant prices that seem to be shooting up even further. She disguises herself under a veil to prevent being spotted at an unfashionable Union co-op outlet and is attracted like flies to a garbage can to garage sales. Enjoys trips to The One with the girls but while the others are shaking in glee with their furniture purchases, she is secretely trembling with fright at the price. This JJ is finding it increasingly harder to fund her lifestyle, but is horrified at the thought of downsizing to a life of Mirdiff Martyrdom, and possibly exclusion from her current social circles, as they realise she really isn't all that glam. 4. ex-Jumeirah Jane This Jane bought a villa in the freehold developments and moved south to take up residence shortly after completion. Her bland surroundings reflect her personality - soulless and uninspiring. She lunches at the Lakes, shops at Spinneys at the Marina and does without the whole Lime Tree coffee morning rituals altogether, instead preferring to go to indulge in the wife-swapping that is rife in the new communities. This species is particularly hopeless.

And Eid Mubarak to all concerned in Dubai and elsewhere. This also means, Dubai will finally start to wake up again. Also today, the amazing interview of Sarah Palin with Katie Couric on SNL. The funny thing in this is that Tina Fey used the exact words and phrases from the real interview to come up with this skit :

Airboy | lipdub

Sodwee — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:33:53 +0000

Birthday Quiz

Sodwee — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:48:06 +0000

This is my birthday quiz for you. Now you have to find which of the artists I'm lipdubbing to does not belong amongst all the others. It's simple. There is a tricky one in all of those. I haven't credited for the purpose of this quiz. Will do later though. Leave your answers in the comment section ! Awaiting your responses ! AIRBOY lipdub | Find out who doesn't belong to this medley. from Airboy Sodwee on Vimeo. I would also like to thanks you all for your birthday wishes you sent in yesterday. I'd also like to send big hugs and kisses to Granny for the Hammock you got me, I'll try to find a way of hanging it on the balcony somehow. Ali, Mark, Julia, Fraser & Sarah for their lovely Eiffel Tower birthday card... Will definately remind me of where I come from ! Mother, Father & Nick for the shoe polish kit, it has already come in very handy... And finally Kalil, my flatmate, for cool as Havaianas flipflop smuggled from Brazil !

lipdub

Sodwee — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:59:45 +0000

polls

Sodwee — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:48:54 +0000

Airboy would like to know more about your opinions. This is why we invite you to answer a few questions (located in the left side column). Below, you will see the latest results of the polls. Polls are completely anonymous. [page_polls]

Polls

Sodwee — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:35:25 +0000

Hey all, we'd like to know where we're going wrong so we can arrange it. This is why we've added some little questions below (or in the left column on any page) so we can improve the way we do things here on Airboy. It ranges from content to political views. We value your opinion. Polls are anonymous, so feel free to cast your votes and check out the live results on the POLL page. So there you go :

[poll id="3"]

[poll id="4"]

[poll id="6"]

[poll id="8"]

[poll id="9"]

[poll id="10"]

Thanks for sharing your views with us !

atozbutton

Sodwee — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:39:09 +0000

faqbutton

Sodwee — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:39:12 +0000

Press the BIG RED button.

Sodwee — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:45:34 +0000

That's it, laundry is in it's last cycle, about to be ironed... and I'm set to go. First ever standby. Standby number 5 to be precise. From 4am to 12pm. 8 hours hung on the telephone waiting for a call to be pulled out for a destination. No idea where it will be, I might be staying in Dubai after all but I will know when 12 is over ! I went to buy DVDs the other day but have already watch them all. Sad I know. The suitcase is packed too, ready to be adjusted according to the destination. Crew controllers/Crew scheduling are very well equiped. With the latest in technology, as you can see. They also have a plan B resort just in case (further down). Went to Zinc yesterday, had some fun. It seems to me that nothing has changed. Packed with raging slash drunk crew. All dressed as if they were to meet Prince Charming. Can I say something ? Zinc IS NOT the place where you'll find Prince Charming ladies, quite the opposite in fact. It's nice to see some action after a month of "nothing". Will keep you posted on where I'll be heading in the next few hours. The roster on the left is updated daily so you can keep track (ie mum, dad...) Also BrotherOfSodwee should be showing is face here in Dubai on the 10th as he's stoping over before flying out to Brisbane for a year out. Will be fun. I just need to arrange some papers for him to stay in the flat. Yeah I know they overcomplicate things to a astonishing extent.

schedulingphone

Sodwee — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:35:50 +0000

absent

Sodwee — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:36:44 +0000

bottomright

Sodwee — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:43:24 +0000

facebooklogo

Sodwee — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:03:45 +0000

batman

Sodwee — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:18:45 +0000

batman1

Sodwee — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:19:16 +0000

Things I've learnt today.

Sodwee — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:23:01 +0000

Bats always turn left when exiting a cave. It was a common agreement to avoid midflight collisions. Polar bears cover their black nose when they go hunting, so that they're not seen when the prey turns back to check if followed. A mule won't sink in quicksand but a donkey will. Elephant are the only animals that can't jump, Of course, it's like asking Oprah Winfrey to climb in a pick-up! Simply not doable. The ant, when intoxicated, will always fall over to its right side, I knew it, they're all republicans ! Eagles mate while airborne, so do humans. You can take a cow upstairs to your bedroom but you cannot bring her back down because her ligaments are placed such a way that the cow would stumble. Dolphins sleep with one eye open, cheeky little bastards. In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated. Precisely, what goes around comes around. MoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOO

Airboy pranks his flatmate

Sodwee — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:20:54 +0000

With no idea what to do on my day off... This is the only thing I could think off. I spent way too much money yesterday so I had to be cost effective today. Not only did I recycle old newspaper, I also had a giggle doing that. Now Kalil, my flatmate, will come back and see the mess I've done with the flat. Let's hope he doesn't mind too much !

Expert in Hindi culture & glamourous Dubai

Sodwee — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:22:56 +0000

Yesterday was my one and only flight so far in October. In other words I will have to eat pasta to keep my body working next month. And to no one's surprise, I was rostered in the afternoon for a Bombay turnaround which of course I predicted two days prior. That was when I checked Femme-Fatale-EVITA (the system that informs us of changes to our rosters over the phone). I wasn't impressed with the destination. But my worst nightmare, flipped in a second when I knew I was flying with not one, not two, but THREE other crew I knew from training !!!!!!! ZZZzzzane, Veronique and one of them was my SEP instructor Ruth ! Be sure she kept a close eye on me during safe talk [wink], until I was asked what to do when someone falls airsick apart from stuffing stugeron down their necks. I froze. "Oxygen??!" did I say, you cannot go wrong with oxygen as it is a way out of many many many First Aid questions, then the purser will ask you a different question, works every single time ! That's when Ruth looked at me with fire in her eyes ! But she didn't say a word. The flight over was a breeze because now that JetStar opened two daily flights to and from Bombay we have half of the economy cabin to cater for. Leaving us less warped for the return sector. And because each and every worker/expat came into Dubai on a plane, they now how the whole thing works. It's another story when you fly out of a country like India. It gets harder when you have 20/30 Indian workers to take care of for the return sector. These guys probably never flew before and they're all kinda lost on an aircraft. You can sense the fear in them. Understandable, totally understandable. So the area I was in charge of had all of the 20/30 workers. I spent the whole flight setting their ICE entertainment to show Hindi musicals, showing them how to buckle/unbuckle the seatbelt and where to [open brackets] relax [close brackets] in case they needed. The funny thing about these flights is the way they react when we tell them the booze on-board is free. You know when the bar comes up to them, their eyes are gonna sparkle. And as my flatmate says they want VISKY (Yes I've just discovered my homie had a blog !!!! This turns Blue Building into the building with the most bloggers in Dubai !). And of course when one of them wants VISKY, all the others will have VISKY too. By the way this doesn't only apply to workers, it applies to the whole cabin. After raiding our bars, I went up to my first time passengers and tried to ask them if everything was OK and stuff, they nodded sideways, for which I take for a yes. They were a happy lot, whisky in hand and a Hindi film before their eyes ! For the rest of the days I've been on ground nothing much has happened, it's been very gentle. Went twice to Zinc this week. boogied nicely at the Cheese night they have there every Monday and got slushed on booze while I was there. "Une pierre deux coups" as they say (translate to One Stone, Two Strikes). But whilst wondering along SZ road the other afternoon, I was amazed at how much stuff they can build in 6 months. In 12 weeks and in the span of 1000 metres, they managed to build a viaduct for the soon to be metro, 3 tunnels around Defense roundabout, another roundabout, only this time this one is also a viaduct. Dig up another part of the pavement. Tear down an OLD (10 year old) building to replace it later on. Built a station for the metro. Build foundations for the 3 footbridges that will go over SZ road and so many other projects... ! They just can't get enough. svgallery=dubaiglamour Otherwise, Nick, my brother, will be hitting town tomorrow and this should be fun. Hope I can get him on a flight to Brisbane on the 11th thought. The loads are awful. We'll see. He apparently needs some swimming gear so we'll have to hop over to MOEs at some point too so we can go for a tanning session at Jumeirah. We'll figure it out. That's all from me today. More soon. I promise.

Social Network: poll

Sodwee — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:40:42 +0000

We're thinking of opening a dedicated social network for Cabin Crew working for Emirates and beyond but we'd like your feedback first, please answer this anonymous poll so we can judge from your responses. Appreciated !

[poll id="11"]

[poll id="12"]

[poll id="13"]

[poll id="14"]

Thanks for participating. Your answers remain anonymous and are thrown in the pot without any of your information being retained. Just so you know !

vote3

Sodwee — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:52:29 +0000

Subload or how to stress like a Blackberryless executive

Sodwee — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:53:16 +0000

As you may know by now, my brother Nick is here with me. He opted for a pit-stop in the land of Porsche Cayennes, sand and dish-dashes before he goes onto Brisbane, Australia for some more shenanigans. This time on his own. Thsi post will entirely be set at the airport as we spent half of the time there. The story starts when he came in from Paris, France on Thursday. Landed safely after being looked after by our award-winning cabin crew... sipping high on pepsis, watching countless movies. Dubai airport will be a state of the art facility once they open the new Emirates Terminal (#3) with marble flooring, fountains, diamond encrusted X-ray machines and all the things you'd expect from an oil rich country like the United Arab Emirates. But unfortunately, he landed in the has-been has-beyond-well-been Terminal 1. He stood around 50 minutes in the queue for immigration, then was greeted by thousands of people when he got out of customs and out into the astonishing heat and kerfuffle that is the meeting point on the ground level. It was heaving with Pakistanis, Indians, lost/amazed westerners, crazy taxis, and the loads from every single flight coming in at this peak hour in the day (2 o'clock in the morning that is. Yes Dubai Intl. is open 24hours, unlike other French airports doing the 9 to 5). Thankfully, and this is a true blessing knowing my brother, he had his phone charged up full and working. I managed to call him while he was waiting to get his passport stamped and briefed him professionally on how to find me in this human swamp. I told him I would stand away from the sweat and shouting near the taxi rank. He did reach the exit and found me after an hour and a half waiting for him. I did spend my time peaking at the mahraba service desk to see the new crew faces (Funny thing is that we saw them the next day in Mall Of The Emirates buying DU mobile phones). Got back home and slept. The next day was spent strolling around the Mall for some swimming gear and then headed back to Sheikh Zayed for some grubs. My brothers hands were swelling with the heat, kind of weird but terribly funny. I don't need much to amuse myself, thats a fact. Ok back to the airport after a short stop for him to prepare for his flight over to Down Under. Brissie as they call it. Everything went according to plan until Nick had to wait for an OK GO from check-in so he could board the EK flight. He did weigh his bag just in case, got a beautiful tag for his rucksack even, but as he was flying on a subload ticket meaning, we obviously paid less for it, we were not sure if he'd get on or not. And the loads being overbooked as always, with 3 stops along the way (Singapore, Brisbane then Auckland) there was absolutely no way for him to get a seat on that flight. It also works with seniority, my seniority. As I've been here for 7 months, I was at the bottom of the social E-ticketing hierarchy. He didn't make it. After all that stress, waiting around for 2 hours with the pressure of my brother being anxious as he is and stuff I nearly had a breakdown....... big lols after when I look back at the experience now. With all the next days flights as packed as the one he tried to board. I didn't want to spend our time in cabs going back and forth from home and the airport. I, in a moment of desperation walked up the Dnata Ticketing desk to ask for all other possible options for BNE (Brisbane). I got a "The computer says no + caugh" for all of this weeks EK flights. But with a ray of the morning sunshine on her face, she smiled when she brought up the Singapore Airline data. A [caugh] couple dihrams [caugh] later, Nick had a firm ticket for Brisbane with one of the best airlines around. Singapore girls will take good care of my brother I'm sure. I doubt he'll have a minute of sleep because of that too. But hey, at least we can now say "Yesssss, I off to Brisbane and I HAVE A DAAAAAAATE !". svgallery=nickdubai Not to mention whilst doing all of that, I met PP (misses from the Pink Poodle blog) on her way to sunny, relaxed Malta. Big up to you ! Have a nice time there ! And again thanks to Lauren, Melissa & Mat for their precious information on "how to" navigate around Dubai Airport and the secrets of subload ticketing. God it felt like an eternity writting this post. Hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did, or hopefully better. Oh! And after dumping brother at the airport tomorrow, I'll finally be able to get ready for my Paris stint. Mum, Dad, don't go thinking you could get rid of your sons that quickl. When one goes, another comes in ! I'm back !!! mwahahahahahahah. PS: Thanks Tina for posting numerous links out there on forums and yahoo answers. I don't know you but I would definately hire you as PR !!! Thanks again, really appreciated.

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Sodwee — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:10:23 +0000

The Ducs-Ovnies @ Airboy. Illustration by Paul Grelet.

Sodwee — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:50:01 +0000

The Ducs-Ovnies @ Airboy.

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Sodwee — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:10:54 +0000

Paris, Parisians, Smoothies, Ecology, Music.

Sodwee — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:24:40 +0000

We've redecorated the blog a little, and a new background has made it live as well as some tasteful ceiling lampshades, hope you enjoy them. We thinks it makes it a little more cosy. Tell us what you think in the comment section below !

Good to ride those heavy bikes again. I miss my green means of transportation. Velib' is the best thing since they invented the wheel. Today was the official comeback of the Velib' in my fuel charged lifestyle. I mean my carbon footprint will be remembered for sure. I do not drive myself. I have yet to get my license. Instead I either walk or get driven. And because you'd be a complete twat to ride a pushbike on the roads of Dubai, I've kinda left this occupation to one side. Focusing on cabs instead. But now I'm back in Paris, I'm very keen on turning my guilty ecological conscience back to something somewhat normal. So I ride a bike. Not only do you appreciate the views a lot more, but you can feel your muscles working more at the same time. Sounds like I'm discovering all of this but I'm the kind to skip the gym to stuff myself with Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Popcorn and a Coke at the flicks. So the fact that I'm doing a little sport at times means a hell a lot to me ! On another health(y) topic, just like GirlOnTour, I (today only) discovered smoothies. Mother and Father got a brand new blender to play with after drifting in awwww with the Nicaraguan Pina Coladas a few weeks ago. This thing is THE shiz. I'm telling you. Having so much vitamins injected at once in my body is just very new to me. I know I have the most unhealthy diet in the world but I'm trying hard to change that. And a good start for me is to blend stuff into something fluid. Because I think it's very entertaining at first and secondly because it tastes quite nice. So after taking a good look at the monster when I woke up this morning afternoon. I thought I'd throw in some bananas, apples, mango sorbet, oranges and a yogurt. Just to see how the thing works. I blended the mix for around 10 minutes so that Vitamin A and Vitamin B could make love. Poured the potion into a glass (of course, I'm not that dumb!) and just got the mix down my neck. WOW. Drinking that was just WOW. Instantly, It felt like I just piled into an upsized burger king double whopper meal with side orders of Chicken Fries and Onion rings (my usual dinner really), but only this time it felt good. I didn't feel guilty at all. But just proud. It's amazing how far a blender can take you. But it's true. I felt really proud of myself ! A real breakfast. Something I do forget on a daily basis. Otherwise, this time more of the cultural aspect of my first day in Paris, I must let you know that you can listen to my mates new material on his facebook page. They're planning on shooting a video to promote their upcoming album. And I should be able to attend the whole wooha sometime this week. Their band name is The Ducs-Ovnies, a play on words with a famous actor that recently underwent a treatment for his sexual addictions and two other french words. Ducs for Duke, and Ovnies for UFOs. Yeah I know, it's a little loopy. Don't ask me why. But that's the way it is. So these guys rock out a 60's - 70's style of sound with, at times a little twist in the 80's. The whole thing comes alive on set when these three take it to the stage. Benjamin on base guitar (who I had the extreme pleasure of flying over to Dub-Dub back in September), Takumi on lead guitar/voice and Anthony on the drums. They need your help today, if you could add their Facebook page by becoming a fan, you'll make Airboy happy cause they won't ask for free plugs again. They promised. But most importantly here. I'd like to showcase the work of Paul Grelet, another close friend of mine who does very good illustrations and especially gig posters. If you have a band and want to get a professionally looking gig poster, then get in touch with him. He will turn your Windows Paint scribbles into something quite amazing. He's a grad student of one of the best design & arts school in Paris and is currently working in one of the upcoming marketing agencies here in France. Just check out the cover art he made for The Ducs-Ovnies : Be sure to check out his other stuff over at his online portfolio : www.mybookonline.fr Voila, that's pretty much all for my first day in Paris. Will update you later on in the week for sure. I also know some of you are asking for DOWNLOADABLES... I'm currently working on it. Bear with me. It's on its way. PS : Photos were taken by Jeremy Saint-Peyre & Martin Le Roy

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Sodwee — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:49:05 +0000

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Sodwee — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:31:38 +0000

French bitch and whine like no other

Sodwee — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:42:26 +0000

Before I go anywhere with my ramble, I'd like to thank Heather for posting an entire post about me (really bad for my ego). You too look good misses ! Heather is a flight attendant for a major US carrier and also has a blog. She discovered through her website statistic that many, many people were searching for Emirates Cabin Crew Job information. So she did a research for herself and fell on mine. By the way, that's her on the left there. Thanks again for the link ! Check out her rants here : http://shouldbewriting.blogspot.com/ Ok. After riding my Velib' for hours today, after poping in the Frog & Rosbif for a little catch up with whoever I'd find there (there's always someone I know), after crispin' in the cold sun all afternoon I decided to head for my good friend Hadrien for a good old "soiree". Of course we were later joined by the whole french gang. Quickly turning his small bedroom in a squat. It happens everynight there. Of course we blabber along on various and completely random topics such as politics, finances and the daily dose of drama that everyone of us will see in the papers or worse, TV. A few beers and vodka bottles joined the happy few along the way and the then quiet evening turned into SOMETHING ELSE ! Being nostalgic as we're all are here in France we cranked up his system and selected some truly rare beauties. And I'm talking special 90's gold. The likes of TLC, with "No Scrubs", Shola Ama with "You Might Need Somebody" and many more along the way got us in a karaoke frenzie. At one point I was starting to ask myself what I did to deserve a simili karaoke while I only really wanted a quiet evening with my good pals. Nonetheless I was hooked, banging out tunes from my iPod. Busta, Mariah, and some other glorious things from the 1990s. Of course each one of these songs are related to an event that happened in our young days. First kiss, first dance, first home disco at home with Mum & Dad taking care of the pizzas in the kitchen while couples were forming in the living etc etc. To a point in the evening were we went really down the road of souvenirs and let our hearts sing out some really crappy french R'n'B. Alcohol not helping, it was all getting really ugly. I needed some air and decided to leave as we're planning a birthday bash tomorrow in one of our favourite hangouts, Le Buveur de Lune. made sure I got the dogpile in the frame... Feeling the Parisian vibe again is a good thing. But sooner or later things will start to irritate me, big time. Like those rascals asking for cigarettes when you've seen them light one up a few blocks away, that dogpile bang in the middle of the walkway, the car parked ON the pavement leaving you two options : squeeze yourself between the actual car and the building wall, leaving your pants in such a state you can only imagine (french do not have clean, spotless cars I can assure you) or if brave enough, you can bypass the car by walking on the street, thus risking your life, because if a taxi comes by at this very moment, well, you'll no longer be part of this world. This very situation occured this afternoon to me. But strangely, I survived ! How can they ?? Yeah I saw my entire life before my eyes for a second as that white Peugeot came at great speed nearly cutting my new Diesel pair into shorts. Another thing that annoys me to an unbearable extent is the french bitching. God that's all they do. Bitch and whine. Gimme a break ! svgallery=parisleave3 A good thing about Paris, is the abondance of bakeries. You cannot walk 500 meters without coming across at least 3 bakeries. And just smelling those fresh baguette I couldn't resist getting one for myself. MYYYYYYY PREEEECIOUUUUSSSS. So i I did eat the whole thing. The crustiness of the outside, the tenderness of the inside aaaaaaaaaaaarhhhhhhhh I was in heaven. If you stay long enough to enjoy a Parisian baguette, indulge yourself with a vintage one or "A l'ancienne" as they call it here. You'll be on another planet before you munch away for another bite. And to finish off for today I'm letting you have a french soundbite. Learn french with this song :

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/je-tenmene-au-vent.mp3] Louise Attaque - Je T'enmene Au Vent

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Sodwee — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 03:49:44 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:33:54 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 23:56:59 +0000

I can feel it coming in the air tonight.

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:12:53 +0000

Before you carry on reading, please immerse yourself with the track that played non-stop all along my Paris By Night trek : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/in-the-air-tonight.mp3] Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

With not much happening on a Sunday night in Paris, I decided to share my Paris By Night experience. I ventured out in the cold wearing no less than 4 layers to sustain a decent body temperature. So I started off form home and followed my typical route down towards the 11th district of town to check on mates. Being me, and as many of you know by now, being the lazy ass... I do not like echausting myself up hills and stuff. So I take this route because it's downhill all the way. No effort what so ever. Then into my favourite district of Paris, the true part of Paris I think along with a couple other. But this tends to win over because of the highest number of bars available in this part of town. Stopped for a couple nems and a spicy beef at a chinese take away and vetured more into the city. More precisely into the heart of the Parisian nightlife which is Bastille. But being Sunday, nothing was going on and looked dead. I cycled more, along rue de Rivoli, which the Shopping Mecca in Paris for the not-so-rich with brand names such as GAP, H&M and that sort of boutiques. Onto the island via Pont-Neuf and onto the left bank. As I go, it gets posher and posher. The best thing about cycling around Paris on a Sunday night is the amount of things/buildings/people you don't actually see during the day. The lighting especially. No where on earth will you find that so famous orange glow on street lights, and with a clear sky upon us, you have this crisp, moon light giving it an extra "charme". Just check out the picture below for a glance of Paris By Night !. Doing it all on the bike makes it even better. Adding to the already really enjoyable time. The quietness of the city at this time of day is just amazing. No rush, no pressure. I luuuuuuuuuuve it ! All the pictures taken tonight are just below : svgallery=parisleave4 In other news, Nick (BrotherOfSodwee) has finally got himself across the globe. Into Brisbane, Australia. He has been there for a week now and is adapting to the lazy/cool attitude quite nicely, in fact I think he didn't have to force himself, as he's an expert in that field. Met a friend and is doing well. As soon as I get decent picture of him, I'll post'em upon here foolz. For his relocation. He finally made a big decision and got his hair cut and shaped into a more Australistic feel :

Oh and I miss the "OK" temperatures of Dub-Dub. Here it feels like winter. The Christmas feeling is coming up fast !

And my final words for this blog post will be : MOTHEROFSODWEE IS ON FACEBOOK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Sodwee — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:18:11 +0000

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Gimme Juicy Beef ! Pictured description of the french population

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:34:22 +0000

I left Paris today. Spent another fortune on cabs for the airport. And I'm now sat in 49 Echo. The middle seat. Meaning you have to be very polite to your neighbouring passengers. No farts, no elbow fights, no eating like a pig, get out of the seat when your neighbour goes for a pee and never come back. That is what I did, I never came back to my seat. I was happy sitting on the jumpseat (something I didn't do for the last 3 weeks) listening to the never ending playlist that fills my iPhone. I thought I wouldn't even make it to the plane as the check-in iniatially thought I was on a ID90 (meaning on stand-by). She gave me a right scare. I knew I had bought ID50s and was sure to have firm tickets. I finally got on with the last row to deal with. Mother & Father treated me to a really nice restaurant yesterday on the side of the Canal St Martin where I had the juiciest beef I ever had. Saignant it was ! Loved it. Then Mother and I shared a fondant au chocolat to round things off, while Father on his side got himself caramelized apples with some toffee and vanilla ice-cream. I'll be frank here, I was dribbling over his pudding put decided to hold myself and dig in the chocolate cake instead. This was a tiny restaurant. Nice, chill with great service. Something I miss about Paris. So before I go to bed. I'll to describe a panel of ordinary french people you'd likely see in the tube. I did so it can't be that difficult. And as you will see they all fall into categories. You can comment below and give your point of view. Good or Bad, I'll take it. "Anne-Marie, Louise et Jennifer". So this panel above is a typical 16 year old girl that comes from a very posh part of Paris (7th district). Parents a loaded but they dress themselves at H&M, because poor girl she hasn't got enough pocket money [yet] to go to designer stores. She's usually very loud on the metro when surrounded by her best friends who are - of course - dressed the same exact same way. She spends half her metro ride looking for something in her gigantic bag, her phone for example. These guys will most likely be hanging out in big stations or busy squares scattered around Paris. They all have insanely big t-shirts and usually live on the outskirts of Paris. They tend to shop around Chatelet where the store selling their clothes are located. It's like a cheap version of a Bronx lad. Those are the ones playing 50 cent through the speaker of their cellphone. "Kevin, Mickael et Jonathan". Now those freaks are quite recent in the Parisian countryside. They follow a movement called Tektonik (a useless genre of music that really shouldn't deserve a capital "T"). They go to weird dance reunions every wednesday afternoon in central Paris to wave their arms around like coked up tweens. Very frightening if you see them for the first time in the street. They come from all kinds of horizons but usually will have in common the fact that their parents haven't looked after them quite well. They all have an iPod full of crap music and will never take it off, unless you run over them with a Hummer. These ladies are notorious. They most probably own a hairsalon in the 10th district. Providing beauty care and thousands of extensions to the younger generation. They rule the afro-french beauty business and usually ride in a Mercedes with tinted windows. You will notice them on Saturdays near Gare de L'Est. An equivalent to the New York Yupsterboy. A professional working hipster. Yupsters are generally in their middle 30's to very early 40's. At the leading edge of Generation X, yupsters came of age during the first wave of indie rock and hip hop. Informed by their teenage-twentysomething, DIY, cheap and chic style, yupsters have incorported their edgier pasts into a new form of an extended youth culture of hip clothes, avante rock, indie hop and creative class professions. Yupsters have successfully opened sleek boutique hotels, cool bodegas, retro diner style restaurants, vintage clothing stores, kitschy bric-a-brac retail spaces, tongue-in-cheek bars and lounges, haute hair salons, trendy record stores and labels, hip coffee bars and bakeries, plush pet shops and ironic graphic and design firms. "Francois de St-Quentin en Yvelines". This species will most likely be found on line #1 and line #14 of the Paris metro network. Because it is most likely these guys work either at la Defense (a business district of Paris) or Bercy where the French Financial Headquarters are located. They do everything possible to look busy. They will walk twice as fast. In a crowded wagon they will not hesitate to bang their laptop cases around, just so you notice... When work finishes at 5.30pm sharp they will invade the above mentioned metro lines and zoom back home because wifey has already got dinner on the table and 4 year old Kevin is hungry. The "loubard gentil et con a la fois" or "Gautier, Lou et Pierre". These guys are stuck in the early 90s. They think they're cool but are completely wrong. Found in the dark corners of the 20th district of Paris they listen to new Rock. Their hang outs include La Fleche d'Or, a popular (amongst these types) venue. Also found at La Boule Noir. Will always have a smelly leather jacket to wear. They think of themselves as unemployed but actually work for a well-known boutique near St-Germain or a subculture magazine that Dad runs. Geek Chic. Lives in the St-Germain area of Paris. Probably runs an modern art gallery and will happily listen to mozart in the afternoon and dance to 2 Many DJs once the apero is over. Very particular about his food and who he sees himself with. Will not go further than 600 meter radius of St-Sulpice. Sad lot. "Monique, Jeanne et Claude". The average suburban secretaries. Has always worked for the state. Earns ok cash. Is very particular on sitting in the same seat on her way back home. Goes grocery shopping at Carrefour on Saturday mornings with the kids, cooks for dinner all afternoon. Eats at flunch with her female colleagues at least once every week. Does a Sudoku in the metro. She used to be a hippie back in the days. She went to the Isle Of White at least once. Has an extensive collection of Hendrix material. She goes shopping at two places : The organic supermarket or at the market every wednesday. She gets her clothes in second hand shops and dresses her daughter the same way. You can find them at any strike/demonstration in Paris. Very politically orientated. Very boring. Always involved in community stuff. The pictures you see were taken in various places around France by a Dutch artist, can't remember his name..sorry. The aim was to choose random people from the crowd and take a photograph of them in their natural clothes, clothes they wear on a daily basis. He did that repeatedly until he found different people with the same style. The result is impressive. As pictured above. If you identify yourself as being part of one of these people, I'm sorry in advance for the offense ! I also smuggled some old school pictures from my very old photo albums, so I'll probably do something with them as soon as I get them scanned with my flatmates beautiful new toy : the scanner-printer-fax-microwave-coffeemachine he just brought home ! Fun times ahead ! Ohhh and still waiting for a duty... :-( Peace out foolz !

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Retro. Old pictures come back to life !

Sodwee — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:22:08 +0000

Like I said in my last post, I decided to smuggle some old pictures from Paris to Dubai because Kalil just got a new printer-scanner and having them transfered from paper to digital is way cooler. Now I can share stuff from the past... After installing a truck load of apps to run the beast I was able to scan the pictures and edit them in Photoshop. This post is more family orientated but since it's a public blog well I guess you can be the voyeur that you are without having any guilt what so ever ! In the good old days my brother and I used to spend our summers between Aberystwyth (never mind the pronounciation, it's in mid Wales) and Sartilly in Normandie, France. This is where our grandparents lived and we loved it ! It is also where we both learnt our english for the most part. Yeah mother is from the UK and father from France. Hence why I have both Passports and get so many questions during pre-flight briefing... As french schools close for 2 months in the summer (July & August) we were sent over to wales or Sartilly to relieve our parents. They'd send the two devils by plane as UMs and that's where our holidays would start. On the plane harrassing the Crew for more peanuts and asking them stupid questions all flight long. We usually got ourselves in the cockpit (those were the golden days, pre 9-11) during cruise and annoy the techies after the cabin crew ahd enough of us two. Our grandparents used to pick us up at Bristol Intl or Cardiff. The closest aiport to their house. We did this every year. Sometimes forgetting the luggage behind, and Granny had to send nickers one by one by mail... Below is my brother Nick and myself, fooling around with a hammer (you wonder why??) and Cook the collie that Gran'pa used to move the sheep around with : But every year, just before going to Wales or Normandy, we'd get to go on hols with Mother & Father before we were way too old and less lazy. We'd spend two weeks either in France or abroad depending on how hard Mum & Dad worked during the year. So we got to go places and see most of Europe. We were ok travellers. The car trips were probably the worst part for Dad. We'd keep asking questions like any other kid would do ... you know..."How far till we get there ?", "How long now ?", "When are we eating?", "I need the loo!", "Why is this lorry overtaking???" and so on... Our best holdiays were probably Kenya (with the grandparents and Cyrpus the same year). Photos below. And this is one of my failed attempts to get Father, brother and Mother on the same photograph underwater. Not easy ! We were lucky. We were spoilt. The picture below is all about Nick dressed in his Batman outfit he got for X-mas and having fun in the snow. A superheroe's favourite hobby ! Yeah in fact we used to have fun the rest of the year too. We'd go to school carnivals dressed as Robin Hood, do sports like Rugby (Brother did, I was happy rollerblading or playing Badminton). All of this was made possible by Mum amazing talent at designing outfits and finding stuff for us to do so she could relax at home. Don't we look stunning in those Robin Hood costumes ? (Mum? How did you get that feather to stay up like that ????) Those were the golden days. Thanks to Mum, Dad, Granny, Gran'Pa, Memere, and everyone else we used to hang around with ! We loved it. Check out the rest of the pictures below if you're still here reading and interested....! That's all fro me today. Catch you up later. svgallery=retro

Downloadables Central

Sodwee — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:35:31 +0000

Here you can view & download all the available tracks from our previous DOWNLOADABLES. We will eventually clean up to spare some server space in order to add new tracks. Come back regularly to download the latest covers & remixes we post. This page is automatically updated when new songs are posted. Bookmark it for easy access !

Use the search box to find a specific track.

[page_download]

cover

Sodwee — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:17:50 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #62 / All time classics.

Sodwee — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:15:02 +0000

By popular demand and because those are some of my favourite covers. I have re-upped some old Airboy Classics. Feel FREEEEEEE to download those tracks. Note that all you have to do now is click once on the links below to start the automatic download. We've also added a hits counter for each download so you can monitor which one is doing best. Therefore guiding you to the best song to get ! It's all snazzy ! It also helps me process those mp3 in an easier way. Less coding I mean. The cover art has also changed as you can see. The picture was taken by Jeremy St-Peyre & Martin Le Roy in the Pere Lachaise cimetry in Paris a few meters away from where crackhead Morrisson is resting...

Head to DOWNLOADABLES CENTRAL for ALL the available tracks for download. This page is updated automatically as I add or delete songs from the server so you'll never be mislead by a dead link evaaaaah ! Click here to see the page !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/08_Lost_In_Music_Sister_Sledge_cover.mp3] [download id="1"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/11_Im_So_Excited_Pointer_Sisters.mp3] [download id="2"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/03_Cupid_Johnny_Cash_cover.mp3] [download id="4"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Cry_To_Me_Solomon_Burke_cover.mp3] [download id="5"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Last_Nite_The_Strokes_Cover.mp3] [download id="6"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Poupee_de_Cire_Poupee_de_Son_France_Gall_cover.mp3] [download id="7"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Take_Me_Out_Franz_Ferdinand_cover.mp3] [download id="8"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/13_Its_a_Man_World_James_Brown_cover.mp3] [download id="13"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/02_Dance_ESG_cover.mp3] [download id="10"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Bleeding_Love_Leona_Lewis_Cover.mp3] [download id="11"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Faith_George_Michael_Cover.mp3] [download id="12"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Song_2_Blur_cover.mp3] [download id="14"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Thats_Not_My_Name_Ting_Tings_Cover.mp3] [download id="15"] Enjoy, tell me what you think of all those in the comment section !

friendlyfires

Sodwee — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:47:31 +0000

Friendly Fires

Sodwee — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:09:31 +0000

I was meant to post that a few weeks before my leave but didn't get round it as I was listening to some 90s crap instead, you know like Gina G - "Ooh Ahh Just A Little Bit" one of the UK Eurovision contestants back in the days. But as I have bags of time because I'm getting paid to sleep I thought it was the right time to bring the Friendly Fires to your attention. And because I know Crew a fond of music, this will interest you to the highest point. It's not about Mariah, not about Leona, no. I'm talking actual music. Those guys will make it big before New Years Eve. Friendly Fires met at school in St Albans. Aged 14 they formed their first band, a post-hardcore outfitwhich existed until they began university. During this time lead singer Ed Macfarlane released his own music (under his own name) through the electronica label Skam, and Precinct Recordings. Upon leaving university they formed a new band inspired by dance music, "lush shoegaze melodies, and classic pop songwriting. The name Friendly Fires originates from the opening track of the Section 25 LP Always Now. The band consider German techno label Kompakt, Carl Craig and Prince to be their greatest influences. Check out the original "Paris" video : Dance with indie credibility. None-existent a few years ago, now there's LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, CSS... even Bloc Party are lording it up on synths and beats. Add to the growing bunch Friendly Fires, who, like fellow alliteration kids Crystal Castles make disco pop beats for the asymmetric crowd. 'Paris' should see many an indie disco get yet more sweat covered, as frenetic melodies break up to a chorus which sounds so much like Kele Okereke it might as well be a guest spot. But Friendly Fires got there first. Plus, they're better. But There's more. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a delicious remix of this already sizzling song. Performed by Aeroplane and featuring Au Revoir Simone on the vocals. I can already picture the dribbles of awww as I play that track loud enough to scare Kalil out of the flat... Go download as it is here for free. And be sure to play this thing loud... You'll thank me when your friends say "where did you get this ??? I want it !"

Friendly Fires Ft Au Revoir Simone - Paris (Aeroplane remix) // DOWNLOAD HERE

In other news, I have been through another Standby Shift from 4am to 12pm yesterday. And guess what !? I haven't been pulled out! I'm starting to feel a little crazy on one side. I want to fly out of here but they won't let meeeee. So I'm stuck in the sandpit. And as generous as they are. They've extended my reserve until the 14th of November because I took 13 days leave in October ! Thus scrapping my long awaited bids for a Glasgow on the 7th and my Singapore - Brisbane hope. Instead they gave me a Glasgow on the 17th (not much use really !) followed by a Manila and a Shanghai. November is definately the worst month in the calendar for Airboy.

www.wearefriendlyfires.com/

bulletroster

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:09:20 +0000

planebullet2

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:09:22 +0000

planebullet21

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:26:14 +0000

planebullet22

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:31:35 +0000

postit

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:42:30 +0000

postit1

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:42:47 +0000

damascus

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:15:44 +0000

November : Glasgow, Jakarta and Shanghai [updated].

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:18:49 +0000

Nothing much to add for today. I will be mopping a water leak from the A/C and maybe going to MOEs. It's an exilirating day off really ! I finally got my ass sat in a Jumpseat yesterday for a DAMn (Damascus) flight. Waited 6 hours before I got the call and then worked for around 12 hours. That's around 18 hours of duty....... None the less, I was happy to actually fly and do something. And this is what my November route plan looks like. Duh.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV	RSV
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
XX	XX	DXB - GLA	out	GLA - DXB	XX	DXB - CGK
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
CGK - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - PVG	out	PVG - DXB	XX
29	30	31
XX	XX	XX

XX = Day Off | RSV = Standby | out = layover | hols = Holidays

Airboy in 40 questions

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:14:40 +0000

It seems it's an ongoing trend amongst FA bloggers to answer the almighty forty. 40 questions that people will generally ask you. After reading Another Passport Stamp I thought I could do it. But lazy as I am, I took pictures instead... where applicable. The result follows : 1.Which airline is lucky enough to employ you? 2.What city(ies) are you based in? 3.If you could choose any city, what would be your dream base? 4.How long would you like to be based there? 5.Have you ever done the nasty with a passenger you met on a plane? 6.Have you ever wanted to? 7.What is your favorite city thus far to layover in? 8.Have you had famous people as passengers? 9.If so, who was your favorite? Not Applicable ! 10.Who was your least favorite? Not Applicable ! 11.Who would you love to have on your flight? 12.Are you a language speaker for your airline? 13.What is your least favorite flight to work? (no offence Heather, we're still friends right ?) 14.Do you have a flight you actually enjoy working? 15.Are you part of the mile high club? 16.What do you watch on TV when you are getting ready for work on a layover? 17.Have you ever dropped a passenger meal and served it? 18.Do you prefer working coach, business class or first class? 19.What is your favorite airplane to work? 20.Do you know what crop-dusting inflight is? 21.Do you prefer working early flights or late ones? 22.Do you like the uniform your airline gives you? 23.Do you take your laptop on a layover? 24.What is your LEAST favorite part of every flight? Boarding. 25.What is the BEST hotel you have ever had a layover at? Sheraton Bandara Jakarta 26.Where did you interview for your job? 27.What other cities have you been based in? None this is my first Cabin Crew job. I used to live in Paris. 28.Favorite base? Non applicable biatch ! 29.Why did you become a flight attendant? To collect mugs! 30.Did you apply at other airlines that didn't want you? 31.Do you like the airline you work for? 32.Have you ever had the CEO of your airline onboard as a passenger? 33.Have you ever dated a passenger you met? 34.Have you ever gotten into a disagreement with a fellow crew member? 35.Has a pilot/crew ever hit on you? 36.Do you dislike passengers or pilots more? 37.Passengers ask annoying questions when they see you in uniform. What is your least favorite question? the typical "So where have you been lately ?" followed closely by "Where are you heading next ?" 38.What is the stupidest request a passenger has made of you? 39.Is being a hostess with the mostess your only job? 40.Have you ever gotten any long lasting relationships out of your job? The friends I made here.

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Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:14:40 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:25:25 +0000

sarahpalin1

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:29:13 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:19:29 +0000

Kaiser Chiefs @ Airboy.sodwee.com

Sodwee — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:31:10 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #63 / I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Sodwee — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:56:11 +0000

My Wagamama is on the way, and the Kaiser Chiefs are back on my soundsystem. This time with a cover song of iconic Marvin. Marvin Gaye precisely. The Kaiser Chiefs aren't new. They've done 3 albums so far and planning a European tour for March 2009. I saw these guys in Paris a few years ago and loved their act. Ricky Wilson, on the vocals his just a complete fool when it comes to entertain the crowd. He went on to crowdsurf the hip teens and their mothers that day ! If, by ay chance, you haven't heard of them, you probably remember their hit single "I Predict A Riot" who was awarded, amongst others, best rock anthem by NME. Back to the cover. I really do think this is a good cover. Simply because it's fun. Marvin sang it one way, Kaiser Chiefs sang it their way... Also on in the pan for todays DOWNLOADABLES, we have the likes of Friendly Fires who we talked about in a very recent post and Goldfrapp, another of my favourite bands. They covered The Klaxons for us today and we're happy to have the track for you to download... The rest of the tracks are for you to discover ! Tell me what you think in the comment section below !! Have a good day !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Time_To_Pretend_MGMT_cover.mp3] [download id="39"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Rasberry_Beret_Prince_cover.mp3] [download id="40"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/I_Heard_It_Through.mp3] [download id="41"]*DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Its_Not_Over_Yet_Klaxons_cover.mp3] [download id="43"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/To_Love_Somebody_Bee_Gees_cover.mp3] [download id="44"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Im_Good_Im_Gone_Lykke_Li_cover.mp3] [download id="45"]

obamabottom

Sodwee — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:48:24 +0000

My Wild Houston Kerfuffle.

Sodwee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:06:40 +0000

I had started to feel comfortable in bed during the first minutes of my Standby 1. I had waken up at 5.45am to check the roster changes. I jumped in shock when I saw these little blue boxes showing up where an 8 hour long wait should have been. I was pulled out for a IAH flight (Houston, TX) during the night and only found out 3 hours before the flight was due to leave. 3 hours is short notice, we have to be at the briefing room no later than 110 minutes before STD (Scheduled Time of Departure) before marked absent so that leaves you with an hour and 30 minutes to get ready and commute to CBC. Especially when you're uniform is still kinda damp and drying in the tumble. I takes a great amount of planning to get to the briefing in time when something like that happens. I figured out it would take another 30 minutes for the uniform to dry and decided to risk it. Went into the shower, got shaved in less than 10 minutes which is an all-time record for me. I usually stay ages under the running water, and take my time shaving. Clocking to around 50 minutes of pampering to be in a good mood. Packing is another stressful phase in the prep of a pull-out for a long layover. Of course, I didn't pack the day before, or I didn't pack accordingly. So the clothes were flying around the bedroom and I was shoving jeans, underwear and all from the cupboard at the opposite side of the room. By that time, my bedroom looked like downtown Bagdhad. The uniform was finally dry and ready to be ironed. This takes around 7 minutes for 2 pants, 2 shirts and 2 tees. Thus adding to the stress. I finally locked my suitcase, then had to jam pack my cabin bag with pajamas (I nearly forgot those), laptop, grooming accessories and the mandatory Crew Bible, this one taking 2 thirds of the space. After 50 minutes of running like a headless chicken around the flat, I finally was ready to roll out. Yet another adrenaline rush comes straight at you when you know what the buses are like here : unreliable. The most appropriate option in that case is to hail a cab. I was joined by another crew on standby from my building so we hopped on to CBC. We arrived just in time. Cut off point was just minutes away.

I had slept for 6 hours roughly. And knowing the flight over to Houston would last around 15, I was not looking forward to it. Thankfully I was first on the rest queue. These flights are straining for your body and soul. At points you can lose patience. Most notably when serving 200 hungry/thirsty passengers. We give them menus at the begining of the flight so they can choose their meal, enabling us to speed up the service. But 99% of the time, they do not give an flying crap about that very important piece of information we give them. Instead they like to hold the cart up whilst they choose between our mouth watering Chicken Mankhani or our home-made delicious Lamb Masala. If you look closely, you'll notice the cabin crew in charge of the meal cart starting to look annoyed and see their lower jaw making love to the upper one. This applies mostly on large aircrafts with 200+ pax to feed. Another annoying fact on a long haul flight, is the fustrating habit of passengers that come down to the aft galley and sitting in the crew jumpseats. Leaving us poor working horses to stand up trying to find excuses so we can reclaim OUR seat. Turbulence is the best part in a flight. Then you know, you'll have all of your passengers sitting down not able to get up for astonishing requests. The last one to date was an obviously ignorant mother requesting french fries for her 5 year old ! What on earth goes through peoples mind while asking for such things is just beyond me. I was thinking, "yeah sure, gimme a pan, some cooking oil, stove, spuds and a knife and your fries will be in their way, until then, you'll have to stick to scrambled eggs.... How does that sound for a breakfast huh ??".

The tipping point in the galley is when the mother with the infant starts helping herself and using the equipment. This happened on my flight back from Houston to Dubai. The crew present in the back just stopped, looked at each other not knowing how to handle this situation... The mother started to use the Hot Water dispenser to clean her baby bottles like she was in her own kitchen and whiping them with clean linen we were to use for the following service. I mean, where is the point of having Cabin Crew, besides safety and security issues, when they're here to serve you ??? This is one of the reasons I think Mother + Kids on an aircraft is just hell. This same mother, thought the galley space was also a playground for her toddlers. She obviously did not see the problem with having 2 year old Kevin and 3 year old Sarah licking the galley floor, playing with the carts, pressing the trash compactor buttons while we were prepping for the meal service. To one point where we had to strongly advise her to return to her seat along with her children before something real bad happened to one of them. That's when the average passenger sees the evil in a Flight Attendant. I mean it's like you were asking for trouble. You're here, in the most dangerous place on any aircraft, heavy duty silver trays around, ready to slaughter whoever is present at the slightest drop in altitude, where carts can simply crush your favourite son Kevin to death, where Sarah can chop all of her sweet 10 fingers with the trash compactor, where mom can burn herself to the highest degree using the Hot water tap. People just do not see the dangers. That is how altitude and confinement can affect a persons common sense. And that is why we're here to remind them, like it or not. She was obviously not happy when we told her that "from now on, we would take care of her baby bottles" while she entertains her kids. For the rest of the 15 hour flight we had Joe six Pack begging for more beer, Buck from Texas in desperate need of a political talk on Mc Cain, Susan from the sugarlands yapping away about her sister being part of the famous Quilt Festival in Houston, Kevin still being the worst kid ever, Preethi Sita having trouble finding the bollywood channel on the ICE system, Francois wanting more bread and red wine for his meal... the list goes on. In Houston now. Very uneventful as the hotel was packed with middle-aged mid-west women heaving around because of the Quilt Festival going on next door. I had the best sleep ever. 2 club sandwiches and some shower therapy after this horrible flight. As you may understand I wasn't looking forward to the return sector. Everything that happened on the way over happened AG-AIN on the way back. At least I now have flying hours for this months ! Yeeeepee.

plumbing_1

Sodwee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:00:58 +0000

shotagain

Sodwee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:02:12 +0000

redneckwedding2

Sodwee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:03:23 +0000

texas-cowboy

Sodwee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:04:27 +0000

060922_barackobama_xtrawide

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:01:28 +0000

morgan-freeman-god

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:01:31 +0000

Another Day, another Mall. Obama & Brother Of Sodwee.

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:07:52 +0000

Today was spent mainly watching the latest on CNN, eating pot noodles and going over the highway to see french friends at the 21st century tower. But in a collective move, we decided to check out what the new, massive, WOWIWOOooooo, mall had to offer. It's called The Dubai Mall and it's one of the world's largest shopping temple. Boasts sharks in an aquarium, thousands of shops (7000 I think) and so on. It was opening day today. As it is only a mere 15 minute walk + a deadly crossing we decided to make the journey by foot. And indeed it is close to 21st. VERY convenient for those on the DIFC side. The place is just HUGE. GIGANTIC. It also had a Waitrose for your daily grocery shopping. GUYS ! You can call Deira a quit and MOEs is Has-Been now that this thing opened. Every single shop you'd think of is there, from your cheap/tacky accessories outlet Claire's to the very top end of the pile Jimmy Choo for you ladies. Mens are well suited too with a good range to choose from. Although half the shops are not open yet, the whole thing looks promising. No more hilarious mid-afternoon shows involving plate spinning and Croatian dancers. We now have the luxury of whatching models doing the catwalk wearing fancy crap from fancy designers. But the best thing of all here is the FIRST Gallerie LaFayette department store outside of France. Which is a big thing for us french here. If you have visited Paris, you most likely went to the oldest department store after Samaritaine. It is uber-popular with Asians. So expect some queues near the handbags corner...

Note that we have added an email service to Airboy. You can now suscribe to get the latest entries by email. Simply suscribe via the form in the left column. You'll get the posts as soon as they are published. Your email will be kept secret at all times. They will not be sold to any third party. Sucribe now and never miss a blog entry ever again !

The proximity of the place is another plus. This means no more friggin' taxi rides along busy Sheikh Zayed and no more waiting in line for the return cab as we can walk home easily. All in all a good new thing for Dubai... Pictures will come later as I forgot the camera. Surely you can find some pics via Google. Otherwise, I am proud to have stayed awake until the late hours of the morning today as I've been following the election on CNN. With states unfolding their results as the sun went down across the good ol' US and A. Happy days. Many of us didn't see it coming. We only saw black presidents in films like the Fifth Element, Deep Impact and The Man. And I can recall many people saying that was just not possible when seeing Morgan Freeman at the Head of The White House. But today is a different story. Those movies can now boast relevancy. Happy days. During his speech I was frightenned he'd get shot. Yes he did have bulletproof panels, but those were only placed on either side of Obama ! Thankfully nothing serious happened. But I'm sure we'll be witnessing some horrible stuff in the coming months as this new president is a vulnerable target. I'm feeling a Kenndy #2 coming our way. Nonetheless, I'm happy to see the US have moved one step further to be a normal country. Will be happy to say to my kids I witnessed it all along with 9/11, the Bush era, the worst economic crisis and many other things.

[poll id="15"]

Family news now. I told you a few weeks ago that Brother moved Down Under to Brisbane. He's been there for around 3 weeks now. He's settling in quite well and at an astonishing pace too. He found himself a bedroom in a house in central Brissie for a reasonnable amount of Dollarz. He, we're happy about it, meaning he can ditch the dorm that holds 8 bunks and get a little more privacy. He also has work down the pipe too as he's being taken on in a French restaurant. We do not know in what position yet because he's giving sporadic news and he'd rather spend halloween living it up than talking to us over skype, which is very understandable. We'll get some pictures soon too.

logosocialclubsmall

Sodwee — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:11:21 +0000

coverartmusic

Sodwee — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:15:44 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #64 / Bittersweet Electric Sky Touch

Sodwee — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:18:51 +0000

Browsing the world wide web for new tracks is one of my favourite thing to do. I usually get to that when I'm sick of listening to the previous tracks I downloaded. Today I bring you extremely good stuff to your ears. Mainly remixes and mashups as it was hard to find anything good enough for this DOWNLOADABLES #64. The Gossip have produced some wicked tracks like "Listen Up" or "Standing In The Way Of Control" which is here today remixed by what is most probably my favourite DJ duo from Belgium, Soulwax. This track is 12 minutes of pure goodness. Also in the line up we have a mashup with The Ting Tings' "Shut Up And Let Me go" versus Estelle & Kanye West's American Boy as well as an epic track involving The Verve, MGMT, Justice & Kanye West (again...). Otherwise Yo! Magesty, how can I describe them ? Erm, two black women, off the hook, with a great flow and some killer beats. Go download it's worth the pain ! The rest I let you discover. Peace out foolz!

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/07_Kennedy.mp3] [download id="46"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Bittersweet_Electric_Sky_Touch.mp3] [download id="47"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Lose_Out_Elliot_Mash_Up.mp3] [download id="48"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/13_Club_Action.mp3] [download id="49"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Jimmy_MIA_cover.mp3] [download id="50"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Save_Ur_Soul.mp3] [download id="51"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/02_Shut_Up_American_Boy.mp3] [download id="52"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/14_True_Colors_Cyndi_Lauper_cover.mp3] [download id="53"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/The_Feeling.mp3] [download id="54"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/1-01_Standing_In_The_Way_Of_Control_Soulwax_remix.mp3] [download id="55"]

That's All Folks

bggif

Sodwee — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 08:34:55 +0000

Airboy does Skype, Mother interviewed.

Sodwee — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:21:39 +0000

This was a highly unprepared, to the minute idea that sprung up as I downloaded a program called screenflick which enables anyone to conduct a video call and tape it. This is what we've done. Mother sat in front of her computer to answer some of her sons questions. Check it out below !

picture-1

Sodwee — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:27:28 +0000

picture-2

Sodwee — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:30:25 +0000

World's Largest Mall: The Dubai Mall, the untold truth.

Sodwee — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:36:16 +0000

As promised to you earlier in the week, here are the photos from The Dubai Mall. I went back today to check out Waitrose and some other shops I didn't manage to have a look at in depth when I was there with the french gang. I like wondering around with my soundproof headset, DVNO by Justice blasting through the twitters !! Great feeling. So as already mentioned, this place is huge. There's, in fact, more walking than shopping. I would totally avoid the place with under 3 year old toddlers or over 75 as you wouldn't go too far. It would also mean a far more enjoyable session for the rest of the crowd, as we'd not bump or walk over anyone as it happened to me on a few occasions already. Keep elderly and underage shoppers at bay. Leave them in the car at the Valet Parking !!! It opened at the same time as Barack (I call him by his first name because we're friends) was elected. On November 4th. Since then it looks like it's been a huge success with visitors. Yes visitors, cause, there's not much to buy as half the shops are still closed and items tend to be much more expensive than anywhere else. By the time each and every shop opens it will be heaven on earth for most crew here. From waitrose, to the organic food outlets, to the restaurants, to the cinemas, and finally to the top of the range designer outlets, you'll have everything in one single place. It's a surprise also to see that every single french designer is represented there too. With the likes of Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermes, Cartier, and so on. Even french food is largely present. From french bread artist Kaiser to chocolatier and traiteur Lenotre is there to please your appetite. It clearly looks like they've been dishing out the cash to surpass any other mall on Earth. From ceilings with stars, aquariums with sharks, to illuminated catwalks in the middle of the alleys to giant mobile LED screens. They have everything to have you look anywhere but the shop windows. They even have a Fashion Carpark !!!! How sick is that !?? They also have an olympic size Ice Ring. At the time I was there, they had very very young hockey players doing a match. It was entertaining because the kids couldn't stay up on their blades. It was the funniest thing to watch. All geared up in their Hockey outfits !! The only problem with Dubai's Olympic size Ice Ring is that they only have a mere 50 seats. Weird. I was there this Friday afternoon. And obviously I didn't take into account that Friday here is like your regular Saturday in the western part of the world. And therefore, uber-busy. The first I saw as I walked up to the mall was the taxi rank. Blimey it was long. Extremely long the part you see on the photo below is only half of what is was. By the time I left at around 6pm, the queue was even longer. I say it was a rough 2 hour wait to get in a cab. Worse than Deira City Center. It also seemed like not a single taxi dared to pick up anyone at the rank either. Leaving the shoppers stranded for long hours there. Now, the food court. Nothing too special about it. It's very small compared to the one Mall Of Emirates. But, and this will make J-rad happy, the Taco Bell is open and by the looks of things, it's mouth watering. People were kind of excited as they waited in the queue. Funny sight. On the other hand, the McDonalds there is shite ! You'd rather get your sandwich from Waitrose as they have some healthier options in their Delicatessen counter for a reasonable price. The good thing about The Dubai Mall opening is that it's just going to suck every visitors from all the malls around, especially Mall Of The Emirates. Thus letting us less crazy shoppers more space to relax and a less crowded carrefour. Things to avoid at The Dubai Mall :

Taxis. Get there in your own car if you can stand the wait to get onto the grounds or else go there by foot and park your car elsewhere.
Bring your own food if you plan on eating there or go to Waitrose and get your nice sandwich.
Leave your kids behind. We really want a peaceful shopping session and not having screaming little devils running around with their wheeled sneakers.
Do not buy your kids those hidious shoes with wheels underneath. All it does is fustrate you and others.
Leave Granny at home. She does not deserve a 10 mile walk in the afternoon. You need fit people to shop at The Dubai Mall.
Avoid loosing your kids or your friends in there. You'll have major difficulties finding each other without a mobile phone each.

Well I think that sums it all pretty neatly. If you have photos of the place you'd like to add to the gallery, then send them to sodwee (at) gmail.com (you know what to do there). It will be much appreciated. And of course all your comments are truly gold ! Keep on commenting ! Khalas. I'm off to iron and eat my deliciously looking Chicken Wraps I just got ! Peace out ! svgallery=dubaimall

bg78

Sodwee — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:31:27 +0000

Where the hell is Airboy ?

Sodwee — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:00:59 +0000

Well, ladies, Airboy got pulled out for a Sydney - Christchurch for the remaining days of his reserve ! How on earth did that happened ?? I have no flippin" idea. But apparently I was put on airport standby with a priority for any Sydney or Melbourne trip. And obviously being positioned of standby after a Friday night one is most likely to be pulled out because some wild crew decided it was better to down 9 JD's rather than having a trip Down Under. Yep, sometimes, you wonder what goes through a cabin crew's mind.

If you want a SAFE FOR WORK option to read Airboy's blog, you can opt for our inbox delivery of every new post we publish here. As soon as I hit the publish button for the next post, an email will be sent to you with the content of the entry. All you have to do is enter your email in the box in the left column (or click here) and follow the instructions from our friends at Feedburner.com. We also have various options for the blog. You can either suscribe to our RSS to keep up to date with the latest from Airboy, or if you're on the go and you're the lucky owner of an Ipod Touch/Iphone you can, with the wonders of a WIFI/Edge connection, follow the blog. Just log on and you'll be automatically redirected to the mobile version of the blog for instant reading pleasure.

So. I was all geared up and showed at the packed standby lounge ready to hang around for 4 hours before being told to go back home. But, fortunately, after 7 minutes, my staff number was being shouted out.... Was well comfortable on the couch between 2 magnificient looking crew and had to pack my laptop to get to the standby officer who, with a grin on his face, informed me I was leaving for a Sydney - Christchurch. A long flight ahead and some good layover. My smile instantly ran across my morning face. Thank God I packed for a 9 days trip unlike many other crew who rely on 2 pairs of underwear and a few tees. I was fully kitted. Suitcase weighing around 18kgs. I headed to briefing counter to get on a private limo that would take me to the aircraft. Yes that happens when the crew already left the briefing room and you're basically late. Hopped on, got to the aircraft and met the others. Happy lot. From various backgrounds and seemed happy to be there. The only downside was the aircraft. An Airbus. Skip forward, I will not go into detail about the flight... You've kind of already guessed what I was going to talk about. Sydney, and Christchurch. This was my first encounter with Australia (except maybe my short 17 hour stint in Melbourne which I spent sleeping...). And I cannot stress enough about the fact that Aussies are soooooo layed back. It seems that the ounce of sweat they produce every day is from talking to someone else they've met walking down the street. Wonderful people, wonderful country. Not because I have many Aussie readers and stuff, but really, you people make me reconsider my VERY european way of life. Just seeing the average Joe, walking down the street in flip flops, swim gear and a t-shirt going to the office was kinda weird. We're put up in the heart of downtown Sydney, which adds to the glam of being an FA for Emirates. So we got there mid-afternoon and there was no time for me to sleep and miss out on the Opera House (Of Course) and the Sydney Harbour Bridge (bigger copy of the one in Newcastle, UK). I ventured out of the hotel in the wrong direction, but after asking a newsagent, who kindly replied I was heading the wrong way, I did a U-turn and finally got to Darling Harbour. Heaving with tourists and locals enjoying the harsh afternoon sunshine. My nose will remember. The sun in Australia and New Zealand has nothing to do with the sun back home or in Dubai. It's just raw UV-As and UV-Bs.... Ready to turn you into BBQ flammed bacon strip as soon as you peak outside for a few minutes. Took some pictures and walked back towards the hotel, not missing out the Apple Store along the way. Checking out the OK-ish new MacBook they had on sale. I really like my Black version of the MacBook. Feels special to me. Slept some more. Then headed to Christchurch on our easy 3 hour run into New Zealand. Regularly cheking on the cockpit for some 360 degree view of the NZ alps and the everlasting snow topped mountains. Checked in the hotel in the pitoresque city center of Christchurch. Lovely little coast side town. Very peaceful. Cute. We'd all agreed to pay a visit to the Gondola, which is a cable car that runs just outside the city's outskirts upon the top of a mountain. From there the views were just absolutely amazing. Loved it so much. It reminded me of Wales less the rain and coldness. This was the best thing I saw in months. Green, lush countryside with deep turquoise blue sea and SHEEP ! SHEEP ! God how long as it been since I saw a living soul apart from drunk crew and wild taxi driver ??? I don't know, but I was in a truly nostalgic moment as those lambs and woollen creatures brought the memories back from when I used to feed the unweened lambs from Grandpa's farm... Check ou the pictures below for more visuals. svgallery=sydney-NZ Unfortunately these are the only pictures I could take as my camera ran out of juice for the rest of the trip. I couldn't be arsed to ask for an adapter from the lobby. I'm writting this from my room (with panorama) in Sydney. Loving every minute of it ! Club Sandwich with mayo is my favourite ! But hell it doesn't come cheap ! PS: Melissa, we did go to the Tap Room, which I recommend also if you're in CHC. They have a wide selection of delicious meat to get stuck in and all of that comes ready to be grilled on a hot stone ! Loved their music too. And no I didn't get a free meal to plug them ! Finally, this is all the places I've been with Emirates so far. It only comes into light when you see the destinations on a world map... Bigger the dot gets, the more I went to that particular destination.

ben

Sodwee — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 06:47:28 +0000

picture-11

Sodwee — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:32:29 +0000

picture-1

Sodwee — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:36:40 +0000

trenchcoat

Sodwee — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:56:04 +0000

Back in Dub-Dub. A trenchcoat later.

Sodwee — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:02:05 +0000

With winter coming fast here in Dubai, going below the 20s at night, it was time for a trenchcoat. and the thought of spending 24 hours in Glasgow in 3 days gave me cold chills. But I only thought of all this as I was window licking the Pepe Jeans store in Mall Of The Emirates, otherwise I was happy with my previous bomber jacket. But as soon as I saw this thing, I knew I would walk out the store with it. It's classy, it's black, it has buttons, it's nicely cut. I normally do not go onto spending sprees but today was one of a kind. It all started of this morning (yes mum, I did get out of bed at around 5.30am, not because I wanted to, but because my body clock is going coucou after that aussie trip). I needed to entertain my brain and decided to go see the latest Bond flick, Quantum Of Solace. And because of all the previous failed attempts at enjoying movies in cinemas here in Dubai. I went Gold Class. In my opinion this is the only way to enjoy a movie here at the theater. NO screaming kids, no popcorn filled seats, no business men doing business on their phones, no families entering the show half-way through, no air-con pointed straight at your neck, no expat-teens that think they own the place and whisper yell at each other during showtime.... and everything else you will dare to see anywhere else in the world. Gold Class is way forward, the only thing I'm concerned with is the price. 100 dhs. Yep 100 ! Probably the most expensive cinema ticket I will ever pay for. But once in the theater you know why you pay an arm and a leg. You get a full-on reclining sofa for yourself, bigger than any first class seat on any airline ! You get a waiter to serve your popcorn and drinks at any time during the film, and there's only civilised people in the audience. No phones what so ever and a great action filled flick on the silverscreen ! What else ?? Daniel Graig does a great 007, but this episode lacks a little story. Where has the guy with all the gadgets gone ? Where has the evil guy with evil intentions gone ??? But to be honest I was pleasantly surprised by Olga Kurylenko. Although we probably would of liked a little more flesh, like Halle Berry's part in that other one. No bikini scene to dribble over ... it's probably because the government decided to cut it for decency. Otherwise you get what you ask for in terms of action and fist/gun fights. Also the fact that you see half the film in the adverts before isn't the best thing either.

picture-12

Sodwee — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:02:01 +0000

Stats Exposed.

Sodwee — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:06:10 +0000

Exposing website stats is usually very uncommon within the blogging world. Or in the entire web for that matter. Those are very sensible pieces of information that every webmaster/blog owner is keen to keep uber-private. Especially in a business driven environment. But for people like me statistics are a way of understanding where my readers comes from, what they look for and where they go when they're done. It also tells me with amazing precision what system you use, mac or windows, which explorer you run on etc... enabling me to adapt the content and structure of the blog accordingly. In worse cases, I have access to every visitors IP address letting me block certain users. In most cases it's spamming robots. But I can block a reader if his actions on the blog are against the Terms Of Use and for the sake of decency. But with the likes of Wordpress and Akismet I have enough systems to prevent anything like that to happen. The busiest week in the blog's history to date is the 41st week of 2008 with 4587 views. And the most visited month was October this year clocking at 17,690 views. The average views per day is 568 with peaks when I post new mp3s and pictures. Those are the top 10 websites readers go to after reading the blog. The reason behind having so many other blogs in that list is that most of these blog owners comment on my posts (leaving their URL) thus inviting others to visit their page. Also linking back or trackbacking (blogging jargon) is part of link love. Being generous with links in entries will significantly grow your readership as those plugged bloggers will at one point or another check their own statistics and link back to you when appropriate. It might be straight away or much later... This is the best linking you can get. Keep in mind that this is on a period of 365 days.

In the last 365 days, these are the top 10 sites that have sent visitors in.You'll understand the importance of having a facebook account with lots and lots of friends !! Also a good position in google search results will enhance you stats in a good way. Having images attached to important key words is another plus. And the quality linking from other blogs in the same niche is the best link love you can get because of the targeted visitors bringing value to your blog.

Facebook | 1643
melisa-emiratesairlines.blogspot.com | 829
Google | 470
PNC-contact.com | 291
tampaxtowers.blogspot.com | 270
Airlinecrew.net | 169
Flyertalk.com | 148
superjihan.blogspot.com | 114
netvibes.com | 97
shouldbewriting.blogspot.com | 88

Now, an important piece of information for blog owners and webmasters is the keywords visitors used to access your site. This will tell you which keywords you should focus on while submitting posts. No wonder now that you see weird post titles on Airboy. I try as much as possible to have only keywords in the titles. Thus ranking higher up in search results. Having a combination of keywords works best. Like my most visited page to date : "A to Z Joining Emirates Cabin Crew". As you can see there are 4 keywords used in that title. Most people looking for information on that particular topic will innevitably fall on my blog because of that. Try it for yourself in google. You'll understand immediately. Plus having a recognizable brand within the title (here "Emirates") adds visitors to the total bill ! So the top 10 keywords in the last 365 days typed in search engines to access my website are :

Britney Spears | 13 404
emirates cabin crew | 1900
adele | 832
airboy emirates | 475
flight attendant blog | 406
sodwee | 398
flight attendant uniform | 305
santogol + Pharell Williams | 261
air boy | 178
emiratesgroupcareer.com | 69

As of today and the past 365 days, 68% of you use Firefox for web browsing, 38% are avid mac users, most of you guys come from Europe and the States with an increasing number coming from Australia, the Far East and South Asia. You all stay an average of 4.8 minutes on the blog and visit on average 3 pages at for each visit. I must thank all of my readers for coming in so regularly, for posting numerous comments and keeping this blog interesting. And thanks to every other blogger out there, Melissa, Mat, Heather, SkyHighBoy, PP, Jihan, and many others for their help. Please do go and check their rambles as it is worth the read !! And because he's my flatmate, if you understand portuguese then head to kanagringa.blogspot.com Voila hope you've enjoyed and little sneakpeek backstage !

Apocalypse Now

Sodwee — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:52:55 +0000

This was shot yesterday as a Sandstorm whipped through the Blue Building neighbourhood. Winds were stong, picking up dust and sand on it's path to exfoliate our pretty faces. First time I witnessed something like that. Also some cables were dangling and slapping our windows really hard to the point I had to run downstairs and get Rajesh (our security guard) on the case, you can see them putting on weight in the first seconds of the video. Not seeing the buildings near Emirates Towers was scary. Felt exactly like Independance day or Armageddon..!

amadouetmariam

Sodwee — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:17:27 +0000

picture-13

Sodwee — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:18:45 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #65 / Je te fais un gros bisous, je t'embrasse fort.

Sodwee — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:59:59 +0000

Today is quite a special day. Very productive on my side as I've managed to pick my laundry - by the way none of the item I've dropped were missing - did some cleaning around in the flat and organized my bedroom a little. Just in time for me to leave for Glasgow and then straight onto Jakarta. But the highlight of the day was stumbling upon this amazing track from famous blind duo based in Bamako, Mali. Amadou et Mariam came out in the limelight back two years in France when they, out of the loom, managed to headline some of the biggest summer festivals in France. I have seen them live back 3 years ago whilst on hols with mates in the western part of France... Near Brest for those who care to know. On a side note, Mariam, is one of my best mate's mother in laws cousin, but that is just for the record. What is the best news here, is that couple are about to drop a new album and some of the tracks I hear were produced by Damon Albarn, most known for his work as frontman for Blur and the mastermind behind the Gorillaz awesomeness. And this track is one of those. Just a simple, beautifully arranged song with great electro beat for background. It's a definate *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* just for the vocals alone. But as an entirety the thing is just to die for. I know Mother will totally digg this. Finally I will not be surprised if these two make it international this coming new year. Keep a look out for them at your nearest HMV or Virgin ! Download the Sabali track below !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/06_Sabali.mp3] [download id="56"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

Otherwise we have some of the coolest mp3s this week, starting of with another leaked song from Britney Spears' upcoming album named "Circus". It's a song that grows on you although we fear a Blackout #2 coming our way. From what I've heard so far, the "If U Seek Amy" should be highlight on that future album.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Kill_The_Lights.mp3] [download id="58"]

Otherwise, KO rapped some good ol' lines on The Ting Tings debut single 'Shut Up & Let Me Go' taking the song to a whole new level. Remember this song was used for an iPod commercial not too long ago and still ranks as one of the best songs this year per Airboy.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Shut_up_and_Let_Me_Go_Remix.mp3] [download id="59"]

As for the rest I recommend the Kanye Vs. Yelle mashup, it's worth a listen, you can safely squeeze it in your next party playlist too. To round things of we have added an improptu cover of Corona's "Rhythm Of The Night" by Ex-Otago. Fun one ! Voila enjoy the DOWNLOADABLES. I'll leave the blog alone for a few days now so you can all catch up with the posts so far and I'll be coming back in a week or so (maybe before who knows ?). Leaving for Glasgow tomorrow morning then spinning off for a well deserved massage in Jakarta, Indonesia. Peace out foolz.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/02_A_Cause_De_Kanye.mp3] [download id="57"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/The_Rhythm_Of_The_Night_Corona_cover.mp3] [download id="60"]

Yours truly.

ITW / Airboy sits with Skydoll !

Sodwee — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:38:30 +0000

Today's Cabin Crew in the hot seat is a very poised young mother with ambition. She works for a major carrier in the US and apparently likes her job so much she has to write about it on her time off (just like us really!). Heather is her civilian name. Skydoll is how she calls herself on the worldz widez webz. She is very prolific in the Flight Attendant blogosphere to the point she is planning on releasing a book and blogs for a very proeminent travel website called Gadling.com. Please do check out her blog over at :

http://www.heatherpoole.com

A : Heather, how are you today ? Are the kids gone to sleep ? Heather: First I have to say thank you for putting me in the hot seat. It's an honor. Very excited here. As for the two year-old kid, he should be in bed right now. I do not know if he is in bed because he's with dad (in LA) while I'm in New York flying back and forth across the country for six days straight. All I can say is he better be in bed! I do not dare call home to find out because I do not want to know that he is not in bed (and there's nothing I can do about it). Tell you the truth, I'm pretty sure my son is not in bed right now. He's with dad, remember! A : Ahah, I remember my sunday evenings with dad watching some action/thriller movies while Mother was down at the pub playing the quiz ! Anyways, you live in the US of A, you work for a US carrier and mainly fly trans-cons (trans-continentals). How do you organize yourself to be with your Kalinkas at home ? By The way Kalinkas means Darling I think in Russian, I'm not sure though... Heather : I only fly 35 hours a month, so it's not hard organizing my life to be at home with the Kalinkas. What is hard is trying to drop my trips so that I am only working three trips a month (all of them in a row). Thank god for my trip trader. She works miracles. I wouldn't be able to do it without her. A : Trip trader would be the human version of our crew portal where we can swap & bid flights... We've all had little scares on-board, my last one was landing in HKG with a typhoon in our tail and 3 inches of water on the runway. What was yours ? I can recall a post of yours mentioning some burning smell. I had the same on a stormy flight and notified the captain who told me it was the burning or tiny dust and particules in the atmosphere that produced that burning rubber/landing gear smell... Heather : I've had two scary flights (one to Paris - fire!) but funny enough, nothing happened during the one that scared me the most. We had a mechanical in New York and the airplane was taken out of service. After a five hour delay we finally got another aircraft. We boarded, took off, and everything was fine. About a half hour before landing I started getting this strange feeling I can not explain, but I was extremely scared. I knew in my gut something was wrong, but I did not know what. I kept asking the other flight attendants if they felt like something might be wrong, if they felt a little weird, but no one else did. I remember sitting in my jumpseat and looking out of the window and seeing that we were extremely low over the water. We should not have been that low at that point. It was 4am and we were landing in LA. The landing was uneventful and I ended up feeling silly for being so nervous. However, the next morning we found out from an agent that the passenger bags had never been loaded on the airplane and the cockpit was unaware that there were no bags underneath, so the weight and balance was off, which explained why were so low and why I had felt so weird, and scared. I don't know how true this is, but a ramper said we were lucky to have landed safely. A : Wow, how could that happen ?? Any scoops on you're soon to be published book ?? Any release date yet ? Heather : My soon to be published book is NOT soon to be published. But I do love you for saying that. You have inspired me to finish it (AGAIN). I have written, and rewritten SKYDOLL several times. I was actually in the process of rewriting it for a well known publishing house when my agent passed away. Then I got pregnant and my mind turned to mush. I couldn't write. At least not the book. Not AGAIN. That's when I turned to blogging. It was quick, easy, and I could do it while my son napped. Now that I've been blogging for awhile, and my son is going to pre-school, I'm ready to focus on my book (AGAIN). Hopefully I'll finish it soon, get it published, and see it in your hands, as well as all the hands of your crew and passengers. Hey, a flight attendant can't dream! A : Well if you publish your book, then you have a massive potential here in the Middle East, and I'll make sure each and every crew gets a copy ! Passengers onboard do not know how fustrating it is for us to unpile their crap on those meal trays, they seem to have this obsession of making our job easier but actually don't. Any kind of guideline you want to share with our non-operating readers out there besides telling them not to lay their napkin flat on top of the used tray ? Heather : Ah yes, the piling of the meal trays, very annoying. So is shoving all your crap inside the glass. A : Hihi that their favourite trick, stuff everything you can in the plastic cup ! Sometimes I'm totally amazed at what people can come up with in terms of stacking... Their place does not belong in a plane seat but at a LEGO design departement ! Favourite layover and why ? Interesting gossip you might not share on your personal blog but you'd like to share here ? Heather : Any layover over 12 hours. I haven't had one in years. Four years to be exact. A : What triggered the decision of becoming a Cabin Crew ? Heather : When I didn't receive the raise I felt I deserved at Fossil (watches) I decided to look for a new job, but not just any job, a GOOD JOB that paid REALLY WELL. While I looked for THAT job, the one that paid well, I needed to find a flexible job to pay the bills. That's when I spotted an ad in the newspaper for a flight attendant for a low cost carrier that only flew turns out of Dallas. I figured if I became a flight attendant I'd be able to travel and see the world (so what if I only saw the New York, Florida, and California airports!) as well as have time to interview for the GOOD JOB I was determined to find on one of my many days off. I got the job. While working for that low cost carrier in those sexy blue pleated shorts, I realized that I liked laying out on the beach on a weekday, and being able to go to the gym when there's no one else at the gym, and shopping at odd hours of the day, and sleeping-in the mornings (mornings, what mornings, it's time for lunch!) and pretty much doing what I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it. Don't even get me started on all the days off! What I loved was the freedom, the flexibility - THE LIFESTYLE. Three months later I realized I didn't want that well paying job, what I wanted was to become a flight attendant for a real airline with real (long) layovers, and so I applied to a major, ditched the shorts, donned the dress, and the rest is history. A : Ahah the pleated shorts, you know they are real famous ! You're facing the customers after a red-eye, what is your reaction when pax leap up to grab their luggage in the overhead bins and we're still taxiing. In fact we only just left the active runway... Heather : Pick up the phone (one eye open), and mumble, "Ladies and gentleman, we are not yet at the gate. Please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until the Captain has turned off the seatbelt sign." Pause. Give the guy a chance to sit down. "We need you to take your seat. Please." Pause. Give the guy a chance to sit down. "Sir, you need to take your seat. Please!" Pause. Give the guy a chance to sit down. Sigh, hang up phone, unbuckle seatbelt, stomp up the aisle, slam bin shut. A : The other day I was in the crew bus and one of the girls was doing her nails. The ride smelt of nail varnish like she was varnishing the entire window next to her. I wondered what male crew could do in order to compete with the opposite gender... Can you help ? Heather : I will not write what I'm thinking, but I have a feeling you have already thought it. A : Ahah I think everyone thought of it while reading those lines ahah. You live out of a suitcase like many of us Crew do. Did you ever unpack between two flights (I personally haven't) and what are the essentials that will make it to your suitcase ?? Heather : I'm a commuter. That means I live in Los Angeles and work at a base out of another state - New York. When I'm flying (a week straight) out of New York, I'm not at home in-between my trips, so I do have to unpack, but only a little - Just toilletries and books, and I switch out the dirty uniform items for clean items. Shoes and layover clothes stay in the bag. Essentials? That's easy -underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, hair brush, makeup, ponytail holder, and a good book. The rest I can live without. A : The best seat on any aircraft, apart from the jumpseat ? Heather : The aisle seat in the second row of first class. When I'm in coach I always go for row 33. It just feels right. A : Tell us about the worst flight you have ever operated, be kind, loose the names for confidential reasons... ! Heather : I worked a trip with two lazy crewmembers who actually did the beverage service while wearing ipods. Very embarrassing.

[poll id="16"]

A : Holy C***, iPods while doing the Bev cart ????? Who were they ? They need some ass whipping !! lolol. You have Hand Sanitizer, like many of us do, or at least i hope you have... Did you ever sanitized the aft lavatory before actually using it yourself ? Heather : I go through phases with the hand sanitizer. When I first started flying I went nuts and santizied everything. Right now I'm no longer santitizing the hands with the lovely smelling gel. I've exchanged the sanitizer with soap and water and lots of paper towels. For instance, I use one paper towel to push the soap dispenser. Another to turn on the water. Then I actually wash the hands. Next I'll grab another towel to dry the hands and open lavatory door. I do this several times throughout the flight. Therefore, I am the reason we've run out of paper towels in the lavatory. A : Best tip you can give rookie FAs like myself for endurance ? Heather : Let it go! When a passenger annoys you, just let it go. And have fun! What's the point of working the job if you're not having fun. We have a fun job, so enjoy it! And take pictures. Lots and lots of photos. A : Anything you would die for near your home ? (for example, I could definately do with a French Bakery at the bottom of the building instead of a Avis Rental Car boutique!)... Heather : A decent mexican restaurant that serves salty chips, fresh salsa, chili con queso and dark beer. A : What was your occupation before becoming a crew ? Heather : I designed watches for Fossil. (Before that I designed western clothes - Yeehaw A : Lets imagine for a second you could pick celebrities to man the different doors on your aircraft who would they be and explain why ! Heather : Oh my god, I'm too tired to think. A : Favourite passenger quote/question so far ? Heather : Upon finding a passenger seated with a large box between his legs, not under the seat... FA: (pointing at box) Sir, is that a large package between your legs? SIR: (looks at package and smiles) Yes, that is a large package between my legs. A : OOOh my, I bet ya 5 bucks he was one of these sleazy, single retard we usually get, with sweat on his forehead and most likely Obese... No offence ! Pepsi or Coca-Cola ? Heather : COKE! But I'd rather have an iced tea - unsweetened. Or a coffee - no sugar, lots of milk. No, scratch that, I'll take a wine. Red. And make sure to use the big glass. A : We have potentially dangerous jobs up there at 35,000 feet, but on ground, have you ever feared for your life ? Heather : No, but I should have been afraid, because I was held up at gunpoint once. It was a car jacking and there were 4 guys and 3 guns. Three months after the incident happened it started to seriously affect me. Now I'm a lot more in tune with my "sixth sense." Speaking of fear, I highly recommend the book THE GIFT OF FEAR to anyone and everyone, particularly to those who travel. Trust your fears. I'll be writing more about this on Gadling. A : Have you ever been to Paris, my homeland, if yes, what were your highlights ? Heather : I love Paris! I have very fond memories of my Paris layovers, like the time I went to the Eiffle Tower and actually purchased one of those dancing paper cut out thingies on a string. I never could figure out how it worked. And the time I used the ATM and accidentally emptied out my entire bank account so that I spent the 36 hour layover walking around the city with entirely way too much cash in my purse. And oh those delicious chocolate croissants the hotel provided when we'd arrive and our rooms weren't ready. I loved when the rooms weren't ready. Of course the Paris trips go senior, so I could only hold Paris on reserve, but people who hold Paris do not call in sick. Needless to say, I didn't get to go there often, but when I did, I felt as if life couldn't get better, like I was living the dream. Because I was. A : I'll tell you something, Mother & Father were amazed to see how many "OLD" FAs were crewing on their Paris Miami with AA. The funniest part was them chewing gums as Mum says !! Thanks ever so much for taking some time off to answer my questions, much appreciated. Speak to you soon ! Heather : Sooner than you think - CONGRATULATIONS, you're my flight attendant of the month! Check it out here... CLICK AWAY ! A : Ahah well thanks !! What does that involve ?? Acceptance speech, a cruise, a cash prize, an inflatable FA ?? Lol again thanks for your time, this was awesome !

newme

Sodwee — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:37:14 +0000

Remember when you were 16 years old !

Sodwee — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:22:15 +0000

Just got back from Glasgow and checked my inbox. That is when I tripped over Mohammed's mail, firstly because it's probably one of the few emails that was actually written with real words, avoiding the Text message lingo I usually get (ie : "wotU up 2 l8r bro ? fanC a \_/ @ Long's bar? tel me wotU tnk !"). Trust me it's refreshing ! This chap is 16 years old and already planning his career which is surprising for me as I can remember being a total couch potato at that age. All I could think of back then was party on weekends, doing all sorts of nonsense, being a total donkey at school and generally being the laziest twat ever. Fortunately, after a few years, I got my act together and it turned out quite well. I started to work and enjoy what I was doing with my life. As for Mohammed. It's quite the opposite. He's still at school and is an avid reader of EK blogs. Since he flew with Emirates, he pretty much decided to land a job with us. But, as realistic as he comes across, he knows he's got some miles to run before that can happen and has sent in this really sensible email :

Hi Sodwee How are you? It's cold in Manchester too! I am a fond reader of your EK cabin crew blog, by God, it's the best on the web. All the graphics and widgets. I'm impressed. I enjoy seeing your account of daily life with Emirates. Don't be suprised - I am 15 years of age, coming to 16 living in the UK ,where I will have to decide my choices for a career. I have a true passion for travel, snap, just like you. Ever since I first flew on an Emirates flight, it left an impression on my mind, heart and dream. I always wanted to work for this airline and that's why I am emailing you. What advice would you give to me? I have research the role, looked at plenty of blogs and read up to 12am to see how exciting you guys live your lives. What college courses did you pick and what did you study at university? Also what should I do till I am 21 years old? Thank you, Mohammed

And this is the reply I sent him. I published this here because I thought it was interesting to see young people working it out for their future. Not in a thousand years did I think I was going to become a Cabin Crew for Emirates. At 16 I was probably thinking I would be some kind of rock star or a biased artist relying on Sotheby's for my monthly income.

Hey buddy, appreciate all the feedback and comments ! Kudos to you ! It's fun to see how determined you are at that age, I can remember being the laziest back in those days. The advice I can give you is to work hard for what you want, make the most out of what you think will help you. Make it happen for yourself, you're working towards a goal. No one but you can make the right decisions in what will help you out for your career. That was the first advice. On a more specific point, I strongly recommend working on another language (if you haven't got two already). If you can speak arabic already that is a definate bonus for you. Also orientating your remaining academics towards something involving customer service/tourism will greatly help you. Pass your A levels as they will be a key criteria to get in any airline. They often require a high school diploma. Also when you get the chance, I do not know if you can start doing jobs during summer at that age in the UK, but land a summer job in restaurants, any kind of restaurants or bar business will get you hands on with customer service (ie, how to deal with certain situations, deal with customers etc etc.). That's what you could do until 21. Also a very good prep is to try as much as possible to get a year abroad in another country, you'll learn a lot by getting out there. There's so much school will not provide. Getting to know people, interact with foreigners and that sort of thing is true gold, not only for your career but for you mainly. As for me I did a general study in France, got my A levels and did 6 months of geography at uni in Paris. I ditched that to work and get money in my pocket (not the best advice lol). But I got to learn a lot in management, team leading and stuff because I gradually got promoted to run bar shifts and what have you. Very interesting and again I learnt many lessons. Then moved out of my parents and worked away, came back to Paris, worked in more restaurants and bars then applied for Emirates. You have plenty of time to think about what you want to do. But planning ahead is very good. All I can say is work for want you want to earn, might it be cash, knowledge or fun. I think I said everything I wanted to say. Any other questions are welcome. Don't hesitate ! Ben.

He finally replied with this :

Bonjour, mon ami! I appreciate your advice and it means a lot for me to take your time out to reply. I am studying French GCSE, and also doing a vocational double GCSE on Leisure and Tourism which covers customer service. So in effect I speak English, Urdu/Punjabi, a tad bit of Francais. I just have the passion of Emirates, and I aim to work for the airline and make my way through. The only thing I am worried about is on the blogs, website and forums I just see "g.a.d's are hard" "impossible to get through" "got rejection letter" "i dont know what they are looking for" " i did everything right". I am just put off and am scared that I won't make it pass stage 1. I know I have a long time but these things do set you back. I bought a book recently called "How to become Emirates Cabin Crew" by Caitlyn Jones, do check it out. I hope to take Travel and Tourism which is equivalent to 3 A Levels, then perhaps carry on to University. Work to gain some customer service experience and hopefully apply to Emirates. I will definetely find a good job which will boost my experience with customer service, perhaps in a restaurant or bar etc. I often do go abroad, and I suppose Emirates do want people who are 'people's people' so to speak. I mean, someone who is good with all sorts of people. All over the world. I wish you the best of luck in your career. I hope we can keep can keep communicating via FB, or any other means. Once again, your advice is much valued and appreciated. Mohammed

If you have any other kind of advice for Mohammed, please do use the comment section below. The more the merrier ! He'd greatly appreciate your input so don't be shy ! Otherwise I have 2 hours before I jet off to Jakarta ! Good times ! Speak to you soon ! And here's some Galley snaps from various trips.... svgallery=galleyantics

Winter in Dubai. Summary of my Glaswegian stint & Jakarta meltdown.

Sodwee — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:27:09 +0000

With the winter kicking in at great speed here in Dubai, with temperatures reaching below the 20s. We can now enjoy a living room with some fresh breeze and less A/C. The joy of waking up this morning to the roaring of Sheikh Zayed, a sun filled room and fresh air was just to die for ! Love the fact we can open some of our windows... It feels a lot healthier too, just like those early summer months in Paris where Dad/Mum used to open every single window in the flat and let the air fill the place before I got up. Just came back from my Jakarta trip. Refreshed and ready to rock after a hardcore session of eating [healthy] and lying around the pool doing stuff on the internet, chatting with friends with a beer or two. The weather was uber-humid in the afternoon but cooled off nearer to sunset. And as you probably know, if you've been reading the interview Heather did, this is one of my favourite hotels. Lush green surroundings, peaceful heaven of deck chairs, lit pool and christmas lamps around the trees. Nothing better to wind down after serving 405 passengers on the way over. Yes 405 passengers in economy ONLY ! A little taste of A380 for Airboy. And god the boarding was mayhem. Every single passengers was asking for their seat and being very small people in general, they couldn't reach the bins to slam their stuff in. So guess who delt with a few hundred bags in the end ??? Well, yeah, me. We've been told not to though because we're not covered if we break our back. But this was a desperate measure for an exceptional boarding. The funny thing is... The call bells in between the two service were inexistant. Leaving to monitor the cabin regularly and just chat away before our approach in CGK. The flight back was equally the same, with 15 passengers less. svgallery=glasgow As for Glasgow well.... They fo' sure know how to ask for drinks! Our bar cart was empty on both legs. But the crew was fantastic and we had a hell of a laugh both ways. Big up to Laura from Glasgow, Rania from Lebanon, Sabrine from Paris 18, Mauricio from Brazil, Lavina from Brissie, Hugo from somewhere en Espana, Wade from down under and everyone else on that flight. As for Glasgow, I'm sorry to say I didn't take any picture because I slept for most of the afternoon after we landed and went straight for some beers with half the crew and the flight deck at a nearby Pub. Can't remember the name of the joint but it was close to Central Station. Good ol' chat and came back to the hotel for some sleep. One side note, it was bloody cold out there, and I can tell you that my Trench coat came in great use. As well as my beannie hat. Now I have a few days off to enjoy the gentleness of Dubai in November and catch up on my favourite friend ZINC. See you there tonight most probably, if not, I'll be at lodge. Friends, check my Facebook profile for the latest !! Peace out homies !

airboymaintenance

Sodwee — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:19:51 +0000

lagarfelddown

Sodwee — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:09:53 +0000

atrack3

Sodwee — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:29:00 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #66 / Me & My Sneakers

Sodwee — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:58:48 +0000

This image is just to illustrate my favourite track of the week, this is not my latest buy. I would look like a complete clown and out of proportions with sneakers like them. A sizzle on your ghettoblaster, beats your Boombox wouldn't like to miss. Yes DJ A-track & Lupe Fiasco are at it again. After dueting high with Kanye, Kenna and others Lupe is back with a killer flow stamped on a mesmerizing beat. The pair delivers here what is, to me, a song to remember. This is a must *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* !! Show off your beautiful music knowledge at the next party !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Me_My_Sneakers.mp3] [download id="62"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

In another direction we provide you today with some mashups from various DJs, such as Clivester, PartyBen and DJ Schmolli. These guys rock and somehow always manage to match two songs into a perfect mix. Check out some of their work below. Especially the "Hung Over" one with Madonna & Tina Turner.

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Hung_Over.mp3] [download id="61"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Rehab_Cant_Help_Myself.mp3] [download id="63"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/I_Feel_Crazy.mp3] [download id="64"]

I'll be off to China tonight. I pretty excited, as it will be my first time in this country. Will sure let you know what I've been up to there and take pictures...

shanghaicrap

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:06:40 +0000

Trip from hell and my December roster.

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:12:05 +0000

Hey dudes. Back from Shanghai. Not happy at all. There are a few reasons for that. First would be the dreadful flight over and back. I will not go into details, but what I can say is that we have a Business Class specially designed to accommodate our Business Travellers... Economy is WYSIWYG foolz (if you do not know what WYSIWYG means, click here) !! Secondly, my health, has spiralled down at a very rapid pace while on layover in Shanghai. Not having any sleep before the flight probably increased the whole darn thing. So, as soon as we got to the hotel I crashed into bed feeling dizzy and having cold/hot sweat. Waking up every ten minutes only to find my pillow was drenched. My throat is aching, my sinuses are in a bad state too... Those are the signs & symptoms, but me being me at First Aid, I could not figure out what I had. Cold, Flu, something worse ??? Can you tell ? By the way my nose isn't runny at all ! So yeah I spent pretty much the whole layover in bed until I was starving and had to order some grubs. You can imagine my flight back to Dubai in that state. I didn't say anything as I really wanted to be home and not stuck downroute for more days... The third thing is my roster. December being December, with all the merry happenings and stuff I couldn't ask for more at that time of year. I really hit the jackpot this month ! If there was a way to hack bloody Kronos.... The joke is 4 days off : 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th and the computer thought it would make me happy to work nice and fresh for an Athens turnaround with probably 10 passengers on-board ! Then the following day being off... I am extremely tempted to dial 2 on this one and enjoy a lovely Kwissmassss in Wales with the smala. We'll see how things turn out, maybe a desperate crew will exchange my Athens for some days off, but that's beyond my wildest dreams right now as I'm recovering from the trauma that was the Shanghai trip.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
out	DXB - KUL	out	KUL - DXB	XX	DXB - MAA - DXB	XX
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
DXB - DMM - DXB	XX	DXB - KWI - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - CAI - DXB	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - CMB	CMB - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - PEK	XX	PEK - DXB
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
XX	XX	XX	XX	DXB - ATH - DXB	XX	DXB - LHR
29	30	31
XX	LHR - DXB	XX

XX = Day Off | RSV = Standby | out = layover | hols = Holidays

Voila. That's how sick I am today. Will most likely have to make a guest appearance at the clinic on Sunday, but knowing their efficiency, I will probably come back home with two Panadol tablets. In any case lets be positive and enjoy the next trip to Kuala Lumpur. I also need to find some presents so, I think that's what I'm gonna do there !

Open air boogie. DIY masters

Sodwee — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:33:41 +0000

Despite not being at 100% of my health right now I couldn't miss out on a booze fuelled night out with some cool dudes including Misha, Marilyn, Sarah, Irena, Chaouki, Tall Ben and others we met at the Lodge. A disco with 2 different floors, one for hip-hop and their pathetic dance battles, the other for Electro-Techno goodness, and the latter being outdoors, this brings some added value to the venue. You can't top dancing the night away, a drink or two in hand, while in the freshness of the air we have at the moment in Dubai ! A few drinks later we decided to call it a day. Precisely, Tall Ben and myself had been working hard changing some lightbulbs and playing with electricity in general. I had bought some paper lampshade from IKEA a while ago thinking it would only take a few minutes to install. But being the laziest sloth on earth, I didn't come round to force myself to have a go at putting these things up. This is when Tall Ben comes in handy. Not only because he's twice as tall as I am, thus abling him to reach the ceiling, but he's also very good at DIY. So out of the blue, we decided to check those lampshades and get them up there. 2 hours later, with the living being a total mess, we managed to have decent lampshades. I do not know if you remember the previous ones, but they looked like they came straight out the 60s, the type of lampshades you'd find at your grandmothers you know... So I'm pretty happy we got those out the way ! The future is getting a little brighter. I'm feeling a little better than the two previous days and the prospect of an accepted swap for a CDG on the 2nd got me smiling this morning afternoon. Thank you all for your kind supportive comments on the previous post ! Check out the pictures of yesterday night : svgallery=lodge

lagarfeldbreakdown

Sodwee — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 21:32:09 +0000

Bowling on a Sunday evening. UAE's national day.

Sodwee — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:57:20 +0000

With no much on our plates lately, many of the French contingent from this side of SZR (Sheikh Zayed for the hypsters) gathered in 21st with one thing on their mind ! Go bowling. Needless to say we were extremely well prepared as we only found out about Bowling alleys 10 minutes prior getting in a cab. So we headed to Deira Shity Center where Greg had noticed a doorway leading to 8 bowling alleys, just by the Sofitel. To my surprise, it is nothing I expected. A decade old place, with shaby lighting and weird looking owners. The type that wait for their single customer of the day and still manage to give you shivers as you walk up to them for a quote... But we put up with the fear of being slaughtered and finally agreed on a mere discount with our BLING/INYOURFACE card and got ourselves kitted out with clown shoes ready to roll them heavy round things down at those sticks... Bowling that is. We played three games. The others were getting tired as Tall Ben and Nivine went "Bodyjumping" just before and Greg came back from a turnaround from I don't know where.... So that was it. We had some fun but we won't go back to this one EV-ER. We'll go to the one I planned to go before everyone decided otherwise ! Here are the pictures : svgallery=bowling In other news, I've managed to swap a Kuala Lumpur for a Paris. So I'm happy about that and my hardcore swapping session wasn't has fruitful as I expected. I still have plenty of Turnarounds and days off to shrug off. If by any chance an actual EK crew is willing to give away a SIN-BNE for December I'd be willing to take it on in exchange of 2/3 TAs with days off on the 22nd + 23rd. Because I will not be able to make it for Kwissmass and I might just as well earn some dough instead. OOOh and I have New Years Eve off too. So if you have any ideas of what to do in Dubai for NYE aside from spending a fortune on club entrances and drinks, where would you recommend ? But I'll be definate about that on the 27th of course, because I have no idea if I'll be working on the first or not. Crossing fingers... But I won't be surprised.... I was getting all excited at seeing Christmas lights being put up all over the town yesterday night but then I realised it was for their UAE national day on the 2nd of December. Locals are getting uber-excited, to the point of taping a big ass flag on the front windscreen of their cars (sounds a little dangerous to me, add to that the way they drive, there's no chance they'll make it alive !). And because they like showing off a little. A huge laser display is going on at Emirates Towers with laser beams depicting what seems like a Sheikh's head, but the thing is sooooo badly done it looks like a Picasso abstract of a camel's head instead !! Not flattering ! Voila news from the sandpit. raw as always. Speak to you soon !

Paris was cold, ZINC was hot.... Rain in Dub-Dub !

Sodwee — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:56:00 +0000

Where do I start ? It's been pretty hectic for the last few days... Busy bee. Since I posted last we had some other antics at Zinc with a marching army of French dudes. I'd nearly forced everyone I knew in Dubai to meet up there to catch up and surprisingly a few peeps turned up. We had the pleasure of having Szilvia & Hannah, both Batchmates from the golden days of Training and of course the usual suspects. Namely...Nivine, Zane, Chloe, Gregory, Chaouki, Jupiter and Guilherme. Knowing I had a late afternoon flight the next day, I went easy on the drinks, seeing the rest of the crew doing shots and downing those posh drinks one after the other. None the less, with Panadol in the bloodstream I was able to make up for the lack of booze and still have a hell a lot of fun down at Stink. The music there was the perfect genre we needed. 80's. We laughed and guessed every upcoming song one after the other. Promising restaurant/dinners to whoever guessed the right song. The next day was tough as I skipped some sleeping hours to make myself some hot tea with lemon in order to calm the aching throat a little. It did it's part for the rest of the day. Enabling me to jet off to Paris. Got there safe and sound after a 7 hour flight and hoped in the folks ride to get home sooner and subsequently richer (read French Taxis entry earlier on this year...). Welcomed with a Gin & tonic, the warmth of the Parisian flat and chatted away with Mother and Father. Very nice. Dad had just finished digitalising the old slides so it was fun having a look at old pictures again. Soon after I was off again to catch up with mates down the road from my folks. Spent half the night there before I couldn't keep my eyes open and decided to head back home sweet home for some much needed sleep. The next day was nice too. Did nothing but lounge around. Taking care of the throat as you do... tea, juice, vitamins, croissants, pain au chocolat & co. I didn't mention but another French dude was on the flight with me, Medy. He was at the same Open Day as me back in November 2007. Geeeze, sounds like ages ago. Good fun onboard. As pax we had one of our good friend Matt who was going home for a couple days in between flights to get away from Dub-Dub. I also managed to do my Christmas shopping the day before my CDG flight and got my cousin some cool stuff as well as managing to get myself another pair of sneakers and a brand new camera. The old one was getting old and seeing the prices, I just had to. So I'm now equipped with a 10 million pixel doodaaa which takes really good pictures. So I'm happy with that. My trenchcoat came in extremely good use again as Paris was drenched with rain and cold air. Not pleasant at all. Since then I came back in rocking Dubai. Strangely enough, the landing was unusual as it had rained ferociously just minutes before our approach. Seeing ground staff with yellow rain coats was a funny sight. Never in a million years had I thought I'd see rain in Dub-Dub ! After a good afternoon sleep, waking up at around nine in the evening, Tall Ben was already mugging my answering machine with weird and annoying messages. He probably left like 12 messages, with noize of about every single animal known to mankind before he got fed up. This is when I decided to pick up and get the latest news from the other side of SZR. And of course, another night out was being planned. We were to head out to Boudoir... On the way there we met with Chloe (another French chick) who'd just bought a new ride. So, as we do, we hoped in and enjoyed a Dubai by night tour on a Thursday. Needless to say we got caught in traffic and stood in lane for ages before reaching our goal : Boudoir. Happy chappy we got to the door and we were greeted by the usual Gorillaz. It was a NO GO as we should of booked a table to get in. Didn't surprise us too much so we headed back to the car and went straight to ZINC of course. Got there at around 1 in the morning, to the pumping sound of some electro/dance DJ. The next set in the evening was pure crap. Dodgy R'n'B with an armless DJ spinning his records with his chin. That's how bad it was. Nevermind the music we were already well under the influence of alcohol to actually give a crap about the music. Instead we were happy doing stupid dance moves and taking happy shots (check them out below !). We had the WHOLE brazilian mafia joining us later on and my Flatmate Kah Khan and myself decided to throw an after at home. So we did. All went absolutely fine except the gatecrashers. Who broke my picture frame in the corridor. Didn't pay too much for it though, so I'm cool. But I can assure you they didn't stay long after that. They were kindly hushed away by the rest of the crowd !! Good times all around. Off to Chennai tonight, already cleaned the flat so there's nothing to do tomorrow except maybe put the zillion glasses away in their cupboard. Before I post anything else I'd like to say thank you to anyone who visits this blog. The growing numbers push me to blabber even more, and with your comments it makes it even more interesting ! Also a big thank you to Nish & Salim who said hello at ZINC last night... Keep up the good looks !! Now check the pictures below for more shenanigans : svgallery=stink

yoga1

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:01:25 +0000

yoga2

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:01:34 +0000

yoga3

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:01:43 +0000

The American Boy takes the Pink Poodle for a walk in Munich...

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:38:38 +0000

I was meant to post this earlier and was overtaken by the Pink Poodle and her amazing post over at The Pink Poodle on the Runway. We only met once, when I was dropping my brother at DXB airport for him to hoover off to Brisbane for his not-so-backpacking-kind of year out (in fact he's been in Brissie for some time now...). I've been a long time follower of her rants since I started searching for dubai/FA lifestyle related blogs. Since then I managed to become a Flight Attendant myself, here with Emirates, and have been enjoying meeting crazy new people, including J-rad or Jarad. This american whom I interviewed earlier on in the year happened to be on the same flight as Pink Poodle (Lauren "pour les intimes") on their way to Munich. I didn't know about that until J-rad excitedly left a wall post on my Facebook profile saying :

Ok two things... First stop getting all my friends to join your facebook... Geeze.. 2nd the Pink Poodle and J-rad the Arab AKA the American Boy did a flight together and we were brought together because of your interviews. Now in your honor we took some photos of us trying to do Yoga in the back of an A330. She didn't believe that I would do it... Now you must take a look under my Munich photos and we demand a follow up joint interview : The American Boy takes the Pink Poodle for a walk in Munich... ok get back in touch our agents are standing by to make this deal happen.. peace bro

So coming back from my Paris, a little phased out, I didn't pay too much attention until I went to check out these [now famous] pictures of them two... It turns out to be comedy gold. I laughed out loudly as I saw those snaps and relating it to the interview we had made previously, I was on the floor in no time. And because Pink Poodle and Jarad are two people that met virtually through my blog, I am posting this very post to thank them. And to share those awesome pictures with you. Head to PP's blog to check the out... Jarad takes brilliant pictures wherever he goes, I recommend his Picasa albums if you're in need of Eye-Candy. He'll turn your photographic skills to shame... And of course, please do check out PP's blog, you will not regret it ! In other news, I just came back from Chennai, which was boring as heck (predictable). The only highlight was doing the flight with a "connaissance". Mitch (click here to read his blog). Blogger too just moved up in seat rows... for the better. Check out his Mitchjet ramblings. And to finish off in the same topic, please visit Traytable's "In Case Of An Emergency" who has just made the wise move over to Blogger, enabling people like myself to read her entries from Dubai. She is one of the most famous FA bloggers, she's all over the place... Even holding a place of choice in the Vogue Australia forums (Ijust discovered that yesterday) ! It's defo a stop on your daily surfing sessions ! Did I just overwhelm you with link love here ?? Probably. Well I'm sorry lol. In any case that was all from me today. Have to catch up on some sleep. Speak to you soon ya'll. Peace.

bg78

Sodwee — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:24:13 +0000

outkast

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:10:14 +0000

lykke_li

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:28:34 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #67 / Lykke Li & Mrs Jackson under an Umbrella

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:42:07 +0000

My baby don't mess around - Because she loves me so - And this I know for shooo.. [clap] [clap] [clap] ... YES!, we've all done it, plenty of times. The [clap] [clap] [clap] towards the side with friends doing the same thing behind you, we've all been there. Those were the days... Days without the gloom of crisis in the background, days we were happy, we used to dance to this all time classic that is "Hey Ya!" by Outkast... But "Nothing is for ever" as the song says... And today we prove once more that Outkast is a great thing. Covered today by The Vines with another of their greatest : Me & Mrs Jackson... Done brilliantly as the rock band puts a twist to it !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Ms_Jackson_Outkast_Cover.mp3] [download id="70"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

Another great song, judging by the number of covers lying around these days is Rihanna's "Umbrella". Not only is she a style icon, not only is she a fierce woman, she also comes up with dancefloor tailored tracks to suit you hungry booogie freaks. She is today covered by the Mechanical Bride into something a little suttle, perfect for your lazy Sunday afternoon tanning away in the Dubai December sun !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Umbrella_Umbrella_cover.mp3] [download id="69"]

Also on the fire in this edition of DOWNLOADABLES is Lykke Li, it's no secret anymore, this swedish artist, backed up by two band members will make it mainstream in 2009 because she's been all over the blogosphere in 2008. I've found this song. Dance, Dance, Dance and thought I had to share it. Her album is extremely addictive. You do not want to miss out on the goodness ! I'm telling you ! You can also check a live acoustic version of "I'm Good, I'm Gone" done in the back of a London Cab for the Black CAb Sessions...

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/02_Dance_Dance_Dance.mp3] [download id="65"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

And for the rest some cool covers... Discover them for yourself and a special track produced by Kanye West involving our favourite Santi White (Santogold) and master Jay-Z :

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Misirlou.mp3] [download id="68"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Black_Dog_Led_Zeppelin_cover.mp3] [download id="67"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/1-01_Brooklyn_Go_Hard.mp3] [download id="66"]

I'm still sick. My ears are hurting. snif.

Glamorous Emirates Crew.... as per the Wall Street Journal...

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:47:15 +0000

It feels weird seeing the places I see everyday featured in the WSJ ! Wall Street Journal for you fellas ! People I even went out with are pictured (namely Lea) ! Please read on and make an opinion for yourself (leave comments). I've included pictures from the article. As for the weight SOP, I'm not sure about this one. I think they misquoted someone on that topic ! It also seems that the reporter went to ZINC wayyyyyy too early for his photoshoot ! Should of stuck around for a little more and take snaps of the real "debaucheeeeeeerie" that is Zinc late at night...

After checking that passengers' seat belts were fastened and the cabin was prepared for takeoff, Alex Rodriguez, a 26-year-old Spaniard and Emirates airline flight attendant, reached into her pocket for a tube of bright red lipstick. "I retouch it every 15 minutes," she said. "Otherwise, my supervisor will remind me." Emirates' Glamorous Crew Emirates flight attendants smile at the ceremony promoting them from economy to business class service. The global economic slump is just now touching the glittering shores of the oil-rich Persian Gulf. But when it comes to the 10,000 flight attendants working for Emirates, the government-owned airline here, Dubai isn't cutting any corners. In an industry in a tailspin in much of the rest of the world, this city-state of man-made island developments, luxury resorts and an indoor ski slope has put some of the glamour back into air travel. The glamour comes with a price. The airline is a demanding employer, flight attendants say. Tough rules are enforced, including some that would be deemed discriminatory in the West, such as weight requirements and a no-pregnancy policy for unwed women. The carrier meticulously recruits attractive young men and women from around the world, like Ms. Rodriguez, a brunette with big green eyes and high cheek bones. As part of the airline's standard training, Ms. Rodriguez attended beauty and etiquette training. She's required to keep her makeup fresh, even on long flights. High-heels are a must when she's in uniform, even on the ground. Both men and women are expected to get manicures and facials. Innocuous onboard flirting is condoned: Emirates' rules require attendants to politely accept a business card or phone number if it's proffered by a passenger. (The airline doesn't require the attendants to call or give out their own numbers, unless they want to.) The uniform for women -- pillbox hat and beige scarf attached to one side, flowing sideways over the shoulder -- evokes traditional Persian and Turkish attire. Earlier this month, dozens of uniformed and perfectly made-up Emirates flight attendants greeted and mixed with a star-studded, black-tie crowd, including Charlize Theron and Robert De Niro, at a $20 million grand-opening party for the new Atlantis hotel here. "Our crew always sticks out," says Ms. Rodriguez. Many of the airline's recruits are from developing countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and across the Middle East. For them, the airline is a rare ticket to see the world in style, and for women from conservative countries like Iran and Egypt, it's a chance for independence. For many Western airline veterans drawn here, Emirates has so far been a safe haven from the economic storms buffeting the rest of the industry. Layovers aren't so bad, either. "We work hard in the air, but we also party hard when we are on the ground," said Neha Masillamani, a flight attendant from New Delhi, as she got her hair styled and her nails done at a crowded Dubai salon popular with Emirates attendants. Young, single crew members are paired with roommates and housed in blocks of luxury-apartment towers across Dubai. The night life is reminiscent of college. Ms. Masillamani recalled a recent party at a room in the 21st Century, on Dubai's neon-lighted main strip. Female crew members danced in bikinis while young men sprayed champagne.

svgallery=wsj

At night, flight attendants flock to Zinc, a throbbing night club tucked into the ground floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel here. Male attendants, hair gelled in spikes and sporting tight-fitting designer shirts, earrings and leather necklaces, order pitchers of vodka mixes. The manager of the club estimates up to 70% of its revenue comes from Emirates' crew. "It's so much fun, like being on a dreamy vacation. They take care of us here," said Jane Park, a 24-year-old from Korea, dressed in a tiny black dress and stiletto heels as she greeted her friends and colleagues. There are limits. Despite its tolerant attitude toward foreigners, Dubai still harbors a conservative Muslim culture. If a single female attendant shows up pregnant, she's fired. Openly gay male attendants need not apply. Premarital sex and homosexuality are both illegal in Dubai. "We aren't above the law here," says Kevin Griffiths, Emirates' senior vice president for cabin crew. On duty, attendants are kept on a short leash. Crew members aren't allowed to drink in the 12 hours before a flight. Smoking and eating in uniform are prohibited. If an attendant gains too much weight, he or she is put on a diet by the airline's resident nutritionists. A regulation manual prescribing everything from dress to posture on duty is also clear about the underwear women should have on under their light camel-color skirt and pants: white or beige, and "well fitted." Young Women Preferred Emirates draws young recruits. The average age of a flight attendant is 26. By comparison, the average age of an attendant on a U.S. flight is in the mid-40s, according to a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants. According to the union's statistics, just 12% of members in the U. S. are under 30. Emirates also prefers women to men: Seventy-five percent of total flight crew must be female. "It's a little stifling," says a 25-year-old European female attendant, who asked not to be named. "We are human beings, not just a marketing tool." Emirates hasn't been immune to the current global economic downturn. The airlines posted an 88% drop in first half-year profit last month. But Valerie Tan, a company spokeswoman, said it is hiring more attendants to staff new routes to North and South America. And new planes are on order. In the past 12 months, the airline says, it received 93,079 flight-attendant applications. Using photos, interviews, psychological profiling and group sessions with candidates, executives hire just 6% of job seekers. Recruiters hunt for promising hires around the world. In some countries, applicants are put on a scale and weighed. (The practice is against the law in many Western countries because it's considered discriminatory, according to the company.) After a six-week training course at Emirates headquarters near Dubai's sprawling airport, the airline graduates about 90 new flight attendants per week. Less Pay, More Fun Michael Miller, a 29-year-old from Miami, has flown with Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. He says Emirates pays less than his former employers, but the perks and lifestyle are better. Emirates also offers free living accommodations and transport to and from work. Married personnel are offered either company housing or generous housing stipends. The crew also gets up to 50% off at local bars, restaurants and health clubs. Emirates' routes -- including nonstop flights to Los Angeles and São Paulo -- beat the U.S. domestic circuit, where most young American attendants wind up. And Emirates puts its attendants up at luxury hotels and gives them generous per diem allowances while traveling. "I would have to fly 30 years in the U.S. before I could travel like this," says a bronzed Mr. Miller, lounging with a blonde colleague at the rooftop pool of one of Emirates' high-rise apartment towers. "There is no comparison to what we get here," he said.

One comment by Lisa Chowning just stood out, taken from the article goes like this :

The employees sound like absolute idiots. With all the partying going on it doesn't seem like they would be able to provide quality and or competent service. I would rather have an older person who is experienced and conscientious.

You can react to her (she'll be googling her name soon enough!), rather raw, feelings. It seems she still hasn't flown with Emirates, which is quite sad, because we could prove her darn wrong ! She must be a frustrated 64 year old Silverjet Flight Attendant ! Oh well, had a giggle none the less. Source : WSJ.com

Health Update & Cairo Turnaround

Sodwee — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:25:58 +0000

Quick note on my health, I'm cleared of sinuses, nose block and throat ache ! Weeeeeeeehoooooooo. Thanks to some pills and some nose squirting device I have fully recovered. Khalas. I can now fly without any pain. Yesterday was my second Cairo turnaround. Nothing too exciting following my first trip there. But I actually enjoyed myself. Probably because I felt so much better and having 4 days off prior did also help. But most notably because we had lovely french passengers on board our return sector. Enabling me to speak french. You do not usually see french passengers on EK routes appart from the Paris CDG one because they are die hard fans of their national airline Air France and the star alliance. But with the recession going beeeezerck, they will most likely opt for the cheapest option. Even doing crazy flight plans like this family of four I met yesterday. They were doing : CDG - Athens - Cairo - Dubai - Bangkok !!!!!! With checked luggage ! Insane. The best thing about having french citizens onboard is you can guess their french from 50 rows away. Just by the way they walk, dress and their nonchalant attitude. So the best thing I do (it is a little game I have developed for myself) is to spot the odd french passengers amongst the chaos. A little later during service I would spontaneously speak to them in french. To their surprise, and they'd always ask how I knew. I'd then reply it's a sixth sense I have and blabber more. Squeezing in some PR in there, and there you have it ! Smiling, satisfied passengers ! This particular family had - no surprise there considering their flight plan - problems with their luggage. They were terrified at the fact that their belongings would not make it to BKK with them. They'd already informed grounf staff, but Cairo being Cairo, I told them I would double check with the ground. So I did ! Fortunately for them, their baggages were on-board and I even managed to get the tags off the gate agent ! How cool is that !!!!! I was extremely proud with myself, thus the mile-long on my face as I walked back down the aircraft to announce the good news. Little things like that make trips to Cairo or any other notorious destinations a little easier on the body and mind ! Another good thing is to have your meal break at one of the open doors so you can admire the tarmac action going on. I had the guilty pleasure of forking through a lamb masala and some biscuit sat on a containers just by the door. So I could watch what was going on outside with that super-jumbo 747 from Saudi Arabian beeing ramped. Loved it to bits. Wasn't the most comfortable lunch I had but it was very entertaining ! Otherwise I have met some of the readers back in CBC, this time it was Louis. He approached me a while back when he was still in his 9 to 5 job and wanted some exotic life. He emailed me I think with a couple questions about the Hiring process of Emirates and so forth. We've kept in touch since then on Facebook and we finally met yesterday. I feel for him because he was off to Jeddah... I'm off to Columbo, Sri Lanka tonight where I will have 24 hours there. Glad it's a layover ! On the clubbing side, we have done it again, we've been to Lodge and spent a little fortune on the entrance, plus a little arguement with the bouncer because he wouldn't let us in with our Facecard, because it didn't state our birth date... so the girls used their charming skills and we finally got in, I mean which dumbass bouncer doesn't know a Facecard holder is AT LEAST 21 !! But it was all worth the pain because we had an almighty time. Big up to Alexander, Tim and the other guy whom I forgot your name but I remember "you're the one who hates french people". Pictures of the night follow as well as pictures from the Cairo T/A (turnaround). svgallery=cairo

Airboy does Columbo, Sri Lanka

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:31:27 +0000

Hey, it's been a while since I've had a good layover. After my last stint in Shanghai, my hopes were down a notch. But with an easy as pie flight over to Columbo, Sri Lanka, I was ready for some adventures. Add to that the extensive rest I had before. I was all pumped up to see some sights, get to see the locals and take pictures. And I can tell you we did all of that, and more...! Got into briefing and for the first time ever, I was the most senior of the Grade Toes. Thus leaving me the extreme pleasure to choose the door I wanted to operate. And not having to take care of the newspaper trolly ! So I choose a forward facing jumpseat, tucked away so I could feel the thrills of take-off and landing. And also have a significant and statistically proven chance of getting away safe & sound if ever we had to pile into a mountain (optimism, optimism !). It's fun to be with new crew, they're all smiley, still fresh and ready to do whatever comes across. As opposed to "I've seen it all, it's my fifth time here" kinda crew who only think of how the bedding is like at the hotel... So this trip was composed of Carlos from Brazil, Facundo from Argentina, Rhea from Brissie (yep that's another one !), Kadi from Oz too (Melbourne I think), Katherine from Taiwan, Silvia from Spain and myself. Not forgetting Rakan our SFS... he's a funny one by the way !

We got to Sri Lanka safe and not tired. The weather there was absolutely beautiful, sunshine, hot and quite humid. Just like Dubai mid-august. Our hotel is situated near the airport which is very convenient. We all decided to go in the city in the afternoon after a couple hours sleep. We all met in the lobby to hop on the dedicated tour shuttle for crew. This bus and it's real nice driver would take us around the city and stop where ever we needed to. So we got him to drop us off in the middle of the city, near the Odel department store... nothing amazing in it but we were brave enough to cross the hectic roads and adventure in the back streets. I say brave because they drive like rabbits on acid. The rickshaws coming out of nowhere, zig-zaging through the cars and lanes. Buses are the scary ones there. They roll at high speed, no signalling what so ever and just beep you whenever you happen to be on their path. Thank god we had an experienced driver or I'd probably wouldn't be here writting those words. As half the crew was hungry we decided to find a decent shack to have a nibble. But knowing we had to fly back the next day we had to be very cautious as to what one could eat. We had to choose some outlet clean/decent enough for us to be in good shape the next day. We finally found a simili-restaurant on one of the main roads. By western standard , it certainly wouldn't pass any of the certifications but we knew we were in Sri Lanka and finding a cheap enough place who'd sell decent food was going to be hard-ish. We didn't want to go for the usual KFC or McDonalds but instead, try local food. Facundo and Carlos went for an ultra-spicy chicken with rice and were craving for milk and few spoons full later. Silvia went for spicy sea-food. I, knowing me, went for a.....[pause]...... bottled coke. I couldn't face a twisted stomach or having another dreadful days in bed with pain so I stayed on the boring side of things, and I had had a Club Sandwich just before leaving the hotel. Looks like it was OK because neither Carlos, nor Facundo were ill the next day ! Too bad for me. We then carried on our little tour to Paradise Road. A posh crafts outlet right bang in the center, opposite the Town Council, which by the way looks like the Washington White House on a smaller scale. They sold everything you needed to have smellies at home. From incense to scented candles, aromatic oils to burners. Anything and everything. They had real nice stuff in there. I came out of there with a cool ashtray and some incense sticks : musk, green tea, and some others. the Musk stick is burning right now and filling the flat with a forest-in-the-morning smell that's just so nice to be describe in detail. The town itself ressembles Bangkok in many ways without the ugly concrete buildings. Uber-chaotic streets, bad smells, heaving shops and what have you. The perfect sights when you come out of Dubai and it's multiple perfume trails as you walk down Sheikh Zayed or their clean SUVs. Colors here play a huge part in the picture. They seem to like colors very much. I mean vibrant colors like yellows, reds and of course greens. The perfect example would be the rickshaws. Kick-ass greens and reds, even pinks. I wouldn't mind owning one tuk-tuk myself. It would add to the street cred immensely here in Dub-Dub or even over in Paris. I fell in love with them in BKK and seeing them rattle along in CMB plays a huge part in this layover being really good. Drop me whereever there's a motorised tricycle and I'm a happy kid. That's soon going to be on my amazon wishlist !!! svgallery=columbo We continued our tour toward the waterfront, or what it seemed to be. We saw the ocean from a functioning railway track. Trains passing by with commuters hanging out of the windows and doors. Interesting. Took pictures of course, see below... By that time we were getting tired and the weather was going to change radically in the next few minutes. Rain started to pour down like I'd never seen before. Monsoon like. We had taken refuge in the Majestic City Mall before our pick up beeped at us. We got in and a 2 hour ride back to the hotel later, I was in bed. Yep, two hours (bear in mind it took us 40 minutes to get to the city center), stuck in traffic. We slept it off though. One thing : avoid Columbo at peak hours like 5 to 8 in the evening. Your nerves will be fuming ! A hop over the Indian ocean and 4 hours later I was back in Dubai !Again it doesn't seem like a lot of sightseeing but I defo loved the place and wouldn't mind going back. Actually I'd go back anytime, swap some flightz wiv me foolz ! Khalas. That's it. Will have more on that club sandwich coming up next I think. I just need to get my head round writting the piece. I also have some little video footage of the trip. So you might have a video very soon too. Until then, peace out and take care of yourselves !

lily-allen-gq-05

Sodwee — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:55:34 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #68 / Got the swagger of a champion

Sodwee — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:40:40 +0000

It didn't take long before someone covered Britney Spears' "Womanizer". And no other than trash-talking-rich-ass-chavette Lily Allen took to the recording booth backed by producer Extraordinaire Mark Ronson to have this out before anyone else. And by the sound of it, they've probably hit something here. To the point where Lily is having problems with her label for having broadcast such a song over the british airwaves.... But we found it in all it's glory over at the Hype Machine and we can happily share it here ! It's a DOWNLOAD OR DIE !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Womanizer_Britney_Spears_Cover.mp3] [download id="75"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

Otherwise breakthrough of the year 2007, Kanye teamed up with no other than our love of the week Lykke Li and longtime Airboy Fave Santogold for a one off track. "Gifted".

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Gifted.mp3] [download id="72"]

We also have the very new Royksopp track. They're back with a bang. They've just posted this track on their official website and thought we had to share with you guys. Go ahead and download the magic ! Happy Birthday !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Happy_Birthday.mp3] [download id="73"]

And for the rest some kick ass tracks... :

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Shy_Guy_Diana_King_cover.mp3] [download id="77"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/05_Im_Good_Im_Gone_Black_Kids_Remix.mp3] [download id="76"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/O..._Saya_From_Slumdog_Millionaire.mp3] [download id="74"] Song I used for the Columbo video in the previous post...

santogold

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:33:12 +0000

mgmt1

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:35:49 +0000

untitled1

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:42:19 +0000

lykke_li-youth_novels

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:47:22 +0000

friendly-fires

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:50:10 +0000

britney9months

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:32:21 +0000

TOP 5 Albums of 2008 as per ME

Sodwee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:41:40 +0000

It's that time of year when every single magazine and print goes list-crazy. Not one misses out on the trend. So does Airboy. But we kept it minimalistic and only thought a TOP 5 would do. As you know, we're uber-lazy here. So we've trimmed down our favourite of the year. Based on my last FM charts, the songs that meant something at a particular moment, tracks that associated with an event or just because we felt is was worthy of another mention here on the blog. You will notice how down to earth my music tastes are. Nothing too geeky, nothing too predictable. We will however aknowledge a brilliant comeback from misses Spears. In less than a year she went from a bald-junkie to a sexy circus orphan. With her hit single Womanizer, she managed to turn things in the right direction.

We also have honors for Beyonce Knowles for putting together one the kinkiest dance routine of the year with her "Single Ladies" video. She sure knows how to deliver. I haven't seen any one wiggle their derriere that way in a loonnnng tiiiiiiime !

Well well well, enough nonsense for today, here is my Top 5. You can comment and add your personal year-end list in the comments. You can also turn me onto bands or artist I should of heard... Links to MP3 appreciated. Voili, Voilou mes ptit' loulous. Have a nice Thursday evening. By the way I'll be in Beijing tomorrow, yeeepppee !

1 - Santogold - "Santogold"

On her awesome genre-blurring debut, Brooklyn singer-MC Santi White (a.k.a. Santogold) wrestles with the challenge of self-determination. As she puts it, “I pay for what’s called/Eccentricity and my will to evolve.” Her set celebrates the joys, and burdens, of making weird-ass street jams like “Creator,” a dancehall joint engorged by overmodulated freak beats. White shuffles styles as matter-of-factly as your iPod; “I’m a Lady” nods to both girl groups (the Ronettes) and boy groups (TV on the Radio), and “Lights Out” could be a lost Pretenders single. Exploding R&B with rock and other styles, that track recalls Res’ How I Do, a visionary album that White co-wrote. The touchstone for her tough rhyming and sultry singing is the U.K.’s 2 Tone movement, which mixed punk, ska and dub into a post-racial pop idyll. But like M.I.A. and Erykah Badu, Santogold ultimately sounds like her own damn movement.

2 - MGMT - "Oracular Spectacular"

This dazzling electro-psych band is two arty Brooklyn dudes who derive keyboard lines from the jumpy gait of a praying mantis and dress up in matching capes. Their buzz single "Time to Pretend" — a booming, tongue-in-bong sendup of the rock biz — sounds like a Flaming Lips outtake, with good reason: Lips producer Dave Fridmann helmed MGMT's debut disc, fluffing their glitchy daydream rock into an intergalactic odyssey. There are hints of Joy Division and Sixties nostalgia both acid-tinged and bluesy, but Oracular Spectacular's playfulness and remarkable density are best displayed on "Electric Feel," a surprising bit of funk featuring the original come-on "Ooh, girl, shock me like an electric eel."

3 - Kanye West - "808's & Heartbreaks"

Imagine if you took an album's worth of blues lyrics and removed all the blues. That's what West does on this hastily produced record about the death of his mother and the dissolution of his recent engagement. The words are brutally introspective ("Chased the good-life, all my life long/ Look back on my life, all my life gone") but they're sung through the anonymity of Auto-Tune over beats generated mostly by the ancient Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, one of the first drum machines, so you'd expect their power to be muted. Instead, West turns his gimmick into an innovation; the effects make him sound ghostly and sad (and better, since he can't actually sing). Not everything on 808s & Heartbreak works, but what does is fascinating — and haunting.

4 - Lykke Li - "Youth Novels"

Would Abba have posted a YouTube video of themselves busking on a Stockholm street with a toy piano? Well, that idea works for their oddball homegirl Lykke Li, a charming, globe-trotting hippie kid whose Abba-rific debut shows how dance pop and quirky indie invention can co-exist happily. Producer-collaborator Björn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John helps to make this record even more irresistible than his own group's debut. "I'm Good, I'm Gone" puts a New Wave spin on the chuck-a-chuck-a groove of Lee Dorsey's 1966 hit "Working in a Coal Mine." A quietly intoxicating electropulse drives the reluctant lover's confession in "Little Bit" while Li memorably rhymes "legs apart" with "tainted heart." The singer's frosty squeak is a limited instrument, but she works it, mixing adorable playground scats with spoken-word whispers and parched coos that barely sketch her sugary melodies. The arrangements also dress simple tunes in surprising ways, with odd choral bits and percolating percussion webs that should tease movement from even reluctant hips. No surprise that, as YouTube confirms, Lykke Li is also a freaky dancer.

5 - Friendly Fires - "Friendly Fires"

In the vein of funky white guys like Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, these British lads take disco and rock, rave and pop, groove and melody, and Cuisinart them into an airy froth. But unlike many dance-rock peers, this trio never actually stretch out for the high-steppers at the discothèque: Only one cut on their 10-song, 37-minute album goes past the four- minute mark. At heart, they are strict pop formalists, packing each track with peppy hooks ("On Board," as heard in a Wii ad), gushy New Romantic choruses ("Jump in the Pool") and Talking Heads-style nerd funk ("In the Hospital," which sounds like "Crosseyed and Painless" as sung by Ron Weasley). From the outside, they're buzzy, club-ready jams, but singer Ed MacFarlane sounds more like a softy than a player — he wants to cuddle you, not freak you.

Airboy's search of the Holy Club

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:03:21 +0000

With my unmistakable sense on culinary experiences and discoveries, I have decided to go on a quest. A quest that takes me around the world, in many places, in many hotels. Hotels are culinary sanctuaries (well quite a few of them) for someone like me. I usually satisfy myself with a cheeseburger, some soda and shake. If you see me in the street and you know what I eat on a daily basis you'd surely wonder how I'm so thin. How on earth I keep such a lean body when I raid McDonalds or any other fast food chain. I eat JUNK, I drink Pop, I have the most unhealthy diet ever and still manage to keep the scale within reason. I've been like that since the dawn of age and haven't yet experienced any problems with it. It might just kick in at a later stage of my life... So with this into perspective, I have had the idea to rate, describe and share my culinary knowledge (we'll be done in 2 or 3 minutes, I can guarantee you). I love Club Sandwiches. For me, this [cheap-ish] hotel room service classic is like heaven on earth when I get off the aircraft after a long-haul. Usually paired with a big bold coke bottle, I have a winning duo before my eyes. And sure I do get stuck in there as soon as I can. Over the previous months I have sampled a fair amount of Club Sandwiches. From Houston to Jakarta, via Sao Paulo and Paris, from Manilla to Sydney and Christchurch, I have had them all. The perfect Club for me would include some shredded lettuce (iceberg preferrably), some tomatoes, sliced not wedged, a few cucumber slices, some sliced freshly boiled eggs, a pound or two of mayonnaise to stick the veggies together. Then a slice of toasted brown bread in the middle followed by some red hot crispy bacon (with the juice being sponged by the mid-layer of bread), all of this carefully positioned over a char-grilled chicken filet. NO CHEESE WHAT SO EVER (it kills it instantly). and another layer of mayo to round things off. Off course bread encapsulates all these ingredients. The bread MUST be hot/toasted or you'll have Airboy send it back. No stingy pan-fried soggy bread....please ! I almost forgot. If the chef is wise enough to add some ground pepper in there he will have me dribbling even more. So, now you know how I like my club. I will tell you that so far none of the sandwiches I had so far hit the spot like I would of liked. But I can safely say I was near faint as I dug into that Sao Paulo one. It had everything except the iceberg lettuce. Instead they had put some batavia. Just a little diversion. But eating a club you need to feel that crisp lettuce break under your tooth, it adds immensely to the pleasure. The plate came complete with perfectly fried french fries, more mayo on the side and that spicy red/orangy sauce. I cannot describe the taste (that's how far my culinary knowledge goes), but it was spicy. As you may imagine, I - of - course - dipped every quarter in that sauce. Loved it. Another Club highlight was the Houston one. Instead of chicken, they'd replaced it with a huge amount of Turkey. Not bad of a combination... I must say. The amount of food on the plate was just phenomenal. That is when you realise why they have weight problems in the States. Big old fashioned fries, wedges more like. On the other side. The worst Club Sandwich I had so far would be that awful thing I had in Singapore. It wasn't a Club as you'd imagine it to be. But more like a cheap looking airport sandwich that had been sitting in the fridge for 3 days. It came with cold fries, and filled with......... TUNA ! Yes TUNAAAAA the fish ! Why on earth did the chef put tuna in there ? Urrrghh, first bite, I had to say no. Sent it back and went to cry in my room. My long-awaited meal was over. Since then we have changed hotel. So I wont be able to know. But definately not a good one. From now on, I will rate the Club Sandwiches I come across. Sounds like time thrown out of the window ?? Well it is! ahah.

tiananmen-square_student

Sodwee — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:53:27 +0000

Airboy does Beijing, China !

Sodwee — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:14:10 +0000

I was looking forward to this trip over the Himalayas, K2 and other peaks. I was also prepared. I just bought a new camera especially for it. A few pictures at ZINC on my days off and I was fully qualified to operate this little new machine and its wonders. The flight over was very very very easy. Only 6 hours and 20 minutes from take-off to landing. A record in my own time with Emirates. It actually felt like being on the Concorde. Especially when we greeted our passengers goodbye : "is someone picking you up ?? Yes ? Well we're a little early on schedule so you might have to hang around the newly, amazingly built archicteture wonder that is Beijing Capital Airport. They apparently scrapped 3 neighbourhoods to have this gigantic Dragon-like building ready for the Olympics. They also built it on time and on budget unlike Terminal 5 in Deathrow, London. Just for the record, Terminal 5 was a major f-word-up thanks to BAA and their amazing skills at planning and organizing ! A quick transit by bus got us round our ideally situated hotel in the heart of this metropolis. China's capital. The Forbidden City, the Great Wall and all the other sightseeing in mind I went to sleep. Waking up the next morning to a beautiful sunshine and clear blue sky. Went for breakfast, had pork of course, spuds, baked beans, croissants, muffins, fresh juice. Your usual BB (breakfast buffet). Stuffed myself to be able to conquer the crisp cold that was about to skin me as I walked outside. I didn't want to go to the Great Wall as I couldn't face another epic journey in a mini-bus (like our return from Columbo city). So I decided to wonder off on my tod and check out the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square which is just behind and the Temple of Heaven. The latter is very well named ! More on that further down. I'd climbed in a cab from the hotel to the back entrance of the Forbidden City. Going against the flow of thousands already here at this unholy time of the morning (9am-ish). Guided tours going the opposite way with guides waving their flags around flocking sheep people to the next sight with megaphone blasting the historical facts. Not quite my learning style. So I swiftly got round the crowds and found myself inside this amazing place. Taking snaps of everything and reading the boards. I'm apparently good at multitasking, but only realised today ! The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government. Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square metres (7,800,000 square feet). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. svgallery=forbiddencity The place is breathtaking. I was truly in awwww as I walked through all the buildings, the squares and the grounds. The only thing that hold me back was probably the cold. It was starting to get me. I was covered thought. Had my trench out, a few layers and a beannie. svgallery=forbiddencity2 I continued my treck across the Palace and took more pictures. The colors were crazy. I loved that red they had put on the walls. The bronze sculptures were bad-ass, especially that turtle/dragon I took...(see pictures). I then left the Forbidden City towards the main gate. Where a hell a lot more people were queuing. Finally I was happy to have come in there early enough. The rest of the day was spent walking around the centre. And also history filled Tiananmen Square. Remember that's where this student blocked a tank column in 1989 and that's where that famous picture was taken : The square itself has nothing much but you can feel the history sweating from the cement tiles beneath your Converse All-Stars. It's surrounded by official buildings such as Mao's memorial. To access the square I had to take the underpasses located at each corner. But before I figured that one out I was going round and round in search of a zebra. In fact they didn't have any ! Instead wide streets with zooming vehicles ready to snap shorts out of your jeans. I aslo came to the conclusion that Chinese official nowadays are seriously lacking aesthetics for everything they build. To be glorious it has to be huge, cubic, grey with a splash of red here and there. Very monotonous compared to Forbidden City. Sat down, and educated myself a little. I tried to understand the map. Five minutes later I ditched that thought and went to grab another taxi. svgallery=tiananmen Taxis in Beijing DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH. Be well aware of that when you hail one down. The Bellman gave me a business card with the famous landmarks and the translation in Chinese. All I had to do was point on the card and off we went ! The next stop on the agenda was the Temple of Heaven in the Chongwen District, a 10 minute ride from the main entrance of the Forbidden City and it's Dongcheng District. This place I didn't hear of before. But the name itself made me go there. And lucky as I am, it was heavenly. It's a park with a stricking Temple in the center. This place was extremely quiet and is a superb alternative to the busy Palaces. The architecture is equally amazing. Blue ornaments, red walls, gold artifact and beatiful roofs. They sure had a quality home designer at the time ! Loved it so much I stayed there quite a bit. Wondering around the park, soaking in the sun and taking picture... The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in Chongwen District. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism. svgallery=templeofheaven The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The complex was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the 16th century. The Jiajing Emperor also built three other prominent temples in Beijing, the Temple of Sun in the east, the Temple of Earth in the north, and the Temple of Moon in the west. The Temple of Heaven was renovated in the 18th century under the Qianlong Emperor. In 1914, Yuan Shih-kai, then President of the Republic of China, performed a Ming prayer ceremony at the temple, as part of an effort to have himself declared Emperor of China. The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world’s great civilizations..." as the "symbolic layout and design of the Temple of Heaven had a profound influence on architecture and planning in the Far East over many centuries." According to Xinhua, in early 2005, the Temple of Heaven underwent a 47 million yuan (5.9 million USD) restoration in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the restoration was completed on May 1st, 2006. The Temple of Heaven is a very popular park for exercising, and particularly for practicing taiji bailong ball, which is a paddleball variation of Tai Chi. I also learned that squares represent earth and circles would represent heaven, that explains why the Temple is of a round shape and the grounds cubic... God, I'm a genius ! My day ended in that peaceful part of town. I was already shivering like a goat when I boarded my last cab. Straight back to the hotel. I was now ready for that Club Sandwich. And it wasn't the best. Your average one really. It had fried egg, which is a disgrace !

2009

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:18:49 +0000

A milli in here, a milli in there...

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:40:53 +0000

From all of us here at Airboy (that would only be me) we'd like to wish you all the merriest of Christmas, plenty of chocolate, some juicy turkey and flammed pudding. We'd also like to take this opportunity to express our wishes for the coming year. So Happy New Year 2009 ! And as a end of year custom, here's the greeting card : And because we're generous. We've got the perfect mashup for the holiday season. Kids, this track contains explicit lyrics. Hit play to listen, click the green link once to download ! Easy peeeeeasy lemon squeeeeeezeeeee !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Viva_La_Milli_Terry_Urban_Remix.mp3] [download id="78"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

2009

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:56:26 +0000

timidtiger

Sodwee — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:47:14 +0000

coverart2009

Sodwee — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:12:01 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #69 / Timid Tiger covers Womanizer

Sodwee — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:13:00 +0000

Tomorrow I'll be heading out to Athens for a quick re-fuel and then we'll head back to the Sandpit before midnight hopefully. So to fill in I have this great set of covers and one remix I wanted to share. The flight isn't full. At all. My Christmas was pretty much uneventful as I did nothing but read blogs and open presents on my own with a Gin close by. Sad eh ! I have found more Womanizer covers that blows Lily Allen's mere attempt. Especially if you take into account the creativeness of covers, Timid Tiger's rendition of the song is just amazing. In particular the part after the 2 minute mark. Not too far off, we would rank Go To Popsense.com's version (yep, you've heard me, that's their actual band name). Hand-clapping galore mixed with some loopy guitars and there you have it ! Otherwise on the jukebox today we have a cover of "I Kissed A Girl" from Max Vernon, a sizzling remix of Dirty Harry (Gorillaz) by Disco Villains... I was listenning to this one on my way to CBC (Crew Briefing Center). Also in the line up, a cover of Madonna's "4 Minutes" by Boyce Avenue. That's all from us. We hope you're enjoying your Boxing Day as much as we are ! Go forward and download at your will ! Don't forget to leave your reactions in the comments below !

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Womanizer_Britney_Spears_cover.mp3] [download id="82"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Dirty_Harry_Disco_Villains_Remix.mp3] [download id="80"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE*

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/I_Kissed_a_Girl.mp3] [download id="81"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Womanizer_Britney_Spears_Cover_2.mp3] [download id="83"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/4_Minutes.mp3] [download id="79"]

have a good day !

frustrated2

Sodwee — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:30:50 +0000

Where I'll be jettin' in January...

Sodwee — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:32:35 +0000

It came as a surprise as I selected Jan 2009 from the dropdown menu on our portal for next months roster. Why so early ??? Is it because it's Christmas ?? But my smile gradually reduced as I clicked through the duties for the entire month. I like variety and new destinations on my rosters, but crew scheduling/computer in charge thinks differently. I was given a Kuala Lumpur which I already went to and wasn't impressed with, so this is going straight for swapping material. I have a Zurich that I'll keep so I can maybe meet up with a good friend there (St-Peyre if you hear me !), then a handful of boring turnaround such as Karachi, Bombay and Chennai. I've done all of those already and slowly becoming an expert on those terrible flights. Then I have an easy Dusseldorf and 2 Jo'burgs. These 2 Jo'burgs are also going to be swapping material. I haven't been to South Africa yet but I'm going to try and swap them for something a little more exotic. I know it's like throwing a message in a bottle, but if anyone wants to swap one of my JNBs for something like MRU or anything else really, give me a bell ! The good thing is that I have my NYE off and the the 1st so I can safely have a few drinks without thinking too much. Below is the detailed plan of my January itinerary :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
XX	DXB - KUL	out	out	KUL - DXB	XX	DXB - MAA - DXB
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
XX	DXB - ZRH	out	ZRH - DXB	XX	DXB - KHI - DXB	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
XX	DXB - DUS	out	DUS - DXB	XX	DXB - JNB	out
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
JNB - DXB	XX	DXB - BOM - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - BHX	out
29	30	31
BHX - DXB	XX	DXB - JNB

XX = Day Off | RSV = Standby | out = layover | hols = Holidays

airboybg

Sodwee — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:04:12 +0000

FACEcard holders, this is for you !

Sodwee — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:38:52 +0000

We know all cabin crew are hungry for anything free ! Every little penny counts for those Louboutin shoes you have your eyes on in New York, that Jimmy Cheap handbag you nearly got off a stall at a street corner over in Bangkok (but your haggling skills were still developing) or even that REAL Louis Vuitton purse you were dribbling over in Paris... We know what you're like foolz, don't get me wrong. Well you might enjoy a skid at the new Ice Rink in Dubai Mall (you probably know that mall with closed shops in it...) because the almighty FACE club has hired out the whole venue on January 15th!! It's Free for all FACE members. In addition to that, FACE is planning to hold a number of MAYYYJAHHH EVENTS this year but only if the FACE members come out and support. If we have 350 people come to the Dubai Mall Ice Rink then FACE club will hold a similar day at the Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark which will also be FREE for all FACE members. If you happen to be in Dubai on the 15th, you are more than welcome to show off your awesome Counter-Clockwise Triple Axel Jump and your Lutz extravaganza ! Beginners are allowed on the ice. The event starts at 4.30 pm. This message was kindly forwarded by Dave Ingram who happens to be the FACE Treasurer ! PS: Girls, this is a sport activity involving ice, skates and dangerous moves. It is not a catwalk. Please lose your new Chanel dress. Make up is not required either. Please wear gloves ! Skates will be provided.

sheepnyedubai2009

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:42:51 +0000

While the rest of the world celebrates...

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:51:43 +0000

... The whole of the UAE will come to a stand still for this New Years Eve as President HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has announced that all celebrations would be cancelled (or postponed) in support and solidarity for the Gaza drama. This means all hotel and venues will have to cancel their year end parties following his order. Taken from UAEinteract :

In his capacity as the Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai has ordered the cancellation of all forms of celebrations marking the New Year in Dubai emirate. According to Sheikh Mohammed's order, Dubai emirate will mark the New Year with a sombre tone as a token of solidarity with the Palestinian people in general and Gaza strip in particular which is currently under the barrage Israeli's military fire.

While I totally understand the intention and the need to support the innocent Gaza victims, this will undeniably get more than one tourist here for the holiday in a angry state. As well as those who planned/spent quite some cash, on booking VIP tables, tickets for events in hotels, venues and such. Event organizers are about to make announcements in the coming hours. Stay tuned ! With this in mind I can see a huge rush at Carrefour for some salmon, and NYE groceries to be done. MMI will see a huge surge in thirsty expats too ! Thankfully, we did just that yesterday ! UPDATE : Apparently, only outdoor celebrations will be cancelled. Indoor events will continue as planned !

sheepnyedubai20091

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:52:36 +0000

See you next year punks!

Sodwee — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:55:42 +0000

As 2008 comes to a close, I can only look back and just say WOWIWO at what I've been through. It has been an amazing year so far, and I really hope it carries on like so until the end of the next one. From the scums I used to work for at the Westin Hotel Paris, to this position as Cabin Crew with Emirates I can say that I have met some wonderful people along the way. I have seen amazing places and I'm still enjoying myself even if I would of liked being by the fireplace at Granny's with the smala. I have not forgotten the people back home. As you know, I'm pretty busy these days and not able to catch up with everyone. But sure, I'll send you a text as soon as I land in Paaaaaaaaarrrrrrrreeeeeeee. I'm also sending a big mwaaah to a special someone who happens to live in Cork, a few thousand miles from Dubai (that's in Ireland folks, where green and potatoes prevails). As for a round up of 2008, I could only count how many miles I travelled. How many cities I've visited/bounced...

In the span of 128 days.... I have covered

493,469 km

I was most often in

Paris, Singapore, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong

and here is a visual of the destinations I went to, bigger the circle is, the more time I spent in it !

As many of you are probably counting down the last few minutes or even seconds of the year, I would like to "bisous" you or do the "bise" as we do in France (meaning double kiss on the cheeks) when midnight strikes. Not forgetting the Champagne right after. Happy New Year to all. Catch you all later foolz !

New Years Eve in Dubai

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:41:00 +0000

The evening wasn't looking too good when the Ruler Of Dubai closed down on the celebrations in solidarity with the innocent Gaza victims. But we had planned a little gather up in the 21st Century tower for dinner and festive drinks to celebrate the end of year. We had been cooking the whole afternoon for the French friends that would storm the place later on that evening. We also went crazy on the drinks. The aftermath is less glamourous. At one point during the night Chaouki and myself did a sprint at ZINC, just for the laugh and then I passed out at home. I couldn't take anymore ! Check out the pictures below... Special thanks to Tall Ben, Greg and Mathieu for hosting the party, Nivine for cooking the desserts, and the others for showing up, Maeva, Celine, Seb, Audrey, Maryline and Chaouki along with the beautiful Brazilian/Portuguese neighbours. svgallery=NYE In other amazing news, I'll be heading to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning, and I'm apperently deadheading there (or back I really don't know). So I'll tell you all about this in the next post ! Until then.... Good Bye !

picture-2

Sodwee — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:36:20 +0000

1811887553_8c288fb116_o

Sodwee — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:47:13 +0000

picture-5

Sodwee — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:48:08 +0000

Kevin strikes back

Sodwee — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:51:50 +0000

I was getting excited on my first day of 2009. My pals here checked the roster for me because, somehow, my computer ended up in 21st century, therefore after that night out I couldn't check my timetables from the comfort of my own bed. So they told me I was Deadheading to KUL yesterday (I'm in KL right now). I seemed plausible as the roster only showed 4 of us in comparison to a normal flight with 16 crew. Well it turns out I was operating over with one set of crew, then operating back on a different team. I had prepared my paxing gear and all in my jacket holder and colleagues were asking why it was looking so big, then I told them I thought I was DH over, thus the tee-shirt and jeans along with my service jacket... But of course I didn't experience the deadheading. Instead greeted by a mile long economy cabin (B777-300 2 class). And the sight of that cabin from the front is desastrous. It holds around 400 passengers. And knowing the usual loads on KUL flights, I was expecting an easy service. On minimum rest because I thought I was going to catch up in that lie-flat seat.... But we did a pretty good job, very organized and quick. The first service lasted for 2 and a half hours. Seems extremely long but serving 400 passengers with a 9 step routine can take long :

"Cocktail" / Bar cart with savoury snacks
Clearance Cart to pick up the rubbish
Special Meals
Meal carts
Followed closely by Bars.
Tea
Coffee
Clearance Cart to pick up the trays
Final Clearance

As we know, every penny of your ticket counts, so this is why we're back shortly after with a snack cart, including fruits, chocolates and hot wraps with juices or water. This service is called "As You Like It". It's one of the trickiest because it is so tempting for customers to just pick from every basket. But with 400 pax to serve, you really have to be carefull and keep a good selection for those further down the aisle, or you're in for some greedy looks. In between those two services, there's that symphony of call bells. We answer all of them, it's one of the many service standards Emirates is proud of. But please teach your kids not to play with it all flight long. I know, it makes a cool noise and a light bulb lights up above your head, but walking all the way up there to find out Kevin* is having an almighty time playing with the remote control and pressing every single button (also driving Mum aloof because he's also pressing the reading lights on and off) is not cool for other passengers that might have something to ask or a more serious problem. As it happens, Kevin was seated right next to a Businessman. I could see him being very annoyed with him. At one point I was in the aisle with a full cart of trays... waiting for the cart in front of me to finish. I was checking the cabin around and then locked with the businessman. His stare sweated with despare. He was trying to focus on his Financial Times but somehow had to flick one side of it towards the inside every minute to check if Kevin didn't spill anything on his laps or "accidently" left a potatoe wedge in between his legs. He looked at me with that exhausted face. I smiled back in empathy. If the flight had seats available, I was going to shift him somewhere more peaceful (another bulkhead, most likely with "story-telling" Jennifer), but unfortunately for him that day, I couldn't. I did bring him some ear-plugs and eye-shades so he could do the ostridge and ignore the mayhem happening in his vicinity. We arrived in KUL on time. Straight to the hotel for some sleep. I have 49 hours here. Will let you know what I've been up to. Don't expect too much thought. I will be shopping for headphones as I was dumb enough to forget them on the aircraft on our way to London Deathrow the other day ! Until then, peace out ! * Kevin : a generic kids name, I will refer to Kevin everytime I have to talk about kids on-board. It seems every single kid on my flights are called Kevin. And Kevin, for me, automatically relates to that little devil of a nuisance.

emirates_airlines_boeing_777-300_3class

Sodwee — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 06:02:58 +0000

For the geek in you [updated]

Sodwee — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:49:21 +0000

After studying the google analytics thoroughly in Kuala Lumpur - I had nothing else to do - I discovered people were kinda lost when it came to click through links once they landed on the main front page. Before I made the little tweaks (that you can now see), we used to have so many links to categories and tags which were absolutely misleading for the unexperienced visitor. Well, to make things a little clearer and hopefully more straightforward, we have decreased the size of the less important links on the index page to focus on the creme de la creme (ie, blog post titles). Now all you have to do to get to a post is either click on its title (big bold text) or the "click here to read more" link... You can also click on "permalink" which stands for Permanent link, but this will be more relevant to bloggers out there (it's the hard link to the post, the link that will never change)... [update] : We just went crazy and added a little flickering thingy when you mouse over the titles on the front page. We likes muchooos. What to you think ? In other news, KL was ok. Boring towards the end as I burnt my card on T-shirts and useless crap. But I'm happy with what I got. Especially that alarm clock. Very Daft Punk era. Very cubical. LOVE IT ! The amazing shop I got this kinky clock is called Molecules and is situated in the big shopping mall down the street fromt Bukit Bintang aerotrain station. Follow the crowds and you'll find it no problem. The shop itself is located at the top floor of the mall. Ask reception if you can't find it ! They have some cool stuff in there. You better have some money to spend too, cause it doesn't come cheap. I especially like the range of crazy wall clocks they have in there ! As mentioned in the previous post, I did buy some earphones, but didn't find the ones I wanted... So I opted for the uber-boring iPod earphones. If I come across a nice shop with good headphones I will let you know. The other day I dribbled in front of a Bose pair. But was wise enough to let those slip through my hands. Maybe for Profit Share month !! The day carried on with Ionna who was crewing the same trip as I. She was looking for some shoes so we headed to Bukit Bintang by foot, doing the usual stop over at Petronas towers for a few facebook pictures and then stormed the shops around the busy roads. The weather was atrocious. Very humid. 94% with an average of 27 degrees Celsius. I was happy landing back in Dubai this morning ! Kuala Lumpur is fun for 30 hours max. The rest is just plain boredom, unless you know where to go and have friends to hang out with. The FO told me there was a very special tree with millions of Fireflies making it look like a christmas tree, but one needs a care or some sort of transportation + motivation to go there. Of course I ditched that for Penne Bolognese and Häagen Dazs - Cookies & Cream. Pure delicassy in my opinion ! In the 50 hours I was there I did have a "Club Sodweech" but it doesn't deserve a mention here sorry. The thing was.... erm...puke on a stylish square plate ! Can I also mention that a flock of canadians have arrived in Dub-Dub in the last week or so. And they have blogs ! Please, let me introduce Carine and Clauderic who have successfully made the move over here in the sandpit. By the look of things they are enjoying themselves. With the lack of internet in the first months, they haven't blogged anything about their debut. Yet. Check them out and add them to your favourites ! I'm looking forward to the Zurich layover, I in desperate need of Chocolate. So what better place to dive into my favourite seasonal sweet ! If you have any suggestions on what to do in Zurich, please drop me a line in the comment section below. Not only will it help me, it might just help the hundreds that follow this blog ! Cheers all. Peace out !

santi1_main

Sodwee — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:38:28 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #70 / Team9 vs Stereogum

Sodwee — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:43:22 +0000

Sifting through the crap MP3s that invade the internetz is getting harder by the day. Nowadays, people with less than average skills try their fame by uploading craptastic remixes and cover tracks. But sometimes you hit something good. All you have to do is be patient and listen. Look up trusted blogs like Ohh! Crap or even the giant Stereogum for some quality sweets. This is precisely what happened to me today. I got this mashup between Cindy Lauper and Lykke Li. The track is called "Good After Time" and features two ace songs from both artists. The rest is for you to discover ! DOWNLOAD OR DIE ! [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/03_Good_After_Time.mp3] [download id="85"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/89_Y_Control_Yeah_Yeah_Yeahs_cover.mp3] [download id="87"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/L.E.S._Lockdown_Kanye_West_vs._Santogold.mp3] [download id="86"] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/01_Smooth_Criminal_LAZRtag_Remix.mp3] [download id="84"]

Happy New Year 2009

Sodwee — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:38:54 +0000

From me here in Dubai, I wish you a fortunate new year 2009. Hope things get better. As I watch CNN, it's not starting too good...

I know I'm five days late...

flickrover

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:08:08 +0000

flickrover1

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:36:34 +0000

flickrover2

Sodwee — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:41:34 +0000

lagarfeldbreakdown

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:17:09 +0000

Description

Sodwee — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:03:33 +0000

Airboy, also known as Sodwee is a 23 year old male Flight Attendant currently working for Emirates and has been since March 2008. He left Paris, France to relocate in the well reknowned 'Sandpit', commonly called Dubai. You've landed on his personal blog where you will find information on how to join the Cabin Crew team and also a daily dose of the airline industry underbelly. Feel free to browse or search and comment your reactions ! You can get in touch with me via email. Click the Contact link at the top of this page !

Time Machine

Sodwee — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:34:50 +0000

tileseam

Sodwee — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:26:28 +0000

What does Karl have to do with Airboy ?

Sodwee — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:08:23 +0000

If you tried to log on for most part of last night and stumbled open Karl Lagarfeld, we would like to apologize. But we hired this fashion guru dinosaur to shake things up here at the Airboy blog and redesign the whole thing for us. We are pretty much pennyless as of now but at least we have a stylish blog to work with ! As you will probably see, we have dramatically changed the look and feel of the website. It is drastically more user friendly and much more attractive ! We thought we'd do something different for 2009 and think we've done just that. The old design was getting out of date and I was getting fed up of it. This blog is now layed out as an online magazine, focusing on content and enabling us to show you more (one example would be the extra space we have added to the post contents area). Most of you will discover this new layout today and we'd like to hear from you. Please, rate, comment and react to this big change. Constructive feedback appreciated ! Saying it 'sucks' or 'go to hell with your new layout' doesn't actually help ! We like to take the opportunity to thank every single visitor for making this blog what it is now. The avid followers, the RSS readers and last but not least our beloved search engine robots, WE LOVE YOU ! The blogroll is not yet up, but will be in the very very very near future. Sorry about that, I had issues with the coding resulting in fuckeing up the whole thing. But I will work hard to get it up ASAP. In fact I will probably publish a whole page dedicated to the LinkLOVE... Otherwise, I came back from Chennai and was crawling from CBC to my home. I was extremely tired after that trip. Thanks to a new service on Indian destinations and a chocka' flight there and back. I'm glad I made it back actually. Next up is Zurich where I'll indulge myself with chocolate. And with Melissa's travel tips, I will have a great time ! Ohhh, nearly forgot. I managed - and this is something we can celebrate by dancing naked in the living - to swap one of my Jo'Burg trip for an extra 3 days off ! And what does a Flight Attendant do with sooooo much time off ??? Well he takes yet another plane to Paris and feel the snowy winter there with friends and family. So yeah, as soon as 'Schedz' approved this move on the portal... I was already booking my tickets. And to add to the greatness of it all, on my flight over to Paris on the 18th, a batchmate I had, named Mel (I also went to JFK with her) will be on the flight. Along with two other French colleagues I met on various trips around the world ! It's gonna be mayhem at 36,000 feet ! I tell ya !

amadoumariam3

Sodwee — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:27:19 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #71 / Djama by Amadou & Mariam

Sodwee — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:52:18 +0000

Kicking off the new year with some kick ass tracks all the way from Mali. It comes as no surprise that this duo of blind individuals is part of my favourite artists. I already mentioned about them a while back and thought I'd share more stuff from their amazing new album called "Welcome To Mali". They recently (last october) did a gig on Later With Jools Holland and we also have the mp3 to share. On the other hand, I have some cool covers you can download. It does not happen every day, but these tracks are ALL DOWNLOAD OR DIES !!! First up is 'Djama' with it's crazy synth bouh-bouh. I'm addicted, already ! Then a great mix of guitars and djembe on the track 'Magosa'. A sidenote, the sound isn't perfect, you might have to crank your system up to enjoy the track to it's full potential. Following we have a great cover of Manu Chao's 'King Of Bongo' by Shoops, a Canadian band on the verge of releasing their first album. Finally Pale Young Gentlemen covering M.I.A.'s hit song of the year 'Paper Planes'.

[download id="89"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Djama.mp3] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* -------
[download id="90"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Magosa_Later_Jools_Holland.mp3] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* -------
[download id="91"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/King_of_the_Bongo_Manu_Chao_cover.mp3] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* -------
[download id="88"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/01_Paper_Planes_M.I.A._cover.mp3] *DOWNLOAD OR DIE* -------

You can look at Amadou & Mariam's performance on Later With Jools Holland below:

Airboy does Zurich, Switzerland

Sodwee — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:42:58 +0000

Why can't we have the same passengers on each and every flight of our network ? Why can't people just be like them ? This would transform the world in a whole new place already. People would discover that travelling with other people can lead to new friendly relationships. Instead of narrowing their thoughts between a pair of armrests and a LCD screen ! This will never happen. Our passengers today were the kindest I've seen in my nine months with Emirates. It makes our job certainly easier, but also much more enjoyable. It seemed to be so easy for them... Calmly boarding, no huffing and puffing, just so gentle with themselves and others around them. Those were true gold passengers. Smiling and actually enjoying their little ride over the Black Sea and over the French/Italian Alps. A far cry, actually a zillion years away from what a LHR or a JFK can even pretend to be. There's no comparison what so ever. On LHRs & JFKs people could sincerely fight over 2 inches of armrest, an annoying reclined chair or their flatulent neighbour. What is wrong with these destinations ?? I'm still trying to figure that one out. Anyway, you've kind of guessed that my flight over to Zurich was probably the nicest I've experienced thanks mainly to the passengers and the short flying time. After a packed-Chennai-red-eye-turnaround-with little rest, it could only improve anyway. I was looking forward to that trip. And Switzerland lived up to my expectations. Lovely tiny country about as big as two Emirates put together, with no army nor air force, just a bunch of happy people enjoying themselves with the money of others squeezed between the rest of Europe's cynical countries (I'm thinking Italy, France, Germany, Spain... and so on). A little country with great food, CHOCOLATE, and SNOW ! We deplaned the pressurized tube to a welcoming -3 degrees Celsius. Ah. My nose nearly fell there. As much as I could cover up and still remain in the grooming standard limits... I had to bring my collar up, resulting in looking like Mao (Weird in a country like Switzerland). We got to the hotel which is in spitting distance from the airport and by the time we got our rooms, we were all shivering like sheared sheep out on Snowdonia (A place in North Wales where the sun only appears on the 4th of July...... for Independance Day...). Changed pronto and met with the Purser and the FG1 clique for some grocery shopping (where I took the picture of all the pork products... below). I got some fresh bread, saucisson, mayo and salad to make myself a sandwich once I got back to the room. Loved it so much I ate the whole pack of meat and bread. Was ready to venture more out in the wilderness and decided to go behind the hotel to see what they had for me. I was surprised to see a jogging track in open fields, topped with white snow... and a bird feeder here and there. Very pittoresque. Authentic. Took a few pictures until I realised I was really not geared very well for that kind of weather and decided to head to downtown Zurich in search of a cheap scarf and gloves. Took the Shuttle to the airport, then managed - without any assistance or directions - to get a return ticket to Zurich BH which is the central station in the heart of the city. If I did it, anyone can. It took 20 minutes from hotel to the closest H&M I could find to sort myself out with winter gear. I got a nice grey scarf but didn't find any gloves. I scrapped that idea and braved the cold wind for the rest of my treck. Had the crazy idea to have some chocolate in switzerland, and of course, there's no better place for it ! With the like's of Sprungli and Lindt in the vicinity, I could only dribble. As Melissa mentioned in one of the previous comments, I went for the "Truffle Du Jour" and thought it had a special taste. I should really be ashamed, coming from a Gastronomical empire like France, I should know better. But didn't find it too pleasing. I pushed that to one side and got a dozen of reaaaaaaaally nice cubes with praline and other nouthwatering stuffings. I definately recommend stopping by, forgetting your gym sessions and get a few of those chocolates. I then carried on deep into the old town. took a few pictures of what felt like being in a giant Doll House or even at Disneyland it was so clean and colorful. Loved it to bits. Reminded me of the Montmartre disrtict in Paris with those little winding pebbled streets and little alleyways. If you go to Zurich please to make the effort to see the city at night when the light is just magical. Especially in winter time. Every halo surrounding the lights are beautiful ! Walked even more and suddenly found my self back to where I started (H&M in fact). My legs were getting wobbly so I made the wise decision to come back to the hotel. Another 20 minutes later I was in the warmth of my gigantic bed. I also took pictures of uber-cool looking expresso machines, toasters etc. The shop was called Sibler and had amazing stuff. Very design and plenty of rocking colors in there ! svgallery=zurich

Airboy does Zurich, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing & ZINC video

Sodwee — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:02:15 +0000

Hey there ! I had a backlog of rushes so decided to compile 3 trips in one video + bonuses from a random night at Stink. Hope you enjoy it ! It might take a while to load. Be patient ! You can view a low quality version of the videos here Airboy does Zurich, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing & ZINC! from Airboy Sodwee on Vimeo.

deafcrew

Sodwee — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:09:02 +0000

ears, ears, goddam ears!

Sodwee — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 01:35:45 +0000

If anyone is or has gone through what I am going through at this very moment : I feel your pain, let's bond and make things easier on our bodies. To put things into context, a while ago I was in Shanghai and fell quite ill whilst on layover. Cold, runny nose and all the symptoms of Flu. Sinuses came into play later on that week... blocked and annoying me to the highest degree. Cold weather really doesn't do me good as on my way back from Zurich, one of my ears (the left one to be precise) just went offline and sulked in the corner. Since then, it's hasn't apologized and made a comeback. I'm getting all worried and depressed to the fact that might be definate and have to live with a solo audio input for the rest of my dear little life. I'm hearing in MONO, STEREO days are gone [for now]. Instead I have this constant whistling which is driving me absolutely 'DINGUE' (crazy in French). I also have, when trying my best to listen to music, cracks and scratches everytime there's a kinda high pitched sound trying to force itself in there. Just like a diamond preparing to play a vinyl record. It's very subtle but in every way annoying. And finally the inside of the ear (or what I describe as such) feels occupied by an unknown mass of some sort, not liquid or solid just Gas like, it feels like someone is blowing a balloon inside my left hear. And it's growing by the hour. I wouldn't be surprised if the ordeal was linked in some way to my misadventures in Shanghai and the cold in Zurich. Now the most worrying part besides losing my audition, would be grounded here in Dubai until I recover, causing a right kerfuffle for my Paris trip I have planned out so gracefully and having to stay in Dub-Dub for more than 5 days. Which has never happened since Training College. All this put together is very depressing. To add to the already uncomfortable experience, I will head to the clinic tomorrow to find out what is wrong ! I will give you a timely update. If any of you have some kind of history with ear problems, if anyone has knowledge about the symptoms and any outcome, tips, then I would be more than happy to hear (ahah! never thought I'd laugh reading that line) from you in the comment section below this post. Aside from that, we've just replied to the 600th question on the FAQ since we got it running on the 1st of June 2008. The happy reader was and hopefully still is : Arathi from India. You are most welcome to send in your questions only if (and I mean it) it has not yet been answered in the FAQ or on the A to Z. Not every question will make it live on the page to avoid repeats but I can tell you it is very popular along with the A to Z which has just gone over the 13,000 visitor mark since January last year. I'd also like to mention the fact that all the content on Airboy is under copyright guidelines (read more about that here). If you're a blog/website owner and would like to use some/all of my content, please drop me a line so I know where it ends up. I have witnessed a number of websites that blatantly copy and paste without crediting and I am not a fervent supporter of these actions. I do not bite, you can use my content, but having a credit is the least you can do. Otherwise I also found this Graduation video on Youtube, thanks to cubanguy27 for uploading... You can also spot a famous PPrune activist in there [ ;-) ] : On another rant, everyone is on leave, or flying and I'm left alone in the sandpit ! Enjoy your Monday peeps, I sure won't ! Until the next entry ! Good bye !

emirates_email_banner

Sodwee — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:19:16 +0000

Emirates Recruitment Open Days & Assessment Days - January/February 2009

Sodwee — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:48:51 +0000

Many Open Days and Global Assessment days have been postponed until further notice. Please check www.emiratesgroupcareers.com for a detailed list of the events. Read more about this issue here. Here is some information regarding dates and location of the upcoming Open Days held in different countries. Times and locations might change without prior notice. Please register your application over at www.emiratesgroupcareers.com to be notified of the nearest Open Day to your home. Emirates Airline is a dynamic, multicultural organisation with ambitious global growth plans. We are looking for committed, motivated, service orientated people to join our cabin crew team of over 100 nationalities, based in Dubai – the cosmopolitan city of the future. We offer exciting career opportunities and lifestyle benefits that include accommodation and tax-free salary. Emirates Airline is pleased to invite you, and all other interested candidates to attend a preliminary selection process for the position of Cabin Crew. You are welcome to come along to our Open Day and find out more about this exciting opportunity. Please find further details below:

17th January - Sweden, Stockholm 09:00 am Venue: Radisson SAS Arlandia Hotel Benstocksvägen 1 S-190 45 Stockholm- Arlanda Sweden
17th January - Poland, Warsaw 09:00 am Venue: Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Convention Centre, Ul. Grzybowska 63, 00-844 Warsaw Poland
18th January – United Arab Emirates, Dubai. 04:00 pm - 05:00 pm CV drop off at the Second Floor Auditorium, Entrance A, New Emirates Group Headquarters, near Dubai International Airport.
24th January – Mexico, Mexico City. Postponed until further notice
24th January – Canada, Vancouver. 09:00 am - 0500 pm Venue: Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre 1088 Burrard St., South Tower Vancouver, BC Canada
24th January – Seychelles Open Day. 09:00 am Venue: Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Beach Resort & Casino Beau Vallon Mahe Islands, Seychelles
24th January – Italy, Rome. 09:00 am Venue: Holiday Inn Rome Eur Parco Dei Medici Viale Castello della Magliana 65 00148 Roma - Italy
24th January – Denmark, Copenhagen. 09:00 am Venue: Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel, Amager,Boulevard 70 DK - 2300 Copenhagen S. Denmark
24th January – South Africa, Durban. 09:00 am Venue: NOT YET SPECIFIED
25th January – United Arab Emirates, Dubai. 04:00 pm - 05:00 pm CV drop off at the Second Floor Auditorium, Entrance A, New Emirates Group Headquarters, near Dubai International Airport.
25th January – Kenya, Nairobi. 09:00 am Venue: NOT YET SPECIFIED
28th January – UK, Birmingham. 09:00 am Venue: Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, B40 1PP
29th January – Korea, Seoul. 09:00 am - 31-Jan-2009 Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency ANC.
1st February – United Arab Emirates, Dubai. 0400 pm - 0500 pm Remarks: CV drop off at the Second Floor Auditorium, Entrance A, New Emirates Group Headquarters, near Dubai International Airport.
3rd Ferbaruy – UK, London. 0900 am Venue: NOT SPECIFIED
07th February - Trinidad & Tobago, Port Of Spain 9:00 amTime: Walk in any time from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Venue: To Be Advised
07th February - Greece, Athens 9:00 am Time: Walk in any time from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Venue: Metropolitan Hotel, 385 , Syngrou Ave., 175-64 Athens, Greece.
7th February - Argentina, Rosario 0800 am Venue: Ros Tower Hotel Mitre 295 , CP 2000 Rosario , Santa Fe Argentina
7th February - Serbia, Belgrade 9:00 am Time: Walk in any time from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Venue: Hyatt Regency Belgrade, Milentija Popovica 5 , 11070 Belgrade, Serbia.
7th February - Australia, Sydney 9:00 am Time: Walk in any time from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Venue: Rydges Parrammatta Hotel, 116-118 James Ruse Drive, NSW,2142, Sydney, Australia
14th February - Argentina, Cordoba 08:00 am Venue: Amerian Hotel Bv. San Juan 165 Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Argentina
15th February - China, Shanghai 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Venue: New Garden Hotel 1900 Hong Qiao Road, Shanghai, China. Room: Jiahua Hall
21st February - Australia, Melbourne 09:00 am Time: Walk in anytime from 9:00 and 5:00 pm Venue: Hilton on the Park-Melbourne, 192 Wellington Parade,Melbourne, Australia , 3002
21st February - Cananda, Toronto 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Venue: Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Downtown 475 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario Time: Walk in any time from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency Konexion Management Consulting Inc.
22nd February - United Kingdom, Newcastle 09:00 am Time: Walk in anytime from 9:00 and 5:00 pm Venue: Newcastle Marriott Metrocentre Metrocentre Gateshead NE11 9XF
28th February - Quebec, Montreal 09:00 am - 05:00 pm Venue: Hotel Cantlie Suites 1110 Sherbrooke Street West Montreal Quebec Time: Walk in anytime from 9:00 and 5:00 pm Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency Konexion Management Consulting Inc.
28th February - Sri Lanka, Colombo 09:00 am - 01-Mar-2009 Venue : To Be Advised Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency Delship.
28th February - Cambodia, Phnom Penh 09:00 am Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency ESEARCH.

Candidates must meet the following criteria:

Minimum age 21 years at the time of joining.
Minimum arm reach of 212 cms (on tip toes), required to reach emergency equipment.
Educated to at least high school level.
Fluent in written and spoken English (fluency in another language is an asset)
Previous experience in the service / hospitality industry is also an advantage
Natural ability to provide excellent service within a team environment

DRESS CODE FOR PRELIMINARY SELECTION: Business Attire The initial screening will take up a larger part of the day. Should you be successful during the preliminary selection process, you will be advised of the date and time of the Emirates Screening and Assessment Day. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Airboy.sodwee.com makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an “AS-IS” basis. For more information please click here

cobra3

Sodwee — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:11:46 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #72 / Inhaling essential oils. DiscoTech Special

Sodwee — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:55:09 +0000

With nothing much to do other than sniffing essential oils and stuffing my self with medicine, I have a special lineup today for our routine DOWNLOADABLES post. Today we're focusing on remixes with the likes of DiscoTech who has been on the North American scene for quite some time now. He rocks the decks at multiple venues during the week over the pond including Tabu at the MGM Grand and LAX in Hollywood. We have 4 remixes from him today. Be sure to download them and tell me what you think. Also on the bill this Wednesday, a mashup between Pretty Fly (for a white guy) and Swing by Favian Crunk. And finally two brilliant covers by Bikini and The Bird & The Bee, respectively covering '1,2,3,4' by Feist and 'Don't Stop The Music' by Rihanna. We especially heart The Bird & The Bee's cover along with the Roxanne remix. Go download fools !

[download id="97"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Roxanne_DiscoTech_Remix.mp3]
[download id="96"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Music_Sounds_Better_2008_DiscoTech_Remix.mp3]
[download id="95"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/I_Am_Somebody_Paris_Version.mp3]
[download id="94"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Dont_Stop_the_Music_Rihanna_Cover.mp3]
[download id="93"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/1234_Feist_Cover_2.mp3]
[download id="92"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/2008_Pretty_Swing_Fabian_Crunk_Fix.mp3]
[download id="98"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Satisfaction_DiscoTech_Remix.mp3]
[download id="99"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Viva_La_Vida_DiscoTech_Remix.mp3]

That's all from us today. Enjoy the music ! Speak to you soon !

sadavatar

Sodwee — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:17:49 +0000

noavatar

Sodwee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:15:13 +0000

Airboy blog now Gravatar enabled.

Sodwee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:29:15 +0000

We have added Gravatars to our comment section on every previous posts and the upcoming ones will also have this feature too. I suggest you create an account with them as it will automatically add a thumbnail image to your comments on nearly all blogs (at least the ones with the gravatar feature). It also works with major blogging platforms like Blogger, MovableType and of course Wordpress. If you want to have a funny little picture or simply a picture of yourself attached to any of your comments here on Airboy, please go forward and sign-up with gravatar.com. Can I add that the service has become an industry standard and is growing rapidly. You might not want to customize your avatar, that's perfectly fine, but you'll be stuck with that sulking monkey on each of your comments ! It's up to you ahahah !

img_0820

Sodwee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:48:16 +0000

img_1514

Sodwee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:55:05 +0000

Health update. Rant.

Sodwee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:36:17 +0000

Can I just highlight a very weird issue here ! Since the previous post was posted, albeit with a really cool picture of some random ladies having fun in a nightclub, the hits to that particular post have risen compare to all other DOWNLOADABLES posted so far !! It's disturbing, knowing 75% of the readership is female. Or is it just the other 25% having a girl fix for the day ? Since the pictures might actually push you to click on a post, I decided to post my rant and health update illustrated with another set of chic party chicks. Puts some glamour into ear infection I say ! So today was the D-day concerning my ears. I had to go and see the doctor once more to check on the improvement. After another series of checks including a Tympanogram (definition below), an audiogram and a long chat about previous ear problems and the effects the medicine he had prescribed to me earlier in the week. He decided to ground me until next Wednesday to make sure the darn eardrum and ear canal are fully recovered before I can step on another plane. The fact that I cannot equalize (meaning blowing inwards to pop your ears, this is not recommended by the way) greatly helped the doc to make his decision. So that's my Dusseldorf scrapped, my long awaited and carefully planned 5 day weekend in Paris scrapped (I will have to get my tickets refunded, don't let me forget !) and another loooooong week in Dubai ahead. I'm so disappointed. I was so pumped up for this month, it comes as a bloomin' punch in the left eye. Flying with flu, sinuses or anything linked to the nose and ears can damage them. You might of noticed that I do not talk about politics on the blog. For one it's illegal here in Dubai (at least talking about the Ruler in a bad way and religion is prohibited). Secondly, I'm such an ignorant fool on various, if not all political topic, that I'd much rather let everyone else have an arguement for me. With all that's happening in the Middle East, especially in Gaza these days I can only say I'm shocked to see so many innocents pay the price of a few badly managed mistakes from both sides. I know I'm making shortcuts here but, let's get to the point. Killing people is not a long term solution. It can only get worse. On that topic, I'd much rather turn you onto an opiniated mind like Alex K who just happened to blog about the Middle Eastern Crisis (click to open). He also happens to be one of my friends over in Hip-Paris. If you're a fan of football, techno music/DJs, and anything revolving around politics, then make sure you add his blog to your favourites ! Finally, we had big storms in Dubai yesterday. It finally felt like winter although the temperature is well above the 15 degree mark. And this afternoon, whilst writting this piece some heavy vibrations shook the whole building. I'm probably the only one feeling those. But it scared the shit outta me. Is it some earthquake aftermath or what ? That's it from me. I will most probably head to the Ice Skating Rink tonight at around 6pm to join Melissa in her triple Klutz demo. Pictures/Video to come. Stay tuned ! Tympanometry is an examination used to test the condition of the middle ear and mobility of the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and the conduction bones by creating variations of air pressure in the ear canal. Tympanometry is an objective test of middle-ear function. It is not a hearing test, but rather a measure of energy transmission through the middle ear. The test should not be used to assess the sensitivity of hearing and the results of this test should always be viewed in conjunction with pure tone audiometry. Tympanometry is a valuable component of the audiometric evaluation. In evaluating hearing loss, tympanometry permits a distinction between sensorinueural and conductive hearing loss, when evaluation is not apparent via Weber and Rinne testing. Furthermore, in a primary care setting, tympanometry can be helpful in making the diagnosis of otitis media by demonstrating the presence of a middle ear effusion. (Source: Wikipedia)

US 1549 ditches in the Hudson River in New York

Sodwee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:34:13 +0000

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="700" caption="US Airways 1549 crashed in the Hudson River - January 15th 2009"][/caption] I was pleasantly watching the news on CNN when the bullet for Breaking News appeared and we saw those first images of people standing on the wing of a passenger jet afloat in the New York City Hudson river. I was shocked. At first we didn't get any numbers or any information on the fatalities (which is predictable for a emergency ditching). But as the minutes went, accounts for a miracle unfolded. All pax were alive and accounted for. The story developed further to what is believed as a double bird strike on both engines (very rare in the aviation history), damn geeses!. The plane then attempted a emergency landing at an airport nearby (Teleboro I think it was) but the Captain in Command couldn't hold the plane until the runway. That's when he decided to ditch in the freezing waters of the Hudson. At that point I was holding to my couch, thirsty for more info and pictures. That is when I had the idea to check out Flickr.com which is an online photo sharing website (brilliant one by the way) and started to search for pictures from the scene. I was baffled by what I had found. See below for the striking pictures. svgallery=usairways1549 Ditching is serious. Ditching is THE LAST RESORT for a Captain and his crew. It is quite possibly the worst scenario for an airborne vehicle. Then comes aggravating factors. Weather conditions play a huge part in surviving a ditching. Condition of the aircaft upon ditching is critical too. Cabin preparation is essential to an organized evacuation. Crowd control is another break or make factor. In training we go through horrific scenarios of ditching knowing well and good our mere chances of survival. We are told that if you make it out of a ditching, you are one of the luckiest mofo out there. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="US Airways 1549 final seconds before ditching in Hudson River"][/caption] Now, this particular ditching is a result of an unplanned emergency (to my knowledge) after a bird strike a few seconds after lifting off from La Guardia Airport in New York. The aircraft was airborne for 3 minutes. Not a hell a lot of time to prepare cabin for hard impact. I guess that the cabin crew were still strapped in their Jumpseat as the plane was still in a critical phase of the flight (critical phases are Taxi, Take Off and Landing). Cabin Crew would of most likely have to instruct passengers for the brace position and life jackets if they had a briefing from the Captain, and they probably did it from their jumpseat. There is no way (in my humble opinion) that they ran through the cabin and demonstrated emergency procedures to the passengers sinply because of the time frame they had in hand. The Captain made a PA announcement for a Brace most probably 30 seconds or so before ditching. The Pilot did an amazing job at ditching the aircraft IN ONE PIECE (although reports say that the left engine dropped to the river bed soon after). This is one hell of a situation for a pilot and thank God it's a rare one. Thankfully, and this is where you should be thankful as passengers on any airline, the crew were highly experienced and trained for this kind of emergency. This is also why flight crew get so much mooolah for their skills. Not one pilot is overpaid for saving hundreds of lives from a ditching. And of course to optimize your chances of making it safely to your loved ones after a ditching or any kind of disaster, we recommend you to take the bloody three minutes to locate the nearest exit, read the safety card graciously provided by the airline, and follow crew guidelines and instructions which are paramount to you living such a situation. There's a reason for each and every instruction we give you aboard the aircraft. Like having your seat upright, or why we like a healthy, english-speaker near our exits, or even having your iPod OFF for the duration of Taxi, Take Off and Landing. There's many reasons behind each instruction. And I can safely say after flying for 9 months that half of my passengers actually took note and did what I kindly asked them to do. The other half smiling at me being absolutely ignorant. The fact is, you will not make it in one piece if you do not know where the nearest exit is, if you have comfortably reclined your seat and dosed off to your favourite playlist. And most likely, by sticking to your poor actions, you will kill the one behind you who has been to shy to alert the crew of your misbehavior. And as Girl On Tour says : "In training we are taught 'in theory' that is EXACTLY how a ditching should work, plane in tact, tail heavy, evacuate out onto the wings and jump into the rafts." You will not see any of the US 1549 crew comment anytime soon as they're going through a few long days of debriefing at the moment. The undergoing investigation will give us an exact insight to what happened and how it happened. I'm practically sure that in the coming months, this air crash will be a case study for all trainees in the Avaition Colleges around the world. I say BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO to the flight crew and cabin crew onboard US Airways 1549 for their brilliant work. And also a BRAVO to the passengers who all made it out of the wreck. If you are a pilot and would like to enlight us on these circunstances, please go forward and comment. I have based my opinions on the little knowledge I have. My judgements might be wrong.

picture-2

Sodwee — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:19:09 +0000

zinc-dubai-nightclub

Sodwee — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:27:48 +0000

Eat, Sleep & Party.

Sodwee — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:34:42 +0000

With a little Tequila after taste I take it to the keyboard and give it my best shot to update you with the latest from this side of mother Earth. It's been 8 days now that I have been in Dubai recovering from my left ear gloom. Quite a heap has happened, unlike the title suggests. I have been sick, obviously, high on medicine and essential oils provided by the Doctor. Clearing those ear canal wasn't easy but I can say the medicines worked the trick. Having an enormous amount of horizontal rest helped too. I have been loving my lone days in bed. Catching up on the last 9 months of fatigue I've accumulated. The only problem now is to work out the sleep pattern as it is all effed up. Waking up at unholy hours of the evening, having a Wagamama for breakie and drinking when the rest of the world dips their buttered toasts in coffee. The week's highlight were most notably our short but ooooh soo good work out session at the Dubai Mall Ice Rink, where Melissa (TampaxTowers blog) witnessed the ordeal of me teaching basic skating moves to a rookie french girl called Nivine. You can have a laugh seeing the video below. I can say Melissa works those iron blades quite well. I didn't - and I'm not lying here (or making her a favor) - see her make love to the ice once ! Good on ya ! Quite a lot of people turned out for the event that was organized by the Facecard board members. 490 to be exact. So it is most likely we'll be having more of those free days out in the near future. And has the days get hotter, we can look forward to a day out at Atlantis Water Park... More on that when the official statement is broadcasted ! At the ice rink, we also saw Jeremy (a crazy Maltese), Ian and a somewhat weird hip-hop dancing skater in the corner of the venue. She was all kitted out, own skates, fancy color frolicks and iPod to which she dances alone to for the most part of the evening. Gathering confused stares from her fellow colleagues. Who ever you are lady, you made our day ! Fast forward two or three days of lazing around in the flat eating, texting and sleeping, and stop to yesterday's awesome goodness at ZINC. Yes Zinc. Another night there. It is a Cabin Crew's second home. People hate it but secretly love it. Mondays are probably the best night there. No showing off bullshit, kust simply happy crew getting wasted and having a good time. Powered by some 80's tunes, the dance floor gets pumping quite frantically. Especially when Madonna comes on. You'd wonder why... It is the only place in Dubai you can get in alone and come out with 10 people who you never suspected would turn up. So the night goes down pretty quickly. Tequila after Tequila. Bacardi after Bacardi. But 3 in the morning is waaaaayyyy too early to hit the sack. So usually if you hang out on the patio, you will get some info on where the party continues (usually a flat nearby). This is what happened yesterday. We rocked to Al Ghadeer for some after party. Meet interesting new people. In this case Manu and Rafa. The two being host to the whole thing and the latter being DJ himself. That would be the point of transition here. Like an amazing CNN anchor I provide you here with Rafa's latest DJ track. An uplifting mix. Please go download the track and listen. To what I hear, he provides the whole building with homemade CD's. The first time I heard some of his material was in an open top Peugeot 206 wondering aimlessly around Sheihk Zayed and Jumeirah One looking for a place to park. We had cranked the system to an unbelievably high volume and waved our arms in the passing air like complete dumbasses competing with the nearby Bentleys and Cayennes owned by what seemed to be locals because they had Britney's 'Womanizer' playing loud too. Loved it and wanted that CD. The mix is 1 hour and 4 minutes long. It weighs 44 Mb but is totally worth it. I had permission from Rafa to post this upon here, so take a listen ! He'll rock out some more tunes later as I hear. It's a perfect track for you're early evening drinks and after hours ! It reminds me of some Hotel Costes / Buddha Bar songs I heard before.

[download id="101"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE in agonising pain... [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Al_Ghadeer_003.mp3]

Unfortunately for you guys, and lucky for the peeps that were with me yesterday, I'm thinking Geraldine, Audrey, Ray (all three readers of this blog) , Nivine (you especially), Moos, Medy, and others I didn't have my camera with me. But for sure some pictures will make it to Facebook in a matter of minutes as I finish this post and I will share them with you. This is a wrap. My week ends soon as I'm bound for Bombay Friday, then onto Birmingham where the lovely Thea and her boy are awaiting (more on that later on) and Jo'Burg. Will of course report on all of those trips. Until then, I wish you a very very happy rest of week. Keep safe ! Oooh. I needed to tell you that I finally received the quarterly email from my beloved brother who is down in Ozzieland. He got fed up with the shitty weather in Brisbane so he got a plane ticket to Broome on the complete other side of the country. To the latest news he'll be diving for Oyster Pearls off the coast of Broome. Getting precious mooolahh and being offline for 10 days. He will not have access to a telephone nor internet in that period of time. He's apparently enjoying every moment of it and loves the red earth and sunny skies. He alo got sun burnt, that was bound to happen ! More on his shenanigans as I receive the next quaterly email...

alghadeer003

Sodwee — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:49:40 +0000

Airboy - pope progress poster

Sodwee — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:46:45 +0000

A sound system is a make or break !

Sodwee — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:30:14 +0000

Yesterday in Dubai was amazing. Sun was out (like today), people were out, temperatures are gradually going upwards. For many weeks I had been getting up at night and basically living like an howl. A Bombay turnaround later, I'm now in sync with the real world that surrounds me. I get up early, enjoy the day and go to bed at reasonable hours. My body clock has adjusted so far. But not long I guess before another 3am departure hits the corner of my head. Bombay. Thankfully I was rostered on the 502, which leaves dubai at 1.20 in the afternoon and comes back before 10 at night. Better than the night one. It was full both ways. Nothing much to say about it as we were too busy to actually reflect on what we were doing. NO time to think about anything. Head in the cart, you dish those trays out as fast as you can and with a smile. The new service Emirates has introduced is heavyweight. No other airline does what we do for short haul. If you're flying to or from Bombay/Mumbai with Emirates you can expect a FULL meal/bar service, welcoming drinks, menus. Basically everything you'd find on a DXB - LHR. And this is a 2.20 flight counting the climb and descent. We were actually surprised to fit everything in. I cannot remember a flight like that. Every crew was on the ball. From the Suppies to the FG1's. Yes we also had 2 suppies. Poor them, thrown onto a BOM with a new service, that's harsh ! Mijat and Yujin big up to you. You did extremely well considering the pace of the flight and how busy we were... You guys rocked when I saw you take the meal carts on your own when I would of probably been hiding in the cockpit... I really enjoyed my return to flying after being grounded. Next up is Birmingham where I shall meet Alethea and her new born baby. More on this as I come back. Before my Bombay, I had been out with the french Gang again to a club named Platinum. It is located in the Metropolitan Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road. I had never heard of the place, until Zane, our beloved South African, called us in for some drinks and party there. We got there and from outside we could already hear the pumping music. The place is decorated victorian style, with carpet on the walls, Louis XVI style furniture and all that. "Flamboyant / Flamboyancy " as they like to advertise on their ugly framed plasme TV's. The atmosphere there was dull as hell. People didn't seem to enjoy themselves, they just stood there as statues. But we didn't care, we danced the night away, you could see a pool of activity going in the club, that was us ! Helped of course by numerous drinks and shots. Gradually the ice surrounding those peeps started to melt and the club went alive 30 minutes before it closed. It is definately a club in which to be seen, where you hang out to make a statement. And boy do I hate those clubs. "Ladies" looking at us like we're pieces of crap... etc... not very welcoming. Not to mention the appalling sound system they on cue that night. CLUB OWNERS, If you haven't spent a significant amount on your speakers and overall system, there's absolutely no need to crank the volume too high as it will show how bad they sound. These particular speakers were spitting... We didn't care, we made a right mess of the place and ourselves. Pictures below... Note : I had sunglasses, not my typical accessory in a nightclub, and I already feel ashamed. We got out of this ghetto to end up at 21st Century and finish the night there ! Good times ! svgallery=platinum As I hit the publish button for this entry, I will be heading to Zabee'l Park with Tall Ben. We wanted green. We wanted to get away from the beige and sand for a few minutes. Will take my camera, maybe it's worth a snap. Otherwise, I have discovered I have 3 Paris trips next month, I have yet to see what I have in between. I can already feel the turnarounds showing up. Will update you and let you know as soon as I get my full roster.

Airboy does Birmingham, UK.

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:38:46 +0000

UK flights are so random these days. We can feel the loads slip. Cabins are empty, most probably due to this economic downturn. The Pound Sterling being in the crap also helps ! People do not fly as much or think twice before booking their tickets. Especially small businesses. Leisure travel is still (from the passengers I talked to) quite strong despite the trend. As his HH said, "we've hit the bottom and there's only one way up now. Air travel is the only way to travel now, people won't sail from a continent to another, it's just far too hectic" and ooooh sooo medieval. Who on earth would get stuck on a cargo ship for 3 weeks when you can do the same journey in 12 hours ? So with this in mind, I go to briefing for my only UK flight in many months. Bound for 'Brum' or Birmingham. Large city north west of London, near the Welsh border. We flew over with 137 pax when we could of flown 400 (economy only). We had fun, speaking to passengers as we served them drinks and meals. I love taking my time and actually make contact while working. Quite the opposite of my previous Bombay rush. And it is extremely rewarding when customers leave the plane all smiles with a zen attitude. People came down the back galley to chat. Trips like that are really nice. In an empty cabin, people feel so much less cramped that their karma changes instantly. You see the difference straight away. People are much nicer compared to a full aircraft. Everything seems to flow too during service, there's no pressure. Happy Crew = Happy Passengers ! Surprisingly, and contrary to customs, our passengers didn't empty our bars, far from it actually. They were more happy getting high on tea, coffee, biscuits and little snacks ! I couldn't believe it ! Before I left from Dubai, I had an email from my very good friend Alethea. She used to work in Paris with me at those FrogPubs before she decided to hang her boots. We loved our time there as it was all play, everyday. A bit like the atmosphere here in Dubai but on a much smaller scale. It's like being at Uni all over again ! So she emailed me saying she could make it to 'Brum' with Seb (her 8 month son) from Stradford-Upon-Avon, which is where Shakespeare was born. If you have the chance to stop in that little country town, please do so as it is amazingly cute. Country houses, pebbled streets etc. Very nice little town ! So she took the train up to Birmingham and in complete sync we met in the hotel lobby. Now this was a true miracle knowing how organized I am with maps and times. We had calculated this to perfection ! Not loosing a single second to go out for some lunch and bubbles. We wondered around the Bull Ring, which used to be the biggest European Mall. But nothing too impressive after seeing the Dubai Mall or even Mall Of The Emirates. Birmingham itself...erm... [pause]... is quite an ugly place. Nothing much to it. No charm at all. I was hoping for some cool english architecture or something attractive but didn't manage to do so, instead a grim, grey and sad place altogether enhanced with rain, cold and no sun. The only cute thing I saw was Moor Street Train station. It had an old steam/cole locomotive inside, felt just like a Harry Potter book... But sightseeing wasn't on the agenda. I had lovely Thea and her boy with me and loved seeing them both. Thea seemed very healthy and happy as Sebastian did. Those two together are very entertaining ! I'm not used to having toddlers around me, except maybe those devils we encounter on-board, and I can say I really enjoyed it ! Very different to what I would of done if I met Hayley from the FrogPub in Toulouse (who later on that day emailed to say we could of met, but me being me, completely forgot she lived in Birmingham... For next time). We scouted around for a pizza place until Thea nearly screamed when she saw a Wagamama sign. I jumped in awe, as you know. I'm a huge fan. The prospect of having a Katsu Curry triggered the decision to stop by and stuff ourselves with noodle/rice goodness. We spent quite some time in there chatting away, sharing gossip and news, things we had done and to be done etc etc. Your normal meetup conversation really. Laughed quite a lot too. Seb was happily sitting next to us enjoying his time in the restaurant. Everyone kept coming to us and say how lovely the boy was. I bet they also thought I was the father ! We finished there and agreed it wasn't enough, so we went into the mall to see if we could find bath toys. Had a right giggle with all those toys. Especially the rolla-frog bubble machine. Of which Thea could see herself playing with at the Rex Club in Paris, high on some Cuba Libres. So much fun spending time in toy shops I would never of guessed. Maybe I should spend more time in Toys'R'Us at MOE next time I go there ! After this, we needed some drinks. We headed to a simili french Brasserie called Cafe Rouge (it's a chain of french cafes all around the UK). We sat down and ordered Sparkling wine (they didn't have real Champagne, which was a bummer) with Fondant Au Chocolat. The bubbles did the trick, as I felt quite tipsy (try to drink straight after a flight and you'll understand how I felt). Chatted more and played with little Seb. Everyone was getting tired by now so we decided to part. I took THea to the station and left her to go back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. It was great. Love catching up with friends. I took pictures for you guys (See below). svgallery=birmingham The way back was just a little busier, but very enjoyable non the less. Especially with the nicest crew I had in months. Bruno, Kriti, Chimi, PJ, Elena, Zubeida, Lois, Eveline, Ashem, Jenny, Jasmit and the two very funny Flight Crew Dean and Christopher. I'm now back in Dub-Dub, next trip will be Jo'Burg (it seems we're deadheading back). Will, of course let you know how that went. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy my bed. Peace out fools. Until next time !

I love rien, I'm parisien by Airboy, Sodwee

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:52:41 +0000

February roster details [UPDATED]

Sodwee — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:15:31 +0000

[update] : I've managed to swap my KUL for a Colombo. Happy days ! Short flight + layover, you can't beat it !And also DOPPLR graciously compiled an annual report on my travels for 2008 if you care to take a look. Very insightful statistics, especially the stuff about carbon dioxyde and hummers.... DOWNLOAD HERE :

[download id="102"]

Airboy is thrilled with his February roster. I pleasantly discovered my roster a day later it was supposed to be published. From Birmingham. The scheduling team had some difficulty in releasing the precious information on the 26th. Facebook was then overloaded with angry, desperate statuses... Quite funny. Sat comfortably, I ran through all the necessary passwords and letter combinations in order to access our crew portal and made my way to the rosters. Clicked on Feb, and discovered a brilliant roster per my standards ! I managed to score 3 Paris layovers in a month, 1 Kuala Lumpur 35hrs, one lone/long Istanbul turnaround and a happy Lagos (Nigeria) layover. I was longing the fact I didn't set foot in Africa since I joined Emirates, but this day has come with my Jo'Burg in a few hours as well as that Lagos. The only thing I'm not impressed with is Kuala Lumpur, as much as I like shopping there, I really had enough of the place. The shuttle from the airport to the hotel is a killer by itself. So this one is going for auction on the swap shop. If anyone is interested... As for Lagos. That is a notorious flight amongst crew. Apparently very hard to work and the fact that we have to stay in at the hotel because of security issues outside the grounds (apparently the food is uber-expensive, so I might have to bring Koka noodles with me, check out this blog, from a fellow Cabin Crew who works for BA). We even get an escort to and from the airport... Not the best of sights really. But I want to experience the whole woohaa and see for myself. None the less, if a Mauritius you don't want, and you are more than happy to trade it for a LOS, talk to me ! I have no particular plans for Paris. On one of the trip I come in the Friday so it will be nice to catch up with Mother & Father. All the other times they were working and stuff so it wasn't as easy ! After numerous emails and popular demand, the roster table makes it's way back onto the frontpage (frontpage only because I cannot find space anywhere else). That way you can keep track and see the current month's itinerary... You can also follow me on my Dopplr account...

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
out	JNB - DXB	XX	DXB - CMB	CMB - DXB	XX	XX
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
XX	DXB - IST - DXB	XX	DXB - CDG	out	CDG - DXB	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - LOS	out	LOS - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - CDG	out
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
CDG - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - CDG	out	CDG - DXB	XX
29	30	31

20080722_raclette_mobil_pressebild

Sodwee — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:40:47 +0000

Random moments caught on camera / Soiree Raclette

Sodwee — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:54:37 +0000

I have a lot of meaningless videos on hand. I heart nonsense. This is why I mixed some of them in this little clip. Most of the dialogues are in French. Shot in various places with various people. I just came back from a Soiree Raclette in 21st Century Tower where the french contingent lives. And, to take the french attitude to a respectable level, we had to throw a dinner for, well, all the other french people we know of in Dubai. Tall Ben, Nivine and Greg were on call all day to prepare the dinner. Greg had brought some Raclette (melted french cheese on anything edible, potatoes, meat etc...) machines from his home in France so we could socialize a bit more. And boy did it work ! Raclette is a very famous dish in France and always a good excuse to get together. So ni the end 16 people turned up and dug in the metling cheese and meat on the table. Along with some real good french wine, it couldn't be better. The only downside to a Raclette at home is the revolting smell from the metling cheese that stays with you where ever you go, it stays on your clothes and sticks to the walls for a good long week before it actually disappears. This is mainly why we didn't do the 'soiree' at mine. I couldn't face the aftermath. Not would my flatmate Ka...! You will see how it looks in the video below. Before that you need to fully understand the concept, so I've included a wikipedia definition of Raclette : Raclette is also a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland, Wallonia and France. The Raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine, then scraped onto diners' plates; the term raclette derives from the French racler, meaning "to scrape". Traditionally, it is accompanied by small firm potatoes (Bintje, Charlotte or Raclette varieties), gherkins, pickled onions, dried meat, such as prosciutto and viande des Grisons, sliced peppers, tomato, onion, mushrooms, pears, and dusted with paprika and fresh-ground black pepper. A modern way of serving raclette involves an electric table-top grill with small pans, known as coupelles, to heat slices of raclette cheese in. Generally the grill is surmounted by a hot plate or griddle. The cheese is brought to the table sliced, accompanied by platters of boiled or steamed potatoes, other vegetables, charcuterie, and perhaps seafood. Diners create their own small packages of food by cooking small amounts of meat, vegetables and seafood on the griddle. These are then mixed with potatoes and topped with cheese in the small, wedge-shaped coupelles that are placed under the grill to melt and brown the cheese. Alternatively, slices of cheese may be melted and simply poured over food on the plate. The accent in raclette dining is on relaxed and sociable eating and drinking, the meal often running to several hours. French and other European supermarkets generally stock both the grill apparatus and ready-sliced cheese and charcuterie selections for use with it.

picture-1

Sodwee — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:45:15 +0000

dubaitaxi

Sodwee — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:47:58 +0000

Another thrill riding along Sheikh Zayed Road

Sodwee — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:23:09 +0000

It's no secret that Dubai Taxis are far and foremost the most unpredictable rides in the world. I have used rickshaws, Parisian taxis, London cabs, tuk-tuks, and plenty of other means of transport including a hell of a bus ride in Johannesburg just two days ago. But Taxis in Dubai take the top spot in "Get cheap thrills, see your life spin before your eyes in seconds, and pray hard for your dear soul" kind of chart. Today was the latest scare for me. I had hailed down this new looking cab and with what I discovered later on, a new driver in that new car. The guy probably only started driving in Dubai the day before. Once hailed I hop on and tell him where I was heading. His surprising reply was : "Cigarette me, one minute [insert head shaking and nodding]". I was lost for words at that point and we hadn't even left the place I hailed him down. I replied kindly (nerves already fuming, but kept it cool) : "Who's the customer here ? Yes I am, I'm paying you for a service, you need to take me from here to over there. Khalas (always add some random arabic in your sentences, makes up for the lack of assertiveness), now drive !". I looked at him straight into the eyes via the center mirror and I could see his unhappy face. How can you ask a customer to wait until you have a cigarette and then carry on with your duty ? We were now strolling along Sheikh Zayed. People here drive like complete lunatics, lane-hopping like you've never seen before. In a wonderful world they'd be indicating, make sure no one pulls out before them and be careful about their driving. Well none of that happens in Dubai.... NEVER. We get used to it... pretty quick but today my heart jumped and I held the handles tighter than ever before. He took the long way home. I know Dubai, and how much it costs from A to B. I know shortcuts now, so there's no way a Taxi can fool me around. And boy to I hate being fooled around. This driver took it way too far. I told him to take defense roundabout and then behind Shangri-La. But he grumbled and did his own thing. I see we're heading for trade center roundabout, adding nearly 10 Dhs to the counter. I went completely bezerck. I usually keep my cool and stay polite but this time was too much. Not only was he racing down the highway like a complete maniac, missing other Hummers and Cayennes by inches, braking at the last minute and making my ride a nightmare he was also trying to rip me off. I shouted at him to stop right there (Dnata Travel Center), he asked why... I told him he was a complete nutter and wanted to get out of his hell ride. I got off without paying him, I noted down his registration plate + taxi number and called the head office. A soothing filipino voice takes my call. I describe the ordeal and she takes note. A few minutes later I receive a text with a free ride coupon with a code. Not only did I finally get a safe taxi ride home, I got it free ! A few tips when riding taxis in Dubai :

Never say your destination until you're in the car with the door closed.
Make sure to know where you are going, landmarks, road names and how long it should normally take.
Taxis are now exempt from Salik Road Toll charges and should not charge you for going over Garhoud Bridge or under any other toll gate in Dubai.
Sit in the back.
Do not be afraid of saying what is wrong.
Open windows if needed.
Have change in small notes if possible, if not and the driver asks you to make some change, tell him to go and do it himself or else leave the taxi.

Otherwise I came back from a uneventful layover in Jo'burg where I only ate and slept for the whole time. I was so nackered I couldn't barely make the effort to take pictures. In actual fact, I didn't take any. All I know is that they had a real nice Sunday roast with beef cooked to perfection, spuds, Yorkshire pudding and amazing gravy. Flights were empty and the crew was amazingly funny. Had a great time onboard. I'm currently getting ready for my Colombo flight which leaves Dubai at 3 in the morning. It's only a four hour flight, so it's the perfect flight for me really. I will lounge around near the hotel pool and if the crew is nice, I'll try to convince them to go and see the Elephant Orphanage... In other news, I am having some issues with my webhost at the moment, resulting in fustrating downtime for the blog. It getting very busy at peak times and they're asking me to upgrade servers to cope with the demand. But I'm having none of it since I recently payed for yet another upgrade. I'm currently battling with them so they grant me some bandwith and database disk space for free. Let's see how far we can get. If not I'll probably have to transfer webhost. Meaning I will have to move servers. It horrible to undertake and time-consuming. Finally weather in Dubai is getting really nice these days. I'm enjoying my time out there in the sunshine... Stay tuned as I have some cool downloads coming up and more little boring stories to share ! Peace out fools ! Until next time...

singleladiesbeyonce

Sodwee — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:06:40 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #73 / Put a ring on it.

Sodwee — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:54:32 +0000

Straight from my Colombo room : Hey ! It's been a long time cooking, but I have 5 new cover for your listening pleasure. Chill out, pour yourself a Gin and lay back. We've got some pretty amazing stuff today including a cover of Beyonce's uber-hot Single Ladies track, redone by Mr Little Jeans in such a nice way ! They've kept the pounding drums and claps, but tried something different on the vocals. Me likey ! Otherwise I highly recommend the Portishead cover for it's hawtness ! The rest I let you discover ! DOWNLOAD AWAY HOMIEzzzzzzz ! If you have covers we haven't heard of or published yet, please do send them in, you can use our Soundcloud dropbox to make things easier ! Be sure to download these tracks right away because our server space is getting limited. They won't stay long live... Make the most of it !

MUSIC MINUTE : Amy Winehouse is supposed to be recording her third album, she has been cleaning up her act in St Lucia for the past two month and is set to rent out a recording studio in neighbouring Jamaica. That's getting her a little closer to her demons... But we hope for the best ! BB King is set to come out of retirement and play a series of UK gigs this summer. The 83 year-old guitar legend will return to Britain for four arena shows in June. Pete Doherty is set to give a talk to students at the Trinity College in Dublin on Friday (February 4). The Babyshambles man will be a guest of The University Philosophical Society, following in the footsteps of past speakers at the college, including Oscar Wilde, former Presidential hopeful John McCain, 'Dracula' author Bram Stoker and actress Helen Mirren. According to the university website, Tcdphil.com, Doherty will discuss, "Life, love and much more". Attendees will be able to ask the Libertine questions as part of the talk. Prince launched his new website by playing a private gig at his Los Angeles home at the weekend (January 31). The show witnessed by a handful of competition winners, journalists - including NME.COM and invited guests including soul singer Anita Baker and Prince’s protégée Bria Valente, saw the "purple one" perform a mammoth set with a full band in the basement of his Beverley Park mansion until around 3am (PST). Songs Prince played included 'Controversy', 'I Feel For You', 'Alphabet Street', 'Guitar' and covers of 'Le Freak' by , 'Stand' by Sly And The Family Stone and The Rolling Stones' 'Miss You'. Nas has revealed that he has worked on a track with Dr. Dre, set for the latter's forthcoming album 'Detox'. The rapper did not give a title for the song, but told Billboard that it sounded "crazy". "I did a joint, I think it’s crazy," Nas said, before saying he'd like to take the collaboration with Dr. Dre further. "He's [Dre] someone I would love to do a full album with one day," he added. "I think he is the best producer of all time." A release date for 'Detox' is yet to be confirmed. Other artists likely to appear on it include 50 Cent, Eminem, Lloyd Banks and Mary J. Blige.

[download id="106"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Single_Ladies_Beyonce_Cover.mp3]
[download id="107"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/10_Bad_Moon_Rising_CCR_cover.mp3]
[download id="105"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/08_Glory_Box_Portishead_cover.mp3]
[download id="104"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/04_Crazy_In_Love_Beyonce_cover.mp3]
[download id="103"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/04_Crazy_Gnarls_Barkley_cover.mp3]

cokemachinerobot

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:37:39 +0000

Blame me, not my webhost ! (For the geek in you, continued)...

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:52:09 +0000

Ok so yesterday I went on a rampage against my webhost blaming them for causing much disruption in the dear little life of this blog of mine. Sent numerous heated emails, always getting a polite and courteous reply back. I was being a total moron with them. But that taxi ride taught me some good lessons... although not applicable in all circumstances... I'm a total ignorant when it comes to dealing with MySQL, phpMyAdmin and databases in general. But this is how the blog works. Every time I post a new entry, you type in a comment or simply clicking here and there, the robot behind the scenes of the blog will check the information and store it in drawers, in these drawers you have different files each referring to a specific value (does that make sense so far ?)...No ? OK.... erm.... well think of it as a gigantic coke machine (database/MySQL) that retrieves (queries/entries from the blog visitor or myself) your desired selection (the information you're looking for/data) as you click on various links (enter the selection on the keypad) minus the financial aspect (you putting coins in the slot). The mechanical basket receiving the coke bottle or your Pringles is called phpMyAdmin. In reality, it's a little more complicated. But the geek in you will know what I'm talking about. So after checking the disk usage (total amount of information stored in these different files), I finally came to the conclusion that a plugin I had installed a few months back was tracking and storing every little movement the blog readers and I did whilst on my blog, it was also counting, adding, dividing and doing all sorts of statistical calculations for virtually nothing. Thus storing an incredible amount of data. Too much to digest and useless crap that took way too much space in the database. Resulting in your experience being slowed down or even preventing you from accessing the blog all together. A simple "delete database table" did the trick. I now receive no more desperate emails from my webhost asking to upgrade and we have a faster blog on hand. It will save me a significant amount of money too. If I hadn't looked at that darn thing, I would of probably spent 2 CDG allowances on server upgrades over the next week. Not too good in such bad economic times I say ! I'm now glad I have a working medium again. Happy I'll be a little richer too ! I'm also very glad I bored you for another 10 minutes. But I honestly had to share this improvement with you and unload it for my tired brain or risk the permanent failure of my grey cells. In no way am I a genius. But it felt so good to actually overcome such a problem, I really am proud of myself lol. Here we go, ego kicks in... !

Has Emirates stopped recruiting ? [UPDATE #2]

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:12:53 +0000

CHECK OUT MY LATEST POST ON THE ISSUE HERE...

After receiving well over 20 emails asking the same question, I thought I'd share my point of view here. Many of you are wondering why Emirates has postponed many of it's Open Days and Global Assessment days without giving any reason so far. I have no idea why at this stage but will investigate the issue tomorrow as the week starts on Sundays here. For those of you who have been hired and have sent medicals, please make sure you contact the HR office tomorrow to get a clear answer on the status of your application, because I cannot it give to you. I do not work for HR, and I have no access what so ever to your applications. I also received numerous emails stating that Emirates has withdrawn some of the applications after offering positions. This remains unclear but the rumors around the forums and all over the internet are spreading like wildfire. Until further information from Emirates, these will remain rumors. So to put things clear, I do not know the reason why Open Days are postponed or if Emirates has stopped recruiting all together. I will ask around tomorrow and find out. [UPDATE] : I have gathered a little more information. They have halted Open Days and hiring processes for many aspiring Emirates Crew Members for an undefined time period. I understand they will be re-contacting applicants who already went through the whole hiring process as soon as they overcome the current economical downturn and they need new joiners. This is an excerpt from an email sent from HR I got earlier on today...

"The current economic climate has prompted many airlines (including ourselves) to re-assess business strategy and recruitment needs for the future. As a business it is paramount that we ensure that we match our recruitment policy to our actual and anticipated business requirements to enable us to create the right training and career opportunities for all those who wish to join us. This re-assessment has resulted in a decision to significantly reduce the number of new Cabin Crew we are hiring this year. [...] We would seek to re-contact you when we have our next course start dates confirmed..."

The future dates for the next courses are not yet announced. I will try my best to provide as much information as I can. And again, I'm not affiliated to Emirates HR nor any department other than InFlight Services. Consider this information as non-official. For more information please seek the appropriate department within Emirates. Another thing too : I do not have any numbers, emails, or contact details for HR services at Emirates. Please bear this in mind as you send me an email...

CHECK OUT MY LATEST POST ON THE ISSUE HERE...

All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Airboy.sodwee.com makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an “AS-IS” basis. This weblog does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my employer. It is solely my opinion. Many blogs don’t permit comments or trackbacks. I do. And while it is a pain to review them, remove spam and offensive language, I do so because I value your thoughtful opinions. Don’t be offended if I edit your comments for clarity or to keep out questionable matters. I may even delete off-topic comments. The opinions expressed by Airboy/Sodwee and commenter’s are theirs alone, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Emirates Group or its employees.

IKEA regolit floor lamp bow

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:14:20 +0000

IKEA / Omelettes / Plants / Lamps / Obama Speaks, the remix...

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:53:13 +0000

RED ALERT RED ALERT RED ALERT, awesomeness__aaaaaahhhhhh___I just fell off my beanbag__click play NOW NOW NOW NOW: I have found a truly amazing piece of music. Some ILLUMINATED GENIUS named Jason Tyler ripped Obama's Grant Park (Chicago, IL) election night speech into a sizzzzzzlin' track with influences from the Daft Punk era and the 1990's pop goodness. Please, DOWNLOAD AND ENJOY. Impress your mates and IT'S DANCEFLOOR READY ! [this is about as political this blog will ever get...] :

[download id="108"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE IN AGONISING PAIN [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Obama_Speaks.mp3]

My living room is quickly becoming an entire part of my day to day life. Many crew I know of in Dubai stay in their bedroom as soon as they hit the sandpit. You'd wonder why when we have some huge living rooms and IKEA to decorate to our taste, people would still rather lock themselves in their rooms. I must say having a really truly rockin' flatmate makes socialising so much easier , subsequently, decorating the living is a piece of cake ! So yesterday, Nivine, Chaouki and myself took another deadly cab to Dubai Festical City where the swedish embassy stands : IKEA. We - as experienced shoppers - avoided the showroom uselessness and powerwalked a shortcut straight to the markethall (the part of the store where they stack everything). We were honestly droolling over every item. But we had a list, and we agreed not to buy more than we should (of course, it didn't really happen). Picking stuff as we went along, absolutely not thinking of the financial consequence such a spree would have. Anyway... We came into the lighting section. This is, by far, my favourite corner of IKEA. I have become such an expert in the field, to the extent of knowing the exact lightbulb needed for each and every light socket. The lamp I had in mind even before entering the shop was a bigass monster. Only a picture can describe the thing best (see below, click image to enlarge). This lamp is mammoth ! It was going to be in the living but after debating for almost 45 minutes, I decided to have in the bedroom, it was taking way too much karma space. So it's now hovering above my bed.... And I must admit, it looks amazing... I also picked some stickable mirrors to add in the bedroom and a new bed set. Nothing too exciting there compared to the lamp. Now... Brace. I went coocoo. You guys probably know by now that I'm French, my hometown is Paris, in France. And I was missing all the goodness that this city holds. My aunt & uncle back in Kent had sent me this Eiffel Tower postcard for my last birthday. Strolling down IKEA, past the lighting section, I see in the back a huuuuuuuge picture of the Eiffel Tower. You'd wonder where is the connection between the postcard and this gigantic photo in IKEA?? Well, it's the damn same picture. So no more no less I grab the thing for home. It is now proudly sitting on top of the cupboard in "le salon". The room feels a lot less empty, having Khalil's extensive line up of mugs from around the world, my big ass Eiffel Tower over-powering our little lives now, I feel AT HOME ! Add to that the fact we have a third living being in the flat, namely, a green plant... I'm all happy chappy. So this is me, after half an hour of pain and sweat to assemble a rather easy looking kit. Not to mention, Nivine was trying to help, but she's a much better Ice-skater than she is a IKEA assembler. It goes without saying. We are complete noobs when it comes to build something out of our own hands. Especially if it was made by IKEA. The result is awwwweeeeeesome! We had to take pictures and share our moment ! You can't go further into French Frenzy. Today was spent mostly on the computer reading forums, blogs and trying to get as much info as possible on the Emirates Recruitment Halt issue. It looks gloom. People are getting all confused and angry over the internet. I will call around tomorrow and see what's up. The planes are empty, it's no secret. I've heard of a B777-300 bound for London Heathrow with 70 passengers in Economy. Which is unheard of here at Emirates ! AN EMPTY LHR ?? You gotta be kiddin' me !? Well it's true. We can definately see a slow down in the number of passengers. And I think it's a general consensus. People just don't have the money to travel, more significantly, small and large businesses have clamped down on their travel expenses ! Just today, Tall Ben was saying a French Ambassador in some asian country was flying Economy ! VIP and all but paxing with the rest of the crowd, unheard of again! When will they bail us out ? Otherwise I attempted making an omelette this evening. It ended in a right mess. I never failed an omelette before, and I feel extremely ashamed of myself. I figured out later, after eating the whole plate, that I forgot to put oil in the pan before pouring the eggs and peppers, bacon and mushrooms. It looked like I had out the thing through a paper shredder. It was all over the place. I will defo not cook anytime soon to gain self-confidence... And for the first time ever, Airboy has tried the Nando's chicken. I Luuuuurve the taste ! SOoooo juicyyyy! uuum. That was my two previous days in Dub-Dub ! Enjoy yourselves ! Will be back tomorrow to let you know how my investigation has progressed. Stay tuned ! svgallery=eiffeltower

Has Emirates Stopped Recruiting : Some answers

Sodwee — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:19:23 +0000

I spent a major part of the day browsing for information, called a number of key departments within Emirates and got a few plausible answers as to why they have postponed and halted Cabin Crew recruitment. The sources are non-official and should be taken lightly for that purpose. We are still waiting on an official statement from Emirates on this issue. It shouldn't be too long before we get clear answers for all the questions you're having. First of all, the economic circumstances that every industry is going it through at the moment, more importantly the aviation industry calls for a careful re-planning in strategies and consequently recruitment strategies. While Emirates will not be cutting jobs anytime soon as they say, they have not only postponed hiring new joiners but they have also postponed a number of upgrades within In Flight Services. Cabin Crew are still waiting for their upgrades. I also hear Emirates will assign minimum staff on their aircrafts. Usually aircrafts are staffed with one or two extra crew (ie a B777-300 3 class with 10 doors is usually staffed with one extra cabin crew for each premuim cabin and 2 extra down the back : 3 in first, 3 in business, 6 in economy + seniors, 2 SFS and a purser). They have been looking at how they could reduce costs in all departments. One of the decisions is to cut on extra crew on many flights depending on the loads and the destination. Meaning B777-300 aircrafts would be staffed by the number of doors (in this case 10) adding to that the seniors (3, 2 SFS and one purser). Which means they need less staff on duty and can re-assign duties for those extra crew, resulting in no need to hire more new joiners. Secondly, aircraft deliveries have slowed down from Boeing. Due mainly to strikes back in early october/november last year. Deliveries have been delayed for approximately 3 to 4 months. Again resulting in not needing much more crew. From Airbus's side, A380 deliveries should see two jumbo jets coming down the sandpit this year. They will most probably hire crew to staff these two airplanes internally. We have seen announcements for A380 crew displayed around our portal for March 09. They will be opening Seoul Incheon late in November. They also just kicked off a Sydney - Auckland route that is apparently doing very well. Thirdly, in another attempt to reduce operating costs, Emirates will shut down or reduce frequencies on select routes. The latest was in South Africa where one daily Johannesburg out of the three was taken off. Expect other routes closing down in the future or a re-organisation of the network. European routes are getting very slow at the moment. While asian/indian/australasian routes are still very strong within the network. This results also in why they need less crew. Remember staffing an airplane takes a lot of crew - think hundreds per jet - so taking a route down you can use those crew anywhere else... Finally, another plausible answer as to why Emirates has halted or postponed their Open Days and Global Assessment days is because of housing here in Dubai. Emirates currently handles 10,000 crew members. All housed in shared appartments throughout the city. Approximately 45 buildings are used solely to accommodate crew. Many of the new joiners have been housed in temporary accommodation (apartment hotels) for their training because of late deliveries from contractors. Buildings do take some time to build and hiring so many crew per week (on average 90 every Thursday !), shortage quickly takes over. They will no doubt take the opportunity in this slowdown of new joiners to sort this accommodation problem out and resume when times are better and buildings are finished. As for people who have been offered a position as Cabin Crew and then saw it withdrawn by Emirates, I did not get a clear answer. I'm sure they will address the problem very soon. Stay tuned as I will post updates on the whole ordeal in the future. Those reasons are some of many. I'm not an expert, I'm just assuming. Many other factors come into play but those listed above come as obvious to me. That is all I could manage today !

117 Special Meals, 8 crew: happy havoc!

Sodwee — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:33:47 +0000

It's still fresh in my head, so I'll pen it. As you've probably seen on my roster this month. I have 3 CDGs lined up. My first one just gone by. I loved it. So much happened in the lapse of 30 hours. I will try my best - with fatigue kicking in - to describe the whole thing. Briefing. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard an Open Day mate Raphael (center in the picture above) blast a big "BOOONNNJOUUUR" as soon as I entered the briefing room. I knocked out a huge smile and another "BOOOOJOUUR" in return. Hearing french speakers in briefing is uber-rare these days. It only happens on CDGs (rightly so) and it's a great way to start the day. Another french speaker was amongst the team for the trip, his name was John (from La Reunion), a french departement (province) in the Indian Ocean. I'd already flew with him and swapped a couple flights with him, and I recognized his familiar face. Greated him, in French, of course. So we started gossiping in French, just to give the tone of the flight. Laughed and started giving french lessons and french etiquette manners to our fellow colleagues in the briefing room. The trip started very well, everyone laughing at our customs: giving kisses on the cheeks for example, and making the 'mwa' noise at the same time, and telling them depending on the region you come from in France, you either give 2, 3 or 4 kisses evenly between the two cheeks and also depending again on the region you come from, you either start from the left or right cheek. It's apparently a right nightmare for foreigners but come so naturally for us. We also gossiped about the loads, as you do and the passenger profile: Bread & Red Wine freaks, that's how crew describe us French when we fly ! How compelling... We carried on giving basic french catch phrases for the crew :

"Je m'appelle XXXX, je suis celibataire. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi" was amongst the stuff a Flight Attendant going to Paris needs to know before actually landing in the country of stinkin' cheeses, wine and awesome baguettes.

Loads. These days, and it's no secret, loads are awful business wise. Not exempt of the current turmoil. The afternoon Paris CDG flight from Dubai is empty, dismally empty. We had to bus 73 pax over to Paris yesterday ! As you can imagine, it was a fairly easy flight. We crew love it when it's like that, because spirits are high, the team shows extreme well-being and passengers notice it. Service is extremely personalized and little details we can take care of. So the passengers were delighted to have a real nice time with us. Not only did they get business class like service, but they also had a row of 4 seats each to lie horizontaly too. Thus them leaving the aircraft with a huge smile and loads of thank yous... We also got off the plane with smiles because the flight was 50 minutes (read fifty) early. I do not know how that happened but, that a true record knowing how efficient Paris Charles De Gaulle is and the queues for landing at this particular time of the evening... The fun part was actually getting to the hotel before the outgoing crew managed to get on their shuttle bus ! Cherry on the cake, Melissa was there to greet us ! All glossed up in red lipstick and donning the red hat ! Lovely to see her in my homeland. I did know she was bound for Paris, but didn't expect a second we'd actually see each other there. She did manage to go to the city and discovered some of the places. Thought I will leave her the chance to blog about it ! Won't tell you where she ventured. Read her Flight Attendant blog to find out. I had planned to catch up with Mother and Father in a restaurant close to their home, in the 19th district. Before that Mum managed to come and pick me up at the hotel with the hearse (Father's car. I like to call it like that, because it's black). Quick G&T + shower at home, then we zoomed off to that little 'resto' where Dad was waiting, already downing a white wine. Had some lurrrvely grubs. Caught up with stuff and gossiped about Emirates, Dubai, etc... Then went on to check out my mates playing a gig near Bastille and had more drinks there before heading for some after party in central Paris. Came home pretty late considering the day I just went through but loved it to bits ! The way back to Dubai was a little more painful... After checking the loads on the portal, I had a scare. It was full which is quite usual for this trip. But full load is OK when there's only one service to deal with. The caterer in charge came down the back as we were prepping for the flight. She had a huge smile on her face. A "Bonsoir" later, she announced the big deal. The entire aft galley was packed with carts of SPMLs (or special meals). AVMLs to be precise. 117 trays with different meals... Special meals are for vegetarians or any other passenger that requested a meal to suit his/her culinary needs while booking their ticket. The only problems with those is when it becomes out of control and we end up having to serve by hand over a 100 of them. And AVMLs being AVMLs, we knew right before boarding that the passengers would swap seats and make this delivery of meal a right headache. True to our belief when it came to the service the whole lot had changed their seats from one end of the cabin to the other, without, of course, telling us. So we're left there wondering with a pile of 3 trays going up and down the aisles trying to figure the mess out. Delaying the normal service for other pax. The brilliant decision was to prepare those SPMLs in carts, so we didn't serve them one to one and instead took the whole lot in the cabin. Each cart was organized as per our PIL (Passenger Information Listing) from top row left for one cart, while the other cart was organized from top row right. This made our delivery very easy as we strolled down the cabin. The best part is when those SPMLs change their mind and try to get a normal meal instead. But on this particular flight we didn't have any choice for them because of the shear amount of AVML meals. So by the time we served all those special meals, we had served half the cabin already. The rest of the flight was extremely easy. People were nice and enjoyed their ride. 3 Parisian girls entertained us in the back galley. They never stopped talking. Very tiring towards the end... The crew on this particular flight was awesome. From first to Economy we had a great laugh. This flight will defo stay in my mind for quite some time. Check out the few picture below : svgallery=dxbcdg The next trip is Lagos, where I'm sure I'll experience things to blog about so stay tuned for more in a few days. Peace out fools !

the-white-stripes

Sodwee — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:22:54 +0000

The White Stripes - my favourite band - are making a comeback !

Sodwee — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:31:48 +0000

I'm one of the biggest fan of the delightful duo from Detroit, Michigan. I discovered them a hell a long time ago and been hooked since. I've been a complete groupie and an avid follower of the band. Been to numerous gigs of theirs, including being invited by the band to one of their private performance in Paris at the time. Yes invited becaused, in a previous life of mine, I was the prowd owner of the largest French community of White Stripes addicts on the internet. The website quickly rose to fame with previously unreleased bootlegs and we were on the ball fact/truth/scoop wise bringing in a staggering number of visits. We also had a shop with memorabilia going on and made quite some dough that way to cover costs of having multiple shows up for download... Since I moved to Dubai, my first editor (Sabby) took over the website to keep it up to date as I didn't have any time to deal with it. Together we had a number of contacts in the music and concert industry enabling us to get accurate and reliable information about the rock band. We scored free tickets to gigs and so on. Two days ago after a long 2 year hiatus. The duo is announced to play a set on LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN (scheduled to air on the 20th of February). I was so pumped ! Finally my favourite band are coming back from the deads and making a TV appearance on Conan's last show ! Speculation is going crazy on the message board of the website, and people are saying this will be their last ever show together. Jack White being uber busy with the Raconteurs and other projects at the moment and Meg White having health problems (Acute Anxiety, poor thing). Some are also saying that the duo will release an album straight after the show. In any case it's getting insane in the membrane! I wish the pair came over to the sandpit to rock out some tunes to the musically ignorant lot we have here and give'em a lesson. This would actually make me dial 2 ! In any case, waiting anxiously for their appearance. I just hope someone tapes that and posts it on the internets as I'll probably to high in the sky to watch history unveal on TV ! Want to hear some White Stripes tunes ? Head over here.

donturinatehere

Sodwee — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:33:30 +0000

Airboy does Lagos, Nigeria

Sodwee — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:23:51 +0000

I'm currently nursing my pot noodles and I'm about to dig in the curry goodness. But while the water boils I thought I'd take it to the blog and write about what went down in Lagos, Nigeria. As you may know from the few previous posts, this destination within the Emirates network is unique in it's kind. Koreans dread it. Mainly due to the Tss Tss Tssing going on. But once you overcome the hisssssing deal, and you take it as a "Sir, could I have {insert requested item}, thank you you're a good man" the flight becomes a hell a lot more enjoyable. To the point I even made flight long friends with what looked like a war lord or somekind of mafia king. No bad intentions here but this is just the feeling I had about that person. He was travelling with his wife and was blinged from top to toe. No joke, this guy probably had twelve pounds of the most hidious icies and was dripping gold jewelry as I never seen before. Not mentioning the rare stones on each of his 9 fingers... and the fake-ish designer labels he was sporting loud and proud. Nigerians are, once you dig a little and take the time to speak to them, the funniest passengers I've come across. I heard stories in the span of 6 hours that you could only dream of. From girlfriend records to not so blogworthy discussions... via life in Nigeria aswell as 'why this' and 'why that' kinda chat. Very interesting indeed. Boarding was hectic. And we were briefed. But the sheer amount of stuff these people can bring on is unthinkable by usual european standards. The amount of carry-ons one will board with will definately give a heart attack to a AA Flight Attendant [wink]... In comparison, Bombays are a right laugh. The problem is not the passengers, it's the restrictions not being applied at check-in. Ground Staff do not - and we witness this daily - apply the rules. It's obvious ! The result being another late departure from DXB. All of our stowages came in very handy, even the cart stowages and our crew compartements were used. Can I also add that the more you pack into those wheelies, the more difficult it will be FOR YOU to lift it and stow it in the overhead bins ! Be smart, check it ! I haven't chosen this job to brake my little back because some wise people decided to buy bricks at Dubai Duty Free. As cheap as they might be, you'll be the one putting that bag up there. Sure I'll tell you where to stow it but I'll watch you do the magic ! Once they were all seated, everyone started to calm down. We were on our way. As mentioned above, the service was easy, straightforward and enjoyable... Spent time in each cabin, gossiping with everyone as a normal crew would do. Went to the cockpit for some peace and came back a little later to finish off the flight. We arrived safely and all in a good spirit. Now Lagos Airport is something by itself. The second you step on the aerobridge, you know you're in for chaos. And it is complete chaos. Ok, it's a dated airport, I'll give you that. But who on earth decided to call satellites/boarding lounges "fingers" ???? I laughed out very loud as I read those signs ! "Fingers, they call those fingers !! Can you believe it !" I blared. The rest of the crew staring at me with some weird looks, until I explained myself and they understood what I was going on about. Then this was the blabber until we cleared customs "OOh guys, here's 'M Finger' !", imagine the PAs : "Ladies and Gentlemen, boarding has started at gate 18 in Finger D for flight EK434, please proceed"... Does take much to entertain a Cabin Crew.... you might say. Well it's true, remember the joke : How many flight attendants does it take to change a lightbulb ?*. Customs is a joke too, we signed a guestbook, and we were flying to the baggage claim where it was heaving. 2 belts for God knows how many inbound flights. But some porter had ours ready on the side and keeping a close eye on them. Transit is a story in itself but I'll incorporated here. Lagos and Nigeria in general is not the safest place on earth, it's not paradise and crime is common. Since some British Airways crew got mugged in their shuttle a few years back by armed men, causing a diplomatic havoc, they have implemented a rather unusual ride to the hotel. We basically get escorted by heavily armed men (complete with uniform and AK-47s) an opening SUV racing through the traffic, and followed by another SUV making sure no cars come too close to the bus. I loved that ride. For once I felt like Obama and it's secret service Escalades. We jumped lanes, those SUVs had police sirens and were stopping traffic for us to get through. I never had such a quick shuttle from airport to hotel in my little crew career ! We also had a funny 'Commander' briefing us just before we left the airport. SO much for living on the edge, it made my layover that much more entertaining... We live dangerously, and I heart it ! ahah. I really felt like in Miami Vice for 15 minutes ! svgallery=lagos My stay at the hotel was uneventful and full a little surprises. I had brought my laptop, as I always do to keep track of emails and blog if I felt the urge to. But I wasn't in top shape because I didn't sleep as much the night prior to leaving Dubai for Lagos. So I mainly used the layover to catch up on some sleep. Also knowing we cannot leave the hotel grounds and go sightseeing, due to the relative lack of security outside. I snoozed away as soon as I arrived in my bedroom. The only problem with that is you wake up in the middle of the night. Leaving you nearly begging for something to eat but the choices are very limited. And I was soon to discover my mistake... I had ordered a Club Sandwich from room service. Anthony, from the blog "I Only Fly First", had carefully warned me about the food there and it's standards but I was in deep hunger and couldn't resist trying out another Club. So I did and I will not make the same mistake again. The only stuff edible on the plate they had delivered were the french fries. The rest, including coleslaw, sandwich and salad was astonishingly disgusting. Pardon my crudeness but it was horrible. They had advertised 'Bacon' on the menu but it was nowhere to be seen on that plate. The chicken was processed, how dare they ? The bread was soaked in humidity and the lettuce was far away from looking like a decent lettuce. I grumbled and only ate the fries. Other than that, the room was far from being nice. Old and uncared for to say the least. Staff were great on the other hand. OOOh I nearly forgot to mention the multiple power cuts during the night. Leaving my Macbook stranded for juice, and me for internet ! How dare they ? In other news, my upgrade as been rejected because of the current "economic climate" as they state. So I'll be stuck in Economy for quite some time, or maybe will Dubai bail us out ?? Hard to imagine. I'll play around with my mere seniority and get the flight that I want in the meantime. Wow, this is a long post. I'll leave it here until the next time. Note that most of the pictures were found on Flickr and I mixed some of mine in the whole thing. My two next trips will be Paris (CDG) and I'm excited about them as you can imagine ! Until next time fools, peace out ! *answer to the joke : 100. 1 to actually change the lightbulb, and 99 to bitch about it !

airboyspeaking

Sodwee — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:40:53 +0000

tourists

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:19:39 +0000

Where should I go for my holidays ??

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:56:27 +0000

It’s been a long time coming. I am eagerly waiting for some real time off. Time I can think about ME ME ME ! I have some ideas but it's still a draft. And lacking some good destination ideas. Maybe you could help me sketch a nice getaway. My leave starts on the 1st of April and lasts for 7 days. I haven't had the chance to go on a proper vacayCAY for the past 3 - 4 years as I've been working like a sick dog all this time. Although my new job (still considering my actual position as a "new job") is like vacations all together if you forget the hard work we put in up there. But breathing farts, air/con and eating sand on a daily basis brings the need to reeeeeelax. I have thought of Mauritius for some lazing around while getting my skin it's much needed UV fix. But to this point it looks like I'll be the only one within my close friends to have leave at this time. So it will most probably be some lone holidays, going somewhere on my tod. And enjoy some quality time, reflecting on the busy past years. I will avoid :

Rain
Europe
US of A
Anything over 8-9 hour (flight time) radius from DXB

I would really like :

No cooking at all
The Destination not being a city
Beach
Sun, nice weather
Not too expensive
Not a cheesy tourist trap either. It's only fun when you're with someone else !

If you have any ideas to come up with, please let me know. Would greatly appreciate any tips on locations, hotels, nice beaches. In fact anything that could help me choose a destination. I just came back from Paris where the weather wasn't as bad as I'd originally thought. Cold but not biting cold. Did my usual tour of places and finished at a friends birthday before heading back home at around midnight and sleeping straight till wake up call. Mum and Dad had prepared a REAL breakfast, complete with delicious fruitastic smoothies (wink wink GOT), fresh just-out-of-the-bread-oven Baguettes and nutella, pain au chocolat and a good laugh with BrotherOfSodwee on the phone whose in Broome at the moment, stuck in horrid torrential rain at night and scorching sunshine during the day. He should be heading north towards the end of the month after making some cash at a yet unknown venture of his (he lacks terrible communication skills this chap). He could swim in the sea but doesn't want any kind of encounter with the sea crocs, the sharks or the deadly jelly fish. So he's finding the pool at the backpackers' backdiapers (somehow, and from what I hear, they're all very young) hostel very soothing and a very good alternative to death. I have a few days off in Dubz. I've already planned a mopping session, a laundry cycle and a trip to "A NIGHTCLUB WHOSE NAME WE CANNOT MENTION" on Monday. If anyone is in Dubai between Monday and Tuesday, you are most welcome to join me... Just your average lazy day off really ! In the meantime, I am still receiving alarming emails from wannabe cabin crew. I have been very slow in replying these past few days and apologize for the lack of commitment. I will try my best to answer all of your questions by tomorrow night. That's all folks, peace out !

Emirates : State Of The Union

Sodwee — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 07:46:58 +0000

Desperate situations need for desperate measures. I have been out of sync for the past weeks and needed a good reason to not sleep yesterday night to adapt my bodyclock. I did end up in Zinc for some R'n'B and a few drinks and came home nice and sober. Decided to stay up and haven't gone to bed yet (as I'm writting this piece). The main reason behind me not going to bed was my plan to attend a special briefing by the Cabin Crew Management Team at EGHQ (Emirates Group HQ). I knew if I went to bed I would doze off until the evening. It is a, quote, mandatory, unquote, attendance although on our day off. They record your staff number and will no doubt ask the ones who didn't manage to make it why... and most probably ask them the reasons, thus leading to some sort of unconvenience unleashed upon their souls. Sorry for this long intro, but I had to put it into context. So I made it to EGHQ, early per my standards, it was half eight in the morning but was quite in a good shape as I woke up the previous day at 8 in the evening... The meeting was short and sweet. Nothing too boring. They decided to update us on the current situation and why it was important for us to make that little extra effort to keep the customers we have flying with us. In fact, the current situation is so damn ugly, that every single customer needs that little extra. Every single customer is a key to us keeping our jobs. Not rocket science - I know - but it had to be said. They explained the whys and hows of the economic crisis in a very simplified way as to keep us Crew entertained and the whys and hows of the situation the airline industry is in at the moment. Will not expand on this but focus on the solutions. Basically, as per the briefing, the airline at its current state is still a very strong airline with a strong business model. Compared to other airlines elsewhere, "we're the best in the worst". Some of them have already gone down, others are struggling but on the big picture we're still managing to keep our head above the surface of losing money. We saw graphs showing the losses over time and what affected them. The whole briefing confirmed my assumptions I had outlined in my previous post about the issue (click here to read it : Has Emirates Stopped Recruitment ? : Some Answers). They will be looking and implementing ways of cutting costs and have confirmed that they will be focusing on strong markets, adding frequencies to valuable routes instead of opening new ones... Crewing aircrafts to the minimum acceptable in order to keep the same customer service standards. Save money where they can without making shortcuts in customer service. In short, they will cut costs without the customer noticing. So this means 'A' positions are gone in the future on light loads. It also means a re-organization of reserve and stand-by duties meaning less of them. Making use and good use of the work force already available and aiming at a very efficient way of dealing with rostering. This is why they have a Recruitment 'Shutdown'. It's company wide, not just Cabin Crew. Upgrades have also been postponed as I've witnessed. Turnover is expected to drop from last year too. They will however 'top up' here and there when required. Hiring new crew to cover the discrepancies. And this is where the good news is for people who got the withdrawal email. When a top-up is needed, they will contact you. They will most probably have one to two batches here and there in the coming months. Onboard savings are also being looked at. Not opening wine bottles unless requested by customer is one of the main examples the host told us. The main reason behind all these measures is that they cannot predict any kind of passenger trends for the coming months, because even the passengers cannot predict their spending. This goes on a corporate level too. As well as financial trends. With currencies going up and down, the strong dollar in play, they have a very little window to play with in terms of prediction. This resulting in why Emirates being extemely cautious. This is a quick summary of what I understood from the briefing. I will head out to the pool now for a tanning session! ahah. Have an excellent day people. Will speak to you soon.

mauritius

Sodwee — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:33:00 +0000

March roster detailed [updated!]

Sodwee — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:47:49 +0000

[UPDATE] : I've got rid of what is probably the worst flight ever and the most shitious layover for a nice and easy Frankfurt cruise along. SOOOOOOOO HAPPY ! Not only does it relieve me, but I score along the way a string of 5 days off ! Papa, tu m'entends la ? Eheheheheh. My roster is out and I'm really happy ! Three Mauritius trips, a turnaround with Greg, one of my good mates here... another Bombay (expert I am !) and a killer IAH, Houston flight. Amongst other uninteresting turnarounds. Have already got a significant tan ready for those Mauritius as we spent all of yesterdays afternoon up by the pool at 21st century tower. You can view a little video we made : Otherwise, for you little addict, here's the roster in full view :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
DXB - BEY - DXB	XX	DXB - BLR - DXB	XX	DXB - MRU	out	MRU - DXB
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
XX	XX	DXB - BOM - DXB	XX	DXB - MRU	out	MRU - DXB
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
XX	DXB - IKA - DXB	XX	XX	XX	DXB - MRU	out
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
MRU - DXB	XX	XX	XX	XX	XX	DXB - FRA
29	30	31
out	FRA - DXB	XX

loling

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:22:44 +0000

Holy Crap. I woke up before midday !!

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:35:53 +0000

Jeee wiiiiizzz thought this would never happen again... ever ! I'm sleep deprived and forced myself self outta bed this morning at 11.30 am. Note that the night before I came back from my Paris trip at 1 in the morning and went straight to Zinc, cause I missed the place believe it or not ! Went to bed late, obviously and woke up at 11.30 as I already said. It's quite a challenge for me and I think any time-zoners/jetlaggers like myself. It's a horrible feeling to sleep 15-16 hours and still feel horribly tired. But I guess we have to go with it. At six in the morning I had already planned I needed to get UV-ready for Mauritius and avoid the dreaded sunburns I had scored the last time I was there. So the best thing to do was to lounge around at the pool this afternoon. So I did. Brought some white wine along, music and pals. Nothing fancy just time relaxing by the water and enjoying the company of others in the great weather Dubai offers at this time of year. Recalls directly the few first days I was here a year ago... Just arrived and loved the weather, whilst training to operate these aircrafts. Anyway. While Amy was blaring through our portable speakers and iPods, we were happily sippin' on Gin & Juice, or wine for those more subtle individuals. People from the otherside of the pool congregated closer to the soundsystem to enjoy the soothing sounds. Lovely afternoon. I did get my tan on as predicted and happy it's getting somewhere. Last night at Zinc I randomly met Clauderic and Deon whom are also EK bloggers out there and seem to enjoy their time here in Dubai. Getting used to the fact they really enjoy ZINC and all the shenanigans in there. Please take the time to check out their growing blogs to have a peep at their lives : Going For It | Deon Does Dubai. Clauderic is very tall by the way, I had to look up every time he wanted to speak to me. Because, as he discovered, I'm quite short... Plans for March are well underway, we might have a SUV stroll down to Fujeirah near the end of the month for some quality time away from the sandpit and the dust. More on that as it unfolds. In the meantime, peace out ! Check out the pictures below : svgallery=pool2

photo-71

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:07:54 +0000

Quick Low-Res Teaser

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:14:58 +0000

READ THE FULL STORY HERE ... Just a quick post to let you know that I have arrived in Mauritius after an eventful plane ride over the indian ocean (we think we'll make it to Safar for that - Emirates' own internal newspaper). I also have a low-res picture taken a minute ago from my computer's webcam, I am very sorry for the lack of quality in that shot but gives you a rough idea of what is going on down here in that amazing hotel we're staying at ! It's the actual view I have from my bedroom and bathtub. Enjoy... Of course, I will throw a whole entry about the trip as I haven't got my inspiration at the mo. You know sun+beer=slothing. I also took a truck load of awesome pictures I will have the pleasure to share with all of those out there still chivering in their winter seasons... Peace out all.

heaven

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:47:55 +0000

Airboy does Mauritius in 2009 / Atlantis Resort in Dubai

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:50:18 +0000

Before I go on and rant about this dreamy place I just went to. I'll bore you for a few minutes more and let you all know that I finally paid a visit to the Palm Jumeirah and its now famous Atlantis resort. Earlier on last year (November 4th I think) they opened the place with the biggest firework display ever attempted and managed to pull it off very nicely. The whole man-made island was the set for the gigantic display. Drowned in bangs and pools of lights. I wasn't there for the opening night nor Kylie's gig. I didn't pay too much attention to this part of town until Fred, a french friend of ours who's GF owns a car decided to take us for some grubs at Johnny Rocket's (old fashion style burger joint) and then took us all the way to the Palm for some sightseeing. We fooled along Jumeirah 2 (the coastal highway here in Dubai) and enjoyed loud music, waving like idots through the windows and happilly strolled towards Atlantis. We got there and couldn't believe our eyes. Everything is the bloody same. Just a huge place with council housing for millionaires. Just the sort of place I would be happy avoiding anytime. No wonder Vicky Beckham and her hubby brought a place there. It is the perfect place for any rich chav/chavette. Anyway, we carried on and got into the underwater tunnel that leads to the resort. The actual hotel is very nice from the outside. It blends in very nicely with the crazy architecture already around Dubai. We parked, snapped a few pictures and decided to check out the inside. We were not complying with the dress code. At all. Some of us sporting tracksuits (straight from the gym session, not me of course) and others in skanky shorts and flip flops (that was me). But we didn't give a flying crap because we soon realised the kind of obnoxious russian twats we were to be exposed to. And I was right. We came across a few of them, looking down on us like we were just a pile of dung. Nonetheless we continued our tour, dissing every fake piece of semi-art/non-art on display inside this place. Everything is over the top and tacky. Nothing really authentic and pleasing. It's also an overdose in color. IKEA would of done a great job designing that place, but instead they decided to hire the worst interior designer possible, and pay him an incredible amount for it. The result is.... I nearly vomitted over each wall, ceiling and floor. It wouldn't have made an inch of a difference if I did actually puke. That's how horrid the place looked. I do not understand the people who spend money to stay there. Complete fools. The same fools that like their own fart and enjoy swirling around in it. We saw the aquarium and the mega shark stagnating in it. It looks very small for a fish that size ! Here are some pictures. Make an opinion for yourself... I also included a few random snaps from Ikea. Just for the sake of having them there ! I forgot to mention the fact that after nearly a year in Dubai, I had never ventured further than the lobby in Shangri-La hotel (situated 3 minutes away by foot from where I stay). Gregory, Tall Ben and myself treated ourselves to a Marrocan restaurant in there. First time we went back after our Graduation Dinner. We got in there and some french friends were already there (we did not expect them at all), so we merged on a bigger table and ate finely. We had to finish off the night with a cheecha and headed for the iKandi bar located in the pool area of the hotel. Very loungy , Very posh. Great night there with Wahid, Ahmed, Mehdi and Sonia. Cool music in the background. I passed out on beer there, so decided to hit the sack. svgallery=atlantis Now onto Mauritius. I had been waiting for a long while for that trip and was happy to finally board the red-eye over the Indian Ocean. The flight over was very exciting and full of stories. Unfortunately, I won't be able to disclose any of the crazy bits and pieces as I've had a briefing about it and asked not to divulgate any information. However, I will make you dribble over the pictures and the hella good time I had there. As always with Mauritius. So after a flight like the one we had, we had to relax. And the best place to be was where we ended up. A golf resort and spa on the other side of the island. The shuttle took 50 minutes to reach the hotel. We all yapped away and bonded fairly quickly. Including the techies who had never seen a crew having so much fun in a shuttle before. Usually on the bus to the hotel, the iPod PREVAILS. Not this time. Discussing the flight, the pax, the layover ahead and what not. All the jokes that fused in that 50 minutes were beyond belief and we got out of the thing laughing our heads off. We were greeted by the staff there. Notorious for being rude but at first encounter seemed genuinely polite and welcoming. We were soon to discover the dark side.... We had a rather light breakfast followed by a 15 minute briefing from our hosts on what we could eat, what we couln't eat, when we could eat, when we could not eat, what we could drink and what we couldn't and so on. It was like entering a military summer camp. We were looking at each other laughing at each rule being announced. Of course we didn't pick up any of it because we were too busy digging in our Pain Au Chocolat, Croissants and juice. At the end of the briefing, the last words that stook in my mind were :

"There's a booklet with all the information about what I've just said... YOU ARE REQUESTED TO READ IT AND AVOID CALLING US AT RECEPTION FOR ENQUIRIES"

That just blew my weary mind. Not only do we get fed up with briefings, but requesting your guests to read a leaflet that says when I HAVE TO EAT and WHAT I HAVE TO EAT is the least of things I want to be burdoned with after a flight. Just too much information to take on. Nevermind, I just ignored the whole woohaaa and plethor of timings for dinner/lunch and ran away to my room. We were staying in an amazing place, don't get me wrong. Probably a 5 star joint. Didn't check but was pretty sure it was. The place was magical. Lush greens all over the place, white 2 storey houses with views on the garden from every single room, a few steps from the white sands, 24 degree water and comfortable deckchairs. It didn't take long for me to dip into the sea. The rooms themselves were a destination ! The victorian style bedroom were real nice. bathroom was huge with amazonian shower heads and a awesome view from the bathtub towards the garden. Loved it to bits ! But before that I had to get some SPF 40 or above to avoid the injuries I sustained the previous trip to Mauritius. If you're a long time reader you'll remember my ordeal with peeling skin (by square inches at a time) and my awful trip back to Dubai that time. I was hoping over to the beach boutique and spent a staggering 29 euros for a little spray bottle. I'm usually very good at spending but SPF 6 is not enough in this part of the world, so I had to basically. I learnt this lesson the hard way ! After that I was all kitted out for the beach, camera, iPod, sunblock and bathing suit. Spotted a nice corner with sunbeds and passed out for the rest of the afternoon there. Diving in every hour to cool off and spreading cream every so often. I was joined later on by the whole crew and we yapped away all afternoon. Just as amazed as when we first arrived. We all agreed to have drinks at the Cavendish bar which was, according to the front sign, founded in 1837. Beautiful place, again, with amazing cocktails on offer. I went for a Cucumber, mint, crushed ice, tonic and Gin mix. I dribble after every sip. The blend was just perfect. Cucumber after taste and twist of Gin here and there. It's definately going up there in my best cocktail top 10. So easy to make too. We were all red by that time. Barmen were laughing at us from behind the counter. Speaking in French, of which I caught. But they of course didn't notice I spoke the language and joked with them. Never make fun of your customers in front of them. One of them might just pick up the language and you'd be in an uncomfortable position ! After a few drinks we headed for dinner. Nothing too amazing there as we were forced to eat the three course menu they had chosen for us. So much for discover local food and specialties. The rest of the layover was spent lazing around the beach, with beer, coca-colas, pizzas and iPods. Check out the pictures below, it's worth more than a thousand words... And to set the mood in the right tone, here a whole live gig from Amy Winehouse people have been requesting a lot for the past few weeks. Make sure to download the whole batch as it is one of her best performances in her career. She was "sober" at that time :

[download id="109"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/01_Just_Friends_Live.mp3]
[download id="110"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/02_Tears_Dry_On_Their_Own_Live.mp3]
[download id="111"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/03_Cherry_Live.mp3]
[download id="112"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/04_Fuck_Me_Pumps_Live.mp3]
[download id="113"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/05_He_Can_Only_Hold_Her_That_Thing_Live.mp3]
[download id="114"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/03_Cupid_Johnny_Nash_cover.mp3]
[download id="115"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/06_I_Heard_Love_Is_Blind_Live.mp3]
[download id="116"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/07_Hey_Little_Rich_Girl.mp3]
[download id="117"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/07_Wake_Up_Alone_Live.mp3]
[download id="118"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/08_Back_To_Black_Live.mp3]
[download id="120"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/09_You_Know_That_Im_No_Good_Live.mp3]
[download id="121"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/11_Monkey_Man.mp3]
[download id="122"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/12_Love_Is_A_Losing_Game_Live.mp3]
[download id="123"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/13_Valerie_Live.mp3]
[download id="124"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/11_Rehab_Live.mp3]

svgallery=MRU I have another two of those in the very near future so I'm absolutely thrilled. In the meantime I will have to head to Bombay. It says it all. Peace out all. Hope you're well wherever you may be ! PS : You'll like this blogger : An Englishman in Dubai | He's one of the most popular Dubai based bloggers out there and just made the move over to Wordpress ! Kudos to him ahah !

wishyouwerehere

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:11:41 +0000

wishyouwerehere450

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:13:21 +0000

wishyou

Sodwee — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:38:34 +0000

snakes-on-a-plane-5

Sodwee — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:04:54 +0000

turbulence

Sodwee — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:18:12 +0000

sharjah

Sodwee — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:40:45 +0000

I visited Sharjah, the different way.

Sodwee — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:52:53 +0000

Plans were made late last night. We were all at the Shangri-La for yet another Moroccan restaurant and decided today was going to be spent visiting Sharjah. Quite a useless idea considering the place. It's basically only sand, a few buildings and some hectic traffic. But since Fred (the only close mate who can borrow a car) decided to ship us way beyond the airport we said we'd do it. Just for fun. The ultimate plan was do go jerk around on the Jetskis available there on a kinda lake. Man made this one also. We gathered our gear. Took a little longer than usual, we were 7. We jammed ourselves in the car for our adventures and ended up on the otherside of town. Many people live in Sharjah which offers a cheap-ish alternative to Dubai rents. It's so close to the city center that everyone who lives out there commutes for work. Leaving the only few roads in and out of that place grid-locked throughout the day. We on the other hand managed out way through the traffic and spent only a good 20 minutes from Trade Center to the place we wanted to be. In this case Al Mamzar beach. So we rented out 7 machines for our afternoon and played around in the water like complete fools, having a huge blast at soaking the other while doing hi-speed turns and sudden accelerations, some of us fell in the water being absolute rookies. By the end of the afternoon two jetskis were broken down, but we managed not to pay the damages using our very convincing arguments. It worked wonders. Nothing major anyway, just a sunken one and a huge crack on the other.... A result of Fred's uber-piloting and him slamming right into my jetski... Leaving a noticable bruise on my upper left leg too. The salt took care of the wound... He scared the hell out of me! Here are the pictures of the whole day. We ended in Johnny Rocket's hamburger joint at the end of the afternoon. We had so much fun in that restaurant it is worth a post on its own. Video to be included as soon as I edit it. Ok now onto the pictures : svgallery=jetski I also figured out yesterday it was already ONE YEAR since we first arrived here in Dubai from France. It's gone by so quick, and feels like a permanent holiday ! We are planning a big night out soon to celebrate 365 days in the this crazy country ! More on the Johnny Rocket's afternoon in the next post. I'm off to Mauritius again tonight. No doubt I'll have a good time down in the Indian Ocean. Will blog about it too if I get up to some exciting stuff ! Peace out all !

366days

Sodwee — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:39:39 +0000

366daysxs

Sodwee — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 23:39:41 +0000

366 days in the SANDPIT !

Sodwee — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:06:42 +0000

Yep, it's official, 365 days have gone by since I landed in the middle of a desert. I have seen a viaduct being built right in front on my window, a few dozen new towers spring up, a few hundred new roads layed out, all this in the span of a little year. A year full of fond memories (I know I'm probably going to be a tad nostalgic in this post but I don't give a damn). Memories of batch mates, trips, flights, passengers, crew and places. I have seen so many things in 365 days whilst working for Emirates that I won't be able to recap them all here. But my top ten would definately be, in no particular order :

Landing in Mauritius for the first time, doing a boat trip to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.
Meeting the people I hang out with whenever I'm here. Some of them leaving us soon by the way. You know who you are little bastard.
Seeing a construction site (Dubai itself), getting even more cranes.
Learn how to appreciate the fog (picture above), even if it delays your flight by 12 hours.
Deal with the most unpredictable customers ever. Good or bad.
Having so many stories to tell to my kids in the future.
Feeling like being on a permanent holiday.
Being able to visit so many cities, covering over 41 of them, all around the world and being able to write about it here.
Just enjoying my proud self for achieving things I always wanted to do.
Just being the happiest kid on the block right now !

So celebrations went down according to plan tonight, we hit up Barasti which was an absolute nightmare as always, packed with football goers and pissed aussies all over the place. The problem with Barasti is that you have to come in mid-afternoon and drink from there to be in the same state as all the other punters around. We came in at half ten and everyone was already high. We were sober and not enjoying it. We then decided to head to New Asia above the Raffles hotel. Very nice place with views of the city and real nice drinks on offer. The only downside being Saturday, the place was empty. The DJ even left a CD playing the whole evening, he went home. We obviously finished in ZINC, where we met up with the rest of the party hard geeks of our batch. All the others out flying. Special mention to Richard, Oz, Kelly, Wassika, Maria, Yun, Noha, Gregory, Tall Ben for being there and making fools out of yourselves ! Finally we're on for another exciting year, with plans to move on to Business Class whenever they need me there. Who knows, I might even be convinced to work on the A380... Hard to imagine but let's see what happens. I will also do my best to discover new cities and destinations. Get a driving license here and buy some wheels. Save even more cash. Meet new interesting people. And many other things I cannot think of at this time of the night. Ooops, before I forget, here's the video I promised in the previous post. The song title is Barra Barra, by a famous Franco-Algerian singer Named Rachid Taha. You'll see what went down in Johnny Rocket's the last time we were there... I also haven't skyped home for almost a week now, goes to show I'm enjoying myself, lolol. I miss Mum & Dad thought. Will skype you tomorrow Mum, I promise ! Airboy does Atlantis & Johnny Rocket's from Airboy Sodwee on Vimeo.

jetskihome

Sodwee — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:30:59 +0000

rihanna-britney

Sodwee — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:38:50 +0000

It's called the church of Hot Addiction

Sodwee — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:46:25 +0000

[UPDATE] : We have added a "videos" page where you can browse through all the videos I've uploaded so far. Thanks to the awesome widget the very savvy kids over at VIMEO came up with ! Previews are also available on the front page.

I have been waiting for a kick ass tune to pop up so I could edit the videos from our last trip at the Jetski place in Sharjah (or motomer as Rihanna would happily call it). We had so much fun, we had to go back and do a whole Puff Daddy themed afternoon. Living the millionaire life around the neighbouring Emirate of Sharjah. We cracked up non-stop and here's the video some of you have been waiting for sometime. The song was recommended by Oz our good Australian friend who we coincidently ended up with in Zinc last night too. Pictures follow. We also met up with our local Britney and Rihanna, namely Deon and Clauderic, along with their bodyguard (the flatmate). Check their blogs from the list on the right hand side... I gotta tell you, it's been a hell a long time I didn't wiggle those legs of mine to good ol' music. Fueled by countless drinks and happy moments, we were then all set for our sleep. This came after a nice white wine, of course, at home and some local music in the background. Today was spent mostly sweating the alcohol from inside my body to the surroundings of my dear armpit. Got up really late for the BBQ Nivine and her flatmate had prepared for us. Loved the chops, South African pork ribs dripping in marinade, the pork sausage, the beef, the chicken. It was total meat extravaganza and a much needed diversion in my otherwise non-existant healthy diet. You could of fed me with the burnt bits, I would of been a happy kid ! Anyway here's the video I was blabbing about as well as some cool pictures from our night out at ZINC. Ohh and for those of you who are still wondering, the camera was waterproof... We're not as dumb as you'd think...eheh.

Pictures from our Monday night in ZINC : svgallery=addiction

Videos

Sodwee — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:00:10 +0000

We are very pleased to introduce our latest gizmo. Right beneath, a flash video player will display all the videos I've uploaded so far. All you have to do is click on either 'older' or 'newer' to scroll through the clips. Click on play to play. Fairly straightforward. Of course this thing will be updated automatically as soon as I upload new videos. This was made possible by our very good friends over at vimeo.com. Wizzz Kidzz ! Videos here are also viewable full screen. Click the appropriate button on the video. Press 'ESC' on your keyboard to return to normal view. Enjoy !

tallben

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:12:26 +0000

jimmy-api

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:19:45 +0000

beachbash

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:22:36 +0000

boat

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:35:45 +0000

Airboy does Mauritius. Final act. [UPDATED] + video...

Sodwee — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:45:10 +0000

Feels like a while since I blogged my last entry. Five days in fact. Long time for me because so much as been going on in the last few days. A close friend left the desert for the greener fields of France, landing a job as Cabin Crew with a branch of Air France's mammoth network. With Transavia to be precise. This particular friend, TALL BEN (as we like to call him here), whom I will always consider as an outsider was well up there in the French Mafia of Dubai. Always around with a brilliant joke or story to tell. He will be greatly missed up there in the skies as well as on the ground here in Dubai. He's leaving the sandpit with a kick ass legacy. I know you'll be reading this as it goes live. I have just read your message and thought I'd reply here. Letting everyone else know that people who you hang out with here in Dubai, make or brake your whole expat experience. We had been hanging around together since Day 1. The very first minutes of the whole hoooha started when you approached my folks and asked to my very own Mother "Are you Sodwee's mother ?". To what she replied "Yes, I am. You're looking for him ??.... He's having his last French fag over there (pointing at the revolving doors outside Charles De Gaulle terminal 2c)... And there I see you, along with Nivine (who remains in the sandpit with me) and that's where we met, in the parisian cold. We were shitting ourselves with stress, anxious, and willing to leave for a better place. We made it a better place. Because Dubai is not the kind of place to offer. It's the kind of place you go to make something for your own. So we did and a year later still enjoying it. Three other strangers joined us on the plane. Gilbert, Mathieu and Greg. They will miss you to. Hope for the best in your experiences and future life in Paaaaaareeeeee. We'll see each other there, there's no doubt about that. And of course, you know where to find us. If your urge for cheap jetski thrills are getting higher as time goes by, you know where to ring the bell... Best of luck. Speak to you soon. By the way, I still haven't realised you have gone. Fo'sure when I hit up Zinc next time, I will realise the gap in the dancefloor. You certainly made the start of my stay in Dubai extremely eventful, your antics will remain : fond memories of your swapping skills, the magic Lagos trip with Greg, your amazing cost cutting, saving every penny actions and so on. But most importantly being able to shift from shy guy to show man in the span of a year ! You say I'm the greatest party animal but I thank you for that compliment. And to thank you, I will post a picture of you, so you also get the chance to get fan-mail / comments. This previous paragraph might or most likely will come across as very cheesy but this guy deserves the credit. So now onto Mauritius, after dropping Tall Ben at the airport and making sure he was escorted by the Yellow Chicks (Marhaba airport service at Dubai Intl'), I went back home to rest before this third part of my Mauritius layovers. The last one in fact. This layover was very special aside from the awesome weather and sunshine, the amount of food I gobbled or the great crew with us... I had the pleasure of meeting Carine, a reader of this blog and owner of one of her own. She managed to swap one of her other MRU trips for this one and we found out that she was flying with me. Which made it the whole thing quite exciting. Carine is the bubbliest crew I have ever met that speaks three languages : English, French and Spanish. She had been reading my blog well before she even applied for a Cabin Crew position and knew my every move for the last year which is always weird to hear. She has been flying for 3 weeks and still finding her marks around the cabin. The perfect example would be picking up the interphone. She was shaking every time she had to, which recalled directly to my first few weeks as a Cabin Crew. I was sweating a pint of sweat everytime I had to answer the phone. Carine is a great team player as we later found out when she courageously downed a full shot of the deadliest plumb mix that Miljan brought over from Serbia. Lethal it was, lethal ! She then managed to dance around until the early hours of the night.... on the beach. svgallery=day1 This makes for a brilliant transition. The whole crew had planned to spend a hella good time while in Mauritius. So we decided to buy some drinks on our way to the hotel so we didn't have to pay the extortionate prices the joint was applying. Meaning we had quantity of drinking material. We had spent the whole day on the beach, getting our tans ready for the next day. We ate an astonishing amount of food too, too much for my little belly to be honest. But it was so nice I couldn't resist. Especially the italian grubs by the pool. You can't beat it ! After a real nice dinner with the entire crew, including Captain and First Office (who was French by the way) we hit up on of the far beach of the hotel so we could let ourselves go for the rest of the night without disturbing the rest of the hotel guests. The group was led by Tony, a crazy FG1/DJ/funnyman who had brought his speakers and iPod for our dancing needs. We partied the night away, under the stars, with the sweet sound of waves breaking just 10 metres away. Loved it so much. I was in my stripey pajamas, so much for beach wear... As you can imagine, the next day was quite challenging for some of us. Including Carine, who shamefully slept until late in the morning. Missing out on the goodness seven of us had to endure : The Boat Trip to Paradise Island... 10 am. Seven of us made it to the meeting point. Hanen, Api, Mika, Miljan, Aneta, Jaco and myself. We hoped on the Shandai boat owned by Jimmy, one of the best boat drivers. If you need a boat trip and you're staying at this hotel, I recommend his services. He will take you on a dreamy trip ! You can email him here to find out more on the prices and trip details : jmanguillier@yahoo.fr. I had done this boat trip before, so I knew where we were heading to, but I was so desperate to see Paradise Island again, I just had to do it again. This time, with my own music. I knew I could convince enough of us to make it happen, so I burned a compilation of tracks and awesome tunes to rock out while we were speeding across the lagoon. Some club anthems, classic oldies and new commercial crap to wiggle to.

The mood was just perfect, everyone had smiles across their faces. The scenery around the lagoon was amazing. Blue, transparent waters, reflecting the white sands on the seabed, aswell as the colorful corals. We sailed past the Ile aux Aiglettes where Turtles live, but didn't manage to spot any this time. We then headed towards the waterfalls and enjoyed a water massage there and jumps from the rocks into the cold waters. Speeding through the waves to the blasting sound of "Show Me Love" and "Rise Up" (a cabin crew's favourite) we arrived in paradise. Just the perfect beach, with the perfect palm trees and the warm sea water. Spent quite some time there just soaking in the sun, a little walk round the island and we were off again for snorkling, more tanning and boat driving. If you find me snorkling again, it would be a true miracle. I had so much difficulty in putting those goggles that I wouldn't have the will to do it again. Everytime I ducked beneath the surface, the darn things would fill with bloomin' water. Adding to that, the fact I had sunblock on the face, the mix of salt water and cream inside your goggles just makes you wanna cry. It hurts. So I decided to ditch the snorkling and climbed back on the speedboat to enjoy some music and a well deserved Coke. The day was coming to an end. We all settled on the boat for our last leg back to the hotel. We finished in a bang. Circling around at high speed in front of all the sad honey mooners sat there on the beach ! Ahaha, music was very loud too which made them feel very odd. They looked at us with bad looks as we stepped out onto the beach. I couldn't feel much better ! The rest of the afternoon was spent eating pancakes, spaghetti bolognese, and drinking fruit cocktails before we hit the sack for some rest before our uneventful flight back to Dub-Dub. I now have 5 days off and if everything goes to plan, we should be heading to Fujeirah with the french gang. Otherwise I think I'll just go to Paris for a little weekend. Until peace out fools. A video of this trip is in the works. Unfortunately, Facebook has disabled my video uploading because of copyright infringement, so the only place to see the video will be here, on the blog ! In the meantime, enjoy all the pictures I successfully managed to upload ! svgallery=day2

incredible-india-470

Sodwee — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:35:39 +0000

incredible-india-750

Sodwee — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:35:49 +0000

April Roster Detailed...

Sodwee — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:03:40 +0000

Four months into the year already. Can't believe how fast it went since that debauchery on New Year Eve. Thankfully, I've recovered since and been a busy bee. As you've might of read already. My April roster is out, you can have all the details if you scroll down a little. I will also post it on the frontpage so you can know where I'm at whenever you log on. I did bid for NCE (Nice), BKK (Bangkok) and VCE (Venice) this month, looks like they're on a cold blooded vengeance. So "the computer" hit me with no less than 5 turnarounds for my Top Bid month (which is the month I'm supposed to be able to bid for nice flights and actually get them). Three of those flights going to India and back. Two of them being red-eyes followed closely by a daytime duty. Not the best for ones circadian rhythms... I did, however get ONE and lonely Nice 48hrs which I'm happy about because I'll get a decent amount of moolaaah for the trip aswell as a BKK (Bangkok) which I'm truly hoping to swap in a bundle with 2/3 turnarounds. Did I mention I was also going to beautiful Jeddah, Doha and my Monthly Bombay/Mumbai !! Awwww gimme a rope ! NOW ! The worst thing about this roster is the 6 days in a row of flying. Because, in reality I don't mind working a Doha or a Jeddah, but the accumulation here just kills the joy. Especially when it comes to Red-eye flights. So I'm more concerned over my health more than the flights themselves. Yesterday I got up real early, at around 6am, and walked half awake to my computer in the living room. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a bottle of Brazilian Cachaca standing on the table with a little note from Ka, my flatmate. I will now be able to do caipirinhas !! Yeepeee! So yeah, this also means Kalil came back from his leave which is good for me because the flat felt empty for 2 weeks. It's always nice to have company around or at least know you're not alone. Can't wait to catch up on all the goss... I also felt the extreme urge to mop the flat. I did so. Then I saw Kalil's steam machine, to clean all sorts of surfaces. I used that too for around 1 hour and managed to clean all the mugs, the cupboard and generally around the flat. I feel so good about myself now. Very satisfied ! I now need to tackle the bedroom, which looks like a dump at the moment. In other news, I haven't heard from Melissa from TampaxTowers in a while, even on Facebook [update : she has surfaced and sends her love]. My guess is that she has moved out to her new accomodation on the other side of Dubai, near Sharjah (close to the jetski place we went to), and that she doesn't have her internet connection set up yet. You know how Etisalat react when it comes to anything Customer Service... Basically they suck major hell. Hopefully she'll get hooked up soon so we can get some updated and gossip ! The good news is that I have my leave planned out. I ditched any exotic destinations to save on the money and try to get my driving license here instead, aswell as saving for some kinky wheels. So I'll most probably be heading for good ol' Paris for a week. And for those of you who are wondering what SEP stands for in the roster... It's my recurrent training. Refresher if you will. I'll be tested and evaluated and ordered fit to fly/knowledgeable to fly.... I just hope they don't flog me with another turnaround straight after that. April ROSTER below:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
hols	DXB - JED - DXB	DXB - DOH - DXB	DXB - COK	COK - DXB	DXB - BKK	BKK - DXB
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
XX	XX	DXB - BOM - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - CCJ - DXB	XX
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
DXB - NCE	XX	NCE - DXB	XX	XX	XX	XX
29	30	--
SEP	SEP

mashreq

Sodwee — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:26:32 +0000

mashreq470

Sodwee — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:26:35 +0000

mashreqcreditcard

Sodwee — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:26:50 +0000

toniteonlylogo

Sodwee — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:28:05 +0000

airboymusicinter

Sodwee — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:57:23 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #74 / Tonite Only - City rooftop, in your tanktop, rainbow stylin'

Sodwee — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:06:03 +0000

OOOhhh God, I haven't posted any tracks in a long time ! Well, no more waiting folks, I have FOUR KILLER TUNES to share with you today. It's raining here in Dubai, yesterday we saw hail smashing down our dirty windows and gust winds slashing lightweight kids away from their mothers... Today my habibis your stereo will endure the same treatment. All you have to do is crank up some volume up in there and enjoy Tonite Only's remixes and one of the best mashups I've heard in a very long time. Just for the record, Tonite Only was unknown to me until a few days ago, when Oz, a wild Aussie here in Dubai (see pictures in previous posts), lended me a few CDs to listen to and rip ! This is when I heard track number 15 of a Ministry Of Sound compilation. I kept repeating the song which is a very good sign when I listen to new music. I finally found out the song name, artist and remix magicians. Tonite Only was an electronic music group formed late 2005 in Sydney, Australia which disbanded late 2006. Its two members were Sam Littlemore (Sam La More) and Simon Lewicki (Groove Terminator), leading proponents in the electronic music scene. Their unique sound was a combination of Sam Littlemore's production techniques with Simon Lewicki's DJ experience. Their use of the vocoder, 1980s drum machines and pulse wave modulation was extensive. They announced late 2006 that they would no longer be working together as Tonite Only and would focus on their respective solo careers. However, the pair have recently resumed remixing together, with their new remix of Hook N Sling's smash hit, The Best Thing. Tonite Only have remixed four top ten ARIA club singles. Most notably Pictures (song) by Sneaky Sound System (18 weeks at Number 1) and All This Love by The Similou (11 weeks at Number 1). With these two remixes, Tonite Only held the number one position in the Australian dance charts for over six months during 2006. And here's a few more of their little delights + those mashups I was blabbering on about... Make sur to download the Ben Double M one because it's just unforgetable (I used it in my last Mauritius video)

[download id="128"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Where_The_Partys_At_Dada_Life_Remix.mp3]
[download id="126"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE in agonising pain [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/All_this_love_Tonite_Only_Mix.mp3]
[download id="127"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Beggin_For_Glory.mp3]
[download id="125"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE un-noticed [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Miracle_Wall_2008_Ben_Double_M.mp3]

like_on

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:50:34 +0000

airboyfirstclass

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:06:30 +0000

upgrade

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:21:13 +0000

logo-login

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:38:59 +0000

Quintessential Airboy. Fly FIRST CLASS with me !

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:03:09 +0000

After some heated conflicts between my left and right brain. Both agreed and came to a decision. A decision to make a special section of this website dedicated only to frequent readers/flyers. If you're a regular here, this will interest you the most. Even more so if you're already in the aviation industry (in other words, already a hostess with the mostess). It's an invite only section. I will have to approve your subscription before you can actually read any of the juicy gossip/horror stories I will post in the future. Only readers granted the access to the specific content will be able to read, watch, see the stuff I put up. And I promise some cool stuff. You will also have a first hand on exclusive amenities such as MP3s, videos, discounts at retail stores etc... Those I will only share with my CIPs (commercially important person) and my VVIPs (Very Very Important Person). Because you're just fabulous, and part of the elite of Airboy readers you will also have the opportunity to contribute to the blog. You will be able to write your own entries and submit them to me so I can publish them, because I know some of you have some real good stories to share! So if you're interested please make sure you upgrade. You'll get many benefits from your new status ! The website will even recognize your name as you land on the blog ! Ain't it just AM-A-ZIIIING ???! Click the image below to upgrade :

Once you enter a username as well as a valid email. You will receive a confirmation in your inbox along with an automatically generated password (that you can change later on). Please login on the front page with your username and given password to access your profile. From there you will have the luxury of changing the previously unmemorizable password we sent you to your own kinky little creation.

Hope you'll enjoy our First Class service. See you up there !

PS : Friends and Family are strongly advised to upgrade !

thisisfc

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:11:17 +0000

Fabulous Frequent Flyers... some of your benefits

Sodwee — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:12:42 +0000

As one of our valued readers here on Airboy, and part of our Fabulous Frequent Flyers (FFF) program "Airboy First Class", we would like to welcome you to a world of exclusive amenities and advantages. If you are able to read this post, it means that you have successfully been approved as one of the First Class members and you will be able to read the future content we will publish under the First Class category. Here are some of the benefits you get by flying in the front cabin with your host Airboy :

Read some unpublished posts, click/select the 'First Class' category

Personalized frontpage with your glittery username on display
Your very own zexy profile
A internal messaging system for sending a love note to that cutie sat at 2K
Whevever you comment on any entry, Economy or First Class, your username, blog/website, will automatically be inputed into the fields ! Less typing, more fun !
You will get exclusive amenities directly from me !
Special surprises in the near future...stay tuned

Make sure to come back regularly and get the juicy gossip I'll share ! Enjoy your time in First Class...

Note : you have access to a private area of the website. Any information shared in any part of the First Class area of Airboy's website is PRIVATE. This is why registrations must be approved by me first. I trust you, please do not mess up!

Yours Truly. Airboy.

dopplrlatest

Sodwee — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 08:44:44 +0000

Where will you be next ? The DOPPLR story

Sodwee — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 09:07:26 +0000

When I like something, I share it. This is why I come to you guys today and share some of my love for a very kinky social network. It's called DOPPLR and helps people who travel often to broadcast (in a very private fashion) where they'll be next. As an International Flight Attendant it comes in extremely handy.

Dopplr is an online service for smarter travel. Dopplr helps you make more of your travels by sharing your future trips privately with friends and colleagues. The service then highlights coincidences, for example, telling you that three people you know will be in Tokyo when you will be there too. You can use Dopplr on your personal computer or mobile phone. It links with many popular online calendars and social networks.

How many times did you find yourself stranded in a hotel lobby not knowing what to do, stuck in your hotel room watching YouTube videos or even glued to the local TV station, watching the local soap in a language you suddenly try to understand. It has happened to me already, in Manilla. I was watching this cheesy program in Filipino for quite some time before I realised I didn't understand a word they were saying. That's where DOPPLR comes in. The service lets you enter your future trips, location and dates. You submit, then a whole plethor of little wonderful piece of information about the destination pop-up automatically. It will scan your contacts and will let you know if a relative of yours is in the same town at the same moment. It will also give you tips on restaurants and places to go. The latest events etc. It's a great tool to keep track of your colleagues/friends whereabouts. I strongly recommend the service for people who travel on a weekly basis (like Cabin Crew). The service is packed with extremely cool features. Check it out ! You can add me as a fellow traveller here : DOPPLR Airboy One fabulous thing they have is a custom tailored annual report about your previous travels. You can download the one they made for me in 2008 :

[download id="102"]

Many FA bloggers have adopted the service. You too start DOPPLING ! The more the merrier !

gauge

Sodwee — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:23:50 +0000

In Paaaareeeeee for 8 days

Sodwee — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:27:50 +0000

Hey peeps. I've safely landed in Paris after some crosswinds made the approach into CDG a little more challenging for our Flight Crew. We landed with a beautiful sunset, clear skies and just the perfect spring time here. The flight over was real nice although I must say I forgot how long an hour could be up there. I watched a lot of movies, listenned to my iPod a lot. Time goes by ever so quickly when you work the cart ! On duty over to Paris was Bruno, one of Kalil's (my flatmate) good friends. So it was nice having special attention (Bruno thanks for the wonderfull flight and the bottle of water as well as the eye shades). Mother and Father were waiting for me which is always nice ! I swiflty avoided being searched for tobacco at the customs. Yeah because now, France applies the TWO PACK rule. no more ! And of course I had grabbed a carton for my stay here. Since the price of a pack here is well over the reasonable price tag (think 5 euros for 20s). So I spotted some "young travellers in their 20's" the kind of passengers look for really and waited for them to go through. As per my predictions they got searched entirely, leaving the doors to freedom wide open. Got home and was, as per usual, greeted with Mum's Special : THE GIN & TONIC ! Went to bed after swapping little gifts and gossip chat. Woke up this morning. And the sun was out and bright, no clouds what so ever. I'm blogging from one of the pubs I used to work for. Catching up on the gossip here too. I plan to take real easy for the next week or so. Just catching up with the mates and enjoying the Parisian Spring has to offer. Will most probably be meeting up with Tall Ben at some point. When we get our schedules worked out. In the meantime I might not be as present on the internet as I used to be just because I need to chill a little and this also means leaving some of the blogging duties to a side. Bear with me regarding emails too. Voila. Hope you're having a nice time where ever you are and what ever you might be doing. Will come back with some nice stuff.

grampas-van

Sodwee — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:02:45 +0000

move

Sodwee — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:13:27 +0000

The end of an era

Sodwee — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:17:52 +0000

Bad news always comes in threes. I'll skip the first two for now and fast forward to the latest I will have to deal with. And it's not a little task considering the department I will have to communicate with and the obstacles I will have to overcome. By 31st of May 2009, I will have to move out of my current location. That leaves me (and quite a significant amount of other crew too) less than a month and a half to find a flat, flatmates, fly our duties, study for SEP, move the incredible amount of stuff that has been piling up in my bedroom for over a year now, and get rest at the same time (don't count on the latter). The building I am currently living in is - to be honest - quite old and overwhelmed with sand and humidity when a sandstorm decides to swoooosssh past us. But I really liked my place. I was on the verge of spending a good amount of moooolllaaah on paint to redecorate, but the email I was sent today just came in at the right time (for the painting session I mean), because I was lacking motivation to get my muscles working the walls up and down... The problem with moving out and moving in to a new accomodation here, lies in the fact we have to deal with the accomodation department. And they're by far the most difficult to get in touch with. They have left a legacy over the years and every crew gets shivers every time they think about moving...or even trying to give them a call. The second problem is that I have been so comfortable with Ka (the Habibi that is my flatmate) that we are considering moving to the yet-to-determine new place. But we have options. He has friends with a spare room just across the street (highway in fact) and will try to get it so he can stay in the vicinity of his daily sin : The Emirates Towers Gym + Pool / ZINC. For my part, I wouldn't mind an inch to move elsewhere with him, but if he gets the flat he's got in mind this means I have to get my options nice and tight before the gates open for the moving rush. Yes, because we're talking around 120-150 crew all wanting to move at the same time heading to the same place. It's a huge deal when you know accommodation department will have to face raging crew bulls we tend to be like in those situations !! Especially if we were forced to move ! So, if any of you already in the sandpit, has a room to spare in Emirates provided accomodation, AIRBOY would like to know : comment me, email me, facebook me, twitter me, call me or whatever it takes !!! I will consider every option and let you know if that's a yes or no. Sharjah area will defo be last resort. Not that I don't like you guys, but after living here for a year (in SZR...), I dread the fact of eating sand for breakfast, lunch and dinner ! Also being an avid user of our beloved taxis (not having a car myself), I will feel the need to hang myself if I can't get to ZINC in time on a Monday night, let alone on Thursdays! That was the bad news. The previous bad news is that our internet connection is down at home (maybe it's linked to us moving out, I don't know, but wouldn't be surprised !). So I'm actually blogging from the luxurious Shangri-La Lobby. Email replies and Facebook presence will be very limited until we fix the issue with ETISLUT (real name of incriminated internet provider : ETISALAT. copyright : Melissa from the TampaxTowers). It's a real bummer cause I can't even skype Mother nor Father anymore.... Sad I know. Anyway. I just came back from a busy Jeddah flight. But I was in good shape after my 8 day holiday in Paris. Tomorrow I will be heading to Doha which is nice, just because it's a silly little flight and I'll be back before you even try to say "peanuts" ! Peace out yall. May the Accommodation Lord be with me in May !

latest

Sodwee — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:25:02 +0000

fromheretothere

Sodwee — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:04:16 +0000

tecombuilding

Sodwee — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:11:09 +0000

How I got lost in Al Barsha...

Sodwee — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 23:18:41 +0000

Today was filled with exciting new stuff I had to do. I went to visit the newly finished (not quite in fact) TECOM building which will hold the future White and Blue Building stranded. By the end of May, as previously mentioned, we will have to evacuate these two buildings and relocate. So they held some open house for us to check on the facilities and the flats. I got up a tad later than I should of and stormed off to Al Barsha in the middle of a sandstorm, turning my hair into sandpaper, inhaling cement dust from all sides and trying to look out for that building. I headed for Mall Of The Emirates which is close from the TECOM building but still not close enough to survive the walk in those conditions. I did have a map in mind but somehow my sense of direction today wasn't with me. Hoped off the cab and went it a random building on Barsha 1 road. Turns out I was lucky because I ran straight into another Emirates Accommodation building and they were able to direct me to a "BIG triangle looking building". My expectation at that moment just fell through the ground ! "A triangle building ???? You gotta be kidding right ??" did I say to the security guard on duty. To what he replied with a smile : "Yes it's triangle, you can't miss it". I said "oh well ok"... Not thinking much about the actual shape of the building I got into another cab and headed to The Emirates Greens via the backroads of Dubai. Jeeez what a journey ! Sand hitting the windscreen real hard, we finally approached a building that looked similar to a triangle. And the word "similar" here is far fetched. The actual building is of a star shape from the skyes, meaning it has 3 branches (see google earth screencap below, click to enlarge) and is 28 floors high. The size of the thing is kinda scary. As we approached closer, it seems like they'll be having an entire Cabin Crew city over there. They can easily put up around 2000 crew. I again got lost inside the complex. Finally I came across other desperate crew and asked them if they knew how to get to the showrooms. I finally got to the second floor after roaming around the parking lot for ages. The flat themselves are really nice, lots of light pouring in from the windows. Windows we can open might I add. A balcony is located alongside the living. It's a nice huge space where I can easily see a video projector being installed with a kick ass sound system. The kitchen is of decent size, not too big, not too small and has all the latest applicances. Including a 5 stove range cooker : super snazzz ! I might actually start cooking ! svgallery=tecom The Bedrooms are nice too, of decent size. Each occupant gets its own bathroom. Only downside, there's no bathtub ! And there's a master bedroom which is just huge and complete with a balcony ! COO COO ! To sum it up, the place is nice, location is a bit rough at the moment but will be fine when all the shops around open and make it a little more welcoming. In other news, I finally got back into the kick of things here and attented a house party hosted by Henry, a french colleague here who decided to throw a bash for his incoming flatmate ! I even met with Christmas (read Daniel) who owns the Jube Eye. Nice to finally meet him ! I also caught up on the gossip with Szilvia from my training days and the usual suspects, namely, Greg and Nivine. We all went to Shangri-La to celebrate Nivine's successful SEP recurrent ! Soon is my turn !

albarsha

Sodwee — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:12:29 +0000

img_2222

Sodwee — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:17:32 +0000

img_22221

Sodwee — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:18:58 +0000

kulte

Sodwee — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:02:49 +0000

What went down in Paname (slang for Paris) + VIDEO

Sodwee — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:39:32 +0000

I apologize for the lateness of this post but priorities remain priorities and things will never change : ie, blogging about me getting lost in a random part of Dubai seemed much more entertaining than my Parisian hols...Anyway... I came back from Paris, France from my little 8 day break just over a week ago now and feel ok, not at my best but still ok to enjoy what Dubai has to offer. So back to France... I needed some 'me' time for once. Not like I don't get any but Dubai has this thing where you seem to be with someone 24/7 and sometimes feel just a little overfed with news, gossip and general day-to-day routines. I needed to wind down and found the comfort of my folks flat in the heart of cosmopolitan city the perfect - cheap - getaway. Take full advantage of the beautiful weather there, amazing spring time out on the town, cycling around most of the time. Paris has this thing that you can only experience by foot or on a pushbike. If I can recommend something for our Cabin Crew would be to walk aimlessly in the backstreets of the capital and soak up the atmosphere, the real parisian way. Mix with the crowds, enjoy a beer at terraces, just watching people go by. The almighty occupation for true parisians on a lunch break would be picking the perfect spot on an outdoor terrace, filled with sunshine and order a nice special bitching outrageously at the people walking by. Judging them, finding what kind of life they lead, married or not, kids or not.... et cetera. This is exactly what I have been doing all week there. And doing it with a good friend is even more entertaining. I did that with Tall Ben, who you know, just moved back there to pursue a career as Cabin Crew with one of our national airline. It was so nice to catch up on all the gossip and the new challenges we have to face. svgallery=paname Tall Ben ain't a real parisian yet and you can see it just by the way he walks down the street : eyes looking up when he should be looking at the pavement for smelly dogpiles and hazardous obstacles such as poodles taking a dump or grannies desperately trying to fit their oversized bread loaf into their shopping wheelie... The kind of stuff parisian avoid using their inner-body radar. Riding the tube was another highlight of my week. Getting to smell other people from up close came as a shock. Cramped in a rush hour wagon with all sorts of people was scary as I really had to get used to the fact I had my nose 2 inches from that womens armpit... Besides cycling round town, running over grannies and hoping over dung I met up with old pals from my highschool years and old work mates from the pubs I used to work for. Not missing on a leaving do organized at one of the venues in central Paris. Down quite a fair amount of Coronas with Danny Doodles and Co. Getting home absolutely drunk and brain buzzing with silly jokes and stories from the night. The one downside to my holidays there was turning the TV on. I couldn't watch it for more than 10 minutes as I would get so depressed. Every news was about people being laid off and a generally sad atmosphere. Topping things with the G20 summit happening just across the pond. Where, as predicted, our Short President did nothing but moan and pull faces while the Obamamania was unfolding in London Town. French morale is down these days and all you can hear on the streets is "C'est la crise...{insert random argument or fact}.... eh ouais, bein tu vois c'est ca la crise". French people will do whatever it takes to blame it on the crisis, might it be the leak in their bathroom to the traffic blocking half a street in the most random neighbourhoods of Paris. It's sooo sad to hear. Thankfully the sun was out so that toned down to "t'as vu le temps aujourd'hui, on pense moins a la crise quand il fait beau non ?" (translation : " The weather's nice today isn't it, we think a little less about the crisis when the sun is out, no ??"). The other good part of the break was being able to enjoy the very high speed internet connection my dad just got. In fact it's Fiber Optic, a newly released means of data/internet delivery. He got a bundle pack with 200 channels of TV (nothing interesting though), free IP phone service, which will help Mother's atrocious international call expenses (practically every aunt or uncle I have, including grandmother lives abroad. If you look at it closely, I have a family member on each continent excluding asia. And of course that HOLY MAHOGONY UBER-fast connection to the internet. I was downloading songs by the dozens in a matter of an eye blink and watching HD trailers whilst my skin was wrinkling in the hot bubble bath! You should of seen the scene ! Very out of this world ! ahahah. Jeeez I just had a visual... sic.

I didn't buy a single thing, and that is a real miracle ! I did however go on a window licking session near Bastille which is the hip side of town and overlooked some cool clothes/t-shirts at Lazy dog shop... I will go back there soon I think. I was also on the verge of emptying the American Apparel store near place Vemdome but hold my Mashreq Debit Card deep down in my jeans pocket. Because at 18 euros a simple shirt, it gets a little pricey ! All in all, it was super nice to catch up with MotherOfSodwee and FatherOfSodwee, meeting up with friends in bars, cycling during the day and eating out every night ! I also forgot to mention I caught a cold and was in bed for 3 looooong days. Unable to move around and sweating like a pig anytime I fell asleep.... I can't wait to go back and velib' a little more. Thankfully, I will have a week in June to get over there and do more ! [EDIT] I am having a peak in visitors too judging by the stats I get. And the surge seems to come from Google where people are looking for me ! Word of mouth or press clipping ?? I have no idea, but I'm liking it :

statstoday

Sodwee — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:56:40 +0000

picture-1

Sodwee — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:40:48 +0000

Cabin Crew video on Emirates Website : my ab-initio !

Sodwee — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:51:12 +0000

Was looking at the new www.emiratesgroupcareers.com website and got a shock when I launched the media player and saw my fellow batchmates in there. I'm even hiding in the video... try to spot me ! That brings back a few good memories...

facute

Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:36:16 +0000

zombie-stewardess

Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:36:27 +0000

I looooooooooooove my job!

Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:41:53 +0000

90% of the world think we get paid "big" bucks to piss people off. 90% of the time, air travellers will have misconceptions about our job description. And usually, they're absolutely wrong. Take the Bombay I did today. 90% percent of the passengers I welcomed onboard today had grim faces due certainly to the lack of sleep, the long hours of transit, the previous flight and so forth. Bear in mind the other 10% I didn't mention, are in fact, kids and I do not take them into account here as they seem to smile 24/7 when they travel by air. Today was very different from any other Bombay I did in the past (being the Bombay expert, I know what I'm talking about). I actually enjoyed myself so much, I am now taking to the keyboard to rant about it. So the pax boarded with grim faces as always in Dubai. Doing my usual killer smile and very professional 'Good morning' I actually managed to get 100% response from them, more so surprising, I even got smiles all round. That's service recovery for you guys ! The flight was very peaceful, even though we had kids left, right and center. They all behaved like little angels. I sincerely think we made their day. They didn't expect that kind of service. we made sure everyone got their preferred meal choice (by the way, it's a right headache) and was so persuasive into getting them to try our finger licking good Veg option that I had so many Non-Veg left by the end of the service that I could feast on chicken myself ! Having crew acting the same way all the way does help heaps. If you had stood at the top of the cabin and looked down, you would of seen every pax smiling their head off. a couple beer and scotch helping for sure, but the sight was very pleasing ! Every passenger called me by my real name, and were very friendly. No hissing, no pants or jacket pulling, no poking, no claps to get my attention, nothing ! nada ! I was surprised as I didn't expect much of the flight on my own side. Bombay being Bombay and the kind of service we have to fit in 2 hours while they're all well awake and ready for some grubs, I was impressed. The atmosphere on the aircraft was soooo laid back you could send jokes here and there to people and they replied with even funnier one-liners. Maybe it's because it was an Airbus, so less crowded. Maybe it's because of the beautiful weather they were going to get once they deplaned... I don't know but I certainly enjoyed the service. The best moment to judge a flight is the part were they all get up in a rush to be the first ones out. Today, contrary to custom, everyone stayed calmly seated UNTIL THE SEATBELT WAS SWITCHED OFF. And I wasn't the only crew noticing such good behavior. We usually have to be assertive the second we hit the runway and tell people to sit down but today was all together different. Making multiple PA annoucements etc... We're busing around ten of thousands of people. Everyday, no matter the day. Christmas, New Years. Sometime it's hard on the body. But people do not see behind the scenes, and sometime you wish they did. But unfortunately that wont happen anytime soon. Thankfully we were hired to give service excellence and these are the passengers that are, in the end, paying for our snazz All Star sneakers and Diesel Jeans...[big smile on my face]. One downside. I had a crew travelling as pax, and she was probably the worst one today. Not saying thank you, avoiding eye-contact and being a total....erm..............whatever. Snatching drinks from you and so on. I got her name down, as soon as I fly with her, she'll get to know me ! So voila. A little effort from both side could lead to a real good flight.

labour

Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:15:17 +0000

FOR G2 ONLY DUBAI, UAE, JULY 09: Workers waiting for a bus to take them ack to their labor camps after a day of work in Dubai. July, 9th, 2008. Exploitation of hundreds of thousands of underpaid workers help fuel the economic boom in construction and tourism in the small oil rich Gulf States. Workers live and work in difficult conditions without adequate rights. (Photo by Ghaith Abdul Ahad) Labor UAE Dubai Abu Dhabi INdia Pakistan Exploitation

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Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:16:28 +0000

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Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:16:34 +0000

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Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:16:39 +0000

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Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:16:43 +0000

Emiratis in the desert of Dubai

Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:23:22 +0000

Backstage

Sodwee — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:38:44 +0000

REMINDER : This post remains in the private section of the blog and only you First Class flyers have access to it for obvious reasons (you will get the point when you read on). The story was published over at theindependant.co.uk. You can react to this post in the comment section below, the comments will only be viewable by fellow FFFs. Thank you. I came across this amazing piece by British journalist Johann Hari, regardless of what position you might have on Dubai. He very recently came to Dubai to look at the consequences of the Global Economic Crisis hitting the sandpit and - as you do - dug a little more, went backstage, meeting different people with very distinct backgrounds. His story is extremely revealing and even more disturbing when he gets to talk to people, especially some Brits. Of course not everyone is like those depicted in the article... And as he points out very clearly, we (expats, citizens and tourists) turn a blind eye on what is happening here. I'm posting this for my Fabulous Frequent Flyers as I do not want to stir things up myself. Maybe it's right for me to discuss this here, maybe it's wrong. But the story itself need your attention. It's a lenghty read but a really interesting one. For those living here in Dubai, there's probably no surprises for you as you have probably have gotten a backstage pass already. Read it, tell me what you think. I'm looking for input here. Constructive comments are preferred. For my part, I honestly feel powerless, just like the Fillipino girl who works for Burger King (which happens to be 4 minutes walk away from my home), and I think I know who he talked to... It's hard to imagine unless you have seen it for yourself. The feelings after reading this article left me wondering... I feel kind of guilty, part of the blatant ignorance. Even having to post it privately makes me sick. Pictures were added by me, found doing random google searches. They're just here to illustrate... Please do carry on reading...

The wide, smiling face of Sheikh Mohammed – the absolute ruler of Dubai – beams down on his creation. His image is displayed on every other building, sandwiched between the more familiar corporate rictuses of Ronald McDonald and Colonel Sanders. This man has sold Dubai to the world as the city of One Thousand and One Arabian Lights, a Shangri-La in the Middle East insulated from the dust-storms blasting across the region. He dominates the Manhattan-manqué skyline, beaming out from row after row of glass pyramids and hotels smelted into the shape of piles of golden coins. And there he stands on the tallest building in the world – a skinny spike, jabbing farther into the sky than any other human construction in history. But something has flickered in Sheikh Mohammed's smile. The ubiquitous cranes have paused on the skyline, as if stuck in time. There are countless buildings half-finished, seemingly abandoned. In the swankiest new constructions – like the vast Atlantis hotel, a giant pink castle built in 1,000 days for $1.5bn on its own artificial island – where rainwater is leaking from the ceilings and the tiles are falling off the roof. This Neverland was built on the Never-Never – and now the cracks are beginning to show. Suddenly it looks less like Manhattan in the sun than Iceland in the desert. Once the manic burst of building has stopped and the whirlwind has slowed, the secrets of Dubai are slowly seeping out. This is a city built from nothing in just a few wild decades on credit and ecocide, suppression and slavery. Dubai is a living metal metaphor for the neo-liberal globalised world that may be crashing – at last – into history. I. An Adult Disneyland Karen Andrews can't speak. Every time she starts to tell her story, she puts her head down and crumples. She is slim and angular and has the faded radiance of the once-rich, even though her clothes are as creased as her forehead. I find her in the car park of one of Dubai's finest international hotels, where she is living, in her Range Rover. She has been sleeping here for months, thanks to the kindness of the Bangladeshi car park attendants who don't have the heart to move her on. This is not where she thought her Dubai dream would end. Her story comes out in stutters, over four hours. At times, her old voice – witty and warm – breaks through. Karen came here from Canada when her husband was offered a job in the senior division of a famous multinational. "When he said Dubai, I said – if you want me to wear black and quit booze, baby, you've got the wrong girl. But he asked me to give it a chance. And I loved him." All her worries melted when she touched down in Dubai in 2005. "It was an adult Disneyland, where Sheikh Mohammed is the mouse," she says. "Life was fantastic. You had these amazing big apartments, you had a whole army of your own staff, you pay no taxes at all. It seemed like everyone was a CEO. We were partying the whole time." Her husband, Daniel, bought two properties. "We were drunk on Dubai," she says. But for the first time in his life, he was beginning to mismanage their finances. "We're not talking huge sums, but he was getting confused. It was so unlike Daniel, I was surprised. We got into a little bit of debt." After a year, she found out why: Daniel was diagnosed with a brain tumour. One doctor told him he had a year to live; another said it was benign and he'd be okay. But the debts were growing. "Before I came here, I didn't know anything about Dubai law. I assumed if all these big companies come here, it must be pretty like Canada's or any other liberal democracy's," she says. Nobody told her there is no concept of bankruptcy. If you get into debt and you can't pay, you go to prison. "When we realised that, I sat Daniel down and told him: listen, we need to get out of here. He knew he was guaranteed a pay-off when he resigned, so we said – right, let's take the pay-off, clear the debt, and go." So Daniel resigned – but he was given a lower pay-off than his contract suggested. The debt remained. As soon as you quit your job in Dubai, your employer has to inform your bank. If you have any outstanding debts that aren't covered by your savings, then all your accounts are frozen, and you are forbidden to leave the country. "Suddenly our cards stopped working. We had nothing. We were thrown out of our apartment." Karen can't speak about what happened next for a long time; she is shaking. Daniel was arrested and taken away on the day of their eviction. It was six days before she could talk to him. "He told me he was put in a cell with another debtor, a Sri Lankan guy who was only 27, who said he couldn't face the shame to his family. Daniel woke up and the boy had swallowed razor-blades. He banged for help, but nobody came, and the boy died in front of him." Karen managed to beg from her friends for a few weeks, "but it was so humiliating. I've never lived like this. I worked in the fashion industry. I had my own shops. I've never..." She peters out. Daniel was sentenced to six months' imprisonment at a trial he couldn't understand. It was in Arabic, and there was no translation. "Now I'm here illegally, too," Karen says I've got no money, nothing. I have to last nine months until he's out, somehow." Looking away, almost paralysed with embarrassment, she asks if I could buy her a meal. She is not alone. All over the city, there are maxed-out expats sleeping secretly in the sand-dunes or the airport or in their cars. "The thing you have to understand about Dubai is – nothing is what it seems," Karen says at last. "Nothing. This isn't a city, it's a con-job. They lure you in telling you it's one thing – a modern kind of place – but beneath the surface it's a medieval dictatorship." II. Tumbleweed Thirty years ago, almost all of contemporary Dubai was desert, inhabited only by cactuses and tumbleweed and scorpions. But downtown there are traces of the town that once was, buried amidst the metal and glass. In the dusty fort of the Dubai Museum, a sanitised version of this story is told. In the mid-18th century, a small village was built here, in the lower Persian Gulf, where people would dive for pearls off the coast. It soon began to accumulate a cosmopolitan population washing up from Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and other Arab countries, all hoping to make their fortune. They named it after a local locust, the daba, who consumed everything before it. The town was soon seized by the gunships of the British Empire, who held it by the throat as late as 1971. As they scuttled away, Dubai decided to ally with the six surrounding states and make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The British quit, exhausted, just as oil was being discovered, and the sheikhs who suddenly found themselves in charge faced a remarkable dilemma. They were largely illiterate nomads who spent their lives driving camels through the desert – yet now they had a vast pot of gold. What should they do with it? Dubai only had a dribble of oil compared to neighbouring Abu Dhabi – so Sheikh Maktoum decided to use the revenues to build something that would last. Israel used to boast it made the desert bloom; Sheikh Maktoum resolved to make the desert boom. He would build a city to be a centre of tourism and financial services, sucking up cash and talent from across the globe. He invited the world to come tax-free – and they came in their millions, swamping the local population, who now make up just 5 per cent of Dubai. A city seemed to fall from the sky in just three decades, whole and complete and swelling. They fast-forwarded from the 18th century to the 21st in a single generation. If you take the Big Bus Tour of Dubai – the passport to a pre-processed experience of every major city on earth – you are fed the propaganda-vision of how this happened. "Dubai's motto is 'Open doors, open minds'," the tour guide tells you in clipped tones, before depositing you at the souks to buy camel tea-cosies. "Here you are free. To purchase fabrics," he adds. As you pass each new monumental building, he tells you: "The World Trade Centre was built by His Highness..." But this is a lie. The sheikh did not build this city. It was built by slaves. They are building it now. III. Hidden in plain view There are three different Dubais, all swirling around each other. There are the expats, like Karen; there are the Emiratis, headed by Sheikh Mohammed; and then there is the foreign underclass who built the city, and are trapped here. They are hidden in plain view. You see them everywhere, in dirt-caked blue uniforms, being shouted at by their superiors, like a chain gang – but you are trained not to look. It is like a mantra: the Sheikh built the city. The Sheikh built the city. Workers? What workers? Every evening, the hundreds of thousands of young men who build Dubai are bussed from their sites to a vast concrete wasteland an hour out of town, where they are quarantined away. Until a few years ago they were shuttled back and forth on cattle trucks, but the expats complained this was unsightly, so now they are shunted on small metal buses that function like greenhouses in the desert heat. They sweat like sponges being slowly wrung out. Sonapur is a rubble-strewn patchwork of miles and miles of identical concrete buildings. Some 300,000 men live piled up here, in a place whose name in Hindi means "City of Gold". In the first camp I stop at – riven with the smell of sewage and sweat – the men huddle around, eager to tell someone, anyone, what is happening to them. Sahinal Monir, a slim 24-year-old from the deltas of Bangladesh. "To get you here, they tell you Dubai is heaven. Then you get here and realise it is hell," he says. Four years ago, an employment agent arrived in Sahinal's village in Southern Bangladesh. He told the men of the village that there was a place where they could earn 40,000 takka a month (£400) just for working nine-to-five on construction projects. It was a place where they would be given great accommodation, great food, and treated well. All they had to do was pay an up-front fee of 220,000 takka (£2,300) for the work visa – a fee they'd pay off in the first six months, easy. So Sahinal sold his family land, and took out a loan from the local lender, to head to this paradise. As soon as he arrived at Dubai airport, his passport was taken from him by his construction company. He has not seen it since. He was told brusquely that from now on he would be working 14-hour days in the desert heat – where western tourists are advised not to stay outside for even five minutes in summer, when it hits 55 degrees – for 500 dirhams a month (£90), less than a quarter of the wage he was promised. If you don't like it, the company told him, go home. "But how can I go home? You have my passport, and I have no money for the ticket," he said. "Well, then you'd better get to work," they replied. Sahinal was in a panic. His family back home – his son, daughter, wife and parents – were waiting for money, excited that their boy had finally made it. But he was going to have to work for more than two years just to pay for the cost of getting here – and all to earn less than he did in Bangladesh. He shows me his room. It is a tiny, poky, concrete cell with triple-decker bunk-beds, where he lives with 11 other men. All his belongings are piled onto his bunk: three shirts, a spare pair of trousers, and a cellphone. The room stinks, because the lavatories in the corner of the camp – holes in the ground – are backed up with excrement and clouds of black flies. There is no air conditioning or fans, so the heat is "unbearable. You cannot sleep. All you do is sweat and scratch all night." At the height of summer, people sleep on the floor, on the roof, anywhere where they can pray for a moment of breeze. The water delivered to the camp in huge white containers isn't properly desalinated: it tastes of salt. "It makes us sick, but we have nothing else to drink," he says. The work is "the worst in the world," he says. "You have to carry 50kg bricks and blocks of cement in the worst heat imaginable ... This heat – it is like nothing else. You sweat so much you can't pee, not for days or weeks. It's like all the liquid comes out through your skin and you stink. You become dizzy and sick but you aren't allowed to stop, except for an hour in the afternoon. You know if you drop anything or slip, you could die. If you take time off sick, your wages are docked, and you are trapped here even longer." He is currently working on the 67th floor of a shiny new tower, where he builds upwards, into the sky, into the heat. He doesn't know its name. In his four years here, he has never seen the Dubai of tourist-fame, except as he constructs it floor-by-floor. Is he angry? He is quiet for a long time. "Here, nobody shows their anger. You can't. You get put in jail for a long time, then deported." Last year, some workers went on strike after they were not given their wages for four months. The Dubai police surrounded their camps with razor-wire and water-cannons and blasted them out and back to work. The "ringleaders" were imprisoned. I try a different question: does Sohinal regret coming? All the men look down, awkwardly. "How can we think about that? We are trapped. If we start to think about regrets..." He lets the sentence trail off. Eventually, another worker breaks the silence by adding: "I miss my country, my family and my land. We can grow food in Bangladesh. Here, nothing grows. Just oil and buildings." Since the recession hit, they say, the electricity has been cut off in dozens of the camps, and the men have not been paid for months. Their companies have disappeared with their passports and their pay. "We have been robbed of everything. Even if somehow we get back to Bangladesh, the loan sharks will demand we repay our loans immediately, and when we can't, we'll be sent to prison." This is all supposed to be illegal. Employers are meant to pay on time, never take your passport, give you breaks in the heat – but I met nobody who said it happens. Not one. These men are conned into coming and trapped into staying, with the complicity of the Dubai authorities. Sahinal could well die out here. A British man who used to work on construction projects told me: "There's a huge number of suicides in the camps and on the construction sites, but they're not reported. They're described as 'accidents'." Even then, their families aren't free: they simply inherit the debts. A Human Rights Watch study found there is a "cover-up of the true extent" of deaths from heat exhaustion, overwork and suicide, but the Indian consulate registered 971 deaths of their nationals in 2005 alone. After this figure was leaked, the consulates were told to stop counting. At night, in the dusk, I sit in the camp with Sohinal and his friends as they scrape together what they have left to buy a cheap bottle of spirits. They down it in one ferocious gulp. "It helps you to feel numb", Sohinal says through a stinging throat. In the distance, the glistening Dubai skyline he built stands, oblivious. IV. Mauled by the mall I find myself stumbling in a daze from the camps into the sprawling marble malls that seem to stand on every street in Dubai. It is so hot there is no point building pavements; people gather in these cathedrals of consumerism to bask in the air conditioning. So within a ten minute taxi-ride, I have left Sohinal and I am standing in the middle of Harvey Nichols, being shown a £20,000 taffeta dress by a bored salesgirl. "As you can see, it is cut on the bias..." she says, and I stop writing. Time doesn't seem to pass in the malls. Days blur with the same electric light, the same shined floors, the same brands I know from home. Here, Dubai is reduced to its component sounds: do-buy. In the most expensive malls I am almost alone, the shops empty and echoing. On the record, everybody tells me business is going fine. Off the record, they look panicky. There is a hat exhibition ahead of the Dubai races, selling elaborate headgear for £1,000 a pop. "Last year, we were packed. Now look," a hat designer tells me. She swoops her arm over a vacant space. I approach a blonde 17-year-old Dutch girl wandering around in hotpants, oblivious to the swarms of men gaping at her. "I love it here!" she says. "The heat, the malls, the beach!" Does it ever bother you that it's a slave society? She puts her head down, just as Sohinal did. "I try not to see," she says. Even at 17, she has learned not to look, and not to ask; that, she senses, is a transgression too far. Between the malls, there is nothing but the connecting tissue of asphalt. Every road has at least four lanes; Dubai feels like a motorway punctuated by shopping centres. You only walk anywhere if you are suicidal. The residents of Dubai flit from mall to mall by car or taxis. How does it feel if this is your country, filled with foreigners? Unlike the expats and the slave class, I can't just approach the native Emiratis to ask questions when I see them wandering around – the men in cool white robes, the women in sweltering black. If you try, the women blank you, and the men look affronted, and tell you brusquely that Dubai is "fine". So I browse through the Emirati blog-scene and found some typical-sounding young Emiratis. We meet – where else? – in the mall. Ahmed al-Atar is a handsome 23-year-old with a neat, trimmed beard, tailored white robes, and rectangular wire-glasses. He speaks perfect American-English, and quickly shows that he knows London, Los Angeles and Paris better than most westerners. Sitting back in his chair in an identikit Starbucks, he announces: "This is the best place in the world to be young! The government pays for your education up to PhD level. You get given a free house when you get married. You get free healthcare, and if it's not good enough here, they pay for you to go abroad. You don't even have to pay for your phone calls. Almost everyone has a maid, a nanny, and a driver. And we never pay any taxes. Don't you wish you were Emirati?" I try to raise potential objections to this Panglossian summary, but he leans forward and says: "Look – my grandfather woke up every day and he would have to fight to get to the well first to get water. When the wells ran dry, they had to have water delivered by camel. They were always hungry and thirsty and desperate for jobs. He limped all his life, because he there was no medical treatment available when he broke his leg. Now look at us!" For Emiratis, this is a Santa Claus state, handing out goodies while it makes its money elsewhere: through renting out land to foreigners, soft taxes on them like business and airport charges, and the remaining dribble of oil. Most Emiratis, like Ahmed, work for the government, so they're cushioned from the credit crunch. "I haven't felt any effect at all, and nor have my friends," he says. "Your employment is secure. You will only be fired if you do something incredibly bad." The laws are currently being tightened, to make it even more impossible to sack an Emirati. Sure, the flooding-in of expats can sometimes be "an eyesore", Ahmed says. "But we see the expats as the price we had to pay for this development. How else could we do it? Nobody wants to go back to the days of the desert, the days before everyone came. We went from being like an African country to having an average income per head of $120,000 a year. And we're supposed to complain?" He says the lack of political freedom is fine by him. "You'll find it very hard to find an Emirati who doesn't support Sheikh Mohammed." Because they're scared? "No, because we really all support him. He's a great leader. Just look!" He smiles and says: "I'm sure my life is very much like yours. We hang out, have a coffee, go to the movies. You'll be in a Pizza Hut or Nando's in London, and at the same time I'll be in one in Dubai," he says, ordering another latte. But do all young Emiratis see it this way? Can it really be so sunny in the political sands? In the sleek Emirates Tower Hotel, I meet Sultan al-Qassemi. He's a 31-year-old Emirati columnist for the Dubai press and private art collector, with a reputation for being a contrarian liberal, advocating gradual reform. He is wearing Western clothes – blue jeans and a Ralph Lauren shirt – and speaks incredibly fast, turning himself into a manic whirr of arguments. "People here are turning into lazy, overweight babies!" he exclaims. "The nanny state has gone too far. We don't do anything for ourselves! Why don't any of us work for the private sector? Why can't a mother and father look after their own child?" And yet, when I try to bring up the system of slavery that built Dubai, he looks angry. "People should give us credit," he insists. "We are the most tolerant people in the world. Dubai is the only truly international city in the world. Everyone who comes here is treated with respect." I pause, and think of the vast camps in Sonapur, just a few miles away. Does he even know they exist? He looks irritated. "You know, if there are 30 or 40 cases [of worker abuse] a year, that sounds like a lot but when you think about how many people are here..." Thirty or 40? This abuse is endemic to the system, I say. We're talking about hundreds of thousands. Sultan is furious. He splutters: "You don't think Mexicans are treated badly in New York City? And how long did it take Britain to treat people well? I could come to London and write about the homeless people on Oxford Street and make your city sound like a terrible place, too! The workers here can leave any time they want! Any Indian can leave, any Asian can leave!" But they can't, I point out. Their passports are taken away, and their wages are withheld. "Well, I feel bad if that happens, and anybody who does that should be punished. But their embassies should help them." They try. But why do you forbid the workers – with force – from going on strike against lousy employers? "Thank God we don't allow that!" he exclaims. "Strikes are in-convenient! They go on the street – we're not having that. We won't be like France. Imagine a country where they the workers can just stop whenever they want!" So what should the workers do when they are cheated and lied to? "Quit. Leave the country." I sigh. Sultan is seething now. "People in the West are always complaining about us," he says. Suddenly, he adopts a mock-whiny voice and says, in imitation of these disgusting critics: "Why don't you treat animals better? Why don't you have better shampoo advertising? Why don't you treat labourers better?" It's a revealing order: animals, shampoo, then workers. He becomes more heated, shifting in his seat, jabbing his finger at me. "I gave workers who worked for me safety goggles and special boots, and they didn't want to wear them! It slows them down!" And then he smiles, coming up with what he sees as his killer argument. "When I see Western journalists criticise us – don't you realise you're shooting yourself in the foot? The Middle East will be far more dangerous if Dubai fails. Our export isn't oil, it's hope. Poor Egyptians or Libyans or Iranians grow up saying – I want to go to Dubai. We're very important to the region. We are showing how to be a modern Muslim country. We don't have any fundamentalists here. Europeans shouldn't gloat at our demise. You should be very worried.... Do you know what will happen if this model fails? Dubai will go down the Iranian path, the Islamist path." Sultan sits back. My arguments have clearly disturbed him; he says in a softer, conciliatory tone, almost pleading: "Listen. My mother used to go to the well and get a bucket of water every morning. On her wedding day, she was given an orange as a gift because she had never eaten one. Two of my brothers died when they were babies because the healthcare system hadn't developed yet. Don't judge us." He says it again, his eyes filled with intensity: "Don't judge us." V. The Dunkin' Donuts Dissidents But there is another face to the Emirati minority – a small huddle of dissidents, trying to shake the Sheikhs out of abusive laws. Next to a Virgin Megastore and a Dunkin' Donuts, with James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" blaring behind me, I meet the Dubai dictatorship's Public Enemy Number One. By way of introduction, Mohammed al-Mansoori says from within his white robes and sinewy face: "Westerners come her and see the malls and the tall buildings and they think that means we are free. But these businesses, these buildings – who are they for? This is a dictatorship. The royal family think they own the country, and the people are their servants. There is no freedom here." We snuffle out the only Arabic restaurant in this mall, and he says everything you are banned – under threat of prison – from saying in Dubai. Mohammed tells me he was born in Dubai to a fisherman father who taught him one enduring lesson: Never follow the herd. Think for yourself. In the sudden surge of development, Mohammed trained as a lawyer. By the Noughties, he had climbed to the head of the Jurists' Association, an organisation set up to press for Dubai's laws to be consistent with international human rights legislation. And then – suddenly – Mohammed thwacked into the limits of Sheikh Mohammed's tolerance. Horrified by the "system of slavery" his country was being built on, he spoke out to Human Rights Watch and the BBC. "So I was hauled in by the secret police and told: shut up, or you will lose you job, and your children will be unemployable," he says. "But how could I be silent?" He was stripped of his lawyer's licence and his passport – becoming yet another person imprisoned in this country. "I have been blacklisted and so have my children. The newspapers are not allowed to write about me." Why is the state so keen to defend this system of slavery? He offers a prosaic explanation. "Most companies are owned by the government, so they oppose human rights laws because it will reduce their profit margins. It's in their interests that the workers are slaves." Last time there was a depression, there was a starbust of democracy in Dubai, seized by force from the sheikhs. In the 1930s, the city's merchants banded together against Sheikh Said bin Maktum al-Maktum – the absolute ruler of his day – and insisted they be given control over the state finances. It lasted only a few years, before the Sheikh – with the enthusiastic support of the British – snuffed them out. And today? Sheikh Mohammed turned Dubai into Creditopolis, a city built entirely on debt. Dubai owes 107 percent of its entire GDP. It would be bust already, if the neighbouring oil-soaked state of Abu Dhabi hadn't pulled out its chequebook. Mohammed says this will constrict freedom even further. "Now Abu Dhabi calls the tunes – and they are much more conservative and restrictive than even Dubai. Freedom here will diminish every day." Already, new media laws have been drafted forbidding the press to report on anything that could "damage" Dubai or "its economy". Is this why the newspapers are giving away glossy supplements talking about "encouraging economic indicators"? Everybody here waves Islamism as the threat somewhere over the horizon, sure to swell if their advice is not followed. Today, every imam is appointed by the government, and every sermon is tightly controlled to keep it moderate. But Mohammed says anxiously: "We don't have Islamism here now, but I think that if you control people and give them no way to express anger, it could rise. People who are told to shut up all the time can just explode." Later that day, against another identikit-corporate backdrop, I meet another dissident – Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, Professor of Political Science at Emirates University. His anger focuses not on political reform, but the erosion of Emirati identity. He is famous among the locals, a rare outspoken conductor for their anger. He says somberly: "There has been a rupture here. This is a totally different city to the one I was born in 50 years ago." He looks around at the shiny floors and Western tourists and says: "What we see now didn't occur in our wildest dreams. We never thought we could be such a success, a trendsetter, a model for other Arab countries. The people of Dubai are mighty proud of their city, and rightly so. And yet..." He shakes his head. "In our hearts, we fear we have built a modern city but we are losing it to all these expats." Adbulkhaleq says every Emirati of his generation lives with a "psychological trauma." Their hearts are divided – "between pride on one side, and fear on the other." Just after he says this, a smiling waitress approaches, and asks us what we would like to drink. He orders a Coke. VI. Dubai Pride There is one group in Dubai for whom the rhetoric of sudden freedom and liberation rings true – but it is the very group the government wanted to liberate least: gays. Beneath a famous international hotel, I clamber down into possibly the only gay club on the Saudi Arabian peninsula. I find a United Nations of tank-tops and bulging biceps, dancing to Kylie, dropping ecstasy, and partying like it's Soho. "Dubai is the best place in the Muslim world for gays!" a 25-year old Emirati with spiked hair says, his arms wrapped around his 31-year old "husband". "We are alive. We can meet. That is more than most Arab gays." It is illegal to be gay in Dubai, and punishable by 10 years in prison. But the locations of the latest unofficial gay clubs circulate online, and men flock there, seemingly unafraid of the police. "They might bust the club, but they will just disperse us," one of them says. "The police have other things to do." In every large city, gay people find a way to find each other – but Dubai has become the clearing-house for the region's homosexuals, a place where they can live in relative safety. Saleh, a lean private in the Saudi Arabian army, has come here for the Coldplay concert, and tells me Dubai is "great" for gays: "In Saudi, it's hard to be straight when you're young. The women are shut away so everyone has gay sex. But they only want to have sex with boys – 15- to 21-year-olds. I'm 27, so I'm too old now. I need to find real gays, so this is the best place. All Arab gays want to live in Dubai." With that, Saleh dances off across the dancefloor, towards a Dutch guy with big biceps and a big smile. VII. The Lifestyle All the guidebooks call Dubai a "melting pot", but as I trawl across the city, I find that every group here huddles together in its own little ethnic enclave – and becomes a caricature of itself. One night – in the heart of this homesick city, tired of the malls and the camps – I go to Double Decker, a hang-out for British expats. At the entrance there is a red telephone box, and London bus-stop signs. Its wooden interior looks like a cross between a colonial clubhouse in the Raj and an Eighties school disco, with blinking coloured lights and cheese blaring out. As I enter, a girl in a short skirt collapses out of the door onto her back. A guy wearing a pirate hat helps her to her feet, dropping his beer bottle with a paralytic laugh. I start to talk to two sun-dried women in their sixties who have been getting gently sozzled since midday. "You stay here for The Lifestyle," they say, telling me to take a seat and order some more drinks. All the expats talk about The Lifestyle, but when you ask what it is, they become vague. Ann Wark tries to summarise it: "Here, you go out every night. You'd never do that back home. You see people all the time. It's great. You have lots of free time. You have maids and staff so you don't have to do all that stuff. You party!" They have been in Dubai for 20 years, and they are happy to explain how the city works. "You've got a hierarchy, haven't you?" Ann says. "It's the Emiratis at the top, then I'd say the British and other Westerners. Then I suppose it's the Filipinos, because they've got a bit more brains than the Indians. Then at the bottom you've got the Indians and all them lot." They admit, however, they have "never" spoken to an Emirati. Never? "No. They keep themselves to themselves." Yet Dubai has disappointed them. Jules Taylor tells me: "If you have an accident here it's a nightmare. There was a British woman we knew who ran over an Indian guy, and she was locked up for four days! If you have a tiny bit of alcohol on your breath they're all over you. These Indians throw themselves in front of cars, because then their family has to be given blood money – you know, compensation. But the police just blame us. That poor woman." A 24-year-old British woman called Hannah Gamble takes a break from the dancefloor to talk to me. "I love the sun and the beach! It's great out here!" she says. Is there anything bad? "Oh yes!" she says. Ah: one of them has noticed, I think with relief. "The banks! When you want to make a transfer you have to fax them. You can't do it online." Anything else? She thinks hard. "The traffic's not very good." When I ask the British expats how they feel to not be in a democracy, their reaction is always the same. First, they look bemused. Then they look affronted. "It's the Arab way!" an Essex boy shouts at me in response, as he tries to put a pair of comedy antlers on his head while pouring some beer into the mouth of his friend, who is lying on his back on the floor, gurning. Later, in a hotel bar, I start chatting to a dyspeptic expat American who works in the cosmetics industry and is desperate to get away from these people. She says: "All the people who couldn't succeed in their own countries end up here, and suddenly they're rich and promoted way above their abilities and bragging about how great they are. I've never met so many incompetent people in such senior positions anywhere in the world." She adds: "It's absolutely racist. I had Filipino girls working for me doing the same job as a European girl, and she's paid a quarter of the wages. The people who do the real work are paid next to nothing, while these incompetent managers pay themselves £40,000 a month." With the exception of her, one theme unites every expat I speak to: their joy at having staff to do the work that would clog their lives up Back Home. Everyone, it seems, has a maid. The maids used to be predominantly Filipino, but with the recession, Filipinos have been judged to be too expensive, so a nice Ethiopian servant girl is the latest fashionable accessory. It is an open secret that once you hire a maid, you have absolute power over her. You take her passport – everyone does; you decide when to pay her, and when – if ever – she can take a break; and you decide who she talks to. She speaks no Arabic. She cannot escape. In a Burger King, a Filipino girl tells me it is "terrifying" for her to wander the malls in Dubai because Filipino maids or nannies always sneak away from the family they are with and beg her for help. "They say – 'Please, I am being held prisoner, they don't let me call home, they make me work every waking hour seven days a week.' At first I would say – my God, I will tell the consulate, where are you staying? But they never know their address, and the consulate isn't interested. I avoid them now. I keep thinking about a woman who told me she hadn't eaten any fruit in four years. They think I have power because I can walk around on my own, but I'm powerless." The only hostel for women in Dubai – a filthy private villa on the brink of being repossessed – is filled with escaped maids. Mela Matari, a 25-year-old Ethiopian woman with a drooping smile, tells me what happened to her – and thousands like her. She was promised a paradise in the sands by an agency, so she left her four year-old daughter at home and headed here to earn money for a better future. "But they paid me half what they promised. I was put with an Australian family – four children – and Madam made me work from 6am to 1am every day, with no day off. I was exhausted and pleaded for a break, but they just shouted: 'You came here to work, not sleep!' Then one day I just couldn't go on, and Madam beat me. She beat me with her fists and kicked me. My ear still hurts. They wouldn't give me my wages: they said they'd pay me at the end of the two years. What could I do? I didn't know anybody here. I was terrified." One day, after yet another beating, Mela ran out onto the streets, and asked – in broken English – how to find the Ethiopian consulate. After walking for two days, she found it, but they told her she had to get her passport back from Madam. "Well, how could I?" she asks. She has been in this hostel for six months. She has spoken to her daughter twice. "I lost my country, I lost my daughter, I lost everything," she says. As she says this, I remember a stray sentence I heard back at Double Decker. I asked a British woman called Hermione Frayling what the best thing about Dubai was. "Oh, the servant class!" she trilled. "You do nothing. They'll do anything!" VIII. The End of The World The World is empty. It has been abandoned, its continents unfinished. Through binoculars, I think I can glimpse Britain; this sceptred isle barren in the salt-breeze. Here, off the coast of Dubai, developers have been rebuilding the world. They have constructed artificial islands in the shape of all planet Earth's land masses, and they plan to sell each continent off to be built on. There were rumours that the Beckhams would bid for Britain. But the people who work at the nearby coast say they haven't seen anybody there for months now. "The World is over," a South African suggests. All over Dubai, crazy projects that were Under Construction are now Under Collapse. They were building an air-conditioned beach here, with cooling pipes running below the sand, so the super-rich didn't singe their toes on their way from towel to sea. The projects completed just before the global economy crashed look empty and tattered. The Atlantis Hotel was launched last winter in a $20m fin-de-siecle party attended by Robert De Niro, Lindsay Lohan and Lily Allen. Sitting on its own fake island – shaped, of course, like a palm tree – it looks like an immense upturned tooth in a faintly decaying mouth. It is pink and turreted – the architecture of the pharaohs, as reimagined by Zsa-Zsa Gabor. Its Grand Lobby is a monumental dome covered in glitterballs, held up by eight monumental concrete palm trees. Standing in the middle, there is a giant shining glass structure that looks like the intestines of every guest who has ever stayed at the Atlantis. It is unexpectedly raining; water is leaking from the roof, and tiles are falling off. A South African PR girl shows me around its most coveted rooms, explaining that this is "the greatest luxury offered in the world". We stroll past shops selling £24m diamond rings around a hotel themed on the lost and sunken continent of, yes, Atlantis. There are huge water tanks filled with sharks, which poke around mock-abandoned castles and dumped submarines. There are more than 1,500 rooms here, each with a sea view. The Neptune suite has three floors, and – I gasp as I see it – it looks out directly on to the vast shark tank. You lie on the bed, and the sharks stare in at you. In Dubai, you can sleep with the fishes, and survive. But even the luxury – reminiscent of a Bond villain's lair – is also being abandoned. I check myself in for a few nights to the classiest hotel in town, the Park Hyatt. It is the fashionistas' favourite hotel, where Elle Macpherson and Tommy Hilfiger stay, a gorgeous, understated palace. It feels empty. Whenever I eat, I am one of the only people in the restaurant. A staff member tells me in a whisper: "It used to be full here. Now there's hardly anyone." Rattling around, I feel like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, the last man in an abandoned, haunted home. The most famous hotel in Dubai – the proud icon of the city – is the Burj al Arab hotel, sitting on the shore, shaped like a giant glass sailing boat. In the lobby, I start chatting to a couple from London who work in the City. They have been coming to Dubai for 10 years now, and they say they love it. "You never know what you'll find here," he says. "On our last trip, at the beginning of the holiday, our window looked out on the sea. By the end, they'd built an entire island there." My patience frayed by all this excess, I find myself snapping: doesn't the omnipresent slave class bother you? I hope they misunderstood me, because the woman replied: "That's what we come for! It's great, you can't do anything for yourself!" Her husband chimes in: "When you go to the toilet, they open the door, they turn on the tap – the only thing they don't do is take it out for you when you have a piss!" And they both fall about laughing. IX. Taking on the Desert Dubai is not just a city living beyond its financial means; it is living beyond its ecological means. You stand on a manicured Dubai lawn and watch the sprinklers spray water all around you. You see tourists flocking to swim with dolphins. You wander into a mountain-sized freezer where they have built a ski slope with real snow. And a voice at the back of your head squeaks: this is the desert. This is the most water-stressed place on the planet. How can this be happening? How is it possible? The very earth is trying to repel Dubai, to dry it up and blow it away. The new Tiger Woods Gold Course needs four million gallons of water to be pumped on to its grounds every day, or it would simply shrivel and disappear on the winds. The city is regularly washed over with dust-storms that fog up the skies and turn the skyline into a blur. When the dust parts, heat burns through. It cooks anything that is not kept constantly, artificially wet. Dr Mohammed Raouf, the environmental director of the Gulf Research Centre, sounds sombre as he sits in his Dubai office and warns: "This is a desert area, and we are trying to defy its environment. It is very unwise. If you take on the desert, you will lose." Sheikh Maktoum built his showcase city in a place with no useable water. None. There is no surface water, very little acquifer, and among the lowest rainfall in the world. So Dubai drinks the sea. The Emirates' water is stripped of salt in vast desalination plants around the Gulf – making it the most expensive water on earth. It costs more than petrol to produce, and belches vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as it goes. It's the main reason why a resident of Dubai has the biggest average carbon footprint of any human being – more than double that of an American. If a recession turns into depression, Dr Raouf believes Dubai could run out of water. "At the moment, we have financial reserves that cover bringing so much water to the middle of the desert. But if we had lower revenues – if, say, the world shifts to a source of energy other than oil..." he shakes his head. "We will have a very big problem. Water is the main source of life. It would be a catastrophe. Dubai only has enough water to last us a week. There's almost no storage. We don't know what will happen if our supplies falter. It would be hard to survive." Global warming, he adds, makes the problem even worse. "We are building all these artificial islands, but if the sea level rises, they will be gone, and we will lose a lot. Developers keep saying it's all fine, they've taken it into consideration, but I'm not so sure." Is the Dubai government concerned about any of this? "There isn't much interest in these problems," he says sadly. But just to stand still, the average resident of Dubai needs three times more water than the average human. In the looming century of water stresses and a transition away from fossil fuels, Dubai is uniquely vulnerable. I wanted to understand how the government of Dubai will react, so I decided to look at how it has dealt with an environmental problem that already exists – the pollution of its beaches. One woman – an American, working at one of the big hotels – had written in a lot of online forums arguing that it was bad and getting worse, so I called her to arrange a meeting. "I can't talk to you," she said sternly. Not even if it's off the record? "I can't talk to you." But I don't have to disclose your name... "You're not listening. This phone is bugged. I can't talk to you," she snapped, and hung up. The next day I turned up at her office. "If you reveal my identity, I'll be sent on the first plane out of this city," she said, before beginning to nervously pace the shore with me. "It started like this. We began to get complaints from people using the beach. The water looked and smelled odd, and they were starting to get sick after going into it. So I wrote to the ministers of health and tourism and expected to hear back immediately – but there was nothing. Silence. I hand-delivered the letters. Still nothing." The water quality got worse and worse. The guests started to spot raw sewage, condoms, and used sanitary towels floating in the sea. So the hotel ordered its own water analyses from a professional company. "They told us it was full of fecal matter and bacteria 'too numerous to count'. I had to start telling guests not to go in the water, and since they'd come on a beach holiday, as you can imagine, they were pretty pissed off." She began to make angry posts on the expat discussion forums – and people began to figure out what was happening. Dubai had expanded so fast its sewage treatment facilities couldn't keep up. The sewage disposal trucks had to queue for three or four days at the treatment plants – so instead, they were simply drilling open the manholes and dumping the untreated sewage down them, so it flowed straight to the sea. Suddenly, it was an open secret – and the municipal authorities finally acknowledged the problem. They said they would fine the truckers. But the water quality didn't improve: it became black and stank. "It's got chemicals in it. I don't know what they are. But this stuff is toxic." She continued to complain – and started to receive anonymous phone calls. "Stop embarassing Dubai, or your visa will be cancelled and you're out," they said. She says: "The expats are terrified to talk about anything. One critical comment in the newspapers and they deport you. So what am I supposed to do? Now the water is worse than ever. People are getting really sick. Eye infections, ear infections, stomach infections, rashes. Look at it!" There is faeces floating on the beach, in the shadow of one of Dubai's most famous hotels. "What I learnt about Dubai is that the authorities don't give a toss about the environment," she says, standing in the stench. "They're pumping toxins into the sea, their main tourist attraction, for God's sake. If there are environmental problems in the future, I can tell you now how they will deal with them – deny it's happening, cover it up, and carry on until it's a total disaster." As she speaks, a dust-storm blows around us, as the desert tries, slowly, insistently, to take back its land. X. Fake Plastic Trees On my final night in the Dubai Disneyland, I stop off on my way to the airport, at a Pizza Hut that sits at the side of one of the city's endless, wide, gaping roads. It is identical to the one near my apartment in London in every respect, even the vomit-coloured decor. My mind is whirring and distracted. Perhaps Dubai disturbed me so much, I am thinking, because here, the entire global supply chain is condensed. Many of my goods are made by semi-enslaved populations desperate for a chance 2,000 miles away; is the only difference that here, they are merely two miles away, and you sometimes get to glimpse their faces? Dubai is Market Fundamentalist Globalisation in One City. I ask the Filipino girl behind the counter if she likes it here. "It's OK," she says cautiously. Really? I say. I can't stand it. She sighs with relief and says: "This is the most terrible place! I hate it! I was here for months before I realised – everything in Dubai is fake. Everything you see. The trees are fake, the workers' contracts are fake, the islands are fake, the smiles are fake – even the water is fake!" But she is trapped, she says. She got into debt to come here, and she is stuck for three years: an old story now. "I think Dubai is like an oasis. It is an illusion, not real. You think you have seen water in the distance, but you get close and you only get a mouthful of sand." As she says this, another customer enters. She forces her face into the broad, empty Dubai smile and says: "And how may I help you tonight, sir?" Some names in this article have been changed.

So, what did you think of it ? Let me and other FFFs know below.

daftdiana

Sodwee — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:20:53 +0000

music-daft-punk-12116

Sodwee — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:21:07 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #75 / Daft Diana - Massive Fear - Justice - Sharon Jones

Sodwee — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:40:04 +0000

You spin me right round with all your requests people ! I've been on the look out for killer mashups lately and I think I have found some pretty cool material for your bored ears. I know that it has been a while since I uploaded some stuff too, please forgive me. Today's line up is a mix of kick ass oldies blended in with some more recent stuff. Perfect example of a good mashup would be that A-MA-ZING mix called Daft Diana. Upside Down vox over Da Funk instru-MENTAL ! Or even that mash between Dead Or Alive's "Spin Me Right Round" and Justice international chart topper : D.A.N.C.E. It's a killer and you should really get your ghettoblaster out for a good listen ! We also have a surprise from one of my favourite soul/blues singer at the moment, Sharon Jones and her Band The Dap-Kings came up with a brilliant cover of Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done For Me Lately". It's just HUGE! And finally a loungy mash that will fit your afternoon Gin & Tonic sessions with mates : Massive Attack mashed with Lily Allen's "Fear". No being a big fan of the rich Chavette myself, I relayed the track to the bottom of the list. But was eager to share just because it's a genius idea to mash it with the brilliant Trip-Hop band from Bristol.

[download id="129"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Daft_Diana_DD_Mash.mp3]
[download id="130"] | DOWNLOAD OR DIE in agonising pain [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/DANCE_Like_a_Record.mp3]
[download id="131"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Massive_Fear.mp3]
[download id="132"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/What_Have_You_Done_For_Me_Lately_Janet_Jackson_cover.mp3]

051218-m-3944z-001

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:17:15 +0000

mapoverlay

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:24:47 +0000

airboyreaders

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:43:40 +0000

THANK YOU readers...

Sodwee — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:45:26 +0000

I think it was time for me to thank my readers. Without visitors and growing popularity this blog wouldn't exist or last as long. 366 blog entries later, I'm still here enjoying sharing some valuable information, my rants, some cool music and my cheap looking videos. I love maintaining websites as you may discovered. But having thousands log on everyday is what makes it so special for me. Aside from the blog, I have received an incredible amount of emails and thought I'd share some of it with you guys. Thanks to Gmail, I'm able to store all these nicely ! In no particular order, sorry if I haven't included everyone, but somehow, my fingers get tired of copy and paste manoeuvers.... Also to give you a rough idea of who visits the blog, I took a screen capture of my visitors map. It's pretty much all over the place : And since the 1st of January 2009 we have topped 160,000 pageviews, over 40,000 visitors. You guys spend on average 3 minutes and 19 seconds on the blog. Most of you come back between 9 to 14 times and 53% of all visitors are new ones ! Can't be happier with those results ! I also follow the successful Emirates joiners when they send me their updates (thinking of Louis, Rihanna, Britney and many others), it's always a pleasure ! Thanks again for your loyalty and now onto these funny emails :

From Anna : hello AIRBOY.. just wanted to say THIS WEBSITE IS THE BEST WEBSITE i ever seen... its unbelievable its amazing...wow i love this website and with your help you have given me hope to apply for cabin crew jobs..!! just wanted to THANK you for taking your time to help everyone and ME..and give advice and so much more i wish you all the best and many thanks again ANNA

From MacevedoFab : Dear Airboy, First i would like to congratulate you for your blog its really cool and interesting. Could you do a story about the new terminaal which has been opened in the dubai airport? I would really like to know your opinion about that . hope to hear from you soon. Bye.

From Paolo : Hi Airboy, first of all congratulations for your blog... it's very useful for people like me who will move to Dubai. Thanks.

From Shari : Hi Airboy ! [...] Thanks very much for your time and this blog !

From Isa : Ciao Airboy! I love checking on your site. It is awesome wherein I can learn a lot of things with the in and outs of aviation life. However, when you mentioned about day-off..how often do you get it? Do you also enjoy a week off in a month?Just a curious me, hope to hear from you soon! Keep up the airboy rules! =)

From Alex : Hi there mate, I really like your blog..very interesting, i think it's very helpful for all CC wannabes. I wanted to ask you a quick question regarding tattoos. I'm headhing to the final interview in about one month. I have a small kanji tattoo on my upper forearm (almost close to the elbow, probably 1.5cm on each side) and also a tattoo on my calf (right in the middle of the knee and ankle). Do you think this may be of any problem? I'm really afraid of resigning to my current job and then getting rejected in Dubai!! Please let me know! Thanks again and congratulations for the blog! Alex

From Casey : Hey mate, Just wanted to write a quick messege to say congrats to such a great site you've created. So entertaining and informative. I'm joining Etihad, from Brisbane, in 9 days and will of course get to Dubai as I have a few mates from Australia there with Emirates.

From Britney : hi, name is Britney and im moving to dubai in less than 2 weeks to work for emirates.. Been really nervous about the whole move... Friend of mine last night told me about your blog. Looks amazing and its actually made me even more excited to come over now. Its also relieved the nerves about coming over too :) Nice website, good work

From Joao : Hey airboy! Before starting let me give you my most sincere CONGRATULATIONS!!Your blog is outgrageous ....you deserve every person who visits .. your ability to innovate, to let us release a spontanously big laugh with your comments, to impress us with your mad montages of video, your kindness to share with us your wild aventures around the world, your great music and the extremely useful information content......surprise me to each comment i read!! I am a Portuguese and your future co-worker ....At 20 February i'm going to the greatest adventure of my life!(you know how its the feeling,don't you!?) your blog helped me to get to know the environment around Emirates,Dubai and the friendship that you all have....and of course to becoming increasingly anxious with the turnaround that my life is going to have!! I am a faithful reader of your blog .. but .. . only now i decide to send message,just because i don't have much to said, unless i'm an Airboy blog's fan and a future member of 'Emirates family' ( as thousands of people said to you!)...so... I hope to met you or work with you trough any skies of this world....!! Keep up with the good work as i keep as faithful reader!!! See ya!!

From Stephen : Hi Ben It is with great interest that I follow your blog and your musings, I feel inspired to leave my airline and join the glamorous shindigs over there in the Sandpit! Cheers.

From Krizia : hi! i have read your blog and i must say that you're really helping a lot of cabin crew aspirants, i salute you for that. anyway, i have an assessment here in new york this saturday, any tips? thank you.

From Markus : Hy Sodwee, Well you got us hooked and by us I mean me and my boss. We can't work without listening to your posted mix Al Ghadeer 003 from DJ Rafa Ferrero any more. I tried to download it from your page several times but after 10 to 20min. the download ends. Is there a way I can get hold of the entire mix? I want to keep on listening to that mix outside of my office and so does my boss. And are there some more mixes from that very gifted DJ around? Best wishes from Zurich, Have a nice weekend wherever you may fly... ;) PS: I enjoy reading your posts a lot. Am an ex flightie and was in service for 6 years with swiss intl. airlines.

From Rick : Hi Ben have been an avid follower of your postings since comming across airboy at new year. Gotta thank you for your postings at the time as they helped immensely when there was so little other information. Your web site is excellent and a great read. Loved the whole Mauritius thing as my wife was born there and we hope to make it back some time soon. Would have liked to shout you a drink the next time you were down to count sheep in Christchurch but they have swapped this to a turn around so who knows--maybe one day as SLF regards

From Paolo again : hey airboy! I finally managed to come here... just finished SEP yesterday... and i live in 21st century too!! just to thank you for all tips in your website.. see you in the swimming pool as soon as they'll open it!!!

From Sacha : i've stumbbled across your blog. and your super rad!! i want to work for Emirates too!!! I'm only 20 right now. i have applied online. i don't speak another language other than English but I'm thinking of taking a Spanish course. is it necessary ? are there any other courses i should take... first aid?

From Sakti : to mr.sodwee you don't know me but i'm one of your blog reader i read your blog for quite a while and all of your story are very interesting it makes us actually feel like we are in the story itself.your blog makes me wanna become a c.crew and your blog also trigger my girlfriend to become a cabin crew and she follows all of your advice from the blog and it really helps her a lot.as the result she is working for an airlines as a c.crew now. your story a really amazing its like a magic.i don't know why but its just amazing. anyways thanks and keep writing your blog and i think you will be able to publish a book or even a movie about your life...

From Esme : Arriving to Dubai next 30th for start with Emirates, full of doubts and half frightened but happier since I read aaaaalll the amazing information you leave on your blog. See you in the air. Take care. Kisses from Spain.

From Mounia : Hey Airboy! I am an Emirates cabin crew wannabe, 21 years old girl, and probably one of the many people who must ask you tons of questions about the position... Well, first, just wanted to say: great blog!! the best cabin crew blog I've seen so far (and trust me, I probably know them all by now!!)

From Paula : Hi Sodwee! How are you? I found you here on Facebook and thought I could send you a message... You cannot imagine how helpful is the information you give in your blog!!! Thank you very much for your advice...

From Rihanna : Hey hope you don't mind me adding you, I'm a follower of your blog, and also dreaming of working for EK, I made it through the final interview 2 weeks ago and waiting impatiently for a reply, they told me 1 o 3 weeks...so will see...

From Yelena : I know this is random and you prolly think I've got nothing better to do (which is wrong, I do have other things to do! Jajaja!) but yeah, I think you have an awesome and unusual blog. Just wanted you to know that! :) Besides you, another captivating blogger would be Melissa. That lass mesmerized me by her writings! Now, you can safely ignore this message and smile 'cuz someone in another side of the world reads your blog and hopes that you'll continue writing it :) Wherever you are right now, safe trip and have a wicked one! Toodles!

From Musa : Thanks again, man, you are the best, hope to chat more in the coming days and hopefully meet you in Dubai! Shukran, Musa x

From Ghadeer : hello. your blog is great and i'm really thankful for ur time and effort :) my name is ghadeer. [...] i do appreciate your help and thankful there is people like ur self :) wish to hear from you soon ...

From Carlos : Hey, I found your blog searching for useful information on how to successfully apply for a job as cabin crew for Emirates (there is an open day in my city in 3 weeks). Wish me luck! Take care, Carlos

From Edgar : Hi Sodwee, I read your blog site and found it to be very informative(the one containing info on how to become an emirates flight attendant),all the info that took me some time to put together trough a lot of research is all in one piece !

From Wai-ling : hey! no worries, thanks for answering the question, i'd really appreciate it. your blog.. yeah of course your blogs are always interesting to read,that is when i have the time to read it. but keep it up. It's good to write blogs. p.s oh yeah that's what the B stands for!.. Ben lol

From Danielle : Sodwee Thanks so much for your help. Keep posting pictures and info on the blog, very interesting. Maybe we'll run into each other in Dubai!

From Marcos : Hey mate, greets from Paraguay. I just wanted to say thank you for adding me. I was reading your blog some time ago since I'm very interested in applying for a job (cabin crew) with Emirates airlines. I found your blog very useful, specially the FAQ about EK, and the joining process as well. I might havesome questions about it, but I don't want to bother you now. I know that you must be busy travelling. So, maybe for next time. Thanks again, and be cool! Cheers! Marcos.

From Misaki : hi! nice to c u. i'm misaki and one reader of ur blog AIRBOY. there r lots of interests in ur blog cause i am a one of the applicant for cabin crew in EK. now i just finished the final intervew last month. and have been waiting the offer from EK(>_<)

From Simone : Hi Sodwee, I came across your blog as I researched the idea I have been entertaining of returning to flying. I flew for UAL for five years (D.C. and Frankfurt base) and returned to school to finish a second degree after 9/11. From what I read, you are enjoying your experience. I think the opportunity of getting all that youthful energy out of your system to see the world is truly a blessing. Many people spend their 20s stuck in an office, only to retire and wonder what happened to their lives. Keep up the great work with your blog. If you ever head to Miami, I will be happy to show you around town. Merci et a bientot, Simone

From Max : Hello!, I´m Max from Argentina, you don´t know me, but I read your post about Emirates assesment days , and it was great for me..haha, because I went last saturday to the interview with emirates and I passed all the stages, so.. i´m waiting the e-mai to confirm that i´ve been accepted. well that´s all and i hope that you enjoy be part of emirates, Thanks again for your advices. PS: your blog is very cool! bye. MAX

From Sonja : I love reading your blog, since I'm still waiting to hear from Emirates *sigh* I might as well live the dream through your eyes! keep flying, keep writing and keep smiling.... it's all SO worth it!

From Maria : I read the blog you had on the internet before flying to dubai lol can't believe your airboy haha !

Thanks for pouring in everyday ! If you wanna go a little further into my day-to-day routine, you can add me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, signup for the newsletter (in the right hand side column) or if you have any kind of question, you can send me a message ! Peace out homedogs ! PS, before I go, I'd also like to pay a tribute to those champions who send a significant amount of traffic daily :

An Englishman in Dubai

The Flying Pinto

Deon Does Dubai

Ah ! Libanesa !

Another Flight Attendant Blog

Blurker No More

Carine in the SandPit!

Emerson Gibin

FA community

Fly Leo

Girl On Tour

Going For it !

I Only fly First !

In Case Of Emergency

Kanagringa

Marlon at 35,000 feet

Melissa’s Flight Attendant Blog

Mitchjet

My view from 30000ft

Pink Poodle On The Runway

Sky High Boy

The Uptown Life

dogtagairboy

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:20:26 +0000

barbie-bootcamp

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:36:06 +0000

barbiebootcamppng

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:36:20 +0000

douggie

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:54:05 +0000

emirates-boing-simulator

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:54:25 +0000

Barbie BOOTCAMP

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:14:48 +0000

It comes round every 10 months. It's a right pain for your brain. But pain that is necessary if you want to earn money. Because without, well, you're screwed. Before I go anywhere else with what a recurrent training in Safety & Emergency Procedures (SEP) is actually about, I must give credit to Heather Poole for coming up with the expression "Barbie Bootcamp" because that's what it is. Glossed up, high-maintenance women testing their skills at opening a heavy door and being absolute neurotics during a planned emergency. So every year or so, we have to freshen up our knowledge on SEP. Meaning our company must, under GCAA and IATA guidelines, test us on our abilities to evacuate, attend a first response case and so forth. This will determine if we are fit to fly for the next 10 months. We will be doing scenarios in the simulators, have written exams here and there, will have to demonstrate a full CPR (Cardio-Pulmonary Rescucitation) in front of a examinator. The process takes two whole, loooooong days and is usually filled with stress, sweat and little sleep. The 2 weeks prior to those two days are usually very intense (for my case it seems to be that way). Little sleep, a lot of studying and an very odd impression that nothing, absolutely nothing is going into my head at all. Thank god we have the SEP challenges (web-based self-assessment on all things SEP) on our portal so studying is a little easier on the nerves. It's basically a quiz with thousands of questions ! In the past week I scored pretty much everytime ! So I think I'm kinda set on the questions I might get on the actual exam. As for CPR, I need to practice with a cushion or go to one of their training modules as soon as I come back from Nice (yes I'm blogging from France). The amount of information we have to digest is incredible. It's insane. From every piece of loose eauipment onboard the different types of aircraft to the exact number of passengers we can fit on a raft at a specific door or even the differences between Airbus & Boeing aircraft is just mind-blowing. There's just so much to take on, I really don't know where to start ! I've been at it all through my brilliant Nice layover and getting uber-fed up with it at this point ! We have to learn 3 different types of aircraft and by far the Airbus ones are the hardest for me. These french engineers have no brains at all ! Where's their logic ? I have no idea but these guys were high at the time, I'm pretty sure ! At times I'm thinking of moving over to the Airbus 380 so I only have one aircraft type to worry about, but just seeing the Airbus way of doing things, it just sets me right back. I just hope I'll be ok and pass these two days. We'll also have a refresher on Hijacking procedures, Dangerous Goods, Bombs and everything nightmare-ish that could happen up there at 38,000 ft. I'm also quite looking for it, because we'll get to see our old batchmates from the very beginning. Share some gossip and have some laughs hopefully. I already know I'll be with Szilvia, good times ! Otherwise, my reserve month is starting just after SEP. So I won't know where I'll be heading to in May. All I know for sure is that I'll be moving out of Blue Building and, fingers crossed, be relocated to Al Barsha in a swanky new flat with two new Flatmates (more on that when it actually happens). It will be quite a busy month. That's all from me here in Nice, France. Hope you are well. Peace out fools !

twitterlogo

Sodwee — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:30:00 +0000

airboydoestwitter

Sodwee — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:08:46 +0000

logotwitterlarge

Sodwee — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:08:48 +0000

Airboy Does TWITTER, and likes it...

Sodwee — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:16:49 +0000

[UPDATE] : We have introduced a sleak new feature. Fellow blog owners will be happy ! Whenever a blogger from the blogroll updates his/her own blog, the blogroll on Airboy will display the latest entry and put it on top of the pile. So everyone gets a fair chance at sucking some of my visitors out ! It's basically like a Blogger™ blogroll. It works wonders ! If you have a blog of your own, you're a frequent reader of Airboy, do not hesitate to send me your link ! I'll be more than happy to LINKlove with you ! It was qualified as a new phenomenom. Tagged "the best thing since Google" and what not. But I didn't really pay attention to this micro-blogging social network until very recently. I also discovered the 'promopower' (I came up with that word, because I like it !) the website can generate. All I need now is a few more followers. I'm also very confused with all the information being shared on their. There's no hierarchy what so ever in how the information feed is delivered which is very unusual for me. After many people told me to join and be an active player (I did have a twitter account before this post, but left it to rot in the corner), I decided to take on yet another platform and establish a following. Let's see how this turns out ! You can, from now on, follow me, and I'll follow you ! Click on the big ass logo below to check out my tweets and profile. I must thank Fahad and Heather for their persuasive arguments... I'm becoming more of an addict especially since I found out I could automatically update my Facebook status with my TWEETS ! Life is just wonderful !

HTTP://WWW.TWITTER.COM/SODWEE

airboydoestwitter

Sodwee — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:35:45 +0000

newyorkevening

Sodwee — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:37:37 +0000

noreserve

Sodwee — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:37:45 +0000

May Roster detailed... I heart Crew Schedz!

Sodwee — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:56:02 +0000

So you've probably guessed where I'll be heading in May ! I didn't expect much from Crew Scheduling this month as I was supposed to get a whole long month of reserve, homecalls and airport standby. None of that, nada, nicht, rien !! I got a full fledged roster with some nice layovers in tow ! Couldn't ask for more ! New York, Shanghai, London, Jo'burg and some turnarounds here and there. And a Nujoum day in the middle of all that ! It's great. I'll be working like a horse thought as I'll be clocking over 100 hours of chock-to-chock. Imagine how many hours that makes of actual duty time ! Well above your usual 9 to 5 !! The only problem this month will be moving out of Blue Building to a yet unknown location. I do not know how the hell I'm gonna manage that. We'll see when time comes. Here's the full roster :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
DXB - SAH - DXB	XX	XX	XX	NJ	DXB - AMM - DXB	rest
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
DXB - PVG	out	PVG - DXB	rest	XX	DXB - DEL - DXB	rest
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - LHR	LHR - DXB	XX	XX	rest	DXB - JFK	out
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
JFK - DXB	XX	XX	rest	DXB - JNB	out	JNB - DXB
29	30	31
rest	DXB - MLE - DXB	XX

NJ stands for Nujoum. A special day offered by Emirates to push our own service boundaries a little further. I think there's sport involved and... well... you know me, not a big fan of sport, especially if I need to break records. In other news, I'm slowly getting ready for my SEP recurrent. Spent a good part of the afternoon at Training College to print some E-learning certificates and some crucial paperwork for the day. Also went for a lonely lunch at Dubai Festival City where I had a pricey Butter Chicken along with a naan. Loved it. Finally, we're getting extremely close to celebrating the 1000th comment posted on Airboy Blog. I will be sending a surprise gift to the person who posts comment number 1000. Please react with a valid email address so I can track you down for your personal details and shipment address. Winner to be announced as soon as we hit 1000 comments ! Happy discussions ! Follow my blog with bloglovin´

homeimg

Sodwee — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:04:56 +0000

Common Flight Attendant problems : Layover Blues.

Sodwee — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:18:06 +0000

I've experienced such state a few times already. Doing circles in my hotel room like a goldfish in bowl. As it might sound funny from the outside, it isn't for the one living it. Living this fast paced life can lead to all sorts of different behaviors and moods you never thought you'd go through. That happened to me when I was in Nice, last week. I practically stayed in the room the entire layover, only getting out for a breath of fresh salty air, as opposed to nicotine and club sandwich leftovers. This "Layover Blues" - didn't find any other words to describe it sorry - can happen anytime anywhere. Having been through it a couple times I can now share the ordeal. Multiple factors come into play. Fatigue plays a huge part, jetlag and low motivation are two other undeniable factors. All three combined with some little minor downsides to your personal life can lead to a very weird attitude. You're wondering why you're in that place, for what reason and suddenly you're struck by this huge force which drives you to your bed, no matter what you had planned for the day, whether you had arranged a meeting with the other crew or planned a nice relaxing afternoon on the pebbled beach (which, in Nice, was 30 metres away). You just so overly tired you fall asleep, pronto. After a few hours... you wake up at unholy hours, craving for food and get genuinely lost in the hotel lobby. Bringing smiles to the concierge and the front desk staff with your hair in a mess, wrinkles all over your clothes, the pillow mark still highly visible across your cheeks and pulling a sweet face that shouts "PISS OFF!!". I'm sure hotel staff that cater for Cabin Crew have seen such behavior before and are accustomed. But what happens when you wonder on the streets of an unknown city, getting stares from the locals ? The answer is, well not much, because you have your beloved iPod playing your favourite music. The music that means something to you and no one else. Tracks that have, at one moment in your life, been tied with a specific event. An event you cannot forget. A good one, a bad one. Doesn't really matter. Once that tune starts playing, your face just softens up and you pull a smile/or a grin. Still people look at you wondering what on earth is this freak doing in my darn city. You ignore. Pleasantly zigzagging the sidewalk completely immersed in your own little cynical world. If you're a complete iPod geek like myself, you'll - no doubts about that - have a special "F*** THE WORLD TWICE OVER & STARE AT IT WHILE IT AGONISES" kinda playlist. Yes, I admit, this is one of my playlist titles. And the tracks inside are all carefully picked to assist in a suicide, if ever the desire to commit one arose, you could do it in style. Now, you're gonna ask, "what are the songs inside that playlist I wonder?". Here's a few of them, in no particular order but YOU MUST GRAB THEM ONE WAY OR ANOTHER because these are classic tunes not to miss, Airboy said so !

Morcheeba - The Sea
Portishead - Glorybox (a 'Layover Blues' must have !)
Ryan Adams - Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)
Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone
MGMT - Time To Pretend
Bonnie Raitt - Love Letter
Led Zeppelin - Tangerine (a live version works best)
The Arctic Monkeys - 505 (best song ever BTW, it tops my most listened list on Last.FM...)
Adele - Chasing Pavements
Corinne Bailey Rae - Like a Star
The White Stripes - Catch Hell Blues
The White Stripes - 300mph Torrential Outpour Blues
The White Stripes - I Fought Pirhannas
The White Stripes - Cold, Cold Night
Bonnie Raitt & John Lee Hooker - I'm In The Mood
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - If This Ain't Love
Missy Elliot & Nicole Ray - All In My Grill
De La Soul - It Ain't All Good
[Insert any Leona Lewis track here]
Amy Winehouse (of course, how could I forget!) - Stronger Than Me (Live with Jools Holland)
Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good
Amy Winehouse - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane remix with Au Revoir Simone)
Amadou & Mariam - Sabali
Team9 vs Stereogum - Good After Time
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
Marvin Gaye - I Heard Through The Grapevine
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
The Last Shadow Puppets - Standing Next To Me
Kanye West ft. Dwele & The Clipse - Flashing Lights
Kanye West - Welcome To Heartbreak
Friendly Fires - White Diamonds

So after listening to all those tracks you aren't dead yet, you can read on. We're going the complete opposite. Some of us love to play around, fool around on layovers. Some of us never heard about "Layover Blues" and one of them would, no questions about that, be Jupiter. One of my readers, who I flew over on his first Emirates flight into Dubai, before he became a Flight Attendant. He likes to call himself HRH Jupiterius on Facebook but we won't follow trends here and just call him by his real name. Which is JUPITER. He spends is time in the air. Literally. Whether he's on the plane or down on earth. What's really interesting with this chap is the capacity he has to make me laugh everytime he comes back from a layover. He never misses an opportunity to take cool pictures. And the most well known pictures he takes are the ones he jumps in. Mister jumped all over the world. Here are a few of those photos. He also likes to wonder around The Forbidden City with a Bart Simpson mask but I won't post those just yet. Please enjoy ! (As for you Jupiter, sorry for stealing your pictures, but they're too good to be shared only with your friends. Please forgive me !) svgallery=jupiter PS : Before I go, let me please remind you that whenever you post a comment in the coming days, you enter the contest to win a surprise gift from me. We're about to celebrate our 1oo0th comment on Airboy and would like to thank you guys for keeping coming in. Daily. Happy reading ! Finally, I can now rest in peace as I've made it on www.gadling.com through Heather Poole's column about people taking pictures of themselves in the aircraft lavatories. You'll see my picture there, after you click wisely...

1000comments

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:18:38 +0000

1000commentslarge

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:50:28 +0000

marcopolo

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:20:33 +0000

winner

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:40:47 +0000

Susan Boyle - Britain's Got Talent - Airboy Blog

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:47:47 +0000

1000 COMMENTS : we have a winner ! Thank you all !

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:48:32 +0000

Hey! It's been tremendous. Almost two years ago I started this whole thingy. Just posting for my friends and family. Keeping them updated with the whole recruitment process and how I managed to join Emirates Airline as a Cabin Crew. Now, look at it today... I wouldn't of thought a second I would be writing entries for that many people around the world. Updating you guys on what seems to be a dream job. I said seems because I don't write about the downsides that much... I have visited so many places since I started. By the end of May I will have covered 45 different cities and 5 continents, met so many cool people (I won't start naming any, just have a look at the pictures... lol). When I take a step back and look at it, all I can think off is how lucky I am to be part of this whole thing. Blogging takes a huge part of my spare time and having such a following is a blessing. It motivates me. Instant feedback through the comments is also a great way for me to improve and write more. Today we celebrate the 1000th comment posted on Airboy and hope we can celebrate 5000 in the coming months. This blog is only interesting for me when people get involved. Helping people get over the Emirates recruitment is also one of the best thing I have done apart from getting myself out of the Pub/Bar industry in Paris (I loved it don't get me wrong, but it's ooooh sooo unhealthy). After all that I'd like to thank all of the commenters, and Steve, I'm not a robot lol, I also have feelings. As you may see in the screencapture I took earlier this morning, I also get a cargo load of spam. And without the best antispam available to date (Akismet) it would be a whole different story for me as I'd have to delete many of them (to date, akismet has protected the blog from 6,039 spam comments). And I just realised that on March 9, 2009, at 7.00pm a whollaping 129 of you logged in at the same time ! Absolutely insane ! Ok, I'm done with the boring speech, let's get down to business. The surprise gift, will remain a surprise until the winner gets it. I don't want to spoil it. I will contact him/her in the next few hours (via email) for their personal details as well as a shipping address. You'll receive the gift within a week or two, depending on how fast a FedEx 747-400 can go. Or if we're out of luck, and FedEx fucks up, you'll have to pick up the piece in Narita, Tokyo (Bad Taste ?? Sorry, cam't help it). So, the winner is : Again, thank you all for taking part in the blog. I appreciate mucho ! You make me laugh on a daily basis ! Also please do not forget to check out all the other Flight Attendant Blogs out there, and I have the best ones for you in the blogroll on the right hand side here... But do so only when you've finished reading this and you have commented ! Ahaha. So I guess I now have to write "M" a lovely email ! More contests like this one will be organized with more exciting prizes to be won ! Stay tuned. Peace out homedogs, I need some sleep now : I'm supposed to be studying SEP tomorrow during the day.... I guess that won't happen and I'll be waking up in time for dinner. OOOh wellll. That was another hilarious day in The Sandpit. Ohh, and I would never compare ANY of my readers to Susan Boyle ! I thought that was a killer picture to illustrate the entry. I've added it below for your personal enjoyment :

ladyhawketop

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:40:26 +0000

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Sodwee — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:06:57 +0000

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Sodwee — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:06:59 +0000

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Sodwee — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:07:10 +0000

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Sodwee — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:41:18 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:31:55 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:00:04 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:00:15 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:12:05 +0000

jetsetbetty

Sodwee — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Emirates New Uniform : Getting my swagger on !

Sodwee — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:41:38 +0000

While every other airline is struggling through what is being dubbed as the worst economic downturn. Emirates had the wise idea of going forward with their makeover. Proving once more that they have the strength to innovate and change even in weak periods. We'll get to know if that was a wise move or not later on. But for now I'll enjoy my little moment in that new uniform. It was in the pipeline since the A380 launch earlier last year. The new uniform as now come to reality for the rest of us on the main fleet. On 7th of June 2009, the entire Cabin Crew team will leave their sky blue shirts, sand beige pants and clogs in their closet and will don the new smart as uniform. We used to look like goofs, now we look smarter, more business like and definately more attractive. I went to CBC (Crew Briefing Center) this morning to empty my mailbox and decided to check my corporate emails at the same time. And holy mahogany ! I had received the long awaited email informing me that my uniform was ready for pick up three floors above. I logged off in a hurry and literally ran to the lifts, got to the third floor and ran the entire width of the building (it's a long run, especially for someone who needs a nutritionist and who's been called "frail" and "fragile" and "obviously underweight"). God only knows how I managed, but I made it in one piece. They managed to mix up the staff numbers and the package numbers of the set I was in but finally called IT (for a uniform !!!???) and picked the right bag. These are the new shoes. And boy do I love'em ! So light compared to the previous clogs we had to wear :

Ran back downstairs for some Coca-Cola (that's to turn my nutritionist into a fit), met Deon and Clauderic (doing some Christmas shopping in the official Emirates store), chatted for a couple of minutes before the urge of having a meal from "Healthy Options" counter struck me (understand tobacco here). Got to plane spot and watch airport staff baking under the hot sun for a while then got bored. Jumped on the bus back home and got to try on that uniform. Trousers need a trim as Jarad suggested, I need smaller waist jackets. So I'll have to go to Emirates Aviation College tomorrow to get them sorted. Until then you can take a peek at what I'll look like on-board. Bear in mind I didn't shave for these pictures. I'm on my days off : who the hell shaves on a day off ??? And before I shoot off. Let me introduce you to JetSetBetty. This special Flight Attendant has some kick ass (and cheap) accessories to decorate your otherwise dull and mistakable luggage/crew bags. Please make sure you stop by ! Click on the logo beneath : Ok folks, that's it for now, I'll go back to singing along to Purple Rain by Prince... Ka (my flatmate) should be in Karachi right now so, as you can imagine, the hi-fi is bloody loud at the moment ! Scaring all the neighbours ! mwouahahahaha !

sinatra-airboy

Sodwee — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:54:17 +0000

welldone

Sodwee — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:15:59 +0000

welldonexl

Sodwee — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:16:04 +0000

Well Done. Update of the last 72 hours

Sodwee — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:54:48 +0000

You probably remember one of my highly entertaining Mauritius trips back last month. We had to deal with something unusual on-board while cruising over the Indian Ocean (ETOPS, meaning far away from any suitable airport to divert to). I cannot give you any details as briefed but upon checking my snail-mail inbox this morning (I had plenty of time to do so, read on to find out why...) I got a postcard from my Manager. A "Well Done" card for being discreet and professional. The message reads :

" To Ben, In recognition of your support and teamwork when forced with unusual circumstances on EK*** on **/**/**. You were discreet and professional ! Thank You & Well Done."

This is the first time I get something from a company for a job well done. Being French, I'm not used to it as it's something you wouldn't get in a million years over in France. It's just not something they do there. You can bring in millions, all they can find to say is : "Bring in billions tomorrow". It's not a custom to reward staff for their hard work. At least in French Management it's not the case. Although things are changing and they're realising that these little affectionate notes can make a difference. It's always good to know management is in the loop. Might the situation be good or bad. I've only met my manager once, just a quick hello in Briefing and that was it. I had Nujoum yesterday. Which is a day dedicated to Cabin Crew. Again can't say much about it because I'll get beheaded if I do so. But building on the success story already achieved by Emirates, they wanted to make sure we did not rest and worked even harder. We recently jumped from the 9th place to the 5th on the Best Airline In The World Skytrax award and they want to be "Outright Number ONE". So basically they send us on a journey to find our goals and how to achieve it. It's all very purple and star shaped. A day and venue specifically design for women. Very Oprah style. At times it felt like being in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory minus the humpa lumpas. Highlight of the day : Maurice & Terry's aerial number... Hovering above our head during lunch in a very Cirque Du Soleil-esque show complete with lighting and loungy music. Today is back to reality. After sleeping from the minute I got back from Nujoum yesterday and waking up this morning at 0400 hours for my turnaround Ammam flight. Got ready and all, got myself nicely shaved and Nujoumed my way to Crew Briefing Center with a mile long smile. Got to the e-gates where we sign-on and realised I completely forgot my Passport at home. That's what minimum rest does to you : you rely on minimum brains. This is a touchy situation to be in cause, not only do you get salary deduction for not reporting for a flight, you also get a phone call from your manager to ask you why or why not. It's the first time I forget something in a year and 2 months. First time I get an Absent. It's not me at all. So I was fuming at myself. I called Duty Controller who wasn't of a big help as predicted and informed Briefing agent that I won't make it in time for the flight. I went back home after checking my snailmail. I took things into my own hands and promptly sent an email to my manager before she actually wakes up to rant about this morning's adventures. I just hope I'm not getting a written/verbal warning... So now I'm back at home watching the sun rise from the living and listening to "It's A Wonderful Life" by Black which is also the music for the new Emirates Arrival Video Pursers play to passengers going into Dubai... Download it below...

[download id="135"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Its_A_Wonderful_Life.mp3]

Geeeez, sometimes I feel I just want to evaporate somewhere. I need to get out of Dubai NOW ! Well that's it from me. Hope you're well, wherever you are. Next trip is Shanghai, can't wait too. Get me outta here !

doesshanghaihome

Sodwee — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:11:59 +0000

airboydoesshanghaixl

Sodwee — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:16:02 +0000

Airboy does Shanghai #2 + VIDEO

Sodwee — Sun, 10 May 2009 04:06:34 +0000

I haven't been on a layover for a hell a long time and going to CBC with a cargo suitcase actually felt good. We were bound for Shanghai in China. The flight over was busy as ever and lasted around 8 hours (chock to chock). I was happy after my string of turnarounds to finally get some time off abroad and getting out of the Sandpit (Dubai) for some time. I was getting uber-fed up with the atmosphere here. Dubai has this aura of getting your feelings down, and this usually occurs when all of your friends are out of town and on a 9 day trip for instance. So I was at home for over a week after my SEP, trying to figure what to do with myself. Did some shopping at Dubai Mall. Where I have since discovered the pricey FRENCH CHOUQUETTES (puff pastry with caramelised suger on the base and big sugar rocks covering the top. It's to die for : especially if a trainee from Kayser's bakery in France is making the treats. I was there twice in 48 hours. Indulging myself with Strawberry Tarts and Chocolate Eclairs. I also gave my debit card a CPR and thankfully recovered from its coma, enabling my pity self to buy two new pairs of sneakers. The rest of the days were spent networking and working on some backlog in emails and general internet reading I like to procrastinate. Back to Shanghai. We arrived at this beautiful hotel and I straight away ordered a Club Sandwich - as you do - because I was craving for good ol' pork and starving from the flight. I'm getting overly sick with the little options we get for food on-board. Unless Business Class is half full and I can pick & mix my meals. But this never happens on asian flights as it seems these people travel a lot more these days. Both the way over and the flight back were chocka, overbooked even. Rendering Business and First class to be fully booked. Now... my last post about a Shanghai trip wasn't very pretty because, first of all I was horribly sick and secondly some of the passengers decided to go on a rampage... This time thought, I was 120%. Mainly because I had a long rest before the flight and was eager to get out of this sand and range rover nonsense we get daily here in Dubai. Although the pax were tough, we managed to get through it quite easily. The worst part on Chinese destination is the language barrier. We do not have any Mandarin/Cantonese speakers on any of the flights because Chinese Customs always denies their own citizens. Seems very odd. But that's how they operate. I laugh whenever I hear that story. The whole flight was spent serving "thuice" to our dear customers, spraying the lavatories with an incredible amount of deodorant/anti-bacterial and offering socks by the dozen.The only relief for me is when I spot a few french speaing passengers. They make me forget the mayhem happening over my shoulders for a minute or two... and they understand totally what we go through as they're sitting right next to the snorting one or the one who dared to take his shoes off...

We explain that we go through this everyday, and they apologize for us. Bless them. Checked into the hotel after a long shuttle through the flat lands of south-eastern China to finally arrive in heaven. It's probably one of my favourite hotel. Clean, modern and service in there is amazing. My Club S. took approximately 14 minutes to be delivered complete with mayonnaise. They kept my preferences records from the last time I was there, so it was nice to see they did not forget that AIRBOY LIKES HIS CLUB SANDWICH WITH MAYO SPILLING OVER EACH AND EVERY SIDE OF THE SANDWICH ! Watched a little National Geographic (Air Crash Investigation) before hitting the sack for my early morning rise and exploration of Shanghai City. Got up at 0800 sharp in order to get ready to hop on the free shuttle service provided by the hotel into downtown Shanghai. It would drop other crew along the way, the ones that wanted Jimmy Cheap handbags and Manolo Blanok shoes. Basically the ones that like haggling. Quite the opposite of my typical day in a city really. So wondered off on my own, iPod blasting kick ass tunes, shades on the nose and power walking along the high-rises. I love these moments ! Shanghai is pretty much like Dubai, a vast construction site except greener and some sort of culture behind it all. Some kind of soul. Felt less of a Ghost Town. People were actually walking down the streets, selling all sorts of stuff. From thongs to cocoa doughnuts. Smells filled the air and the town was heaving like I'd never seen a town busy like this before. The amazing weather helped greatly I think. It was 30 degrees celsius all day, humidity at 15% and not a cloud to be seen. I actually caught some burn of the tip of the nose and forehead. Getting smiles from passengers on the way back... So from the drop-off point I went all the way down to The Pearl TV Tower. You have probably seen that one before on postcards or holiday brochures. It's that ugly looking thing, with huge balls hanging high above the city. I decided to go to the top. And this was the mistake of the day. Although the views were fantastic, the crowd in there wasn't. I had just slept off a crowded flight the previous day and mistakenly thought it wouldn't be busy at this time in the morning. And ohh boy was I wrong. The place was mayhem, people pushin' and shuvin' to get to the elevators. I was stuck in the waiting lines making love to a sea of identical suncaps and very short people. My head high enough to catch some precious oxygen. I was surprised to see only Chinese tourists and very few westerners (also wondering what they had put themselves into). Thankfully, the ride up to the top was short enough but will always remember that woman talking to her family with a mouth full of digestives buiscuits, firing a gunload of sticky crumbs over me. Towering at 320 metres above the ground I snapped a few pictures before getting an overdose of the shouting and loud people in there. Before I went down, though, I like checking out the skywalk: It was breathtaking. Glass floors, looking 300 metres down. As I stepped onto the clear surface, my heart started to accelerate, I was shaking but soon got myself into control in order to take pictures I could share (here, see below). As soon as I checked that off the list, I ran backdown to open air and civilized behaviors. svgallery=PVG1 By that time, the heat was starting to get less bearable, so headed towards the mucky river. Walked for a few 100 metres before I saw an Hagen Daaz outlet. And you've guessed it, I stopped for a Cookies & Cream + Vanilla Pecan mix topped with pieces of chocolate. Could not have been a better pitstop, lounging on the terrace with The Bund straight opposite and the barges passing by. I had planned my day quite wisely, cause I had to sleep before the red-eye back to the middle east. Managed to fit in some more sightseeing. Headed to Yu Gardens where parts of the Old City were restored and turned into a shopping district. The place was packed again, but I felt more at ease, mixing with the crowds and enjoying the sun, the smells of grilled chix and green tea. I love Chinese culture, and the architecture just inspires me a lot. Thus the very large number of pictures (I'm sorry in advance for the time it takes to load...). I got some cool papercut artwork, some green tea for Mother & Father and walked more. This time heading to a garden, relaxing time. Beautiful bamboo gardens with the hustle and bustle of the town in the background. svgallery=PVG2 Before heading back for my pick up, and I was starting to feel the pain in my feet. But, decided to check out a temple. Don't ask me the name or where it was, because I was completely lost and just happened to pass by. Got in after paying 10 RMB and just saw the most amazing procession of people praying to all sorts of statues and sayings printed on silk and walls. The funniest part of this - apart from the headbanging of the whole crowd - was that female foreigner I spotted in the crowd (you'll see on the pictures, she's dressed in white with two camera around her neck). She joined the hundreds in their ritual, and I bet 100 dihrams she did not have a clue of the meaning of all this and just thought it was cool to blend in with the others. She did get awkward looks from the locals and I did tape her headbanging. She had also bought offerings from the stall (smoking sticks) to make her freakish behavior a little more convincing. I might be completely wrong and assumed she wasn't part of this religious procession, but when I saw her join the rest of her American tour group, my assumptions seemed to have proven right once more ! It was a funny sight ! The place filled with smoke in no time as the people yanked smoke sticks into the burning fire. Loved it, and was pleased with myself as I didn't expect any of this at all. Definately something to do ! svgallery=PVG3 After checking out the temple I started my quest to find a taxi that would take me back to my pick up point. And it was difficult to say the least. Either they didn't want to take me where I wanted to go, either they didn't want to speak to me in English or even sped up as I was waving them down. I felt like a total noob on the side of that busy crossroad. Waving away like an absolut idiot not making any progress overtime. Finally I managed to force myself into a cab and honestly begged the driver to take me back because my time was ticking away and my planned siesta was getting shorter by the second. In between begging and showing the hotel card with the address, I slipped a "Xie Xie" (Thank You in Mandarin) for good measure. Ensuring my safe and timely return to the hotel. My original plan was to tour the city in a 1930's sidecar but time and money came into play and couldn't find the place where they startded their tour from. For next time hopefully. More info on this here : www.shanghaisideways.com All in all, this was a great layover, the crew were fun which made the flights entertaining to say the least. A video is in the works, will upload it as soon as I finish editing it. Will let you know of course. That's all folks for now, I'm off to bed now because it's getting early in the morning, 8 o'clock already ! Speak to you soon. The next trip will be Delhi then New York ! Woot Woot !

mickytop

Sodwee — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:45:27 +0000

emirateshq

Sodwee — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:07:23 +0000

emirateshqlarge

Sodwee — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:07:31 +0000

Efficient and Proactive!

Sodwee — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:15:31 +0000

Hey peeps. I thought Id blog my day as I have been extemely proactive today. Efficient to say the least ! Got back from my Delhi turnaround yesterday. Got some real nice passengers and some a-holes, most notably 20D calling me a racist for no relevant reason. I was shocked and let the purser deal with the situation as it could have easily turned ugly. She left the aircraft apologizing for her insults... I guess she realized she was over-reacting due to......erm... lets call it hypoxia. Anyway, this incident left a bitter aftertaste of that particular destination, thankfully it was short and was able to brush that incident quite quickly afterwards. Went to bed very early yesterday so I good catch up on things today. I was long overdue on the packing and shipping of Ms 1000th comment surprise and can now say that it is on its way to Canada. Sorry for the long wait M... Secondly I needed to fix some aesthetics issues with my uniform, and being the good employee that I am, decided to head to the Uniform Store for a change of sizes and some adjustments on the pants. As predicted non of that happened and came back home with the same bloody oversized shirts, waist-jackets and pants. Before I left the uniform store I thought I would make a "one stone, two birds" kinda action and managed to get my self kitted out with boxes for my upcoming move. They let me go behind the counter to choose from a wide range of boxes (including one for Ms gift). I'm now fully prepared to move out this ruin of a building. Finally, I went to Accommodation Dept. at EGHQ (Emirates HeadQuarters) for some information regarding the move. And believe or not, I managed to squeeze some very essential information. I now know which building I will be moving to, and most importantly, with whom. Very good news indeed as I was praying the lords to avoid ending up at the end of the runway of Dubai Airport. So my mind is now at rest. All I have to think about now is sleep. I need to rest before my London Deathrow tonight at 2am. I should be visiting some new fancy restaurant owned and managed by some old pals from my Pub/Bar years in Paris. It should be fun ! Oh, and before I go, Big UP to Ozlem, finally I meet a reader in my favourite grocery store ! I was in desperate need of washing powder and there she was, head in the refrigerator looking for tomatoes ! Ahahaha !

cabincrewlhr

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:25:41 +0000

lhrdrunk

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:25:45 +0000

drunkxl

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:05:55 +0000

Drunk : Broken Record Technique.

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:09:44 +0000

Ok this post will be quite short as nothing exciting happened whilst I was in London. I pretty much overslept and caught up with some much needed sleep. The hotel was the crappiest thing ever. They had put me up in the basement of the hotel. Everything in the hotel looked soooo cheap. Emirates is known for putting it's crew in decent hotels but this one is far from it. My room was below ground level, my window was overlooking the pavement and busy road into London Heathrow Airport. The corridors stunk big time and the food was mesmerisingly disgusting. I will not mention the name of the hotel. But let me tell you, the Marriott a few meters further is a better option ! Now. The best part of the layover was definately both the flight there and the one back. Usually LHRs are busy as hell, in all cabins, leaving us as fresh as expired maquerels... We end using our layover to recover and get some rest before the almighty leg back to the sandpit. The problem on many UK destination is not the general passenger profile or the destination in itself. It is the high probability of having overly intoxicated passengers who become a nuisance for passengers around them and harrass the crew every so often for a drink they really don't need. Most airports in the UK have pubs and bars in every lounge making it difficult for passengers to resist to their sins. I understand they might want a drink or two before a flight to wind down after the security screenings and all the stress of the check in but that doesn't mean we, as trapped cabin crew at 39,000 ft above sea level, have to deal with such individuals. We have other shit to deal with. We rely on ground staff to spot and deny access to the aircraft to whoever is apparently drunk and may cause a riot. Unfortunately, it is way too common to see that UK airports have slacked quite a fair bit on that matter. Therefor, leaving us to deal with a potentially dangerous situation for the aircraft itself, for us as Cabin Crew and ultimately for the passengers safety. So. We had two drunk passengeres on the way over. A loud, verbally abusive brit claiming to be extremely anxious and acting like a twat for half the flight before falling flat on the floor and sleeping amongst the used paper tissues, the dirty blankets and other smelling feet. It's a beautiful sight I can tell you! At least he fell asleep but didn't miss on being a right ass of himself. Putting on a show for the rest of the cabin during boarding and after take-off. The second specimen we had was a Saudi man who was supposedly going for surgery on his kidney and getting it replaced. But that didn't fly very high with us as soon as we saw him down beers like he'd never drank one before, asking for more and more and more. The funny thing with drunk passengers is to see to which extent they will go to grab a drink from us. Like we do not communicate between crew, they'll try and charm a naive looking Korean crew and get a drink from them.... until they try at opening cart and bars themselves. That's when it becomes dangerous. At that point we had to nearly carry him to his seat and buckle him down. He was getting loud and other passengers were getting fed up with him. We moved is seat neighbour away so he could sleep it off. That was the best move we made. He slept for the rest of the flight ! The whole trip went crescendo, the last and funniest drunk pax was a middle-aged man travelling with his son. He drank a lot of alcohol before the flight and managed to pass our radar. It's just after take-0ff that things went down the wrong path. This particular passenger had his son with him. And ohhh dear did I feel sorry for that little 9 year old chap. Coming down to the galley to apologize on behalf of his father. He too finally went to sleep after coming down the galley to play with the carts and slow down our preps for the service. He was kindly pushed back to his seat. I laughed out loud when, upon disembarking the aircraft, I saw in a distance, his familiar face. The guy was collecting a lot of Emirates Inflight magazine and carrying them out. By the time he got out of the cabin, the man had nearly 20 of them piled up in his hands. To other passengers disbelief. He finally left them to the crew in charge at the door. The common point between all these passengers is the way we managed to deal with them. We used the Broken Record Technique of which I learned in DRUNK CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT CRASH COURSE while I was working for the pubs back in Paris. All you have to do is repeat the same thing over and over again until the guy gets uber-bored with you. Ask them to follow you wherever you want them to be (they always follow if you ask them, it's kinda weird). Repeat the same shit over again and finally they will cooperate/just leave. It worked pretty well for these three. And to finish off, here some Jetiquette you must follow :

Appreciate your own personal space and others will appreciate yours — 46 per cent of passengers hate people encroaching on their space. Stretching your legs out, widening your arms above your neighbours' head and generally fidgeting will do little to endear you to your fellow flyers. Try to get comfortable at the beginning of the flight. While sitting, flex your wrists, neck and ankles at regular intervals, and during toilet breaks take the opportunity to fully stretch.
Saucy canoodling under the blankets is out. No one else wants to watch your passionate embraces and 28 per cent of passengers actually complain about couples making out on flights. Besides, if you get carried away you could find yourself in court.
Don't tell your life story to the person next to you. Small talk is OK but bores are a bugbear for 12 per cent of travellers. Keep it polite and chatty but remember that silence is golden.
If you are listening to a CD player keep the volume down to a level where only you can hear it. The only thing more irritating than loud music is tinny music played through someone else's headphones. It's a pain for 10 per cent of holiday-makers.
Don't shout at friends and family across the aisle of the plane. It might be the only holiday you get all year and you are excused for being excited. But it doesn't mean you have to deafen the person next to you by yelling at the rest of your party. More than four per cent of people who fly gave it as a major annoyance.

Next trip in New York ! Not expecting much of the flight but hope the layover will be good !

Join the Laviators Club ! NEW SNAPS !

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:16:13 +0000

Following on Heather Poole's latest venture, we'd like to see your mile high headshot and add them to our collection ! All you need to do is take a picture of yourself in the lavatories of any aircraft and send me the picture (You can use the form available here. Here are some of Heather's collection (including mine). The best one so far has to be this one :

Check out the gallery below and send yours!

svgallery=laviators Si if you have what it takes to join the Mile High Headshot Club, take a snap, and send it my way ! Creativity is most welcome. Pictures courtesy of Gadling - Galley Gossip by Heather Poole

laviators

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:20:03 +0000

UNOFFICIAL Laviators Club

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:35:03 +0000

Flying soon ? Got a digital camera ? Fancy joining the all new Laviators Club ? Get yourself in the LAVS OF FAME, take a picture and send it to me via the form below. I'll add your picture here... See other entries below : svgallery=laviators

[contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

lavpic

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 11:46:32 +0000

topright

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:38:45 +0000

laviatorsunite

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:49:41 +0000

laviators

Sodwee — Sun, 17 May 2009 22:15:39 +0000

dubaidancingfountain

Sodwee — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:05:22 +0000

pathetic

Sodwee — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:05:25 +0000

Dubai Dancing Fountain at Burj Downtown Dubai

Sodwee — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:41:48 +0000

Before anything, I'd like to invite you to download 4 amazing tunes part of DOWNLOADABLES #77. They're all killer tracks. Special mention for that Mashup of Get It On In The 80's which is a mix of T.rex and Calvin Harris. The song has been on repeat ever since I found it ! The others are worth a good listen too ! Go ahead and click on the backside of the 1980 Lamborghini Countach (left) to download ! Hey ! It's one of these days where you have no other option than make a run for the "world's largest mall". When you have an urge for French Chouquettes hardly describable and you're eager to see what the "world's largest dancing fountain" has to offer. I had updated my facebook status according to my intentions and soon after, received a text from Clauderic - another blogger here in the sandpit - wanting to kill his boredom in any way possible. And who better suited to break boredom than Airboy himself ??? NOOOT ! So told him to crash around mine before we taxied our way over Sheikh Zayed Road into the Dubai Mall. I usually go by myself to malls. But this time thought it would be nice to share my love for French Chouquette and amazing patisseries with a Canadia raised citizen (those are the ones who pride themselves with Poutine, which is French Fries, a lot of melted cheese and gravy to spice things up a notch.... ahhhhhhhhhhhh). So we conquered the maze like layout of the place to finally get my Holy Grail. Spent quite some time discussing crew behavior patterns, accommodation issues and blogging. I went for my favourite, a simple strawberry tart with creme patissiere as Clauderic ploughed through his Chocolate Eclair. I think I converted him to Chouquettes for the rest of his life ! I'm on a mission here. I will take as many people to this specific bakery because they make jaw-dropping bread. Their croissant is to die for too! Too many good things around to actually think sanely I say ! I was surprised when Clauderic told me he hadn't seen Downtown Burj Dubai behind the mall itself. Just like me when I discovered there was a whole world beyond IKEA at Dubai Festival City... So we ventured out to check if the fountains worked today. And they did. As soon as we stepped outside in the suffocating heat, the show was about to start. Steam magically appearing from the water surface to announce what was to come next : An impressive water show spoiled by a very gusty wind and poor musical taste. It looked absolutely pathetic. Mind you, that was during the day, I guess it's just another thing in the evening when all the lights go on and stuff but seeing it during the day completely ruined my expectations. First of all, the wind. I guess some people need to think a little more when planning for a highly expensive water feature. This darn thang cost around 800 million dhs to build (I'm talking about the foutain itself and not the surrounding neighbourhood), but these morons didn't think the wind would be a major factor in the attraction's success. We both stood on the bridge that leads to the arabian styled souk on the other side of the lake and waited there until the show began. We made an awful mistake ! As soon as water jetted out of the nozzles, some gusty winds came swooshing over the lake and took 22,000 gallons of water on it's path, splashed the on-lookers aswell as the locals in their dish-dashas and abayas (above the law, but not above mother nature !). It was a complete mess by the time the feature stopped. Leaving passers by drenched in water wondering what just happened to them. Clauderic and myself reacted swiftly and got shelter under the patio roof. Secondly, the music. I could not help but laugh as soon as I saw the little fountains wiggle around to the arabic themed music. Visions of very bad giant belly dancers came to mind straight away, dressed complete with silk scarfs and light bells hangin' from their belt. I would have loved to see - especially knowing how much they dished out for the fountain - a killer/well known DJ master the background music. Something edgy, something avant-garde. Something that could of raised this technical feat into a work of pure art. But it wasn't the case. It turns out to be everything but arty. In fact I'll dub it tacky (that's my point of view, other might think differently). Finally, the setting. The fountain is amongst unfinished buildings, a ghost town and a staggering number of ugly yellow cranes. Why not launch the whole Downtown Dubai when everything is bloody finished and rock'n'rolling ?? Seems a good option. Rather than launch something half way through the construction. It's like opening your christmas presents on the 5th of June you know.... And for those who'd like to see the thing in action, here's a decent video shot from a balcony (available in HD too) :

Anyway, I'm probably over stating much of my arguments and playing the complete ignorant and cynical dumb ass but I will not take away the fact that IT IS IMPRESSIVE. Seeing so much water pushed into the air, loud bangs of pressurized air and just the choreography of it all. But please, whatever you do, go see that when the sun has gone. Otherwise you'll be disappointed. Other noteworthy news would be the opening of Galerie Lafayette in Dubai Mall. Nothing much to add, it looks like any other department store. I thought they'd do something a little more special since the building in Paris is a classic work of architecture. But no, they kept the boring side of things, as you do in Dubai, and went for a sanitized clinical look for the store. We strolled through at a rapid pace before I was annoyed and started to get bored. We stayed in there for approximately 6 minutes. I had a good day after all. Nice to chat with Clauderic (or Rihanna as you wish to call him!). That's about it peeps. Hope you're well. I'll be off to ZINC tonight as any other Monday and then sleep because I have a JFK flight tomorrow night. Hope all goes well. Hope the drunk will remain off the aircraft and that I will get the 2nd rest ! Oh... and a before I leave you, please take a look at this funny video :

airboymusicsmall

Sodwee — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:25:52 +0000

Live from ZINC

Sodwee — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:00:57 +0000

Oli & Holly (strange huh ?) at zinc tonight. Live. This is my first attempt at LIVE BLOGGING. I'm still strugglinh with the phone keyboard. This is Oli and Holly. This was taken a few moments ago from our second home.

loriwidget

Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:51:46 +0000

toplav

Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:57:30 +0000

toplav1

Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:01:08 +0000

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Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:03:37 +0000

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Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:21:01 +0000

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Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:23:38 +0000

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Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:28:26 +0000

loriwidget1

Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:28:29 +0000

enterlavs

Sodwee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:46:18 +0000

Live from Aquaventure!

Sodwee — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:02:58 +0000

Ladies taking in the sun. Landed in DXB at 8. Shuttled to atlantis straight from airport. Enjoying the hot hot sun! Met alfredo in JFK airport. More on that later on! Cool pictures to come. Peace out homedogs...

laviatortopot

Sodwee — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:26:07 +0000

americanapparelairboy

Sodwee — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:01:48 +0000

airboynyc

Sodwee — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:28:25 +0000

aquaventuredubaiairboy

Sodwee — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:52:01 +0000

Airboy does New York & Aquaventure in Dubai

Sodwee — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:56:37 +0000

Ohh man, where do I start ? This was to be a reserve month with unknown destination building up to a shitty roster. But faith had it differently. I was bound for New York, the Big Apple, The Center Of The World. I was desperate to go. I packed everything I needed : camera, laptop, snazzz sneakers, some cool as jeans, my MOJO and I was set. The flight over was a complete delight. Unusual for a Dubai - New York pairing. We were manning a 777-200 with 8 of us crew down in economy. Just a breeze really flying through the services like ever had I witnessed before. The trothing was over in less than 45 minutes because we only had around 125 passengers where we could of served 216. So our breaks in the Crew Rest Compartments were subsequently longer than usual. Making up for the fatigue kicking in. We left Dubai at 2am. Not ideal really. But the fact we were to get in JFK by 8 in the morning there was just a relief. That shattered as soon as we hit the endless customs and immigration procedures. There bloody off the hook there. PARANOID to death. I will spare my swearwords. One of our crew, a lebanese, had to go through a complete background check that took quite a long time. He said we could go to the hotel without him. Emirates had to dish out some cab money !! AHahah. The shuttle over to Downtown Brooklyn was taking for ever. The bus driver decided to take the backroads and avoid the highway. The punk did not realise it was rush hour and getting through heavy dense traffic with a bus isn't easy. After nearle 1 hour and half in the bus, we finally made it to our crashpad. 24 hours "rest" for two flights over 12 hours isn't enough. Clocking around 30 hours of duty within 2 days is not good for your body. But we FAs are fighters. Time zones, flights, airport, fatigue is something we deal with daily, and get used to fairly quickly. I had to make a hard decision. Either take a shower and venture out straight away or crash into bed and never wake up. The first option got the better odds. Especially when the weather out there was amazing. Around 27 degrees (perfect) and no clouds. Blue skies and beatiful people ! Wondered smiling towards the concierge. I needed to know where the nearest American Apparel (we'll carry on calling it AA or Amap for the rest of the blog) so I could fix my need of fitted tees and baseball jerseys. I got that and more. The store was located on 112 Court Street, extremely close to the hotel. Ended up buying some gifts there, a funky bag and some white tee-shirt for the upcoming new uniform (yes we have to wear white tee-shirts beneath our shirts). I spent a hell a long time in there and my card didn't like it at all ! I love this store dearly. You get in there greeted with funky music. This is probably the main reason I stayed in there for so long. Then there's all these colors !! Colors every-bloomin'-where ! And finally because the tee-shirt actually fit my frame quite nicely. When all the other outlets do tees for bodybuilders, Amap goes rock'n'roll and does tees for the average "underweight" as per Emirates. That checked off the list of things to do in New York, I walked along Atlantic Avenue for a while and then headed towards Brooklyn Bridge and into Lower Manhattan. I walked practically all day. I loved it. iPod, cool tunes and sunshine can't be beaten. Saw Ground Zero which wasn't as impressive and I previously thought it would be. I then decided to walk all aound the quayside and checked out Century 21 shopping store. Nothing interesting in there. I love New York. It has the same vibe as Paris in the summer. Kinda laid back but busy enough to wake you up from time to time. For example when you nearly get run over by a taxi. It happens in New York, it happens in Paris. Only the language of the curse from the cabby slightly differs. People seem genuinely open in New York. Open and nice with a smile. I do not know if it's the same in Winter but the atmosphere of that city definately got something outta of my tired brain: I was smiling after a 13 hour flight and no sleep ! svgallery=newyork2 Got back to the hotel at around 5 in the afternoon and went straight to bed until wake up call the next day at 8am. Slept like a baby. Was on top form to go back to Dubai. I didn't mention the crew ! We had Sonia from France who I already flew with on our Jo'Burg trip and Andre who joined Emirates just after me and is a reader of the blog ! He says hello by the way ! We had an almighty laugh onboard. Fooling around with pretty much anything that we came across. Shooting out jokes here and there and laughed around with passengers ! We also had Ashley, Yuko and Aayan who I flew with on my previous London trip. So all around I already knew quite a few people so it made it even more fun ! So on our way to the aircraft, we have to go through security as any other passenger would. Stripping down to our bares for the security screening. And they're bloody anal in JFK. Everything HAS to go through to X-ray. You might aswell jump on the belt and process your entire self through the fackin' machine ! Got through without too many beeps and gathered my stuff on the other side. By the time I had put my shoes and belt back on, Andre (who I mentioned earlier) had been approached by a Pilot waiting in uniform for his flight. He asked Andre if he was Sodwee. Andre was a bit confused but suddenly realised that the pilot was actually looking for me, Airboy ! He then pointed my direction and all I saw from where I was coming from is the big mile long SMILE on Alfredo's face (the pilot). I was wondering why he was looking at me. I didn't expect anyone to look for me. Let alone in JFK airport ! Turns out I was completely wrong. "Alfredo from Ecuador" then congratulated me for posting good music on the blog and told me he especially liked the latest four tracks part of DOWNLOADABLES #77. He also told me while he was reading that I was in New York and was to leave at the same time as he... in the same terminal. So looked out for me when he saw the RED HATS (unmistakable female item worn by female Emirates Crew) floating around. I can tell you. It's a frickin' good feeling to have some random person, that you have never seen before, come up to you and say "Hey Sodwee ! Bad ass music you have". Yet satisfying it felt kind of weird, but ohh so funny in the end. "Alfredo from Ecuador" made my day ! I had to go because we were holding a pre-flight brief and couldn't stay too long to chat. I later on forgot to take a picture of us both. Nevermind ! Next time lol ! The way back was a little more stressful, we were flying a brand new 777-300, with a GCAA or DGCA (aviation authorities) inspector onboard. He was here to check on our knowledge. So briefing was a little tense with the purser asking tough(er) questions than usual including cockpit checklists and stuff. In the end. The inspector never came to ask questions. He was too busy with our award winning entertainment system ! Anyway, the flight back was equally easy and fun. Glad the main fleet still has some cool dudes around ! I took the second rest for this leg because I knew I would be busy once back in Dubai. And I was damn right ! We landed at 8 in the morning and Nivine (french friend here) called me to force me to come to the free open day for Facecard holders at the Aquaventure Park in Atlantis Resort on the man-made Palm island. So it was 9 a clock, virtually one hour after I had landed that I was already on the go to that fun day out in the blistering sun and heat of Dubai. svgallery=aquaventure We had a great day there, catching up with all the other cabin crew we knew. Here are some pictures to give you a feel of the day. Of course the whole thing finished at ZINC late at night and me with no sleep at all. I basically had breakfast in New York. Worked over Groenland, Europe and Turkey. Suntanned in Dubai and finally had dinner at home ! Bloody busy day. I was knackered. Finally, please yourselves with the video. Soundtrack is the Cut Copy remix of Ladyhawke's "Paris Is Burning". Featured for download a couple weeks ago on Airboy Blog !

In other noteworthy news... M has received the gift he won as part of the 1000th comment contest. The package was sent a little late because I had trouble finding a big enough cardboard box to put the picture frame and mouse pad along with newspaper to secure it. The artwork in the frame is a Tiger made out of very thin black paper. It was an actual nightmare to frame it because it's so light it wouldn't stay in place. I got it from Shanghai when I was there last. I would also like to welcome two new LAVIATORS to the club, Lori (who's an FA for Virgin Atlantic) and Alex who was forced to take a picture by his girlfriend ! You too, can join the LAVS OF FAME and enter history in the making as we try to collect as many pictures from people in aircraft lavatories along with Heather Poole from Gadling. CLICK HERE to send me your picture and see other Laviators, creativity prevails ! I'm now chilling at home, catching up on some much needed sleep. And eating like a pig. Peace out fools !

m-gift-airboy

Sodwee — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:54:24 +0000

newlaviators

Sodwee — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:05:24 +0000

Airboy does New York video [not-so-webworthy version]

Sodwee — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:26:28 +0000

Dear FFFs (Faaaboooosh Frequent Flyers). It's been a long time, I know. But with the recession hitting and the money becoming a little more precious I couldn't afford as many amenities as previously mentioned. But Airboy Airlines and it's award-winning First Class service would like to offer you the extended version of Airboy Does New York video with exclusive footage of your favourite Hostie on the carts, walking ar ound with a silver tray and fooling around with chocolate and petit-fours in Business Class. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the video only you - my tender loving passengers - can see. To take full advantage of this service, we need to make sure you're a valued member of our program. All you need to do is type "boomboompow" in the field of the video in lowercase with no spaces.

dl78

Sodwee — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:50:51 +0000

dl78home

Sodwee — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:58:19 +0000

postlavs

Sodwee — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:35:52 +0000

toplavs

Sodwee — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:35:54 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:45:51 +0000

wtfml

Sodwee — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:10:25 +0000

HOTEL GOSSIP. WTFML. TWO NEW LAVIATORS

Sodwee — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:14:37 +0000

Hey guys. I'm relieved I got off this return flight alive. And that is being honest. I spent the past 8 hours walking up and down the aisles with absolutely not a second for myself and my poor little weak legs. I did not sit once in 8 hours. That's how bad the flight was. It all started at the hotel. Why are South Africans hotel staff so bitterly rude ? I checked out from the hotel with not a single Thank You from the staff nor a Good Bye. And I consider myself a well brought up dude who will happily say thank you or good bye to anyone. It didn't fail at the front desk in front of these two cows. I said Thank You and Good Bye. What did I get in return ?? I got a rude look and no answer. If you're staying in Jo'burg guys, please avoid Holiday Inn at all costs ! It will save you a lot of hassle. Trust me. But that's not all. I was eager to get some sleep after a tiring flight over. Got my beloved DND (Do Not Disturb) sign hooked on the door knob and thought I'd have a peaceful night. I was wrong. At around 8pm (note that it's dark at that time, the sun went down), a hard/loud knock on the door waked me up. Being the nice guy, I get up, dress up and open the door to a housekeeping lady. She looks at me and says bluntly : "Are your windows clean ?" I reply confused : "my windows ?? I don't know"... she continues : "Yes sir YOUR windows... are they clean ?" I loose it and say : "Will all the due respect ma'am, MY WINDOWS are the least of my worries when I want to go to sleep after an 8 hour flight". She says "I need to clean your windows". I say : "No you're don't, I'm going to sleep and you're going back downstairs with your spray and tell your supervisor to clean windows when guest ARE NOT IN THE BEDROOM". She lets a "pffffff" go and upon hearing that, I close the door. Go back to bed surprised and kinda guilty. Next thing you know, another knock wakes me up. A housekeeping manager at the door : "Hows your stay Sir ?" again no hello, no excuse us or anything from the polite vocabulary field to be heard. I say, "My stay is getting worse ma'am, so if you could please leave me alone and tell your staff that 5-3-9 is a "no go" that would be awesome because I need some sleep and I'd be the happiest guest in your hotel if that happened". She gives a one of those looks and turns 180 degrees on her heels and walks off. I slam the door shut and finally go to bed. Wake up the next morning for check out and here I am paying for the room service I ordered. They did not have enough change in the tills and are trying to haggle they way through with me. I did not say a word and waited for the full change. The front desk girl is obviously annoyed with me not leaving the counter, but I was going to stay there until I got every penny I was due. After the very poor service I received the previous evening, there was no way I would give'em a single copper. I did say thank you and good bye, again, to no response. Instead got a bad look. The start of my day wasn't kicking off on a good note. But I was pleased to hear the cabin would be a light load. As did my other colleagues... we didn't expect what we went through for 8 hours. We had the worst passengers ever, and we agreed on that numerous times during the flight. Every minutes unfolding was worse than the previous one. We normally are troopers. We take anything from customers, insults, spit, groping. You name it, we have it, and we deal with it the Emirates way. But this flight we got everything except the spitting. Pushing us to the tipping point. It all commenced with a family of 27, yes you heard it right, 27 individuals coming back from Jo'burg on their way to New Delhi. They, of course and as predicted, all had different special meals. To add to the usual trick, they all swapped seats without notifying any of the crew they did so. Leaving us the joy of finding out where mother with Jain Meal was, where daughter with Kid Meal was, and so forth until we reach a point where, we absolutely lost it. Trying to complete the special meal puzzle with a family of 27 is a feat in itself. Now add to that all the complaints from father who constantly is on your back asking for HIS asian veg meal and aunty screaming through the cabin to grand-father is something where any human being would drop the trays and say enough, open the door, and jump. Period. But we stuck to it finding peace of mind with all the rest of the passengers around looking at us with their eyes popping out. That same family took the pleasure in bothering each and every crew during the service to the other passengers. Asking for unrealistic requests. Asking for an incredible amount of drinks. They basically ran over us. These people should be banned from flying all together. They thought they had to plane and the crew to themselves slaving us away and got the other passengers very angry by doing so. To one point where we had to agree between crew to now prioritse ALL our efforts on the other passengers and forget about this abnormal smala. And to no surprise, the other passengers felt left down because of that and them too started complaining on how long the service took. We explained ourselves and finally got things to calm down. I can honestly and safely say we DID NOT SIT DOWN a single second (apart for take-off and landing). We were completely exhausted and at the end of the roll. Thankfully a handfull of passengers were extremely nice and acknowledged the fact we actually do work our asses off and gave us praise. These passengers got the golden service from all our crew. Because they simply deserved it. A simple thank you or please makes a huge difference on the service you will get, an eye contact will also get you a long way with your Flight Attendant. Sadly these little gesture are rarely found from our passengers and being representatives of a company we have to complete any request by a passenger whether we get a please, a smile, a grunt or a grope. Sad isn't it !?? Being on a plane, you observe behaviors, you understand how people work and act. And like it or not, I have observed trends amongst passenger profiles. It easy for me and other FAs out there to know right from boarding who is going to be a real pain and who's going to be the nicest pax. Thank God I got back home. I'm now enjoying the last Heineken from the frigde and chillaxing with good tunes. On a more happy note, the LAVIATORS CLUB is getting bigger ! We have TWO new laviators who just joined the LAVS OF FAME. Alexander and Carlita : You too can join the LAVIATORS CLUB, send you pictures via the form below : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"] Finally, take the time to download the two lates tracks while bandwith lasts ! I have more to come ! The two tracks are of course and as always DOWNLOAD OR DIE. One of them is a brilliant remix of Lykke Li's "Breaking It Up" and the second is a killer rework on Kid Cudi's "Day n' Nite" chart topper. Click on the cover art to download : Ok peeps I'm now officially looking forward for a holiday. I will be heading to Paris for 8 days. Time to chill. This month has been full on from the start and I'm in desperate need of rest before we start again in June. My roster is not too bad, Will give you full details in a few moments, once I get my head round the swapping duties. It looks like June will be a busy month : New Uniform, New Destinations, New Flat ! Stay tuned !

bangladesh

Sodwee — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:54:37 +0000

dhaka

Sodwee — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:54:42 +0000

June Roster Detailed (to be updated)

Sodwee — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:06:10 +0000

Hey peeps. I got my roster for the month of June and I'm liking it. Taking into account that I'm bottom bid I only got one lonely turnaround. Bombay that is. As every month really, not a surprise. The highlight for me this month would be the layover in Bangladesh. Dhaka more precisely. I'm so looking forward to that trip just because my grandmother and grandfather spent 6 weeks there and told me amazing stories about it. Can't wait to mix with the people in the heaving streets. Maybe ride a rickshaw and so some fun stuff. Also in the month of June are two London Gatwick which apparently seem to be less of a burden compared to any other LHR I've had before. And who knows, I might even be able to check out The Kensington Wine Rooms in Notting Hill. Finally a Kuala Lumpur with no other than Manu the crazy pilipino and Fardiana ! Should be a fun trip ! Can't think of anything special to do there apart from shopping, so if you have any travel tips for KUL or special places to check out, please go ahead and leave me a comment below ! I read ALL of the comments as I have to approve them before they go live, so I won't miss out ! The roster below might change as the swapping is still going strong. Will notify you of any changes of course. Here's the full detailed roster :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
hols	XX	DXB - BOM - DXB	XX	DXB - LGW	out	LGW - DXB
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
XX	DXB - DAC	DAC - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - BHX	out
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
BHX - DXB	XX	DXB - LGW	out	LGW - DXB	XX	DXB - KUL
29	30	--
KUL - DXB	XX

lavacross

Sodwee — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:57:22 +0000

lavtoptop

Sodwee — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:58:48 +0000

They too LAVIATED ! Join the club today fool !

Sodwee — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:11:32 +0000

Two new submissions for the LAVIATORS CLUB. This time Oli and Oz on their way back from the Taj Mahal in Dehli decided to make history and take a snap in this Airbus Lav from Dehli to Dubai : Maybe you want to join ? There's nothing easier ! A little imagination will take you far. Grab your camera, sneak it into the lavs along with your favourite tabloid and get crazy in there ! The funnier the better ! There's a bunch of props on hand, for free, to play around with. Seat covers, tissues, sick bags, tooth brushes... just to give you ideas... Then head over to the LAVIATORS CLUB and send me your picture or fill out the form below. Here are all the laviators so far : svgallery=laviators Already got a picture of yourself locked in the cleanest of all LAVS ? Send it to me now using this form : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

laviatorlogo

Sodwee — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:13:13 +0000

Live from the boarding gate.

Sodwee — Sun, 31 May 2009 10:14:26 +0000

Off to paris in a few minutes. Thats our 777-200 : my baby!

picture-1

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:03:17 +0000

picture-2

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:48:05 +0000

Air France AF 447 Rio - CDG / Paris Update + MP3 !

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:56:05 +0000

First of all, my deepest thoughts go to the families and friends of those affected by the tragedy that occured over the Atlantic ocean on Sunday night. It's a cold reminder of how things can turn ugly in a matter of seconds. Until further details arise from the accident, I will not comment or discuss any of the implication although weather seems to have played a big part. I just hope they tackle the enormous task ahead to let us know what has happened. For the families at first, in their own right to know the cirumstances and understand the how's and the why's. But also for crew, something we can all learn from no matter how it was dealt with or how different factors came into play. The least they can do is come up with a relevant explanation. It came as a shock for me. I had just landed the previous evening in the same terminal and the news was totally unexpected. Leaving my hunger for more details unsatisfied until later on today when they confirmed the debris traces in the middle of the ocean. In lighter news, I can say I'm enjoying my time here in Paris, France. The weather is just to die for ! Terraces seem to be packed all the time. Making it very hard to find a decent table. What is a decent table for Airboy ? Well, a table that has a good mix of sun, shade and views. This would be the perfect terrace for a few hours of freak-spotting. I get around on the bike, working on those muscles like an athlete and, of course, listening to some kick ass tunes at the same time. Dad has an extensive collection of old vynil record in what was once called "My Bedroom", now turned into a get-away-from-motherofsodwee type of Bedroom (only kiddin' Mum !) where Father likes to unwind. A multitude of gadgets scattered around the room and that collection of records and the Turntable hooked on the hi-fi system. A beautiful collection it is. Goodies like this copy of a Stevie Wonder pressing of "Up-Tight, Everything's Alright" amongst others. I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to analog. And boy do I enjoy some good full/round sound from those turntables. Good times all around. GrannyOfSodwee is in da house too, it's been a hell a long time since I saw her last so it's nice to catch up on the goss. Took them around a power-walking tour of downtown Paris, through some covered 19th century galleries, over to the Louvre, past Notre-Dame, a pit stop for some Berthillon ice cream (a must do in Paris people, it's a complete sin, not to indulge yourself with a couple scoops !) and finally trecked our way through the Latin Quarter, past the famous bookskop named Shakespear & Co. The sun was out all day, not a single cloud to be seen. Just. Plain. Blissful ! We did manage to squeeze a beer or two in between for good measure. Pictures will come in the round up post as I'm focusing on getting away as far as possible from the laptop while I'm in Paris. You would have already noticed how my tweets and facebook updates became so sporadic in the last 48 hours. Sad innit !?? Anyway, I will have to leave things hanging a little longer peeps before I can put my brains to function again and write up a post of the entire holidays. A video is already in the works, plenty of pictures are already set to go live. Put I'm putting together a massive post for the end of the week, so stay tuned for the latest Airboy goss. In the meantime, please enjoy this FREE sweet from Jack White's new new Band THE DEAD WEATHER. They graciously offered this track against an email. The track is DOPE ! I've been a fan of White's work for the past 7 or so years. And if you digged a little more in my internet CV you might of notice a White Stripes Fan site that was maintained by your favourite hostie. Unfortunately due to time constraints, this website is now run by my Editor in Chief Sabby, who does a wonderful job by the way ! Check out and download that track while stocks lasts :

> DOWNLOAD MP3 "TREAT ME LIKE YOUR MOTHER" BY THE DEAD WEATHER Enjoy it and Peace out fools.

laviatewithus

Sodwee — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:00:07 +0000

airboydoesparishome

Sodwee — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:51:02 +0000

picture-11

Sodwee — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:15:59 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #79 : Daft Punk... Who else ?

Sodwee — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:20:22 +0000

Hey guys, I'm about to leave for the airport and was kinda eager to share this epic encore Daft Punk delivered at the Bercy Venue in Paris for their last tour date. Daft Punk at it's best here with a brilliant mix in front of a masssiiiiiiiive crowd. The track has been around quite a while and was released on CD back in 2007. Enjoy the track until I post my Paris shenanigans... Download there : http://www.box.net/shared/1k17lf5v7t I'll be in Dubai early Monday morning, in time for my weekly sin : ZINC! You can't beat it ! Peace out!

chromeohome

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:37:27 +0000

chromeopost

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:37:37 +0000

chromeotop

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:37:41 +0000

DOWNLOADABLES #80. Chromeo / Fancy Footwork. Update on my move...

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:59:54 +0000

Ever since Oz bluetoothed this track to me yesterday, I haven't stopped playing it. It's desperately catchy, insanely groovy and the 80's synth-electro-rock-pop sound of the whole deal makes me wanna... boogie. Chromeo is a Montreal based electrofunk duo whose music is described as "a shameless return to the glistening, sex-saturated synth-pop which ruled the eighties." The duo is composed of P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) on keyboards, synthesizers, and talk box, and Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) on guitar and lead vocals. The two childhood friends jokingly describe themselves as "the only successful Arab/Jewis partnership since the dawn of human culture." Highlights of their 2004 debut album She's in Control include the club tracks "Needy Girl", "Mercury Tears", "Rage!", and "Destination: Overdrive". In 2005, Chromeo released a mix cd of funky dance tracks on Eskimo Belgium records entitled Un Joli Mix Pour Toi (A Pretty Mix For You). During early 2007 Chromeo supported indie rock group Bloc Party on their British tour. They also released the single "Fancy Footwork" as well as their second album of the same name. The band has also been named MTV's Artist of the Week for October 1 2007. Guitarist and lead singer David Macklovitch is the older brother of A-Trak (Alain Macklovitch). Otherwise, I'm about to move out of Blue Building and will supposedly do so on the 18th of June (in roughly a week) unless Accommodation thinks otherwise. I already have a feeling they will move my bed and appliances on the 11th (a week before I move out) so I might be sleeping on the floor until I move in my next apartment. It's hectic. Communication between us crew moving out and managers + accommodation is pretty much dismal. Leaving us to run around for information when they could simply and effectively send out an email to the crew concerned and give insightful information about "how to", "when" and "why". The latest bad news we managed to squeeze out of them is the fact we are keeping the beds and appliances we have here in our old apartments. They will send in a couple movers in to shift them to our new flats on the other side of town. I haven't packed or boxed anything yet and it's getting stressful. I'm off to Bombay tomorrow and will not know if I will have a bed tomorrow night. Finally I'm really excited to be wearing the new uniform for the first time. Can't wait. I'm also supposed to post a whole Airboy does Paris entry but haven't come round it yet. I have video and pictures ready but the writting is lacking serious inspiration. Hope you're well wherever you are today. Speak to you soon !

lavpost3

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:43:02 +0000

lavside3

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:43:05 +0000

laviatoremboss

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:50:07 +0000

overlav

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:00:43 +0000

LAVIATORS UNITE: Anonymous - Savvy Navigator - Rihanna

Sodwee — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:15:41 +0000

THREE new Laviators join the club today : Anonymous, Rihanna (AKA Clauderic) and Savvy Navigator. Thanks for your effort people ! Maybe you want to join ? There's nothing easier ! A little imagination will take you far. Grab your camera, sneak it into the lavs along with your favourite tabloid and get crazy in there ! The funnier the better ! There's a bunch of props on hand, for free, to play around with. Seat covers, tissues, sick bags, tooth brushes... just to give you ideas... Then head over to the LAVIATORS CLUB and send me your picture or fill out the form below. Here are all the laviators so far : svgallery=laviators Already got a picture of yourself locked in the cleanest of all LAVS ? Send it to me now using this form : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

lavpost4

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:53:04 +0000

lavside4

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:53:06 +0000

Michelle Obama Laviates with us !

Sodwee — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:02:11 +0000

These two are freakin' funny ! How I cracked a laugh when I saw the one with Michelle Obama ! Colon says : "KUL-MNL via Malaysian Airlines. I got left behind by my original flight back to Manila from Jakarta, so I had to purchase a last minute ticket via MH ($400 one way...Im still mourning). To make most out of what I had to pay, I ate ALL my food, ordered additional dessert and took home 3 magazines." Cabin8Crew says : "Fokker 50 one of the smallest lavatories ever :)" Maybe you want to join ? There's nothing easier ! A little imagination will take you far. Grab your camera, sneak it into the lavs along with your favourite tabloid and get crazy in there ! The funnier the better ! There's a bunch of props on hand, for free, to play around with. Seat covers, tissues, sick bags, tooth brushes... just to give you ideas... Then head over to the LAVIATORS CLUB and send me your picture or fill out the form below. Here are all the laviators so far : svgallery=laviators Already got a picture of yourself locked in the cleanest of all LAVS ? Send it to me now using this form : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

tweetdeckairboy

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:21:56 +0000

tweetdeckhome

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:21:59 +0000

TWEETDECK : IT'S PURE DOPE ! @Sodwee

Sodwee — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:42:37 +0000

Hey brothaz, hey sistaz. I had to have my deep-geek moment here and share what I have been playing with all night long. It's now past five o'clock in the morning here in Dubai (DXB) and I completely hypnotized. Recently I took on Twitter as yet another social tool I use [often] to blab about what I do, and connect with readers and so on. But somehow, the strain of having to refresh pages, use online text fields and click the mouse to enter a tweet felt OOOH SO Two thousand and six (read 2006, the year). Everytime I saw a new tweet it said it was sent "via tweetdeck". Curious as I am and always technohungry, I googled that (or should I say Binged it ?) and fell on a truly amazing tool. No more waiting for the tweet to be sent, no MORE REFRESHING and most importantly, have multiple views of your Twitter account (follows, @replies, direct messages and so on). This beast of an application does all of that under ONE SINGLE WINDOW believe it or not. Not only that, you can sync in your facebook status notificator in there too. Just absolutely amazing for someone like me who gets extremely annoyed and irritable when the interwebs are so damn slow. Especially for those who live in Dubai and are paying Etisalat an insane amount of mooolah every month for a medieval-like internet service. So in short, TweetDeck will allow you to save a hell a lot of time if you're a twitter addict like I have become. One of the best features along with what I mentioned above is the ability to follow searches of your own (ie I follow topics such as "Dubai", "Emirates" etc.). And I discovered this GOLD SKYWARDS MEMBER of ours who I've been tweeting all night long ! Steve you're a cool dude ! Every tweet posted by your following will display real-time turning the simple task of checking your tweeps into an addiction. Turns simple 140 character conversations into pure DOPE !

GO DOWNLOAD TWEETDECK NOW...

In addition to having a Concorde Cockpit looking twitter tool before your eyes, I've also updated the background scenery of my Twitter profile. Took some time to adjust and make things fit. Got fustrated over Photoshop for a few hours but finally came up with something decent. Check it out : You will find me over on TWITTER here : @Sodwee Finally, I'm honestly sorry to have bored you with my geeky outburst here. Follow me instead !

boxed

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:29:47 +0000

hangers

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:29:47 +0000

alfredo-laviators-club

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:42:24 +0000

Move Update #2

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:18:56 +0000

So the exode towards greener fields or sandier lands more like is well under way. In fact, I have nearly completed the very stressful activity of packing and boxing. I needed a few more boxes and went for a quick run at IKEA. and foud these boxes :

I'm moving out on the 18th because Emirates will move my bed by then. I can't wait because I'm fed up with the current apartment. I have documented (videoed) my packing adventures, and once I get a decent internet connection I will upload the goodness. Yes because I now have to trot along to Shangri-La Hotel in order to get free internet access to the world wide webs for the mere cost of a coke bottle. And because of that I won't be as present as I used to be. At least for a couple weeks until I get my own connection in the new flat. You can still send in emails, tweets and facebook tags in but it will be longer for you to get a response ! In other noteworthy news, the LAVIATORS CLUB is growing significantly. Latest Laviator is Alfredo from Ecuador whom I randomly met at JFK airport the last time I was there... He sent this picture in with a little comment (Be-Tea-double-U, muchas gracias habibi por la fotografia) :

Hi Ben! Finally got my picture!!! Everyone looked at me weird when I went into the bathroom.... I gave everyone a smile and told them about your site... Saludos, Alfredo from Ecuador

shocking

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:39:49 +0000

Move Update #3 : Big DRAMA !

Sodwee — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:06:24 +0000

It's just a nightmare. Thank goodness, I packed most of the junk I have yesterday. Because today (not a surprise) Accommodation Department called me at 9am, asking forcing me to move out of my current location and relocate, within the day, to the new one. I was fast asleep when I answered that phone call and didn't have my brains all switched on. Hung up, slept a little more, and then out of the blue, realised what I was just told. YES, I HAVE TO HACKIN MOVE BY THE EVENING !! I shot up, sweat already pouring down my face. In shock. Those irresponsable fools thought it was a bright idea to give me a few minutes notice. Because I was still in my briefs when three movers came inside my flat to take my fridge, the cooker and my bed. I was bloody half naked ! I hushed them out and told them I WOULD BLOOMIN decide when you move stuff outta my ruin of a flat. Got some shorts and a t-shirt on, stormed down to reception with an angry look on my face to try and understand what was going on. Not much luck there. As awake as I was when I took that call, I with good care, took the name and phone number of the lady I had over the phone. Edwilda I think it was. So when at reception, I try to call her, NO ANSWER. And being Saturday, she's probably the only one in Headquarters working. That lady gave me a number to a mobile phone that doesn't answer, I managed to get hold of another number but didn't have any luck either. Now, at that time, a few angry neighbours came down reception, including my flatmate, who has moved out already as advised but the bed still remains. And after investigation, it won't be moved before next week. So either he comes back in an empty flat with nothing or sleeps on the floor at the new one (in fact he will have to sleep at a friends, because he has a Sao Paulo flight tomorrow morning, DXB-GRU : 16 hours). We eventually found out: that lady over the phone had called a number of crew from my building and gave different contact numbers to everyone so that she could tell the bad news and never have to follow it up. And Saturday being Saturday, no representative in on location to answer our questions. It seems like they totally did that on purpose. I was at breaking point earlier on this afternoon, I had to call MotherOfSodwee and unload my stress onto her, poor thing.Sorry Mum. I have now calmed down and having a club sandwich - coke and drag down at Shangri-La. I about ready to move out. I am on airport standby tomorrow evening if I don't call sick that is. And the way it's going, I will probably catch up on the sleep I need and unpack the crapload I just finished packing. But that's not the only thing. I was supposed to move on the 18th, and received a memo comfirming this. So I had a plan. But turns out I had received another 5 memos in my building mailbox, each one of them saying different move dates ! So 6 different confirmations for Airboy's move ! Insane, just absolutely insane. It's coming close to 5pm here in Dubai, and my taxi-pickup truck should be here any moment. And I really should be heading back.... So until the next update. Hopefully with less drama. I will get my muscles workin' and move those friggin' boxes. Talk to you guys later !

Move Update #4 : unboxing...and settling...

Sodwee — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:07:54 +0000

Boring as hell, unboxing sucks major ass. It's like opening presents you have already felt and guessed the contents ! But I'm in a much better mood today as I'm starting to digg my new location ! BIG ass flat, nice couches, nice views (at least better that the previous ones), and basically everything is a far cry from the puke looking sofas I had to sit on for the past year. Now I have sexy looking chairs, a huge dining table, and some rock'n'roll sofas I can just see myself dose off in ! But before the highs there's always a low. And that theory comes to fruition for every single event with Emirates. Start bad, very bad. then gradually eases out. But that doesn't mean I'm not mad at them. In actual fact I'm preparing my storming of the Accommodation offices for relatively soon. I need answers, and a good shout. In any case, here's what I manage to catch while they were hustling my appliances away...

And that's close to when I got my last box unpacked. You can definately feel the change of tone in my voice compared to the previous video...

I'm on airport standby right now, as we speak, and getting uber bored. Just aswell I have an internet connection and a laptop or I'd getting all fidgetty !

Picture 1

Sodwee — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:11:40 +0000

Live from al barsha

Sodwee — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:04:11 +0000

This is the state of the reception at tecom in al barsha. Elevators have not been working since 5 in the afternoon. Its now close to midnight! Crew havent got beds to sleep in, and their belongings are piling up at reception. Most of them have flights in the morning. Keep recovering. That was airboy live. Thanks for reading!

raleighchopperbicycle

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:06:51 +0000

raleighchopper

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:08:01 +0000

I Need Wheels, hot wheels !!

Sodwee — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:31:04 +0000

I'm so jealous of that little bastard of a kid in that picture. I want one of those bikes. One of those uber-cool, uber-retro, uber-60's, uber-70's bicycle ! I need wheels, desperately. I'm now living in a relatively bike-safe part of Dubai and eager to discover the greens, go to the supermarket and look so damn cool doing so. Imagine yourself on one of those ! Street-cred just goes through the roof !!!! Ahhhhhhhhh If ANYONE READING THIS AND IS IN DUBAI AND OWNS ONE OF THESE RALEIGH CHOPPER BIKES, YOU NEED TO CONTACT ME ASAP ! Ever since E.T. (and the famous bike chase, and the flying over the moon part), I wanted one of them. How fucking cool do they look ?? The one pictured above even has suspension in the front! To die for I say ! Anyway. Until I find this rarity, I think I'm gonna for a more down to earth pushbike. Something foldable. Oz already has Jeannie (a yellow foldup bike) and says he's happy with it. So I might have to head to Karama (cheap market place and little shops selling everything and anything) and purchase one for myself. We're getting to the settling part of the move. Oli has just moved in after another hectic day ! Still no internet nor phone at home, so I'm at EGHQ juicing some broadband on Emirates account mwahahahah. You can view the 3 part move videos below, they will give you an insight into what went down in the past week or so. Daniel (Panda) was asking why I didn't update my blog for a while... It's just that I haven't got internet anymore so it's a right headache getting the pick-up bus and riding all the way down here ! But soon enough we will get hooked up with some high-speed connection and will be blogging away ! We also nearly had a meetup with Melissa from TampaxTower today but with the move of the flatmate and the shit I needed to do, I had to call it a day. We have plans for another meetup towards the end of the month. Hopefully this will work out better. Mother, you'll be pleased. I have (for the first time) bought food and groceries from Carrefour. Rice, pasta, FRUITS!, SPUDS!, and a hell a lot more crap. Along with biscuits and sodas. Really can't get away from them ! Might have some penne bolognese tonight if anyone cares about my diet ! Ok Khalas my habibtiz, here are the 3 videos I promised :

I'll be off to Birmingham in the morning ! Then to Gatwick and finally to Kuala Lumpur.

the-dead-weather

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:58:29 +0000

People Jack White

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:58:36 +0000

The Dead Weather, from left, Jack Lawrence, Alison Mosshart, Jack White and Dean Fertita pose in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, March 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Rode)

Private gig with THE DEAD WEATHER...

Sodwee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:07:42 +0000

Hello y'all. It's been pretty hectic these past few days... I was attempting to organize some private concert with no other than THE DEAD WEATHER, Jack White's new newest band and I have finally made it ! The band will play a sold out show at la Cigale in Paris on the 29th of June. Didn't manage to have days off for that because I'll be in Kuala Lumpur. But a very popular TV Channel in France (Canal Plus) are having a taping of the band on the 30th in the evening, and they've kindely asked me to give out some ticket for the show (It's more of a live show than a taping) because last year I got some hardcore fans of the White Stripes for their private gig in Paris and they want to thank me for bringing in so many people that they have offered me to invite some friends over for this new band featuring Jack White. Apparently the rock'n'roll God appreciated our company so much that he was the one asking us to come back ! How's that for STREET CRED PUNKS ! SO. Let's cut the crap. I have a few golden stubs for a special night with the band The Dead Weather in Paris on the 30th June 2009 (the night after their sold out show). Stay tuned to www.whitestripes.fr (one of the other website I happen to own) for the latest on how to get your tickets. You need to be in Paris and available on the 30th or there's absolutely no point in entering. Also you need to be available from 1700 hours (local time) through to around 2330 hours (local time). All the instructions on how to get to the yet to be announced location will be sent to the winners via email ! You will also need somekind of ID to enter the premises. Voila hope this brings some smiles. I'm completely flat out right now. It's hard getting something done if you're 6000 miles from where it happens. But we've successfully managed that and happy with it ! And if you're wondering, that probably why I didn't update my blog, I was busy. Soooooooo busy ! And before I go, we have a new laviator in da club, I will upload the picture ASAP. And I got a new toy ! More on that laterz ! Peace out fools.

michaeljackson-tribute

Sodwee — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:49:35 +0000

michaeljacksonhome

Sodwee — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:55:56 +0000

michael-jackson

Sodwee — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:05:30 +0000

Michael Jackson / 1958 - 2009

Sodwee — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:07:51 +0000

Yo habibtis. I came back from Gatwick/Crawley this morning and was shocked to overhear a phone conversation in the crew bus. MJ had died yesterday ! Cardiac arrest some say. Who on this planet hasn't once boogied to one of his killer tunes ? Difficult to say. He will remain one of the biggest pop stars ever conceived. He also had his bad moments but this will never tarnish his accomplishment. Tribute to Michael Jackson. Here's a cover of Ain't No Sunshine originally by Bill Withers (1971) and also covered by many more artists. Click on angel/innocent young face to access the special tribute download... Not much on the plate today apart from meeting up with Landlordess of the Tampax Towers also known as Melissa. We should be skating away at Dubai Mall tonight. Should be fun ! And I think Clauderic is also joining the cool kids for a spin. Off to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow with Manu (uber cool guy who also happen to take nice photographs... should be interesting ! That's it from me. Speak to you soon !

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Sodwee — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:30:45 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:24:57 +0000

July roster detailed, NEW LAVIATORS, Dubai Bloggers meet...and more...

Sodwee — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:50:06 +0000

Hey I have a lot to catch up with while I'm in Kuala Lumpur and able to connect to the world wide webz. First of all, I'd like to thank Melissa from TampaxTowers and Clauderic for the great afternoon we had in Dubai Mall last Friday amongst a heard of deadly "Kevins" and "Jennifers". Yes we had a meet up after one year or so in Dubai... Why so late you might ask ?? Well we wouldn't know how to answer. It's just one of these things you cannot explain. We had a great time. We planned a little ice skating session to begin things gently but later realised that it wasn't so gentle on our bodies as Clauderic went down on his knees and hurt himself, poor thing, such a woozie. Thus declaring forfait for the skating and kept on watching us going round the rink for another 15 minutes. Anyway, we kept skating along with Melissa and improved on our ability to adopt sharp turns and stops in order to avoid any unwanted collision with little emiratis in their white dish-dashas, complete with their blue skate... fun sight that is, I can tell you ! We then came to realise some little miss sunshine here on the ice was actually outdoing us totally. She was spining, doing tricks and combos and that totally put me off, I felt so ashamed. Did a couple more rounds until the staff had to call us out to rejuvenate the metling ice. We called the session to an end and got our sneakers back on for some grubs. And as promised, we headed straight to Kayser's little bakery in the underground. Melissa is in her green salad phase, so she had a salmon and roquette mix, Clauderic on the other hand went for a really nice looking piece of steak and chips. I skipped any mains and went straight for a delicious raspberry on creme patissiere and sponge cake thingy. "Summer Delice" it was called. I ended trothing the darn cake it was that good ! I had a side order of Chouquette to let my two colleagues have a little sample ! They apparently liked it ! Especially Clauderic who had to finish the last one... Anyway, it was great catching up on some crew gossip as one would do, getting to know each other a little bit more and enjoy the spaced out Arabic Smurfs in the background having a blast with the neurotic kids. And I also want to thank Melissa for her kindness and her gifts : A Mini Cup Noodle holder as well as a Swedish IKEA catalogue !!! COLLECTOR ! Now, I haven't updated you guys on the move for quite some time but things have definetaly settled down. Oli and Oz have also moved in, bringing a little more life to the place and it's nice to have some other souls to fool with ! We all decided to buy BMXs so we could terrorize the neighbourhoos and specifically the Emirates Greens, which is a kind of gated community for rich expats. Husband working, wifes at home with the maid and the kids... that kind of gated community... Quite a boring crowd until you get some BMX fishtail action going on with the prams, sending the mums and maids into a roaring anger... We discovered we had Wagamama, KFC, Burger King and McDonalds within cycling distance which was a great relief. Here's a picture of my BMX. It's happily named RAMBO, Oz's one is nicknamed Silvia for some obscur reasons and finally Oli's his named Cobra. As a group, you can now call us "The Greens Angels". That picture was taken late at night at McDonalds (it's open 24hrs : life-saver I say !). We had cycled around TECOM most of the evening trying to find our way round the dust filled building sites and half-built roads and thought a Chicken Gourmet would help us conquer the countryside. That same day, we noticed a little note in the elevator that went :

TODAY:

MOVE IN MAYHEM BBQ from 4pm at the pool on the 27th floor

Brought to you by the Facebook group :

"TECOM Socialite Brigrade"

Bring your own drinks & food.

What better way to end the day, lazing in the pool and fooling around like little jerks..., those were the views from the pool :

That was great, not only do we get the views and real cool pool. But we also get a BBQ ready to use !! Imagine the wicked evening we're going to be spending up there !!

Now onto some more serious stuff. My July roster. It was late out. We have no idea why, still. But I think they're building it manually for a number of flights, therefore delaying the publishing. But I received my roster via email. It might change when the real thing comes out. But here it goes. I'm especially happy about the Singapore - Melbourne trip. I've been wanting a long trip for a while now and this is kinda perfect. Not too long and not too short ! Add the fact that we have a stopover in Singapore... which is WICKED ! Black Pepper Chicken, here I come !

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
XX	DXB - TIP - TUN	out	TUN - TIP - DXB	XX	DXB - MAA - DXB	XX
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
DXB - BOM - DXB	XX	DXB - DUS	DUS - DXB	XX	XX	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - SIN - MEL	out	out	out	out	MEL - SIN - DXB	XX
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
XX	DXB - FRA	out	FRA - DXB	XX	DXB - FRA	out
29	30	31
FRA - DXB	XX	DXB - IKA - DXB

I'm pretty happy, some variety, some east, some west... Might try to swap one or two Frankfurt for something else, Paris hopefully ! That's it from me in Kuala Lumpur. Will come back with a full report on the eventful flight we had over and the time spent here in Kuala Lumpur. Do take care, keep sane and keep reading ! Peace out fools ! Finally, I'd like to introduce you to 4 new Laviators. Rick from New Zealand, John from an unknown location, Deon from South Africa and Oz from Australia : Maybe you want to join ? There's nothing easier ! A little imagination will take you far. Grab your camera, sneak it into the lavs along with your favourite tabloid and get crazy in there ! The funnier the better ! There's a bunch of props on hand, for free, to play around with. Seat covers, tissues, sick bags, tooth brushes... just to give you ideas... Then head over to the LAVIATORS CLUB and send me your picture or fill out the form below. Here are all the laviators so far : svgallery=laviators Already got a picture of yourself locked in the cleanest of all LAVS ? Send it to me now using this form : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

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Sodwee — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:39:32 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:39:35 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:40:54 +0000

NEW LAVIATOR ! You too can join ! Click me !

Sodwee — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:45:23 +0000

During an Easyjet flight between Liverpool (UK) and Bordeaux (FRANCE) ... Maybe you want to join ? There's nothing easier ! A little imagination will take you far. Grab your camera, sneak it into the lavs along with your favourite tabloid and get crazy in there ! The funnier the better ! There's a bunch of props on hand, for free, to play around with. Seat covers, tissues, sick bags, tooth brushes... just to give you ideas... Then head over to the LAVIATORS CLUB and send me your picture or fill out the form below. Here are all the laviators so far : svgallery=laviators Already got a picture of yourself locked in the cleanest of all LAVS ? Send it to me now using this form : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

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Sodwee — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:42:52 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:29:15 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:29:17 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:38:54 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:47:48 +0000

So far, So Good. Or supposedly. TWO NEW LAVIATORS. DL#81.

Sodwee — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:56:50 +0000

Geeez, where do I start ?! It's seems like a decade since I blogged something. Time just flies by so quickly. Been super busy and super tired. Since I last updated the blog I went to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Tripoli (Libya), Tunis (Tunisia), Chennai (India) and heading to my beloved monthly Bombay/Mumbai very soon. Hey one question out of the blue, just for my general knowledge... Why is that many Indian cities changed their names lately ?? Bombay is now Mumbai and Madras became Chennai ?? I'm curious. But before you carry on reading, please do take the time to download the new bunch of tunes I gathered for your eargasms... Click on the image left to head to the MP3s or use the box below to play/share/download at your will :

Anyway, rewind a little and lets go back to my Kuala Lumpur trip. I was bound there with a friend named Manu (whom I met at Zinc through a another french friend of mine, Chloe) and Richard's (a funky italian batchmate, recently dishonored for having moved over to A380) girlfriend, Fardiana. We had a blast firing jokes and speaking basic Tagalog to each other. I'm getting better and better with time, here's what I managed to gather within the trip (correct me if I'm wrong) :

Gaga (Bitch) / Gago (Bastard)
Natatae Ako (I need the bogs for a pile)
Putang Enamo (some very bad swear word here, innapropriate for the blog)...

And some other basic get around sentences that could be useful for my next Manilla layover. The trip started on a good note with an entertaining briefing, complete with team building exercises such as hand clapping, and the general colleague bonding type of nonsense. It was great cause it had set the mood for the terrible flight we were to have later on. So yeah, we boarded, did our stuff, safety and security check, the boarding and so forth. By the time we handed out the hot towels, a mother felt unwell and decided to off-load herself along with the rest of her rather large family. That was a God given gift to me because I was having a hard time trying to arrange some seating for a family that was promised neighbouring seats by ground staff : the lesson here, NEVER EVER EVER EVER trust ground staff until you actually see your boarding pass and the seats you're in. But this smala of sixteen individuals trusted the overworked, overstressed check-in agent and went with the flow until they reached the aircraft, and ultimately reached.... me. They were in my area, the 4 year old Kevin separated by like 20 rows from any parental authority. The sister on the other side of the cabin and already being an nuisance. A little later, the father came up to me to arrange something. I did my thang. Told him I would but his family on my priority list (they like hearing that kind of stuff). So when that family finally offloaded I shifted some lonely Skywards business travellers - against a few toothbrushes, an aisle seat and Champagne promise - to those free seats and ultimately reunited the flock. Ran to the back galley to get myself a drink because I was on the verge of dehydration after thinking so much about seats and rows... and a lady grabbed my pants and pulled me right back to her seat. She confessed :

"I'm running away from my husband. I haven't slept in a week. He's supposed to come back tomorrow and he won't find me home. I'm afraid. What should I do ? I also have palpitations as a result."

I didn't know what to say at that point. So kneeled down and asked open questions (LEAP technique fellas!). She continues :

"I don't think it's a good idea to be flying. Can I offload myself ?"

I was baffled. Two separate offloads on the same flight ! Something suspicious ! So called Senior over to deal with the situation while we take care of the passenger in the back galley. We were already 1 hour and a half late, because an offload means looking for specific bags in cargo and it takes quite a long time. We finally got her off, just for sanity because having such case of a 7 hour flight isn't an option. She could just turn out to be crazy as hell and cause quite some trouble. I'd rather be 2 hours late than having to deal with a nutcase at 36000 ft, if you ask my humble opinion. It was all good spirits round the cabin, the funny briefing was partly to blame. We all had smiles on our faces and the prospect of a nice fresh beer later on in Kuala Lumpur was enough to get us going. Doesn't take much to satisfy us Cabin Crew.... We finally made it to KL and arranged for some meet up in the lobby before we headed to the Beach Club/Bar round the corner from the hotel. We ordered giant beer towers for us to share and had a good laugh yapping away about the day we had just gone through (here pictured is Manu and Fardiana) : Few hours later I headed back to the hotel feeling a little tipsy. Had a good sleep for the return leg. We also had a lot of fun because half the crew was Filipino and they sure know how to have a good laugh (as opposed to serious Korean cabin crew, no offense boys and girls !). Back in the sandpit without any internet still and nothing more to do than to decorate the new flat we're in. Oh !! And I went to Zinc right after that Kuala Lumpur return sector just to flake things off and pay tribute to THE KING OF POP, namely, Michael Jackson. Had a blast with Oz and Oli as well as Manu who promised me he wouldn't be there ! Clauderic was also part of the gang but was too busy bursting out weird moves on the dancefloor. Arms waving all around him. Seemed like he was high on sumethin' or nuthin'. So yeah we finally got my gigantic Eiffel Tower up in the dining room after much debate on how to hang it, where etc etc. We're so darn cheap we went for kitchen cloths hooks, about a dozen of them to hang this huge picture. We can't actually use nails because Company Accommodation wouldn't let us in case we hammer in the electrical circuits or piping in the walls (don't laugh, it has actually happened before... !) so here's the result, I also have video of how we got that result. Soon to be published. I just need to get round the editing part of the thing... Also been indulging myself with some Extras (Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant series), hilarity it is ! Hilarity. Especially the episode with Kate Winslet. I can only strongly recommend the DVD set if you haven't got it already... I'm happy with the results. We also have a wall of clocks with different time zones so we never make the mistake of calling Mum and Dad at unholy hours of the morning with us realising. Here's a photo album for the past few weeks... : [svgallery name="july"] . Otherwise, I have had BrotherOfSodwee on the phone recently, he's planning on returning to good ol' France by the end of August, just in time for his 21st birthday. And he's asked me to try and get him some cheap tickets from anywhere in Australia. But the loads being full all through summer it's gonna be a tough one. I might have an opening out of Melbourne so he might have to travel there first and give it a go. I'm happy because he might have a stopover in Dubai just at the begining of my holidays, meaning we could fly together over to Paris for his birthday ! Can't wait to see him it's been a whole year and it's getting uber-long !. In other news we have a new Laviators, a United Airline Flight Attendant named Oscar and Krysta flying out to Las Vegas... Krysta says : "On my way to Las Vegas (hence the feather boa)... after discovering that it was my birthday, the flight attendant brought me a complimentary birthday drink... a bit of a tipsy flight for me!" Maybe you want to join ? There's nothing easier ! A little imagination will take you far. Grab your camera, sneak it into the lavs along with your favourite tabloid and get crazy in there ! The funnier the better ! There's a bunch of props on hand, for free, to play around with. Seat covers, tissues, sick bags, tooth brushes... just to give you ideas... Then head over to the LAVIATORS CLUB and send me your picture or fill out the form below. Here are all the laviators so far : [svgallery name="laviators"] . Already got a picture of yourself locked in the cleanest of all LAVS ? Send it to me now using this form : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

Airboy does DIY featuring Oz...

Sodwee — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:12:23 +0000

I got round to editing the rushes from the DIY moment we had the other day with Oz, one of my new flatmates. Hope you enjoy as much as we enjoyed. It took us quite a long time to get the Eiffel Tower picture up when it could honestly taken us like 10 minutes. But we weren't thinking too much, a lot of yapping away got in the way !

And if you're in a video watching mood you might want to head over to my VIMEO HUBNUT page where all my previous videos are kept : click here fools

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Sodwee — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:29:53 +0000

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Sodwee — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:36:47 +0000

NEW LAVIATORS JOIN THE CLUB - BEST IN SHOW, so far...

Sodwee — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:39:42 +0000

My my my. When I thought everyone was sick of this trend, here comes another 5 Laviators ! Well four I will actually post because the last one raises uniform issues, and will not take the risk of loosing my job, nor his... ! So here goes. Kudos to those ludicrous bunch of FAs there. Sent by JetGirl. You're the "BEST IN SHOW, so far". Yes the club is growing rapidly and the more the merrier ! Get creative in there fools. I'm waiting to see the guy or girl who piles up as many carry-ons into those lavatories and then sit on'em whilst staring at his own camera... JetGirl says : "This was taken on the way home from Toronto last night (09/07/09) We could have got some more crew in but they were busy actually working!" Oliver says : DXB-BKK on the A380 in First with my friends... Tim says : "Just found this group. I can feel whole now. All these years I thought I was alone. Taken on a Lufthansa flight from Dallas to Frankfurt March 30, 2003." Jeffrey says : "Me using the United Express Lav...I'm 6'3" Maybe you want to join ? There's nothing easier ! A little imagination will take you far. Grab your camera, sneak it into the lavs along with your favourite tabloid and get crazy in there ! The funnier the better ! There's a bunch of props on hand, for free, to play around with. Seat covers, tissues, sick bags, tooth brushes... just to give you ideas... Then head over to the LAVIATORS CLUB and send me your picture or fill out the form below. Here are all the laviators so far : [svgallery name="laviators"] . Already got a picture of yourself locked in the cleanest of all LAVS ? Send it to me now using this form : [contact-form 2 "Laviators"]

dusseldork

Sodwee — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:59:44 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:59:47 +0000

David-Brent-ricky-gervais

Sodwee — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:06:36 +0000

Dusseldork, my Sodberry & LAVIATORS go global !

Sodwee — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:10:59 +0000

Still no internet. Still no landline. Still on days off. Yep, that's right, life here in Al Barsha ticks away all too slowly. I have remedies though. DVDs and a neeeew phone. I'm now able to receive emails on the go. Efficiently. I have a full qwerty keyboard, so typing isn't an issue anymore. Yeah because - previously - with the usual cellphone keyboard mumbo jumbo I looked like a dork trying to send an absolutely normal/short text message. It took me ages. A simple "see you later" would end up something along the lines of : "heie uuefh lertre". In other words: useless. That's why I didn't really bother with text messages that much. Since I bought that kinky Nokia E71, I have discovered that not only does it have better reception, it's also becoming a joy to write text messages or emails. I'm being the real couch potato at the moment. Watching episodes of Extras and The Office. I love Ricky Gervais' stuff. His humour matches mine in many ways. I like making fun of the world. His dry, witty, and always spot on lines make me crack with laughter. I just got the Christmas specials and I have to say, they're brilliant. Rewind a little. It's nine o' clock at night before I was supposedly bound for Dusseldork. I'm at Crew Briefing Center doing the usual syphon over their internet connection and as usual checking my roster for any changes... And I wasn't surprised. They had simply and abruptly scrapped my DUS trip for some Can Use nonsense (CAN USE means what it means. I'm basically available at their will for any flight or duty at any time, I cannot leave base nor can I leave my flat). I scored 3 full days of can use. All of that without notifying me what-so-effin-ever. Yeah just like that, no phone call, email, text message or nuthin! So thankfully I checked because I would of turned up in CBC (Crew Briefing Center) at 5 in the morning the next day all happy jubbly bubbly for my Dusseldorf and then been told that not only I was off-loaded for no given reasons but that they had replaced my duty with some kick arse home standby from 10am to 6pm. Again, they didn't call me or email me or text me to notify. Nope. Nada, Nicht, NOTHING ! So yeah enjoyed more internet at CBC, because I knew I had a few more hours of sleep to play with. And then got back home on the crew bus. Went to sleep and woke up at 9.30 the next morning. Just in time to prepare my suitcase for an eventual layover, very unlikely for a standby at 10 am, just because all the cool layovers leave prior to ten. But you never know. So got a good balance between hot and cold clothes to play around with. and then started to iron my uniform. It's close to ten by then and need to move my duvet and pillow over to the living room for the rest of the standby. "But why ?" you might ask. Well. Since I moved into TECOM building in Al Barsha, they haven't installed the landlines, nor internet and the mobile phone reception is close to nil all around the flat (that includes my bedroom) except, the couch and half the living room (the half closest to the windows). The wall are so thick here it's virtually impossible to make a decent phone call without being forced onto the balcony and subsequently dying of dehydration by the end of the call (remember I live in the desert, and it's mid-summer here). So yeah, I basically pitched my bedroom in the living for the duration of the standby, waiting endlessly for a call. I got it in the end. It was around one o' clock in the afternoon when someone from the Briefing Desk decided to let me know I was being pulled out for a frickin' Beirut turnaround. The pick up was due at 0215hours. Well in time for a 1700hours departure. The flight itself wasn't as bad as I thought. It was busy of course. Overbooked. But we made it back safe, sound and sane. It was quite long though. a full 12 hour shift, plus roughly 3 hours of standby). The good part is that we arrived after midnight, and it is compulsory for them to give me a day off after so many hours worked. So checked the rosters again and was greeted by an extra day off out of the 2 already rostered before my Singapore - Melbourne trip. And I'm here now writing this little blog post, along with a cold beer and some tunes flowing in the background. In other news, I'm starting to get flooded with Laviator Pictures from around the world and it's hard to keep up. I will get through them thought but never realized it would pick up so fast. I might have to setup some automatic photo upload thingy before I get overwhelmed with heavy pictures in my inbox. The latest come from two new bloggers out there. Dairy Air and Flying ACE. They recently started their Flight Attendant blogs... Check out the links! Oh and by the way, there's an article on MSNBC talking about Laviators and my blogger pal HEATHER who started the whole thing : click here and the rest of the Laviators are below : [svgallery name="laviators"] . Also, Oz, my flatmate is on a mission to promote my blog with local Emirates Cabin Crew and is pushing hard to have them take their own laviator pictures... Can't wait for the results. We have plenty of ideas, and some include a residency for Oz on the blog, ranting about his travels and daily musings. Maybe a video series or something. Because he has a truck load of videos he'd like to share but was waiting for the perfect audience, and I honestly think you guys would be great. I'm starting to be in need of a chill out holiday in Paris. I miss the city. And the fact that BrotherOfSodwee is coming back is bliss ! I haven't Skyped mum in a while and she called me late at night the other day to catch up on some gossip ! Goes to show when you have no internet, not only does it affect you but all those who are used to have you spoil their Facebook wall and clog up their email inboxes. But that's about it for now. Gonna play a little more with the Sodberry (yep, you heard me, I nicknamed my phone!). Speak to you soon peeps. More laterz...

xdf_t

Sodwee — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:23:18 +0000

Do The Daft

Sodwee — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:30:55 +0000

Picture 1

Sodwee — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:34:10 +0000

iDaft : The Daft Punk soundboard...

Sodwee — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:37:23 +0000

Came across that and played on it for a staggering amount of time before I thought I'd share it here. I think you will like it, just play around with the keyboard letter as shown and make some sweet music and annoy your co-workers :

LINK Love : Traytable, TampaxTowers, C to the G, Heather Poole and love to the others...

Sodwee — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:16:35 +0000

I can not stress enough on how I must thank these independant bloggers for making what Airboy what it is today ! Without them, I wouldn't be writing to so many of you today ! You have subscribed in massive numbers, to the newsletter, to the RSS feed and you come in to airboy.sodwee.com in huge numbers, daily. E* hasn't dismissed me yet, but I guess it's due to the number of followers I have. Maybe they do not want a blogkwake going on or something, this is the impression I get... I'm soooo eager to meet the fellas and gals I've been speaking to for the past year it's unbearable, all of them listed below. Be absolutely sure to add them to your bookmarks as they will give you an interesting insight on how the aviation industry underbelly is ran along side with my blog... Although half of mine is focused on the lifestyle in Dubai... I must say I have met all the bloggers who live in Dubai so far expect one or two ! The other day I was thinking of having a community website where all the bloggers I know could post about whatever they wanted to know and somehow give some competition to gadling.com but that may not be possible at all unless we get sponsored by multimillion companies and such... Anyhow, here's a breakdown of WHO YOU MUST ADD TO YOUR BOOKMARK in no particular order, special mentions to The almighty Heather Pooooooole, Traytable for keeping Twitter on the sane side of things, for SHB for his down to earth realistic stories on domestic flying, for TampaxTowers for her travel tips (I really like the Lufthansa upgrd stuff), The F. Pinto for her experienced tips, and all the others for their insightful comments :

HeatherPoole.com
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The Flying Pinto
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Dairy Air
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I Hate Ryanair
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The Uptown Life
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In Case Of Emergency
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Sky High Boy
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I Only fly First !
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Postcards & Coasters
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Englishman in Dubai
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The Flying Kiwi
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OperaMouth
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Another Passport Stamp
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Pink Poodle On The Runway
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Ah ! Libanesa !
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Flying ACE
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Work | Lifestyle
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Girl On Tour
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The Flying Camba - Qatar Crew
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Marlon at 35,000 feet
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My view from 30000ft
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Blogging at FL250
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Deon Does Dubai
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Going For it !
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This is your life and it's ending
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Aviation Crazy
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Blurker No More
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Carine in the SandPit!
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Melissa's Flight Attendant Blog
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TobyTime
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The Secret Life Of A Flight Attendant
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Nikita @ Etihad
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FA community
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Fly Leo
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Kanagringa
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Sofala around the world
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Queen Justine Air
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Emerson Gibin
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Mitchjet

Bloggin' make my days. I get sympathetic emails like Justin's who wants to meet in MEL when I get there tomorrow and other's who totally diss the concept, but who bloody effin cares ! uh ?? As long as I have readers, I'm a happy dude ! In any case you better get your creative Laviator Picture in before I know it or I'll get rea angry lol ! I'm in Singapore right now, writing this little piece. GrannyOfSodwee is getting the hang of emailing and I heart it to bits ! I've never been fond of writing paper snailmail and it's great to be in contact with my loved ones again !! I've just been out with some crazy Swedish and Libanese crew tonight and have had a blast ! Hopefulle TraytableTrvls can make it to Melbourne tomorrow so we can gossip and hope to speak to y'all soon. I also need to introduce you to my new Flatmates, Oli and Oz (one of them you might already have met through the previous videos). It's in the process, I just need to convince them to open up to the world... In any case. Airboy loves you! Speak to you soon habibtis ! PS : Love to my bother from another mother Ka... Miss ya buddy ! come for beer whenever !

clarke-quay-singapore

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:46:25 +0000

newtoncircushawker

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:46:27 +0000

singaporelowdown

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:46:30 +0000

Philippines Emergency Landing

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:49:48 +0000

Passengers Scott Robinson, left, David Saunders, center, and an unidentified woman react after oxygen masks fell during their Qantas flight 30 on Friday July 25, 2008, after it was shaken by what passengers described as an explosion. Australian investigators began examining the stricken Qantas jumbo jet Saturday, July 26, 2008, after it made a harrowing emergency landing in the Philippines with a giant hole in its fuselage. The Boeing 747-400 was cruising at 29,000 feet (8,800 meters) on Friday with 346 passengers aboard when it was shaken by what passengers described as an explosion. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling as the plane descended rapidly and debris flew through the cabin from a hole that suddenly appeared in the floor.

Singapore Lowdown & Black Pepper Chicken !

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:54:32 +0000

Before I start. I need to call for available Flight Attendants willing to answer a few questions via SKYPE (it will be recorded). Nothing naughty, be assured. But I will be having some new format content published soon and would love to give a voice to you guys out there. If you're willing to participate (open to everyone) please send an email via the contact page or over on TWITTER @Sodwee with your details and a skype username. Thanks ! And : DOWNLOADABLES #82 is LIVE, click on the left for the goodness ! I especially like the Santogold track and the Billie "Wildcat" Jean mashup by The Hood Internet. In actual fact, its my ringtone... A much hyped trip on my behalf. And it did live up to my expectations. Five whole days away from the ever hot hell hole that is Dubai couldn't come at a better time. Five days away from sand, Range Rovers and constant sweat. So we took off. Having met the rest of the crew in briefing it was going to be a nice one. A real nice mix of people from every corner of the world. With a little majority of local Singaporians for good measure. We headed off to Singapore, our first leg of the trip with plans to go out on our first layover. We had convinced part of the crew to join us onto our food train to Newton Circus. A must do in Singapore. Located within a short taxi ride from Clarke Quay (around 9 Sin-$) it is food heaven! Captain, First Officer, Bernard (a cool dude from Lebanon), Meylyn from the Philippines and myself rocked on a feast roller-coaster. From crabs, to chicken we had it all, laying there before our hungry eyes. I personally had Black Pepper Chicken because I can't handle any seafood. And I was waiting for that moment since the day the roster came out. That day I knew, no matter what, I would indulge myself with that awesome dish. And yeah. I melted as soon as I dug into the fried rice and that spicy chicken. Sweet comes to mind with the first few seconds of one chewing the delicacy, then awe just takes over. My fellow colleagues also dug in their chili crabs, chili mussels and chili stingrays. We had a table full of food, and by the end of the meal we didn't manage to have every dish on the same table so we branched out to the neighbouring ones... Meeting with the locals next door at the same time. Discussing iPhone settings and local customs with them. Plenty of beer later, we decided to rock over to Clarke Quay. That's where it all happens. It's basically your usual open air mall without any retail outlet but only bars and restaurants. It's the perfect place after a long flight. Where expats, business travellers, locals, hookers and Flight Attendants meet. The perfect place for good ol' shenanigans. A couple of beer and some weird dance moves later we went to bed for our next leg to Melbourne. Australians are so easy going when it comes to travel I would honestly give them a 5 star on my personal Skytrax rating. They deserve every star, seriously. Not a single complaint was made on our 4 leg trip ! Brilliant when you know that you can score like 12 complaints (most of the time, irrelevant) on a Bombay flight that lasts for 2 and a half hours... Arrived in Melbourne all bubbly knowing we had 33 hours to spare in this charming, sweet city plunged so gently into winter. The skies were absolutely magical coming from Dubai and it's ohhh sooo boring haze. I actually saw the sun for the first time in weeks. I mean the real sun, because in Dubai it's just like a glare behind dust, pollution and tinted windows. Ordered an american breakfast to keep my batteries going and wondered out in the park next to the hotel with iPod and some kitkat, my favourite food on layovers. Was hoping TrayTable would get a pullout for Melbourne so we could meet, but turned short as it was awarded to some other lucky crew. Ended up in bed for most part of the stay, jet-lag kicking in big time, lack of sleep on the previous stop and with what was going to come ahead I thought I would just lay down and relax. I learnt stuff along the way thought! Discovery channel was on. On long trips like that, you get to know your fellow crew better and as we got on, it became somewhat more friendly. To the point where everyone had a nickname. Mine was "bastard" because of my dual nationality. Other's nicknames were actually worse. So by the time we got to Singapore before the last leg to Dubai we decided, in a common agreement, that we would all ditch our uniforms as soon as we hit the hotel and rock the casbah downstairs in Clarke Quay. We had chosen to spend the night in Arena. Not the best club I had been to in Singapore but a decent venue. 15 (fifteen) crew out of 16 (one was sick and couldn't make it) were out on the town. Kind of a record on Emirates layovers! The chemistry worked so well. All in perfect spirits we got ourselves some drinks and danced the night away until the wee hours of the day. Finishing at McDonalds for some of us. Piling on Bigmacs to soak up the overload of Bacardi & Coke. Hungover. Slept it off. Ate it off on a full breakfast and Chicken Rice. And was 110% for the last leg back. Economy wasn't full so it was an easy service all the way. Again I need to give credit to Australian travelers. These guys have 'aircraft etiquette' ! It's so pleasant to work for you. If you're wondering where the videos or photos are, unfortunately, I was summoned not to share any, due mainly to the fact that working for such an airline is like walking on very thin wire : either it cuts or it breaks. And to common agreement with the crew on this trip is was decided that any visual content would not be shared. Tough times. I will only post pictures of myself. Sad innit ! Now back in Dubai struggling with internet and heat. My next flight will take me to Frankfurt. "Been there, done that" I might say. And I have two of them, bullocks. Guess my swapping extravaganza wasn't so fruitful after all! I was also considering applying for A380 because they've just open the applications. And since Big Mama will be flying to Paris in February 2010 as well as Seoul, Toronto, Bangkok, Auckland and Sydney I thought it would be a wise idea to dishonor my ooh-so-snugg B777 to work with the deadly masses on the jumbo jet. I need motivation to find myself in Training College again for 2 weeks. Maybe you can help me make a decision. What do you think ?? Take the jump or stay put ? Your reactions in the comment section below are most welcome...

DL82

Sodwee — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:21:45 +0000

DL83

Sodwee — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:46:08 +0000

podcast-ep01

Sodwee — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:20:47 +0000

crewportal

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:57:34 +0000

kidonplane

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:02:27 +0000

My soon-to-be-published August Roster detailed.

Sodwee — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:47:47 +0000

HOllla. I'm sitting tight. Waiting for my roster to magically pop its head out of the deep hole its in at this very moment. It's been two days and still nothing. I'm looking down but can't see a darn thing. When will it decide to come up ? it's probably down to some naughty business but I don't wanna know. All I know is I'll be on holiday in August and really can't wait for some time away from the sandpit. It's getting to me. In the meantime, I've been watching some cool Youtube videos here in Frankfurt FrankFART. Here is my favourite so far :

In other words, was quite an uneventful day in Germany. Until I get my new roster... I could well be over 35 when that happens... I will leave you to go back to your mopping session and hoovering mumbo jumbo.

Will be back in Dubai by dawn on a lovely hazy Wednesday. Looking forward to that, I'm telling you !

Picture 1

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:42:26 +0000

The reason behind my despair.

Sodwee — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:05:47 +0000

It's Wednesday 29th of July 2009. We're closing in on the 22nd hour of the day and I still have no clue what so ever, where I'll be heading on the 1st of August. It could potentially be anywhere in the world. Crew Scheduling and their awesome piece of software - that unfortunately never works for us - have yet to publish more than 4,000 rosters. Cabin Crew for Emirates on the social networking site Facebook are getting more creative as the minutes go by. Going deeper in the meanings of their thoughts. Imagine. We do not go by a 9 to 5 job. We have long forgotten what a weekend actually feels like. We do not live by day names like Mondays, Tuesdays but rather by dates. We live at night most of the time because flights leave so early in the morning it is hard to keep track of which day you started your duty. Hence the "crazy/lunatic" state we are commonly seen in. We constantly have to look at our calendar in order to call Mother or Father on their actual birthday day. Gets a little trickier when we're on the other side of earth.We eat, drink, live, play and breathe Emirates on a daily basis. It gets to you in many ways. Homesickness can strike at any given time. Like today. I had a 10 minute low and wanted to ditch this career and move on to something else. But the prospect of having my roster today cheered me up. Until now. I'm still here, refreshing those bloody annoying green boxes from hell. Thinking, magically, they will turn to either pink (good news), a string of a minimum of 3 blue boxes (very good news, this means I get a layover) or if worse comes to worse, a single blue box (turnaround = shit roster). I heard they'll overwork us this month because they realised they sent too many people on Unpaid Leave. How genius is that !!?? Anyway. Still here. Still no roster. I'm giving up. I do like my job though, when things actually runs smoothly on the backend. God didn't actually command the publishing of rosters on the 26th, as I've previously mentioned on one of my Facebook statuses. In fact, he commanded that we had the desire to see them on that day and kept procrastinating. Keeping us hanging in there like daft morons. That's it. That was my rant of today ! Peace out fools.

new_hong_kong_night_skyline

Sodwee — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:55:33 +0000

Picture 2

Sodwee — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:56:15 +0000

LaRoux

Sodwee — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:01:04 +0000

kb_la_roux_in_for_the_kill-9

Sodwee — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:09:52 +0000

August Roster Detailed : it's about time b****es.

Sodwee — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:10:45 +0000

Hey so after some Mojito at Zuma's yesterday followed closely by a Havana & Coke we decide to call it a day. Woke up this morning at 18h30. Yes that's in the afternoon or evening more like. We jump on our BMXs and go straight to Bert's for an internet fix and to check if the rosters were out yet or not. They were ! And not really disappointed. I thought I would be turnarounding all month but turns out my "Avoid Middle East/South Asian" bid worked out well. Scored two lovely Honkers (Hong Kong), a charming Munich, and ruthless Moscow and a dreadful Manchester. Along with the usual Indian turn. This month my service magic will be unleashed on the infamous daytime Delhi. If I get called a racist one more time, there will be blood. So here goes :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
DXB - HKG	out	HKG - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - DME	DME - DXB
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
XX	DXB - MUC	out	MUC - DXB	XX	DXB - DEL - DXB	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - HKG	out	HKG - DXB	hols	hols	hols	hols
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols	hols
29	30	31
hols	DXB - DOH - DXB	DXB - MAN

Thanks for all the support on Facebook while I was waiting for my invisible roster. Divinities at Scheduling finally heard my plea ! On a high note, I'll also be on holiday from the 18th and will be heading to Paris for some chill down time ! Happy days ! Hope evertyhing is cool beans with you guys. I'm kinda hyped up on a song Oli (Flatmate) bluetoothed me the other day : La Roux - Bulletproof [DOWNLOAD TRACK HERE]

HKGnightapproach

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:10:01 +0000

hongkong-night-landing

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:10:05 +0000

Airboy does Hong Kong... in the very front...

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:48:02 +0000

I'd do Hong Kong anytime. Easy pax, good hours and the destination is amazing. I'm writting to you tonight from my hotel room nearby the runway. We just got here and had to share what I have just experienced. But before that I need to share some unusual stuff that happened before I spent the final approach in the cockpit. We had a couple difficult passengers onboard today. We had a couple of what I believed to be Eastern Europeans high on wine, beers, spirits and anything they could possibly drink from our bars fondling each other, having a water fight in their seat and being a right nuisance for fellow passengers around them. Funny for me. Reminds me of my days back at the pub minus the touching each other part. We felt it coming right from the very start when this duo started ordering drinks even though they didn't finish the previous round. They had a nice selection of bottles, cans and plenty of ice to cater for a rugby team. Except, there were not 15 but only 2 of them. We ended up denying any further alcohol before it got out of hands. But it was already quite hilarious. I could see from where I was standing in the back galley, splashes of water flying around at 31 Kilo. Hands waving and feet right up in the air ! I decided to have a giggle before going there and interfering with them. Told them I would no longer tolerate that kind of nonsense on-board MY PLANE... They looked at me blatantly and started slurring out words. Obviously they had way too much to drink! They were trying to keep it composed but really couldn't manage it. That's when I realised the husband (or what I believed was the husband) had one leg neatly hidden beneath a blanket going across the width of the 3 seats towards the wife's...private parts. I then look at the wife in the eyes. She giggles. I say nothing and laugh inside. LOUD. My face couldn't keep it together. I go back to the galley and inform my colleagues. They didn't have anything else to drink. They deplaned looking at the floor, that's how embarrassed they were. I was an "A" position for this sector, meaning I didn't have a door to operate and no security/safety duties to perform during the critical phases. A night landing in Hong Kong is something to do once if you have the chance. Even more so if you have access to a full 180 degrees view from the cockpit. It was surreal. Pitch dark. Silence, some ATC chatter in the background and stunning views. It's hard to describe. But Hong Kong being a natural harbour surrounded by steep hills, it enhances the whole thing. We were flying quite low, you could almost touch the tip of the mountains, you could see the skyscrapers and they're lights from miles and the tankers, ships and fishing boats with their lights reflecting on the surface of the water... Just magical. Here's a picture I found on Flickr that captures pretty well the view I had, except from a greater distance. We all landed safely and swifted through the airport to the hotel. By the way it's a new hotel, much better than the previous one. The only downside is that it's not in the city center, but right next to the airport. It would take around one hour to get into the center. We'll see how I feel tomorrow and maybe venture out. More on that later. For now I will enjoy some food and an internet fix. Much needed I think. I need to catch up on emails, swaps and have a twitter session. Noteworthy : Before I even joined Emirates, I was in contact with Jean, a Kenyan gal who I happened to fly with on my last Frankfurt trip. Lovely spirit. And today, flew with her sister : Joanne. The pair lookalike ! From now on, I will refer to them as the K-sisters. Jean used to have a blog but, me being me, I can't find it no more. As soon as I put my hands on it, I will share the link with you all ! That's it from me. Ohhh no. Apparently, I'll be flying with Mike who recently joined. You probably don't remember but the night he arrived in Dubai he recognized me. I was waiting for friends at the entrance of 21st Century tower and he strolled in with his multiple bags, looking very lost. Funny moment. He later on emailed me to tell me he'd seen me. Cut the crap... I'll be flying with him to Moscow. Finally, If you care to know, I haven't applied for the A380. Some of you made the decision easier. Maybe later on this year as I'm sure they'll open applications again ! Alright, time to go to sleep ! Peace out fools.

bidding-matrix

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:40:57 +0000

Your questions answered : Jase writes in... BIDDING REVEALED

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:32:03 +0000

Got this email from Jase the other day and thought I would share with the masses. Also on the FAQ, I'm working on the glitches, I know it doesn't work. Hopefully have it back soon... Jase wrote : Hey! I would really appreciate if you could help me out on a few things about Emirates and what it is like being Cabin Crew. I have researched pretty much all I can such as training, rosters etc, but I'm a bit stuck on a few things that I would like to know before deciding to apply when a recruitment day comes around again. I hope you can help! Firstly with rosters I have seen you mention bidding and I have read it on other sites too. Could you explain this thing where you are put into 7 groups and its your highest chance month or something? That might be old but I picked it up earlier from some site. So basically with bidding and swapping can you choose any flight? For example if I was rostered on a DXB-CDG flight but I wanted to go to LHR would I put that in for swap or...? Thanks! Secondly for your annual leave ticket to your country, can you choose when you take this or does Emirates say? Do you work on that flight or are you just pax? Thirdly, you mentioned about requesting leave on a blog. If I wanted to, for example, take 1-8 July off, would I request that and then whether I get it or not would depend on EK granting it? This leads me on to travel with Emirates. During leave it would be great to travel more and for a bit longer than a layover. So when does concessional travel kick in after being with Emirates? Also, how much roughly are the tickets and is that done through a bidding system too? How do you cope with the jetlag/tiredness/consistent time zone changes? Any way to overcome these from experience? Thank you very much for all your help! I really appreciate it! Your blog has been amazingly informative for me. Really. It's great! Thanks again! Thanks Jase for your email. I hope you don't mind me sharing it publicly here on the blog. I'll answer the best way I can without confusing anyone. The bidding system was made by Canadians (lol, no offense eheh) and still is being fine tuned... Bidding. Yeah, so we have a bidding system which simplifies and automates the rostering process here at Emirates. With the number of Cabin Crew on the payroll (around 11,000 to date), paper and pencils wouldn't be effective. It would be mayhem. Even an Excel spreadsheet can't really do the maths. The system works - as far as I know - around a set of rules that cannot be overidden. These rules are set by the Civial Aviation Regulation and are called FTL (Flight Time Limitations). It's a number of very complicated regulations that a normal human being can't even figure out. So the Bidding system here at Emirates takes the 11,000 strong pool of Flight Attendants, divides them into 7 groups that rotate every month for 7 months. Inside each group, Flight Attendants are ordered by seniority. What I tried to explain in two lines here can be explained with what is called a matrix, I'm group 3, and I'll take that for my examples : So take me as an example. I'm in group 3. In august 2009 (this month) I hold a medium strength hand for my bidding. Meaning the system will allocate preferred flights to whoever is above me in the position (from C to A). In other words, group 2, 1 and 7 will have a greater chance of getting the flights they have bid for. Bear in mind the fact that seniority and operating grade (economy for Grade 2, business for Grade 1 and first class for FG1) within a group is also taken into account. At the moment I hold a fair spot on the seniority within my grade. I hope you're still with me ! With flight being more popular (ie a 36hour layover in Mauritius in a brilliant setting) than others (ie. a 24hour layover in Deathrow/Heathrow next to the airport or even a turnaround trip to Chennai), you need to bid smart if you do not want to end up with 7 turnarounds (or turns : destination close enough that a layover is not necessary as per FTL). Which at Emirates is probably your worst nightmare, especially with the passenger profile we have to deal with. So Position "G" is the reserve month, you can try to bid, but you will have no luck what so ever. You're at the mercy of Crew Scheduling and Passenger Loads. Moving upwards means that month after month you will get a stronger hand to bid. Leading eventually to what we commonly call "Top Bid" where your chances of getting a decent roster and the flights / days off you requested. I think that sums up the Bidding System pretty neatly. Now onto Swapping. Before Emirates went global, they had a manageable fleet (crew compliment + aircraft). Nowadays with over 130 aircrafts on line and over 11,000 operating crew available things have changed. They used to do the swapping manually (still in use for Captains and First Officers), they had poster boards where crew used to place paper ads for trips they wanted to giveaway and trips they wanted along with a phone number and some important details such as dates and destinations. Nowadays, it's basically the same thing but virtual. We have access to a portal that enables us to advertise the trips we don't want and ask for trips we'd like to operate. Once you find what you're looking for, you trade your flight with another crew (swapping flight for another flight or days off) in order to build a roster that suits you. This often doesn't work as rules and regulations on FTL (number of hours worked previously, rest periods before the flight etc etc) interfere with your requests. Company policies also intervene such as Gender Rule, minimum of 2 male crew on every flight, a language speaker, maximum of 50% of language speakers per flight... In other simple words, Swapshop (that's how it's called) is like a Graigslist for flight trading. Emirates is one of the few airline to have successfully implemented such a swapping system. I know of other Flight Attendants such as Heather Poole that require the help of "trip traders" to do the work for them against some kind of payment... Let's move on to Leave/Holidays. Emirates, as part of your contract, will entitle you to take 30 days of Leave per annum. These 30 days, you have to bid for twice a year. You can take 15 days in the first half of the year (January to June) and the rest the second half (July to December). Bidding differs though. This time, there's no group and no matrix. But only seniority within your grade. The more senior, the more your request will be fulfilled. This year I asked for Christmas off, and two weeks during Ramadan and got them. Being popular periods, it means my seniority was high enough to grant my requests. You will not work on your flight home for your holidays. They will grant you a free return ticket each year to your ALD (Annual Leave Destination) which you will have specified upon joining. And what about Staff Travel ? Staff Travel benefits kick in fully after 6 months with the company. You will have a range of available tickets for yourself as well as for immediate family members. There's various tickets. But the most common ones are :

ID90 : 10% of the fare price + taxes (ie. one way Sydney - Dubai on this ticket is roughly 410 UAE dihrams or 80 euros/110 US dollars). This ticket is tricky. It entitles you to board a flight provided there's seats available and the overall payload (weight) does not exceed the MTOW (Max Take-Off Weight) of the aircraft. And full fare paying customers gets priority. It also works on seniority. If a colleague is more senior than you are, he will get on before you do. Cheap but gives nightmares. You will have to check passenger loads before attempting to get on a flight with an ID90.
ID50 : 50% of the fare price + taxes. You get a firm ticket that will enable you to get on unless a Frequent Flyer member of golden status decides you shouldn't be on the flight and takes your seat (rarely happens).
ALT : Free annual firm ticket to the destination you specified upon joining Emirates. No problem with that ticket.
OAL : Other Airline ticket. Emirates has ties with other airlines for its employees. I've personally never used one of them.
ZED : Industry wide agreement for airline employees. Subload ticket in most cases at generous prices. basically the same as an ID90 for practically any other airline in the world. You also get listed for this ticket and depending on available seats you get on or you don't.

NO bidding system for your tickets. Although you have a cap for your family members depending on the financial crisis... it seems ! And Finally Jetlag, time zones and constant traveling. I haven't found the miracle yet. But sleeping plenty, drinking water on-board and no going crazy on layovers seems to work pretty well. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy a party in Singapore at times or a day long sightseeing trip in Beijing... But you have to manage your rest time according to the flight you will have to operate. I have yet to find a crew that has completely mastered the jetlag/fatigue issue. That's about it. Hope this answers your questions. If you too have any questions to ask, please do not hesitate to send me an email via the contact page for a detailed answer wherever I can answer !

bidding

Sodwee — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:41:09 +0000

nickyhomeIMG

Sodwee — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:33:15 +0000

nickyhomeIMG

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:24:41 +0000

dust

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:33:00 +0000

airboy-in-zurich

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:45:15 +0000

Dust Eater / BrotherOfSodwee in AUS + more

Sodwee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:48:01 +0000

The amount of dust a balcony can accumulate is beyond me. At the end of the day, if the only purpose of having balconies in Dubai is to clean them twice a week, you're better of not having one at all. Or have some kind of perch that does not require any kind of cleaning what so ever. I can understand balconies in reasonable weather conditions, but in Dubai I think it's the daftest thing an architect can come up with. Nonetheless, I enjoyed cleaning the balcony today. It was around 5.30 am, the urge started to rush through my bloodstream while I was having horizontal rest. My sleep was very light, and doing nothing, eyes wide open in my bed is just a hell of a waste of time if you ask me. It's amazing the sense of satisfaction one can get out of cleaning stuff. No wonder women - without being demeaning to the opposite sex - take so much pride in the act of cleaning a household. And I admire that. "A job well done" did I think to myself after brushing, moping and clearing the cement dust that covered the whole balcony with an inch thick layer. It came from the opposite construction site that never sleeps by the way. They're at it 24 hours, 6 days out of 7. I saw the old Tata buses dropping the labour/slave workers at 6am sharp. Change of shift. Another bus came to pick up the other workers for their journey back to the baracks. The pool opened again today and I plan (meaning it's still a plan) to poodle around this morning. Before I head to the mall to find some birthday presents for a number of special people in my family. It's that time of year, you know, when everybody has their birthday in the space of 2 months... I finally managed to get Nick (BrotherOfSodwee) a firm ticket at a discounted price for his way back to Dubai. He'll be flying on the A380 on the 18th of August. In about 2 weeks. I can't friggin' wait. We'll then try to spend two days of chillaxing time here in Dubai... By the pool I guess. Maybe have a skiing session at Mall Of The Emirates, because he's probably the only one willing to do it with me. All the others I've asked looked at me with the "can't be bothered look". Nick (BrotherOfSodwee) has been traveling round most of Australia for the last year. What some might call Backpacking. On a limited budget. In fact he had to work to carry on traveling. Since he landed there, Nick has successfully been working as a builder in Brisbane, waiter at an Indian restaurant, but was so disgusted at how he was treated he left by throwing his apron at the owner's face (would of loved to see that). Then moved on to Perth and Broome where he found work as a pearl diver (he got sick on the boat, so that didn't last very long). He then road tripped over to Darwin where he found work spraying trees for a good amount of bucks. The same employer then sent him down close to Melbourne on another cheap road trip from Darwin. He crossed the whole of Australia in a not so comfy car. Even driving at times because the other guy was falling asleep at the wheel. Playing cat and mouse with the roadtrains and such. He loved it but was knackered by the end. He is now in Sydney, having a blast at doing nothing and just roaming around for some new clothes and goodies before he leaves on the 18th. Take a look at these pictures I managed to smuggle from his Facebook profile... Gives you a rough idea of what he's been up to : [svgallery name="nickyAUS"] . I managed to shuv' my second Hong Kong for a Zurich. Happy about it. I love Zurich so much and the timings are way better ! I have a whole day in the swiss city. Sprungli chocolate, and a city with history. I'm missing cities with history. That's what's missing in Dubai. Some kind of reason behind the buildings, some soul & meaning. All this glass, cement and steel doesn't mean much apart from saying "Man, have you seen how loaded I am, check out my penthouse ??!". So strolling around a city with thoughtful architecture, lively streets, little shops, craftshops and so on is what I'm looking for at the moment. I'm also winding down before my leave so the transation to uber-active to sloth isn't too harsh. It's less hours. They managed to pack my two weeks with 70+ hours of flying time (block). Don't know how, but they have. Anyhow.... I haven't announced to anyone my come back in Paris, except my parents. So it will be easier for me to arrange meet ups instead of having the phone constantly ringing and no time for me to actually plan and enjoy my stay. I'm glad a lot of you enjoyed the 'Bidding Revealed' post. I didn't think anyone would actually be interested in the little huge details that govern our lives here at Emirates. Maybe I should explain more ?? If you have any dark areas you'd like to shed some light upon, do not hesitate to send me an email. I enjoyed it. So I'm willing to give more "behind the scenes" peeks into the operations. I also did an interview with a popular blogger - The Flying Pinto - over in the US and can't wait to see it published in the coming days. Stay tuned. I will let you know in due time. I'm missing Mother and Father quite a tad to be honest. They're living it up in some random Greek island. I think it's called Lesbos. Having tasty cocktails on the beach and visiting ancient sites like the Dionysos Temple and so forth. I will have pictures of the places they went to very soon. I think MotherOfSodwee will have to guest blog on her holidays. Like she did about their Nicaraguan and Costa Rican getaway trecking across raging volcanos and ruthless swamps. This time I think they went for a more relaxed itinerary. Hopping from beach to beach, faffing around in the blue waters of the mediterrenean sea. God they make me sooooo jealous ! Reminds me of the holidays I had with them. Apart from Kenya and Cyprus I think I really enjoyed the time we roadtripped all the way down to Andalucia in Spain. From Paris, through Madrid, down to Granada and finally reached Salobrena on the Costa Del Sol, before retreating into the Sierra Nevada - away from the british infested coast - where they had rented this amazing villa perched on the mountain top with a lovely swimming pool overlooking the rest of the valley. I can remember our hair turning blue because of the kind of chlorine the landlady used in that pool. We loved it, kinda punk ! I'm off to Moscow tomorrow morning. Never been there and looking forward to it. That's about all I have in store today. Hope everything is fine with you, wherever you may be. Have a fantastic day.

airboydoesmoscow

Sodwee — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:43:54 +0000

From Russia With Love. Airboy Does Moscow.

Sodwee — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:48:37 +0000

[UPDATE] : Check out my Crew Brief with The Flying Pinto, click here ! Follow TheFlyingPinto over at Twitter : @theflyingpinto Wow wow wowiwo. Didn't think much at first, was on the verge of swapping this flight but kept it in the end. And ohhh boy did I do the right thing ! We left hazy Dubai mid morning and five and a half hours later, my eyes dropped at the sight of The Red Square. It's the perfect cliche. One very useful tip. That's if you're a non language speaker. Please plan your trip thoroughly. Russia has very little english speakers and the simple task of getting a metro ticket can be quite awkward. We did eventually get a return ticket but the sheer amount of people qeueing behind us had us feeling EXTREMELY pressured. Understandable, one might think, because we were there for hours trying to explain where we wanted to go through what seemed like a bulletproof window. Speaking loud and clear towards the microphone (or what we thought was a microphone... could of been a very discreet AK47, who knows!). We must of looked totally hilarious from a local's point of view : "hand gestures by a foreigner trying to describe an architectural masterpiece at a metro agent in a crowded russian underground station" is the kind of visual you're looking for. But who gives a flying crap ??. The rest was a piece of cake. We got on the right train, counted 6 station down the line and got off. Yes, because you can't read the signs either. Or you can maybe recognize the first letter and the last of the station name and hope you're in the right place. We managed it beautifully. We ended up exactly where we had planned to be. Right there. In the Red Square... Along with thousands of other wondering souls, brides, soldiers, eagles and monkeys. Not to mention the amazing looking long-legged women in high heels and light tank tops... A rather lenghty picture taking session took place right after I tripped over on one of the squares' tiles : [svgallery name="moscow"] . The place feels just like wonderland. The buildings are amazing. Flaming with colours. And it really looks pretty fake but a closer look at them and you're really in front of a fantastic building. I thought it would be much bigger. It truly looks like a cake from a distance. A cake with plenty of icing and toothpicks pinned on top. It feels so good being in place of history and culture. As I've said in my previous post, it's something I've been missing for some time now. It felt like drinking a freshly squeezed orange juice if you get the connection. Something that wakes you up.... It wasn't cold at all. In fact it was uber-pleasant. At last we get to breathe fresh air and have a decent breeze to prance around in.

I was joined by Nanita from Thailand, Clarissa from South Africa, Brian from Curacao and Mike from Thailand, who is an avid reader of the blog and managed to swap one of his Vienna trips to fly to Moscow with yours truly: me. He thanked me too many times (ahahah I didn't where to put myself) because, as he puts it "It's because of the blog I got the interview and the job"... So we strolled along happy chappy bubbly, took more pictures, chatted and gossiped heaps before heading back to the hotel because we were all feeling peckish. I decided to call it quits for the night and headed to the room for some tweeting and a holy Club Sandwich. Blasphemous I know. That's about all. I have another video called "Another Day At Work #2" coming up the wire... stay tuned... Spasiva.

super8

Sodwee — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:25:14 +0000

My sorry self in motion

Sodwee — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:01:37 +0000

Maybe you're new to this blog and haven't dug deep enough [yet]. But I do make silly videos on a random basis because most of the time I'm uber-bored at home or I have the urge to document the different happenings that occur in my life. I also like to share some cool tunes through this medium. With the likes of iMovie to start with, and later on Final Cut Express, I have found a little new hobby to spend more cash on, as well as precious time. I would happily stay up all night to finish a 2 minute video on the previous' night shenanigans at Burger King. Having Oz (flatmate) continuously coming up with some really good ideas for new videos it's even harder to stay away from making useless clips and ashame myself so publicly. And with VIMEO making it all possible with their video sharing website, lightyears ahead of Youtube, it's a joy. Just because they make the best embed video player ever. They even have a hubnut (below) that displays all the videos on a user's account. So you can click/flick through all the content I've so far uploaded to my Vimeo account. If you have some spare time ahead, please feel free to laugh at me, make fun of me and be sorry for me. I will appreciate it. Oh and I have this fantasy of one day owning a super-8 camera along with a projector (mum, dad you heard me, my birthday is coming up !). In other news, I have plans for producing a monthly podcast with special, previously unheard content from the aviation industry world. And I need participants to make it lively and interesting. So to start things off, I'd like you to take part in a little poll to understand what you might want to hear, you can choose a maximum of 3 answers. The poll will run indefinately until I deem satisfied with the results. Please cast your vote. And if you have any ideas for this little project of mine, and you'd like to collaborate, please do drop me a line. That was all for today. Enjoy the videos. [poll id="17"] Danke !

mumlavi8teshome

Sodwee — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:49:47 +0000

mumlavia8tes2

Sodwee — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:49:59 +0000

The day has come !

Sodwee — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:29:40 +0000

UPDATE....... Yes indeed. MotherOfSodwee has Lavi8ted on her way back from Greece two days ago and really couldn't wait to share it with her son. Airboy. I was dying to get her picture. And today, the day has come to publish ! So here goes : In other news, well nothing much. Came back from raining Munich, did an average Delhi turnaround, entertaining to say the least and awaiting on my lovely Zurich in 2 days. Been at the pool way too often as this video suggests :

I'm officially over with turnarounds for this month which quite a relief and really looking forward to my leave. As it may not appear here on the blog, I have been flying living on planes for much of the month of August clocking in a whopping 80 hours block in around 2 weeks (usually that amount of hours spreads over 3 weeks. So as you can imagine, I'm going a little insane inside.

Otherwise, the Emirates FAQ is back up and a form is available for you to send me your questions about Emirates and their recruitment process and what lies afterwards. Feel free to ask !

That's it for now. Hope you are well wherever you are. I am. So far.

lagarfeldbreakdown

Sodwee — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 05:07:57 +0000

kubrickbgcolorSODWEE

Sodwee — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:14:12 +0000

body-main2

Sodwee — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:24:35 +0000

body-main3

Sodwee — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:32:32 +0000

body-main4

Sodwee — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:34:54 +0000

battle222

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:41:43 +0000

bar

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:41:41 +0000

bar2

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:43:25 +0000

bar3

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:50:53 +0000

onair

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:15:17 +0000

We are BACK LIVE !

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:30:11 +0000

Hey people ! We are back live and kicking. We have performed some design tweaks, some backend improvements and upgraded most of the systems that run the blog. Few of the newly introduced features that are already working :

FAQ for Emirates Airline is back in full swing. You can add your questions to the stack too !
Threaded comments. Now you have the ability to reply to a particular comment in ALL the previous and future blogs.
Printer friendly posts. Click the "Print" link on each post page to be sent to a printer-friendly design.
Email-a-friend enables you to send any post to a friend !
Gravatars. Get a profile picture inserted with your comments automatically by setting up a gravatar.com account !

There's loads more but these are the most significant changes we made. I'm currently in Paris enjoying 8 days of vacation with my Folks and my brother. We took Etihad from Abu Dhabi to get home because the loads on Emirates were absolutely horrific. We managed to get home nice and 'refreshed' because of how good the flight was. Chillaxing like a couch potato as we speak. We'll be celebrating Mother's birthday today ! And we have a wild cocktail party gearing up for Thursday ! I've been out and about on the bike-sharing bikes. Loving it up in the Paris summer sun. Anyway. Hope you guys are having fun wherever you are !

motherBday

Sodwee — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:44:31 +0000

I'm in Paris and I Flippin' luuurrve it / MOTHEROFSODWEE video...

Sodwee — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:12:40 +0000

Yes, I really can't get enough of it. It's deep down me. This love for a city. This love for your hometown. As stupid as it may sound. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to say I'm from Paris, France. And coming back to it every so often makes it even more special. With absolutely no Parisians in sight it's just way better. It was Mum's birthday today (still is technically) and we had a blast at home. Father prepared some "Filet Mignon" cooked in some Porto Jerez wine along with some fresh pasta and Thyme. Just mouth-watering. We, of course, had Champagne to top that and a few drinks to carry on during the night. We opened present sent it from all over mother earth as the english side of my family lives scattered on three different continents. You should of seen Mother, all excited and all. Earings, dresses, pottery, books and a Marc Jacobs clutch bag/purse. At one point during the night I had to get Dad's brand new digital camera out to film the ordeal in High Definition. Here's the result :

Not to mention she'll be showing it off tomorrow at work along with the dress and earings. She happens to be surrounded by Designer hungry, fashion inclined female co-workers. Always on the look out for the next factory sale for Gucci and Kenzo. They have pretty sad stories to tell when it comes to pushing and shuving other clothingmaniac at after summer sales... In any case, I think Mother was extremely happy to have her 3 men at home for her Bday. So Mum : HAPPY BIRTHDAY. With all my love. In other news, I'd like to talk about our trip over here to Paris because that was quite an adventure in itself. So I had been waiting for my dear Brother to fly back on the A380 from Sydney so he could spend some quality time by the pool at my condo (read flatshare with a rooftop pool...). He came and conquered the fresh waters available to us in those hazy, hot-as-hell Dubai summer days. We played and fooled around with the floaties I had got from Carrefour a few days before and got our tans working before we headed back to Europe. I got sunburnt. Obviously. I desperately needed to get out of the sandpit as I'd been working non-stop for quite some time and was eager to breathe some fresh Paris air. So I decided, in agreement with Nick (my Brother) to cut the travel a day shorter and head to Dubai International Airport and try to score some cheap standby seats on the next Paris CDG flight with Emirates. I knew of the terrible loads on this particular flight. As well as any other flight heading back to Europe. It's the end of the summer holidays for many Europeans and the flights are chocka'. But we tried with a lot of optimism, rocking up to the Staff Travel Counter with truck loads of hope. We waited, and waited and waited. To no avail. The lady behind the counter finally had to come to terms with us hanging around the terminal playing bumpers with the trolleys and flying around her like annoying flies. She bluntly turned our optimistic state into a right nightmare. With little options left to play with. All the flights full for Gatwitch, Deathrow, Frankfart and Dusseldork... I, in a not so financially wise moment, decided we could turn up to the Etihad ticketing office on Sheik Zayed Road (where I used to live) with all our luggage, buy a 2 tickets for the first plane out of this hole and enjoy an extra day in Paris. The sales person behind the desk was in full uniform and looked surprised to see two young men turn up, say "Hi mam', we need two tickets for tonight's Paris flight out of Abu Dhabi". She nodded, typed a few keys on her computer and finally came up with available seats. She didn't announce any price. She didn't have time because my card was already on the counter. I knew roughly how much I would toss out so I didn't really care as long as I had the pleasure off waving Dubai goodbye for as little as 8 days. I was happy. We then went onto checking in our bags next door so we could carry on shopping at Mall Of The Emirates later on that afternoon before heading to Abu Dhabi. The check-in lady was real nice and treated us with Exit row, seat A and C, next to each other. We landed in Paris at 7.30am after a 6 hour flight. Feeling absolutely fine, the cattle class seats they have are roomy and well maintained. Their In-Flight System is very similar to the one on Emirates. We flew an Airbus, much to my despise but was quite impressed. A340-600. Looked pretty new to me, the carpet and seat weren't as bad as I've seen on other airlines. Mum and Dad managed to get some time off work to pick us up from the airport, so we shuttled in style back home. A mere 10 minute ride from central Parigi. Since then it's been BEER > TERRACE > RESTAURANT > BIKE-SHARING > PINA COLADAS > SLEEP > LOUD MUSIC IN THE LIVING and so forth. Catching up with High School mates and doing pretty much nothing. I'm enjoying it heaps. I've also caught up with Tall Ben who's still working for that disgrace of a low cost. He's trying to get back into the EK lifestyle. Hopefully when recruitment opens again in December if everything goes as planned. Other than that, nothing much apart from the fact that the blog is now back live, fully with design tweaks here and there as I've previously stated. I hope you enjoy them... The FAQ is also up and running smoothly. FatherOfSodwee will be featured very soon (as soon as I edit the video) with his cooking skills. I should also tape some of Mother doing some magic with the blender cause that's a classic : Ever seen a fustrated banana murderer swinging raspberry coulis and mango cubes into a blender ? Stay tuned, you might just witness something truly abominable... That's about it from here in Paris. Take care. Merci.

septroster

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:41:36 +0000

NO COMMENT. September Roster Detailed.

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:58:08 +0000

Nothing much to add to this as you can probably understand, I'm flabbergasted :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
MAN - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - NBO	NBO - DXB	XX	DXB - BEY - DXB
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
XX	DXB - BOM - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - HYD - DXB	XX	DXB - LGW
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
LGW - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - BOM - DXB	DXB - BLR - DXB	XX	XX
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
DXB - TIP	TIP - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - CPT	CPT - DXB	XX
29	30	--
XX	MY Bday

On a positive note, I might just see Traytables in London. And I'm flying with Deon to the Paris of the East : Beirut. A part from that....well. You've guessed my state by now. Ah! and September is my Birthday month, just so you don't forget... And I will have traveled over 1 million Kilometers ( 1,045,916 km to be precise) by the end of September ! Quite something ! Have a great day people. I - on the other hand - have some banking to be done.

airboyguide

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:51:12 +0000

FAQ

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:51:14 +0000

FAQheader-form

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:18:49 +0000

FAQheader

Sodwee — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:18:50 +0000

bolly

Sodwee — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:08:14 +0000

bollyhom

Sodwee — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:08:18 +0000

It's Bollywood Month for Airboy...

Sodwee — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:19:28 +0000

Hey all, since I'll be jetting to India on numerous occasions this month I thought I could do with some cultural input from ya'll. I have this awesomeness of a tune to share first of all (click link to download, click play to listen). The song was composed by film composer A.R. Rahman, written by Gulzar, and sung by Sukhwinder Singh. It became extremely popular quickly upon release and its music video gained the same status, partly because it was filmed on a moving train. The Hindustani version of the song is called "Chaiyya Chaiyya", while the Punjabi and Tamil versions are called "Thaiyya Thaiyya" : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Chaiyya_Chaiyya_Bollywood_Joint.mp3] [download id="136"] So, if you have any cool tunes for me, I'm a taker ! Send them to sodwee [at] gmail.com and I'll be a happy man ! In other news, I'm bound for Nairobi in 3 days, and quite looking for it. We'll see what goes down. I'm in Manchester at the moment, having a right ol' blast on the interwebs and catching up with lost connections. Hope you're having a good time too. Peace.

Emirates hiring again ! Recruitment is underway...

Sodwee — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:14:53 +0000

Hi all. I'm happy to be reading some interesting comments and posts all around the internet stating that Emirates will be recruiting towards the end of the year. Multiple sources confirm an opening in Cabin Crew positions. Applicants who got their Offer Of Employment withdrawn earlier in the year have received an email asking if they'd still be interested in a Cabin Crew position. Several sources also reveal that Ab-initio courses will likely to be starting around November, December and January. Wannabe Cabin Crew in the holding pool will most likely have priority and will certainly have to go through another set of interviews and medicals. The Emirates Group Career website, has just posted this : WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU REALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO GOING TO WORK? ...You can, by becoming one of our truly international cabin crew team. You will be based in Dubai, a cosmopolitan city that has rapidly grown into a global tourism and commercial centre that offers something to everyone. Award-winning Emirates Airline operates an ultra modern and fast growing fleet of wide bodied Airbus and Boeing long haul aircraft. Currently flying to over 100 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Asia , Africa , Australia, New Zealand and the USA, we are proud of the service delivered by our multi-national team of over 120 nationalities; all trained to the highest standards. We are currently looking for exceptional people who would like to build a career with us and be part of our rapidly growing business. Our recruitment team interviews candidates in many countries across the globe. If you are interested in an 'International Lifestyle' with a difference and want to be a part of an award winningteam please apply online. Candidates may also appear in person and submit their CV, passport size and full length photographs at the new Emirates Group Headquarters near Dubai International Airport, Ground Floor, Entrance B, on 6^th September 2009 between 4:00pm and 5:00pm. Suitable candidates will be short listed and contacted for the selection process. Please bring a valid UAE driving license, a UAE original health card or an original passport as identification to gain entrance to the building. My guess is that the turnover is still quite high and the need for new crew to replace those are on the increase, and with additional aircrafts being delivered next year, it is important for Emirates to stay on top of their operations. In any case it is a good sign that things are moving on and we're seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. Open Days and Assessment Days will not likely to be happening before next year. They probably have enough wannabe Cabin Crew in the holding pool. If you have any further information about this, please do let me know, send me a mail, leave a comment or TWITTER me. Remember, this information is not official and should be treated accordingly, I'm just making my own assumptions on the matter.

Africa-Carnivore

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:01:31 +0000

carnivore-menu-nairobi

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:01:31 +0000

carnivore-nairobi

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:01:36 +0000

tusker-beer-home

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:28:13 +0000

Queen Sea Big Shark

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:44:35 +0000

From Kenya to Lebanon via India. The Dubai Metro.

Sodwee — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:52:29 +0000

Nairobi. Kenya. A beautiful country with amazing people. The K-sisters gave us a little bite-size of what their nation had to offer a couple weeks back when I flew with them both. Remember ? That was in Frankfurt. Not exactly the African continent, close enough when you have these two on board ! So we arrived there and jumped on the shuttle to the hotel. I was told the ride would take approximately 25-30 minutes. Minus the traffic. We ended up having a very close look at how bad traffic lights can be to a rush hour splurge of automobiles. We were sitting in the bus for almost an hour and 15 minutes. But, truth be told, I was enjoying my closer look at Nairobi's road systems and inhabitants. Kids selling peanuts in carefully handcrafted paper cones. Elderly, making a little money selling a range of tools, from nails to drills. You name it, they had it... Mother's with kids strapped to their back selling a rather sharp set of knifes. You could literally do your groceries sitting in traffic, planning your house renovation, buying tools and all: sitting in traffic. We finally made it to the hotel, right bang in the center of Nairobi. I had heard through crew talk and recommendations of a must-do restaurant named 'Carnivore'. So after storming our rooms for some quiet mind restoration after an uneventful flight over, we met in the lobby. The purser had arranged a taxi for the night. A taxi to take us to the restaurant. I thought it was closer, within walking distance, but obviously had misjudged. Greatly. It took around 20 minutes to get there. So walking wasn't an option. It was Friday night. Nairobi felt very still as we were speeding around those roundabouts. We got there and were greeted to a Tusker beer (local alcoholic beverage). The national beer. Tasty. Exactly what I was in need of. A few minutes later, we got to our table. The place was heaving with people. Just as well we booked a table. Sat down and ordered straight away. We were on the edge of starvation and walking past what looked like hell on earth for any four legged edible animal, was a real good first mouthwatering sight. A giant barbecue with skewers packed with all kinds of meat sizzling on top of red hot ashes. The whole thing was lit with a a few red spotlights pointing downwards, adding some drama to the whole woohaa. Unfortunately that day, they didn't have any exotics such as Crocodile or Bambi (are they called Deers??) We had spud (potato) soup for starters and then let the waiters unleash their carving skills upon us. We each had a red hot plate with nothing in it. Instead, a center piece with different sauces and salads to accompany what was to come to our table. If you need a visual here is how I would describe it : Imagine yourself at a - let's say... erm... - Chanel Fashion Show only the model is meat and the dresses are the sauces. They came round our table one after the other with different skewers of meat. We had chicken, porc sausages, beef, turkey, duck and more. One after the other. Until we couldn't fit any more. That's when you put the little flag down from the centerpiece, so the waiters stop serving meat. [gallery columns="4" orderby="rand"] Of course, we had to soak all that in Beer. I had another round of Tusker beer for good measure and was feeling a little tipsy at that point. They had a dancefloor further apart from the restaurant, which is huge by the way. So we had a good chat with a musical background. We had a good laugh. We spent 31 hours in Nairobi. The next day was spent digesting for most of us. I watched Discovery Channel and unfortunately OD-ed on Mythbusters followed by Megabuilders. I fell asleep only to wake up right before our wake up time. Perfect timing. Got back to Dubai safe and sound. Got to rest a little before I was bound for Beirut with Deon (he owns a blog and his good friends with Clauderic). We had a right laugh all the way and even managed to take footage of our antics. Not to be published though. I'm sorry. I'm still flying like a maniac. I forgot to bid last month for this one and ended up with an astonishing amount of turnarounds. Serves me right. Not to mention I made sure to bid for October. I just came back from an empty Bombay which is so different from what it was only two/three weeks ago. I'm so used to having full cabins that only having 55 passengers where we can cram 310 is somewhat... strange. Good for them, they got some excellent service. So there was no room for complaints. As hard as they wanted to try, they really couldn't find anything wrong. I even scored a nice written comment. That is going straight to my manager ! I now have two days off and will venture out of Tecom for the first time in years. Will be riding the newly open Dubai Metro, which was inaugurated yesterday at 9pm by His Highness. Will most probably go all the way to 21st Century Tower and pay a visit to Greg and Nivine (the remaining french gang). Update, I haven't in fact. I tried though. Got to Mall Of The Emirates tried to get a ticket but seeing the place was packed and the queues to only ONE FRIGGIN CASHIER was open, I decided in a very wise move, to grab a cab. Will go back there when people have stopped playing with the new toy and it's actually time-saving. Otherwise the thing looks pretty decent. I'm just worried about the frequency. It seems trains run every 15/20 minutes. If wrong please tell me ! Before I leave you to it, please enjoy these two tracks. One is an oldie, but a goodie. The other is a kinda cool, kinda sexy but not too old kinda track. It tends to be punk rock. It's a band called Queen Sea Big Shark and I discovered them as I was skating around on the Playstation 3. The song is called "Hold Your Hand". The band hails all the way from China and are making a few gigs there ! Download or die : [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Sam_Dave_Hold_On_Im_Comin.mp3] [download id="139"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Queen_Sea_Big_Shark_-_Hold_Your_Hand.mp3] [download id="137"] So that's that so far. I have Bengalore (ohh joy) soon, a red-eye Hyderabad (double oooh joy), a Gatwick (meh...), a Tripoli (kind of pumped about that one) and a Cape Town at the end of the month. So until I manage to finally get internet at home, my updates will be very sporadic. We've subscribed for internet and waiting to see if they'll actually be moving their asses sometime in the coming two weeks. PS. I would also like to thank all the peeps that sent in some kick ass bollywood tunes over. I will be compiling them soon, and will share them. When I get some time between flight and mopping that is !

insidemyRV

Sodwee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:10:18 +0000

insidemyRVcargo

Sodwee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:10:24 +0000

insidemyRVcabin

Sodwee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:10:45 +0000

FARV

Sodwee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:44:22 +0000

Inside my RV(s)

Sodwee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:48:54 +0000

Following a series over at a very popular Flight Attendant Blog owned by Bobby (BTW, I need to congratulate him for the logo he came up with! So I used it...), I decided to document my own. So today, and today only, you will get a sneak peek into my suitcase. It's a one time only offer though! We, at Emirates trail around with a maximum of two luggage items. Any other item is deemed unnecessary by our Grooming Department and therefore not within the Standards. That's why, when you see us storming the airports around the world, you'll see a uniformed procession. A sea of red hat, rays of ****suck*** lipstick slashing through the terminals, chocolate wrapped male FA's with a full swagger on display. And closing the parade, you'll see - seamlessly following behind each cabin crew - our RVs, or luggage : My cargo suitcase (yes it is checked in on all layovers, and goes straight to the cargo bay), which as seen many countries and has been wounded at war several times already. It is currently missing a lock but I really do not have the time nor the motivation to dish out around a 100 dirhams in taxis alone to get it fixed. Hence the bold patriotic/loyal Fly Emirates belt I got the day the lock got free. I had to buy this because my suitcase wouldn't close at all and I was fearing it would open and expose my underwear to the baggage handlers. Not to mention the hard-earned Diesel jeans and perfume as well as my favourite bacon and Heinz Baked Beans from Marks & Spencer's (I'm talking about the London ones, which are for me the tastiest on mother earth). Closely in tow, you'll find my FLYING OFFICE (as I like to call it). It's my cabin bag. This bag is packed with plenty of technology as I need to be constantly connected to the internet, be able to take pictures and videos, smoke, and recharge the batteries. It also has some boosting stuff like vitamins and basic Panadol tablets just in case. I do not pack, or very rarely, any food because I like to be maintained at every level by my company so I eat whatever there is onboard, so far that it is EDIBLE, so I usually venture up to business class of even up there in the heavens of First Class for some nice chicken skewers and herbal teas. Below you'll be able to witness the extend of what I can pack into that small roll aboard : Details :

Keys with Corona strap from my barman days and bright orange RESCUE tag from Singapore
My beloved MacBook black. Any Flight Attendant's must have. Emails, photos, films. Our personal entertainment center for these boring layovers.
The almighty sunglasses to cover the eye-bags and fading make up for women. Great against the sun too.
THE IPOD. Saved thousands of Cabin Crew before, whether delayed in airports or on standby, this piece of equipment is extremely important. It also needs to be charged fully before each trip !
A funny postcard from my ex.
Company provided Onboard Updates to keep up with the hundreds of changes to the service they make every two weeks or so. By The way having a dozen of those in your cabin bag (mandatory and part of grooming) adds a hell a lot of weight. But we're apparently going paperless, so it's good news ! More valuable space to play with !
Return leg tags where I can put details of the destination + date + staff number. Life saver when they loose your cargo suitcase.
Service Jacket. Neatly folded inside the cabin bag. Managed to master the folding process for it to take as little space as possible without inflicting any wrinkles. I also fold it inside out so that the ink from the manual does not stain the outside (customer facing side of the jacket) material.
Lighter + pens. Here's a travel tip : NEVER EVER GET SEPARATED of your lighter or pens. Life savers again.
Cigarettes, obviously. We lead stressful jobs up there.
Extra buttons for the jacket. Didn't show the sewing kit because it was tucked inside one of the pockets...
Absolutely essential piece of equipment here : The computer charger. Apple has made it super easy to change from one socket type to another. So I can cover the whole world using those little adapters you can see there.
The Crew Bible. Our Emergency Manual that details every single action we can or cannot take in every possible event. A mandatory (or so called NO GO item) item to have constantly while on duty. It's the heaviest of all. Even my laptop weighs less.
Padlock for cabin bag on long hauls with CRC (crew rest)

Finally a peek inside my cargo suitcase, self-explanatory :

podcastad

Sodwee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:43:48 +0000

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Sodwee — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:59:55 +0000

Emirates Global Assessment Days in September 2009 !!

Sodwee — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:03:51 +0000

Hi peeps. Here's some extra good news for wannabe Cabin Crew. Emirates is planning to hold Global assessment days at the following locations in September 2009. Including one tomorrow in London, UK. Please follow the links and register to get an invitation. A full report and what to expect from these days is detailed here. You can also take a read of the F.A.Q. for further information...

United Kingdom, London	14-Sep-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Serbia & Montenegro, Belgrade (Open Day)	30-Sep-2009	09:00 am	Hyatt Regency Belgrade Milentija Popovica 5 11070 Belgrade Serbia Register Now
Australia, Brisbane (Open Day)	30-Sep-2009	09:00 am	Aviation Australia- Cabin Crew Centre 15 Boronia Road, Brisbane International Airport, Queensland 4009, Australia Register Now
Bulgaria, Sofia (Global Assessment Day)	25-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now

If you have any further information or would like to share your impressions and reactions to those Global Assessment days, please feel free to comment below and or send me a direct email.

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Sodwee — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:38:22 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:16:00 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:18:17 +0000

Airboy's Podcast : Episode One [Updated: get it with iTunes]

Sodwee — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:55:55 +0000

[UPDATE] Now you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes directly from your desktop. But why ? Well, it will download automatically to your iTunes Library so you won't miss any future shows. As an added benefit for those of you who do actually subscribe via iTunes, you will also get the DOWNLOADABLES straight to your iTunes Library. Ain't It COOL ?? So to do so, you'll have to follow 3 simple steps :

Open iTunes.
Click "Advanced" in the top menu bar. Then select "Subscribe to Podcast..."
A text field should appear. Copy and paste this URL : http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/feed/ . Click "OK".
That's it ! When we publish audio content on the blog, it will automatically be downloaded to your desktop ! Don't you love technology ??

OR, click on the iTunes image further down... It's been a long time in the making. Countless hours of planning (not so much in fact), equipment buying, nerve-wracking recording and endless editing. It's 48:08 in length and I'm pretty proud of this new little thing. There's a few glitches and sound issues mainly due to the fact that I recorded the interview with my laptop microphone, way before I got my jazzy big ass USB mic and recorded the rest of the podcast with it. And I must say it was a good buy ! The sound you will hear was improved greatly. It's our first attempt at hosting a show, bear that in mind, when you laugh at my shyness. Thankfully Oz (Airmale), joined in to make it more lively. I'd like to thank him and Doyle for letting me record them. It was a blast. We'll try our best to have one monthly and have as many people join in as possible. Also in the podcast are some kick ass tunes that I'll most probably be adding to the blog's DOWNLOADABLES. Please file in your complaints, reactions and other thoughtful comments in the comment section of this blog entry or send me an email via the contact page. The Podcast is available as a stream online, by clicking the play button below or play it in a pop-up window by clicking the image on the RIGHT SIDEBAR of this page (so you can carry on browsing). The latter is recommended so you can still do whatever you have to do and have our zexy voices in the background. Another alternative is to download the entire podcast to your desktop and play it through iTunes (which, hopefully, you all have) or any other MP3 player. Take it with you on your layover, on your jogging session or your first date. Whichever place you listen to the podcast I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. That's it. The podcast should be available until the next one is published. I'll also try to have it on the iTunes Store so you can all subscribe and it will download automatically when it reaches the heavens of the interwebs. SO ! Go forward and listen : [podcast]http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/AirboysPodcastEpisodeOne.mp3[/podcast] . And/or download it to your desktop :

[download id="141"]

Thanks again to Oz and Doyle for taking part in this and to you people for downloading and listening.

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Sodwee — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:45:24 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:45:26 +0000

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Sodwee — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:13:39 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:07:11 +0000

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Sodwee — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:07:12 +0000

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Sodwee — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:04:57 +0000

Adults are EVIL !

Sodwee — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:08:21 +0000

Picture 1

Sodwee — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:28:39 +0000

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Sodwee — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:44:07 +0000

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Sodwee — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:44:17 +0000

PAM ANN live in the US of A

Sodwee — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:52:33 +0000

This is an email I received, and apparently, I'm not the only one : hi there, any chance we can get you to blog a little about Pam Ann - www.pamann-live.com she is coming to the us to tour and not many people know about it... which i find a shame.... she is great... go see her if you can! best regards Vanessa Because she asked nicely and I hope to get some kind of freebie out of it I'm posting it here ! So the hostess with the mostess will be performing in the states on those following dates :

Oct. 10 Boston
Oct. 11 Chicago
Oct. 13 Denver
Oct. 15 Los Angeles
Oct. 17 San Francisco
Oct. 18 San Francisco
Oct. 20 Dallas
Oct. 21 Houston
Oct. 23 Miami
Oct. 24 Miami
Oct. 25 Atlanta
Oct. 26 Washington D.C.
Oct. 28 New York

Pam Ann is the alter ego of Australian comedian Caroline Reid. Reid portrays the air-hostess Pam Ann, a mixture of drag, camp and glamour, and a pun on the airline Pan Am. Reid as Pam Ann can be seen on tour in the United Kingdom such as at The UCL Bloomsbury, she also has a guest-role in the BBC show Fast Track. She also frequently conducts shows in major cities in the US, Canada and her native Australia. Performances tend to emphasise the vagaries of air travel, including the identifying quirks of various airlines around the world, mixed with a generous dose of ribald humour and double entendre. Reid often caters to airline employees and frequent travellers in her audience, directly involving them in the performance. Watch a clip here :

homeparis

Sodwee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:46:28 +0000

homeparissmall

Sodwee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:46:33 +0000

October Roster Detailed | Flygirls CW show trailer : ouch.

Sodwee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:08:30 +0000

Yeeeeeeeeepppppeeeee. Finally a roster I was looking forward to. I sharpened my bidding techniques and scored 3 afternoon CDGs for the sole month of October which I'm extatic about. I want my Baguette so baaaaad. I also got a decent Tunis layover for a hint of sun as well as another Nairobi which I'm trying to shuv for something else. Here's the full roster detailed :

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Can Use	DXB - ATH - DXB	XX	DXB - CDG	out	CDG - DXB	XX
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
DXB - CDG	out	CDG - DXB	XX	XX	DXB - KRT - DXB	XX
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
DXB - CDG	out	CDG - DXB	XX	DXB - TUN	XX	TUN - DXB
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
XX	XX	XX	DXB - NBO	out	NBO - DXB	XX
29	30	31
DXB - NBO - DXB	XX	XX

I'm in rainy Cape Town (South Africa) after what was probably the busiest bloomin' flight I've operated in a hell a long time. I was running around the cabin like a junkie searching for his fix. We had an hour horizontal rest just for a laugh and carried on flogging wine bottles out by the dozen until we reached the southern tip of Africa. Here, mother nature had better of us. Rain, wind and cold means I'm staying inside. Sorry guys, I know there's plenty to do but seriously, it's no weather to be going out. Add the fact I didn't pack any appropriate winter gear... I think it's wiser if I stay and try out that juicy steak instead ! As for internet at home, we're no where near being hooked up. These useless lampoons at Du Broadband won't let us share the connection in the flat. We are fuming. Not to mention we raided their customer service department 2 days ago. 5 of us having a right go at them, one after the other. Other customers in there were shocked. They've promised to have us hooked with priority and all. We'll see how that turns out. Don't expect Airboy on the interwebs as he used to be for quite some time. Mum/Dad, don't expect any Skype calls anytime soon either. But that's OK 'cause, I'm coming home! If you haven't downloaded the first episode of our podcast, make sure you do so :

[download id="141"]

Voila. That's the update. Keep in touch people. And Before I go, I couldn't help but cringe :

Ohhhhhhhh Nooooo. What on earth is this ??? They have managed to pick the tartiest, worst possible actresses for that thing. I bet it's gonna bomb. They did it the wrong way ! I cannot help but hate the first peek into what is supposed to be the new HILLS !

october09emirates

Sodwee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:57:49 +0000

toppostemiratesoct09

Sodwee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:57:53 +0000

Emirates Open Day : Back in full swing. Register today !

Sodwee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:12:20 +0000

Emirates has just posted a whole bunch of new Open Days and Global Assessment Days for all you cabin crew wannabees around the world. Check the listing below. PLEASE, register before attending an Open Day OR/AND an Global Assessment. If the venue is not yet stated. You will most likely get the details via email a week or so before the D-Day.

Open Days for October 2009

The schedule below enlists open days in different regions which you can register for online.

Australia, Melbourne	10-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Venue to be advised. Register Now

Australia, Perth	10-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Venue to be advised. Register Now

Canada, Vancouver	24-Oct-2009	10:00 am - 3:00 pm	Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel South Tower 1088 Burrard Street Vancouver, BCTime: Walk in anytime from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency Konexions.

Global Assessment Days for October 2009

The schedule below enlists open days in different regions which you can register for online.

Thailand, Bangkok	04-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency SASS.

South Africa, Johannesburg	10-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now


Morocco, Casablanca	11-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency CFPNC.

Argentina, Mar Del Plata	17-Oct-2009 - 19-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency Top Fly.

Philippines, Manila	24-Oct-2009 - 25-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency IPAMS.

Tunisia, Tunis	25-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency IAC.

Bulgaria, Sofia	25-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency MT Global Experts.

Brazil, Sao Paulo	30-Oct-2009 - 31-Oct-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency FLYRIGHT.

Disclaimer : The information posted above is complete and current at the time of publishing. Times, dates and venues can change at any time without prior notice. Please register online to get the latest details. If you have any further information, you can send me an email.

opendaytoptop2

Sodwee — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:30:35 +0000

Emirates Open Days : London, Malta, Colombo and Paris dates added.

Sodwee — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:51:40 +0000

Emirates has just added a few more dates for their Recruitment drive. London, Paris, Malta, Colombo and a few more Sao Paulo dates join the already extensive line-up of Open and Global assessment days for the month of October 2009. Please register before attending any of the days mentioned. Venues for Global Assessment days will be communicated to you via email if they are interested in your application. Open Days are just walk-in-see-what-it-gives type of days... But it is recommended that you also apply through their website. Here are the extra dates added recently. But before you do anything, subscribe to our newsletter and receive, directly in your inbox, the latest news from Emirates and the Airboy blog as soon as we hit the publish button (you will need to validate your email with the link sent to your inbox. Check your spam too, it might be in there) :

Global Assessment Days :

Brazil, Sao Paulo

30 / 31-Oct-2009

09:00 am

Sri Lanka, Colombo

21/22-Oct-2009

09:00 am

United Kingdom, London

19-Oct-2009

09:00 am

United Kingdom, London

12-Oct-2009

09:00 am

Open Days :

Brazil, Sao Paulo	25-Oct-2009	10:00 am	Intercity Ibirapuera 2577 Ibirapuera Ave., Moema, SP Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency FLYRIGHT.

France, Paris

24-Oct-2009

09:00 am

Hyatt Regency Paris - Charles de Gaulle 351 Avenue du Bois de la Pie B.P. 42048 - Paris Nord II 95912 Roissy CDG Cedex, France. Register Now

Malta, Malta

10-Oct-2009

09:00 am

Venue to be advised. Register Now

Dates, venues and times are subject to change without prior notice. Please register to get up to date information regarding any Open Days or Global Assessment Days in the future. In complete other news I was happy to see a really good article on Flight Attendants that blog written by Scott. Thanks for the plug ! Click here to see the article.

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Sodwee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:03:21 +0000

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Sodwee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:05:21 +0000

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Sodwee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:05:29 +0000

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Sodwee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:36:29 +0000

The Birthday Aftermath

Sodwee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:37:04 +0000

Ok, so I'm 24. No big deal really. Just another excuse to dive into a giant ice filled tumbler and swim endlessly until you finish the contents (in this case : astonishing amounts of Bacardi Coke. My very own jetfuel). Another night of foolish antics and a heavy hangover to deal with today. I got up pretty early at around 12 to the sound of Oz's music. The soundtrack of Rock'n'Rolla. Pretty decent shit I must say. My eyes were red, my swagger wasn't 100% assured but I still had some brains left. Which, after all, is a good sign. Listened to more music, bluetoothed some over and back from my flatmates computer and decided to rock out to check on my Facebook account as well as update the blog with those pithy words. It started yesterday with Jeri, who's my neighbor here in TECOM building and she had plans to go boogie over to some persian tunes in Quantum club just above ZINC. I'm never too far from my favourite watering hole... The night was crazy there. I was the only blond guy in the place. It was packed with Iranians and their misses. All decked out in extravagant fuck-me pumps and sporting some hilarious hair-dos. I had a ruddy ol' time wiggling my backside to the music. Daydreaming in the laser strobes and stuff. At one point I was missing ZINC so I popped down the escalators and got in there only to find another bunch of mates and drink even more. Finished at Burger King as you do. High on the Chicken Royale and another happy crowd with no other than Rodriguo whom I must thank for getting me the meal as a birthday present ! Subsequently, my hangover was less of a horror picture. Here are some pictures of people who WERE NOT at my birthday celebrations : [gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="rand"] Otherwise, I'll be jetting to Athens tomorrow so I can stock up on pure Olive Oil from the airport and then straight back to Dubai. I had a call today from DU broadband services and as surprising as it may sound, they have sorted the issue with us no being able to share the internet connection in our flat. So, if everything goes to plan, which I seriously doubt knowing how ISPs here in Dubai tend to deal with their customers, I should be hooked to some extra high speed fiber optic internet by the 7th of October. Which is like 4 month since we first moved in. We still don't have any landline. But quite frankly, I don't give a flying crap, so long as I have my beloved Skype and a decent connection to be able to upload the piles of crap I need to upload, I'm a happy man. So yeah, stay tuned for some happy browsing in the next month. On the 4th I'll be in Paris, France catching up on the goss with Mother and Father. Can't wait. Looking forward to that. BrotherOsSodwee has already left home for some other adventures over the pond to Wales, where he'll hopefully find a job and learn how to drive. It's much cheaper in the UK apparently. France is just a rip off in all aspects. That's about it. Maybe you missed it, but I must thank Scott for pluging the blog in one of his article on the Examiner.com. And we have some pretty good stuff coming up in the next podcast. We'll hopefully roll that out in October sometime. Peace out fools. Have a good day.

jerk-genius

Sodwee — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:37:34 +0000

Podcast : Send us your burning questions !

Sodwee — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:43:41 +0000

Hi all. My creative director (whom I obviously overpay), Oz or Airmale, thought it would be a good idea to answer some of your questions in the next podcast so that everyone can contribute. It could be any questions you have in mind. All you have to do is type it below in the form and hit the send button. We'll try to include all the questions depending on how much time we have. Please do include your name or a funny Nickname so we can identify you and send a vocal big-up ! Type away fools : [contact-form 5 "podcastQ"] If you want to turn your question into a sound clip that would be even better. Record yourself and send us the file to sodwee @ gmail.com (minus the spaces) and we'll include it in the next podcast as well as answer it ! And if you have any good stories to share, please to send them in too. We're always on the lookout for amazing stories.

DL84home

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:02:05 +0000

uffie-ed-banger-records

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:02:09 +0000

Airboy haz da internetz wired. DOWNLOADABLES #84.

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:10:25 +0000

Boooya. Pop the glock peeps because Airboy is now fully wired with the world. And to celebrate, well I have some cool tracks to share with you today. The guys from DU (an internet provider here in Dubai) came this morning to install the box and TV decoder. So I now have the exquisite pleasure of fantasizing on Hala Gorani and the awesomeness of her reports. I have been surfing, browsing non-stop for the past 7 hours. Enough I think to catch up on most of the delayed stuff I had pending. I also managed to gather some cool tunes for your hearing pleasure. Please feel free to download these four hand-picked beauties :

DOWNLOADABLES #84 :

It's a rather good starting month to say the least, I've already made a first trip over to Paris with an awesome crew and I'm getting prepped to leave for my second one tomorrow. Mother & Father are fine and fully enjoying the fact BrotherOfSodwee has once again left home sweet home for another long stretch. This time heading over to Wales with GrannyOfSodwee in order to get his driving license and start working on his finances. I, on the other hand, still need to get my act together and score a driving license. I doubt it will happen anytime soon though. I have other priorities. That's about it for now. I'm off to Skype mother for a long due chat, meanwhile, learn more about Uffie.

Uffie

Anna-Catherine Hartley, better known by her stage name Uffie, is an American-born, Paris-based rapper and lyricist currently signed by French music label Ed Banger Records. She incorporates the genres of synthpop, electronica, hip hop, rap and dance into her music and often works with her fellow label-mates, DJ Feadz and Mr. Oizo. Her debut album, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans will be released in early 2010. Her first single, "Pop the Glock", after getting a limited promo release on Arcade Mode in January 2006, was released on French label Ed Banger Records and the single was also included on Ed Rec Vol. 1, released later that year. Both the single (produced by Feadz) and its B-side "Ready to Uff" (produced by labelmate Mr. Oizo) contained elements of electro and rap. Her music has been described as being "often performed in a wannabe English accent" with "a deliberately staid anti-flow delivery that walks a fine line between electro and nu-skool rap." The release also featured a remix by SebastiAn. In February 2007, the song "Dismissed" was included on Ed Rec Vol. 2, an Ed Banger Records label compilation. Two more new tracks from Uffie, "Hot Chick" and "In Charge" were first proliferated through audioblogs in July 2006. Then in November, 2006, they were released together on her EP Hot Chick/In Charge on Ed Banger Records. On June 29, 2007, the EP, Suited and Looted was released through Ed Banger Records. The release included the single "First Love" (produced by Mr. Oizo) and "Brand New Car". Uffie and electronic duo Crystal Castles worked together on the track, Make It Hott, although it was never officially released, it can be found through various audioblogs. Also in 2007, Uffie also collaborated with labelmates Justice for their 2007 debut, †, on a song entitled "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy", which was later released as Uffie's fifth single in 2009. In Spring of 2008 Uffie was Married to the Mob's exclusive model. Next, Uffie contributed her new song "Robot Oeuf" to Ed Rec Vol. 3, which was released on May 26, 2008. In late 2008, she worked with Mr. Oizo on the track "Steroids", which was released on Mr. Oizo's album Lambs Anger in November of that year. The song was praised by many critics as being much more mature than her previous songs. A remix of "Steroids" was also included in Mr. Oizo's EP Pourriture, released on March 16, 2009 on Ed Banger.It was announced in early 2009, that her track "Robot Oeuf" would be included in the soundtrack to Pedro Almodovar's critically-acclaimed Spanish film Broken Embraces, starring Penelope Cruz.

Her record label, Ed Banger Records first stated in late 2006 that her debut album would be released 'mid-to-late 2007', then 'sometime in 2008'. Hectic traveling schedules and news of her pregnancy delayed the release of her debut album. She has stated that her new sound is very different with a much more mature sound. She describes the album as 'schizophrenic' and 'worth the wait'. On October 3rd, 2009, Busy P, founder and owner of Ed Banger Records stated that Uffie's album, now titled Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans had just been completed and is due out in early 2010. DJ Feadz, Mr. Oizo, SebastiAn and Mirwais served as producers on the album and Pharell Williams will make a guest appearance on the first single off of the new album. Also on October 3rd, Uffie's first official music video for Pop the Glock, directed by Nathalie Canguilhem debuted on the internet.

Source : Wikipedia

303matt

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:13:36 +0000

caty

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:24:12 +0000

derick

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:24:15 +0000

laviator-picture

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:36:27 +0000

303 MATT drops a tune. Two LAVI8TORS

Sodwee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:43:08 +0000

Matt sent me this killing mixtape quite a while ago (when I didn't have the proper internet connection to upload) and it has been laying in the back of my hard drive for ages. He reminded me of it today and whipped up a cover artwork for him to enhance the experience. It's clever mix and a ode to Ed Banger Records (whom I talked about in the previous post) with the likes of Justice, Uffie, Mr. Oizo and SebastiAn. And cherry on the top, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs of New York City and their grungy, trashy riffs come to add the much needed dirt to this patchwork. Matt did a good job. If you have some mixing skills, please do go forward and send me either the entire mp3 or a link to a file hosted on a file-sharing website. I'd be happy to hear it !

[download id="142"]

[audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Indie_Electro_Dirt.mp3]

In other late news. I promised to publish these two LAVI8TOR snaps taken by Derik and Caty. Goes to show there's still people up taking their pic : [gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="rand"] . Derik writes : Taken on board AirAsia A320, AK5320 from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi. I always want to join this club, and now, I have the chance to ^^ I've sent 1 before this but I'm not sure is it successful as I didn't receive any confirmation. So I decided to send 1 more time. I hope I'll be accepted as laviator by Sodwee, the AirBoy. Carlos on Behalf of Caty (whos in the picture) : Hey Ben, here's a picture of my friend Claudette from Córdoba, Argentina on her way to Iquitos, Perú last month. She was there visiting her mother for her birthday. She's eager to see herself on the Laviators Hall of Fame, so let me know if you post it!

follow-friday-icon1

Sodwee — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:26:47 +0000

Twitter FFs (Follow Fridays) / LINKlove

Sodwee — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:31:21 +0000

Hey boys and girls, I suggest you log on to twitter and create your own profile so you can follow those great Flight Attendant and learn a hell a lot more from the business and those awful stories they have. I promise a never ending flow of insightful information, sick stories and pictures. Join in our discussions too ! In no particular order :

@Sodwee > Airboy's official Twitter profile. FOLLOW ME.

I'm sorry in advance if I've missed anyone. Please let me know so I can add your link here !

7147_brian_finke_flight_attendants2

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:22:49 +0000

A380Aug200841

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:38:25 +0000

airplane_jive

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:40:56 +0000

bar

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:41:01 +0000

airplane_jiveXS

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:52:12 +0000

To the Flying Public : We're Sorry

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:53:21 +0000

This is a touching letter, from a flight attendant’s perspective, which was first published on Airliners.net. We felt compelled to share it.

To the Flying Public: We’re sorry

We’re sorry we have no pillows. We’re sorry we’re out of blankets. We’re sorry the airplane is too cold. We’re sorry the airplane is too hot. We’re sorry the overhead bins are full. We’re sorry we have no closet space for your oversized bag. We’re sorry that's not the seat you wanted. We’re sorry there's a restless toddler/overweight/offensive smelling passenger seated next to you. We’re sorry the plane is full and there are no other seats available. We’re sorry you didn’t get your upgrade. We’re sorry that guy makes you uncomfortable because he looks like a terrorist. We’re sorry there's a thunderstorm and we can’t take off. We’re sorry we don’t know when it will stop. We’re sorry you’re crammed into a space so small that if you were an animal PETA would protest. We’re sorry our plane has no music or video entertainment for your 3 hour flight. We’re sorry we ran out of your favorite soda. We’re sorry there are no more sandwiches. We’re sorry that Budweiser costs $6. We’re sorry we don’t have diapers for your baby. We’re sorry we don’t have milk for same baby. We’re sorry you can’t hang out by the cockpit door waiting to use the bathroom. We’re sorry you can’t hang out at the back of the airplane. We’re sorry you have to sit down and fasten your seatbelt. We’re sorry you have to put your seat up for landing. We’re sorry we don’t know when we’re going to land. We’re sorry we don’t know whether your plane to (substitute any city in the world) will be waiting for you when we land. We’re sorry we’ve been diverted because we ran out of gas waiting to land. We’re sorry for these and so many other things that we have absolutely no control over but which we are held accountable for EVERY SINGLE DAY. Please understand. Flight attendants are not the enemy. We share your space. More than anyone – we want to have a nice, pleasant travel experience. There is a reason behind everything we ask you to do. It may be a FAA directive. It may be security related. It may be a company procedure. We don’t just make stuff up. We don’t spend 8 weeks at the flight academy learning how to pour a Coke. There are many things that flight attendants are watching for constantly on every flight FOR YOUR SAFETY. It's not because we’re bored or so controlling that we just enjoy telling people what to do. I, for one, would like to have one flight where I didn’t have to repeatedly tell people to put their seats up for landing. Seriously. Can’t you just do what we ask sometimes? Without the glares, eye rolling and disdain? For the record – putting your seat up for landing may not seem that important to your personal safety. However, it is very important for the person sitting BEHIND YOU. If you have ever tried to get out of a row where someone has their seat back you know it can be a challenge. Try grabbing your ankles (emergency brace position) or getting out of that row quickly with smoke in the cabin.

Understand a little better now?

Many of the things we ask passengers to comply with are FAA directives. Like carry-on bag stowage and exit row requirements. When we can serve drinks (in the air) and when we can’t (after the aircraft door is closed or on an active taxi-way). We are only allowed to move about the cabin during taxi out for safety related duties. We can’t get you blankets, or hang coats, or get you drinks. It's not because we don’t want to. It's because we are held personally responsible if we fail to comply with FAA directives. Meaning that the FAA can fine us personally up to $10,000 if we fail to comply or enforce an FAA Directive. Like no bags at the bulkhead. No children in the exit row. No one moving around the cabin during taxi. Perhaps now you know why flight attendants get a little testy when people move about the cabin when they’re not supposed to. It's not the company that gets in trouble for that. It's us. Personally, I wish the airlines would show worst case scenario safety videos. Like what happens if you walk through the cabin during turbulence. There could be a guy who has just fallen and smacked his face on the metal armrest and now has a bloody, gushing broken nose. Or an elderly lady who now has a broken arm because someone walking to the bathroom fell on her. Maybe a passenger with a broken neck becaus e somebody opened an overhead bin during turbulence and a suitcase fell out and onto the person sitting beneath it. These things can easily happen in a fast moving, unstable air environment. Please just trust that we are looking out for your best interest and stop fighting with us about everything we ask you to do. It is exhausting. Finally, please, please direct your hostility and frustrations in the direction where they will be most effective: The customer service department. They are the ones equipped to handle your complaint and implement procedures for CHANGE. Think about it. Complaining to the flight crew about all your negative travel experiences is about the same as complaining to the office janitor because your computer isn’t working. It may make you feel better to vent about it – but it really won’t fix anything. More than anybody we are already aware of the lack of amenities, food, service and comfort on the aircraft. Please share your concerns with the people in the cubicles at corporate who need that information to make better decisions for the flying public. It's frustrating that so many people are in denial about what the travel industry is about now. The glory days of pillows, blankets, magazines and a hot meal for everyone are long gone. Our job is to get you from point A to point B safely and at the cheapest possible cost to you and the company. So be prepared. If you are hungry – get a sandwich before you get on the plane. If it's a 3 hour flight, anticipate that you may get hungry and bring some snacks. If you are cold natured – bring a wrap. Think for yourself and think ahead. Otherwise, don’t complain when you have to pay $3 for a cookie and are left with a crusty blanket to keep you warm. We hear often that the service just isn’t what is used to be. Well, the SERVICE we provide now isn’t what it used to be. When I was hired, my job was to serve drinks, meals, ensure that safety requirements were met and tend to in-flight medical issues. Since 9/11 my primary job is to ensure that my airplane will not be compromised by a terrorist. 9/11 may be a distant memory now to many, but be assured that EVERY DAY a flight attendant reports to work he or she is constantly thinking about 9/11. We feel a person al responsibility to ensure that something like that never happens again. We can never relax. We can never not be suspicious about someone's intentions. It is difficult to be vigilant and gregarious at the same time. Especially when most of us are working 12 hour days after layovers that only allow 5-6 hours of sleep. Not because we were out partying and having a grand time on the layover – but because the delays that you experience as a passenger also affect us as a crew, so that what was a 10 hour layover is now 8 hours which doesn’t leave a lot of time to recover from what has become an increasingly stressful occupation. Despite everything, I still enjoy being a flight attendant. I am writing this letter because I do still care about my profession and about the public perception of flight attendants. In the increasingly challenging travel world it is becoming more imperative than ever for people to just be decent to each other. I can go through an entire day without one person saying anything remotely civil. I will stand at the aircraft door and say hello to everyone who enters and maybe 50% will even look at me and even less will say hello back. I will try to serve someone a meal who can’t be bothered to take their headsets off long enough for me to ask them what they want. Most of the time the only conversation a passenger has with me is when they are complaining. Is it any wonder why flight attendants have shut down a bit? After suffering the disdain of hundreds of passengers a day itâ€™s difficult sometimes to even smile, much less interact. We are human. We appreciate the same respect and courtesy that passengers do. The next time you fly, try treating the flight attendants the way you would like to be treated. You may be surprised how friendly your flight crew is when they are treated like people. Author – unknown

mealcartchart

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:43:46 +0000

meal-home

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:15:24 +0000

Not getting your meal choice ? Here's how to...

Sodwee — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:21:34 +0000

Have you ever wondered why we don't have your preferred choice when it comes to meals on-board ? Have your ever wondered why you're the one not getting the tasty Chicken Curry while others feast on it ? Have you ever wondered why your Flight Attendant has absolutely nothing to do with the catering, hence has no power over what people get and what they don't get ? Yesterday was another meal service. After one year and a half working the carts around the world, serving an extraordinary amount of food to all kinds of people. Yesterday, as with any other day, I had the displeasure of serving another grumpy pax. WHY ? Well he didn't get his preferred choice. We had Lamb, Chicken or Pasta (note that any other airline will most likely have only two choices, in some cases only one) but yet again I had to swallow my pride and take in another slur of nasty words my way because MONSIEUR didn't get want he wanted. I know you're paying a fair amount of moneys to get a decent service. I acknowledge that, fully. Also, that you expect to have the luxury of choosing your comfort food. But that really doesn't mean you need to call me names because I'm only offering Chicken or Pasta. And to be honest they're two pretty nice dishes if you ask me. The guy didn't listen to me and made a whole fuss about it. Until I very gently but surely explained the whys and why nots of airline food and meal carts, it took a few minutes but felt the urge to give him some answers. He obviously didn't any clue, even though he clearly was a frequent flyer : So I kneeled down to eye-level, used open gestures, was sporting a comforting smile and used Flight Attendant psychology techniques us lot learn on the job and apply rather efficiently. - "Why is it that I don't get what I want?" - Sir, we have carts. Every single cart contains 25 meals (on long haul dinners/lunches/breakfasts) and 25 trays. Each cart has a certain percentage of each different meal depending on popularity of the meals. For example a chicken we will be catered for at 60%, a lamb at 30% and a veggie pasta at 10%. Out of 25 meals per cart, it isn't a great number as you can figure out the maths I'm sure. So with us starting the service from the top of the cabin, it's not rocket science that at one point or another, I'm gonna run out of choices, especially if everyone before you asked for a chicken. - "So, how do I make sure I get what I want ?" - THREE WAYS : First of all, you must make sure to check-in early. Get yourself seated at the top of the cabin in the first 25 seats. In a 3-4-3 configuration, meaning one aisle serves 5 passengers per row, you need to be seated in the first 3 to 4 rows to be sure you get your preferred meal choice. (See chart to understand how)

In order to get in those seats, you need to check-in early because, here at Emirates, they tend to fill the plane from top of cabin to rear. Forget about the center seat on row 15 and 23 as they are blocked for mothers and families (baby bassinet eligibility). So in short, you need to be seated in seats where the new cart will be starting its dish out.

Secondly, you can enroll with Skywards and state your preferred meal choice (and drink), so there's no reason for us not to serve what you've asked for.

Thirdly, harassing the Flight Attendant will definitely not get your preferred meal choice. Quite the opposite in fact. I suggest asking for any left overs or undesired asian vegetarian meals who a quite tasty.

- "why don't you carry 3 choices for each passenger? That would solve the problem won't it !??"

- No sir. We like to make good use of our fuel expenses to keep that ticket price as low as you bought it for. Carry extra weight and meals can be heavy, will only burn more fuel. Secondly, we do not have space to store 900 meals on-board. Unless you're willing to give up some cargo space or some overhead bins, but by the looks of your personal luggage, it's definitely not gonna happen. You'll make a fuss about that too if we dared take some of YOUR space. thirdly, it would simply be a huge waste. We can't finish the meals by ourselves ! This is why we only have meals for the exact number of passengers on-board. That is also why we tell you that we have to finish the service first before we can check for second servings. Don't get grumpy at us, we're just making sure everyone gets served and then we can think about your hungry self.

Lastly, if you're so keen on getting what you want, I suggest you upgrade to Business Class or even First Class. That's where people like you wouldn't have a problem with choosing a meal. Because, in Business and First they have plenty of food to choose from and they seem to never run out of options ! An added extra to BizClass or the heavens of First is the plush seats you get to lounge in. I'm just sayin'!

After that little explanation I really hope you stop giving us a hard time and instead understand how it's done and why you're not getting your sweet chicken.

Hope this helped !

MJhome

Sodwee — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:32:51 +0000

thisisit

Sodwee — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:32:52 +0000

Michael Jackson - This Is It

Sodwee — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:44:49 +0000

You get it first hand with Airboy ! Here's the mp3 (free to download) for Michael Jackson's previously unreleased song "This Is It" :

[download id="143"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/This_Is_It.mp3]

Following Jackson's death, AEG stated that they had over "100 hours of footage of preparations and rehearsals for the shows". On August 10, 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved a deal between film distributer Columbia Pictures and AEG Live for the former company to purchase and distribute rehersal footage of Jackson for a film entitled Michael Jackson's This Is It. According to court documents, Columbia paid $60 million (£35 million) for rights to the rehearsal footage. The papers filed in court had reportedly stated that Jackson's estate will get 90% of the profits and that AEG Live will get the remaining 10% from the film's revenue.The film is scheduled for release on October 28, 2009.

An accompanying album to the film will also be released. Titled This Is It, the compilation is set to be distributed internationally on October 26, and to North America the following day. The two-disc album will feature music "inspired from the documentary of the same name". Of the album, Sony said, "Disc one will feature the original album masters of some of Michael's biggest hits arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film" and stated that the "the disc ends with two versions of the 'never-released' 'This Is It' [...] This song is featured in the film's closing sequence and includes backing vocals by Michael's brothers, the Jacksons." Sony added that the second disc will feature previously unreleased versions from Jackson's "catalogue of hits", along with a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth" and a 36-page commemorative booklet with "exclusive photos of Michael from his last rehearsal".

opendayNOV

Sodwee — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:25:52 +0000

Emirates Open Days & Global Assessments in November : Kuala Lumpur, Milan, Sydney, Nairobi...

Sodwee — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:50:43 +0000

Emirates is still looking for candidates to fill positions as Cabin Crew in November 2009. They'll be coming to a city near you (Taipei,Durban, Addis Ababa, Kuala Lumpur, Beirut, Shanghai, Osaka, Nairobi, Buenos Aires, Milan and Sydney), here are the full details. Make sure you register for the day you wish to attend as places are limited. Again if you have any kind of questions please do head to the FAQ first, then if you can't find your answer, send me an email or ask a question on the FAQ page. To get the latest news about Open Days, Global Assessment days and the Airboy blog please subscribe by leaving your email below :

Open Days :

Italy, Milan

14-Nov-2009

09:00 am

Venue to be advised. Register Now

Australia, Sydney

21-Nov-2009

09:00 am

Venue to be advised. Register Now

Global Assessment Days :

Taiwan, Taipei	07/08-Nov-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency SASS.

South Africa, Durban

07-Nov-2009

09:00 am

Ethiopia, Addis Ababa

07/08-Nov-2009

09:00 am

Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur	07/08-Nov-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency SASS.

Lebanon, Beirut	21/22-Nov-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency CAREERS.

China, Shanghai	21/22-Nov-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency SASS.

Japan, Osaka	21/22-Nov-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency AIRLIGE

Kenya, Nairobi

21/22-Nov-2009

09:00 am

Argentina, Buenos Aires	29-Nov-2009	09:00 am	Register Now
Remarks: Preliminary Selections will be done in conjunction with our appointed agency AERONAVEGANTES.

Dates, venues and times are subject to change without prior notice. Please register to get up to date information regarding any Open Days or Global Assessment Days in the future.

More Information :

AIRBOY'S GUIDE TO THE EK >>> THE BIG FAQ >>>

topDLjayz

Sodwee — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:42:31 +0000

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Sodwee — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:01:19 +0000

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Sodwee — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:02:07 +0000

Screen shot 2009-10-28 at 2.00.16 AM

Sodwee — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:03:05 +0000

November roster detailed... + MP3 !

Sodwee — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:32:13 +0000

This month will be another one dedicated to Paris. Sorry folks but I can't get enough of it ! I'm planning to do some retail therapy at Habitat which is - for those not yet aware - a funkier, better home-wear outlet. Those in the UK and Europe will know. They have similar stuff to IKEA but of better quality and design. The last time I went there I nearly fell in love for a pricey Daft Punk coffee table that blinked red LEDs in a saturday night live dance floor style, check the video, it's just to die for :

Unfortunately, they sold out. So yeah. I'm in full on home slash design slash funky slash cool stuff to buy for my kick ass flat here in Dubai. Much to my roomies dismay. But they can't really say no to a funky home styling can they !

Otherwise, I've been UBER-sick for the past week or so, nailed to bed with killer headaches and anything to do with the art of vomiting in style I can help you !

Next month's roster is looking pretty good. FatherOfSodwee is set to make a 3 day appearance in the sandpit starting on the 25th. I just booked his firm tickets so he should be happy by now. He just came back from a weekend in Barcelona with Mother and Granny of Sodwee. The orignal idea of him coming over to Dubai was to make use of his days off for some hardcore christmas shopping. So should be quite an adventure. Mall hoping and credit card burning. Everything I like really.

I've also upped the game a little inside the flat in terms of dressing up the walls and here are the latest pictures : .

[gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="rand"] .

And before you wonder off to your own hobbies, please do take the extra minute or so to download this amazing track from Sharam (one artist we already featured in the first podcast). The track is called "Party All The Time" and P.Diddy himself graces the tune with delicate and poetic lyrics... Great party starter if ya ask me !

---------------

[download id="146"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/Sharam_-_PATT_with_Diddy_feat._Diddy.mp3]

---------------

So the roster this month will take me three times to Paris, twice to the lovely airport of Ahmedabad, once to Jeddah, a nice layover in Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam) and finally a long trip to Singapore and then onto Melbourne for 33 hours. Pretty decent for a top bid. Got the days that I wanted and the trips I asked for.

Finally not much on the blogging front. I'm kinda through with Twitter. I really can't keep up, and it's digging my head in big time ! But you still can FOLLOW ME HERE, I'll love you always ! I'm soooooo behind with the podcast, gotta be honest here, I haven't found an ounce of inspiration to get recording maybe you guys have some ideas. Maybe I should just do a podcast with your voices for a change. Send me some sound clips and I'll do a patchwork of some sort. You can talk about anything !

And to end the entry, here are some vital statistics you must be aware of :

VOTE FOR ME : the artistic laviator !

Sodwee — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:28:56 +0000

GUYS GUYS GUYS ! Please vote VOTE VOTE for me over at Gadling (click here)! That would be the best thing ever since AOL had a go at me and I want to get my own back !! I have something against giant corporations... and copyright laws. It would also give Heather Poole the credit she deserves. Click here, Go at the bottom of the page, find and select "Artistic Laviator" and cast your vote ! That would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help !

A-Whole-New-Thing

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:42 +0000

American-IV--The-Man-Comes-

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:44 +0000

At-War-With-The-Mystics

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:45 +0000

Back-in-the-Day-The-Best-of

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:47 +0000

Beautifully-Human--Words-An

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:50 +0000

Black-Cherry

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:52 +0000

Bonnie-Raitt

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:54 +0000

Celebration

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:56 +0000

Closer-(Collectors-Edition)

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:57 +0000

Conditions

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:35:59 +0000

Conquest---Single

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Consolers-Of-The-Lonely

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:03 +0000

Corinne-Bailey-Rae

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:04 +0000

Cosmic-Egg

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:06 +0000

CrazySexyCool

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:09 +0000

Dance-To-The-Music

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:10 +0000

De-Stijl

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:12 +0000

Dear-Science

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:13 +0000

Different-Class

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:15 +0000

Dummy

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:19 +0000

E.N.D-Deluxe-Edition-CD-1

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:21 +0000

Elephant

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:23 +0000

Employment

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:25 +0000

Exile-On-Main-St.

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:27 +0000

Favourite-Worst-Nightmare

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:29 +0000

First-Impressions-of-Earth

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:31 +0000

Fresh

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:33 +0000

FutureSex-LoveSounds

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:35 +0000

Get-Behind-Me-Satan

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:36 +0000

Get-Wild

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:38 +0000

Goodbye-Country-(Hello-Nigh

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:40 +0000

Graduation

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:42 +0000

Hell-Hath-No-Fury

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:44 +0000

Homework

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:45 +0000

Horehound

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:48 +0000

Humbug

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:50 +0000

Icky-Thump-(Japanese)

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:53 +0000

Idlewild

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:55 +0000

Illmatic--10th-Anniversary

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:57 +0000

In-Ghost-Colours

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:00 +0000

Is-This-It

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:03 +0000

Its-Blitz

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:04 +0000

Jagged-Little-Pill-Acoustic

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:06 +0000

Jagged-Little-Pill

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:09 +0000

Keep-Reachin-Up

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:11 +0000

Lamacq-Live,-22-Apr-02

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:13 +0000

Life

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:15 +0000

Mezzanine

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:19 +0000

Music-For-Men

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:20 +0000

Naughty

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:22 +0000

Oh-My-Gawd

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:24 +0000

Only-By-The-Night

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:26 +0000

Oracular-Spectacular

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:28 +0000

Parklife

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:30 +0000

Purple-Rain

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:32 +0000

Quiet-Is-The-New-Loud

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:33 +0000

Rated-R

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:35 +0000

Ready-For-The-Weekend

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:36 +0000

Reservoir-Dogs

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:39 +0000

Return-To-Cookie-Mountain

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:40 +0000

Rio-Original-82-US-Release

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:42 +0000

Santogold

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:44 +0000

Shock-Box

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:45 +0000

Silent-Alarm

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:47 +0000

Small-Talk

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:48 +0000

Softly-With-These-Songs

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:50 +0000

Sound-Of-Silver

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:52 +0000

Splitting-The-Atom

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:53 +0000

Stand!

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:55 +0000

Sun-Giant

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:58 +0000

Tasty

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:37:59 +0000

The-Age-Of-The-Understateme

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:01 +0000

The-Bake-Sale-EP

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:04 +0000

The-Best-of-Simon-&-Garfunk

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:06 +0000

The-Blueprint-2--The-Gift-a

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:08 +0000

The-Blueprint-3

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:09 +0000

The-Chronic

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:12 +0000

The-Fame

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:14 +0000

The-Jimi-Hendrix-Experience

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:16 +0000

The-White-Stripes

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:17 +0000

Theres-A-Riot-Goin-On

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:19 +0000

thexx

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:20 +0000

Tragic-Kingdom

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:21 +0000

Trans-Europe-Express

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:23 +0000

Urban-Hymns

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:25 +0000

Walking-on-a-Dream

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:27 +0000

Where-you-go-I-go-too

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:28 +0000

White-Blood-Cells

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:31 +0000

White-T-Shirt

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:32 +0000

Wild-Young-Hearts

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:34 +0000

Wolfgang-Amadeus-Phoenix

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:36 +0000

Wolfmother

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:38:37 +0000

10,000 songs and counting // my musical quilt

Sodwee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:58:47 +0000

Those are the latest albums I've added to my library. I recommend every single one of them ! I'm glad I'm coming close to 10,000 songs. It's a milestone and I've celebrated today with the purchase of a brand new iPod Classic 160 Gb to hold all of these new songs. I've also been pretty chill these past few days. I'm apparently suffering from exhaustion - It's a new word in my ever expanding vocabulary, never heard it before - So I'm at home taking care of myself before hitting the road again. I'm also on medz.... So if you have time (some of us obviously have too much to spare), go download some of those albums. and if you have any brilliant suggestions, please do add them in the comment section. I'm always on the lookout for cool tunes. Oldies or not I take everything. Sorry if the page takes a long time to load. [gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="rand"]

AF-telepopmusik

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:32:14 +0000

AF-telepopmusikXS

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:48:44 +0000

AF-telepopmusikXS

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:49:13 +0000

telepopmusik-lores-2

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:08:20 +0000

AFtelepopmusikmp3-home

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:09:52 +0000

TELEPOPMUSIK - World Can Be Yours / New AIR FRANCE music advert

Sodwee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:10:58 +0000

The new Air France music theme is just the perfect song for an airline me thinks. No other airline has yet managed to top Air France in terms of music for adverts. And compared with Emirates music it's lightyears ahead. We have been looking for this track all day and managed to rip it from their corporate website. So we're sharing it here, right on the Airboy Blog. You can listen to it below and download it too. We've added some cover art to the whole hooha. Again kudos to the freaks who picked that killer song.

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[download id="148"] [audio:http://240plan.ovh.net/~redcandy/airboy/wp-content/files/World_Can_Be_Yours.mp3]

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Télépopmusik is a French electronic music trio, composed of Fabrice Dumont (bassist of the pop band Autour de Lucie), Stephan Haeri (also known as 2 square for his solo projects), and Christophe Hetier. The group's first album was Genetic World, with several singles from the album released subsequently. The group's second album, Angel Milk was released in 2005. According to Telepopmusik's official MySpace page, their next album will be available in September 2009. Rapper Mau, from Earthling, appeared as guest vocalist on both Genetic World as Soda-Pop (tracks "Genetic World", "Da Hoola" and "Trishika") and on Angel Milk as Mau ("Anyway", "Last Train To Wherever", "Hollywood On My Toothpaste", "Tuesday" and "15 Minutes"). The track "Breathe" from the album Genetic World was used by Mitsubishi to launch the 2003 Outlander. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Dance Recording at the ceremony held in February 2004. Angela McCluskey, the co-writer and guest vocalist on "Breathe," is from the American band Wild Colonials. The track "Love Can Damage Your Health" gained popularity in the house music genre as a result of a remix by DJ/Producer Dennis Ferrer and Abicah Soul.

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Screen shot 2009-11-13 at 7.59.46 PM

Sodwee — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:53 +0000