I’m so thankful for all you guys who took time to read & surf THE JOURNEY. Especially for those who join me in moving to this new site address. THE JOURNEY’s old location amazingly hit 1000 hits in one day for previous month & I wasn’t expecting that this new site will recover that fast. For the previous month, I’m glad that this site hit up an average of 100 hits per day. Which I find a very good improvement in a one month, from moving from free hosted blog site to self-hosted site.
As of January, this blog’s best day was last Jan 4 with 283 hits! Thank you 6 600 (plus) readers/searchers for last month’s viewing. I hope most of you include THE JOURNEY in your own daily internet surfing.
Here are the readers’ top 10 favorites for the month of January;
The previous month was pretty exciting & tough. Inspite of so many deadlines on family stuffs, thank God for giving me courage to keep this blog updated. Also in this month, THE JOURNEY has finally approved in on-line ads/marketing. Finally, my “little sense” is now making cents.
Here are my five favorite posts for the previous month;
Jan 23 – RENEWAL OF US DRIVER LICENSE, I thought I will have a hard time in renewing my license but Las Vegas honored my military (dependent) ID and issued me a driver license with 2012 year of expiration.
Jan 20 – THE WEEK THAT WAS, After Renaldo Lapuz hit a 15 minutes fame in American Idol, THE JOURNEY received its first “blog reward”. Not that much amount but was able to return my expenses from one year domain name subscription & one year web hosting. Good business sign, right?
Jan 9 – GOODBYE CHUPETA, We had a hard time finding ways how to get rid of this Yoanna’s habit. Thank God she lost it. Then, I found it & hurriedly kept it in safe place. Now, she doesn’t have a choice but to remove it in her system.
Jan 3 – FROM STAGE TO AIRCAFT, I received an email from an aspiring cabin crew & got amazed with his current job – Actor. Planning to pursue the airline career but had some dilemmas on how to deal on those interview questions. A very far job experience to the responsibilities of being a cabin crew. I’m just wondering, how he looks like?
THE JOURNEY has been receiving search engine terms such as PROJECTED EXPENSE FOR K1 VISA APPLICATION, K1 VISA EXPENSES, and COSTS OF K1 VISA APPLICATION etc. I know most people planning for K1 visa application are also looking for possible details of its expenses. That’s what we did before too.
Now, I’m sharing my old notes! Hopefully it will help you as how it helped us a lot. If you’re engaged to a Filipina & trying to figure out the possible expenses for this K1/K2 visa application, feel free to download the attached file.
Details on this file may not applicable in your situation 100% but it was created for new visa applicants to have an idea how things work & how much it costs. This file was not designed to follow the entire details rather to give you an idea how we deal with it in terms of financial issues.
Filling for K1 Visa application is what I believe your first project as couple. I highly recommend that applicants should not let the US Citizen to do all the research & monitoring. As early with this fiancé visa application, do your part. It may not in monetary aspect but at least organizing details & finding more helpful information for your journey.
Should you have any correction on details for this file, feel free to send me a note in my email; annie_thejourney@yahoo.com
I highly appreciate feedbacks & comments! You can also post your comment & suggestion under this post.
Lastly, I want to acknowledge a very good friend name Jade for helping me out to update this file.
Our first cabin crew for the month is of course my brother – MGA. For sure, most of you are wondering who’s this MGA is & I’m always mentioning his name in my posts that fall under the 5th category.
I have to admit that I once dream of becoming cabin crew as well. The thing is that I didn’t exert that much effort on that room. Instead I fell on another passion which is Sales & Marketing, but my brother- MGA he continually conquer to achieve this fabulous career. It took him some time to achieve but it was truly a worth of effort. Like what I’ve said in my previous post, he first applied to become a flight attendant in local airlines in the Phils. Unfortunately, any of those local airlines didn’t give him chance. Instead, he worked as Receptionist in Sheraton Hotel in Bahrain & tried to gain knowledge in international customer service. He then continued conquering the airline job & luckily Emirates hired him. I was with him during the entire application process & that leads me to share our application experience in this blog. May other aspiring cabin crew out there find THE JOURNEY as a helpful guide in reaching the dream of being a cabin crew?
This time, it’s not just me who’s going to talk about Cabin Crew life. You will be hearing the real life of being cabin crew from the current Flight Attendants themselves. Here’s my online interview with Mark Abellana a.k.a. MGA.
Name: Mark Anthony Abellana
Age: 28
Nationality: Filipino
Country of Birth: Philippines
Details of Educational Attainment: University Graduate – Bachelor of Science in Tourism
Position: Grade 2 Cabin crew
Airline: Emirates Airlines
Have you always dream of becoming a cabin crew? Yup, the main reason why I took my course (tourism) is mainly because I want to be a cabin crew
What was your job before this? I was a dancer from 7 years, after that got a job as a receptionist in Sheraton Hotel in Bahrain
What are the preparations you did in order to become a cabin crew? The first thing I did was to get a job that is inclined in interacting with people, because that is one of the main things that emirates is looking for when applying as a cabin crew, then got a nice suit that is needed for the day of application, also I invested a lot of money for the pictures to be given to emirates, pictures are very important it will help you to give the recruiting team your first impression, and of course a well prepared CV
How long have you been working as EK Cabin Crew? I have working with emirates since July that includes the whole month of training in the collage, I have been flying for over 5 months now and enjoying it.
How did you apply for Emirates Airline? I saw the advertisement in the newspaper, and called my sister about it, my sister said why not, so what we did was to apply online, and then when they had their open day in Bahrain. I came as a walk-in applicant , there were more than 160 applicants that day and a lot of them came from other countries, some of the applicants had applied several times, but did not made it, we were only 6 who passed after the final interview
During your application with EK, did they ask you something about a certain part of your body? What is that? It was after the final exam on the walk-in day that they asked, if I have distinguishing mark in my body, be careful when answering the question, your answer should work to your advantage
Any particular question that you still remember that was asked to you during the final interview, and made you think your answer is right and the recruiter like it? If yes, what is it? What was your answer? During the final interview they will be asking you particular questions regarding your job or your self, mainly they will be asking you situations on your previous job in which that you got a commendation from your boss or your supervisor
Unforgettable moment during your cabin crew training? Being close with my classmates, its overwhelming that a group of people from different countries of different cultural backgrounds can blend together, I miss them. Also, I was expecting that the training is just going to be service, on how to serve drinks and food for the passengers, but I was wrong, it’s a cliché that people think of us as a waiter, but were not. Our main job is to save lives, to make sure that the passengers will arrived to their destinations safely, we were thought a lot things how to do first aid in different situations, what to do incase the aircraft crash in the dessert, sea or forest, things to do incase the aircraft has been ambushed, so many things even how to deliver a baby, but it was fun
Unforgettable flight without layover? It would be my first “super” flight, it’s like your very first flight and your job is to observe, and since it was my first flight ever, I took the initiative of helping. What happened was one of the senior crew called me and told me to get the key to the purser (crew Supervisor) and give it to the Capt. so he can start that aircraft engine. I had no idea what he was talking about so, I asked what I was told, and everybody was laughing after that, I was mortified, but I had fun
Unforgettable flight with layover? It would be in Zurich, I had the first experience in seeing snow, hahahha
What do you like most of being a cabin crew? you don’t have to work with the same people everyday and of course shopping around the world.
What’s the hardest thing in the life of being a cabin crew? How you deal with it? Dealing with people whose impression of us, is just a waiter, or “trolly dollies”. I always try to convey to them that am not hired to serve them tea or coffee, mainly we don’t care if we compromise service to the passengers, the most important thing is to keep the aircraft and the passengers’ safe. I always explain to them that the things we are doing is for their safety, even at doing small things, like telling them to put open their windows during take off and landing, to sit upright, to put the footrest up and to put on their seatbelts, that’s our main job
Do you consider being a cabin crew as a stable career or has a chance for career advancement? In what way? Yes, definitely, career advancement in Emirates is not that difficult compared to the other companies
In connection with the previous question, do you have any specific career plan from being a cabin crew? What is it? Yeah, I would like to be in recruiting team of Emirates in the future.
In relation of question #10, what advice can you give to those other aspiring cabin crews that will undergo the same kind of application? Just prepare your self and be confident.
Any other things you want to share that’s not mention with regards to the given questions? Just prepare your self even to the last detail, every moment in the application count, so don’t let your guard down.
Surveys & polls are another way for bloggers to be more interactive with their readers.
You may not know this but to us, bloggers, feedback/comments from our guests are highly important. We value it as how much we value those ideas we posted every day.
It’s one way knowing how effective we are on our objective. Each blog has its unique way on defining bloggers’ thoughts & ideas.
There has been a lot of site that offers free surveys & polls for bloggers. With such a lot of choices, sometimes you’ll forget the other important factors that need to consider in choosing the right one. Well, some offers good & attractive design but it corresponds to additional installation of software for its completion. Pretty tough for some non-technical bloggers like me.
When I found this wordpress, I thought it’s too technical for me to understand & really requires a lot time but not. It may take some time to understand the whole system but wordpress itself has good support for its clients. So far, everything I need for my blog are just in my dashboard.
Same thing when you’re planning to add another feature in your site. For an instance like a survey, look for a site that will offer you everything. Like a one time package deal. No additional software or IT supports. Everything is handled & calculated on its servers. Isn’t it sounds friendly?
Let not just the posts give entertainment to your loyal readers. Find some ways for them to enjoy & watch.
I received an email from MGA yesterday morning about his unforgettable experience in his recent flight.
When he was about to pour hot coffee on the cups of these old English couple, the kettle accidentally breaks. An initial crack in the kettle led to a minor hand burn of a passenger. MGA felt so horrified & can’t say anything besides “I’m sorry“. MGA showed to the couple that the kettle has already a crack in it. It’s not that he slipped that kettle from his hand but the kettle itself braked.
That moment MGA thought it’s the end of his Emirates Career.
Good thing those English couple saw how MGA was helpful to them during boarding session. The lady told her that MGA needs not to worry about the incident. According to them, it’s not his fault. Considering the fact that kettle was on board to use to serve for passengers’ hot drinks. (more…)
Left Prescott last Friday night for an important errand in Las Vegas. Saturday Morning, we woke up early to finish all the scheduled “Las Vegas” tasks. Our first stop was in a legal office for Yoanna’s papers that I need to sign. Upon reviewing the papers, I noticed that they misspelled my daughter’s name. Actually Yoanna’s real first name is Franchesca Yoanna Faye. Quite long, huh? They spelled Faye with an “L” after “Y”.
So my hubby called the staff & told her that there’s a problem on Yoanna’s name. Guess what she replied.
I can’t do anything about it, we need to wait for the legal officer to change the documents. She will be here only on weekdays.
I felt that my face turned red for disappointment.
Can we talk to her even thru phone?
We don’t keep cellphone numbers of legal officers since they don’t accept business calls on weekends
We returned on the table & continued browsing those papers. I & hubby were very disappointed & the staff kept on replying to us that she can’t do anything about it. It seems that we need another weekend in Las Vegas, which we can’t afford it anymore. We have full schedule for the next 3 weekends. Hubby will be working for the next 3 Saturdays & I am trying to finish these 3 blogs. To make the story short, we were able to convince her to make adjustments on those papers & accomplished the signing on the same day.
Second stop, we checked this Fashion Mall where in every hour Models walk on ramp wearing clothes from designers that can be found in the mall. It was truly a different fashion experience. The ramp appeared from the floor as well as the models. The show lasted for 15 minutes. It was pretty interesting mall experience.
(Yoanna in Las Vegas Fashion Mall )
(Ramp & Models Appeared from Floor)
(Models in Runway)
We arrived here in Prescott by Saturday late evening. Just unpacked our things & too tired to do some more stuffs, so we slept immediately.
We woke up on regular time of our Sunday morning. This time we don’t need to rush to catch Sunday Morning Mass since we already visited the church in Las Vegas before hitting the road going to Prescott.
(Got her Princess Stuffs)
(Amazed in the show)
(Beauty & The Beast Production)
We left the house around 11:30am going to Phoenix to watch this “Disney on Ice – Princess Wishes” – a little surprise for our little girl. On our way to Phoenix, it was raining hard. I thought we will not make it on time, considering the weather & traffic in Phoenix. Good thing we arrived there 30 minutes before the show. I got amazed how other kids were so prepared for the show. They were in Princess’ costumes & I even saw some mothers who wore princess’ crowns.
As the show started I saw excitement in Yoanna’s face. Performers were good & special effects were great. Hubby & I enjoyed the show as well. Honestly, sometime you really need to feel like a kid, it’s relaxing & refreshing!
Let’s face it but home based business is very rampant nowadays. Besides monetizing blog but selling products online is another way to optimize this wonder of internet.
I, myself, when I said “I Do” and moved here in USA I don’t have any specific plans besides doing the paper works in order to work legally here. I thought I could easily adapt being a stay home, but I was completely wrong. As early as now (just got married last Nov 2007) I can feel boredom, good thing that THE JOURNEY keeps me a little busy & drive me to think of things to write here.
Besides waiting for those paper works, one thing that I observed will highly affect of coming back to my so-called “career” world is the fact that I am married to a Navy man. That we’re not sure how long Navy will let us stay in one place. Usually its 2 years that Navy tends to move in another place for a new work assignment. Now, we have until next year to stay here. My hubby is not sure yet if he will finish his last 5 years in Navy here in Arizona or we’re going to move in some other place.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that even though I will have those legal papers to work, still it will be hard for me to go back in my Sales & Marketing Career and establish my career in such industry.
Until I had a good chat with my brother MGA & we came up to this idea of entering into on-line selling. I got excited since we will be catering on those items that both of us are very fascinated with. Right now, I’m educating myself on this business type & trying to equip on the software that we will be needing. Until I stumble in this on site that offers a good deal in establishing your own trading site.
When checking on this online software, my major concern is the commitment of the supplier on customer service. Well, as I can see in their site they have “live chat” 24×7 support & support ticketing system, where I find very useful for urgent needs. I got attracted on their statement that it’s not just ecommerce commerce but a full service to make your business successful.
As I furtherly checked the ecommerce software, I feel that it’s a good tool for starters like me. It’s like all in one package – securely hosted, free emails, 128 bit SSL checkout security, design services, full fraud alerts & web promotion services. What I like most is that they can provide you the best possible platform & advice to reach the top of the search engines, which I find very important in this kind of business. Sounds good, isn’t it?
Even if Big Navy will ask us my hubby to move from one place or another, I am confident that my on-line business is working 24×7. Even If I’m not doing my usual business meetings before, still I’m still continuing my passion in Sales & Marketing.
As what I mentioned in my previous post BETTER REVIEW, our next big project right now is to purchase a home. Not just a place to live-in but also considering as one of the family’s investment.
As military, my hubby is entitle for housing allowance. I just feel that we’re having so much lost of putting that housing allowance in rental fees. It will be great if we are paying for something that in the long run will be ours. So as early as now, I am working out with this project & doing research for the best choice of investment.
When checking for house/home details, we‘re not just particular on its floor plan & how the house looks like. Also we’re very much particular in its location, the floor size; materials of the house & when it was build. In such way, it wouldn’t hard for us for any chance in offering this for a leasing contract. In short, we’re buying for something not just for our personal usage but something that will give us earnings in the future. It’s already been a fact that real estate is one of the best investments.
The hard part in searching is that I really need to consider where the possible place is Big Navy will move us. For now, that the earning of the family is coming from the Big Navy, so making major decisions (like purchasing a house) we’re considering the Navy’s move in my hubby’s career as well. My hubby has 5 more years in the military, though there’s a possibility that he might extend for any job promotion that might happen on the next 5 years. In reference of his career, I asked him which are the possible states/places will be our next station. From those options, I will start my house search. Will check those house prices & see how budget will work on us.
What I love most in doing this project is that I’m seeing a lot of good homes & I truly enjoy surfing those pictures & reading the details. I found this one house in San Antonio Real Estate & I can’t get it out of my head. I saw this last night & still thinking of it when I’m in bed about to sleep. I am very much enthralled in high ceiling houses. Not just having a spacious impression in the house but for me it is somehow elegant. When I checked the details, it’s within our budget & floor plan is very near on our requirements. After showing it to my hubby, he then told me that most of his Filipino-American Navy both houses in San Antonio. Then he smiled. I got what he was thinking.
It took me a while of surfing this site. Well, I definitely enjoyed checking those HOMES FOR SALE. They’re not just featuring nice homes collection but the site itself is browser friendly. Not that much complicated & give much information. They have wide range of choices. Not just the entire United States but also in other country such as Canada, Spain, Switzerland & more.
I certainly love doing this project and can’t wait for house decoration. Way ahead to think but it just makes me excited.
A friend sent me a message that she’s having a hard time loadingTHE JOURNEYin her computer. I thought it’s because my site is loaded with so many widgets (left & right sidebars) but then I realized there are blogs out there more complicated as compared to this one. Not just the widgets but also numerous plug-in.
Anyway, I tried to check loading with different explorer. I have two more explorers besides I.E. (Internet Explorer) & I observed that it’s not taking time when loaded thru these explorers. So I told my friend to try loading THE JOURNEY in different explorer & viola, she did it!
Honestly, I heard from most of the bloggers that lately it’s not anymore 100% safe to surf the net in IE. Basically it’s the most popular explorer & now that a lot of people is being acquainted with wonders of internet, so there’s more traffic but on the other side getting more dangerous.
Yesterday, one blogger posted a very unusual experience in his Paypal account. Check 100% Batangueno’s PAYPAL USERS BEWARE post for complete details. Thus, seriously caught my attention & immediately informed my husband.
Now, besides occasional updating of our passwords in different online accounts I will be installing a new explorer in his laptop & update his bookmarks as well. Guys, I highly recommend to upgrade yours as well. It’s not anymore the internet connection that instigate of taking time in loading site, maybe it’s the explorer itself whose having delays. Better be proactive than wait until the problem arises before you do something about it. Especially those people who’s having their own PC or laptop & being more dependable in their system nowadays you really need to take time about this matter.
