Upper-back tingles!
I know I’ve recently mentioned making some sort of an effort to look into other bases. Believe me when I say this – I adore Etihad, truly, but I have this tendency to seek out alternate plans or backups, regardless of whether I’m content at the time or not. Have always been this way. It’s normal anyway now that I think about it, to look out for other paths or opportunities – because nothing is permanent (thankfully!) and when the time comes to move on I will at least have some ideas in place; be able to put the next step into play. All these jobs I’ve had for the last 5 years have never made it past the 18-month mark. So I build on a plan, a plan for a flaky person.
Someone posted a link for me on PPRuNe – the UK Youth Mobility Visa. I’m completely eligible – the requirements are remarkably simple actually:
Validity: 2 years, with permission to work for the full time of your stay in the UK.
Eligibility: you are eligible to apply for a UK Youth Mobility visa if you are a citizen of Australia, New Zealand, Canada or Japan and are aged between 18 and 30 years inclusively.
Other requirements:
- You must not have previously held a UK working holidaymaker visa.
- You must not have dependent children under the age of 18.
- You must show that you can support yourself for the duration of your stay in the UK. You will need to show proof of at least £1600 in your personal bank account at the time of application.
- As with all visas for the UK, you will need to get your biometric details recorded at a UK consulate.
- You must leave the UK at the end of your two-year visa. You cannot switch into another UK immigration category from within the UK.
Too easy!!
I don’t think this would be until at least late 2010. I would apply for Heathrow-based positions, or maybe even other industries, who knows. Maybe Dublin even? Here’s hoping the economic downturn has shimmied it’s way back up by then! I’ve heard more than a few unpleasing accounts about this recently. I met a girl coming back from base, ex-crew, who quit Etihad and put herself through 7-ish weeks of training (that she paid for!) with Finnair. She finished and was consequently told her job has been held back indefinitely because of the downturn! Also, a Ryanair pilot came to the back galley on my last sector to inquire about Etihad jobs, on behalf of his FA friend in the same airline. That’s probably not economy-related though, I get the impression Ryanair crew receive minimal benefits regardless. Short end of the aviation stick. I read their earnings rose for this quarter though – the low-cost carriers are holding up for obvious reasons.
It’s the same thing with my personal interests.. I was so enthralled with the built environment and town planning etc etc, and now it’s on the backburner to be reinstated as an interest sometime in the future. In recent weeks, I’ve loved reading and researching about all of these interconnected fields in science and social psychology and finance and economics – ethics and morality, euthanasia, stem-cell research, institutions and social conditioning, religion/secularism/non-theism/freethinking arguments. So wonderfully fascinating!!
Quick example – the follow-up Zeitgeist documentary, Zeitgeist Addendum (there’s a fantastic documentary site I found yesterday: topdocumentaryfilms.com. If you didn’t guess, I’m an avid fan of podcasts and free online videos, so an entire site dedicated to films on super-interesting topics will always get my vote!) I’ve watched all but half of it – haven’t even seen the first one because I thought it might be an idea to do some viewing backwards. I have to pause it, collect my thoughts, maybe rewind, and only then press play. I won’t even attempt a summary, because it’s mind-blowing and worth seeing for yourself, and I certainly don’t fully understand it – yet. All I’ll say is that it answers something I’ve been curious about since I was little: the origin of money in society? So psychical cash is obviously produced, but how is something of value created from nothing, who manages or governs it initially, how is it circulated? Really, mind-blowing.
I just get a little frustrated with my fickleness. People ought to select a field and strive toward some sort of expertise, this is what generally what moves the world forward (sometimes it’s by accident or a fat stroke of luck!). Despite this, I still just want to know about everything, or the topics that gather my interest at the least. Even if it’s just skimming a little from the surface!
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And there’s this idea, ok? That you deliberatly research evidence on a topic that you already have a opinion on – all the better if it’s a strong opinion – that supports the opposite of how you view that particular argument or statement. It’s helps develop your objective, critical thinking. We have natural biases that we don’t even realize, from social conditioning, wanting to fit in, remembering second-hand information or evidence on something. Apparently scientists who are supposed to make sound unbiased assenements suffer from this, as they seek out the evidence that supports their preconceieved notions, and tend to ignore or downplay any evidence supporting the other side. So we form an opinion on information we have received thus far, but how can it be a valid opinion if no critical thinking is put into play? So, I will look for articles and against the idea of say, stem-cell research or euthanasia. It’s uncomfortable, but I may end up with no choice but to re-evaluate my stance. Hopefully though, the evidence will confirm my opinions! 🙂
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Which leads me, in a roundabout way, to my most favourite shout-outs from Obama’s inauguration speech (his co speech-writer looks pretty fine, fyi) that I’ve been wanting to mention for a while, and which I will gleefully quote here:
… For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers…
…For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise healthcare’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories….
We stayed at these guys’ beach hotel and were completely taken care of for the whole weekend, drinks and food and rooms and a golf cart to goon around in, a huge Lebanese lunch with people dancing for hours, a big cake with sparklers “for my 35th birthday” 😀 Drove to Dubai on Friday night for 400 too, good except we arrived a bit late.. Didn’t spent a cent. Anni has around 200 pictures I’d say, I’ll have to get copies! Have a million more things to say about the weekend but I better get on with packing and planning and everything else. 
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