Friday, March 11, 2011

The Airport Connection


Just a thought that came to my mind when I woke up this morning, just the random connections

*My name was taken from Manila International Airport(MIA), probably the place where my parents met, fell-in love and even made me because they were both working there some 20 plus years ago. I told myself I never wanted to follow the footsteps of my parents, but here I am making my own mark, working at Singapore’s Changi Airport.


*Airports delight me. The smell of the airplane’s fuel, hearing the sound of the trolleys, the excitement I get waiting to board the aircraft towards my destination plus all the people traveling around coming from all over the world; indeed it’s an exciting playground!


*I have lived 7 kilometers away from the airport for the past 24 years of my existence, the nearness makes me immune to the takeoff and landing noises of these aircraft which I literally see just in front of me; I even had this childhood fantasy that one day an airplane might land directly in front of our house. Now here at Simei, I can also see the gracious landing of such wonderful aircrafts, well minus the noisy sound.


*I can’t imagine how my parents and even some veterans of the airline industry spent almost their whole lives in this very fast-paced industry. I am just starting now, and I don’t know if I will really stay in this business or even stay long for a year (with my past employment backgrounds that seems to last for just a few months). But there is something different now. Everyday is different, the people I meet, the faces I see, and all of them have their different stories. It delights me to see the face of a child welcoming his mother after maybe a long time of being away of each other; these airport moments  are so intense, so real. It also saddens me to see those lovers giving the most intimate and lasting kiss with tears in their eyes; who knows when they will meet again.




All these emotions, all these people whom we help just to reach their destination,  this may not be one of the highest paying job or whatsoever, but the satisfaction I get after  helping a passenger, or hearing them say that Changi is the best, or just by addressing me in my first name, makes me feel ... just satisfied...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This reminds of the movie The Terminal.

Unknown said...

I am planning to watch that soon!! :) downloaded it already :)