Adventure Time!

Hold onto your hats ladies and gents because I have some very exciting news!

I am changing jobs!

While working with Jviation I've learned so much about airfields and what all goes into constructing them. I even got to be a #1 RPR on a rather large project in my first year of working with them which allowed me to flourish as a young engineer. I finished my employment with a bang completing the amazing and intense Jackson Hole Runway Reconstruction Project! If you have any questions about airport construction, feel free to ask anytime!

This is the FAAs Challenger Jet. They were the first aircraft to land on the newly built runway in JAC.

Hunter and I got to experience the buttery smooth runway on June 30th taking the direct back to Atlanta. 

I spoke to the pilots before departure letting them know I was one of the engineers who rebuilt the runway. 

They were very excited about the new runway too!

I quit my job with Jviation due to the lack of respect they had towards my time. I loved the work I got to do and being in the field constructing airports was my all-time favorite thing, but policy changes after being bought out by Woolpert destroyed a lot of the good things Jviation did for their employees. While the work stayed mostly the same and my co-workers were still awesome people to work with, all the background changes made doing the day to day things a lot harder for me. While I tried not to worry about these things, it came to a point where continuing employment was not sustainable for my health and the company was extremely unwilling to work with me regarding my concerns. I was very patient and found many various solutions to take care of my well-being, but they were all rejected by the company. I did not feel I was valued and cared for so I decided to leave as I know my worth and deserve a lot more than they are willing to provide. I still can't fully comprehend why they refused to help and work with me as I was a great employee, but I'm moving forward and couldn't be more excited to see where my future goes!

Now, if you know me, you know I'd never just quit without having a plan. I'm extremely excited to let everyone know (who doesn't already know) I have accepted a job with Delta Air Lines in their Corporate Real Estate department as a Project Leader based out of Atlanta! 

I'll be working in the office building beside Hunter which I'm so excited about and also traveling extensively to different airports completing all kinds of projects as a sort of coordinator. They have already told me they plan on having me work in many of the Canadian airports which I'm so happy about as it will let me see my family more. I start my employment with Delta on August 1st!

Now you might be wondering what I'm going to do for the next month between jobs. Since I've been working a whole lot without any breaks these last 3 months, I am in need of a relaxing adventure! Hunter scored ~17 days off work since he has a super flexible job, so we have planned a grand adventure - we are off to Phuket, Thailand!

To start the adventure we had plans to go to SFO where United has a direct flight to Singapore. We kept an eye on the flight loads before heading out on this adventure and found out that some changes were not working in our favor. Hunter also had a work schedule change that made things complicated so we researched plans B, C, D, and E. Option B was to fly ATL-ICN (Seoul, South Korea) and then buy a confirmed ticket to SIN (Singapore) since we're not quite at the 6 months of employment for zeds, we have to buy normal tickets. Option C was DTW-ICN similar to B. Option D was LAX-SYD (Sydney, Australia) and buy a confirmed ticket to SIN. And option E, the fallback, was to take United to Singapore in economy. 

We got up at 7am July 7, 2022 and took our Covid tests needed for the flight to Seoul. We also had donuts for breakfast that we got last night after dinner. We finished packing our backpacks and headed to the parking spot who then took us to the airport. At the airport we had to check in at the normal counter and go through document checks for our negative test, vaccination, and ETA visa check. The visa was only $7 and lasts about two years. We also had to get the Australian visas for $20 each, good for two years too just incase we ended up there. Once that was done we checked in and went through security. We had TSA precheck which made it take about 5 minutes and we didn't have to take off our shoes or remove anything from our bags. After security we went to the lounge to fill up our water bottles and have a snack before heading to our gate. 

Covid tests and donuts

Parking Spot 323

Bus to the airport

Our Canada friends we saw as we checked in for the flight

Lounge snacks

About 5 minutes after waiting at the gate and our names were called as we were cleared into Delta One seats 8B and 8C. This is extremely exciting because this is our first time on Delta's flagship A350 with Delta One mini suites! This is also Hunter's 300th Delta non-rev flight. We quickly boarded the plane and were amazed at the first class cabin being so spacious. The first thing I noticed was no overhead bins over the center seats. It made quite a difference than other first class cabins we have been in. The mini suites have a partition you can open or close in the middle seats as well as an external door you can close so you have your own mostly private space. 

They put blue bands on us after checking all our documents and things in order to fly to ICN

Before departure we were offered orange juice or champagne. Hunter and I both had orange juice. The captain then came and welcomed each passenger in the first class cabin individually. A great touch to a long flight. It was really nice to have him talk to us! Before pushback we had a brief delay with maintenance coming to fix an electrical issue. Soon after pushback we were in the air in a surprisingly quiet cabin! 

Service quickly began and I ordered the chicken dish while Hunter ordered the Korean dish. Both were delicious! Desert afterwards was equally delicious and the FAs were amazing! They gave us both the ice cream sundae and mini cake!

Menu

Menu continued

Cleaning wipe to start

Drinks and nut mix

My chicken dish

Hunter's Korean dish

Desert

After filling up Hunter and I were both sleepy so we took a nap. I slept for about an hour while Hunter got 2. When I woke up I started planning out the days we have in Singapore. We are arriving at 11:40pm on the 8th. We used our Marriott points to book 3 nights at the stunning JW Marriott. We have had great luck with foreign JWs and couldn't resist the amazing points deal and as ambassador elites we get treated like royalty. Points are typically valued at 0.7 cents per point and we ended up with a redemption rate of 1.3 cents per point (higher numbers are better in this calculation). 

After researching and planning out activities for our 2 full days in Singapore (on day 3 we leave in the evening), the FAs started the mid-flight snack service. We had delicious pizzas with a fresh side salad of tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese. It hit the spot! We also started watching the movie Crazy Rich Asians since it takes place in Singapore. 

Pizza snack

Stretching my legs

While Hunter was back awake I told him about the schedule I was making for our Singapore time. We were both excited! We stayed up a bit longer and talked. Once we got tired again about 4 hours before arrival we napped again. When I woke up again, an hour before arrival, it was brunch time. I had the Coconut and Toasted Sesame Pudding while Hunter had the Spicy Braised Beef. Both were excellent!
Prior to arrival, an announcement was made that masks were required indoors at all times and they distributed blue surgical masks. Thankfully we brought black masks which look a bit nicer. We shortly touched down and were directed to the transfer desks. Hunter of course took pictures of our plane as we deplaned. We checked in with Korean Air and proceeded through a security checkpoint where we had to dispose of our water bottles. We then were in the new terminal and headed to one of the lounges.

The plane we arrived in

Trash panda!

Heading to the lounge/gate area

Green wall

The airport had very nice nature vibes

Mask enforcing robot!

We arrived at the Matina Lounge and it was pretty empty, but started to get busier. We were glad we got a booth to sit at. The food and drink selection at this lounge was extensive. We had some snacks and I worked on my blog posts before we left for our flight to Singapore at 6pm local or 5am EST. Singapore is a 12 hour time difference so we will be exactly opposite the east coast. 

The lounge we visited

They had a massive food selection

A robot drove around for you to place your dirty dishes into

The funny sign in the bathroom made both Hunter and I think they had secret cameras but they actually are making sure there are no secret cameras

The bathroom provided an excellent photo opportunity for our plane we came in on

While I slept a bit on our flight to South Korea, I definitely should have slept more! I was struggling to stay awake in the lounge and Hunter kept telling me I looked dead. Around 5:30 we left for our gate to board the flight to Singapore. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts to get water bottles since that appeared to be the only place with bottled water. I asked for a cup of ice with my water, but they refused which was odd because they definitely sold iced drinks and had pictures on the menu with ice cubes in drinks. We each drank a bottle at the gate before boarding to stay hydrated and then I refilled them at a water fountain so we would have plenty on the flight. Shortly after, our boarding zone was called and we got on the flight in seats 31 A and B right behind first class. I thought I could stay awake, and I tried really hard, but my eyes were heavy and I shortly found myself asleep on Hunter after taking off. I woke up about 45 minutes later to dinner being served. Hunter and I both picked the Korean option. There were noodles and dumplings and the cutest little fish sauce. It was quite tasty! Hunter and I are always impressed with the economy services on non-US airlines, especially Asian ones! When we were being told our meal options, the FA was so nice and explained everything to us and how to eat it since it was like a deconstructed meal. She even told us one of the sauces were super spicy and to be careful. After eating Hunter and I started to watch a movie, but again I tried to stay awake and failed. I slept for the majority of the flight and was only awake for the last hour or so. 

More green spaces as we walk to the gate

Hunter took more pictures of planes while waking to our gate. This is a 747-800i and there are only 43 in the world.

Our plane was moved to a parking spot

The view from our gate with more gates on the lower level

View from our seats

Inside the plane

The plane has two cameras that show the outside you can watch

The safety video had a rapping bear

You can watch the video here, its pretty funny and I recommend you do!

The last 767-400 being sent for refurbishment and installation of Delta One Suites

Air Canada and Turkish

Time to take off

Airflow over the wing. This was so cool to see!

Dinner service!

The cute fish sauce

Hunter with dessert which was "red carpet cheese cake cup" aka strawberry swirl

Watching the video cameras as we land in SIN

Walking to customs in the airport

Marina Bay Sands hotel and the Ferris Wheel

We arrived in Singapore at 11:40 pm and headed to customs where we had to have our fingerprints taken and vaccine cards checked. We also had to sign up on this app and get barcodes for our entry forms declaring we were healthy. Once we did that, we then finished signing up for the Grab app, which is like Uber here, and proceeded to our pickup point to get to our hotel, the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach. The drive was a short 15 minutes and then we quickly checked in and were sent to room 1235! 

The check in counter at our hotel

The hotel lobby

Our room

The bathroom

The room was pretty incredible with so many mirrors it made it a little confusing almost. Hunter and I were very tired, quickly showered, and went to bed.

Date: Friday July 8, 2022