When dreams come true...

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I -
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference..” - Robert Frost

First time I ever thought in my life of being a Flight Attendant was way back in 2000. The good old time when I was still studying Hotel Management in Bangalore. Having read about an advert in the local daily about Jet Airways recruiting for their airlines I made a beeline to the college they had decided to camp on. Unfortunately after getting through first few elimination rounds I had to face the 'complexion round' (you must be wondering what the fish is this, well so was I). Anyway the lady who seemed to have ransacked the entire rack of L'Oreal cosmetics scrutinized my face closely and asked me to go home, since I had One zit on the corner of my left cheek(those wonder years). Unable to take the rejection for a trivial reason I asked her politely but sternly if she was actually hunting for models or attendants??? That was the last straw of my dream of zipping around the world and getting paid for it.
Cut to August 2007, Melbourne; my official Place od Residence. Once again I come across an ad this time in the Mx by Emirates. At first I shrugged at the idea of even attending the Open Day. Being in a white country I stood no chance of even getting through the self round of elimination called "Confidence". But hey what the heck, I said there is no harm in giving it a try. So I got all dressed up for the big day. Facing the freezing winter of Melbourne I made it through the 6 dreaded elimination rounds from 8 am to 8 pm leaving behind the 200 odd candidates who dared to turn up on a Saturday morning to about 30 of us, counting our eggs even before they had wings. Followed by a one on one interview the next day, I waited patiently for 6 months to hear from them in vain. Not to my surprise I got to know that I didn't make it through. So had to wait another 6 months before I could try once again, having heard that most of the staff never made in the first attempt.
So once again I summed my courage to go through the nightmare of those elimination rounds (I guess the Miss World competitions are way easier). Having an advantage of knowing what's in store I breezed once again through all the whirlpools to face the HR ladies for a grueling interview with new sets of professional snaps(courtesy Martin Cepan). No news for another 4 months.
With the tail of the last year leaving behind a lot to be hoped and achieved for, the dawn of 2009 was in Melbourne after non stop holidaying in India for Nov & Dec. The moment I landed here I had a hunch that I wont be here for long, thou I LOVE Melbourne and its definitely one of the best places in the world (I haven't seen many but will be visiting most of them this year) I was a bit apprehensive of giving up my life in Australia for the next few years to pursue my dreams and career. The Golden call as they like to call it came in the first week of Jan. Followed by insane numbers of pre-employment medical check ups to be done, which obviously took a lot of time and money but every second and cent spent was worth the efforts. Today I got a confirmation that I am now part of one of the biggest & the best airlines in the world as a Cabin Crew(CC).
I am wrapped, I guess there is always a time and place for everything. (Waqt se pehle or Bhagya se zada kuch nahi milta). But never the less I am satisfied & happy to make the Big move to the sandpit i.e. Dubai(UAE), the 3rd continent I will be residing on. Having resigned at work today I am mentally preparing for the transition which includes wrapping up everything from here (house, car, contracts, job). But having the support and encouragement of my family I am sure this will be a piece of cake too....Its end of Jan, another month at my current role @ ANZ before I can take time off to fly out.
Now I believe in the old adage "Believe in your dreams, they do come true if you have patience & persistence".

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain