Why I love Virgin Atlantic

So here I am, in the "Clubhouse" in Johannesburg airport... It's lush. Lots of comfy sofa seats, champagne cocktails, food, mood lighting. The bathrooms are nuts- like actual hotel bathrooms: toilet, glass sink, huge mirror, full size estriol shower, towels, posh soap and shower products (cowshed)

But.... It's not the best clubhouse. Oh no, that's saved for the Heathrow T5, where u can have a spa, swim in the pool, have a choice of restaurant/dining experiences, sit in differently themed areas with swing seats, loungers, or officey areas. Now THAT is special.

But what is the best about Virgin?
Their loyalty programme. Seriously, it rocks. I fly premium economy between London and Durban- 3 or 4 times a year through work, and they give me over 8000 miles per leg.
It costs me 10,000 airmiles to upgrade to Upper Class (ie swanky first class) so essentially, I can upgrade 2 out of every 5 legs. Add that to the fact I get airmiles on my Virgin credit card means I upgrade almost every flight..... IF they have availability.
Now that is the challenge. Sometimes you have to gamble and try your luck when you check in. My last 3 flights weren't successful, but the service is so great, I can live with it.

Today, after being told several times over the last 3 month there were no upgrade seats available, I try my luck at the airport and YES!!!!! For £20 I'm upgraded.
Joy of joy of joys..... The clubhouse is lush, but I can't wait till my 3 course, on proper plates and cutlery with linen dinner is served.
I can't wait for the "floor manager" to make my bed up.
I can't wait to get into bed, and tilt my tv round, and flick a movie on. After I have been given my complimentary pyjamas.
I can't wait to be woken up in the morning for my breakfast (hot and cold)
I can't wait to use the revivals lounge in heathrow for a shower before heading into work.

There are 2 downsides:
BA gives access to u and a friend if you're a silver member. Virgin makes you wait till Gold- which works out flying to SA and back every month for a year. Never gonna happen.

The second downside? Having to fly cattle class when i book my hols because no way in hell do I hav £8k to spend on an Upper Class flight!!!

xxx




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:York St,Kempton Park,South Africa

Facebook Status Etiquette

I have a fairly large number of FB friends. Most are people I know, but some aren't. Some are total strangers, which I need for one of the ridiculously addictive games I play (yes, you heard the nerd!)
 It always fascinates me to read through people's FB statuses, and what people are prepared to post to the general public, colleagues and friends..... which got me thinking- What is acceptable? What shouldn't be shared out of bad taste, or pure shock value? What is just too personal to be out there on the WWW??
 I mean NONE of my FB friends put their sex life on their statuses... I have never seen "is going to go home and f*** her husband" or "is going to go home and spank the monkey" Can you imagine if your sister put "hoping to pull some hot bloke tonight and have wild and crazy sex" You'd be horrified!!!  So where is the line drawn?

Even changing your relationship status is a big thing. Some people believe that changing from "single" to "in a relationship" gives you the "FB status Curse of Doom" where it inevitably all goes tits up very quickly and you end up shame-facedly changing it back, alerting everyone to "Joe is no longer in a relationship" with that cruel little broken heart, just to add more shame to the whole debacle.
 But no one wants to read boring statuses. "Mindy is taking the cats to the vet" simply sparks a global yawn-fest... but what's boring to you or me, may be really exciting for the poster (a bit like blogs I guess?!) I have a friend that posts consistantly about her husband and 4 kids. How much she loves them, the funny little things they do. To her, they are her life and she wants to share that, and shout it out proud. So who are we to judge?
  Another friend posted her innermost, darkest thoughts after losing someone. Maybe it was a cry for help, maybe she was so angry at the world, she wanted to lash out.
It shocked a lot of people, upset a lot of others, and really worried the people close to her- was it the right thing to do? Maybe, maybe not- only she will ever be able to answer that. Is it wrong to think that kind of update shouldn't be shared on a 1 line status update?

 A FB "friend" (ie someone I chatted to, but had never met) took his own life earlier this week. His wife and mother used his FB page to update his friends on his rapidly deteriorating situation. People from all over the world sent love, prayers and eventually condolences to his family. They took strength from all the support, even posting which hospital he was in and where, so people could visit.
 It was sad to watch it all unfold, but it was also incredibly touching to see how people all over the world can unite in support and grief when someone is hurting.

Personally, I love reading soppy updates "loves his girlfriend and can't wait to meet junior" puts a smile on my face and a warm glow in my heart. Even "loves her snookums" makes me laugh, because it's great to see people happy and smitten!!
 I also laugh out loud when girls get all twisted and jealous and post comments all over their man's FB page like a dog pissing out their territory.
 I have a lot of guy friends- and I do mean friends, not "friends". I ALWAYS know when they have a new GF, because the minute I put a comment on one of their pics (like "OMG how hammered were YOU?!?") these new chicks never fail to lay their ownership down with a follow up comment "Oh baby, that was such a funny night!!! lol xxx" or "omg, I cant believe I had to carry you home babes xx"
Seriously?? If you're that insecure about your relationship, it's doomed already. Chill out, breathe..... stop being a FB stalker love, it's not a good look and breeds a whole new form of jealousy that your man is not going to appreciate.

 The "angry posters" also make me laugh... the ones who rant about their commute from hell into work for example- but if all you ever do is rant, it gets pretty boring after a while. Do it well, and it can be belly-laughingly brilliant. Do it badly and you just end up looking bitter and twisted- after all, there is only so many posts you can read about "the effing tube journey to work" before you start wondering whether they should just get another damn job where they can get the bus instead?!?

Anyway, I guess the long and short of it is that most people want to be able to laugh, smile or celebrate when reading FB statuses, or at least be given a little time to reflect.
That's FB Etiquette.... or is it just me?

xxx

The pros and cons of housesharing

Housesharing has it's pros and cons. It's nice to come home to someone to chat to, have a laugh with when you're single for example.
 You've always got someone to water the plants when you're away....
But when does housesharing turn into a bit of a headache?
 At 34, I'm probably too old for housesharing. I'm not a student and I don't live in London where everyone is forced into housesharing in one way or another (can't afford to move out of parents home, living with mates to have a house instead of a shoebox, living with boyf/husband, having your parents move in with you because they cant afford to retire comfortably- London has a depressing cycle)
So why do I do it? In a nutshell, I had to at first. Living with work colleagues on secondment was a way of making them feel secure.
Now it's got to a point where I am over it and need my own space.

Casepoint:
The boys had a poker night last night. The first poker night they had, they had about 6 or 7 people over. It was a decent evening, everyone seemed to have a good night and nothing went crazy. I went round to see one of my mates- poker night bores me.
 Last night, 15 people rock up to the apartment. It gets late, it gets noisy, and it gets a little rowdy. The boys all leave at 2:30am AFTER the building supervisor has called.
 The boys get back, full of slamming doors and projectile heaving/vomiting. Fabulous.

I wake up this morning, and when I eventually dare to leave my room, there is the aftermath of a nightlong drinking session spread across the house. The boys are catatonic, it's 11am.
I am at the age now where mess bothers me. A lot. I can't cook in a kitchen that's in a state. I cant eat in a living room that has partied hard, so I tidy the whole flat up, end to end.
The boys wake up just as I am finishing my cleaning. "You didnt have to do that" one says.

Errr... oh yes I do, I live here, and I cant live in a dumpsite.

The door knocks, the bell rings, the house phone is ringing. I know this is the Building Supervisor ready to go mental (this time it's justified, but that's a whole new blog)

Given I have already cleared up one mess, I don't see why I have to deal with the next one. That's on them.

Some may say I'm being a party pooper, or a miserable sow... but I just think that there is a limit- an invisible boundary of housesharing that you shouldn't cross over, and it was crossed over last night.
We all know our building is a nightmare, with people that complain if we have guests past 8pm on a weekend, so why add fuel to the fire in our last 3 weeks? Makes no sense... and if you live with other people, there has to be a little consideration.

This is why I am finally getting my own place at the end of this month.
Somewhere I can go to the kitchen butt naked in the middle of the night if I want to... somewhere I can dance around, singing at the top of my voice being silly without recrimination... somewhere I can call home

xxx