The Decode Diary

I took the opportunity to ask Prateep if he has dealt with difficult passengers because we all know it, there have to be Karen passengers somewhere on planet Earth. Surprisingly, he gave an unexpected answer. The answer was that it is more difficult to deal with colleagues and other flight attendants. Do you work with difficult colleagues too? Listen to the full conversation here: https://open.spo...

Posting on social media, for flight crew, requires permission from their higher-ups. Understandably, this is to protect the image and reputation of the company. For a lot of the flight attendants, their previous lifestyle of posting beautiful photos of them shift once they start their job. It was the same for Prateep. However, it wasn't a big deal. It probably matters more to those who post on soc...

For many, working in the airline industry is a dream job, specifically as part of the flight crew for obvious reasons. For Prateep, however, the perks and benefits are nice-to-haves, but not the reason he would stay for. While the company is not the main reason, he saw it that he would not be in the same industry for the years to come, especially when he is entering the prime age of starting a fam...

I sat down with Johnny to understand if we are able to cope with traumas using mindfulness. For so long, my view on mindfulness is that it helps us detach from emotions, but more often than not, most of us are humans and cannot skip away emotions. We will feel it some day or sooner. Johnny was spot on that mindfulness does not cure emotions, but simply it is a practice that helps us understand wha...

It is ultimately how we perceive the matters around us that shapes us who we are. Depending on our mindset, an ordeal can turn into an experience that teaches you grit and persistence. On a smaller scale, if we view minor events as unforgivably serious occasions, we are likely to always feel stressed and strained. Here, only we know our surroundings. Nobody can tell us what our world looks like, e...

The special thing about our minds is that it tends to habituate. It is the act of our minds to make or become used to something. It does not take more to understand why. It simply happens because our body tries to resist pain. We tend to stay in our "comfort zone". Speaking to Johnny about habituation made me realize how corporate culture is meant to put us in situations we will never wa...

If you are the type of person who feels numb to a lot of life’s interesting chapters, you probably should listen to this. Johnny came on to the show several episodes ago and the topic of mindfulness was so interesting that I invited him for a second time to talk to us about emotions, especially at work. If you have gone onto a vacation before, you must have experienced post-trip depression and it...

To Giri, cancer patients are not that strong after all. "Half the time we don't know what is going on!" was what he said and I think it is true. But I think the strength to live on treatment after treatment still needs to be there because the pain after each treatment can be unbearable. Listen to Giri's story and you will know how the treatments are almost intolerable. Being labe...

It was a 7-week cancer treatment involving chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Listening to his experience revealed to me the courage one has to have to go through the treatment. Radiotherapy had him at his worst. The 7-week period, I believe, made him a totally different person. From a lump on the left side of his neck to cancer-free, from being impatient in life to accepting of everything that happen...

What are the odds of your university senior finding out you have cancer? That was exactly what happened to Giri when he was helping his seniors with their exams. It was odd listening to this part because I started to feel my body for lumps but thankfully, no. Listen with me to how Giri found out he got cancer and how he reacted to this life-changing moment. It is heartwarming to know that Giri is...

It has been 9 years since Giri was diagnosed of nasopharyngeal cancer. To him and everyone around him, it was the worst experience one could ever go through. There were no symptoms when he was diagnosed with it, but starting the treatments meant he had to endure all the pain that came with them. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the latter made his mouth and throat so dry that he had to rely on tubes...

We all know flight attendants get to travel the world getting paid. It is like a dream job for many people, especially young people these days. But what about the actual career advancements? Do they actually level up in their ranks? If so, what more do they do? We explore the career progression of a flight attendant as Belinda reveals how she makes her way up the ranks. Listen to the full conversa...

Because they fly so frequently and are always out and about, I would presume that they can make friends easily. And they are adept at maintaining relationships too. It turns out that they are probably the people who would lose the most number of friends if I had to count. For some, being a "low maintenance" friend works. But it might not be that effective when you are rarely seeing your...

Their spouses and family could be sleeping while they are working through the night serving passengers onboard a flight. This is one of the many things a flight attendant has to deal with in their job. But is this the toughest one? In this snippet, we explore together with Belinda, who is a flight attendant, the toughest problem she has ever faced while flying. It might not be what you think! List...

For many, the dream of flying around the world to see beautiful places and people is worth the constant overtime at a 9-5 job. But for Belinda, it is her job to fly almost every single day. How does it work out for her if it means she needs to sacrifice on sleep and many more? What about relationships and family? Is this the best job ever? In this episode, I’m glad to have sat down with Belinda to...

After her career started, she felt she needed to do more. For the money, of course. But also to share and teach while learning. According to her, we resonate on the notion that we learn best when we teach. Belle seems to be confident she will continue to work towards giving her own workshop whenever she has the chance. I think there is just something about people who talk about their goals and the...

When I first heard about her job as a reservoir engineer, I didn't think it was something to do with the oil and gas industry. I thought it was closely related to reservoirs and waste water management. As if I didn't know enough about the field, she shared with me how on a high level overview the oil and gas industry works. Of course, there is the drilling, then the extraction and filter b...

When asked about her role in her field, her eyes lit up and that is when you know someone is purely interested in what they are doing. Or maybe they are good actors, except I don't think Belle was acting up. From this conversation alone, I got to know the different streams in the oil and gas industry, specifically from her role as a reservoir engineer. In this snippet, we talked about her prob...

When I saw Belle’s graduation on her Instagram story, I reached out to her to know her story. Despite being a fresh graduate, she is very well-versed in her field of chemical engineering. To be more exact, she is a reservoir engineer. If you are like me wondering what a reservoir engineer does, this conversation is for you. In this episode, we dive deep into her journey from developing interest in...

I haven't really hit the peak of what a good body looks like, but with my workout routine, I always think there's something not done correctly. Not enough reps, not enough sets and not enough weights. There's always something that is not enough and I can only take the blame myself for still being small after months of working out. Talking to Joshua made me realize how important it is to compare no...

Although hitting the gym has been a trend for many years, for many reasons, I want to talk about this because I want to find out why people are taking to social media to show a picture of their biceps when things like this wouldn't have happened 50 years ago. Maybe social media played a part, maybe the idea of sharing the perfect workout routine that leads to the perfect body shape makes sense...

I have only recently started going to the gym because for my whole life, I have stuck to a home workout routine. Probably because it is cheap and you get to be the sole user of all the equipment. The sad truth is there are not a lot of options, be it equipment or exercises. The way to get serious in working out is to at least know the fundamentals before any injury hits.  Joshua, a financial advis...

I don't know how, and I don't want to know how. But Jennefer did it in an elegant way. She chose the way many wouldn't and I'm not saying this should be the only approach, but I hope anyone who has to go through a heartbreak chooses to forgive and let go. Cry a little, be sad a little, go through the 7 stages of denial, and then as a closing to the event, try to forgive a little. L...

I don't think anyone should condone the act of betrayal in any relationship. Jennefer talked to me how she found out about the affair her ex-boyfriend had with her friend. When I was listening, I couldn't understand what the boy was thinking. But it didn't matter. What matter was that Jennefer had already forgiven him and let go of this hurtful past. If you listened, I was having a hard time tryin...

I have always wondered what people do on dating apps like Tinder. I mean, it is a chatting app where you get to know people and talk to them based on primarily their looks. I am lucky to have Jennefer on the show to describe how she dates on Tinder. Fun fact: I went on to the app to try it for awhile, only to be put off by the surface-level chitchats and unintimidating topics that I didn't hav...