"Star Villanueva's Online Diary"

After college I had no grandiose dreams of being a Super Star! I just want to be employed as an flight attendant and to have my own business, I never have thought that God will blessed me endlessly with fame, career & fortune all at once! It’s like living the dream having my own spa and photography studio as my business, flying career, modeling, magazine writer, few endorsements, and investments. Thank you Lord! Nothing I could as for more. Thanks for the Magazine exposure & Newspaper write-ups!

Whether we admit it or not, at one point in our lives, we've wondered what it would be like to be in the shoes of our favorite celebrities--where fame, fortune, and endless Twitter followers and Google hits come up at the click of their name.

 

Still available Nationwide in Philippines, October 2011 issue of Health Today from bookstores or magazine stands near you, grab yourself a copy now.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HEALTH-TODAY-MAGAZINE

 

My LASIK surgery was a success. For anyone who has been considering it, I definitely think it is the best money I’ve ever spent on myself this 2011.

It’s actually not plan at all, I was just roaming around Trinoma Mall, all of a sudden I went for an eye check up. I want to have LASIK that day but they said that I should rest my eyes for 3 days without wearing contact lens. For 3 days, I was excited for the possibility of not having to wear glasses or contact lens ever again!

Operation day:  After a series of tests, that took approximately 20mins. I’m all set! The nurse put an anesthesia eye drops to both of my eyes and let me wait for an hour before I was ushered into the operating room.

During the surgery, I was asked to keep my eyes fully opened. It was a bit of a challenge because I can see the entire procedure of the doctor & nurses... (That makes me want to close my eyes!) It wasn’t painful but very uncomfortable. Then, I was instructed to wear a protective goggles and prescribed 3 kinds of eye drops that includes antibiotic.

Two hours later, the pain is setting in. I couldn’t open my eyes, a major sensitivity to light also set in, my family whom with me the entire time even have to accompany me inside the mall after having dinner. I wasn’t sure if that was normal that it was stinging terribly but I took a painkiller!

Fast forward to the next week, I can see & function during my flights, I can drive in daytime using a very dark eyeglass. Everything looks great! I’m so thankful to God because I’ve made the right decision for my eyes. Now, I felt so blessed to have a new vision free of eyeglasses & contact lens! I’m completely utterly happy!

 

 

                        * Photo of myself with the view of Manhattan Sky Scrapers while inside a ferry tour

Manhattan is a picture-perfect city, with modern movie sceneries (yes, NYC is possibly the most filmed city ever). Who can ever forget classic movies such as Maid in Manhattan & Serendipity both filmed in Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Maid of Honor & Autumn in New York's Bethesdan Fountain in Central Park, SATC-Day After Tomorrow-Spider Man's New York Library, Kingkong's Empire Estate... among others...You can visit most of these must-see tourist sites for free.

                                                                         * Grand Central Station

You can spend the whole day if you explore Central Park, an oasis amidst busy New York streets. But it’s worth the time. And make sure you go inside the majestic Grand Central Terminal. Most likely, you’ll find yourself gawking in glitzy Times Square, which you have to experience during both day and night time. The great thing about Manhattan is that it’s truly a “walkable” city. It’s best experienced on foot but remember to avoid or shall I say DO NOT repeat the worst thing I ever than in my whole life! ....and that is to walk in Manhattan with my 4inch high-heels shoes! (See The Picture/ Evidence here)

                                                      * Grand Central & Chrysler Building  

Visit famous skyscrapers and churches such as Rockefeller Center, Chrysler Building, New York Public Library, New York Wall Street Journal, the United Nations headquarters, Radio City Music Hall, Stock Exchange, Yankee Stadium, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Museums, among others. And while it costs about $20, you might as well as go up the observation deck of the Empire State Building to get a bird’s eye view of the city. (haven’t tried going up there yet, still waiting for someone special to accompany me there! Haha!)

 

Once you’ve taken the bus tour, it’s time to try the two other popular modes of transportation – the subway and taxis. The MTA New York City Subway is certainly the fastest and cheapest way to go around New York City. One trip costs $3 Get the Fun Pass for unlimited rides for the day for only $8 Of course, a trip to the Big Apple wouldn’t be complete without taking one of the city’s 10,000 yellow cabs.

The other must-eat in New York is steak. There are plenty of high-end steak houses in NYC like TGI-Fridays, Hard Rock and Bubba Gump but if you just want really cheap but really good snack while walking, try Sabrett Hotdogs! It’s all over Manhattan and all kinds of people are buying those! Tourist or not, Ladies in all races, Gents on a necktie or Tshirt, young or old, named it. I even have the guts to encouraged the crew with me on a layover to try it too! And Guess What!? Sabrett is now available in Philippines!

 

 

New York is also the mecca for shoppers. For high-end and fashion-forward shops, simply walk the entire length of Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, and Soho. Visit “destination” stores just because their famous or are attractions by themselves such as huge department stores including Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, World's Largest Macy’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue.For Youngsters, go to Nintendo World or M&M's World to see the Word's biggest Wall of Chocolates!

 

 

* You may Shop with your Trolley bag if you're tired of carrying loads of baggage or shop with your Freezing gear outfit, there's no excuse not to go for shopping in New York! None!

 

...and last but not the least, if you're too tired with the buzzing city why not try to hibernate in the Greeneries of Central Park, bring your iPod, favorite book or pair of sneakers and Viola time will just pass without you noticing it, did that already and it's truly relaxing! I blogged about Central Park Before: Read it at: http://starvillanueva.com/2009/06/28/central-park-new-york-usa/

 

 

A colleague on his early 40's just past away  after a massive heart attack and later on died. The co-pilot flew the plane and diverted to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A new crew boarded the plane and left Malaysia 2 hours later. 

I could have been in that flight. Luckily, I operated New York Flight instead... Indeed, Life is so short, better live life as it was your last day in this world...

More details @ The Peninsula News

By EMMIE V. ABADILLA Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines – Answering claims of its cabin crew union, Philippine Airlines (PAL) said its flight attendants are well paid and receive some of the best benefits that are the envy of other Filipino workers. The actual gross monthly pay of a PAL cabin crew ranges from P33,000 to P75,000, inclusive of productivity pay and other allowances.“Officers of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP) have not been forthright in informing the public of the real salaries and benefits that the PAL cabin crew receives,” PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna underscored. "FASAP claims their basic pay is below the government set minimum wage, but this is just a portion of their salary.”

“The truth is they receive much, much more," she added. "A domestic crew earns between P34,619 to P37,619 per month, including productivity pay, transportation allowance and rice allocation. An international cabin attendant receives P50,741 to P60,136, while a flight purser gets P67,880 to P73,570," according to Villaluna. While this salary range may be modest compared to the pay scale of giant carriers abroad, this is no small amount by Philippine standards. Hence, claims that PAL cabin crew are overworked and underpaid are not true.Their total pay is composed of the basic salary plus per diem allowances. When staying overnight at an international destination, they get $45-$70.

When on a technical stop, they get $100. In addition, they get $20 for every regional turnaround flight and P185 for every domestic flight. They receive additional pay for every hour in excess of their tour of duty, ranging from $50 + $20 for international flights to P1,250 per hour for domestic. They are likewise given first-class hotel accommodation at domestic and international stations. They also receive transportation allowance, or free pick-up from/to their residences, free meals in flight and on ground. They are entitled to crew shuttle to/from airport and have a thermal clothing allowance twice a year; shoe allowance of P1,200 for males, P800 for females, twice a year; uniform allowance from P11,022 to P16,376 every 18 months and are each given a suitcase costing from P1,563 to P3,647 which is replaced every 2 years. They have complete medical and dental coverage for cabin crew and their qualified dependents, plus 13th & 14th month pay.

Their unused days off as well as unused sick leave are converted to cash. On top of that, they have a perfect attendance award equivalent to one month pay + per diem and retirement benefits of 1.5 month for every year of service. "“All this time FASAP has been presenting to the public and the government a picture that is totally opposite reality. FASAP is free to show proof if the wages and benefits we have just revealed are not true," Villaluna said. PAL also urged FASAP to be truthful in presenting to the public the significant highlights of the four conciliation meetings brokered by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).

"Instead of alarming our passengers with threats of strike, FASAP should at least disclose the exchange of proposals and counter-offers to show who was taking a hardline position during the conciliation meetings," she said. PAL's offer of P80-million in additional salary plus P25 million in rice allowance (a total of P105 million), change in retirement age to 45 (from 40) and increase in the cabin crew's maternity benefits were rejected by FASAP who insisted on their original positions before unilaterally declaring a deadlock in the negotiation.

             

One Sunday morning, my family and I didn’t have any plan but it turned out to be my favorite day of the month! (August) Headed to Serendra & Market Market Mall in Global City during its SALE day so we we’re inside the mall from morning till evening without noticing it. Spent the whole day, fitting clothes & shoes! And satisfying our cravings in some food chains such as Zagu, New York Fries and New York Hotdogs! Then later on had dinner in Kamayan buffet restaurant! I think I totally forgot that there’s this word called “Diet!”

Then saw the wall climbing it’s kinda cool, but gravity is something that everybody should be scared of. This kind of activities are easy but even with the gears, there is still a chance for these gears to malfunction so, you just really have to be always careful every time you do this kind of stuff.

 It was my brother who climbed first. Then I accompanied my sister. While looking at how steep the rock was, I fearlessly started to hit the rock and grab anything I can hold on to with my hand. Though I’m a first time climber, I wasn’t scared at all because I love heights! and it was actually safe because of the gears that they let us use. The wall also has certain stages of varying difficulty depending on your experience and capability. There is what they call the 90-degree wall, for beginners. The wall is just flat and doesn’t have many obstacles all you need is to power lift and push yourself up.

I wasn’t wearing the right clothes and shoes (just rented proper shoes) because it’s not planned at all. I really had so much fun! I wish I can’t go to different wall climbs as often as I want to!

As we walked around Serendra, I've been spotted to do a 10 seconds commercial and mini-photoshoot for Fox Channel! I'm glad my mom also have her camera with her the whole time because my Sony digicam kept on vibrating like a cellphone on a vibrate mode! It produces blurry pictures!

 The happenings didn’t end there! Also went to McKinley Hills to check the developments of my condo. I love the ambience in Venetian Mall though it’s a mimicked version it still reminds me of Venetian Mall in Las Vegas that I visited early this year and Venetian Mall in Macau.

There’s more! The night didn’t end there. Before they start calling me “Indianera” for not showing up every time they invite me, I’ve decided to meet my friends at Starbucks in Rockwell Makati. We spent more than 3hours of non-stop laughter! Abby – my colleague from the airline just arrived that time, I’m glad she didn’t forget to bring the Alviero Martini passport holder & wallet that I asked her to buy during her recent flight to Rome, Italy.

Related Post: All The Pictures from my Recent Leave

It’s been awhile since my last post. Lack of time and interest has been solely responsible for this but actually there are tons of things to write about and happenings to share.

Flights have been great. I’m so thankful that I do fly to Manila more than 4 times per month plus the additional other flights that they will give me. I don’t care about the new destinations and new routes we fly to anymore. Whether I already been there or not it doesn’t matter anymore. I just want to go home, period.

I’m not in the mood to post a really long post, so will just briefly list out some things that I have done in the last few weeks. Just last month I’ve had another vacation leave. It was supposed to be 6 days but luckily I was given additional days offs and a night departure flight (That makes it almost 11 days).

Everyday I’m dropping by at Star Bliss Spa in Timog Ave. Corner Scout Torillo to get some pampering. Be it to start my day with a mani/ped or to finish my evening with a soothing massage or to accompanied the other FA’s on the flight. One time I was there at the spa, my staff saw Sen. Chiz Escudero on the nearby parking lot waiting for his car to be fixed. They called him and insisted to just wait inside the spa! Since he already went there before he agreed to have a back massage while waiting!  Mr. Jojo Alejar & Jay Manalo is also our regular customer but I’m not around every time they visits.

My college best friend Riva also visited me then the later on another friend (Emgie from Singapore) surprised me too! “Pag talaga hindi planado natutuloy!” Riva,Glacie & I we're having dinner at Off The Grill just accross Star Bliss when Emgie came, Then we started calling Ayi, Rina & Em if they can drop by din coz we were the ones na super close since day one of college! We enjoyed catching up and reminisce the good old days while Emgie's kids are having a kiddie massage treats in the 2nd floor...

The next few days my cousins Ate Arlene & Andrea came over. Now my spa also serves as a good place to chill & hangout while being pampered! Mainly for the convinience of the location with lots of Parking space and because of the establishments around the area. If you want the place to be rented (6-15 person) Just message us at http://www.facebook.com/starbliss.spa / 09205356633 / starbliss_spa@yahoo.com

   * With My Cousins Ate Arlene & Andrea

Attention All:

It has been bought to my attention that someone is using my identity in many circumstances like offering discounted tickets the swindlers are able to take cash & credit card numbers from victims.  There are also numerous reports that a lot of people are impersonating me or using my pictures in some dating sites.  Other version of this scam includes the use of chat portals such as yahoo messenger using my identity and when you are yet smart enough to know that these schemes are scams and have paid them the amount that they’re asking, you will just realize that when they would just vanish out of the blue.

Please be informed that I only uses yahoo messenger rarely just to speak with my family & friends and I’ve never had any dating site whatsoever. Please spread the news that this type of modus operandi exist to your friend and loved ones so no more individual will be victimized by this scam.