Christmas just came early for me this year. Don't you just love Christmas? The spirit of joy and giving wraps its arms gently around you, and cheer in the air surrounds you. I like that feeling of elation. This is also when tiny miracles in your life start to unfold.

 

I have so many reasons to pop open the bottle of 1999 Vintage Dom Perignon.

Firstly, there's the 14 weeks bonus- the most my company has ever given in over 20 years of operations.

Then there's also salary increment. Not a lot... but some money is better than no money.

And as of yesterday, I have officially completed my week long First Class Promotional Course and have been promoted! Which again means, yes, more money. But more importantly, I have fulfilled my personal goal in my career. I can now resign without regrets although, I have no intention of doing so. I was simply saying it for the sake of saying it...

And then, of course, there was the most beautiful bouquet of lilies being delivered to my home yesterday.

I'm not sure if this is a celebration though, but I was supposed to have a Beirut flight this morning which I was really not looking forward to. However, I was in the shower last night when crew control called to inform me that the flight has been cancelled due to gun battles in Beirut. Ok, I feel very sorry for the situation in Lebanon, but I can't wipe the smile of my face because I no longer need to operate that flight. I was given a standby instead today.

I woke up from my sleep at 2am and called EVITA to check for roster changes. I was half expecting them to give me a change of duty since I wasn't going to do the Beirut flight anymore. I did pick up a roster change though... I managed to swap my Delhi, Heathrow and Shanghai flight for a Bangkok-Sydney-Auckland! I nearly fell off my bed! Just when I thought all hope was lost, I knew that somewhere, some 7484 miles away, someone is still praying very hard.

 

So you see... there is a Higher Power. And sometimes all you need is a little blind faith.

Perhaps a small miracle may happen today.

Keep praying.