Best buddies
I had a great long weekend. Thursday I spent the day with R's sister, Daniëlle (we call her Danneke) shopping in Brussels. She wanted to buy a few things, but didn't want to go with the kids or alone. So I volunteered and so we took the International Train to Brussels where we spent the whole day. It was fun. I was a good boy though and didn't spend too much money. R. spent that day with his best friend Tommy, in Den Haag.
Friday, I helped my cousin Jennifer (Jenny) move out of her apartment in Den Haag. She is temporarily moving in with my parents, because she ended up in a major fight with Percy, her roommate. After 3 years of living together (not as boyfriend/girlfriend), they decided it was best she moved out, before the situation got out of hand. So right now she is actively looking for an apartment im Den Haag (Voorburg, Rijswijk etc.). She goes to Haagse Hogeschool and she likes the city a lot, so she wants to stay in the neighbourhood. So Dad, Uncle Glenn, my cousin Giovanny and his friends Tai and Gilliën helped her move out her stuff and put them in storage at Shurgard. We had fun though. Lots of jokes and laughs. I really am a family man and love to be around my crazy @ss cousins, parents, brother, aunts, uncles etc.
That same friday R. went to Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp) with Ryan and Dave. That same day some crazy f*cked-up gorilla by the name Bokito, escaped his cage or whatever he was are kept in, dragged a woman for a while, bit her in the arm and then barged in a restaurant, where he was shot with tranquillizers by zoo keepers. They had to evacuate the zoo, so the visit was cut short. Thank goodness R. and his sons were safe.
Saturday was a day I spent with my best buddy Lesley. I went to Hoofddorp and from there we hung around in Amsterdan at Café De Jaren. From there we went to see Spiderman 3 at Pathé and then it was back to his house in Hoofddorp for a shower and a change. Then we headed to Rotterdam and went clubbing at Off_Corso and Now & Wow.
By chance he reminded me that it was exactly 6 years ago we met for the first time. I totally forgot about that! I know that many readers wonder if Les is gay, straight or what. I get strange emails, comments etc. The answer is NO.
I have 2 best friends in this world; Lesley and Darrell. Darrell is a friend of mine in Aruba and we've been friends a long long time! At that time we lived close to each other and hung around a lot! Darrell is crazy in his head! My best buddies are totally different from each other. Where Les is serious, Darrell is crazy. But who cares? They are my friends and that's all what matters. And although I may not see Darrell as often as I like, whenever I am in Aruba it's party!!!! And we are hitting the road again this December... at least if Valero Oil Refinery gives him his off days he asked for.
Darrell and me doing what we do best... forever having a good time. Oh yeah, we also like Vodka. The 2 of us are a crazy mess. I'm just saying! And yeah, the one picture where we are in Blue on our way to the full monn party... I was already drunk. That's why I have wonky eyes! Lol!
Let me give you the information on how it is...
In May 2000, I moved back to Holland after living a few years in Aruba. I worked at the Dutch Railways/Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) as an uitzendktacht for 2 months an an information officer. But walking around in the cold at Dordrecht Centraal was not for me. Via the same uitzendbureau, I got a job at a ground handler at Schiphol called Dutchport, a subsidiary of Swissair's ground handler called Swissport. It was a small ground handler, but business wasn't going so well. In 2001 they went bankrupt and closed down. Our airlines went to Aviapartners, GlobeGround/Servisair or Menzies. I then worked at the Hilton in Rotterdam as a Front Desk clerk, when I saw an article in the newspaper that KLM Ground Services had bought 100% of Transavia Airlines and that they were going to handle them themselves.
So Menzies was going to lose Transavia. They needed experiened people immediatly, that knew how to work with Codeco (Airport System). They 'stole' some people from Menzies and took on new ones. I applied and I got hired, right there on the spot. They explained that we were to be a whole new department called Passage Ground SPL/PG. We would have nothing to do with KLM directly, because that was for Passanger Handling SPL/PH. Our salaries would be less and our nickname was KLM Juniors. So I quit Hilton and went to KLM.
We were the laughing stock of the airport. PH never took us seriously and were pretending they were better than us. Sorry R., but it's true. It was sad actually, considering we were all wearing the same uniform.
Then one day, I had to change team and ended up in Lesley's team. He was also an aviation crazed person and we clicked immediately. He was a part-timer, who attended school. We had a lot in common, since he was from the Caribbean as well. His mom is from St. Maarten and his dad from Curaçao, but he was a real St. Maarten boy. It was such a relief to talk English with him. In case you didn't know, I speak several languages (Dutch, English, Spanish, Papiamento, French and basic German). Arubians in general speak the first 4 languages. But English is my primary language that I speak at home. Anyway... Lesley and I got along great from the start. Then at one point someone told him I was gay and the friendship quickly cooled down. Not because I was gay, but because I lied to him in the beginning. It was a pity, but okay... sh*t happens. Then something happened that changed everything...
We weren't really talking to each other at that point... strictly business. One night we were doing check-in side-by-side for Japan Airlines JL, when the Team Leader called me at the counter by phone. He told me he just got a call from Micheline (Lesley's other best friend who lives in Purmerend) telling him to send Lesley home immediately, because his Dad died of an heart attack in Curaçao at age 46! He wanted me to tell Lesley, because he figured we had a good understanding of each other and that we were still firends. I was shocked!! How do you tell someone their Dad died?
The Team Leader sent 2 agents to relive us at the counter and told us to take a break. Lesley found it weird, because we just opened the JL check in. I pulled him aside in the break room and told him something bad has happened and told him as best as I could that his Dad passes away. He answered.. "No, that's not possible, because I spoke to him yesterday". I said, I would accompany home and so we did. We took the bus to Hoofddorp in silence. When he arrived he called his Mom and she confirmed the story. He called the SSNA (Study Financing) and they immediately arranged a ticket for him to Curaçao for the next day on Dutch Caribbean Airlines. Ironic thing was that he was to go Curaçao and St. Maarten on vacation 3 weeks later. Micheline came over and we helped him pack, all the while he never cried. Then as we were getting his papers ready, he started to cry. It was sad... a parent was lost. In my uniform I stayed with him the whole night together with Micheline. The next morning we headed to Schiphol and waived him off.
Ten days later he was back and he called me to thank me for everything. And so we became friends again. 2 weeks later he was off on vacation. When he came back we talked everything out and made me promise not to lie about big things again. He was cool with me being gay. That was not an issue at all, for this macho boy. A few months after KLM sent us for Weight & Balance training at The Boeing Company in Seattle. Boy, we had fun and said we should take a trip together more often. And that's exactly what we did. By then we earned IPB rights at KLM and we went to Orlando, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin and many more places together. I visited him in St. Maarten for carnival and stayed at his Mom's house and he visited me in Aruba and stayed at my Oma's house. Of course sometimes we get irritated at each other, but hey... that's what friends do! We have one rule... at least once a year we take a trip together and leave the boyfriend and girlfriend at home. I dragged him to gay clubs, where he got hit on by many many guys and it's soooo funny to see that. And so we became best buddies. Our main thing is that we like thrill rides in theme parks and we've been to many around the world.
Lesley is the one who helped me get the job at AFC, because he knew the Human Resource Manager. I left KLM and went to AFC. He legt KLM and went to GlobeGround Servisair amd also worked an an aircraft cleaner at Asito and later Lavos. KLM Juniors was not fun anymore and thing were getting nasty. From GlobeGround he went to intern at easyJet and got an job offer there. But BA recruited him via a headhunter and so he ended up at British Airways Benelux as a Flightwatch Coordinator. And believe it or not... every once in a while you'll see Lesley clean planes at Lavos! Why? Because he says it keeps him grounded and it is a non-stressful job. BA is pure stress. When he cleans he doesn't want anyone to know he's at BA in a Management position. Tell me how many people are like that?
Les and me at The Boeing Company in Seattle
Les and me in Venice, Italy
Les at Big Ben in London
Lesley and his other best friend Micheline in Amsterdam
Les and me in Amsterdam
Les and me in SoHo
In good old Londontown
Walibi Holland
Interning as a Sales Manager at easyJet
With my Mickey Mouse ears with Les at EuroDisney in Paris
In the British Airways London Eye last year. Now he actually works for British Airways! Coincedence?
In the loading bridge ready to board our flight to Los Angeles... the city of Angels
We love the thrill rides in any park anywhere in the world!
Crazy ass people!
If you have friends, you are lucky. A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are. That's the type of friends I have and for that I am truly grateful.
I am off to work and later school! Bye-bye and have a pleasant work week!
Friday, I helped my cousin Jennifer (Jenny) move out of her apartment in Den Haag. She is temporarily moving in with my parents, because she ended up in a major fight with Percy, her roommate. After 3 years of living together (not as boyfriend/girlfriend), they decided it was best she moved out, before the situation got out of hand. So right now she is actively looking for an apartment im Den Haag (Voorburg, Rijswijk etc.). She goes to Haagse Hogeschool and she likes the city a lot, so she wants to stay in the neighbourhood. So Dad, Uncle Glenn, my cousin Giovanny and his friends Tai and Gilliën helped her move out her stuff and put them in storage at Shurgard. We had fun though. Lots of jokes and laughs. I really am a family man and love to be around my crazy @ss cousins, parents, brother, aunts, uncles etc.
That same friday R. went to Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp) with Ryan and Dave. That same day some crazy f*cked-up gorilla by the name Bokito, escaped his cage or whatever he was are kept in, dragged a woman for a while, bit her in the arm and then barged in a restaurant, where he was shot with tranquillizers by zoo keepers. They had to evacuate the zoo, so the visit was cut short. Thank goodness R. and his sons were safe.
Saturday was a day I spent with my best buddy Lesley. I went to Hoofddorp and from there we hung around in Amsterdan at Café De Jaren. From there we went to see Spiderman 3 at Pathé and then it was back to his house in Hoofddorp for a shower and a change. Then we headed to Rotterdam and went clubbing at Off_Corso and Now & Wow.
By chance he reminded me that it was exactly 6 years ago we met for the first time. I totally forgot about that! I know that many readers wonder if Les is gay, straight or what. I get strange emails, comments etc. The answer is NO.
I have 2 best friends in this world; Lesley and Darrell. Darrell is a friend of mine in Aruba and we've been friends a long long time! At that time we lived close to each other and hung around a lot! Darrell is crazy in his head! My best buddies are totally different from each other. Where Les is serious, Darrell is crazy. But who cares? They are my friends and that's all what matters. And although I may not see Darrell as often as I like, whenever I am in Aruba it's party!!!! And we are hitting the road again this December... at least if Valero Oil Refinery gives him his off days he asked for.
Darrell and me doing what we do best... forever having a good time. Oh yeah, we also like Vodka. The 2 of us are a crazy mess. I'm just saying! And yeah, the one picture where we are in Blue on our way to the full monn party... I was already drunk. That's why I have wonky eyes! Lol!
Let me give you the information on how it is...
In May 2000, I moved back to Holland after living a few years in Aruba. I worked at the Dutch Railways/Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) as an uitzendktacht for 2 months an an information officer. But walking around in the cold at Dordrecht Centraal was not for me. Via the same uitzendbureau, I got a job at a ground handler at Schiphol called Dutchport, a subsidiary of Swissair's ground handler called Swissport. It was a small ground handler, but business wasn't going so well. In 2001 they went bankrupt and closed down. Our airlines went to Aviapartners, GlobeGround/Servisair or Menzies. I then worked at the Hilton in Rotterdam as a Front Desk clerk, when I saw an article in the newspaper that KLM Ground Services had bought 100% of Transavia Airlines and that they were going to handle them themselves.
So Menzies was going to lose Transavia. They needed experiened people immediatly, that knew how to work with Codeco (Airport System). They 'stole' some people from Menzies and took on new ones. I applied and I got hired, right there on the spot. They explained that we were to be a whole new department called Passage Ground SPL/PG. We would have nothing to do with KLM directly, because that was for Passanger Handling SPL/PH. Our salaries would be less and our nickname was KLM Juniors. So I quit Hilton and went to KLM.
We were the laughing stock of the airport. PH never took us seriously and were pretending they were better than us. Sorry R., but it's true. It was sad actually, considering we were all wearing the same uniform.
Then one day, I had to change team and ended up in Lesley's team. He was also an aviation crazed person and we clicked immediately. He was a part-timer, who attended school. We had a lot in common, since he was from the Caribbean as well. His mom is from St. Maarten and his dad from Curaçao, but he was a real St. Maarten boy. It was such a relief to talk English with him. In case you didn't know, I speak several languages (Dutch, English, Spanish, Papiamento, French and basic German). Arubians in general speak the first 4 languages. But English is my primary language that I speak at home. Anyway... Lesley and I got along great from the start. Then at one point someone told him I was gay and the friendship quickly cooled down. Not because I was gay, but because I lied to him in the beginning. It was a pity, but okay... sh*t happens. Then something happened that changed everything...
We weren't really talking to each other at that point... strictly business. One night we were doing check-in side-by-side for Japan Airlines JL, when the Team Leader called me at the counter by phone. He told me he just got a call from Micheline (Lesley's other best friend who lives in Purmerend) telling him to send Lesley home immediately, because his Dad died of an heart attack in Curaçao at age 46! He wanted me to tell Lesley, because he figured we had a good understanding of each other and that we were still firends. I was shocked!! How do you tell someone their Dad died?
The Team Leader sent 2 agents to relive us at the counter and told us to take a break. Lesley found it weird, because we just opened the JL check in. I pulled him aside in the break room and told him something bad has happened and told him as best as I could that his Dad passes away. He answered.. "No, that's not possible, because I spoke to him yesterday". I said, I would accompany home and so we did. We took the bus to Hoofddorp in silence. When he arrived he called his Mom and she confirmed the story. He called the SSNA (Study Financing) and they immediately arranged a ticket for him to Curaçao for the next day on Dutch Caribbean Airlines. Ironic thing was that he was to go Curaçao and St. Maarten on vacation 3 weeks later. Micheline came over and we helped him pack, all the while he never cried. Then as we were getting his papers ready, he started to cry. It was sad... a parent was lost. In my uniform I stayed with him the whole night together with Micheline. The next morning we headed to Schiphol and waived him off.
Ten days later he was back and he called me to thank me for everything. And so we became friends again. 2 weeks later he was off on vacation. When he came back we talked everything out and made me promise not to lie about big things again. He was cool with me being gay. That was not an issue at all, for this macho boy. A few months after KLM sent us for Weight & Balance training at The Boeing Company in Seattle. Boy, we had fun and said we should take a trip together more often. And that's exactly what we did. By then we earned IPB rights at KLM and we went to Orlando, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin and many more places together. I visited him in St. Maarten for carnival and stayed at his Mom's house and he visited me in Aruba and stayed at my Oma's house. Of course sometimes we get irritated at each other, but hey... that's what friends do! We have one rule... at least once a year we take a trip together and leave the boyfriend and girlfriend at home. I dragged him to gay clubs, where he got hit on by many many guys and it's soooo funny to see that. And so we became best buddies. Our main thing is that we like thrill rides in theme parks and we've been to many around the world.
Lesley is the one who helped me get the job at AFC, because he knew the Human Resource Manager. I left KLM and went to AFC. He legt KLM and went to GlobeGround Servisair amd also worked an an aircraft cleaner at Asito and later Lavos. KLM Juniors was not fun anymore and thing were getting nasty. From GlobeGround he went to intern at easyJet and got an job offer there. But BA recruited him via a headhunter and so he ended up at British Airways Benelux as a Flightwatch Coordinator. And believe it or not... every once in a while you'll see Lesley clean planes at Lavos! Why? Because he says it keeps him grounded and it is a non-stressful job. BA is pure stress. When he cleans he doesn't want anyone to know he's at BA in a Management position. Tell me how many people are like that?
Les and me at The Boeing Company in Seattle
Les and me in Venice, Italy
Les at Big Ben in London
Lesley and his other best friend Micheline in Amsterdam
Les and me in Amsterdam
Les and me in SoHo
In good old Londontown
Walibi Holland
Interning as a Sales Manager at easyJet
With my Mickey Mouse ears with Les at EuroDisney in Paris
In the British Airways London Eye last year. Now he actually works for British Airways! Coincedence?
In the loading bridge ready to board our flight to Los Angeles... the city of Angels
We love the thrill rides in any park anywhere in the world!
Crazy ass people!
If you have friends, you are lucky. A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are. That's the type of friends I have and for that I am truly grateful.
I am off to work and later school! Bye-bye and have a pleasant work week!
posted by Traveller at 5:00 AM
13 Comments:
Lol @ the video. You 2 are clowns!
Very nice post LOL @ the zoo monkey hahaha!!!
Pancake (Robin) lucky the monkey aint see him hahahaha.
So cute the 2 of you guys, Bugs Bunny and Scooby Doo...
Tell Jennifer schrijf in at www.duwo.nl
Take Care!
Hey, Pikaboo! Thanks for the tip!!!!
Jenny
Wow, je had vroeger dus haar op je kop. Leuk.
I'm not gay?! Wow... good to know! Maybe these men will stop hitting on me now!
I was rolling on the floor laughing my ass off at that gorilla story. Why did you have to tell people I clean airplanes too??? Lol!
And please stop putting up the easyJet video! People might really think we're crazy!!
Lesley
What did Lesley say in the last vid? Thank you for not flying BA? How ironic that he now works for BA. The british really have a strange accent. Give me American English.
Fred
Why did you say "Robin would say bon bienie na amsterdam?" What does that mean?
IDLYITW
Bon bini na Amsterdam (Welcome to Amsterdam). At the time that the blog was posted with this video, Robin was going to Curaçao and was going to do the arrival announcement in Papiamento... the local laguage. He lived in Curaçao for a while, so he knows how to speak it somewhat, although it is with a strange accent.
Moest je weer dat PG/PH gedoe weer naar boven brengen? PG was jaloers op PH, omdat wij een betere salariëring hadden en betere voorwaardes. PUNT.
Floris
Nee, Floris, dat is NIET waar. We konden niet jaloers zijn, want we wisten vanaf dag 1, dat de salaris van KLM juniors minder was dan die van PH. Maar als wij bijvoorbeeld nachtdienst hadden en we waren onderbezet, stuurde de Rostering Department altijd enkele PH'ers naar ons toe om te assisteren. PH werkt NOOIT nachtdienst en dus hadden jullie er de pest in. Jullie waren zo lui als ik weet niet wat (niet jij en niet persoonlijk bedoeld), want je weet heel goed dat HV arbeidsintensiever was dan het afhandelen van KLM, Northwest en Malaysia Airlines. Turnarounds waren korter en boarding deed je met maximaal 2 agents en als je geluk had misschien 3. Bij KLM vluchten stond een heel team van 7 bij de gate en JA... ook voor de 737. Maar wat wij hadden is dat we bij PG eerder onze strepen behaalden. Je kon in principe na 2 jaar al 2-bander worden en dat haatte PH. Bij jullie kon je wachten tot Sint Juttemis.
Maar ik snap niet waarom ik me druk maak. Door dat hele shit ben ik eruit gestapt. Ground Services was te erg voor woorden. Ook binnen Juniors was het een zooitje, die men niet meer in de hand had. Wel jammer.
Les
PH deed niks, maar wij mochten toch altijd lekker de gate doen voor KL753 naar Bonaire, Quito en Guayaquil, omdat die pas om 23.35 vertrok. Nee, daar was PG wel goed voor. Maar oh wee, als we een keertje KLM moesten inchecken, omdat er weer eens tientallen zieken waren. Meteen die blikken van -wat doe je hier?-.
Laat mij maar lekker vliegen. Veel en veel beter.
K I M
PH'ers verdienden meer omdat je met KLM en partners te maken had met omboekingen, rerouten, FIM, NOC, SOS etc. PG was charter en BM'ers (Buitenlandse Maatschappijen). Charter is internet check-in of gewoon check-in zonder connections. Toendertijd had Transavia ook Basiq Air die lijndiensten uitvoerden en dat was ook zonder onwards. Voor degenen die dit niet begrijpen: Onward connecties is als iemand bijvoorbeeld Amsterdam-Londen reist met KLM en daarna moet overstappen op een andere vliegtuig en daarna doorreist van Londen naar New York. De segment Londen-New York is dus een onward connection. Een passagier kan in principe helemaal ingecheckt worden en hun baggage helemaal doorgelabeld worden naar New York. Omdat PH meer denk werk had en PG niet, genoten wij van een hogere beloning. PX en LL krijgen ook een lagere beloning dan PH.
Marja
All of this is crazy talk people. Both depeartments had their pro's en cons. My reason for leaving KLM had nothing to with salary, although it wasn't that much. If I was living on my own like now, I could barely survive with such a salary. But then I was still living with Mom and Dad. My reason for leaving was because I applied for a higher function 3 times. Once for a 2-bander at PG (All-around agent), once for a 2-bander PH (Gate Agent) and once as a Rostering Agent at crewco. The first 2, they told me I didn't have enough experience blah, blah, blah. But when they passed me up for RSA for somebody who was with the company for 7 months, I just had enough. I can't stay in a job, where it is almost impossible to get promotion, just because Management saw you as a 'Junior' agent.
At that time I was also in a dedicated AF team, because we were sent to Paris to learn Amadeus en Gaetan (Airport Systems for Air France). So when Lesley got me an interview with Françoise from AF, I knew quite a bit about the company. And so I moved to AFC and never once looked back.
Last year when I was on that KLM project, I went back for a few days and I just smiled inside when I saw my old Supervisors.
AFC isn't perfect. AF isn't perfect, but I make 3 times the money I made at KLM Ground Services. Will I stay my whole life at AFC? Nah! I'm always on the look for something better. We'll see how it goes....
Ryan
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