Current mood: refreshed
]
so... where did I last leave off?
a silly little sleepy london video as i recall. ok. so I didn't do a stinking thing in london. I passed out for almost 20 hours on the 24 hour layover. i was so tired. and whoever said you cannot catch up on sleep never had the chance to try because you CAN!
As soon as i was done with london i came to texas for a 9 hour visit to see my boyfriend...
what are the odds that i get on my plane to texas and the same fat flight attendant that broke the jumpseat with me on it last week was on this same flight and we were sharing the SAME seat!?! awkward!
it didnt break this time because as we landed i lifted up against the headreast to keep my body weight off the already strained little jumpseat. :)
rick and i headed to the olive garden because im addicted to that soup and salad thingy.. and what are the odds that the SAME waitress from last week waited on us.. she used to work for American Airlines.. and she forgot my soup... again... she's slow... i KNOW she didnt work for delta. haha just kidding.
we didn't even sleep a wink. at 2am we hit up chachos and took food to my little brother who was stuck working a night shift at his security job. poor boy. at 4:45am Rick dropped me off at the airport again... i think he should start getting some frequent flyer miles from the airport since he is there almost everyday dropping me off and picking me up at the craziest hours. well he already has a few points stocked up with me but the SA airport should definitely do something for him too. :)
I get to the atlanta airport and pass out for 2 hours on the couch. best sleep ever. :) i meet my flight leader and he's from brazil... those brazilian men are the craziest people. he kept telling me how hot i was and how i had a good butt and good legs... but he talked just like borat so i couldnt take him very seriously... so i just laughed him off. :) we sat in orlando for 3 hours and then headed to mexico... we only had 7 hours behind the door and i felt like death when i woke up... so sleepy. i went in the crew lounge at the hotel to check my email and i drank some oj in there... well it tasted good but different and i think it had mango in it... because i started to get all itchy in my throat... so i popped a benadryl and it made me soo sleepy that i kept falling asleep on the jumpseat. it was horrible! but we had a 4 hour sit in orlando again so i slept for 3 hours... :)
then back to atlanta then to hop a plane to san antonio and got in at midnight.. ugh. again my poor boyfriend had to come out and pick me up again. he had the best surprise for me! a painting by genevieve that i had commented about over a month ago that wasn't for sell. it's HUGE! it's called "the burn" you should go check it out. www.artmajeur.com/genevieve she has the best stuff. anyways... that was an amazing surprise. :)
my friend gregg from south south of texas who painted me an amazing picture is coming into town today so i get to meet him for dinner and kmax and ecole come into town on wednesday so that will be fun... i leave here on thursday morning to go to nicaragua. so i get a few days off in texas... much needed days of sleep and catching up on myspace work.... and sitting by the pool with the best people in texas. :)
also... music im addicted to this month and you should definitely check out is justin nozuka... sooo good! enjoy.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Panama City & Anchorage, Alaska
Current mood: relaxed
Panama was really fast... just a 9 hour layover... but we were right next to the beach... i didn't get to see it until the next morning though. I really wanna go back. But as always... here is a picture from the 12th floor.
I got to briefing for my Alaska trip and my flight leader tells us to be prepared because these are not our average flyers... Some of these people have never flown before... some rarely ever see people because they sit on an oil rig for three months or go snow crab fishing... some of the people will be really old because alaska is on their list to see before they die... so its something to cross off their "bucket list".
As soon as we boarded the plane I get a short little middle aged lady within 3 inches from my face screaming about how she can't put her bag underneath her seat and she should have been warned about it. She kept asking me what she could do and I kept smiling and telling her to put it in her over head bin during take off and landing and then she could take it down. She asked me what she could do with it then... put it on her head... that's what she said. "do you want me to put it on my head?" i kept surprisingly calm... it might been because i actually did my devotions via podcast that morning.
Little did I know about 10 minutes after I walked away from screamy pants she had a panic attack in the back galley... she fell on the floor in tears and was outta control because she wasnt sure she could make it on a 7 hour flight. The flight attendant grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her and told her to pull herself together... The lady almost got kicked off the flight... she took some valium or something and was advised to sit quietly or else... she did. I ran back and forth though to keep bringing her a cup of hot tea and cups of ice... she had no expression the entire flight.. apparently valium just makes her stop crying... but valium makes me relaxed and happy... maybe she needed a double dose. After she got off the flight she told us that it was the worst flight she had ever had... whatever.
After we get in flight... we walk through the aisles and there is a guy with a cut off shirt and a gold swordfish necklace who has a radio with an antennae... we tell him that he cannot use that and he says he's trying to pick up the race.... umm... in which country?! A little while later he hands us 2 empty bottles of jim beam. we don't serve jim beam. we tell him that he cannot drink his own alcohol on the plane... its not only not right... it's actually illegal according to the FAA. We had to tell him over 6 times to stop drinking jim beam.
After we served dinner and finally finished picking up and had a second to breathe a guy comes in the back and asks us for dinner... the flight attendant asked him if he was served dinner and he said no that he was sleeping. she shot me a look to see if i had served him and i was 98 percent sure that i did but i couldnt prove it... so we had to give him another one. later he stopped us and said he wanted one of our crew meals... um... its one thing to con me out of an extra dinner... its another thing to con me out of MY dinner... especially since it the first time I haven't eaten ramen noodles in 2 days. We tell him no. Well he makes a smart remark to the one flight attendant about how he conned us outta a dinner and she tells him "you know what happens to liars dont you?". it was the funniest thing ive ever heard a flight attendant tell a passenger... she proceeds to tell him that she hates liars. wow. later on he comes in the back and tries to make nice with us... he asks me for peanuts... i tell him no. i told him we already served peanuts and the galley was closed for landing. he gives me a little attitude and i didnt care. he sat down. When i was picking up the trash i walked past him and he said "man... it sure would be nice to have some peanuts rights now." i said "sorry... its locked for landing." he said "well i have a key... " i rolled my eyes and walked off and told him good luck with that.
Before we landed my flight leader told me that i HAVE to go into the cockpit to look at the view. Holy crap! It was honestly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. All these pictures are taken with my camera phone though... so sorry about the crappy quality.
We got to Anchorage and went out to dinner together. I got some tasty potato soup and tried my first clam ever. It was boiled... yuck. not a fan. The halibut was great though for sure. I was so tired... it was 10pm here and still light outside but it was 2am in atlanta... whew!
I got up this morning and walked around... it's so beautiful... very peaceful. I walked in and out of shops and watched the salmon boats... I think next may I will bring my sister, dad and boyfriend for a little old fashion salmon fishing trip... :) I fly out tonight... and get into atlanta at 6am and then straight to texas to see my man! :) for like 2 seconds... then over to london. :) it's a hard life but someone has to do it.
Panama was really fast... just a 9 hour layover... but we were right next to the beach... i didn't get to see it until the next morning though. I really wanna go back. But as always... here is a picture from the 12th floor.
I got to briefing for my Alaska trip and my flight leader tells us to be prepared because these are not our average flyers... Some of these people have never flown before... some rarely ever see people because they sit on an oil rig for three months or go snow crab fishing... some of the people will be really old because alaska is on their list to see before they die... so its something to cross off their "bucket list".
As soon as we boarded the plane I get a short little middle aged lady within 3 inches from my face screaming about how she can't put her bag underneath her seat and she should have been warned about it. She kept asking me what she could do and I kept smiling and telling her to put it in her over head bin during take off and landing and then she could take it down. She asked me what she could do with it then... put it on her head... that's what she said. "do you want me to put it on my head?" i kept surprisingly calm... it might been because i actually did my devotions via podcast that morning.
Little did I know about 10 minutes after I walked away from screamy pants she had a panic attack in the back galley... she fell on the floor in tears and was outta control because she wasnt sure she could make it on a 7 hour flight. The flight attendant grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her and told her to pull herself together... The lady almost got kicked off the flight... she took some valium or something and was advised to sit quietly or else... she did. I ran back and forth though to keep bringing her a cup of hot tea and cups of ice... she had no expression the entire flight.. apparently valium just makes her stop crying... but valium makes me relaxed and happy... maybe she needed a double dose. After she got off the flight she told us that it was the worst flight she had ever had... whatever.
After we get in flight... we walk through the aisles and there is a guy with a cut off shirt and a gold swordfish necklace who has a radio with an antennae... we tell him that he cannot use that and he says he's trying to pick up the race.... umm... in which country?! A little while later he hands us 2 empty bottles of jim beam. we don't serve jim beam. we tell him that he cannot drink his own alcohol on the plane... its not only not right... it's actually illegal according to the FAA. We had to tell him over 6 times to stop drinking jim beam.
After we served dinner and finally finished picking up and had a second to breathe a guy comes in the back and asks us for dinner... the flight attendant asked him if he was served dinner and he said no that he was sleeping. she shot me a look to see if i had served him and i was 98 percent sure that i did but i couldnt prove it... so we had to give him another one. later he stopped us and said he wanted one of our crew meals... um... its one thing to con me out of an extra dinner... its another thing to con me out of MY dinner... especially since it the first time I haven't eaten ramen noodles in 2 days. We tell him no. Well he makes a smart remark to the one flight attendant about how he conned us outta a dinner and she tells him "you know what happens to liars dont you?". it was the funniest thing ive ever heard a flight attendant tell a passenger... she proceeds to tell him that she hates liars. wow. later on he comes in the back and tries to make nice with us... he asks me for peanuts... i tell him no. i told him we already served peanuts and the galley was closed for landing. he gives me a little attitude and i didnt care. he sat down. When i was picking up the trash i walked past him and he said "man... it sure would be nice to have some peanuts rights now." i said "sorry... its locked for landing." he said "well i have a key... " i rolled my eyes and walked off and told him good luck with that.
Before we landed my flight leader told me that i HAVE to go into the cockpit to look at the view. Holy crap! It was honestly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. All these pictures are taken with my camera phone though... so sorry about the crappy quality.
We got to Anchorage and went out to dinner together. I got some tasty potato soup and tried my first clam ever. It was boiled... yuck. not a fan. The halibut was great though for sure. I was so tired... it was 10pm here and still light outside but it was 2am in atlanta... whew!
I got up this morning and walked around... it's so beautiful... very peaceful. I walked in and out of shops and watched the salmon boats... I think next may I will bring my sister, dad and boyfriend for a little old fashion salmon fishing trip... :) I fly out tonight... and get into atlanta at 6am and then straight to texas to see my man! :) for like 2 seconds... then over to london. :) it's a hard life but someone has to do it.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Crew Lounge... the downfall
Current mood: indescribable
So I picked my couch out for the night... its usually the same one always... the one close to the TV and the power outlets. :)
This old FAT... ahem... larger... flight attendant that i've seen here a lot before was sitting on the couch across from mine... we talked abit when she inquired about my handy survival skills when I pulled out a bowl and ramen noodles from my suitcase. :)
Well I left and came back and the lady fell asleep... her snoring was quite unusual and disturbing. It was somewhere between chocking on a midget and... umm... inappropriate moaning. It was embarrassing to be even sitting in the same section. So I put my earphones on and continued to ichat with my boyfriend...
Here is our conversation:
JK: ummm. this just got wierd... the old lady ... she somehow unbuttoned her pants half way so she could sleep more comfortable
RB:haha
JK: um... then she had her hand halfway down them
she finally woke herself up...
JK: because she farted
RB: lol
JK: and i have my earphones in so i pretended i didnt hear it
so she farted about 5 more times!
RB: Did you smell it?
JK: that was the hardest i have ever tried to keep my facial expressions to a minimum
im holding my breath now cause i saw what she ate.
RB: mmm
;/
JK: so she tried to get up... and shes so fat that she had to roll off the couch onto her knees and pull herself up
and she farted 3 more times...
it's a glamorous life my friends... G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S.
mhmm!
So I picked my couch out for the night... its usually the same one always... the one close to the TV and the power outlets. :)
This old FAT... ahem... larger... flight attendant that i've seen here a lot before was sitting on the couch across from mine... we talked abit when she inquired about my handy survival skills when I pulled out a bowl and ramen noodles from my suitcase. :)
Well I left and came back and the lady fell asleep... her snoring was quite unusual and disturbing. It was somewhere between chocking on a midget and... umm... inappropriate moaning. It was embarrassing to be even sitting in the same section. So I put my earphones on and continued to ichat with my boyfriend...
Here is our conversation:
JK: ummm. this just got wierd... the old lady ... she somehow unbuttoned her pants half way so she could sleep more comfortable
RB:haha
JK: um... then she had her hand halfway down them
she finally woke herself up...
JK: because she farted
RB: lol
JK: and i have my earphones in so i pretended i didnt hear it
so she farted about 5 more times!
RB: Did you smell it?
JK: that was the hardest i have ever tried to keep my facial expressions to a minimum
im holding my breath now cause i saw what she ate.
RB: mmm
;/
JK: so she tried to get up... and shes so fat that she had to roll off the couch onto her knees and pull herself up
and she farted 3 more times...
it's a glamorous life my friends... G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S.
mhmm!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
A Days (the LONG version)
Current mood: smitten
A Days.
Dreaded A Days. These would be the 6 days a month that I am on call. Meaning that they can send me anywhere at anytime during those 6 days. So I was SO lucky and I was sent to Madrid! I've always wanted to go to Spain... I've always wanted to go to Europe! I've never been to that side of the world before! So I was SO happy!
The flight went great.. long but good. We got a 24 hour layover and had a blast. My crew was pretty senior... aka old. Not THE oldest in Atlanta... cause these people didn't wear the pampers or breathe oxygen tanks yet. BUT their pants did go WAY over their belly buttons... like what the heck? You get old and your pants have reverse gravity? I don't understand.
Anyways... they were very nice... and our hotel was next to a bullfighting ring which apparently had some boy band concert going on that night...
My measily 30 dollars only got me 18 euro over there and I was told by my flight leader that she knew a place that we could get an appetizer, entre, dessert and wine for 10 euro. so I had 8 more euro which needed to be for breakfast and subways and whatever. We got into Madrid at 10am and we all took a nap... I had a headache before I got off the plane... and after I woke up from my nap I felt even worse... so I had to go to the farmacia on the corner and get the BEST headache pills for 2 euro. Totally worth it!
Then my crew decides they want coffee... so I have less than 6 euro to spare... a coffee was a euro 65 so I ordered the smallest little coffee... i needed an extra kick... i was counting my change to the tee. well the pilot paid for my coffee i was so grateful! the subway was one euro.
So I was still counting my little euros.... that was all the money i had even when I got back to the US... so I was being careful.
Anyways.. we go downtown and it was beautiful! I will post pictures very soon... maybe tonight... depending on the AABFF.
Well... we ate an amazing dinner with my whole crew and I go to pay and my flight leader tells me she has me covered... NICE! She said since I was new and this was my first time to europe that she wanted to treat me. I was so happy!
We get back to the hotel around 11 i think and I pass out... for a minute. I woke at 4am because it was like 11pm in the US... ugh... I stayed in bed until about 5am and get up... go downstairs... read my love letters. :) and I go out alone to explore the streets of Madrid... It's 5am so no one is awake. The city is DEAD! The sun was rising and it was about 60 something degrees... I am not a morning person but HECK... it was almost magical... I can't explain it.
My pick up from the hotel was at 9am... so I headed back and got on my flight. Adios Madrid.
I had a rough flight back to the US. I got in a fight with a lady in the back of the plane because she kept trying to sit in the seats that were reserved for the crew's rest... On a 9 hour flight we get an hour and 40 minutes of rest in those chairs each... and I needed every minute of that. So I tell her to go back to her assigned chair and she gives me ATTITUDE. I give it right back... I am a southern girl with a Northern attitude... I've said that before I know... but its true... so I come back a little later and this stupid lady has stolen all of the nice big pillows in these chairs for herself and is hiding them under the blanket so I don't notice... but a corner of my nice pillow is peeking out and rats her out. I ask her if she has my pillows... "maybe"... I kinda lost it. I told her that I would be happy to find her some small pillows but that those pillows are not for her. She gave me more attitude and tells me that she doesnt understand why she can't have them. I told her that if I don't get sleep for an hour and 40 minutes on a 9 hour duty day that she will no be served coffee on the flight because I will be too tired to serve her. :) Needless to say she gave the pillows back.
Now that the back was under control... the front needed some of my southern hospitality. I kept hearing the flight attendant call button go off over and over and over and couldnt figure out where it was coming from...
ding
ding
ding
ding
ding
I find it. It's a little 4 year old who is sitting on one side of this lady and the girls twin brother sitting on the other side of the lady... who come to find out later was the nanny and the parents were right next door the entire time and never even aknowledged these kids... I tell the little girl not to touch that light. She smiles at me. I walk away.
ding
ding
ding
ding
ding
ding
I walk back. She is looking right at me in the eyes and mocking me and pressing the freaking button. I tell her NO firmly and she stops...
multiply those last actions about 6 more times... other passengers tell me that if i dont take care of the girl then they will.... I told them that the restraints i have on the plane might not be ok for a 4 year old...
I get back to the US completely exhausted around 2:40pm. I don't want to fall asleep yet because I want to get used to Atlanta time again so I force myself to stay up until 10pm which ended up being past midnight cause of some long phone conversations that I had going on with my favorite AABFF. That would be my boyfriend... for those of you who didn't know...
I still have 3 more Adays left now and I pray they send me somewhere equally as good as Madrid... but I know that is not gonna work. They scheduled me for airport domestic standby at 3pm because I legally have to have 24 hours of rest after a european flight... 3:01pm on Aday number 4... after about 4 hours of sleep on a couch I get the phone call. Scheduling. They want me to go to Vegas and then Salt Lake City and then back to Atlanta with a 9 hour layover in Vegas. I'm totally ok with that because I've never been before... but that's a 2 day trip and means that I still have that 3rd Aday unspoken for which is scary... and i want to get released early on the last day so i can fly straight to texas early.
I head to my gate unknowingly to find my fate... My crew is waiting for me... they are NY based and apparently their crewmember had an emergency and had to go so I was her replacement... little did I know that I was sent there to be Aline position... AKA the flight leader!! gasp! Im not supposed to be flight leader qualified until 6 months of flying. Well I had flown with the one girl before in NY and my entire crew had been flying less than I had. CRAP! So I organize everything and start sweating profously. It was a 4 hour flight and we kicked butt. I served a full dinner and drinks and coffee to first class and my crew did 2 beverage services in the back. No one died and everyone was fat and happy. Success! We got to the hotel and as we pull up there is a lady who looks like Michael Jackson walking into the hotel who is dressed up in a wedding dress that is pulled straight from the era of Dynasty with full veil and she holds in her hand a HUGE picture of her and her husband from maybe 50 years ago... I KNEW we were in Vegas.
We go upstairs and change and come downstairs... Lo and BEHOLD there is a karaoke bar right downstairs... I hear a horrible moaning noise and peek in... its the wedding lady singing some depressing song holding this big picture... So I take video and pictures. I HAD to! We go walking along the vegas strip and I was impressed... I LOVE vegas.
We got back to the hotel and crashed and had a 5am pickup so we all slept for 3 hours and worked a short flight to Salt Lake where I played the part of flight leader again.... success again! who knew I had it in me? :) In Salt Lake I part ways with my lovely crew and I deadhead back to the ATL... meaning I get paid for the flight but dont have to work it.... my favorite thing! :) I met a very cool man on this flight and we talked for 4 hours STRAIGHT! He reminded me alot of my dad... We talked about christianity, homeschooling, music, jobs, boyfriends, future plans, college,... everything. We were both in tears at one point. He was really nice and it felt like I had just spent an afternoon chatting with my dad.
I get back to the airport and check my schedule for my last Aday... they have me working ... of course. But it's a early flight to and from Dallas so I can be free by 2pm to catch the 3pm flight to San Antonio. I was sooo tired... But I made it.
Last funny story to this LONG story... I'm sorry... I have the gift of gab...
I was jumpseating on my flight to SA today and I take one look at the flight attendant that I am supposed to share the jumpseat with in the back. He is about 300 something lbs... BIG man... big belly... big .. uh... rear end... He was sweating in the back of the plane with his big yellow armpit stains.... GOSH!
It's a tight fit already back there but we managed somehow for takeoff... Now landing was another story... I get on the jumpseat first and move ALL the way over to the edge to give him space... We land and hit the runway and the plane jumps... when it hits the ground the second time I hear a loud POW and the jumpseat breaks!!!! BREAKS! HAHAHAHAH I laughed so loud that I snorted and distrupted the aft passengers... I felt so bad for the fat flight attendant cause he got up and commented on the defective seat.... as he got up ... the seat popped back up into place... akward. :)
anyways... im in texas... i getta see my sister, my brother... my brother in law to be... and my man...
the irony that i have a boyfriend in the city that i don't like... ah... only me... i swear...
I'm tired... more than tired. I get 2 days off to rest and relax then I head off to Alaska! I'm pretty excited! More adventure to come... no doubt. :) I will add all the pictures to this blog soon... and I will update you so you can come back and check it out... it's worth it I swear. :)
A Days.
Dreaded A Days. These would be the 6 days a month that I am on call. Meaning that they can send me anywhere at anytime during those 6 days. So I was SO lucky and I was sent to Madrid! I've always wanted to go to Spain... I've always wanted to go to Europe! I've never been to that side of the world before! So I was SO happy!
The flight went great.. long but good. We got a 24 hour layover and had a blast. My crew was pretty senior... aka old. Not THE oldest in Atlanta... cause these people didn't wear the pampers or breathe oxygen tanks yet. BUT their pants did go WAY over their belly buttons... like what the heck? You get old and your pants have reverse gravity? I don't understand.
Anyways... they were very nice... and our hotel was next to a bullfighting ring which apparently had some boy band concert going on that night...
My measily 30 dollars only got me 18 euro over there and I was told by my flight leader that she knew a place that we could get an appetizer, entre, dessert and wine for 10 euro. so I had 8 more euro which needed to be for breakfast and subways and whatever. We got into Madrid at 10am and we all took a nap... I had a headache before I got off the plane... and after I woke up from my nap I felt even worse... so I had to go to the farmacia on the corner and get the BEST headache pills for 2 euro. Totally worth it!
Then my crew decides they want coffee... so I have less than 6 euro to spare... a coffee was a euro 65 so I ordered the smallest little coffee... i needed an extra kick... i was counting my change to the tee. well the pilot paid for my coffee i was so grateful! the subway was one euro.
So I was still counting my little euros.... that was all the money i had even when I got back to the US... so I was being careful.
Anyways.. we go downtown and it was beautiful! I will post pictures very soon... maybe tonight... depending on the AABFF.
Well... we ate an amazing dinner with my whole crew and I go to pay and my flight leader tells me she has me covered... NICE! She said since I was new and this was my first time to europe that she wanted to treat me. I was so happy!
We get back to the hotel around 11 i think and I pass out... for a minute. I woke at 4am because it was like 11pm in the US... ugh... I stayed in bed until about 5am and get up... go downstairs... read my love letters. :) and I go out alone to explore the streets of Madrid... It's 5am so no one is awake. The city is DEAD! The sun was rising and it was about 60 something degrees... I am not a morning person but HECK... it was almost magical... I can't explain it.
My pick up from the hotel was at 9am... so I headed back and got on my flight. Adios Madrid.
I had a rough flight back to the US. I got in a fight with a lady in the back of the plane because she kept trying to sit in the seats that were reserved for the crew's rest... On a 9 hour flight we get an hour and 40 minutes of rest in those chairs each... and I needed every minute of that. So I tell her to go back to her assigned chair and she gives me ATTITUDE. I give it right back... I am a southern girl with a Northern attitude... I've said that before I know... but its true... so I come back a little later and this stupid lady has stolen all of the nice big pillows in these chairs for herself and is hiding them under the blanket so I don't notice... but a corner of my nice pillow is peeking out and rats her out. I ask her if she has my pillows... "maybe"... I kinda lost it. I told her that I would be happy to find her some small pillows but that those pillows are not for her. She gave me more attitude and tells me that she doesnt understand why she can't have them. I told her that if I don't get sleep for an hour and 40 minutes on a 9 hour duty day that she will no be served coffee on the flight because I will be too tired to serve her. :) Needless to say she gave the pillows back.
Now that the back was under control... the front needed some of my southern hospitality. I kept hearing the flight attendant call button go off over and over and over and couldnt figure out where it was coming from...
ding
ding
ding
ding
ding
I find it. It's a little 4 year old who is sitting on one side of this lady and the girls twin brother sitting on the other side of the lady... who come to find out later was the nanny and the parents were right next door the entire time and never even aknowledged these kids... I tell the little girl not to touch that light. She smiles at me. I walk away.
ding
ding
ding
ding
ding
ding
I walk back. She is looking right at me in the eyes and mocking me and pressing the freaking button. I tell her NO firmly and she stops...
multiply those last actions about 6 more times... other passengers tell me that if i dont take care of the girl then they will.... I told them that the restraints i have on the plane might not be ok for a 4 year old...
I get back to the US completely exhausted around 2:40pm. I don't want to fall asleep yet because I want to get used to Atlanta time again so I force myself to stay up until 10pm which ended up being past midnight cause of some long phone conversations that I had going on with my favorite AABFF. That would be my boyfriend... for those of you who didn't know...
I still have 3 more Adays left now and I pray they send me somewhere equally as good as Madrid... but I know that is not gonna work. They scheduled me for airport domestic standby at 3pm because I legally have to have 24 hours of rest after a european flight... 3:01pm on Aday number 4... after about 4 hours of sleep on a couch I get the phone call. Scheduling. They want me to go to Vegas and then Salt Lake City and then back to Atlanta with a 9 hour layover in Vegas. I'm totally ok with that because I've never been before... but that's a 2 day trip and means that I still have that 3rd Aday unspoken for which is scary... and i want to get released early on the last day so i can fly straight to texas early.
I head to my gate unknowingly to find my fate... My crew is waiting for me... they are NY based and apparently their crewmember had an emergency and had to go so I was her replacement... little did I know that I was sent there to be Aline position... AKA the flight leader!! gasp! Im not supposed to be flight leader qualified until 6 months of flying. Well I had flown with the one girl before in NY and my entire crew had been flying less than I had. CRAP! So I organize everything and start sweating profously. It was a 4 hour flight and we kicked butt. I served a full dinner and drinks and coffee to first class and my crew did 2 beverage services in the back. No one died and everyone was fat and happy. Success! We got to the hotel and as we pull up there is a lady who looks like Michael Jackson walking into the hotel who is dressed up in a wedding dress that is pulled straight from the era of Dynasty with full veil and she holds in her hand a HUGE picture of her and her husband from maybe 50 years ago... I KNEW we were in Vegas.
We go upstairs and change and come downstairs... Lo and BEHOLD there is a karaoke bar right downstairs... I hear a horrible moaning noise and peek in... its the wedding lady singing some depressing song holding this big picture... So I take video and pictures. I HAD to! We go walking along the vegas strip and I was impressed... I LOVE vegas.
We got back to the hotel and crashed and had a 5am pickup so we all slept for 3 hours and worked a short flight to Salt Lake where I played the part of flight leader again.... success again! who knew I had it in me? :) In Salt Lake I part ways with my lovely crew and I deadhead back to the ATL... meaning I get paid for the flight but dont have to work it.... my favorite thing! :) I met a very cool man on this flight and we talked for 4 hours STRAIGHT! He reminded me alot of my dad... We talked about christianity, homeschooling, music, jobs, boyfriends, future plans, college,... everything. We were both in tears at one point. He was really nice and it felt like I had just spent an afternoon chatting with my dad.
I get back to the airport and check my schedule for my last Aday... they have me working ... of course. But it's a early flight to and from Dallas so I can be free by 2pm to catch the 3pm flight to San Antonio. I was sooo tired... But I made it.
Last funny story to this LONG story... I'm sorry... I have the gift of gab...
I was jumpseating on my flight to SA today and I take one look at the flight attendant that I am supposed to share the jumpseat with in the back. He is about 300 something lbs... BIG man... big belly... big .. uh... rear end... He was sweating in the back of the plane with his big yellow armpit stains.... GOSH!
It's a tight fit already back there but we managed somehow for takeoff... Now landing was another story... I get on the jumpseat first and move ALL the way over to the edge to give him space... We land and hit the runway and the plane jumps... when it hits the ground the second time I hear a loud POW and the jumpseat breaks!!!! BREAKS! HAHAHAHAH I laughed so loud that I snorted and distrupted the aft passengers... I felt so bad for the fat flight attendant cause he got up and commented on the defective seat.... as he got up ... the seat popped back up into place... akward. :)
anyways... im in texas... i getta see my sister, my brother... my brother in law to be... and my man...
the irony that i have a boyfriend in the city that i don't like... ah... only me... i swear...
I'm tired... more than tired. I get 2 days off to rest and relax then I head off to Alaska! I'm pretty excited! More adventure to come... no doubt. :) I will add all the pictures to this blog soon... and I will update you so you can come back and check it out... it's worth it I swear. :)
Monday, June 9, 2008
19F a sad seat
Current mood: sleepy
Sunday, June 8, 2008
ATL-PHL-ATL-MEX
After a long day yesterday I slept in the crew lounge in the A concourse on the couch. I passed out but kept waking up unsure of where I was and where I needed to be at what time. I also kept waking up scared that somebody would say something to me about sleeping there all night.
In New York we were not allowed to sleep in the lounges so I would set my alarm for 4:45 to wake up before the Field Service Managers would come in so that they wouldn't know I was sleeping there. Apparently in Atlanta they don't care if you sleep there. In Atlanta there are people who pretty much live there. Cool.
So I finally got up around 8 and got dressed and freshened up and found my friend Abi in the lounge. We got breakfast and caught up on good times. My check in and briefing was at 11:20 am so I closed my eyes again for about another 45 minutes. I found a couple more friends in the lounge... Orit and Ahmad, neither which I had seen since training. So that was cool. I met my crew in briefing and they were all very young... apparently they were in the same class and good friends with my crew from yesterday. Funny stuff!
Boarding my Philly bound passengers with minimal stress, the boarding doors are closed, the safety video is playing the larger lady in 19F signals at me. She asks me if she can go use the restroom. I tell her that if she could please wait until we reach 10,000 ft because we are in critical seat belt time. We aren't even allowed to walk in the aisles during the safety video. She motions that she needs to throw up but she can wait. Question mark. Let's talk about this. 1) Who controls their puke? 2) I am sitting directly in front of 19F and I am facing her... I would hate to have an excorcist moment on me mid flight on the first leg of the day. So I make sure that 19F has a barf bag handy and I strategically watch her during take-off. As soon as we reached 10,000 she was in the bathroom. I asked her if I could get her any crackers or ginger ale... and I felt especially bad for her since I just lived that about 2 days ago. She told me she couldn't keep anything down but had just started chemo and it makes her really sick. I felt so bad for her that I almost cried... and I do not cry. The little old man in 20C needed extra attention because he couldn't walk well so I made sure to take care of him... During landing I watch 19F again just to make sure I stay puke free again. :)
The boarding door opens and everyone exits and my little old 20C passenger has to stay on until the wheelchair comes down. Well we wait... and wait... and no chair. Finally a gate agent comes down to ask if everyone is off... I tell her... "Um, NO. I'm still waiting on my wheelchair for 20C." With her Philly attitude she tells me that the chair has been waiting at the top of the jetway. I snap back that a wheelchair at the top of the jetway does me no good when my passenger can barely walk to the boarding door of the plane. She tells me that it is too hot to bring down the chair. I flipped out. Are you kidding me? It will take 20C thirty minutes to make it to the top of the jetway. Is this wheelchair made of wax that it will melt in heat? Is my gate agent made of wax? I told her in a very firm voice that the chair better be down there because my passenger can't walk. She makes it obvious that she rolls her eyes and shoots me a nasty look. Bring it!
We start boarding again and immediately I have a seat duplication. No problem. I get that solved with the other gate agent over the phone and done. Success. A few minutes later I get 2 older passengers that ask me where their seat is. 17 E & D. My plane is a regular Boeing 757. I have rows 1-9 in first class and then it starts up at row 19 in economy. There is no row 17. There isn't even a row 18. I'm baffled. So I go back up to the gate phone and call the agent back. They are on the wrong Atlanta bound flight. Whew. Boarding door closes. Safety Video plays. We pushback. I walk through and sit down. Again I am facing 19F. I notice 19F. She is a young pretty little blonde girl and she's looking out the window and tears are falling down her cheeks. I've been there before... many a times... leaving parents, friends, family, & boys behind... I've shed many a tear in the window seat. She tears up the entire take-off and after 10,000 feet she is still shedding tears so I go to the bathroom and bring her more kleenex's. The look of gratitude she gave me almost made me cry... I understand her.
I think I'm just getting emotional... whether from exhaustion or I finally grew my heart back after working for the temp agency and misplacing that heart somewhere in Nashville. I actually cared about people. I'm so proud of myself... temporarily though... it ends later in this story.
Two flights done and one more to go... the longer one. Mexico City... again. We grab some food, eat in the E lounge. There I run into Abi, Aritrea, Sean & Jalal. Small world! My flight takes off at 7:30pm... We eat, get to the gate... and nothing. The flight has been moved. So we look at the screens and it says our flight is delayed until 9:30pm. Heck! No fair! So we go back the the E lounge and try to figure out how we can stay awake and how we can drop the trip with the scheduling and rest requirement rules. No such luck.
Around 9:20 we have the plane boarded and ready to go. Starting beverage and dinner service my beverage cart breaks... Bad. So I'm doing that alone and kinda stressed but fine... every single can of coke fizzed like it had been shook up for days. I hate that. Makes my job take forever. Everyone was sooo needy! Everyone wanted 2 drinks and I was doing it alone. I'm on my 12th hour of work and already tired. A lady keep pestering me that her headphones aren't working and proceeds to yell at me while I'm serving drinks about how we always say we will fix it but never can. Um I'm not a freaking mechanic, electrician, or a person that gives a crap right now. Her yelling on my left side... the right side was being yelled at too by an impatient passenger who wants her special meal right way. She said if she didn't get it now then she wouldn't even have time to eat it... Does it take you 2 hours to stuff some nasty meal down your throat? There is a lot more details to this flight but its all along the same lines of needy people... I stopped caring. After 14 hours I just shut down.
Made it to the hotel. Bubble baths help calm. So now I'm heading to sleep. I only have one flight and then I get to home to Nashville! :) Haven't been home in over 30 days! Can't wait!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
ATL-PHL-ATL-MEX
After a long day yesterday I slept in the crew lounge in the A concourse on the couch. I passed out but kept waking up unsure of where I was and where I needed to be at what time. I also kept waking up scared that somebody would say something to me about sleeping there all night.
In New York we were not allowed to sleep in the lounges so I would set my alarm for 4:45 to wake up before the Field Service Managers would come in so that they wouldn't know I was sleeping there. Apparently in Atlanta they don't care if you sleep there. In Atlanta there are people who pretty much live there. Cool.
So I finally got up around 8 and got dressed and freshened up and found my friend Abi in the lounge. We got breakfast and caught up on good times. My check in and briefing was at 11:20 am so I closed my eyes again for about another 45 minutes. I found a couple more friends in the lounge... Orit and Ahmad, neither which I had seen since training. So that was cool. I met my crew in briefing and they were all very young... apparently they were in the same class and good friends with my crew from yesterday. Funny stuff!
Boarding my Philly bound passengers with minimal stress, the boarding doors are closed, the safety video is playing the larger lady in 19F signals at me. She asks me if she can go use the restroom. I tell her that if she could please wait until we reach 10,000 ft because we are in critical seat belt time. We aren't even allowed to walk in the aisles during the safety video. She motions that she needs to throw up but she can wait. Question mark. Let's talk about this. 1) Who controls their puke? 2) I am sitting directly in front of 19F and I am facing her... I would hate to have an excorcist moment on me mid flight on the first leg of the day. So I make sure that 19F has a barf bag handy and I strategically watch her during take-off. As soon as we reached 10,000 she was in the bathroom. I asked her if I could get her any crackers or ginger ale... and I felt especially bad for her since I just lived that about 2 days ago. She told me she couldn't keep anything down but had just started chemo and it makes her really sick. I felt so bad for her that I almost cried... and I do not cry. The little old man in 20C needed extra attention because he couldn't walk well so I made sure to take care of him... During landing I watch 19F again just to make sure I stay puke free again. :)
The boarding door opens and everyone exits and my little old 20C passenger has to stay on until the wheelchair comes down. Well we wait... and wait... and no chair. Finally a gate agent comes down to ask if everyone is off... I tell her... "Um, NO. I'm still waiting on my wheelchair for 20C." With her Philly attitude she tells me that the chair has been waiting at the top of the jetway. I snap back that a wheelchair at the top of the jetway does me no good when my passenger can barely walk to the boarding door of the plane. She tells me that it is too hot to bring down the chair. I flipped out. Are you kidding me? It will take 20C thirty minutes to make it to the top of the jetway. Is this wheelchair made of wax that it will melt in heat? Is my gate agent made of wax? I told her in a very firm voice that the chair better be down there because my passenger can't walk. She makes it obvious that she rolls her eyes and shoots me a nasty look. Bring it!
We start boarding again and immediately I have a seat duplication. No problem. I get that solved with the other gate agent over the phone and done. Success. A few minutes later I get 2 older passengers that ask me where their seat is. 17 E & D. My plane is a regular Boeing 757. I have rows 1-9 in first class and then it starts up at row 19 in economy. There is no row 17. There isn't even a row 18. I'm baffled. So I go back up to the gate phone and call the agent back. They are on the wrong Atlanta bound flight. Whew. Boarding door closes. Safety Video plays. We pushback. I walk through and sit down. Again I am facing 19F. I notice 19F. She is a young pretty little blonde girl and she's looking out the window and tears are falling down her cheeks. I've been there before... many a times... leaving parents, friends, family, & boys behind... I've shed many a tear in the window seat. She tears up the entire take-off and after 10,000 feet she is still shedding tears so I go to the bathroom and bring her more kleenex's. The look of gratitude she gave me almost made me cry... I understand her.
I think I'm just getting emotional... whether from exhaustion or I finally grew my heart back after working for the temp agency and misplacing that heart somewhere in Nashville. I actually cared about people. I'm so proud of myself... temporarily though... it ends later in this story.
Two flights done and one more to go... the longer one. Mexico City... again. We grab some food, eat in the E lounge. There I run into Abi, Aritrea, Sean & Jalal. Small world! My flight takes off at 7:30pm... We eat, get to the gate... and nothing. The flight has been moved. So we look at the screens and it says our flight is delayed until 9:30pm. Heck! No fair! So we go back the the E lounge and try to figure out how we can stay awake and how we can drop the trip with the scheduling and rest requirement rules. No such luck.
Around 9:20 we have the plane boarded and ready to go. Starting beverage and dinner service my beverage cart breaks... Bad. So I'm doing that alone and kinda stressed but fine... every single can of coke fizzed like it had been shook up for days. I hate that. Makes my job take forever. Everyone was sooo needy! Everyone wanted 2 drinks and I was doing it alone. I'm on my 12th hour of work and already tired. A lady keep pestering me that her headphones aren't working and proceeds to yell at me while I'm serving drinks about how we always say we will fix it but never can. Um I'm not a freaking mechanic, electrician, or a person that gives a crap right now. Her yelling on my left side... the right side was being yelled at too by an impatient passenger who wants her special meal right way. She said if she didn't get it now then she wouldn't even have time to eat it... Does it take you 2 hours to stuff some nasty meal down your throat? There is a lot more details to this flight but its all along the same lines of needy people... I stopped caring. After 14 hours I just shut down.
Made it to the hotel. Bubble baths help calm. So now I'm heading to sleep. I only have one flight and then I get to home to Nashville! :) Haven't been home in over 30 days! Can't wait!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Mexico City
Current mood: drained
I finally made it to Mexico... Well let me tell you... that when I do things... I don't do things normal like the rest of people. I like to go out with a bang. This time it was an unplanned bang. wait. that just didn't sound right at all. You know what I mean so I wont try and reword that and make it even more awkward. I will just tell you my little story and newest adventure.
So yesterday I got to Atlanta from Orlando and I texted my friend Diane to see if she was in Atlanta. She was and she said she'd come pick me up for dinner then drop me back off at the airport so i could go on my morning trip to Mexico.
We went for sushi and it was soo good. We had soup and sushi rolls and I was in HEAVEN.
Maybe about 4 or 6 hours later I was not so much in heaven. I was back at the airport puking my guts out. I fell asleep in the lounge couch and woke up in time for work. I still felt bad but figured I'd be ok. Cause sometimes you just have to puke it out and your good to go. Lovely topic... I know. PS. I HATE talking about body functions... hate it.
I get on the plane and meet my crew and they are all pretty nice. Well there was a 5th flight attendant... which was a surprise... she was a load factor... i forgot what that means from training... but basically she was helping out cause we had a full flight. It was great cause I was not at my best today. I felt blah still but I'm a trooper so I kept going. The flight was boarded and the door closed and the flight leader and this 5th flight attendant got into it. Apparently the 5th girl thought she was the bomb-diggity and wanted to run the entire show on the plane. She rubbed all of us the wrong way... but still... i was glad she was there because as soon as the plane started to take off i had to run to the bathroom again. The plane took off with me inside the bathroom. Lovely.
So I come out and start to help set up for serving dinner... the smell of the food was making it way worse. I got halfway through dinner and started on the drink cart and had to excuse myself again. This is when my crew realized that I wasn't doing well. I regained composure... fixed my hair and tried to serve drinks again... I only got about 2 rows down and I had to excuse myself... again. This time was the worst because for 10 minutes there was really nothing left in my stomach except the 2 sips of ginger ale i drank to help calm it. So I had passengers banging on the door cause I had been in there so long while I was just trying stop dry heaving or trying to figure out which end it was gonna come out of. (graphic... I know... I'm sorry)
The pilots asked if I wanted just to go back to atlanta with them but I told them I was sure I'd be fine after a good nights sleep. Well load factor number 5 was just doing a Mexico turn on her Adays (on call days) which means she was not laying over with us... she was going to go straight back to Atlanta... She was trying to convince me to go back so she could have the layover. Heck no. I knew exactly what she was doing... I may be sick as a dog but I wasn't born yesterday. Meanwhile my crew kept approaching me and telling me that no matter what to not let her convince me to switch with her cause they hated her already and didn't want to layover with her or fly with her tomorrow. She kept complaining because she was being over worked because they were basically minus one crew member since I was in the bathroom the whole flight... Well since she was just a load factor (extra person) we weren't technically short a person... such drama! I hate drama... no lie.
I tried to drink water... I ate 2 small bites of bread... to no avail. We finally land and as soon as I disarm the doors I run back to the bathroom. We finally get everyone off and that stupid woman comes up to me again to convince me to trade with her. I say no... Then she tells me that she is gonna put in for short pay cause she worked hard and she can get more money out of it since they were "short a crew member" (aka me.) I almost flipped out on her. If I had any strength left in my body I would have puked whatever was left in me on her face! I'm just trying not to die and she's trying to make money off of me. Unbelievable! I told my flight leader and she said not to worry cause she won't let that get approved... she will fight so that load factor wont get an extra dime.
As we go through customs and all I felt pretty good. We get outside and one of my crew members lights a cigarette. I thought I would die... My stomach hated her. I stayed strong and held in my cookies (obviously figuratively) but all the while searching for a plan b in case my iron jaw plan didn't pan out the way i thought it would... We get in the van and the flight leader pulls out a bottle of "crew juice". Try to not laugh please. I've heard rumors of this crew juice... but I've never actually seen it done. It is an empty bottle of 1.5 liter water with red wine, champagne, oj, cranapple juice and vodka. One smell of that and I was frantically searching for another plan B. The mere thought of any of that mixed together made my stomach churn... but the smell... oh gosh.
If you have ever ridden in a taxi cab in NY you might have an idea of what riding around in a van in Mexico City feels like. I was counting the seconds before I puked... I should have sat in the front seat. It was the longest van ride ever. I started getting hot and clammy all of a sudden... so I asked for the gray bag that my alcoholic flight leader had stored her crew juice in... So I've already been named Pukey. Excellent. So how embarrassing that I'm puking in a gray bag in front of strangers that are my coworkers and I'm sitting next to the van drivers 5 year old son.
We finally made it to the hotel... Holy Moly. AMAZING! My room... gorgeous. It over looks Mexico City... which is not so gorgeous... and my bathroom was to die for. Biggest bathtub EVER. I didn't care about any of that. I made some hot tea and sipped on that and dodged for the bed. I passed out for 4 hours and just felt so week when I woke up. So I know I have to work on my myspaces... I go down to pay for internet in my room and get some gatorade and pretzels and a sprite... all the remedies my mom would have given me if she were here... So it's been an hour since I ate the pretzels and gatorade. They stayed in place where I put them so far... in my belly! Good news. :)
The view from my 9th story room was blah. I mean... well the city is dirty and smoggy. And its night time out right now... I've never seen such a big city so dark before... no street lights and barely any building lights. Its very odd. Anyways... I have to wake up at 4am to work tomorrow... 3 trips... so I better be in tip top shape. Heading in the direction of the big bath tub now and sleep... Sorry for the graffic-ness of my blog today. :)
I'm heading back to the US tomorrow... then back to Mexico City the day after... I hope there is less drama and less of everything else... I'd like to actually go out with my crew to dinner and enjoy the city on the street level this time.
Sleep good my dear myspace friends. All my love...
I finally made it to Mexico... Well let me tell you... that when I do things... I don't do things normal like the rest of people. I like to go out with a bang. This time it was an unplanned bang. wait. that just didn't sound right at all. You know what I mean so I wont try and reword that and make it even more awkward. I will just tell you my little story and newest adventure.
So yesterday I got to Atlanta from Orlando and I texted my friend Diane to see if she was in Atlanta. She was and she said she'd come pick me up for dinner then drop me back off at the airport so i could go on my morning trip to Mexico.
We went for sushi and it was soo good. We had soup and sushi rolls and I was in HEAVEN.
Maybe about 4 or 6 hours later I was not so much in heaven. I was back at the airport puking my guts out. I fell asleep in the lounge couch and woke up in time for work. I still felt bad but figured I'd be ok. Cause sometimes you just have to puke it out and your good to go. Lovely topic... I know. PS. I HATE talking about body functions... hate it.
I get on the plane and meet my crew and they are all pretty nice. Well there was a 5th flight attendant... which was a surprise... she was a load factor... i forgot what that means from training... but basically she was helping out cause we had a full flight. It was great cause I was not at my best today. I felt blah still but I'm a trooper so I kept going. The flight was boarded and the door closed and the flight leader and this 5th flight attendant got into it. Apparently the 5th girl thought she was the bomb-diggity and wanted to run the entire show on the plane. She rubbed all of us the wrong way... but still... i was glad she was there because as soon as the plane started to take off i had to run to the bathroom again. The plane took off with me inside the bathroom. Lovely.
So I come out and start to help set up for serving dinner... the smell of the food was making it way worse. I got halfway through dinner and started on the drink cart and had to excuse myself again. This is when my crew realized that I wasn't doing well. I regained composure... fixed my hair and tried to serve drinks again... I only got about 2 rows down and I had to excuse myself... again. This time was the worst because for 10 minutes there was really nothing left in my stomach except the 2 sips of ginger ale i drank to help calm it. So I had passengers banging on the door cause I had been in there so long while I was just trying stop dry heaving or trying to figure out which end it was gonna come out of. (graphic... I know... I'm sorry)
The pilots asked if I wanted just to go back to atlanta with them but I told them I was sure I'd be fine after a good nights sleep. Well load factor number 5 was just doing a Mexico turn on her Adays (on call days) which means she was not laying over with us... she was going to go straight back to Atlanta... She was trying to convince me to go back so she could have the layover. Heck no. I knew exactly what she was doing... I may be sick as a dog but I wasn't born yesterday. Meanwhile my crew kept approaching me and telling me that no matter what to not let her convince me to switch with her cause they hated her already and didn't want to layover with her or fly with her tomorrow. She kept complaining because she was being over worked because they were basically minus one crew member since I was in the bathroom the whole flight... Well since she was just a load factor (extra person) we weren't technically short a person... such drama! I hate drama... no lie.
I tried to drink water... I ate 2 small bites of bread... to no avail. We finally land and as soon as I disarm the doors I run back to the bathroom. We finally get everyone off and that stupid woman comes up to me again to convince me to trade with her. I say no... Then she tells me that she is gonna put in for short pay cause she worked hard and she can get more money out of it since they were "short a crew member" (aka me.) I almost flipped out on her. If I had any strength left in my body I would have puked whatever was left in me on her face! I'm just trying not to die and she's trying to make money off of me. Unbelievable! I told my flight leader and she said not to worry cause she won't let that get approved... she will fight so that load factor wont get an extra dime.
As we go through customs and all I felt pretty good. We get outside and one of my crew members lights a cigarette. I thought I would die... My stomach hated her. I stayed strong and held in my cookies (obviously figuratively) but all the while searching for a plan b in case my iron jaw plan didn't pan out the way i thought it would... We get in the van and the flight leader pulls out a bottle of "crew juice". Try to not laugh please. I've heard rumors of this crew juice... but I've never actually seen it done. It is an empty bottle of 1.5 liter water with red wine, champagne, oj, cranapple juice and vodka. One smell of that and I was frantically searching for another plan B. The mere thought of any of that mixed together made my stomach churn... but the smell... oh gosh.
If you have ever ridden in a taxi cab in NY you might have an idea of what riding around in a van in Mexico City feels like. I was counting the seconds before I puked... I should have sat in the front seat. It was the longest van ride ever. I started getting hot and clammy all of a sudden... so I asked for the gray bag that my alcoholic flight leader had stored her crew juice in... So I've already been named Pukey. Excellent. So how embarrassing that I'm puking in a gray bag in front of strangers that are my coworkers and I'm sitting next to the van drivers 5 year old son.
We finally made it to the hotel... Holy Moly. AMAZING! My room... gorgeous. It over looks Mexico City... which is not so gorgeous... and my bathroom was to die for. Biggest bathtub EVER. I didn't care about any of that. I made some hot tea and sipped on that and dodged for the bed. I passed out for 4 hours and just felt so week when I woke up. So I know I have to work on my myspaces... I go down to pay for internet in my room and get some gatorade and pretzels and a sprite... all the remedies my mom would have given me if she were here... So it's been an hour since I ate the pretzels and gatorade. They stayed in place where I put them so far... in my belly! Good news. :)
The view from my 9th story room was blah. I mean... well the city is dirty and smoggy. And its night time out right now... I've never seen such a big city so dark before... no street lights and barely any building lights. Its very odd. Anyways... I have to wake up at 4am to work tomorrow... 3 trips... so I better be in tip top shape. Heading in the direction of the big bath tub now and sleep... Sorry for the graffic-ness of my blog today. :)
I'm heading back to the US tomorrow... then back to Mexico City the day after... I hope there is less drama and less of everything else... I'd like to actually go out with my crew to dinner and enjoy the city on the street level this time.
Sleep good my dear myspace friends. All my love...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Atlanta: Day One
Current mood: animated
So today was my first day being a flight attendant in my new base of Atlanta. I felt like it was my first day of school and I was in the wrong grade. Atlanta is a pretty senior base. The oldest flight attendant that still flies is based in Atlanta... I believe that she is 80 years old! Um. Hello! Do YOU feel safe having an 80 year old flight attendant?! She just got her 50 something Delta pin. Let me put this in perspective for you. My seniority number is 14,055. And even after me there have been at least 500 more people following me. All these double digit flight attendants are based in Atlanta. So needless to say I was a very young looking flight attendant compared to my co-workers.
So I trek across the concourse back and forth figuring out where the heck I am supposed to go... I have about 2 hours of sleep under my belt and I grabbed the 5:40am flight out of San Antonio this morning to make my flight. I thought I might get a nap in... but I had to do my hair and make-up once I figured out where I was going so I didn't scare the passengers. I know I was lookin pretty rough this morning. I go into my briefing room and I am the only girl on the crew... not only the only girl... I am the only person who doesn't know what the 50's & 60's were like first hand. They were very nice though... and very understanding that this was going to be my first Atlanta flight and my very first International flight. As I walked through the concourse with one of my crew members, he would point out the old flight attendants and just laugh and point which ones just needed to give up and retire. That was a fun concourse game. We were Mexico City bound and I was excited. Keyword... "was".
We were first heading up to Raleigh/ Durham and back again on the B757... after that we were going to Mexico City. Well in the middle of the second flight we get rerouted. Welcome to Atlanta... the home of the reroute. They tell us that instead of going to Mexico that we are going to Orlando. Have I ever told you how much I hate Florida flights? But I saw we got a 20 hour layover... this is good. The flight wasn't bad at all... in fact it was so fast. So we got to Orlando.
Let me tell you about our hotel. It's a resort that is 14,000 acres... or something like that. It's very big. So it is late and I order room service that I cannot really afford but I'm hungry. And I plan on working out tomorrow and swimming so I need my energy. :) Well I needed to get cash so I called for the golf cart to come pick me up to take me to the ATM... yes... this place is that big. I get cash and rush back to beat my food to my door and I tried giving my friendly little golf cart driver chueffer a tip... he wouldn't take it... even after multiple attempts... so I finally thanked him and left... I got my delicious dinner and watched a movie and worked on my myspaces and texted my favorite person... life is good. I hear a knock at the door... I look out the peephole and it's my little golf cart driver.
Normally I wouldn't open... or I'd just keep the lock on... but he seemed harmless enough and I pride myself in having the best judgment of people... haha ok... so that is DEFINITELY a joke... being a divorcee at 23 and choosing the best friends who steal from me when I am not looking.... or try to sleep with my husband or end up being involved with witchcraft... so yea. I have great people judgement. :)
ANYWAYS... I opened the door and golf cart guy has a plate and bottle water. He just hands it to me and tells me in his broken English that since we as flight attendants take care of them that they should take care of us. I promise you that I was just thinking about what kinda crap I could buy outta the vending machine for breakfast. :) So I now have a lovely plate of rasberries, blueberries, a banana, banana nut bread loaf, and bottled water. All of my favorite things. How amazing is that?!
Besides the fact that my 3 wise men crew is so fun and my dreaded Florida flight ended up pretty great... I get to tan and swim and work out in the morning and then fly only one single flight back to Atlanta tomorrow. THEN! Then I am supposed to go to Mexico City again. We shall see. I have to get used to being rerouted now... being that Atlanta is my new base... Sometimes I am not very flexible... but I will learn I'm sure. The best part of Atlanta besides having better flights is that I can go home to Nashville more and sleep in my "own bed"... and I can go to San Antonio more often to the city that is determined to not leave me alone... what a crazy thing.
So today was my first day being a flight attendant in my new base of Atlanta. I felt like it was my first day of school and I was in the wrong grade. Atlanta is a pretty senior base. The oldest flight attendant that still flies is based in Atlanta... I believe that she is 80 years old! Um. Hello! Do YOU feel safe having an 80 year old flight attendant?! She just got her 50 something Delta pin. Let me put this in perspective for you. My seniority number is 14,055. And even after me there have been at least 500 more people following me. All these double digit flight attendants are based in Atlanta. So needless to say I was a very young looking flight attendant compared to my co-workers.
So I trek across the concourse back and forth figuring out where the heck I am supposed to go... I have about 2 hours of sleep under my belt and I grabbed the 5:40am flight out of San Antonio this morning to make my flight. I thought I might get a nap in... but I had to do my hair and make-up once I figured out where I was going so I didn't scare the passengers. I know I was lookin pretty rough this morning. I go into my briefing room and I am the only girl on the crew... not only the only girl... I am the only person who doesn't know what the 50's & 60's were like first hand. They were very nice though... and very understanding that this was going to be my first Atlanta flight and my very first International flight. As I walked through the concourse with one of my crew members, he would point out the old flight attendants and just laugh and point which ones just needed to give up and retire. That was a fun concourse game. We were Mexico City bound and I was excited. Keyword... "was".
We were first heading up to Raleigh/ Durham and back again on the B757... after that we were going to Mexico City. Well in the middle of the second flight we get rerouted. Welcome to Atlanta... the home of the reroute. They tell us that instead of going to Mexico that we are going to Orlando. Have I ever told you how much I hate Florida flights? But I saw we got a 20 hour layover... this is good. The flight wasn't bad at all... in fact it was so fast. So we got to Orlando.
Let me tell you about our hotel. It's a resort that is 14,000 acres... or something like that. It's very big. So it is late and I order room service that I cannot really afford but I'm hungry. And I plan on working out tomorrow and swimming so I need my energy. :) Well I needed to get cash so I called for the golf cart to come pick me up to take me to the ATM... yes... this place is that big. I get cash and rush back to beat my food to my door and I tried giving my friendly little golf cart driver chueffer a tip... he wouldn't take it... even after multiple attempts... so I finally thanked him and left... I got my delicious dinner and watched a movie and worked on my myspaces and texted my favorite person... life is good. I hear a knock at the door... I look out the peephole and it's my little golf cart driver.
Normally I wouldn't open... or I'd just keep the lock on... but he seemed harmless enough and I pride myself in having the best judgment of people... haha ok... so that is DEFINITELY a joke... being a divorcee at 23 and choosing the best friends who steal from me when I am not looking.... or try to sleep with my husband or end up being involved with witchcraft... so yea. I have great people judgement. :)
ANYWAYS... I opened the door and golf cart guy has a plate and bottle water. He just hands it to me and tells me in his broken English that since we as flight attendants take care of them that they should take care of us. I promise you that I was just thinking about what kinda crap I could buy outta the vending machine for breakfast. :) So I now have a lovely plate of rasberries, blueberries, a banana, banana nut bread loaf, and bottled water. All of my favorite things. How amazing is that?!
Besides the fact that my 3 wise men crew is so fun and my dreaded Florida flight ended up pretty great... I get to tan and swim and work out in the morning and then fly only one single flight back to Atlanta tomorrow. THEN! Then I am supposed to go to Mexico City again. We shall see. I have to get used to being rerouted now... being that Atlanta is my new base... Sometimes I am not very flexible... but I will learn I'm sure. The best part of Atlanta besides having better flights is that I can go home to Nashville more and sleep in my "own bed"... and I can go to San Antonio more often to the city that is determined to not leave me alone... what a crazy thing.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
the "r" word with a dash of the "c" word.
Current mood: catalyzed
Category: Life
The Question of Today:
How much do you need to compromise in a committed relationship before it is unhealthy?
I know this much...
I know that a relationship that is healthy requires compromise from both parties.
I know that relationships are give and take otherwise you will always be butting heads.
I know that if you care enough about another person that compromising isn't always as hard as you thought it would be.
Here's my little story... I've only had 2 real romantic relationships. The man I married and my boyfriend of 8 months years after my divorce... I mean... I had a lot of non-relationships in between... but those two were my only real serious ones... because I am not counting my boyfriend when I lived in Chile... that was only trouble... and I was 15.
I compromised a lot in my first "real" relationship... I didn't compromise ANYTHING in my second relationship because I thought I had "learned my lesson".
If my ex husband said the sky was green... I said okay. I knew he was wrong... but I'd rather not fight about it and I figured that was his sad perspective... so in our relationship I knew that the sky was blue and sometimes orange and red and purple but for our sake it was always green. Obviously that is only an example... I'm pretty sure he really didn't think it was green... well who knows? He was an odd one.
In my second relationship I think I might have been a little more close minded because I was bound and determined not to let a boy alter my perspective ever again.
I believe there is a fine line of compromise... I believe it is a blend of vanilla and chocolate to make a mocha and create something new and fresh that neither of you had thought of before. It's the sunsets of purple, orange, red, blue and yellow that have a streak of green in them that will blow your mind... who knew?
Why are relationships so hard now days where marriages end so abruptly but a dating relationship can last for years? Is it because in the back of our mind we still have an out in a dating relationship? Is it because things are at our fingertips in this day and age and we can have anything we want at any time with a dial of just a few buttons? Are we so much about instant gratification that we forgot what is worth fighting for... that the things that are most worth while do not come so easy?
I flinch at the thought of my sister getting married in September. Don't get me wrong I am sooo happy for her. They are the most perfect couple... but yeah. I'm scared for her. I do know that if anyone can make it work... they can. Why? Because they are two amazing christian people who put God first before themselves and each other.
Makes me raise my standards 100 par. Why waste time with someone who you cannot see yourself marrying? When you do find this person though... who is a "maybe one day" guy... it is hard because you each have your own lives. Different jobs that schedules don't match... different cities... different plans... someone has to compromise... or do both compromise? Does love mean giving up your vanilla to make mocha-chocolatay? :)
Anyways... relationship is a scary word to me. the concept is even worse. but sometimes you just find someone that changes your mind... that flips your life upside down and consumes your thoughts and feelings... and the things you thought you wanted get blurred and you forget what your dreams were until later... do you resent that person years down the road? I didn't even realize how unhappy i was in my marriage until it was taken away from me. I realized how much I had given up and how little he had. I realized that I lost who I was. what a long recovery road it has been... and how much more I still have to go.
So for discussion purposes... how much compromise is okay before you cross the line to being just completely whipped?
Category: Life
The Question of Today:
How much do you need to compromise in a committed relationship before it is unhealthy?
I know this much...
I know that a relationship that is healthy requires compromise from both parties.
I know that relationships are give and take otherwise you will always be butting heads.
I know that if you care enough about another person that compromising isn't always as hard as you thought it would be.
Here's my little story... I've only had 2 real romantic relationships. The man I married and my boyfriend of 8 months years after my divorce... I mean... I had a lot of non-relationships in between... but those two were my only real serious ones... because I am not counting my boyfriend when I lived in Chile... that was only trouble... and I was 15.
I compromised a lot in my first "real" relationship... I didn't compromise ANYTHING in my second relationship because I thought I had "learned my lesson".
If my ex husband said the sky was green... I said okay. I knew he was wrong... but I'd rather not fight about it and I figured that was his sad perspective... so in our relationship I knew that the sky was blue and sometimes orange and red and purple but for our sake it was always green. Obviously that is only an example... I'm pretty sure he really didn't think it was green... well who knows? He was an odd one.
In my second relationship I think I might have been a little more close minded because I was bound and determined not to let a boy alter my perspective ever again.
I believe there is a fine line of compromise... I believe it is a blend of vanilla and chocolate to make a mocha and create something new and fresh that neither of you had thought of before. It's the sunsets of purple, orange, red, blue and yellow that have a streak of green in them that will blow your mind... who knew?
Why are relationships so hard now days where marriages end so abruptly but a dating relationship can last for years? Is it because in the back of our mind we still have an out in a dating relationship? Is it because things are at our fingertips in this day and age and we can have anything we want at any time with a dial of just a few buttons? Are we so much about instant gratification that we forgot what is worth fighting for... that the things that are most worth while do not come so easy?
I flinch at the thought of my sister getting married in September. Don't get me wrong I am sooo happy for her. They are the most perfect couple... but yeah. I'm scared for her. I do know that if anyone can make it work... they can. Why? Because they are two amazing christian people who put God first before themselves and each other.
Makes me raise my standards 100 par. Why waste time with someone who you cannot see yourself marrying? When you do find this person though... who is a "maybe one day" guy... it is hard because you each have your own lives. Different jobs that schedules don't match... different cities... different plans... someone has to compromise... or do both compromise? Does love mean giving up your vanilla to make mocha-chocolatay? :)
Anyways... relationship is a scary word to me. the concept is even worse. but sometimes you just find someone that changes your mind... that flips your life upside down and consumes your thoughts and feelings... and the things you thought you wanted get blurred and you forget what your dreams were until later... do you resent that person years down the road? I didn't even realize how unhappy i was in my marriage until it was taken away from me. I realized how much I had given up and how little he had. I realized that I lost who I was. what a long recovery road it has been... and how much more I still have to go.
So for discussion purposes... how much compromise is okay before you cross the line to being just completely whipped?
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