Current mood: cooky/wacky
(The Glamorous Life of a Flight Attendant Blog)
So starting on Christmas day...
(first things first... you must know that as an Atlanta flight attendant we have 6 "A days".. which is on call days... they can send you anywhere at any time for 6 days)
... So ok, Christmas Day. I was on my first A day and I got scheduled standby for 4 hours until 11pm. So I got there in the morning from TX and chilled all day... I watched movies on Netflix, crocheted some scarves, finished my Mandela biography, and chatted with friends. I didn't get called out for anything. So day one was over and I checked my schedule for the next day and it said I had standby again for day 2. I was irritated but whatever. So I slept in the lounge in a smelly little room... by little I mean maybe 5 ft x 5 ft with 2 small plastic reclining chairs in them. They smell weird and they are creepy. But I slept in there until about 9 or 10 am... not very comfortably... but better than the couch. I wake up, do my airport beauty routine put on some jeans and check my schedule again. It tells me I have standby on day 2 and day 3. I check open time (which tells us which trips need to be covered for the day) and it shows all these amazing trips. I called scheduling and asked them for one of those good trips. The guy tells me I can't have any of those trips because I am the only flight attendant in the lounge that can be used for more than 4 days... I kinda didn't believe him... and I let him know that I was on to him. I told him I commuted from Texas so I needed a bed and shower at the hotels... he asked me if I had considered moving to Atlanta... I told him I had a family. haha whatever. It is not his business where I live. So then I told him that if I was on standby for one more day then I would start to smell soon because I needed a shower and I cannot afford a hotel every night I have A days. He didn't care about my body odor.
So I'm sitting around in my jeans and t-shirt watching Netflix... and the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport kicks me off the internet. I call them. I pay for that internet... I should be able to use it anyway I want. Here is basically my conversation with the internet tech guy after we established introductions.
Me: "So I have a boingo account and your internet keeps kicking me off, and I pay for it and I need to have it urgently."
Guy: "ok lemme check a couple things... ok here you are, I see your screenname"
Me: "Listen, I really need y'all to stop kicking me off. I'm here all the time and the internet is the only thing that keeps me sane... for the safety of my passengers, I need the internet back."
Guy: "Where are you?"
Me: "Downstairs"
Guy: "um... why? where?"
Me: "A concourse, Flight attendant lounge. I am a flight attendant sitting on stand by and my only contact with the outside world is your internet. I need it. Please give it back."
Guy: "ok, lemme see what I can do"
Me: "Listen, I don't have windows down here, I don't even know if the suns out... I need the weather bug back, I need my netflix back. I am going crazy."
Guy: "hahaha ok, your back on, reboot and your good to go"
Me: "Thank you so much sir, my future passengers thank you too."
So then around 1pm (3 hours before sign in) I hear over the loud speaker that scheduling has already used all of their standbys and are asking for volunteers. I walk to the front desk to see what I can do. They tell me that I might need to put on my uniform cause things are a little crazy... understatement of the day.
3 hours before sign in scheduling started to call me to help them board airplanes because some flight attendants hadnt come in yet. So I walk in 3 inch heals with al my bags to the other side of the airport. Do you think anyone called me to let me know that the Flight attendant had shown up already before I had gotten there? No. So I trekked across the airport just to go straight back down to the lounge. Then they call me to send me a on a crappy domestic rotation for 3 days. I told the guy (with a little bit of attitude) that I was told earlier that I was the ONLY person in atlanta that could fly for more than 4 days, and I was sure that they could find someone for a 3 day trip. :) They said they couldnt and I fought some more but he told me I was definitely going to Indianapolis... sigh... so I go to find my crew... then I hear my name on the loud speaker... scheduling wants me to call them... they say that they changed their minds and want me back on standby. I snort out a laugh and try not to say 'I told you so'.... but I go back to my couch to not loose my place in the lounge.
Now to save you the reading and exhaustion I will tell you that over the next 8 house I was sent out on over 5 different assignments and taken off these assignments. I was being put through phsycological testing and I lost. I was so tired and fought for my rights. I probably spend one solid hour on the phone just with scheduling alone off and on. Ridiculous! To make a long story short, I ended up with a long layover in San Diego that night. I slept for about 15 out of 22 hours. I needed it after that day.
This is a VERY long story... so I'm trying to cut it short...
We had a medical emergency on the red eye from san diego to atlanta... got in at 5:30 am and then slept for about 2 hours in the lounge then got sent out on a 3 day domestic trip.... with a short layover in new orleans and a short layover in raleigh, nc... unfortunately i'd never been to any of those places and I didn't have enough time there to go explore... so I will have to go back. Finally after all my 6 days were up and scheduling couldn't physically use me any more I got to go to TX.
On the plane back to TX, I was sitting in the back of the airplane on the jumpseat... just tired as anything.... and a passenger in the last row looks at me and tells me... "I dunno who's bag this is, but its in my spot." I told her it was my bag. She said oh. Then muttered something about supposing she'd just put her bag under her chair. Note to YOU as future flyers... the compartment over your head does not have your name on it... You can put your bag anywhere past first class if your flying coach... just as long as the bins close... but really someone should be enforcing the bag size... it used to be only the size of a briefcase... people are bringing on body bags... and 2 or 3 of them. So that spot in front of your legs... yea that is yours for luggage... you can fight for that spot... but the overhead... its supposed to only be for overflowing luggage... in a perfect world. :)
I was so happy to be over with it all and to have new years off! I got to spend New years with my man in san antonio and with some good friends. Definitely a good way to start off the year... and with rockband 2. :)
So my next set of A days started on the 3rd... and my birthday is the 4th. I had International standby on the 3rd but didn't get called anywhere... They already assigned me a trip on the 4th... which is now... to Managua, Nicaragua... so we shall see what is to come... I still have 3 more days after that to come... who knows what will happen.
Showing posts with label nicaragua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nicaragua. Show all posts
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Monday, July 14, 2008
Managua, Nicaragua
Current mood: optimistic
ATL/BWI/ATL/MGA
So my day started off with a bang. I didn’t sleep well and kept waking up confused of where I was and afraid I’d oversleep. I woke up at 6amish finally. I had a sign in at 10am. I met my crew and headed to the plane... My flight leader was a little high strung and I can deal with that until she did what she did. ugh! Before I get ahead of myself let me tell you how I started the day off with a bang. I was on my plane getting ready for the passengers to board and I check my safety equipment and get my little galley ready for this 2 hour flight to Baltimore, Maryland. There was a hot pot of coffee that was brewed in the galley but I wanted to get rid of it so I could brew a fresh pot when we got in the air. So I poured the coffee down the drain and kept on going about my business. As we start to board the captain comes in from outside checking the plane and takes me to the side and asked me if I poured hot coffee down the drain. Immediately everything I remember being warned about from training flooded back into my head and I remembered them saying never to do that because it will scald the captain or whoever is down there. Lo and behold I had hit a ground guy with my coffee! I was horrified! He said the guy was ok... but never to do that again... No worries... I will never ever do that again! Gosh!
So as passengers get on board we get some people that have tickets that say 19A, B, C & row 18 and row 7. Well on the regular Boeing 757 there are none of those rows... so the wrong 757 had been configured into the computer. So we had some angry passengers that had to go back up to the gate and get their tickets redone. This made us kind of late. It also made my high-strung flight leader even worse. She sent me to the back of the plane because of the wrong seats and told me to stay back there and help since it was about to be a nightmare. Well as I predicted it wasn't a nightmare... Everyone boarded and everything was fine in the back... She calls us in the back and tells the other girl that she needs me up front ASAP because she is getting hit hard.... I knew she was exaggerating already. So I made my way to the front and miss THANG tells me in front of passengers and the captain that she needed me up front because she "just can't do EVERYTHING alone" and she made it sound like I was the slacker. Psh... jerk. So she's already on my bad list. Then she yells at me that we need the overhead bins closed ASAP so we can depart on semi-time. So I hustle and get it all done...
... It starts to rain... literally...
The weather starts getting black and ugly.
We play the safety video and Ms. THANG again makes me angry when she asks me if I know how to run the machine... I may be new but I do know how to run a freaking VCR! DANG! Well then we taxi out and get word that the airport is closed due to weather and we are staying on the plane... and when the airport finally does open again then we are number 40 for take-off. Woah! So we hand out free headsets and go through with waters and show a movie. We hear that we are going to be sitting on the ground for awhile and people are being NASTY to us... so we do a full beverage service and they all expected free alcohol... sorry. no. We don’t control weather... if it were mechanical and the captain says yes... then that's a different story. So 3 hours later we finally takeoff... We get to Baltimore and immediately board... Guess what... the airplane was configured wrong again... so about 8 angry passengers have to get off the plane and get new seats. They were NOT happy! We close the doors and surprise! We are delayed on the ground again... At this point we don't know if we are going to make our flight to Nicaragua... none of us want to go... We are tired and we haven’t had a break or food. We've been dealing with the rudest people and we are just as irritated as they are. So yea... We stay on the ground on the runway for about an hour... We our almost out of drinks and snacks... we have just enough for when we get in the air so we go through with waters to keep the big babies hydrated. I was thinking we should just let them dehydrate and pass out and maybe it would be quieter. :) So, more free headsets and more movies. We finally get up in the air and make it to Atlanta. We had some very nice passengers that told us we made their day and we did a good job considering the circumstances... then there are others who just stomp their feet and hope that they get what they want... since when do they control weather?
When we get to Atlanta we had to go all the way to the E concourse and run to the Nicaragua flight that had been delayed 4 hours to wait for us... it's 9pm at this point. We have been working non-stop for 11 hours. We are tired, irritated and hungry. We get to the gate and get a HUGE applause and cheer from the crowd... apparently they had been filled in on our situation. It was funny but just a little embarrassing. When we get on the plane and start boarding we are informed that it is up to us if we want to go because we will be right at our 16 hour duty day by the time we arrive to Managua, Nicaragua. They also tell us that if we don't do this trip or get out exactly by 10 pm then the whole flight will just be cancelled. Of course none of us want to go... we did the math and at the last minute just decided to suck it up and go. I've never fell asleep so many times sitting upright before in my life.
There is only one other time that I can remember being that tired and it was when I first started waiting tables at the Piano Bar in Nashville and I had never waited tables before and they had us work 18 hour days... You get so tired that you just want to cry... sometimes you do cry. And yes... I AM a girl! Whatever. We finally get to Managua and its 2 am Atlanta time... and 12 am Managua time... the flight in the morning is scheduled to leave at 8:30 am... which means that we won’t get 8 hours behind the hotel door... which doesn't make us happy and its not what the rules say... We have to have a required 8 hours behind the door... SO.. they delay the morning flight by an hour and a half so we can at least get some sleep. I passed out as soon as I go to the hotel and off the phone with Rick... I was so tired.
It was all worth it when I woke up and looked out my window... I heard a familiar sound of parrots... I used to live in Costa Rica when I was 10. We had parrots and there were wild parrots always flying overhead... So I look out my window and see the ocean and the palm trees and see the parrots chasing each other and playing in the trees. It made me miss living in Costa Rica a lot. Brought back ALOT of childhood memories.
Back to the airport and we get on our flight with a few angry passengers because they were delayed and we are off... We had limited customs forms and I only had some Spanish customs forms... which means I had to help all the Americans on the flight to translate the form and fill them out. This one Jerk-hole asks me in a tone if we are heading to America and if the main language of "AMERICA" was still English. I told him yes but that we had a screwed up last 2 days and we are short on forms and I would be more than happy to help him fill it out and translate it. He gave me some attitude. I just rolled my eyes when he couldn't see because that makes me feel better. :) This crazy passenger walks to the very back of the plane from the first row of economy to get some rum and coke. He was really nice and we joked around with him... He gets his rum and walks all the way to the front of the plane again... a little later he asks my other crew member if he can order a wheelchair when we land in Atlanta because he can't walk. um... ??? What a crazy man.
Anyways... I'm landed... I think I sprained my ankle and my worst nightmare has come to pass...no high heals! Now with my job it’s almost mandatory that I wear at least some sort of heal so I need to go shoe shopping... I'm heading to San Antonio for a minute and tomorrow I go to Los Angeles then Guadalajara, Mexico. I have one more trip after that then I am making a secret little stop over in Nashville... I have to pack up my apartment... and I'm getting a head start before August when Hanna and Elin and Cale and Rick all come up. We are having a week-long pijama party in August. It's going to be fun. :)
peace out babies!
ATL/BWI/ATL/MGA
So my day started off with a bang. I didn’t sleep well and kept waking up confused of where I was and afraid I’d oversleep. I woke up at 6amish finally. I had a sign in at 10am. I met my crew and headed to the plane... My flight leader was a little high strung and I can deal with that until she did what she did. ugh! Before I get ahead of myself let me tell you how I started the day off with a bang. I was on my plane getting ready for the passengers to board and I check my safety equipment and get my little galley ready for this 2 hour flight to Baltimore, Maryland. There was a hot pot of coffee that was brewed in the galley but I wanted to get rid of it so I could brew a fresh pot when we got in the air. So I poured the coffee down the drain and kept on going about my business. As we start to board the captain comes in from outside checking the plane and takes me to the side and asked me if I poured hot coffee down the drain. Immediately everything I remember being warned about from training flooded back into my head and I remembered them saying never to do that because it will scald the captain or whoever is down there. Lo and behold I had hit a ground guy with my coffee! I was horrified! He said the guy was ok... but never to do that again... No worries... I will never ever do that again! Gosh!
So as passengers get on board we get some people that have tickets that say 19A, B, C & row 18 and row 7. Well on the regular Boeing 757 there are none of those rows... so the wrong 757 had been configured into the computer. So we had some angry passengers that had to go back up to the gate and get their tickets redone. This made us kind of late. It also made my high-strung flight leader even worse. She sent me to the back of the plane because of the wrong seats and told me to stay back there and help since it was about to be a nightmare. Well as I predicted it wasn't a nightmare... Everyone boarded and everything was fine in the back... She calls us in the back and tells the other girl that she needs me up front ASAP because she is getting hit hard.... I knew she was exaggerating already. So I made my way to the front and miss THANG tells me in front of passengers and the captain that she needed me up front because she "just can't do EVERYTHING alone" and she made it sound like I was the slacker. Psh... jerk. So she's already on my bad list. Then she yells at me that we need the overhead bins closed ASAP so we can depart on semi-time. So I hustle and get it all done...
... It starts to rain... literally...
The weather starts getting black and ugly.
We play the safety video and Ms. THANG again makes me angry when she asks me if I know how to run the machine... I may be new but I do know how to run a freaking VCR! DANG! Well then we taxi out and get word that the airport is closed due to weather and we are staying on the plane... and when the airport finally does open again then we are number 40 for take-off. Woah! So we hand out free headsets and go through with waters and show a movie. We hear that we are going to be sitting on the ground for awhile and people are being NASTY to us... so we do a full beverage service and they all expected free alcohol... sorry. no. We don’t control weather... if it were mechanical and the captain says yes... then that's a different story. So 3 hours later we finally takeoff... We get to Baltimore and immediately board... Guess what... the airplane was configured wrong again... so about 8 angry passengers have to get off the plane and get new seats. They were NOT happy! We close the doors and surprise! We are delayed on the ground again... At this point we don't know if we are going to make our flight to Nicaragua... none of us want to go... We are tired and we haven’t had a break or food. We've been dealing with the rudest people and we are just as irritated as they are. So yea... We stay on the ground on the runway for about an hour... We our almost out of drinks and snacks... we have just enough for when we get in the air so we go through with waters to keep the big babies hydrated. I was thinking we should just let them dehydrate and pass out and maybe it would be quieter. :) So, more free headsets and more movies. We finally get up in the air and make it to Atlanta. We had some very nice passengers that told us we made their day and we did a good job considering the circumstances... then there are others who just stomp their feet and hope that they get what they want... since when do they control weather?
When we get to Atlanta we had to go all the way to the E concourse and run to the Nicaragua flight that had been delayed 4 hours to wait for us... it's 9pm at this point. We have been working non-stop for 11 hours. We are tired, irritated and hungry. We get to the gate and get a HUGE applause and cheer from the crowd... apparently they had been filled in on our situation. It was funny but just a little embarrassing. When we get on the plane and start boarding we are informed that it is up to us if we want to go because we will be right at our 16 hour duty day by the time we arrive to Managua, Nicaragua. They also tell us that if we don't do this trip or get out exactly by 10 pm then the whole flight will just be cancelled. Of course none of us want to go... we did the math and at the last minute just decided to suck it up and go. I've never fell asleep so many times sitting upright before in my life.
There is only one other time that I can remember being that tired and it was when I first started waiting tables at the Piano Bar in Nashville and I had never waited tables before and they had us work 18 hour days... You get so tired that you just want to cry... sometimes you do cry. And yes... I AM a girl! Whatever. We finally get to Managua and its 2 am Atlanta time... and 12 am Managua time... the flight in the morning is scheduled to leave at 8:30 am... which means that we won’t get 8 hours behind the hotel door... which doesn't make us happy and its not what the rules say... We have to have a required 8 hours behind the door... SO.. they delay the morning flight by an hour and a half so we can at least get some sleep. I passed out as soon as I go to the hotel and off the phone with Rick... I was so tired.
It was all worth it when I woke up and looked out my window... I heard a familiar sound of parrots... I used to live in Costa Rica when I was 10. We had parrots and there were wild parrots always flying overhead... So I look out my window and see the ocean and the palm trees and see the parrots chasing each other and playing in the trees. It made me miss living in Costa Rica a lot. Brought back ALOT of childhood memories.
Back to the airport and we get on our flight with a few angry passengers because they were delayed and we are off... We had limited customs forms and I only had some Spanish customs forms... which means I had to help all the Americans on the flight to translate the form and fill them out. This one Jerk-hole asks me in a tone if we are heading to America and if the main language of "AMERICA" was still English. I told him yes but that we had a screwed up last 2 days and we are short on forms and I would be more than happy to help him fill it out and translate it. He gave me some attitude. I just rolled my eyes when he couldn't see because that makes me feel better. :) This crazy passenger walks to the very back of the plane from the first row of economy to get some rum and coke. He was really nice and we joked around with him... He gets his rum and walks all the way to the front of the plane again... a little later he asks my other crew member if he can order a wheelchair when we land in Atlanta because he can't walk. um... ??? What a crazy man.
Anyways... I'm landed... I think I sprained my ankle and my worst nightmare has come to pass...no high heals! Now with my job it’s almost mandatory that I wear at least some sort of heal so I need to go shoe shopping... I'm heading to San Antonio for a minute and tomorrow I go to Los Angeles then Guadalajara, Mexico. I have one more trip after that then I am making a secret little stop over in Nashville... I have to pack up my apartment... and I'm getting a head start before August when Hanna and Elin and Cale and Rick all come up. We are having a week-long pijama party in August. It's going to be fun. :)
peace out babies!
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