Current mood: bouncy
so! I haven't blogged in forever. I've just been traveling, reading, designing, & doing wedding stuff... not my wedding stuff... but my little's sisters. Pictures are all up on her page and it was an amazing wedding and now we have a new addition! new addition being the groom... not a baby on the way... no waaay... not yet anyways. :)
So anyways... there is A LOT going on in my life. I've been doing everything above that I said... plus branching out into some new ventures that will be announced later as things are more solid. as if i needed more ventures :) got plenty of ventures... and adventures.
I'm finally starting to get back on my feet after working this crazy job. Just if you didn't know... It's official that I have no address. I moved from Nashville... everything is in storage. On my days off I go to TX and refuse to actually live there since I've already done that twice but I couch surf on my best friend's couches since my sister is a newlywed and well... that's just not fair to anyone. :)
So I tried to open up a PO Box in San Antonio but little did I know that you must have proof of residence to do this. Why would I need a PO box if I had a residence? So I asked the lady what I would do if I did not have a residence but just needed a place to send my mail to. She gave me a snotty look and directed her attention to my mister (a.k.a. my boyfriend) and said, "is she kidding?" I told her my story and why I didn't have a home and she just told me flat out that I don't qualify. Apparently homeless people don't get mail. :( So my mail goes to a friend of a friend’s house. ugh.
Besides the homelessness and hectic schedule and new "ventures" I am starting to financially catch up on life... Next month I can actually contemplate paying a credit card bill from 2 years ago. (Don't even ask about my credit.) So I called this one card that loves to call me about 10 times a day. I just wanted to see what the damage was and what my options for next month are... The Lady tried to convince me to give her $500... right then... yeah. No. I told her I'm tired of eating ramen noodles and peanut butter sandwiches but next month I might be able to do something... I told her the most I could offer right that second was $100. She put me on hold to talk to her boss... He gets on the phone. He is a jerk. He tells me that I HAVE to give him $500... I tell him that it's impossible to give what you don't have and that again... $100 is what I can give him. He gets mad at me and we bicker back and forth and he gets angry and he tells me to just forget about it and hangs up. Now if I tried to give you $100... would you take it? I still don't understand what happened.
Ok so life is interesting. My boyfriend has been an amazing support to me and keeps me sane. He's a crazy one which another reason we get along so well...
Another quick story. My boyfriend said something let's just say... not so smart the other day... and I laughed at him (like a good girlfriend) and he retorted back. "So I'm dumb. Blog about it." haha that makes me laugh... a lot. Then my mister sent me this link of something I should make:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Laptop-Compubody-Sock/
He said if I owned this we might have never met. Since we met by sitting next to each other at the airport and comparing computers. haha..
Anyways... that's all I have for now... I'll try and be better about blogging. For sure. :)
PEACE LOVE AND FRIED CHICKN!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
the july 26th movement and red literature
Current mood: awake
I have had a couple of quite normal flights latelywhich is great for my soul but quite boring to blog about. I've been reading Che Guevara's biography. Mostly cause I know a little bit about him and what I do know wasn't answering my questions of why kids are walking around with Che Guevara shirts on. I'm halfway into the biography now.... (it's 800 pages) and I can relate to his sense of passion, his nomadic lifestyle, his non-materialism, his sense of not knowing his full purpose in life and thinking there is something bigger and better out there. I admire his passion. I admire his get up and go attitude. He did more by the age 39 than most... his actions are just controversial... but here's the thing... he killed a LOT of people... he didn't like Americans... so... as cool as it is for you to wear your Che shirt... maybe you should do some research before you just start walking around with a "logo". Anyways... besides me getting all parent-y about that... here's my BIG pet peeve.
I've been reading this book for almost a week...and its a big one so it doesn't fit into my suitcase... so I have to carry it. Coming back into the USA from Mexico I went through customs and immigration and the immigration guy gave me a hard time about the book. He asked me very rudely why I was reading a book about a communistic murderer. I told him it was history. I left it at that. He just gave me attitude and I kept walking after he stamped my papers. A few days later I'm coming back through immigration after returning from Costa Rica and low and behold there is my same immigration man. He looks at me and says, "Well there's my little communist friend."
Last time I checked the US was still a free country. I told him again that it is history. And he said, "you realize he wasn't a good guy right?" As if I was an idiot. Back in the 1930's and 40's Guevara would cross over to other countries' borders and he would get his "red" literature confiscated but I think that we've come quite a way since the 30's and 40's in a 3rd world country... or have we? Well needless to say I still have my book and next time I'm coming through with a Mao Tse-Tung and Lenin book. :) haha So what if I have a little obsession of reading about communists?! I am NOT a communist in any sense and I don't see the need to defend my literature even if I were. Excuse me for trying to educate myself. :)
ANYWAYS... I got a hotel yesterday because I am on call for the next three days... It is very draining to be on call... I'm serious! You can't plan for where you are going and you don't know until the last minute. They could send you on an all-nighter to Japan or just down the road to Alabama... You just don't know. So anyways, I got my room and ordered pizza and fell asleep before the pizza guy got here. Which was like 6pm. haha So I ate and then passed out again. I slept from 7pm until 8am. 13 hours. HECK YES! :) I got one of the last rooms because the hurricane evacuees are all heading to Atlanta. Our weather isn't looking that great either and rains are predicted which means it will be an interesting evening for a girl on standby... a.k.a. ME!
4 more days and the whole clan heads to Michigan for my sister's wedding... when I mean clan I mean family... not my communist clan. :) geesh. This is the second Abate sibling wedding... mine being the first... but this one will actually last so I deem it the actual FIRST ABATE SIBLING WEDDING. (my last name is Abate for those of you who didn't know... but don't go stealing my identity or anything.)
Well I better go get dressed and head to work before they kick me out of my room. Check out is in an hr and I’m still in pijamas. :)
peace love and fried chicken!
I have had a couple of quite normal flights latelywhich is great for my soul but quite boring to blog about. I've been reading Che Guevara's biography. Mostly cause I know a little bit about him and what I do know wasn't answering my questions of why kids are walking around with Che Guevara shirts on. I'm halfway into the biography now.... (it's 800 pages) and I can relate to his sense of passion, his nomadic lifestyle, his non-materialism, his sense of not knowing his full purpose in life and thinking there is something bigger and better out there. I admire his passion. I admire his get up and go attitude. He did more by the age 39 than most... his actions are just controversial... but here's the thing... he killed a LOT of people... he didn't like Americans... so... as cool as it is for you to wear your Che shirt... maybe you should do some research before you just start walking around with a "logo". Anyways... besides me getting all parent-y about that... here's my BIG pet peeve.
I've been reading this book for almost a week...and its a big one so it doesn't fit into my suitcase... so I have to carry it. Coming back into the USA from Mexico I went through customs and immigration and the immigration guy gave me a hard time about the book. He asked me very rudely why I was reading a book about a communistic murderer. I told him it was history. I left it at that. He just gave me attitude and I kept walking after he stamped my papers. A few days later I'm coming back through immigration after returning from Costa Rica and low and behold there is my same immigration man. He looks at me and says, "Well there's my little communist friend."
Last time I checked the US was still a free country. I told him again that it is history. And he said, "you realize he wasn't a good guy right?" As if I was an idiot. Back in the 1930's and 40's Guevara would cross over to other countries' borders and he would get his "red" literature confiscated but I think that we've come quite a way since the 30's and 40's in a 3rd world country... or have we? Well needless to say I still have my book and next time I'm coming through with a Mao Tse-Tung and Lenin book. :) haha So what if I have a little obsession of reading about communists?! I am NOT a communist in any sense and I don't see the need to defend my literature even if I were. Excuse me for trying to educate myself. :)
ANYWAYS... I got a hotel yesterday because I am on call for the next three days... It is very draining to be on call... I'm serious! You can't plan for where you are going and you don't know until the last minute. They could send you on an all-nighter to Japan or just down the road to Alabama... You just don't know. So anyways, I got my room and ordered pizza and fell asleep before the pizza guy got here. Which was like 6pm. haha So I ate and then passed out again. I slept from 7pm until 8am. 13 hours. HECK YES! :) I got one of the last rooms because the hurricane evacuees are all heading to Atlanta. Our weather isn't looking that great either and rains are predicted which means it will be an interesting evening for a girl on standby... a.k.a. ME!
4 more days and the whole clan heads to Michigan for my sister's wedding... when I mean clan I mean family... not my communist clan. :) geesh. This is the second Abate sibling wedding... mine being the first... but this one will actually last so I deem it the actual FIRST ABATE SIBLING WEDDING. (my last name is Abate for those of you who didn't know... but don't go stealing my identity or anything.)
Well I better go get dressed and head to work before they kick me out of my room. Check out is in an hr and I’m still in pijamas. :)
peace love and fried chicken!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
2008 Olympics-- Just a war between China and the US without bombs.
Current mood: accomplished
So I spent a week in Nashville with my boyfriend and my friends from Sweden and my best Nashville friend, Lena. We had so much fun but you know how I love to procrastinate packing... I hate packing. You'd think I'd be used to it by now...
So we waited until the last day to pack... I really didn't think I had a lot of stuff... apparently I've accumulated quite a few things in the last 2 years since the day that I showed up to Nashville with just the things that fit into my mustang.
There was no way that we could finish packing in the one day so Rick moved his flights back one day and I had to cancel going to Ireland... which was sad but much needed since I had to be out of my apartment that next day. We spent 2 solid days packing and cleaning and moving everything into storage. Unfortunately I had 2 cats that liked to lay on every piece of furniture I owned so my cat allergic boyfriend had a very hard time breathing. We thought we were gonna have to take him to the hospital one night. He was wearing a face mask to help him breathe but cat hair had gotten inside the filters. Poor guy! There is no way I could have moved and gotten everything done without him.
So I officially have no residence and no ties to Nashville except for my storage unit. I also have no place in Atlanta but the airport. So I'm gonna see how long I can go without paying rent to help me catch up on things... Maybe 2009 will bring me an address... I'm not complaining at all because I have tons of places I can go and sleep... and I fly for free so I can go anywhere at anytime... but it's nice to have a place of your own where you can dance in your underwear while singing along to Backstreet Boys & Brittney Spears at the top of your lungs into your hairbrush... oh wait... i don't do that... I'm a grown up now... but I'd like to have that option, maybe... :) I realize how important it is to have a place to retreat to alone... to create, to write, to think... It's been a very emotional week for me. Some days I feel defeated... some days I feel empowered. Life's a roller coaster... especially when you are a girl... cause we tend to be a little more sensitive some times...
All my ties are finally cut with my ex husband too cause my name is off everything he had and I have my own last name on everything again. This is a very good thing. It's easy to forget I was married cause I'm emotionally unattached from it even though I know I am still healing... but I get constant reminders every day of those three years of marriage and 4 and a half years of commitment. For example today... I'm sitting at the San Antonio airport and behind the gate agent's counter there is a pillow that says "peace"... this is no ordinary pillow... this pillow is THE pillow that was hand made for me and given to me as a wedding present... What are the odds that it's sitting underneath the San Antonio airport ticket counter today? I am pretty sure I had either sold it at a garage sale or gave it away to the Salvation Army. I will just use it as a sign that I'm moving on and am better without my old life and old reminders. I did promise myself I would never move back to this silly city but everyday my ties get stronger and stronger here.
September is going to be a good month... busy as anything but good. I got the days off I needed to go to my little sisters wedding in Michigan... I'm so excited about that! I got the days off to come to San Antonio for my sister's reception in Texas and also the day off for my boyfriend's birthday. So I'm happy. I also picked up a trip to Africa. It's six days away from the U.S. and I get to spend two nights in Dakar, Senegal and one night in Johannesburg, South Africa. I never dreamed in my life I'd get to go to Africa! I'm so nervous but so excited! I was hoping to go to Chile this month because it is our Independence week... but that isn't going to happen... Maybe next month... summertime is best anyways because all the fruit and veggies are so fresh and cheap. YUM!
I've been so lazy with my Hebrew lessons and with my writing... Now that the move is out of the way I am hoping to somehow get back into the swing of things. I'm starting my myspace things up again and this fall I will start working for my favorite singer/ songwriter Reese Browning again. I forgot how much I missed music. It's my passion for sure... I have to remember that flying is a job and a life-style but it isn't my life. I don't want to end up like these old women who have nothing else but flying.
Anyways... that is just a little update from me... I've been off work for two weeks and start back up at 5:30 am tomorrow morning on domestic standby... yuck! Hopefully I will get a good trip...somewhere sunny for a long layover. Crossing my fingers for Hawaii as always. :) Life is good... I wouldn't trade it with anyone else for anything... well maybe on the days that I feel homesick... wherever home may be... but that only lasts a minute. :)
I'll be back with more updates soon. All my love!
julieKristine
So I spent a week in Nashville with my boyfriend and my friends from Sweden and my best Nashville friend, Lena. We had so much fun but you know how I love to procrastinate packing... I hate packing. You'd think I'd be used to it by now...
So we waited until the last day to pack... I really didn't think I had a lot of stuff... apparently I've accumulated quite a few things in the last 2 years since the day that I showed up to Nashville with just the things that fit into my mustang.
There was no way that we could finish packing in the one day so Rick moved his flights back one day and I had to cancel going to Ireland... which was sad but much needed since I had to be out of my apartment that next day. We spent 2 solid days packing and cleaning and moving everything into storage. Unfortunately I had 2 cats that liked to lay on every piece of furniture I owned so my cat allergic boyfriend had a very hard time breathing. We thought we were gonna have to take him to the hospital one night. He was wearing a face mask to help him breathe but cat hair had gotten inside the filters. Poor guy! There is no way I could have moved and gotten everything done without him.
So I officially have no residence and no ties to Nashville except for my storage unit. I also have no place in Atlanta but the airport. So I'm gonna see how long I can go without paying rent to help me catch up on things... Maybe 2009 will bring me an address... I'm not complaining at all because I have tons of places I can go and sleep... and I fly for free so I can go anywhere at anytime... but it's nice to have a place of your own where you can dance in your underwear while singing along to Backstreet Boys & Brittney Spears at the top of your lungs into your hairbrush... oh wait... i don't do that... I'm a grown up now... but I'd like to have that option, maybe... :) I realize how important it is to have a place to retreat to alone... to create, to write, to think... It's been a very emotional week for me. Some days I feel defeated... some days I feel empowered. Life's a roller coaster... especially when you are a girl... cause we tend to be a little more sensitive some times...
All my ties are finally cut with my ex husband too cause my name is off everything he had and I have my own last name on everything again. This is a very good thing. It's easy to forget I was married cause I'm emotionally unattached from it even though I know I am still healing... but I get constant reminders every day of those three years of marriage and 4 and a half years of commitment. For example today... I'm sitting at the San Antonio airport and behind the gate agent's counter there is a pillow that says "peace"... this is no ordinary pillow... this pillow is THE pillow that was hand made for me and given to me as a wedding present... What are the odds that it's sitting underneath the San Antonio airport ticket counter today? I am pretty sure I had either sold it at a garage sale or gave it away to the Salvation Army. I will just use it as a sign that I'm moving on and am better without my old life and old reminders. I did promise myself I would never move back to this silly city but everyday my ties get stronger and stronger here.
September is going to be a good month... busy as anything but good. I got the days off I needed to go to my little sisters wedding in Michigan... I'm so excited about that! I got the days off to come to San Antonio for my sister's reception in Texas and also the day off for my boyfriend's birthday. So I'm happy. I also picked up a trip to Africa. It's six days away from the U.S. and I get to spend two nights in Dakar, Senegal and one night in Johannesburg, South Africa. I never dreamed in my life I'd get to go to Africa! I'm so nervous but so excited! I was hoping to go to Chile this month because it is our Independence week... but that isn't going to happen... Maybe next month... summertime is best anyways because all the fruit and veggies are so fresh and cheap. YUM!
I've been so lazy with my Hebrew lessons and with my writing... Now that the move is out of the way I am hoping to somehow get back into the swing of things. I'm starting my myspace things up again and this fall I will start working for my favorite singer/ songwriter Reese Browning again. I forgot how much I missed music. It's my passion for sure... I have to remember that flying is a job and a life-style but it isn't my life. I don't want to end up like these old women who have nothing else but flying.
Anyways... that is just a little update from me... I've been off work for two weeks and start back up at 5:30 am tomorrow morning on domestic standby... yuck! Hopefully I will get a good trip...somewhere sunny for a long layover. Crossing my fingers for Hawaii as always. :) Life is good... I wouldn't trade it with anyone else for anything... well maybe on the days that I feel homesick... wherever home may be... but that only lasts a minute. :)
I'll be back with more updates soon. All my love!
julieKristine
Sunday, August 10, 2008
so i’m engaged
Current mood: enlightened
don't worry mom and dad... it's just a rumor. :)
It's funny the things that go around about people sometimes... its even funnier to me the things people talk about... especially when they have no idea. I've had a few rumors spread about me in my time... the one I heard today definitely took the cake. It's by far my favorite... mostly because it's pretty funny.
So my good friend and also my partner in music business... well more like one of the people I definitely look up to e-mailed me the other day and told me he wanted to talk to me to clear up some rumors he heard.
I called him today just to find out what in the world people are bored enough to talk about now.
He said he overheard my name out at a show and tuned into the conversation. Apparently someone casually mentioned something about reading one of my blogs or something... and then someone said... HEY did you hear Julie was dating a black rapper? then the other person said. "no! I heard she was ENGAGED to a black rapper!"
Apparently these people are not friends of mine... they woulda known. I know who they are talking about... and I went to a wedding with a very talented black beat boxer one time... I didn't realize we were committed from that. DJ! Did you ask my dad permission?! :)
HAHA!
2 things.
1) My boyfriend is white... but he totally is HCWB... don't even worry about it.
2) I'm not engaged.
Thanks for the laugh!
don't worry mom and dad... it's just a rumor. :)
It's funny the things that go around about people sometimes... its even funnier to me the things people talk about... especially when they have no idea. I've had a few rumors spread about me in my time... the one I heard today definitely took the cake. It's by far my favorite... mostly because it's pretty funny.
So my good friend and also my partner in music business... well more like one of the people I definitely look up to e-mailed me the other day and told me he wanted to talk to me to clear up some rumors he heard.
I called him today just to find out what in the world people are bored enough to talk about now.
He said he overheard my name out at a show and tuned into the conversation. Apparently someone casually mentioned something about reading one of my blogs or something... and then someone said... HEY did you hear Julie was dating a black rapper? then the other person said. "no! I heard she was ENGAGED to a black rapper!"
Apparently these people are not friends of mine... they woulda known. I know who they are talking about... and I went to a wedding with a very talented black beat boxer one time... I didn't realize we were committed from that. DJ! Did you ask my dad permission?! :)
HAHA!
2 things.
1) My boyfriend is white... but he totally is HCWB... don't even worry about it.
2) I'm not engaged.
Thanks for the laugh!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Vienna, Austria
Monday, August 04, 2008
Current mood: accomplished
So on the 31st of July I left San Antonio very early in the morning and headed to Atlanta. I was supposed to go to Pensacola, FL and back and then over to Guadalajara, Mexico. I signed in at 12:15. Well weather has been bad in Atlanta lately... We get to Pensacola and got delayed 2 hours. We finally left Pensacola and crossed our fingers that our Mexico trip would be cancelled. In Atlanta we showed the flight was still on... but that it was leaving at 9:00 pm so it was delayed 2 hours. We sit in the lounge and just watch the screens and cross our fingers... no such luck. We get up to the gate for a now 10pm departure and we eventually start boarding at 10:30. We are now at a 10 hour duty day plus 4 hours of flight... so that's 14 hours of duty... we are still ok to fly... we become illegal to fly at 16 hours... They stopped boarding midway and the tower said that the airport in Guadalajara was closed until 4am... so that put the flight going out at 2:45. So then we were definitely illegal. After having to get all the people off board... some people were soo nice about it... cause obviously its not our fault... one lady was just a rude mean woman and screamed in my face about what she was supposed to do about her 80 year old parents... heck if I know! So I called scheduling to figure out what I’m supposed to do. The lady was so rude. She said that if I left the airport without putting myself on availability then I wouldn't get paid for any of my trip. I yelled at her at told her that I didn't plan on leaving to anywhere because I cannot afford to get a hotel on what they pay me and I do not live in Atlanta. I told her I didn’t think it was fair to put myself on availability. She didn’t care. So I go to sleep in the lounge... again. I was mad because I was supposed to get a hotel and now I'm sleeping on a couch. I just really wanted a shower and good sleep since my day started at 5am.
I woke up stiff and mad and irritated. They made an announcement that they were understaffed so that anyone that picked up a trip in open time would get an additional 4 hours of pay. So I figured I’d go take a look and see if there was anything worth picking up before they called me out and placed me on the worst trip. That's when I saw Vienna! I've always wanted to go to Austria... always. So I called scheduling and fought for it... AND I GOT IT! So I had a few hours to kill before I flew out... its a 10 hour flight so I knew I needed food and sleep.
I get to briefing and everyone was much older than me... as expected. The flight leader had more work done on her face than my car has under its hood in a lifetime. Apparently she's been flying to Lima... which is the joke that flight attendants go there to get "work" done. I am always the new girl so I try to be nice and quiet and just listen in briefing. One flight attendant said she was gonna try and work in business class with the F.L. (flight leader) on the way back but wasn't familiar with everything so she might need help. The F.L. said so nicely that she was in good hands because she had taught International Business for 10 years in the training hub. I just tried to make friendly conversation and mentioned how nice that was. She turned her head so sharply at me that I thought her facelift might distort even more. :)
She said, "I did teach for 10 years but I DO NOT teach anymore because EVERYONE should already know their job." Yikes! She already didn't like me for some reason. On the plane she asks me if I know what I'm doing. I told her I'd only done that Business Elite to Europe once but that I’d figure it out. The federal air marshals knew the one flight attendant that I was working with and they said that they had fIown with the F.L. before and that she was a lesbian and the lady working in the back was her "partner". AHA! No wonder she was a miserable soul... I only have inappropriate jokes after this...so I'll stop. Even being that I have friends who are lesbians but they seem to not be as miserable in life as this 60 something year old lesbian.
The flight went well... I just tried to be extra nice to the F.L. and her "partner". We got to Vienna at about 10am and went back to the hotel. I showered and laid down for a nap. I agreed to meet one of the flight attendants in the lobby at 3 to do the city tour on the bus... I overslept in my comfy bed and got a wake up call at 3:30. We did the tour... Here are some of the pics of the bus tour... I don't remember all the names of the places or events... but a lot of this has to do with Mozart.... I do remember that. :)
After the BUS tour we had drinks in the hotel lobby with the partners and some of the other flight attendants... the girl I had done the bus tour with kept talking about going to this city hall where there was restaurant stands and big screens. So I agreed to go with her... little did I know what I was getting into. She acted like she knew where we were going... I swear.
I figured I was in trouble when she asked directions in the subway to some German guy and yelled at me to come over... She said that this guy wanted to sell us his subway tickets which were good until midnight... He only wanted 2 euros for each ticket. I looked at her and told her that it sounded like a scam. Straight faced she looked at the guy and asked him, "is this a scam?" he said no. I swear she looked at me and said, "see? He's not scamming us." So I spent the 2 euros to shut her up. Luckily in Vienna no one ever checks your tickets on subway, buses or trams.
3 hours of circles later and her talking loudly in English to Austrians and asking them where the City Hall was... we made it to what they thought was the city hall.. Stadt Halle.... this is not where we wanted to go... we ended up in the Ghetto... which is still waaay nicer than any ghetto in the US. At this point I am so hungry and so tired. I kid you not 3 hours after torture... she decides at this point to pull out a MAP! A freaking MAP! I said... "you have a MAP!?!", she said... "Well, I'm not very good at reading maps."
I told her to take the U6 back to the U3 and then get on the U2 and we'd be there... She said she wasn't getting back on the subway so she would follow the English speaking Arab at the corner grocery store's advice and take the 49 tram to the N station and walk 2 blocks. I was so angry. The only thing I could do to vent was text my boyfriend in the U.S. to vent it out. Some nice girl that spoke English again helped us to get from the 49 tram to the U2 subway and we finally made it to this place which was the Rathaus... the film festival was going on... that's what she had been talking about this entire time!!! And yes it was worth all the waiting. There was booths from restaurants of any food you could possible want served on real plates with real cups. That would never be in the U.S. we'd break out our paper plates and dixie cups :)
I had so much fun in Vienna... I saw so much... and apparently we won't be flying there after October so I got a real once in a lifetime opportunity for that trip until I transfer back to New York. Anyways... here is the view of the sunrise form my hotel.
I woke up at 7:30 am Vienna time which is 1:30 am Atlanta time... pick up was at 9:55 but I wanted a chance to walk around the hotel a bit more.
The flight was going ok until I swear I spotted a big bottle of alcohol sitting on someone's tray table. I asked the other girl to take a look and see if I saw what I thought I saw... she comes back with a huge half empty bottle of wine that someone had bought from duty free and had been chugging in the first hour of the flight. Obviously we took it away from them and finished drinking it for them... haha just kidding... we threw it out. So then this lady that was sitting next to them came in the back and told us that they were telling her to shut the F up and using profanity loudly. The more manly of the "partners" went over to them and told them that they weren't allowed any more alcohol and if we as much as heard a peep out of them then we'd have authorities waiting for them at the end of the flight or worse. After that they were all about yes ma'am and no ma'am. :)
I got back to Atlanta at 4:30 pm and ran to make the 5:20 flight to San Antonio and barely made it on... I was soo tired. Anyways. I'm "home" happy and safe. :) Until the next adventure. :)
Current mood: accomplished
So on the 31st of July I left San Antonio very early in the morning and headed to Atlanta. I was supposed to go to Pensacola, FL and back and then over to Guadalajara, Mexico. I signed in at 12:15. Well weather has been bad in Atlanta lately... We get to Pensacola and got delayed 2 hours. We finally left Pensacola and crossed our fingers that our Mexico trip would be cancelled. In Atlanta we showed the flight was still on... but that it was leaving at 9:00 pm so it was delayed 2 hours. We sit in the lounge and just watch the screens and cross our fingers... no such luck. We get up to the gate for a now 10pm departure and we eventually start boarding at 10:30. We are now at a 10 hour duty day plus 4 hours of flight... so that's 14 hours of duty... we are still ok to fly... we become illegal to fly at 16 hours... They stopped boarding midway and the tower said that the airport in Guadalajara was closed until 4am... so that put the flight going out at 2:45. So then we were definitely illegal. After having to get all the people off board... some people were soo nice about it... cause obviously its not our fault... one lady was just a rude mean woman and screamed in my face about what she was supposed to do about her 80 year old parents... heck if I know! So I called scheduling to figure out what I’m supposed to do. The lady was so rude. She said that if I left the airport without putting myself on availability then I wouldn't get paid for any of my trip. I yelled at her at told her that I didn't plan on leaving to anywhere because I cannot afford to get a hotel on what they pay me and I do not live in Atlanta. I told her I didn’t think it was fair to put myself on availability. She didn’t care. So I go to sleep in the lounge... again. I was mad because I was supposed to get a hotel and now I'm sleeping on a couch. I just really wanted a shower and good sleep since my day started at 5am.
I woke up stiff and mad and irritated. They made an announcement that they were understaffed so that anyone that picked up a trip in open time would get an additional 4 hours of pay. So I figured I’d go take a look and see if there was anything worth picking up before they called me out and placed me on the worst trip. That's when I saw Vienna! I've always wanted to go to Austria... always. So I called scheduling and fought for it... AND I GOT IT! So I had a few hours to kill before I flew out... its a 10 hour flight so I knew I needed food and sleep.
I get to briefing and everyone was much older than me... as expected. The flight leader had more work done on her face than my car has under its hood in a lifetime. Apparently she's been flying to Lima... which is the joke that flight attendants go there to get "work" done. I am always the new girl so I try to be nice and quiet and just listen in briefing. One flight attendant said she was gonna try and work in business class with the F.L. (flight leader) on the way back but wasn't familiar with everything so she might need help. The F.L. said so nicely that she was in good hands because she had taught International Business for 10 years in the training hub. I just tried to make friendly conversation and mentioned how nice that was. She turned her head so sharply at me that I thought her facelift might distort even more. :)
She said, "I did teach for 10 years but I DO NOT teach anymore because EVERYONE should already know their job." Yikes! She already didn't like me for some reason. On the plane she asks me if I know what I'm doing. I told her I'd only done that Business Elite to Europe once but that I’d figure it out. The federal air marshals knew the one flight attendant that I was working with and they said that they had fIown with the F.L. before and that she was a lesbian and the lady working in the back was her "partner". AHA! No wonder she was a miserable soul... I only have inappropriate jokes after this...so I'll stop. Even being that I have friends who are lesbians but they seem to not be as miserable in life as this 60 something year old lesbian.
The flight went well... I just tried to be extra nice to the F.L. and her "partner". We got to Vienna at about 10am and went back to the hotel. I showered and laid down for a nap. I agreed to meet one of the flight attendants in the lobby at 3 to do the city tour on the bus... I overslept in my comfy bed and got a wake up call at 3:30. We did the tour... Here are some of the pics of the bus tour... I don't remember all the names of the places or events... but a lot of this has to do with Mozart.... I do remember that. :)
After the BUS tour we had drinks in the hotel lobby with the partners and some of the other flight attendants... the girl I had done the bus tour with kept talking about going to this city hall where there was restaurant stands and big screens. So I agreed to go with her... little did I know what I was getting into. She acted like she knew where we were going... I swear.
I figured I was in trouble when she asked directions in the subway to some German guy and yelled at me to come over... She said that this guy wanted to sell us his subway tickets which were good until midnight... He only wanted 2 euros for each ticket. I looked at her and told her that it sounded like a scam. Straight faced she looked at the guy and asked him, "is this a scam?" he said no. I swear she looked at me and said, "see? He's not scamming us." So I spent the 2 euros to shut her up. Luckily in Vienna no one ever checks your tickets on subway, buses or trams.
3 hours of circles later and her talking loudly in English to Austrians and asking them where the City Hall was... we made it to what they thought was the city hall.. Stadt Halle.... this is not where we wanted to go... we ended up in the Ghetto... which is still waaay nicer than any ghetto in the US. At this point I am so hungry and so tired. I kid you not 3 hours after torture... she decides at this point to pull out a MAP! A freaking MAP! I said... "you have a MAP!?!", she said... "Well, I'm not very good at reading maps."
I told her to take the U6 back to the U3 and then get on the U2 and we'd be there... She said she wasn't getting back on the subway so she would follow the English speaking Arab at the corner grocery store's advice and take the 49 tram to the N station and walk 2 blocks. I was so angry. The only thing I could do to vent was text my boyfriend in the U.S. to vent it out. Some nice girl that spoke English again helped us to get from the 49 tram to the U2 subway and we finally made it to this place which was the Rathaus... the film festival was going on... that's what she had been talking about this entire time!!! And yes it was worth all the waiting. There was booths from restaurants of any food you could possible want served on real plates with real cups. That would never be in the U.S. we'd break out our paper plates and dixie cups :)
I had so much fun in Vienna... I saw so much... and apparently we won't be flying there after October so I got a real once in a lifetime opportunity for that trip until I transfer back to New York. Anyways... here is the view of the sunrise form my hotel.
I woke up at 7:30 am Vienna time which is 1:30 am Atlanta time... pick up was at 9:55 but I wanted a chance to walk around the hotel a bit more.
The flight was going ok until I swear I spotted a big bottle of alcohol sitting on someone's tray table. I asked the other girl to take a look and see if I saw what I thought I saw... she comes back with a huge half empty bottle of wine that someone had bought from duty free and had been chugging in the first hour of the flight. Obviously we took it away from them and finished drinking it for them... haha just kidding... we threw it out. So then this lady that was sitting next to them came in the back and told us that they were telling her to shut the F up and using profanity loudly. The more manly of the "partners" went over to them and told them that they weren't allowed any more alcohol and if we as much as heard a peep out of them then we'd have authorities waiting for them at the end of the flight or worse. After that they were all about yes ma'am and no ma'am. :)
I got back to Atlanta at 4:30 pm and ran to make the 5:20 flight to San Antonio and barely made it on... I was soo tired. Anyways. I'm "home" happy and safe. :) Until the next adventure. :)
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Ike & Tina
Current mood: aggravated
It’s like Ike & Tina...
It’s a love/hate relationship with Nashville.
Please bare with my rant for a minute... I love watching live music but the scene is crazy.
Boys in their girl jeans or just looking like they crawled out of the seventies in their vintage... they want to be Jimmy Paige so badly that it hurts my teeth just looking at their greasy long matted hair.
My friend Wes Floyd is awesome. He leads the pack of DaisyCutters... They don't care about the scene. Usually in Nashville everyone is a musician so they don't barely clap at a show... they don't stand against a stage... They linger in corners judging the main act and would steal the opportunity to be in the main acts place if they could. Nashville has more talent in one speckle of the honky-tonk than the mainstream radio will play in the next 10 years... I've battled with how music works... it kills me how so many of these kids who are so talented will never make it because they don't know the right people, or they don't have enough money, or they don't play by the rules of the scene, or they just don't have the right look… or even because their lyrics are too deep for mainstream radio. What kills me about Nashville is that we all know each other from the millions of shows we go to... but the scenesters put on such a "I’m too cool for school" show that they won't even acknowledge that they know you sometimes... I've known some of these kids for 2 years and barely know a thing about them... they look like they just crawled outta bed snorted some heroine cause they are all so dang skinny too... Anyways... Wes Floyd is a pretty cool cat... he is nice to everyone and he doesn't play the Nashville game... people came out to see him and pushed against the stage and danced and jumped around... I've never seen any local act be able to do that besides Luna Halo... Maybe it was because they were dressed like cowboys and indians. :)
The other great thing about the Ville is that I have a slew of numbers I could call to go out with me... but no one to call when I needed a flat tire fixed... stinking boys and their art but no skills. :) Speaking of this flat tire... let's get back to my real story.
I had spent some time in San Antonio, got my hairs did by Stephanie and flew over to Atlanta and hopped in my car for the best road trip ever... just me and my itunes on the ibook... not the ipod cause that got lost somewhere between Atlanta and Panama City I think... :(
I made it into Nashville pretty late and was so happy to see my kitty and sleep in my own house and bed! The next day I planned to wake up early to go do a long overdue errand...
I've been living in Nashville for almost 2 years... and I still have a Texas drivers license with my old married last name and I was fat. I've been trying to get a new license for awhile and every time I go to the DMV in Nashville which happens to be in the ghetto then somehow I am missing some document and can't stay. UGH!
So I woke up kinda late but made it out the door and stopped in to visit my friend Rachel at work and surprise her. We talked forever and I sat in the office where I had been fired by the witch and I was soo glad to be out of there. I also learned that the witch had quit and got a new job and had recently been fired from that job... wow. what goes around comes around? hmm.. So I realize that on my way to the DMV I forgot my passport since I don't know where my birth certificate was... So I had to drive all the way back home again to get it. I noticed my tire was low and I made a mental note to fill it up as soon as I got out of the DMV. I'm driving along the back roads back to the DMV with all proper documentation and BOOM! POW! KABAM! My tire blows out... I'm in the middle of nowhere. I pull over. It's hot.
I had to call my good friend Reese in Mobile and my ex boyfriend Gabe cause they were the only ones I know that had any previous experience with cars... both said they would talk me through how to change the tire. Both asked me where my car manual was... which was NOT in the car of course... umm... yea... so I'm wearing 4 inch heals and capris and I'm dressed up cause I'm gonna take a AWESOME drivers license picture since I'm not that fat married girl anymore... I am NOT dressed to change a tire... especially for the first time... So I take a deep breath and start to unscrew the thingy to get the tire out and see if the jack is underneath... I hear some cars pull over... Thank the LORD I am a girl... and thank the LORD I was wearing heals. :) 2 guys in separate cars pull over... I am prepared just in case they are bad guys... I mean... I am a flight attendant... so anyways... the one guy was a car mechanic... a car mechanic wearing a hairnet... but good thing too because I have special tires on my car and there was no way I would have had the tools to change those... so the guy has it done in like 10 minutes. I was sooo grateful. He followed me to the gas station and put more air in my front tires for me... All I had was $11 so I gave it to him and thanked the man wearing the hairnet.
I attempted the DMV thing AGAIN... I get there and she tells me that my comcast bill was NOT good enough as proof of residence because I don't have the complete cable package because I don't have a home phone. I flipped out! I told her that I've been living in that city for 2 years and I don’t work there... and I am never ever there... she told me that I could go to the bank and get a statement printed and then stamped and then initialed... how does that prove where I live?! I dunno! So I did that... I was livid... I was sure that the next thing she would say was that I didn’t have enough money in my account to have a TN drivers license. haha
Anyways... I finally got back AGAIN and waiting and got my license... they hand it to me... it's the ugliest effing picture I’ve ever seen. I look like my chin was growing the biggest pimple ever because there is a red dot on there... and then I look and she messed up and put the wrong birthday on there! SCORE! New picture! So now there is a decent picture and I have the stupid license! It's about time. Next time I am going where all the illegals go and have it the same day... they don't require ANY documents. :)
So lets talk about that evening... sweet Jimmy Gnecco. Last year I waited for Jimmy Gnecco in the 18 degree weather outside for THREE hours in line... It was totally worth it... and I reject cold weather... I absolutely hate cold. This time we had bought pre-tickets and got inside and it was sweaty hot. Like bad. He just likes to make us suffer. My friend Breann, a fellow flight attendant joined me and Stephen Boatright and my favorite and only Belarusian, Lena... my partners in crime. :)
We listened to Jimmy enchant us with his amazing voice... Gosh. The next day we slept in.... packed up my apartment a little and I don't remember what else but we went to see Wes Floyd play... Which is where I started this little/long blog. :)
Skip ahead... It's Thursday and I don't know if I have to go back to work Friday night or Saturday because I am on call on Sat, Sun & Mon. If they give me a late sign in on Sat then I get to sleep in my bed one more night... if they don't give me anything then I have to be there by Friday midnight... which is the worst. So Friday around noon when I finally woke up... I checked my schedule and low and behold there was a rotation posted... 8am Saturday standby... that's as bad as it could get... which means I have to still leave Friday night... the only other option would be to take the first flight out in the morning and get there by 8:17 and be 17 minutes late... that is no good. So I hurried and got my laundry done, did the dishes, packed my suitcase, showered, went to the grocery, packed some more moving boxes and hopped in Lena's car with Breann to be dropped off at the airport. WHEW!
I promised Bri a good time at the Atlanta lounge... AKA my temporary home away from my "homes". So we ate Peanut Butter and Honey sandwiches and hot chocolate courtesy of my great boyfriend and we watched PS I love you on my MacBook... so far so good... except we go to sleep and the cleaning crew comes in and decides to make life miserable. They dragged the metal chairs across the floors and I know they were swinging them around... I know this because it sounded like the end of the world in percussion. I refused to open my eyes because I knew I would absolutely loose it on one of them... and they probably know how to fight better than me. There are about 5 flight attendants sleeping in there... I try and wait out the racket so I can get at least 2 hours of sleep before I have to get up and get dressed for standby... They start vacuuming around my head and bumping the couch on purpose with the vacuum. I started doing my yoga breathing to help me calm down... I kept my eyes shut tight to avoid hurting someone... They were in there forever and I barely got one hours worth of sleep. I was not a happy girl. I come down to the A lounge by 8am and I supposed to be on standby until noon... at 9am my friend Devin texts me and says he's in the airport so we go upstairs and visit him and his friend before they board to take off to Honduras.
Right as I am going downstairs back to the A dungeon I get a call from scheduling telling me that I have a flight. So I go downstairs to check the rotation and its a Salt Lake City turn... which just means I go to salt lake and back again and be back in ATL by 7:30pm... no biggie except I'm so tired that I am starting to feel ill to my stomach from exhaustion.
Our flight is delayed due to them upgrading the B757 to a B767 so that everyone could get on... The flight was going good until this wacko jacko wannabe in her 40's tells us that she lost her luggage on board and she needs to find it so she can run off the plane to catch her connection... we understand so a flight attendant proceeds to ask her questions so we can find her mystery luggage. FA= flight attendant & WJ= wacko jacko.
FA: "Where are you sitting?"
WJ: She looks at all her boarding cards... about 3 or 4 of them from previous flights and just baffled says "I dunno"
FA: "Ma'am... what seat did you just stand up from?"
WJ: "I cant remember"
*sigh*
FA: "What does your suitcase look like?"
WJ: "It's black with a polka dotted pink ribbon on it.
FA2: "No ma'am... that's MY suitcase."
WJ: "oh. Well I think my suitcase might be orange then."
FA: "Lets just go look for it."
They look forever and cant figure out where she put her suitcase... we make PA's asking passengers if they knew who this lady was or if they remembered seeing her with her luggage somewhere.
After the WJ looked in every overhead bin 3 times and looking at every tag on every bag over 3 times... and after concerned passengers ask us why this lady is flying alone... she finally finds her bag... guess what? It's over the seat she was sitting in... and guess what? It's blue.
I just don't have enough patience for that stuff.
We land... we board again to go back to ATL... everything is normal until they announce that the weather is bad in ATL and we don’t have enough fuel to keep circling the airport so we head to Nashville to refuel... only me... I swear.... only me would they linger my comfy bed in front of when I had one hour of sleep... I could SMELL my house I was so close. Some passengers just wanted to get off in Nashville because that was their final destination anyways... but we weren’t allowed because that would delay us even more... In Nashville my flight leader tells me that there is a passenger in 17A that only speaks Spanish and if I could go explain to him in Spanish what was going on... well he ended up being from Chile... Temuco to be exact... so it was like finding a long lost family member...even though we had never met before... we talked about all the good Chilean things. :)
Finally back in the air and we got to Atlanta at 10 something pm... more than 3 hours from the time when I was supposed to originally be in.
So I am tired... tomorrow I go to Guadalajara... which I’m not too excited about... but whatever... I am about to attempt sleeping at the A lounge tonight... I'm scared...
I will see you in the air.... peace out!
It’s like Ike & Tina...
It’s a love/hate relationship with Nashville.
Please bare with my rant for a minute... I love watching live music but the scene is crazy.
Boys in their girl jeans or just looking like they crawled out of the seventies in their vintage... they want to be Jimmy Paige so badly that it hurts my teeth just looking at their greasy long matted hair.
My friend Wes Floyd is awesome. He leads the pack of DaisyCutters... They don't care about the scene. Usually in Nashville everyone is a musician so they don't barely clap at a show... they don't stand against a stage... They linger in corners judging the main act and would steal the opportunity to be in the main acts place if they could. Nashville has more talent in one speckle of the honky-tonk than the mainstream radio will play in the next 10 years... I've battled with how music works... it kills me how so many of these kids who are so talented will never make it because they don't know the right people, or they don't have enough money, or they don't play by the rules of the scene, or they just don't have the right look… or even because their lyrics are too deep for mainstream radio. What kills me about Nashville is that we all know each other from the millions of shows we go to... but the scenesters put on such a "I’m too cool for school" show that they won't even acknowledge that they know you sometimes... I've known some of these kids for 2 years and barely know a thing about them... they look like they just crawled outta bed snorted some heroine cause they are all so dang skinny too... Anyways... Wes Floyd is a pretty cool cat... he is nice to everyone and he doesn't play the Nashville game... people came out to see him and pushed against the stage and danced and jumped around... I've never seen any local act be able to do that besides Luna Halo... Maybe it was because they were dressed like cowboys and indians. :)
The other great thing about the Ville is that I have a slew of numbers I could call to go out with me... but no one to call when I needed a flat tire fixed... stinking boys and their art but no skills. :) Speaking of this flat tire... let's get back to my real story.
I had spent some time in San Antonio, got my hairs did by Stephanie and flew over to Atlanta and hopped in my car for the best road trip ever... just me and my itunes on the ibook... not the ipod cause that got lost somewhere between Atlanta and Panama City I think... :(
I made it into Nashville pretty late and was so happy to see my kitty and sleep in my own house and bed! The next day I planned to wake up early to go do a long overdue errand...
I've been living in Nashville for almost 2 years... and I still have a Texas drivers license with my old married last name and I was fat. I've been trying to get a new license for awhile and every time I go to the DMV in Nashville which happens to be in the ghetto then somehow I am missing some document and can't stay. UGH!
So I woke up kinda late but made it out the door and stopped in to visit my friend Rachel at work and surprise her. We talked forever and I sat in the office where I had been fired by the witch and I was soo glad to be out of there. I also learned that the witch had quit and got a new job and had recently been fired from that job... wow. what goes around comes around? hmm.. So I realize that on my way to the DMV I forgot my passport since I don't know where my birth certificate was... So I had to drive all the way back home again to get it. I noticed my tire was low and I made a mental note to fill it up as soon as I got out of the DMV. I'm driving along the back roads back to the DMV with all proper documentation and BOOM! POW! KABAM! My tire blows out... I'm in the middle of nowhere. I pull over. It's hot.
I had to call my good friend Reese in Mobile and my ex boyfriend Gabe cause they were the only ones I know that had any previous experience with cars... both said they would talk me through how to change the tire. Both asked me where my car manual was... which was NOT in the car of course... umm... yea... so I'm wearing 4 inch heals and capris and I'm dressed up cause I'm gonna take a AWESOME drivers license picture since I'm not that fat married girl anymore... I am NOT dressed to change a tire... especially for the first time... So I take a deep breath and start to unscrew the thingy to get the tire out and see if the jack is underneath... I hear some cars pull over... Thank the LORD I am a girl... and thank the LORD I was wearing heals. :) 2 guys in separate cars pull over... I am prepared just in case they are bad guys... I mean... I am a flight attendant... so anyways... the one guy was a car mechanic... a car mechanic wearing a hairnet... but good thing too because I have special tires on my car and there was no way I would have had the tools to change those... so the guy has it done in like 10 minutes. I was sooo grateful. He followed me to the gas station and put more air in my front tires for me... All I had was $11 so I gave it to him and thanked the man wearing the hairnet.
I attempted the DMV thing AGAIN... I get there and she tells me that my comcast bill was NOT good enough as proof of residence because I don't have the complete cable package because I don't have a home phone. I flipped out! I told her that I've been living in that city for 2 years and I don’t work there... and I am never ever there... she told me that I could go to the bank and get a statement printed and then stamped and then initialed... how does that prove where I live?! I dunno! So I did that... I was livid... I was sure that the next thing she would say was that I didn’t have enough money in my account to have a TN drivers license. haha
Anyways... I finally got back AGAIN and waiting and got my license... they hand it to me... it's the ugliest effing picture I’ve ever seen. I look like my chin was growing the biggest pimple ever because there is a red dot on there... and then I look and she messed up and put the wrong birthday on there! SCORE! New picture! So now there is a decent picture and I have the stupid license! It's about time. Next time I am going where all the illegals go and have it the same day... they don't require ANY documents. :)
So lets talk about that evening... sweet Jimmy Gnecco. Last year I waited for Jimmy Gnecco in the 18 degree weather outside for THREE hours in line... It was totally worth it... and I reject cold weather... I absolutely hate cold. This time we had bought pre-tickets and got inside and it was sweaty hot. Like bad. He just likes to make us suffer. My friend Breann, a fellow flight attendant joined me and Stephen Boatright and my favorite and only Belarusian, Lena... my partners in crime. :)
We listened to Jimmy enchant us with his amazing voice... Gosh. The next day we slept in.... packed up my apartment a little and I don't remember what else but we went to see Wes Floyd play... Which is where I started this little/long blog. :)
Skip ahead... It's Thursday and I don't know if I have to go back to work Friday night or Saturday because I am on call on Sat, Sun & Mon. If they give me a late sign in on Sat then I get to sleep in my bed one more night... if they don't give me anything then I have to be there by Friday midnight... which is the worst. So Friday around noon when I finally woke up... I checked my schedule and low and behold there was a rotation posted... 8am Saturday standby... that's as bad as it could get... which means I have to still leave Friday night... the only other option would be to take the first flight out in the morning and get there by 8:17 and be 17 minutes late... that is no good. So I hurried and got my laundry done, did the dishes, packed my suitcase, showered, went to the grocery, packed some more moving boxes and hopped in Lena's car with Breann to be dropped off at the airport. WHEW!
I promised Bri a good time at the Atlanta lounge... AKA my temporary home away from my "homes". So we ate Peanut Butter and Honey sandwiches and hot chocolate courtesy of my great boyfriend and we watched PS I love you on my MacBook... so far so good... except we go to sleep and the cleaning crew comes in and decides to make life miserable. They dragged the metal chairs across the floors and I know they were swinging them around... I know this because it sounded like the end of the world in percussion. I refused to open my eyes because I knew I would absolutely loose it on one of them... and they probably know how to fight better than me. There are about 5 flight attendants sleeping in there... I try and wait out the racket so I can get at least 2 hours of sleep before I have to get up and get dressed for standby... They start vacuuming around my head and bumping the couch on purpose with the vacuum. I started doing my yoga breathing to help me calm down... I kept my eyes shut tight to avoid hurting someone... They were in there forever and I barely got one hours worth of sleep. I was not a happy girl. I come down to the A lounge by 8am and I supposed to be on standby until noon... at 9am my friend Devin texts me and says he's in the airport so we go upstairs and visit him and his friend before they board to take off to Honduras.
Right as I am going downstairs back to the A dungeon I get a call from scheduling telling me that I have a flight. So I go downstairs to check the rotation and its a Salt Lake City turn... which just means I go to salt lake and back again and be back in ATL by 7:30pm... no biggie except I'm so tired that I am starting to feel ill to my stomach from exhaustion.
Our flight is delayed due to them upgrading the B757 to a B767 so that everyone could get on... The flight was going good until this wacko jacko wannabe in her 40's tells us that she lost her luggage on board and she needs to find it so she can run off the plane to catch her connection... we understand so a flight attendant proceeds to ask her questions so we can find her mystery luggage. FA= flight attendant & WJ= wacko jacko.
FA: "Where are you sitting?"
WJ: She looks at all her boarding cards... about 3 or 4 of them from previous flights and just baffled says "I dunno"
FA: "Ma'am... what seat did you just stand up from?"
WJ: "I cant remember"
*sigh*
FA: "What does your suitcase look like?"
WJ: "It's black with a polka dotted pink ribbon on it.
FA2: "No ma'am... that's MY suitcase."
WJ: "oh. Well I think my suitcase might be orange then."
FA: "Lets just go look for it."
They look forever and cant figure out where she put her suitcase... we make PA's asking passengers if they knew who this lady was or if they remembered seeing her with her luggage somewhere.
After the WJ looked in every overhead bin 3 times and looking at every tag on every bag over 3 times... and after concerned passengers ask us why this lady is flying alone... she finally finds her bag... guess what? It's over the seat she was sitting in... and guess what? It's blue.
I just don't have enough patience for that stuff.
We land... we board again to go back to ATL... everything is normal until they announce that the weather is bad in ATL and we don’t have enough fuel to keep circling the airport so we head to Nashville to refuel... only me... I swear.... only me would they linger my comfy bed in front of when I had one hour of sleep... I could SMELL my house I was so close. Some passengers just wanted to get off in Nashville because that was their final destination anyways... but we weren’t allowed because that would delay us even more... In Nashville my flight leader tells me that there is a passenger in 17A that only speaks Spanish and if I could go explain to him in Spanish what was going on... well he ended up being from Chile... Temuco to be exact... so it was like finding a long lost family member...even though we had never met before... we talked about all the good Chilean things. :)
Finally back in the air and we got to Atlanta at 10 something pm... more than 3 hours from the time when I was supposed to originally be in.
So I am tired... tomorrow I go to Guadalajara... which I’m not too excited about... but whatever... I am about to attempt sleeping at the A lounge tonight... I'm scared...
I will see you in the air.... peace out!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Guadalajara, the SA zoo, & San Juan
Monday, July 21, 2008
Current mood: rejuvenated
July 15- 19
I already blogged about Guadalajara... but I have one picture to share and add to the collection of hotel sunset views... my new favorite. :)
I got to San Antonio on the 17th after Guadalajara and went to the zoo with my boyfriend, Rick... the zoo is my happy place. I love the zoo! The San Antonio zoo is actually a pretty good one. There is a butterfly exhibit where you can walk in and they can land on you. I’ve only been to one other one and I believe it was in Costa Rica which definitely kicked SA's butt. It was a really, really hot day out but we had fun.
We saw some monkeys and I’m pretty sure that they were on something... the one kept licking the wall which reminded me of Super Troopers... "the snozzberries taste like snozzberries"
the other one was just staring at us with his teeth and hair and eyes all crazy-like...
Anyways... that was all about the zoo...
The next day I went to San Juan, PR. And we had a whole soccer team on board... it's only a 3 hour flight and they drank every drop of liquor we had on board throwing out hundreds and pulling out their credit cards... apparently they had left Puerto Rico as the biggest loosers of the league and they were gone for 18 days and came back number one! So they were celebrating and inviting us to these parties... half of them looked like David Beckham... when we landed they were all pretty intoxicated and everyone was waiting for them and they got a huge applause when they came out of the airport and there were cameras to interview them... they interviewed us since we were their flight attendants... we dodged all the questions from the boys about where we were staying and blew off the parties... they wouldn't remember us anyways. haha Anyways... they entertained our night.
I woke up and had such a nice view from my hotel.
Something was wrong with our plane so we were delayed about an hour and we weren’t sure if we were even going to go out. But we finally made it back to Atlanta then rushed to go to Richmond and then back again... then I rushed to get on my plane to come to San Antonio... So from 7:45 am until 10 pm I was in uniform. I was tired. but like my friend DJ says... no one ever wants to hear how tired you are. ;)
I’m just chillaxin today and hopefully I get to get my hair done tnight... then fly back to Atlanta to hop in my car and drive to Nashville the 4 hours... and I’m so excited to wear different clothes and shoes and sleep in my bed and start packing up my apartment. whew! That's about it for now.
Current mood: rejuvenated
July 15- 19
I already blogged about Guadalajara... but I have one picture to share and add to the collection of hotel sunset views... my new favorite. :)
I got to San Antonio on the 17th after Guadalajara and went to the zoo with my boyfriend, Rick... the zoo is my happy place. I love the zoo! The San Antonio zoo is actually a pretty good one. There is a butterfly exhibit where you can walk in and they can land on you. I’ve only been to one other one and I believe it was in Costa Rica which definitely kicked SA's butt. It was a really, really hot day out but we had fun.
We saw some monkeys and I’m pretty sure that they were on something... the one kept licking the wall which reminded me of Super Troopers... "the snozzberries taste like snozzberries"
the other one was just staring at us with his teeth and hair and eyes all crazy-like...
Anyways... that was all about the zoo...
The next day I went to San Juan, PR. And we had a whole soccer team on board... it's only a 3 hour flight and they drank every drop of liquor we had on board throwing out hundreds and pulling out their credit cards... apparently they had left Puerto Rico as the biggest loosers of the league and they were gone for 18 days and came back number one! So they were celebrating and inviting us to these parties... half of them looked like David Beckham... when we landed they were all pretty intoxicated and everyone was waiting for them and they got a huge applause when they came out of the airport and there were cameras to interview them... they interviewed us since we were their flight attendants... we dodged all the questions from the boys about where we were staying and blew off the parties... they wouldn't remember us anyways. haha Anyways... they entertained our night.
I woke up and had such a nice view from my hotel.
Something was wrong with our plane so we were delayed about an hour and we weren’t sure if we were even going to go out. But we finally made it back to Atlanta then rushed to go to Richmond and then back again... then I rushed to get on my plane to come to San Antonio... So from 7:45 am until 10 pm I was in uniform. I was tired. but like my friend DJ says... no one ever wants to hear how tired you are. ;)
I’m just chillaxin today and hopefully I get to get my hair done tnight... then fly back to Atlanta to hop in my car and drive to Nashville the 4 hours... and I’m so excited to wear different clothes and shoes and sleep in my bed and start packing up my apartment. whew! That's about it for now.
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