City Of Love...

Hello Paris, we meet again!  Flew through the night on a 767 to France; the flight itself was uneventful.  Arrived in Paris a little after 8AM here (that's like 2AM at home), made the hour long bus ride to the hotel & then crashed out for a few hours.  When I woke up, it was time to take on the city.  Solo.  Which is just what I needed to get out of this funk I have been in.

First up, I took the Metro down to the Eiffel Tower.

I have taken on numerous major cities by myself, but this was a whole new beast trying to attempt to go out in a foreign country without anyone else to hold my hand (and feel free to shoot me a virtual high five because I didn't get lost even once).  Turns out I don't need the help & sometimes I just need that reminder!  It's nice to know I am independent and self sufficient and all of these other awesome qualities that sometimes I forget about.  In order to make things as easy as possible, I decided that Eiffel Tower was "home base" today.  No matter what, I knew if I made it back there that I could get back home (and yes, by "home" I mean the hotel). The game plan was to just always know where in relation to home base I was - easy enough.  According to the handy dandy map I got from "home", it appeared that if I just followed the River Seine I would be golden.  So, that's what I did.  I walked....and walked...and walked some more.  During my walk I for sure had lots of love thrown my way - again, this was my first time out in Paris by myself and let me tell you, when you don't have an escort there are many, many Frenchmen who are super willing to fill that role.  I had Marq, who stopped his bike dead in it's tracks to talk to me.  He was so set on us chatting that he even rang his sister in London to help him out with the language barrier when his English failed him.  Marq was my guide for a few blocks until I made up a story about my super strong boyfriend that I am madly in love with.  Hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  I managed to ditch Marq just a few blocks shy of The Louvre:

Next time, I WILL make room in my schedule to go in there. After that stop, it was just a quick jaunt to Notre Dame:

 I had a reality check while I was sitting in the pretty little park, eating my crepe, staring at the Notre Dame.  Who does this!?  I mean really, who gets to spend their day walking the streets of Paris & grab a quick bite to eat outside a world famous church all while getting paid!?  It's times like these where I just LOVE my job...

I did have a moment today where I got super homesick though.  Those of you who know me know that I have 2 "Schnisters" who have been with me my entire life & are my soulmates.  They understand me better than the rest of the world & they are my true happy place - they love me unconditionally.  Anyways, I had always said that one day the 3 of us would have a lock on a bridge (if you think I am crazy, please read the following link & mentally apologize to me http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_padlocks) & today when I came across a very famous one it made me wish they were there.  I mean, I always wish they were there with me to share my adventures, but today I was sort of weepy thinking about how much I wish that they could have experienced this happy day with me because having them there was about the only thing that could have made it better.

Paris is just so lovely.  The nice thing is, it thinks the same about me!  We already discussed in a previous blog (and briefly above) that I enjoy being told I am pretty - well, I spent the entire day fielding "Ooh La La's", kisses, smiles and lunch dates.  It was such an ego boost - how could I NOT spend the day smiling.  Honestly, everyone was so nice to me.  When I walked past a cafe I would get a handful of "Bonjours", each time I asked for help people were willing to assist my confused American butt, gentlemen would stop their bike just to chat or tell me I was a beauty, ect. One good looking man (Jef was his name) even stopped his bike during the light show at the Eiffel Tower to watch with me since "no one should have such a romantic moment all alone".  Everything here really does just ooze love & romance.  The nicest person by far though was the old man who didn't like that I was out walking alone at night (hey, I wanted to catch the Eiffel Tower lights) because he "doesn't trust the Romany's", so he walked me to the Metro station just to make sure I made it there safely.  We parted ways with an "Au Revoir" and a kiss to each cheek so I got to feel really legit.  How could that not melt a gal's heart?  Paris, you didn't fail to live up to your nickname & I for sure feel the love!  Thanks for being so good to me, the smiles & the all around happy day.  Jusqu'à la prochaine fois, Paris!  

No Habla Espanol...

Angie's adventures in A Days continues...as I sit here & write this latest blog from Bogota, Columbia.  Yep, 2 days after being in Europe I am now in South America.

View from my hotel room

I was chilling at Hannah & Megan's apartment in NYC, waiting for Meg to get up from her nap so we could get our nails done, when Scheduling rang to let me know I was being short called for a flight to Bogota.  LUCKY ME!  So I high tailed it to JFK to make it to the gate in time to board the plane.  At the gate I met Mike (this sweet Puerto Rican who is also Christian and speaks Spanish faster than anyone ever should) and Marlo (our adorable Columbian flight leader) & said they were happy to have me come along since they only allow pretty people on their flights.  Naturally that was all it took for me to fall in love with them (I like to be told I am pretty, what of it???).  I was ready & raring to go...until it was time to go...

Mind you, I have been fighting off the beginnings of a cold since Copenhagen & it decided to fight back right at the beginning of our flight.  Great timing, right?  About 5 minutes into boarding, as I was hiding out in the back galley trying to find a home for the 8 trillion bottles of water that catering just left sitting around, Mike warned me that these passengers are typically a bit needy.  Understatement!  The best part?  About 80% of these overly needy passengers spoke Spanish only.  Pretty sure I got cussed out, but I suppose ignorance is bliss.  It was a weird sort of Twilight Zone I lived in for 6 some hours - both of the other FA's spoke Spanish to each other the majority of the time, they were the ones who had to assist the passengers, and the passengers couldn't even understand my really witty jokes & so no one laughed at them (ugh).  It actually even felt sort of lonely not really having anyone from my culture on the plane - no one likes being the odd man out.  I did manage to make it on my own handing out meals - "pollo o pasta?"  Thanks Mom & Dad for paying for my private school education 15 years ago..I bet you guys feel great knowing you spent all of that money so that it could come in handy while I was handing out meals on a plane headed to Columbia.  Good looking out!  My favorite passenger though was this grumpy little old man that spoke okay English.  He was so gruff, but I managed to melt his heart halfway through the flight by chatting with him - he was so excited when I told him this was my first time to Columbia. He got very animated & I think he told me about all the things I should do while I was here, but since I only understood about every other word he said I just nodded & smiled.  That must have been good enough for him because he kept calling "La Senorita Bonita" through the rest of the flight & smiled at me every time I walked past him in the aisle....and then patted me on the butt when it was time to go.  Anyone else would have gotten slapped, but he was harmless.  I think.  

Once we got to Bogota, Mike informed me it was only 40 degrees outside.  Eesh.  Ok, I didn't necessarily pack for THAT weather.  Oh, and we were 2,600 feet above sea level - which would explain the shortness of breathe I was experiencing.  So, it's 11:30PM our time, cold, I am sick, and now I can't breathe.  Awesome.  Oh, but my night got better!  Once we got to customs, they made me wait a solid 45 minutes before letting me through since my name wasn't on the original paperwork from my employer.  It was slightly unsettling standing there while customs agents were clearly talking about me in a language I didn't understand but all I knew is they were NOT letting me go to my hotel to go to sleep like I so desperately wanted.  Much to my good fortune, the pilots behind me in line were telling me how I was going to be detained and have to stay in INTERPOL.  Thanks, guys!  FINALLY they let me through, so it was off to our hotel shuttle we trekked.  I expected to experience relief once I got to the shuttle because that meant we were in the home stretch to bed, but it's pretty hard to be relieved when you roll up to your ride & see that there is an escort waiting behind it just to ensure you aren't stolen for ransom on the way to the hotel.  Seriously.  Clearly we made it in one piece (so no worries, you don't have to start collecting money to get me back) & it only took me 20 minutes to find my room & figure out how to unlock the door.  Don't judge.

This morning I was resigned to the fact that I was getting myself a cup of Columbian coffee.  They did me one better though & the hotel gives us complimentary breakfast.  The spread was amazing...fruits, cheese, breads, empanada, kibe, tamale, fresh squeezed juices from fruits I had never heard of...you name it.  It was one of the best meals I have had in a hot second. Americas really should take lessons from other cultures on how to prepare good, clean, unprocessed & greasy food.  I even managed to order a coffee with milk in Spanish all by myself.  I would have also asked for a beer, where the beach was & called someone an ugly dog (seeing as that is about the rest of my Spanish speaking ability right there), but no moments presented themselves.  While I was enjoying my coffee & the lovely view outside, Marlo came down for breakfast and asked if he could join me.  Then, he took me out for a walk!  I would have been soooo lost without him & his ability to speak Spanish past calling someone names or trying to get drunk off of beer. First he took me to the supermarket to pick up some coffee to take home to my Mom & local treats.  Then told me more about the beauty of Bogota while we walked in the 65 degree weather to a little square with an outdoor market.  How gorgeous is this view?

My favorite was the market.  Marlo had to translate with the people selling goods, but it was so interesting to listen to everyone talking Spanish. Everyone had their goods laid out on blankets & loved to tell stories about what they were selling. I even managed to bat my eyes & smile my way into getting this to die for pair of peacock earring for half the price.  That vendor got a hug when it was all done, haha.  Everything there was handmade & super cheap for such good quality - you can't find that back in the States.  I could have spent all day shopping (thankfully I was smart enough to leave most of my cash at home).  How do you like my new earrings (ignore the fact that I have on no makeup and my eyes are puffy)?

All in all, my first opinion of Columbia was drastically changed after the little jaunt we took for a few hours this morning.  Everything here is so GREEN - it's amazingly pretty.  The people are sooooo sweet instead of the gun toting drug cartel I was worried about.  Or at least I think they are, since they all speak Spanish they could be talking all sorts of smack about me & planning my abduction and I wouldn't be the wiser.  You know what they say...ignorance is bliss!  :)

Hej Fra København...

It's 8:01PM here in NYC, but my body thinks it should be somewhere around 2AM.  Hooray for jet lag!  I'm totally jumping the gun, so let's back the Airbus up and start with how I got 6 hours ahead of schedule.

First, I am going to have to explain the magic of "A Days".  A Days are built into a flight attendant's line & can range anywhere from 3-6 days typically (unless you are Noelle & the most junior FA in the system..then you just get screwed with about a trillion).  During these days, a flight attendant is on call 24/7 and must keep his/her phone glued to their person because scheduling could be calling at any moment with an assignment.  Where that trip is, no one knows.  You are basically owned by Scheduling for the duration of your A Days.  That is the downside of this whole A Day thing...the paranoia that the phone could ring at any moment (the worst is when they call while you are showering...it's like they KNOW).  The upside to A Days is that it is a crap shoot & though sometimes you might get a really crappy trip doing 4-5 legs a day with 10 hours rest every night (like the one I have starting tomorrow...sigh...), OR you can get sent somewhere fabulous like Copenhagen, Denmark.

My A Days started the 20th & for the majority of the day there was nothing on my schedule (well, except for a few naps, which I took the liberty of penciling in).  Around 2PM I noticed that they assigned me to a Zurich trip that reported the evening of the 21st. Awesome - I have always wanted to check it out!  Even better, I had talked my Mom into flying over to NYC to be a passenger on my flight out there & enjoy the 28 hour layover with me.  Pretty sure Scheduling knew that Zurich couldn't handle 2 Zell women in the city at one time because about an hour later I got a call from them letting me know that Zurich was off and Copenhagen for the 20th was on.  Time to jump in the shower - Denmark or bust!  Not going to lie, I was pouting slightly because now my Mom couldn't come along and I was going to have to work that night and yada yada.  All I kept thinking was "WHY do I always have the worst FA luck!?".  However, sometimes even the worst FA luck has to take a day off.  To start, my entire crew was A-MA-ZING.  Every single person was super chill & we all worked extremely well together.  Some of my faves were:
 Sander - the 36 year old from Budapest that was a professional ballroom dancer & had even been in Cirque de Soleil for awhile.  Probably the sweetest FA I have ever worked with.  He's seriously adorable.
Cameron, a sweet 28 year old from Texas with big blonde hair, who is a second generation FA.
Kendra, our Purser - a black woman from LA who somehow managed to be super chill but still maintain this edge about her that you know you weren't going to get far if you messed with her.

The flight there went well enough & we even got to the hotel & our rooms without issue.  After a quick nap, off we went to check out the city of Copenhagen.  To which I owe an apology because it was FABULOUS!  The people were so chill (and gorgeous), the city was clean, the architecture was astounding, and the weather was perfect (75 and sunny).  We started our little romp with a boat tour around the city to check out the sites:

Best $13 (or 75 Krone) I've spent in a hot second.  We finished off the day walking around the city & getting dinner at an outdoor cafe while we listened to a French singer.  It's crazy, but we had 7 of the 8 crew members (our language speaker went home to visit family in Copenhagen) come out for the day - that's pretty much as rare as seeing a unicorn (so now I'm totally holding out hope for a possible sighting...fingers crossed).  Basically, it took one day for me to fall in love with Copenhagen.

Memories from the trip:

• the LOD (our language speaker) calling me over to tell me that apparently the 3 guys checking me out didn't know he spoke Danish, but he had heard them talking about how pretty I was for the last 5 minutes while they stood 5 feet away.  Busted.
• The crazy lady who got mad at all of us that we wouldn't let her take all of the newspapers from Business Elite (mind you, she wasn't sitting in BE nor had we handed out the newspapers to them yet) & after screaming & stomping her rollerbag proceeded to try and rip the papers but when she realized they were too thick & she couldn't do it, she threw them and stormed off.
• Having the secret code "so long" with Sander & Cameron for anyone we thought was cute that was deplaning.  Hehe...
• The Captain buying all of us Danishes for the flight home to make sure we could say we had a Danish in Denmark.
• Having Serena Williams tennis sparing partner on our flight home.

Now here I sit waiting for the clock to tick down so that I can go to bed and try and kick this jet lag because the next thing that is going to be kicked is my bum during this 3 day trip coming up tomorrow.  Yep, an A Day trip - one day you're in Denmark wondering how you got so lucky to fall into this crazy job that takes you everywhere you've ever wanted to see (and places you didn't know you did) & the next you are going up & down in an MD88 all day, sweating to death & getting to Des Moines, IA just long enough to sleep, wake up, drink some coffee & do it all over again.  That's not until tomorrow though...again, getting hours ahead of schedule...there will be time for more jet lag tomorrow!  

My Girls, 3AM & A Turkey Sub...

Here I sit in Greensboro, NC chowing down on my turkey sub.  It was slim pickings for food around the hotel (I had a 2 block maximum radius today because I am tired), so Subway it was.  Oh joy (read that as dripping with sarcasm...and DON'T try and stick up for Subway right now because I'm not hearing it).  Seeing as how this is the only thing I have eaten today aside from the banana I swiped from the first class basket this morning on our way into ATL (this would probably make the 3,286th time I have eaten a banana for breakfast during my career as an FA), I am putting the hurt on this sub despite my whines.

This trip has been a bit brutal, with 6AM flights each day.  Do you know what that means?  It means I need to be to the aircraft at 5AM, which means leaving the hotel a bit after 4AM, which means setting my alarm for 3AM (ok, 2:45AM because I am a snoozer).  Walking to the crew runner in NY to start this trip I actually passed by bars with people still drinking the night away.  Seriously.  Remember you read this the next time you get on a flight and think about making special requests from your FA - your life may depend on it.  While I am in an advice giving mood, my jetiquette tip for today is this: if the flight you're on is an hour or less & you see the FA's scrambling to get a beverage service done (this means for the ENTIRE plane, not just your row), PLEASE do NOT order a Diet Coke.  It's the simple logic of Henry's Law:  "At a constant temperature, the amount of a given gas that dissolves in a given type and volume of liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas in equilibrium with that liquid."  In a nutshell: that aspartame tainted crap takes about 3 times longer to pour than any other beverage on my cart because it fizzes up so much.   You are cramping my style.

Ok, so this trip hasn't been all bad.  I LOVE MY CREW.  Both of the other FA's are chill & super nice - I needed this crew after the drama of my last 2 trips (no offense Hannah, you know I love you).  Another reason why I didn't trade out this trip?  Last night's layover was in Madison, WI so that could only mean 1 thing....

CASS & LAILA CAME TO SEE ME!!!!

That's right, I had my 2 favorite gals to myself for the evening.  We went swimming, got a bite to eat, chilled in bed, did our nails & just enjoyed our time together relaxing.  Laila loves hotel living - I think we sealed the deal when she got to go in the bath tub, turn on the whirlpool jets & fill the thing up with a bottle of shower gel for some gnarly bubbles.  Pretty sure we might have a future FA in the making on our hands - she loves everything about my job. When it came time for them to leave last night, she dissolved into tears because she didn't want to "leave Ang to sleep all by herself". How awful am I that (even though I felt bad) it made me feel super loved that she was sad she had to leave me?  Anyways, being able to get on a plane & see these 2 whenever I want on my days off, let alone get paid to do it, is a HUGE perk to my job.  In my opinion, it might be the best perk.  Not just because I miss them every day & this helps with missing them, but also because I know it gives Cass peace of mind that my parents & I are just a flight away when she needs us.

Well, I have successfully killed my sub & am trying to talk myself into paying some bills online before I hit the sack since I need to get up at 3AM yet again for a 4 leg day. If there is anything I should try & teach Laila the next time I see her, it's that growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be!

Home Is Where The Heart Is....

You know how most people have some time off of work & they can't wait to go somewhere - anywhere - for a few days? Yeah, on my vacations I go home.  People say it's where the heart is - to me, it's where the peace & quiet, sweat pants & couch is.  Oh, and Archie...

I am home for 5 days.  You hear me???  5 GLOOOORRRIIIOOUUUSSS DAYS!!!!!  I was always my parent's independent child (they couldn't send me to my room for punishment because when the "time out" was over I would just chill in there for another 2 hours by myself), but even the biggest loner gets homesick here & there.  Ok, maybe it is more "normalcy sick"...I miss home cooked meals, being able to get in my car and drive wherever I need to go, getting a drink with my friends down the road at the local pub, going to church on Sunday morning.  The little things - having a weekend off or being able to RSVP "yes" to a friend's wedding.  For these next few days I get to not worry about report times, delays, weather, catching the crew runner, or if the shower at my crash pad is free at 5AM.  I am getting giddy at the thought!

I earned these 5 days off.  6 days of work in a row with an estimated 4AM wake up call most of those days.  Yesterday was supposed to be my easy day, but as my flight attendant luck goes, we topped off day #6 with a 2 hour delay out of Atlanta, irate passengers (New Yorkers to boot), a sinus headache, a bad hair day (yes, I did just mention that...what of it), our crazy flight leader still ticking off already ticked off New York passengers, and not getting into LGA until 12:30AM.  Fear not, the fun doesn't stop there!  Since everything in NYC takes 3 times longer than it needs to, (and that includes getting to my crash pad) I decided to just retire in the crew room.  No, we don't have beds in there, but we DO have chairs that you can push together to scrunch up on and hand-me-down red blankets to put over your legs so when your skirt gets all twisted up no one can see your unmentionables.  Yep, the exotic life of flight attending that we keep hidden from the rest of you so that you won't get super jealous! Managed to snag about 3 hours of sorta vampire zombie sleep contorted up on the chairs (which I had to keep getting up to push back together), then it was back up top to catch the 6AM back to DTW.  Or so I thought...but Mother Nature (I called her a word today that I can't write on here because my mom reads my blog...) had other ideas.  What's every commuter's worst nightmare?  A bad storm and an airport monitor covered in red.  Before you worry too much about me, rest assured that I am a resourceful little minx (and apparently a still sleep deprived one because why the heck am I referring to myself as a minx...?) & had already booked the jumpseat on the 7:15AM flight home a few days before.  Boom.  A few hours later than I thought, my dry contacts and I were in my cute little Focus driving down 94.  FREEDOM!!!

Anyways, the next time you are sitting in an airport waiting to fly to your next vacation & see an overly tired looking flight attendant with a glazed over look in her eyes, be nice to her...she is probably on day #6 & day dreaming about getting home to her own bed (that she knows without a doubt is bed bug free) where she can just let her hair down (literally) & doesn't have to wear anything polyester for a few days.  Ahhh....sweatpants....now THAT sounds like vacation to me!

That's What Friends Are For...

You know what one of the great things about my job is?  I get to travel around with my friends goofing off in random cities and having fun on planes.  Plus, it's just nice to know that if I have a cliffhanger or something, that at least one member of the crew will come right out and tell me (stop sitting there imagining me with a cliffhanger).

I backed up two 3 day trips together, and the first 3 day was a rough one so I was realllllly looking forward to the next one where I got to work with the fabulous Hannah.  Hannah & I met in training & became buddies during the 7 weeks it takes to beat flight attending into our heads.

                                                                                  Hannah & me at training

Hannah is awesome - she is soft spoken, so sweet she will give you a cavity, sees the best in every situation, is passionate about photography & dance, great at telling a story and has a large amount of common sense (which I value in friends...especially the ones I work with).  Not only is she awesome, but she has the world's nicest family & boyfriend (Nick) who all took me under their wing when I couldn't be home with my own (family that is...boyfriend...meh....) during the 7 weeks in Atlanta.  In a nutshell, she is just one of those people that is easy to be around & you instantly just really like.

Anyways, we started off with a slumber party at her & Megan's apartment the night before our trip; that way we could catch the crew runner together.  We were about to call it a night, when Hannah's phone rings & scheduling lets her know her report & terminal were changed.  So I looked my schedule up & would you believe mine was changed as well.  Ummm....crap.  Long story short, it was NOT a good change so we spent 1 hour and 45 minutes on the phone with scheduling trying to come up with a compromise.  Thanks to our tag team phone efforts,  help from some coworkers, a little bit of stubborness, & knowing our work rules we managed to get things fixed a bit.  That 3 hours of sleep we fought for were much needed.  If you have never had to set your alarm for 4AM consider yourself lucky (or in my case, 4AM or earlier for about 6 days in a row now).

We should have known with the way this trip started that it was going to be a doozy.  No, seriously.  I mean, we all joke that I have REALLY bad flight attendant luck, but even I was shocked by the sequence of bad luck on this trip.  First, our deadhead was delayed from 8:10AM to 1:30PM (of course, after we had already arrived at LGA).  Cue the schedule change, where they took away our glorious, amazing trip with 18 hours in PDX (that got done at 2PM) and 15 hours in STL.  Day #1 we were now just double deadheading (for those of you who don't know airline lingo, a "deadhead" is when a crew member is riding on the plane as a passenger on company business) to St. Louis to only have 11 hours on the ground.  Day #2 we were scheduled to work 3 flights, with 23 hours in ATL (ask anyone, I think Atlanta is ratchet).  Day #2 our Flight Leader managed to prove he is cray cray (I would go into detail, but there was more than 1 report I had to fill out about him so I should probably keep the details between me, the crew & the passenger he went postal on) on more than one occasion.  Oh, and on 1 flight alone we had 4 Unaccompanied Minors, 7 wheelchairs & 3 blind passengers (this is pretty much unheard of & creates ALOT of extra work...we never mind it, but it does add to the workload) .  Oh and don't forget the 2 hour delay in Austin  yesterday too; just for fun.  Now I sit here in my hotel in Atlanta glaring at the rain because it messed up my plans to sit poolside all day.  I can't even blame Hannah for turning to me yesterday and saying "you know I love you, but I am NEVER flying with you & your bad luck again".  She will be back...she can't quit me.  ;)

                                                                Who's happy to be deadheading again???

My point is, after the insanity of the past few days (trust me when I say I gave you the BRIEF summary of the drama) I would have been close to grabbing some beers and jumping down a slide if it weren't for the fact that having a good friend in the crew kept me sane.  We were tired & stressed, but at least we had each other!  Working the cart, sitting on the same jumpseat, greeting at the door...we did it all together (and made for a wonderful team with stellar communication & efficiency, which is every FA's dream) & had more fun than any normal people should while handing out pretzels to 200 passengers.  We got to walk around St Louis together & enjoyed dinner while laughing about stuff.  Passengers were having a good time on our flights because WE were having a good time together.  Even when something bad came up, we had each other to vent to about it so we could get over it quickly & move on back to smiling and fun.  When we FINALLY got to Atlanta (after hands down the worst experience I have ever had with a coworker on a plane), Nick (Hannah's boyfriend) was there to take not only her, but me (and Jenny, the other FA that we befriended in our crew) to get some food at 10PM because we were starving.  Only a pretty amazing friend invites you to tag along with her & her boyfriend after spending 13 hours with you on a plane (and not to mention she hadn't seen Nick in over a week).  Flight Attendant bonds run deep because for days/weeks at a time, all we really have is each other while we are away from family & friends.

Some of my fave/most entertaining moments from the past 2 days:

• Watching the little boy make his toy plane take off in conjunction with our take off.
• Hannah's excitement after someone told her she looked like a Disney princess.
•  Helping a blind man up the jet bridge, and as I was telling him to watch his step I managed to trip on a wheelchair & wipe out. 
• The little girl who wanted to be best friends & asked me when she came back if I would be her FA again.
• The little chubby boy who gave Hannah & I hugs upon deplaning.
• The creepy Asian guy wouldn't stop staring at Jenny while he smiled at her and played with his puffy hair during lunch.
• Hannah: "yes, I did just order a wine & now I am coloring."
• Being told by more than one passenger that Hannah, Jenny &  I were the best crew they have ever had.
• Teaching passengers how to play "Set" while sitting at the gate during out delay.  
• * Telling a UM that he needed to stay seated during the deplaning process until one of us came to grab him because I hated running & if he made me do it in heels I was really going to be put out.

It's still raining here in Atlanta, where I sit until my flight at 7:30PM.   Like a good friend, Hannah invited me to the park to hang with Nick, her Dad & her puppy but she deserves some time to herself.  Plus I am pretty sure I deserve a nap.

That's What She Said...

Sometimes when I am on FB, I pull up that random "Places" tab & just stare at how many little purple tabs there are dotting my visits all over the U.S. & beyond. It's kinda cool/crazy to think about all of the opportunities I've had to visit so many places. For whatever random reason, tonight I started going through the comments I wrote when I checked in to the different airports. I tried to piece together some snippets, just for a few giggles.  I am a pretty blessed gal, even if sometimes my lack of coffee induced rants get the better of me...hope you all enjoy the random thoughts of a silly FA as much as I enjoyed looking back at my crazy check in's over the last few years.  ;)

***

"I'm hitting up the high roller tables". Said no member of a regional flight crew. Ever. —  Las Vegas McCarren Int'l Airport.

That special time of day again where I grace the crew room with my polyester and nylon clad presence. — at Detroit Michigan International Airport.

Must. Find. Coffee. — at Salt Lake City Intntl. Airport.

Omg, they have pretzel m&ms in the first class baskets now! Who called catering and told them to make me fat!? — at Memphis International Airport.

Customer compliment card and a cute guys digits. Yep, just brushed the shoulders off. — at DSM International Airport.

2 day trip that turned into a 3 day? Check.

Broken rollerbag handle? Check.

Sore back from broken rollerbag? Check

4am wake up call to get 5am van? Check

If you see me today, just turn and run.... — at MSP Airport.

Thanks to a woman who had a panic attack, I made it! — at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (In regards to getting the last seat while sitting standby - I've got some bad karma coming my way for the numerous amounts of happy dances I have made because I got on the flight since someone else didn't make it)

Home! Had a seat over the wings and as we got on the ground this little old lady goes "that dog sure is unhappy". Had to explain that noise she was hearing wasn't a dog barking, but just gears. Hahaha! I love old people. :) — at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

Its hot - I threw up. In an airport. Wearing a polyester dress. Not my morning... — at Memphis International Airport.

I was sort of banking on that whole Mayan end of the world thing so I didn't have to work this less than amazing 4 day trip.  Well played Mayans...well played... — at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

Talking about sexy stuff....like eating Waffle House. The epitome of "hurts so good". —  at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Standing in the food court trying to decide what's for lunch....or as I call it: "food poisoning roulette". — at MSP Airport.

Why do I always come here on Sundays? Chick fil a taunts me.... — at Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport.

Its not Sunday and I'm in msp on a break. I win this round, chick fil a! — at Minneapolis Saint Paul Int Airport.  (yes, there is for sure a theme here...don't judge...)

NYC bound! Started the day having TSA search my hair for weapons. Seriously. —  at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

Does it make me weird that I thoroughly enjoy random high fives from passangers when they walk off the plane?

I think I'm slap happy... — at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Heading home...you know, the real home in Michigan where my license says I reside. Sometime I get confused cause I'm here more than there. — at MSP Airport.

Done! I didn't think this time would ever come! About to kiss the jet bridge! — at Oklahoma City International Airport.

I would rather be at the beach. Or Chick Fil A. — at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

I just pulled a Ke$ha on my nylons. Oopsie. — at Delta Terminal - Memphis International Airport.

My little jetiquette tip for the day....when seated on an airplane, the only time you should ever use the back of the seat in front of yours to hoist yourself up should be if you want the person sitting in said seat to have fantasies about jacking you in the face.

You. Are. Welcome. — at Detroit Michigan International Airport.

Trying to decide which would be the lesser of evils...a zombie apocolypse or working this next flight. — at Memphis International Airport.

I might be smiling, but in my head I've already punched 4 people.  — at Memphis International Airport.

Feeling kinda sad today until the fa I'm working with said she saw my name and knew it would be a good 4 day because she's heard so many nice things about me. — at John F Kennedy International Airport.

Time to come back home so that everyone can stop crying. I mean, I assume that's what all of you do when I am not home, right? — at La Guardia International Airport: Delta Airlines Terminal.

Called. Out. I was chatting (which is not the same as flirting, for the record) with the guy (ok, he was cute...but that's not totally relevant) in row 20 next to my jumpseat and as we were deplaning the lady in front of him turns around and politely asked him for a pen. She then made him write his number down and she handed it to me. Didn't know my face could turn that red! — at Indianapolis International Airport.

I will not let mean passengers ruin my holiday spirit....I will not let mean passengers ruin my holiday spirit....I will not let mean passengers ruin my holiday spirit... — at Nashville International Airport (BNA).

Pretty sure that our gate agents name tag read "supreme overlord of douchiness".... — at Pittsburgh lnternational Airport.

Done! I had 4 people on that last flight tell me it was the best flight and I was the best fa they've ever had. Like. A. Boss. — at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

Fly to Charleston they said...its going to be a quick, easy turn they said. Liars!!! (Insert picture of old man on stretcher after he had a seizure on the plane) — at Charleston International Airport.

Creeper Stare Down 2012 victor is....Zell!! No one creeper eyes me and doesn't pay the price! — at John F Kennedy International Airport.

We now refer to seat 7B as "cranapple pants". Give you 1 guess how he got that name. Oops. — at Boston Logan International Airport.

So I had a "first"on the flight in. Some guy sat and rubbed his nipples the entire time I did my safety demo. Just when I thought I had seen it all.... — at Burlington International Airport.

I can feel this place saying "I knew you'd be back. They always come back." - at John F Kennedy International Airport.

***

I promise, I don't spend all day/every day being a grump.  Reduced rest does that to a gal.  I make no apologies for the obsession over Chic-Fil-A though.  Respect.  

It Begins With a Crash...

Well, I finally buckled under the pressure & have decided to start up a blog documenting this craziness that I call a job.  Quick rundown (for those of you who know & love me, just skip to paragraph 2 and save yourself 30 seconds of your life):  I am a 32 year old flight attendant from Michigan with 3 years of experience in the industry (first with a tiny regional based out of Detroit and now with a mainline carrier out of NYC).  I love my family & friends, bacon, glitter, nail polish, good looking men that aren't married, cats, petting cats while eating bacon, animal print, high heels, manners & traveling (I think that last one was a given).  I dislike people who chew with their mouths open, mustard, cardboard (don't judge), being broke all of the time, repeating myself, getting no sleep & douchebags.  I mean, this is just a super abbreviated list, but at least we covered the important stuff (you know, like bacon).

Anywho, I decided to finally start this up & am going to preempt all of this with 1) I have no clue what I am doing and 2) this first blog might be a downer, in light of the tragic situation involving flight 214 in SFO that occurred today. In case you have been hiding under a rock all day (or possibly flying for the last 12 hours & don't even know what time zone you're in let alone what happened in the world today...hey, it happens...), check out this link, read, process & come back to paragraph #3.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/asiana-airlines-crash-toll-dead-60-unaccounted/story?id=19595641&singlePage=true#.UdjOCPlJOAg

Today started out like any other day at work; woke up in Vegas at 3:30AM to make my 4:45AM bus & was pretty certain that the hardest part of my day was going to be getting that red dress zipped up by myself (seriously, you have to be a contortionist to get that thing zipped).  Fast forward a few hours later to our boarding a plane in DTW, headed out to SFO.  There I stood in the galley, rocking my best "welcome aboard, please be nice to me the next 5 hours" smile when the gate agent came busting down the jetbridge looking all stressed out (they do that alot, so I still wasn't concerned).  She pulls me aside to tell me we are delayed until 6PM because there was debris on the runway in SFO.  UGH!  DELAYED!  Before I even had a chance to pout about not getting any Chinese food with Xue tonight because now I was going to be on reduced rest (UGH...NO SLEEP), a red coat joined us in the galley and discreetly told me they were pulling everyone off of the plane because there had been a 777 that crashed in SFO & no one was sure of anything besides that.  All of you that know me know that my poker face could use some work, so while they are pulling people off of the flight I am attempting to quietly tell the flight leader the reason this is happening, all while fielding questions. I felt like such a dirty fibber dodging people's questions who had heard half of our super secret squirrel galley convo - telling them that there was a tiny glitch at SFO, I was sure everything was ok & that we would keep them posted as I got the "I wish you weren't a liar" look.

As soon as everyone was off of the plane, all of us were on our smart phones - trying to be the first to find ANY information.  Were there survivors?  What caused it?  Was the aircraft intact?  What airline?  Our captain gave us the quick rundown from dispatch, we turned on the IFE monitors on the plane, then sat & waited for any news on what the company wanted to do with us.  Not to be dramatic, but it was just odd sitting on a 757, surrounded by my crew, watching emergency vehicles hose down a smoking plane that has no tail & is broken in half.

Ask anyone that works on a plane - this is their worst nightmare.  The unthinkable.  What you train for weeks for (and by "train" I mean it is beaten into your head so you would know your commands in your sleep) & what you go back to recurrent training for each year to make sure you STILL know it.  A plane crash.  Even worse, an unanticipated plane crash - one moment you are just chilling in your jumpseat & the next everything has gone to pot.

This is the part where I give HUGE props to the flight crew of 214 because if they didn't know their stuff, more than 2 lives would have been lost.  It is SO EASY to become complacent in our line of work; we do 4-5 flights a day sometimes and I admit I am guilty of forgetting we are in a jet propelled tube of fuselage full of gas that is floating in the sky.  This is the part where ya'll get a lecture - yes, we are there to make sure you get your peanuts & orange juice with 2 cubes of ice with a splash of club soda, but our sole reason to be on that aircraft is your SAFETY.  I think I heard it put best by an old coworker of mine from Mesaba: "we are there to save their asses, not kiss them!".  God forbid it ever happens, but if you are ever in a situation on a plane where there is ANY type of emergency (and no, I do not count you missing your connection an emergency), PLEASE listen to your flight attendants.  We are professionally trained to handle these situations & trust me when I say that training kicks in.  It could mean someone's life being saved (not to be dramatic).

Alright, I think that is enough doom & gloom for now!  I promise the next blog will be more "fun filled", less "airplane apocalypse".  We eventually cancelled the flight & I got to come home tonight, since we were in DTW.  Pretty much appreciating being in my own environment tonight surrounded by familiarity (even if I do have to get up at 4AM); guess today was a little tiny bit of a "how do you do" reminder that in the blink of any eye, everything can change.  Rolled in & everything was just as I left it   - Mom, Dad & Arch are all here and nothing has changed in the last 3 days - sadly, some of the people & their families in the crash today can't say the same thing.  Going to bed tonight saying a prayer for those people & then following that up with a big "thanks".