Hey Seoul Sister...

It's me again!

I bet you're wondering why I am standing in front of a staircase with a nerdy cheeser grin on my face, aren't you?  Well....that isn't any staircase!  That is a staircase on a Boeing 747!  I finally got to work on one!  Yep, this was a pretty cool "first" for me.

Why you ask was I on a 747?  Another "first" - I was sent to ICN (Seoul, South Korea) on my Adays.  Told you those adays come in handy sometimes (wink).  To date, this is the longest flight I have worked; over 13 hours going there.  I was so tired when we got in - after working for those 13 hours we then had to walk through the world's largest airport, go through customs & make an hour long drive to the hotel.  Somehow I made it into bed, but don't ask me how.  There was also the 13 hour time difference to contend with...which means I was up at 3AM ready to start the day.

Bigger planes don't mean bigger crew rest facilities.  Damn.

Exploring Seoul was fun.  It was no Europe, but it was such a cool experience nonetheless.  This was by far the most difficult city for me to navigate - in other countries I can make out pieces of the language & read where to go on the Subway and what not.  Korean symbols on the other hand...ummm...I'm dum.

The things I noticed were that hygiene out there isn't what I would like...people do alot of ear digging, nose picking, loogie spitting right in the open (and without sanitizing afterwards).  Gack!  I did manage to go to this little area of town know for it's shopping & got some good deals on little gifts for some loved ones.  Oh, and a silk robe for myself. The cute old woman who sold it to me talked me out of the aqua one: "old ladies here in Korea only ones wear bright. You no want to look old."  Alrighty then...dark green it is!  At least I managed to get a good price out of her because she thought I was pretty haha.

Pretty much love this robe

I was told that I HAD to try Bibimbap, so that was my day's mission.  FINALLY found a little place & sat down for my meal.  The little Korean man next to me thought I was so nice he actually even shared his Kimchi with me as well, just to make sure I got to try everything.  Thanks buddy!

Due to the rain & cold weather (squishy shoes are not a good look), I was back in my room by 5PM, fighting the urge to go to sleep.  The next day was going to bring another 13 hour flight back home.  Ugh...the flight home.  MEH!  First off, the airport security in Korea was CONVINCED I was packing a knife in my flight bag.  3 times they rifled through my bag, pulled more crap out, then sent it back through the scanner.  3 TIMES!!!  Do you know how annoying that is!?  Especially since that bag is put together like a puzzle of crap I need - it all goes in "just so".  Not happy.  I also sliced my mouth open while eating.  Yes, with a spoon.  The world's most evil spoon that was more like a knife than anything I had in my flight bag!  The irony of this was too much for me.

 I also had some VERY rude nonrevenue passengers to contend with.  My thought regarding them is that if you are lucky enough to have benefits where you don't pay for your seat, you should probably mind your manners.  Like, don't argue with me over the fact that we only have 2 reds to choose from.  Or send your meal back 3 separate times because you don't like any of them.  Not making any friends that way!  It's a good way to piss off a flight attendant & lose those benefits when she writes the company (no, I didn't do it but I REALLY wanted to).

While we are on passengers, this also reminds me of some jetiquette that needs to be addressed.  PLEASE oh PLEASE, if you need to get your flight attendant's attention, don't poke her/him.  It's like people intentionally find the spots you are the softest and jab that finger right on in there.  To be fair, I don't like when strangers touch me in general, but when their touch leaves me feeling like the Pillsbury dough boy...just, let's not go there.  Try raising your arm while I pass & say "excuse me you very lovely & charming flight attendant, I am sorry to trouble you with my neediness but is there any way I can get (insert object of desire here) when you have a free moment.  Even if that moment isn't right now.  By the way, did I mention how utterly gorgeous you are?"  If that is too much for you to recall, you try a simple "miss" (sans attitude) with your hand up so I can tell who needs me.  Works like a charm.  

Anyways, I am back in the states now & trying to get over this jet lag.  I've got it BAD.  I was hoping to go for a "first's" hat trick & not take a nap when I got home...but apparently that didn't happen because I woke up face down in a pillow 3 hours after the fact.  At least I made it up the stairs...they may not be on a fabulous 747 but they do lead to my bed in my own room & that is alright by me. 

"You see, I can be myself now finally

In fact, there's nothing I can't be

I want the world to see" ~ Hey Soul Sister by Train

Where You Invest Your Love, You Invest Your Life...

What a whirlwind the last 2 weeks have been.  Oy.

Last Friday, my Grandma Ma passed away.  Though I am so happy for her because she is in heaven now, where she so longed to be, I am really going to miss her.  She was probably the most excited person in my whole family when I started flying.  Back in her day, Flight Attendants (or stewardesses, if you will) were pretty legit & THE job to have.  She especially loved when I sent postcards from my travels; Ma lived in assisted living and loved showing off those postcards to pretty much anyone who would listen for a minute.  At one point she even told me people gathered around her mailbox "to see where Angie has been today".  Pretty sure that one might have been a bit of an exaggeration...for those of you that knew & loved her, you know she was good at spinning a tiny little tale.  In any case, she always loved to have a reason to show off her grandkids.  Each time she would get a new postcard, she would call & want to chat about it. Just like when I would have a few weeks off (so that meant no postcards) she would also call to let me know she hadn't received one in awhile & was wondering what happened to me (hint, hint). Doing this little thing made her so happy, that I found it made me happy too.  It was fun picking out the perfect postcard in between flights.  Sometimes I would have the rest of my crew write "hello" to her on them  as well just so she felt extra special.  One of my best friends, Katie, even started sending them to her from time to time.  She loved this gesture so much that she saved every one of those postcards.  When she passed, it was one of the 3 things I asked for - I wanted those postcards back.  You know what? Reading over all of them was like going through a little journal of all of my travels & brought smiles to my face.  The really fun ones are when I first started flying & everything was so new still & such an adventure.  I am so happy she kept them, that she loved them so much, that is was something special between the 2 of us & that something that took so little on my end brought her so much joy.

This crazy little job also allowed for Cassie (my sister) & Laila (my niece) to make it home for the funeral.  For those of you who don't know, Cassie has Cystic Fibrosis & is currently on the double lung transplant list in Wisconsin.  This means Cass doesn't really get to leave the state - unless she removes herself from the list (so clearly we encourage her to not leave the state).  Plus, a 6 hour car ride would probably be too much on her right now; especially with Laila.  Thanks to the perks at work, Cassie is already listed as my travel companion & is able to fly standby.  Thanks to Lucy (remember that gorgeous redhead I was super intimidated by in my last blog but ended up totally adoring), we were able to get Laila home on one of her Buddy Passes as well.  Last minute we threw them on a plane & 45 minutes later both of my favorite gals were in DTW where they both so badly wanted to be!  THANK YOU again , Lucy!!

Laila has been asking me for months now when she can "ride on one of Aunt Ang's planes".  Apparently from the moment Cass & Jer told her she was going to do just that, she wouldn't stop talking and was super geeked out.  From what I hear, she was also pretty taken with flying - Cass said she was happy to just sit in her window seat, eat crackers & watch the view.  At one point she did look down at the clouds and ask if they were in heaven...oh childlike faith.  It makes my heart happy that because of where I work & what I do, these 2 are able to have easier access to get home when they need to.  What a blessing!

To finish off my blog, I just got home last night from my first DTW based trip!!!!!  It is SO GOOD to be back in "The D"!  It was a nice, easy trip with a super laid back crew that all got along & worked well together. Maybe my emotions were still a bit raw with it being my first trip back since Ma passed, because there were a few little old ladies that made me nostalgic for a minute and a bit weepy eyed...and I got sad when I habitually went to grab a postcard & realized I don't have her to send them to anymore; so I was very happy there was no commuting to & from NYC (stressful) & that my crew were all grown adults that acted professionally & were easy to get along with.

Ahhh....the feeling of not having to worry about a commute home, but to just finish a trip, get in my car & drive to my bestie's for frozen yogurt.  Here's hoping the whirlwind subsides for a bit...but anyone in this industry knows that the only consistency about flying is there is NO consistency.  Time will tell what life is going to throw at me next - until then, keeping my eyes to the sky & trying to stay grounded.

"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
And where you invest your love, you invest your life."
- "Awake My Soul" by Mumford & Sons