BAH....HUMBUG!

I love Christmas.  Truly, it is one of my favorite times of year.  It is also one of my least favorite times of year because of the following 2 words: HOLIDAY FLYERS.

Why oh why is flying so hard for some people!??!?!  Sometimes I have to hum holiday tunes in my head just to get through work this time of year. It's a culmination of things.  There are the passengers that only fly once a year so they splurge and get that first class ticket.  This purchase comes complete with entitlement (apparently).  Therefore they walk on the plane thinking there should be a herald announcing their arrival, gold plated toilet paper, a roasted pig's head for dinner, and a sleep number mattress for their seat, while they "poo poo" everything.  For the next few hours they will nonstop send the flight attendants running for anything and everything.  "The help" doesn't deserve a break because they paid good money for that ticket that comes with complimentary drinks and by golly they WILL get it's worth!  No one has ever insisted I feed them grapes, but that is about where we stop short on the demands I've heard.

While the first class flight attendants are having fun in the front, the other FA's are dealing with a severe amount of "diamond-itis" in the back.  Diamond-itis is what happens when the Medallion members, who typically receive first class upgrades, don't get their deserved move from the back with the "commoners" because people actually paid for the seats up there and now first class is full.  The audacity!  Heaven forbid they now have to actually travel past row 6 into...gasp...main cabin.  It's enough to cause someone a case of the vapors, to be sure.

In the meantime, we have the other once a year flyers that shelled out for a ticket to fly home, but chose to fly in the back with the rest of the cattle.  You would think the thought of going home to loved ones would make people's hearts fill with joy & love.  You would think.  Instead, by the time they get to the plane they've been so overwhelmed by checking their bags, going through TSA, and waiting to get on the flight, that they pretty much want to shank anyone wearing wings & a blue polyester uniform.

Here are a few friendly reminders from a very frazzled flight attendant who once every 12 months, during this time of year, questions her sanity for wanting to do this job:

• YOU DO NOT NEED TO STAND AT THE GATE WAITING FOR THEM TO CALL YOUR ZONE.  I swear we won't give your seat away.  Sit down & chill out.
• The flight attendants are not your enemy. 
• Remove your earphones when I am attempting to converse with you.  Immediately.  Do NOT make me repeat myself.
• Flight Attendants don't make up rules as we go along.  The FAA gave us a list to enforce.  It's sort of why we are paid to be there.  Please listen to these rules the first time.  We know what we are doing.  You clearly don't.  
• We do not have an unlimited supply of beverages & snacks.  I get you want to get your money's worth of goodies, but go easy.  Do you really need 5 beverages and 6 snacks?  Really?
• Winter coats are not meant for overhead bins.  If you do insist on breaking this rule, make sure you put it on top of your roller bag.  
• Santa isn't the only one who has a "naughty list".  Trust me when I say you want to stay off of mine. 
• If the plane is moving, you shouldn't be moving from your seat.  Sit down & buckle up.  Seriously.  
• There is NO NEED to touch your flight attendant.  Just....NO.
• You have germs.  I don't want them.  For some reason people reallllllyyyyy want me to grab the lip of their used cup when I am cleaning up garbage.  Not gonna happen.  When I go to grab the bottom of the cup, don't try to sneak attack me with the slobbered on top part.  While we are on the topic of germs...go throw away your used snot rag in the bathroom.  Do you want to touch my boogers?  Right back at ya.  
• Joking about bombs on a plane while you are on the plane is a bad idea.  Work on your material.
• You haven't ever been in truly severe turbulence ("OMG, the plane just dropped 8 million feet out of nowhere"...mmm...nope) nor have you almost been in a plane crash.  Trust me.  When you tell your FA these things, we just nod & smile but in our head we are rolling our eyes. 
• NO, the planes didn't get smaller.  NO the seats didn't change size.  NO, NO, NO complaining!  Guess who doesn't want to hear it for the 10th time that flight?
• Be nice.  To everyone, but especially your FA's.  We have weird schedules & work long hours.  Odds are we are just plain worn out & could use a friendly smile & agreeable passengers.  
• The galley is not where I planned on hosting a holiday party.  It's why you didn't get an invite.  When we are back there, we don't really need your buns in our face:

Since I am not at work, I shall NOT wish you a Happy Holiday as I sign off...I shall wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS (take THAT being PC)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Enjoy being home with your family & friends while some of us schlep peanuts, pretzels & cookies in giant aluminum tubes flying through the skies bound for destinations that are nowhere near a single one of our loved ones.  If you do plan on flying to see the people you cherish, please try and recall all I have written.  'Tis the season for giving....however, please do me a favor & don't give me a headache.  I already got one of those last year.  Even though I didn't ask for one.

Thanksgiving: Flight Attendant Style...

I just got done shoveling my Aunt Diane's stuffing into my mouth...mmm (thanks again Diane).  I mean, who doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving over leftover stuffing on the 2nd of Dec???  

So, "what did Angie do on Thanksgiving?" is the question I am sure all of you are wondering...soooo....here goes...

I was on my Adays & had my fingers crossed that maybe, just maybe, I would get lucky and not get used so I could spend the holiday with my family.  Yeah...that didn't happen.  My phone jolted me out of sleep at 7:30AM & crew scheduling was on the other end letting this gal know her dreams of passing out in a food coma were crushed.  Instead, I was heading to Los Angeles for 20 hours.  Before I had a chance to full out pout, I noticed my girl Dana was coming along for the ride.  Game changer!  You see, Dana & I became buddies during training & if I could use 3 words to describe her it would be: ride or die.  Dana & her roomie (Misa) were always the ones I knew I could count on when it came to going out on the weekends to blow off steam...and I could also count on the fact that no matter what, we were going to have alot of fun.

Dana, Me & Misa

Immediately, I got on the phone and text Dana to let her know that if we had to be away from home for Thanksgiving...well...we were going to make it worthwhile!  We decided we should rent a car & head out.  Not sure where, but we had 4 hours on a plane bound to LAX to discuss it.  A little while later I was waiting in the crew lounge, eating my half frozen pumpkin pie & waiting on the rest of the crew so we could start the briefing.  That's when Dana showed up, followed by Melissa (this trendy, cute FA with a million dollar smile) and Rania (this super laid back, beautiful FA who had to leave her 2 little ones behind to fly but was still amazingly sweet anyways).  We had our briefing & agreed that this was going to be a no drama flight and since it was the holidays we weren't going to work too hard (haha).  Work even hooked us up with a brand new 737 to fly out there.

Love the new look!

That whole new airplane thing was fun, until it came time to turn off the lights.  Ummm....yeah....you would think with 4 FA's that one of us would know how and where to turn them off.  Like I said, you would think...

Dana tried after Rania & Melissa gave up...

I tried after that...

...and when that didn't work I just started laughing...

We called the Captain & he said "I am sure you ladies can figure it out".  Boy, was he shocked when he came out of the flight deck 2 hours into the trip to see the lights still on.  How were we supposed to know that you had to touch the upper left hand corner in order for the screen to work????  Psh.

Rania, Melissa, Dana & I were having way too much fun for 4 women who were stuck away from home, but that's what we had all hoped for. Apparently all of us had been praying on the way to the airport for the same thing: a good crew.  Passengers even commented on how much fun the 4 of us were.  Thus proving the age old theory that when you are having fun, others around you can't help but smile too.  We might have been having too much fun...at one point I went to the back to see this guy I thought was really cute (what???  4 hours is a long time to kill and sometimes you have to find ways to entertain yourself aside from handing out pretzels) and we were giggling about it; which would have been fine had I not then gone to walk back to the front and while the ladies were watching I decided to be a goofball and blow kisses at the back of the cute guy's head...and while they were chuckling at my antics and I was about to walk past him (and didn't notice the bag sitting in the aisle) I tripped and stumbled through the aisle like the graceful ballerina that I am.  Feel free to laugh...I did while running back to the aft galley where Melissa & Dana were holding their stomachs from laughing so hard....because it is hilarious!  

Once touching down, Dana & I went to grab the rental car.  Did I forget to mention what we picked out...?

A CAMERO CONVERTIBLE!!!!

Hey, if we were going to do this...we were going to do this.  Pity Party 2013 was going to be EPIC! Now we just had to make solid plans.  Drive an hour to Malibu for some drinks & dinner on the ocean?  I LOVE Malibu. Only drive 30 minutes to Santa Monica and hang on the promenade?  We discussed the options while driving down the freeway with the top down in 70 degree weather.  You're starting to feel less sorry for us, right?  

First up, we decided to have a little pregame cocktail party in my room while getting ready.   Which basically meant we didn't feel like driving to Malibu, so we decided Santa Monica it was.  The 4 of us hopped in the car and went out to enjoy the night.  Of course, we had to have our Thanksgiving meal first...

We even brought our own decorations

Mucho Nachos

After a dinner full of girl talk, we went for a walk down the Promenade.  Without coats on.  It was glorious.  We then swung around to Hollywood Blvd so we could act like tourists for a bit.

Michael Jackson's star on the Walk of Fame

Hanging outside of Grauman's

Melissa & Dana on the Walk of Fame

Of course it wouldn't be a night in the life of Angie without something ridiculous happening...and holiday's are apparently no exception.  I made it the entire evening without getting pulled over in the Camero & literally 100 feet from the hotel I almost accidentally went the wrong way down a one way.  Just as I caught my mistake, a bright light flashed on me & I noticed that I am awesome enough to turn the wrong way in front of a cop.  OOPS!  I quickly corrected my mistake and tried to make it around the block to the front of the hotel where I belonged, when I saw them...the red & blue flashing lights.  FML.  The cop (and of course he was cute so it was realllly hard to dislike him) walked up to the car & the first thing he asks me to do is turn it off.  Uhhh....what???  No cop has ever asked me to do that, so of course I went from mildly worried to about to wet my dress.  Then he proceeded to ask us where we were headed, to which we all responded: "right there" in unison while pointing to the hotel.  Not pleased with our answer (or my deer in the headlights expression),  he asked where we were from.  3 Michigan's and 1 Ohio for an answer just peaked his distrust in our story that much more...so he asked the inevitable.  What were we doing in California at 11:30PM, so far away from home, on Thanksgiving?  So I just looked at him, shrugged my shoulders and said "we are flight attendants".  Just like *that* he got a smile on his face & everything changed!  The next thing I heard (aside from the voice in my head praying that I wasn't going to get a freaking ticket) was "ok, well I was just pulling you ladies over to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!  Have a great night!" Ummm, what?  OKAY!!!!!!!!  

So, this Thanksgiving I was grateful for having a friend to fill the day full of fun memories with, new friends that I truly enjoyed spending time with, 70 degree weather & of course being a cute flight attendant with a Camero full of other cute flight attendants.  Though I would never pass up a chance to spend time with my loved ones & family on a holiday, I can honestly say this is a Thanksgiving I am NEVER going to forget!

That's What She Said...Again

A few months back, I compiled a brief list of random FB "check-in's" from my travels over the last few years.  Since it was so popular the first time around, I thought I would throw another one together for all of you to recall the ridiculousness that is me while I work.  Enjoy!  

******

"Mission: eat as many types of potato foods as possible. 
ACCEPTED" — at Boise. Airport.

"I'm wearing a white button down while rocking red lipstick, drinking fruit punch and eating ketchup. Not liking these odds..." — at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

"I feel all special and stuff when a passenger asks to take a pic with me. Like a famous person sans all the Botox, nice cars and loads of money! Yeah!" — at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).

"Jetiquette for today: I don't need to know about your infected cervix or that you stopped somking joints with your boyfriend because he has a cold sore. Those are private conversations and the seats in an airport at a gate are a very public place. I can hear you...try as I might to tune you out..." — at La Gaurdia Airport.

"Home!!! I don't have to smell Bloody Mary mix, wear polyester, use hairspray, or practice patience for 4 glorious days!!!!!" — atDetroit Michigan International Airport.

"You sure have on a lot of red today". Thanks Capt Obvious. I also have on a lot randomly spattered food, tomato juice, baby spit and some sticky substance I hope is chocolate. I'm too tired and gross to even roll my eyes at you. Shoo. — at Cincinnati International Airport.

"Group of teenage boys start checking me out and talking about how they would like to "hit that". 
Me: "you need to have some respect for your elders...and pull up your pant while you're at it." All without breaking stride. 
^see above for the exact moment when I realized I am turning into my mother. Shit." — at Salt Lake City Intntl. Airport.

"I won't consider you legit until you run 200 yards in heels and a red dress, pulling 50 lbs of luggage all without messing up your hair. Get on my level." — at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

"Stopped in the bathroom to fix my lipstick and hair when a woman in her 50's approached me to let me know I was "very beautiful". Little did she know I was having a bad day and feeling sort of down about myself and needed the smile. Random acts of kindness are the best." — at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

"When you're this tired, there are no witty check ins. 
Zell, out." — at Pensacola International Airport.

Passenger: "can I ask you a question? Are the Delta girls required not to stink?"
Me: "uhhhh....good hygiene is highly encouraged yeah...?"
Passenger: "I am not trying to be weird. It's just that all if you always smell so GOOD!"
....only in Portland lol. — at Portland International Airport.

"Heading to Paris. Again. Pretty sure it's a sign I'm supposed to live there. Will keep an eye out for husbands while cramming crepes in my mouth." — at Newark Liberty International Airport.

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

"If you want to hate someone I'm about to volunteer.....I can take it while sitting on the beach with the boys for the rest of the day!"— at Ft Lauderdale Intl Airport.

"This guy tried 3 times to sneak into first class. Not on my watch, buddy! Eyes like a hawk..." — at Lambert Saint Louis International Airport.

"Days like today remind me why I carry a wine opener with me..."— at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

"Dear TSA:
It is a freaking corkscrew. And it is right in the bottom front pocket exactly where I told you it would be. Thanks though for spending 10 MINUTES tearing apart my flight bag, hope you had fun making the entire thing a mess. As always, totally impressed by your dedication to hiring only the brightest and the best." — at JFK - John F. Kennedy International Airport.

"Walk on left, stand on right. Apparently this is the hardest of concepts...." — at Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport.

"Here's to you nice guy who helped me with my bags. You are the last of a dying breed. Chivalry is always a good look, gents!" — atDetroit Metro Airport (DTW).

"Hi, my name is Angie and I spill tomato juice on people. Either this proves my theory that tomato juice is the devil or everyone else's theory that I'm klutzy. 
Crap." — at Las Vegas Intl Airport, Nevada.

I see you day 3....in order to keep myself entertained I'm going to think of ways to torment the pilots. They're gonna love it, I'm sure! — at Philadelphia International Airport.

"Still in denial that I'm awake..." — at Charleston International Airport.

"I wish I could get in touch with Angie from 7 days ago, I would ask her where she parked her ride...." — at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW).

"I'm dreaming of fleece pants and a warm bed...." — at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

"Time to open up a hurt locker on some lobster. I see you New England." — at TF Green Airport (PVD).

....and let's not forget my constant search for true happiness...

...or that time Chemistry class FINALLY came in handy (15 years later)....

Wrestling With My Emotions...

Ok, ok...so I have a mildly amusing story for those of you that know & love me (or for those of you that just love to hear a good story of a flight attendant acting a hot mess)...

So last Sunday, I was finishing up my workday with a deadhead (I already explained what this is once, so go ahead and Google it at this point as punishment for not reading every singly one of my blogs thus far) from ATL-BNA.  There I was just chilling in my seat, eating my chocolate covered gummy bears and reading the latest InStyle (fell in love with an amazing pair of gold D&G sunglasses by the way) when I looked up to see this VERY tall and VERY built guy taking up pretty much the entire aisle.  Now, for those of you that don't know me...I am *slightly* boy crazy...and my weakness is tall.  Especially tall with big muscly arms!  Mr. Tall Muscly Arm Man sat down in the seat across the aisle from me & since I wasn't feeling very witty (or pretty due to the fact I had to get up at 4AM for work) I went back to reading my magazine & figured I would just sneak glances of him here & there during the flight to give my eyes something fun to do.  Then I noticed a theme...there were a plethora of tall, muscly men getting onto the plane.  I looked down & noticed I was still clad in wool & polyester, so immediately ruled out that I had died & gone to heaven, therefore decided something must be up.  After staring at each of the tall, good looking guys as they walked past me (it was a tough job, but someone had to do it), I realized some of them had WWE zip up's on.  In the meantime, the flight attendant next to me in the window seat was giving my tall neighbor (Mr. Tall Muscly Arm Man to you) a good ribbing in her cheeky British accent (UGH...like I can compete with THAT) and somehow she ended up getting me involved in the convo too; so of course we asked him what was up.  Apparently they are all WWE wrestlers & were headed back from London over to Nashville for Monday Night Raw (or Smackdown...or whatever that Monday night show is...clearly I am not a fan).  

Long story short, we got in flight and cheeky British accent FA got busy doing something else & I went back to coveting the D&G sunglasses that I will never own, when hot wrestler & I started a convo.  Can you blame a gal for taking a once in a lifetime chance to ask how people actually get started in such an industry, how the lifestyle works & what the travel schedule is like???  Usually the shoe is on the other foot & I am the one fielding questions about my weird job/lifestyle, so it was a nice change.  We chatted about how he used to play football, his story about how he got into wrestling, if the gold D&G sunglasses were amazing or not (he passed that test), & the trials of trying to meet someone and date when you are never, ever home.  He was actually a really cool guy & towards the end of the flight gave me his contact info & told me to text him sometime.  

So, I went back to reading my magazine (and flipping back and forth to the page with those damn D&G sunglasses...I consider them one of my many great lost loves since I know I will never own them) until we touched down in Nashville.  First thing I always do is turn my phone off of airplane mode so I can get the multitude or text messages from friends who love me (hint), and this instance was no different.  My phone indicated I had a voicemail:

"Hey Ang!  It's Cass.  I got the call & am heading to Madison for my double lung transplant."

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMMMMMMMMGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, really....OHHHHHHH MYYYYYY GOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My natural response?  I looked over at him with my mouth open, looked at my phone, looked back at him and started to cry.  Then get excited while crying (and the mascara started running down my face).  Then blurt out that my sister is getting a double lung transplant while smiling and crying (some people don't get that this is actually a good thing...though scary). Then continued to try and call my sister & parents but was so flustered I couldn't even figure out how to do that. 

Yeaahhh....so guess who isn't going to be pursing that avenue???  Well, unless I get really bored and then you never know what type of things I will do to entertain myself on an overnight.  Even text a WWE wrestler who probably thinks I am insane.  Really though, I've sort of had my fill of guys who have jobs that require them to be in the public eye though - been there, done that & honestly I just want to find a nice guy & settle down into some form of normalcy.  You know, more normal than having a day where you visit 4 different states in 12 hours, get a WWE wrestler's digits & then find out your younger sister is going through a double lung transplant.

For those of you wondering about my sister, I suggest you check out our Team Cassie FB page (and YES, this is a shameless plug to get you to our page so we can increase awareness about cystic fibrosis and NO I don't feel bad about it):

https://www.facebook.com/TeamCassie

There, I hope you enjoyed the hot mess story of where I was when I found out about Cass & how I totally looked like a spazz in front of one of the hottest guys I have ever talked to.  Enjoy the laugh at my expense! 

I'm Sorry...

Hello from the world's most sporadic blogger!  Oops...

So, I just got home from 6 days of flying (2 back-to-back 3 day trips) & let me tell you, I feel like road kill. Let's just say that if I were to cut myself right now I would bleed coffee...aka the life force of flight crews.

Thanks for being there for me during the rough times, love...

 On this last trip, I noticed a bad habit I have developed during my years as an FA.  I SAY SORRY TOO MUCH.  I noticed it when Kim, another FA, dropped some coats and said sorry...then I said sorry for not noticing ASAP...then she said sorry because I crouched down to help her pick them up...then I said sorry for grabbing the same hanger that she did.  I SAY SORRY TOO MUCH!!!!

How did this happen???  I couldn't help but wonder.  Granted, I have always been raised to show respect & display lady like manners (stop laughing some of you...I am a lady when push comes to shove), so "sorry", "please" and "thank you" have been a part of my daily vocab since childhood...but this is overboard.  After mulling it over I realized that this habit came from my line of work.  All day I apologize for things...over and over again.

* "Sorry, the flight is delayed for maintenance."
* "Sorry, due to severe weather your flight is cancelled."
* "Sorry, we weren't catered with peanuts on this flight."
* "Sorry I bumped into you with the cart."
* "Sorry, we can only serve one drink at a time per person."

Then I noticed another theme...I say sorry ALOT for things that I really have NO CONTROL over, but I can't say what I really want to say sometimes, so I just say SORRY.  It's my way of biting my tongue. There are days, days where I have been away from home for almost a week & have been up since 3AM, that I would LOVE to say the following...

* "Yes, our flight is delayed for maintenance and maybe you should thank your lucky stars for that so       we don't end up as flaming rubble at the end of the runway."
* "Dude, I am not God & really can't control the weather...but I sure am happy we aren't going to try       to fly through Blizzard 2013 because though I know I can evacuate a plane if we crash,  I don't           really want to prove it the hard way."
* "It's a 39 minute flight, if you are THAT hungry (and picky) then why didn't you grab something on       the way to the gate???"
* "That sucks that you got hit by my cart, but since you have seen it in the aisle for the last 20                 minutes & knew we were coming, maybe you could have removed your outstretched legs from said     aisle.  I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so I didn't see them there until it was too late."
 * "If you get trashed off of the 5 beers you would like to order right this second & slam all at            once during this 1.5 hour flight, I am going to get in a ton of trouble per the FAA (who are the ones      who say only 1 drink at  a time).  Though it might be mildly amusing to see you rip your shirt off         & run down the aisle yelling about how you just want to be free to be yourself, I can't run the risk       that you will be the other type of drunk who gets hostile after a few & will require the police               officers and paperwork that must be completed before I am allowed to go to sleep."

How I look...

How I feel...

How I cope...

It's kind of taken over in my "real life" though.  The last guy I dated during the summer would tell me all the time "you don't need to always say you are sorry.  You say it about 20 times a day for stuff that doesn't even matter."  I just figured he was trying to be sweet and blew it off.  Oopsie.  As a flight attendant it's part of the territory...you just smile and say sorry because that's what you are paid to do.  You train yourself to grin & bear it so that the customer leaves happy (or happy-ish...some people there is just no pleasing, try as you might). Even when you wish people would say sorry for things like making you repeat yourself 4 times because they refuse to take their earbuds out (don't get me started on this topic, that's a blog for a different day), or when they elbow you right in the hip or thigh when you are in the aisle (I have perma bruises all over my upper legs from this).  Even then, I apologize to them because clearly the customer is always right & I am a good FA who likes to stay out of my manager's office.

Yeah, I mean I am human too and sometimes I do legit need to say sorry.  You know, like for dropping tomato juice on someone's freshly pressed khaki's.  Or there was the time I accidentally elbowed some guy right in the temple because I lost my balance during taxi. Ironically, those people who really do deserve the billion sorry's I heap upon them are usually (granted, I said usually) the ones who are the most chill & brush it off with a simple "it was an accident' it's ok".  This gal needs to learn how to put value back into that single word in my daily life, so I am vowing here in the world of the internet (and we all know if it is on the internet, it MUST be true) that I am going to stop using "sorry" as my instant "go to".

Sorry I am not sorry for quitting this constant being sorry business...  :)



:Oh I had a lot to say, was thinking on my time away
I missed you and things weren't the same
'Cause everything inside it never comes out right." 
~ "Sorry" by Buckcherry

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