I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!

On Sunday, I received a call from Crew Scheduling telling me that I had a 7:30AM flight on Monday to St. Louis, MO with a return flight at 6:30AM on Tuesday back to Denver. No problem!



Let's just say...I felt pretty decadent getting off the plane after working only two hours and then going to a nice Marriott Hotel for the rest of the day! I had done a little homework and found that if I took the hotel shuttle back to the airport, I could pick up the Metrolink light rail system. So I bought an all-day pass for $4.50 and rode it to the stop for the St. Louis Arch. It was the first time I had seen it up close. I did not have any desire whatsoever to go into it, but my co-worker, Vicki did. Brave gal.

Afterwards, we rode the Metrolink back to an area called "The Loop" where there were tons of eclectic shops. There was a vintage clothing store, a head shop, a Mod furniture shop, a unique gift shop (and I do mean unique), and the St. Louis Walk of Fame (similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame). It was a fun way to pass the time.

While being a tourist, I received another call from Crew Scheduling - they tacked on a quick turn to Salt Lake City after I returned to Denver. I'm glad that they let me know a day ahead of time, so I didn't expect to be able to go home right after returning from STL. Instead, I had a quick turn to/from Salt Lake...the plane was pretty full both ways. When I got back, I called Crew Scheduling and they told me that I was released to my day off (Halloween!). Yippee!

I continue to meet all kinds/types of employees...happy ones, disgruntled ones, tired ones, upbeat ones. I try to take it all in stride and not let them adversely affect the way I feel. I told several the other day that I was still in the "honeymoon phase" - and it's wonderful!

Day Off...

I had a fun time visiting with Steve, C.J. and their kids Alicia and Tommy - they had me over for dinner and we spent a few hours visiting and exchanging stories! I look forward to seeing them again the next time I'm in their neck of the woods (or if they are in ours).

But, boy...that alarm clock sure went off early this morning. Our flight left Hartford, CT at 6:30AM and believe it or not, I felt great! The flight was only 2/3 full, so that was a nice break, and most people slept on the way to Denver. I did get to visit with one woman - she was so excited she was about to burst. She had just finished a 12-day Mediterranean cruise with her daughter and granddaughter - it was their 80th birthday gift to her (I hope my Mom didn't just read this...). Her favorite was Greece (her land of origin) and Turkey. It was really fun listening to her tell me about all the tours they took and how she was treated so special on the ship. That's one of the perks of this job - getting to meet some really nice people, if only for a short time.

Another special thing was that the gate agents in Hartford had a little "trick-or-treat" bag for each of us! Mine had a Halloween finger towel, some candy, a few trinkets - it was a nice thing for them to do. I'll have to put on my creativity cap and come up with something cute to give to each gate agent as I'm flying.

I continue to fly with people of all different seniority levels - this last crew was fairly new. And even so, one of the flight attendants was on her last flight. She needs to take a long leave of absence and was not able to work it out with the company to her satisfaction, so she was quitting. Nonetheless, she gave me some valuable tips during our travel time together, and I really did appreciate that.

The Hartford turn isn't the most desired because it's a long layover with only 10 flying hours (that's what our pay is based on). Also, the hotel is near the airport and to do anything you'd have to rent a car. Well...you guys know me! Had I not had Steve & C.J. lined up, I would've rented a car and gone to Mystic Seaport for the afternoon, or I would've figured out the bus system and gone to a mall. But I know one thing, I wouldn't have stayed at the hotel all day (unless I really was super-tired and wanted to just rest...then maybe I'd have lounged by the indoor pool all day).

But I am learning, a POSITIVE attitude is SO IMPORTANT! Let's just suffice it to say that I am being exposed to some "less than positive" attitudes, and have decided that I'm not going to let them drag me down. I am doing this because it's fun! If it wasn't, I'd quit tomorrow.

When we got back to Denver, I called crew scheduling to report in and then they released me for my day off a day early! Yippee! So instead of just Sunday off, I now got most of Saturday and Sunday! I go back on reserve at 12:01AM on Monday. Stay tuned...

My First "Official" Trip!

What day is it and where the heck am I??!?!

I was the "A" flight attendant (forward) on a "turn" out of Denver to Salt Lake City, UT yesterday evening, and then on a "redeye" to Hartford, CT! We arrived at the hotel at around 6AM, and I discovered that when I am in a very darkened room I CAN SLEEP!

It was interesting to experience "being on my own" on the plane after getting such a glowing review the previous weekend...I learned that "I ain't all that!" (Jen, please forgive me for the phrase, but it really does fit.) There were things I did great (such as serving warm cookies and milk to the passengers at bedtime), and there were things I wish I had done differently (forgetting to make an announcement that the flight attendants needed to prepare doors for departure...oops). But all in all - I DID IT!

What is really neat is that all the stuff they taught us in five weeks of class is all "coming together" now that I'm seeing it in action. It is pretty neat.

Trying to figure out what to pack in my bags, what to bring in my lunchbox (so that this new experience in my life doesn't cause me to gain tons of new weight), and then how to lug it all from point A to point B is a learning experience. And I am proud to announce that I finished a Sudoku puzzle IN PEN while everyone else was sleeping...I had to stay awake somehow!

This afternoon, I'm hanging out with Steve & C.J. - Greg's classmates from Georgetown Dental School. They'll give me the nickel tour of their town and we'll grab a bite to eat. This is one of the perks of this job...I'll get to see people that I don't see very often!

We will leave tomorrow morning at 6:20AM and arrive back in Denver at 8:45AM. I get to go back on reserve duty at 9:15AM and am on until midnight!!! But Sunday is my day off! Yippee!

Pick me! Pick me!

I guess I shouldn't complain (since I'm being paid whether I fly or not), but I want to be picked for a flight! I had my cell phone with me all day yesterday, and not one peep out of it! I even called crew scheduling later in the day to see if they had anything...nope, not a thing. In the meantime, my classmates are flying 3-4 day trips, Hope is flying to Orange County tonight for an overnight, Fabian flew a charter to Boston yesterday with the Colorado Rockies friends and family members...how cool is that?!?!

The lessons for today are: Patience Flexibility Spontaneity Tactfulness

Please remind me of this post when, down the road, they're flying my butt off and I'm dead tired and want to be sitting at home watching daytime television...

Flying the Couch

Yesterday was my first day of duty as a flight attendant! I am "on reserve" from 12:01AM Monday through 11:59PM Saturday. I received my first call on Sunday evening telling me that I was assigned to "ready reserve" on Monday from Noon to 6PM (also known as "flying the couch"). That meant that I had to be in full uniform, with my bags packed (for a possible 3-4 day trip), and sit in the crew lounge at DIA waiting for "the call."

There were three of us flying the couch yesterday, and right as we checked in, we were given our first assignment! We headed to a gate and pre-boarded a flight to San Francisco. We each took a position, did the safety check of all the equipment and then set up our stations and made our announcements. About 15 minutes before departure, the real crew showed up (they had just arrived on a flight from the opposite end of the concourse). So, we pulled our bags down from the overhead bins and rolled em back to the crew lounge!

We didn't get any more calls, but I actually enjoyed my time - I visited with other crew members, did a little research on the internet, etc. It was fun to watch the "waves" of crewmembers coming into the lounge. The captains would walk around calling out their destinations in an effort to find their crew..."Austin! Chicago! Seattle!" I'd keep responding by saying "Is it an overnight?" But alas, the couch is where I was meant to be yesterday...I was released from duty at 6PM and was officially on "rest" until 4AM. But now I'm up and at 'em, but I have no assignment so far for today - not even to fly the couch...but "all my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."

I'm Officially Official!

Yesterday I passed my "IOE" (initial operating experience) with flying colors! My "check flight attendant" was very, very positive and complimentary, and swears that I must have been a flight attendant in a previous life. (I figured it's okay to brag about myself in my own blog!) She said I was very confident and knowledgeable, and took the initiative on getting the job done without waiting for her direction. She was very impressed, and I felt really good. So now, according to my airline's standards, I am officially official!

My flight yesterday was to/from Denver and LaGuardia. I cannot begin to tell you how tough it was being in LGA, just across the river from my baby...I wanted to "jump ship" but thought better of it. So now I'll try for overnights to LGA, which would allow me at least a few hours visiting Jen in the big city.

I just received my schedule for the remainder of October, and I am "on reserve" for the next six days, starting tomorrow. That means that I must be available from midnight to 11:59PM on those days...yikes! I guess I'll sleep fully dressed, with my bags packed, all ready to go! Ha! In the best situation, they'll call me the day before and let me know what flight I am on for the following day. But the more likely situation is that they'll call me two hours before I'm needed at the airport...and I live 1 hour and 20 minutes away! So, I'll always have my cell phone with me, and my uniform will be hung with care in my car, ready to be put on at a moment's notice.

Then there's always another option - ready reserve, also known as "flying the couch." That's where I'll be assigned to the crewroom for a 6 hour shift. I'll have that time to read, walk around the concourse, learn all the computer systems, etc. Most of my classmates who took their IOEs before me are currently flying the couch. But when I received "the call" today, she didn't assign me for tomorrow...yet.

So, flexibility and spontaneity are the name of this new game. I've got lots of books I've been wanting to read, and a couple Sudoku puzzle books waiting to be completed if I'm flying the couch. If I'm at home, I have THOUSANDS of projects that I can work on (just ask Greg). So...we'll see what happens.

Have you bought your tickets yet to fly with me?!?

What a Great Day it Was!

Well, I did it. Yesterday, my class of 37 graduated. Boy, was it a tough road...but we pulled together, helped each other out, and came out as flight attendants!

On the way to the office yesterday morning, I was all decked out in my uniform (sans wings). I started to get nervous...I'm not sure why. There was no reason to be nervous - all the tests are behind me, and I was just on my way to the office for a couple lectures and then graduation. But worry still took ahold of me. And then guess what happened? My Dad popped in again. The next thing I knew, "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" came on the radio. Now tell me, how many times have YOU heard that song in the past month?!?! I listened to the words and realized that there was nothing to worry about...the hard part is in the past. Enjoy this day - we've earned it!

The ceremony was very nice. Friends and relatives of all the graduates filled our little auditorium. Greg was there, as were Herb & Rovene (my surrogate parents for the past 4 1/2 weeks). The CEO spoke, as did the VP of Inflight. And then from the training department we had a few speakers...it was a wonderful event. I had asked Greg to pin my wings on me, and he did so proudly. A lot of people supported me in this venture, and my deepest thanks go to all of them!

So now I get a few days off to readjust to "normal life." My next flight is on Saturday, and my check flight attendant will have me walk her through all the steps of being the "A" flight attendant, and then on the return flight I will be the "B" flight attendant, all the while being reviewed. I could be definitely freaked out by all this, but I've been trained well and I KNOW that I KNOW all this stuff.

I hope to start traveling soon (for fun) - but fortunately for my airline and unfortunately for me, the seats are pretty filled on almost all the flights! But after my check flight on Saturday, I will OFFICIALLY be OFFICIAL and will be able to ride on the extra flight attendant jumpseat! So as long as a flight attendant with more seniority doesn't bump me...I should be good to go! Also, the training department gave us a certificate to allow us to take one one-way flight in the COCKPIT! Let's just say that Greg wishes he could use that instead of me...

Graduation Day

I honestly don't think it has sunk it yet...I've packed up my room and loaded up my car, and will soon don my new uniform for the first time. Wow. I actually did it. What an incredible feeling.


My wings...


Me, Janel, Kelly


Sherri and Nancy


Steph, EC and Mary

I PASSED!!!

This morning, we took our final exam and we all passed!!! Yippee! So now we get to go to our graduation ceremony tomorrow afternoon. Greg is going to come, as are the Geyer's - my hosts for the past 4 weeks. It is going to be an exciting day!

My "check flight" is on Saturday, and I am free until then. Hurray! On Saturday, I will fly to/from LaGuardia (with only a 45 minute layover or so...DARN!) and I will be evaluated on what I do and do not do. Once I pass that "check flight," I will be a full-fledged flight attendant.

It's been a long four 1/2 weeks...but I DID IT!


Bonnie

Over the weekend we had a potluck study group, where we had a chance to eat and do some last minute studying...I guess it really paid off since we all passed!


Bonnie, Glenda, Renate, Maura and Crystal

Aloha!

Today was "Hawaiian Dress Up Day" in honor of our overwater evacuation studies. I brought in my 6' tall palm tree (and set it right behind my seat so that I could bask in all its glory), my straw hat, my shell necklaces and my tall pina colada glass, complete with paper umbrella. I was, by far, the most decorated student. However, our instructors for the day - both men - wore grass skirts! It was a fun day.


Hope, Nancy and LuEllen


Me (with all my Hawaiian accoutrements) and Janel


Roz, JJ, Pat, Joe and Dymetra

We headed over to a hotel pool after lunch and got to get into a slide/raft. We also wore life vests and got to float around in them and form formations with our classmates. One called the zipper was so neat and RELAXING. I could have stayed like that all day.


Man, I hope I never have to experience this in real life!


Putting up the sun/rain cover - very tight quarters!


The instructors imitating large waves...

We are coming to the end of lessons - yippee! I am looking forward to NO MORE TESTS! Speaking of which, we have one tomorrow...so off I go to study some more.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Yesterday was an especially tough day...we had a big written exam covering all our emergency procedures and commands - I did just fine...only missed one true/false! But the pressure to memorize, memorize, memorize was incredible. It felt good to get it down on paper. To help reinforce it, we went to the mock up and role-played different scenarios to "put into use" all the steps we had just learned. It really does help you LEARN, and not just memorize - only to forget an hour later.

We ended the day watching a Dateline piece about the United Airlines crash in Sioux City, IA back in 1989 - it was tough. We ended the day with a letter from one of the flight attendants on board who still cannot talk in public about what happened - what a powerful letter. Most of us were in tears...again. When I left yesterday, I was drained.

This morning we have our hands-on testing - CPR, evacuation skills, and safety equipment identification. Then in the afternoon, we get to go to the DIA fire station! So, it'll be a fun ending to the day!

I Left My Heart.....in San Francisco

Well...not really! I was only on the ground for 40 minutes and didn't even have time to get off the airplane! This flight was different than last week's - this crew had an average of 4 years experience with Frontier (the last crew had an average of 12 years!), so this flight was a lot more laid back and relaxed. I shadowed the attendant in the back of the plane on the way out - we had a full flight (because United OVERBOOKED one of their planes severely and sent over about 40 passengers!). I made most of the announcements for that flight.

At SFO, I got to go into the cockpit with my classmate, and we tried on the pilot's oxygen masks - cool, cool, cool! I felt like Darth Vader! We had to do that as one of our class assignments. For the return flight, we had a total of about 20 passengers or so (in 119 seats)! It was a breeze. This time I shadowed the forward attendant, and I gave the safety demo at the exit row - for about 10 people! They all paid attention, and at the end I encouraged them to give me a round of applause (I had to start the clapping, but that's beside the point!) We arrived back in DEN around 11:30PM, and boy, was I beat.

Yesterday, I did a little shopping and then spent several hours at the GO (general office) practicing on the mockup. One of my classmates was there, too, and we critiqued each other as we performed an evacuation of the plane, gave CPR to a man and child, and helped a choking infant. It was a very productive (and fruitful - all our patients lived) afternoon.

Scary Week Three

After having learned how to do our jobs in a "perfect world," we've spent the past week discussing a lot of those "what ifs..." (which we'll continue next week, too). We've seen videos, pictures, first-person accounts, etc. of what happened and how they survived. Definitely not an up week. Our last speaker yesterday was from the company accident recovery department - she spoke about all the things our company will do for our families after there's been an accident. Lovely. She was speaking at 4PM on a Friday...we all stared at her like we were zombies. I'm not quite sure if what she was saying sunk in to everyone.

But once she left, we got our first paychecks!!! Yippee! There's not much left after all the deductions for medical insurance, life insurance, long-term disability, short-term disability, etc. but what the heck! I'm not doing this for the money...I'm doing it for the adventure!

Speaking of adventure, I came home last night and will leave early this afternoon because I have an evening flight to San Francisco! Once we land, we'll be on the ground for 40 minutes and then turn around and come back to Denver. We'll get back around midnight, so I'll just stay at my crash pad in Denver tonight. I'll spend tomorrow at the Tall Girl Store in downtown Denver and at the general office practicing my evacuation drills - we have a piece of a real plane to practice on - a main cabin door, four rows of three seats each, an overwing exit and an aft galley (how do you like my airline correct lingo?). I have to practice screaming my commands while opening doors, leading people out, etc. Practice makes perfect!

Cherry Ames, Flight Attendant Nurse

I don't know how many of you remember Cherry Ames - when I was growing up, there were a series of books written about her adventures of being several different types of nurses. Today, I felt that she was sitting next to me in class and a new adventure book was being written about her life! We learned how to save a choking person, a person experiencing a heart attack, etc. What a day. Tomorrow is our written test. Our practical exam will be next Wednesday - before then, I'll have to put on my nurse's cap to try and remember what order things go in...

We had fun today "playing flight attendant." We have a mock-up of an airplane, and we watched as a few of our classmates conducted a "flight" - I was observing today, but I'm sure that before we graduate, we will each get a chance to practice. I continue to be amazed at the level of training that we are receiving...just incredible.



It's that time again - I'm falling asleep at the keyboard, and I still have hours of studying ahead of me...

Super Susan, To the Rescue!

Today was a fun and gory day, learning all about bleeding, burns, amputations, and other fun things. We ended the day practicing our CPR techniques. I just have to make sure that I don't eat fried onion rings the day before any flights...!


Resuscitation dummy and Fabian

I realized that I'll be getting my flight attendant wings two weeks from today! So if you happen to be in the Denver area around 3PM on 10/16/07, come and watch! I hope that Greg can shuffle patients around and be the one to pin on my wings, but if not, I'll ask one of the instructors.

I am really looking forward to the day when I can stop MEMORIZING things and just start DOING my job. But obviously, I have to KNOW the job before I can do it!!! I still amaze myself every day that I'm able to retain this stuff in my brain. I guess you CAN teach an old broad new tricks!

Shhhhhhh!

I'd love to tell you how I spent this past Saturday and then how I spent today, but then I'd have to kill you. Suffice it to say, I have been trained by the best, and the lessons learned are not happy ones...all because of what happened on 9/11/01.


Mary, defending herself against Pat and JJ

We'll be starting First Aid training tomorrow after we take our morning quiz...speaking of which, I'd better go STUDY!

Today's lessons were hard ones to learn. It's so sad that we live in the kind of society that we have to worry about what could happen in the skies.