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?!?