Grounded...

I have been sick since 12/12/07. First, I had a cold...which turned into sinusitis on 12/22/07. I saw a doctor and he gave me an antibiotic, but would not take me off flying duty. I took a day off anyway, and stayed at home. Then on 12/27/07, I came down with some nasty flu-like bug. I went to a different doctor yesterday, and she said that I have a virus and she took me off flying duty for the rest of the year. I have been ordered to rest in bed and drink plenty of fluids! Hopefully, this reprieve will allow my body to heal so that I can go back to work on 1/2/08.

Buenos Dias!

My evening in Salt Lake City went very well - we arrived at around 10PM, and the Red Lion hotel (INCREDIBLE BEDS) treated all the flight crews to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings! Again, I staggered off to bed with a full tummy...

When I arrived back in Denver at 8:30AM, I found out that I had a showtime in one hour for a turn to Guadalajara, Mexico! My first Frontier flight to Mexico! I was assigned the "C" position, but had to trade to the "B" position because I am not a fluent Spanish speaker.

Traveling to Mexico is a whole 'nother animal. The passengers didn't seem to understand English OR Spanish...we think that they were in their own little world, governed by bells and lights. When the "fasten seatbelt" sign was illuminated, they'd get up to go potty...including as we were still taking off or landing! One "ugly American" guy was a nasty sum b*tch, moaning and groaning and being generally not-so-nice. I just smiled, told him that I was sorry that he was unhappy, and turned and walked away!

But, on the other hand, I got to practice my Spanish (I have a Spanish language course on CD that I'm listening to as I drive to/from Denver) with a little girl about 6 years old! I forgot most everything I had learned, but at least I was able to tell her that I can speak a little Spanish!

Since it was my first flight to Mexico, I was confused about all the forms, procedures, etc. But when I go again, it should go a lot smoother. When we landed in Mexico, a bunch of security guards and plane cleaners boarded through the back door - I had to seal off all my cabinets, and then watch as they tore the airplane apart. I have to give them credit...they put everything back together really nicely, and then new passengers boarded.

Though I am looking forward to one of the Mexico trips where we have a layover - can you spell R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N?

Speaking of which, I am off today and tomorrow. My management team called yesterday and left a message asking me to work my days off - there is a critical shortage of flight attendants, and they want to avoid having to cancel flights (like some other airline...). But I just CANNOT do it. I am SO TIRED, and I want to hang out with Jen while she's still in town.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Chicago! I arrived here yesterday afternoon with my crew and checked into our hotel. Then Randy, my cousin, came and picked me up and brought me to his house for the evening. When I told him that I was coming into town, he refused to let me stay the night at the hotel...he insisted that I stay in their guest room and celebrate Christmas Eve with him and his family. It was WONDERFUL.

We started out by going to Mass at 6PM, followed by a gourmet meal of lobster tail and filet mignon! Boy...I could sure get used to that! Afterwards, it was time to open presents - there were even some presents for me! What a nice surprise! Everything was opened by around 2AM and I staggered off to bed...and slept incredibly well.

Now I am back at the hotel, waiting to take the shuttle bus back to the airport. Last I checked, I had a 3 hour layover in Denver, and then I deadhead (ride as a passenger) to Salt Lake City. Tomorrow morning I work the first flight back to Denver, and then I get to see what Crew Scheduling has for me...hopefully, they'll release me to my days off so that I can go home and hang out with Jen, Greg & Kikko!

I Am Still Alive (Barely)

I got back from Tampa, FL on Wednesday morning 12/19, and expected to be put on couch duty until noon...but when I called in, they put me on phone duty until 2:15PM - all I had to do was be near my phone and be ready to come in in a moment's notice. So I sat around the crew lounge until noon, and then felt brave enough to venture towards home.

I stopped at the Container Store by Park Meadows Mall in Denver (I LOVE that store!) and did a little Christmas shopping...then hopped back in the car to drive to the Colorado Springs Airport to pick up Jen!

We've had a nice couple days of visiting, and even celebrated Christmas this morning - opening all our gifts from our family and friends! Then I planned on cooking our traditional turkey dinner tonight, but have come to realize that I don't feel good...AGAIN! I thought I was getting all better, but this morning I'm running a fever, my face hurts and my head hurts. I saw a doctor and have been diagnosed with sinusitis. He doesn't feel that there's a problem flying, but I do. So I already called in sick for tomorrow, and hope that the antibiotic he prescribed kicks in soon.

So Jen generously volunteered to cook dinner - the infamous Chicken Parmagiana that she makes for her babysitting client! And I'll make our traditional dinner tomorrow. My goal is to take a day to relax and get better before I fly high again! They are severely short of flight attendants for the next few days...and I don't want to make that situation worse, but I don't want to compromise my health in doing so.

So, gosh darn it, I'll have to sit around and nap, and maybe watch movies with my daughter. Darn!

An Unexpected Surprise

When I got back to Denver, I called crew scheduling to check in and was told that the reason that I was taken off the San Antonio list was that the person who I was replacing had called in "well." So instead, they assigned me to an overnight trip to Tampa, FL. Nice!

I called my friends John & Jeanette to see if they were busy tonight...luckily, they had some time to spend with me!! Jeanette fed me some dinner, their son Hamilton kept me entertained, and John spent time with me after he finished his evening class.

Jeanette and I took a walk with Hamilton around the island on which she and John live...seeing Christmas lights on palm trees is wild! But what a beautiful setting...

I did have a disabled girl "freak out" on a flight this evening - she is mentally challenged and did not react well to the bumps we experienced in the air. She was traveling alone and was totally scared. I arranged for another passenger to sit with her and keep her calm until we landed. It was an interesting event.

Back in the Air

After my first sick day, I felt well enough to go back in the air! I agressively bid on two different four-day trips, but did not get assigned to either. But...another one appeared out of no where and crew scheduling gave it to me! So early (3:30AM) yesterday morning I left my warm home and drove to the airport in Denver!

First, I had a turn to/from Indianapolis, and then a trip to Dallas, TX. The crew that I flew with was great! The captain has been (and still may be) the most senior of all the pilots, and the forward flight attendant was on her first flight! I actually was able to guide her and impart my wisdom...I'm no longer low seniority! All of us, except for the captain (his Mom is in the hospital and he wanted to stay close to a phone) had dinner together at Bennigan's. It was fun just hanging out. The aft attendant has been with the company for 7 years, so I have been able to get lots of wonderful tips from her.

Then early this morning we left Dallas (where I got to fit 2000 carry-on bags into the 30 overhead bins and I did it!!!) and flew back to Denver...an hour later we left for Seattle, WA with a different captain and a different forward attendant. What a great flight that was...I "bonded" with this one couple - I kept dropping blankets/pillows and headsets on him (unintentionally). He was seated right below the storage bin. Poor guy. But I made light of it, teased them, goofed off, etc. and kept them laughing! At the end of the flight, they came to me and thanked me over and over for a wonderful flight! They said that I had made it SO FUN!

At the hotel, I checked in and went right to the bar to have a bowl of clam chowder! Yummy!!! I've stayed in my room since then...I finished our Christmas cards and am going to go to bed early! We leave the hotel at 5AM to fly back to Denver.

Originally, I was assigned to fly to San Antonio, TX with the same crew (except for the captain), but I just checked my schedule online, and for some reason (probably at the request of a higher seniority FA who lost hours due to schedule changes) they took me off the last night of the trip. So now I am hoping that they just send me home and prepare for Jen's homecoming on Wednesday! Time will tell...

Under the Weather...

Today is the last day of my three days off, and unfortunately it's also the third day of not feeling well. I used to admire Greg in that he never gets sick on a work day - he gets to a weekend and WHAM! he's down for the count. That's what I've done - on my first day off, I could feel the telltale signs that a cold was coming.

Seeing as how the cold is still partly in my head, I decided to call in sick for tomorrow. Hopefully, by Sunday my head will be clear and flying will be safe again...!

Send chicken soup!

From One Extreme to Another

I ventured out yesterday afternoon - it was GORGEOUS outside. About 79 degrees and a gentle breeze...I walked on the Riverwalk that was right outside the hotel...then I walked across the bridge over the Jacksonville River so that I could take a look at the Jacksonville Landing...let's just say that it is not even an iota as nice as Baltimore's Inner Harbor! After grabbing a bite to eat at their Food Court, I took the water taxi back across the river to the dock by the hotel.

Since it was still early, I decided to walk in the opposite direction and boy...am I glad that I did! First, I found a great consignment shop that had really cute things. Then I walked another mile or so down the road and entered a little village called "San Marco." The Church bells were playing a song, there were Christmas decorations everywhere, there was a little town "square" (it was really a triangle) and lots of little shops and bistros. It was so beautiful!

I stopped in a couple of the shops, including The Snob Shop - an upscale consignment shop. Let's just say that it was a GOOD THING that Jen wasn't with me...they had tons of designer purses and shoes, as well as articles of clothing...if she had the cash, she'd buy up the store! There were other cute shops along the street and it was fun to window shop.

We flew out this morning at 6AM - it was probably in the 60s and foggy in Florida and in the 20s and snowing in Denver! I called Crew Scheduling when I arrived and they released me for the rest of the day!!! So I carefully drove home...the roads were horrid, but I made it! I am now off until Saturday morning at 12:01AM. I need this time to do Christmas Cards and a Christmas letter (I think I am going to skip the poem this year...after all, I am a working woman!!!), not to mention doing some Christmas shopping!

Sunny Florida

I got to see a few classmates last night in the crewroom, including my buddy E.C. (he flew his family of SEVEN to Detroit for lunch after he graduated!). My crew was already on the plane - they had just finished a Las Vegas turn.

It was a quiet, almost uneventful flight - there were about 40 passengers...most did not even want a beverage - they just went to sleep! So I spent most of the flight reading. The reason I said "almost uneventful" was because we almost got diverted to Orlando! There was lots of fog in Jacksonville and the auto-pilot ground system in JAX was not working!!! Fortunately, they finally got it working and we landed about 20 minutes late.

By the time I got to my hotel room, it was around 6:30AM local time and I slept until about 12:30PM. I've been hanging out in the room and now getting ready to venture out. We're right by the Jacksonville Landing, which is modeled after Baltimore's Inner Harbor. It'll be nice to go outside and walk around.

But it'll be early to bed tonight! We have to be in the lobby to catch the shuttle back to the airport at 4:30AM...yikes!

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

To pick up where I left off...I did CPD (couch potato duty) on Monday until 6PM at the airport, and then on Tuesday I did CPD at home! That was nice, because I still had a lot of Christmas decorating to do.

Then I had Wednesday through Friday off...

Yesterday, Saturday 12/8/07, I was assigned CPD from noon to 6PM but then was immediately assigned to do a St. Louis turn at 4PM with Renate from my class (she's the first person I've flown with more than once). In the meantime, though I got to visit with several other classmates as they came in and out of the crewroom. One in particular is my buddy, Hope! We got a few hours to "catch up" and talk, and we even called Janel to find out how the heck she's doing.

At around 3PM, Renate and I met our crew - very sedate and calm looking. Boy...were we wrong. The gate agents were trying to get our flight out of the gate early so that the de-icing process could get done and the flight out on time. Well...let's just say that the ramp people forgot about us and didn't load the bags! So we were all ready to go but couldn't leave. But everyone had a great attitude.

When I said that I was wrong about the crew, this is what I meant - when the Captain made his first announcement introducing the flight attendants, he said that we had a pseudo-celebrity on board. He told the passengers that our B attendant was flying her last flight, because she was going off to work full-time training the women's Olympic volleyball team. He went into such detail that the passengers all broke out into applause and congratulated her. I went up to the cockpit and asked if he was serious, and of course they assured me they were. NOT. So as we landed in STL, I announced that the Captain and the First Officer had been selected as the "Flight Deck Team of the Month" for November, and to please be sure to congratulate them on your way off the plane. And sure enough, the passengers were so impressed and wished them well!

On the leg back to Denver, the Captain announced that the C attendant was Rosetta Stone, an entreprenuer who is doing this job as a hobby, but that she has a tape/CD language instruction series empire. He said to be sure that we spoke to her in as many different languages as we could. When the B made her introductions, she introduced the Captain as "Captain Storyteller" - this time we were all rolling our eyes and shaking our heads no as he was telling the passengers this "story."

It sure made for a fun flight!

When we got back to Denver, it was close to midnight and the roads were icy and snowy. I had made arrangements to stay with my surrogate parents, the Geyer's, for the night, and on the way there I passed a multi-car pile-up on I-70 that appeared to have started with a jacknifed truck. But I managed to get by and continued on my way to their house...they kept a light on for me, and had the electric blanket on and a warm bed all ready for me!!! They are such sweet people!!!

I'm back in Colorado Springs now - the sun came out this morning, cleared off the roads, so I came back home and repacked my things. I have to report at 11PM for a redeye to (drumroll please...) Jacksonville, FL. YIPPEE! We arrive at 5AM local time and leave the next day around the same time. So after I catch some sleep in the morning, I hope to hit the beach!!!

I still can't believe that I'm being paid to do this job...

Speed Demon

I had a very relaxing day in Ft. Myers - I read books, surfed the Internet, hung out by the pool, ate at a BBQ place, got propositioned by a guy in a maroon pickup truck, marveled at Christmas stuff for sale right next to swimming pool noodles and goggles in a CVS pharmacy...all around fun!

It was a great flight back to Denver with lots of very fun passengers. I spoke German with one gentleman, another older gentleman flirted with me as his wife of 22 years tried to get him to behave himself, and I had fun talking with the group that was sitting in row 1 - one of whom is a former FAA employee. She still has connections at the FAA, so I made sure I followed all the rules and regs!

I got home late last night, and was greeted by an enthusiastic Kikko! Then this morning I slept in until 8AM, and sat around thinking that I should shower and get dressed, just in case I get "the call." Well, I was still sitting around doing nothing at 10:45AM when my cell phone rang. "Unknown" usually means that crew scheduling is calling...yup. I got my first "short call" this morning. They wanted me to report to the crewroom at DIA by 1PM. OMG!!! I was still in my jammies! So I jumped in the shower, threw on some clothes, and rushed out the door. I got to the crewroom by 12:45PM...15 minutes early. Whew.

Let's just say that once bad weather sets in, if I am on reserve I will most likely hang out in Denver on my reserve days so that if I get "the call" I don't risk killing myself trying to get here!

It turns out that the reason I got called in was that a girl already on the couch just got assigned to a 5-day trip! I have only tomorrow left on duty, so if they don't assign me a trip today I doubt I will go anywhere.

I should count my blessings, though...one of my classmates got "the call" at 4:30AM and had to be here at 6:30AM! She had a quick turn to Los Angeles, and is already back and off for the rest of the day. But she is EXHAUSTED. Legally, I was off duty until 7:10AM so I lucked out!

Ah...what were my new words? FLEXIBILITY, SPONTANEITY, PATIENCE AND TACTFULNESS!

An Unexpected Treat

There I was, riding the couch from Noon to 6PM yesterday, the second day of my five duty days. About an hour after I got to DIA, I received "the call"...you and the other two couch riders will be going to Ft. Myers, FL! Yippee!

It was snowy and cold in Denver, and sunny and hot in Ft. Myers. When we got into town around midnight local time, the crew sat by the pool for several hours telling war stories and learning about each other. We had a moment of silence for the flight crew that was supposed to be on our flight - they were stuck in Chicago in a snowstorm!!! Tough luck, huh?

We will be back in Denver later tonight, and so far I think I'll be off. There are only a few open jobs available for tomorrow and Tuesday, so I doubt I'll be sent out again. This is a traditionally slow week in the industry...

As expected, it is very hot here! We are about 12 miles from the beach, and it is so tempting to go there, but it's also so tempting to just hang out at the hotel and RELAX. What a dilemma!