Monday, June 30, 2008

Back to Being Sad

It's a furlough. No benefits - no medical, no life insurance, no flight benefits, no nothing. It starts 9/1/08.

I got assigned a trip to Omaha tomorrow with a showtime of 6AM. I decided to call my Manager to see what the rules are for flying with a splint. It's not allowed, and he told me to call crew scheduling and take myself off the available list.

Next, my doctor from Saturday called and said that there's a possible fracture in my wrist. I need to go see an orthopedic guy to decide whether or not I need a cast...

It's been a really tough day.

Now I'm REALLY Confused!

Since I had just had a conversation with the VP of Inflight in the crewroom last Thursday, I decided to email her and ask why I'm now being eliminated instead of furloughed. She responded within 20 minutes and said that the letter I received is required by law and that it is their policy to furlough flight attendants.

So I just wrote her back and told her that I was even more confused...the letter says I'm permanently eliminated, but then she says I'm furloughed. Only one can be right, and I need to know which one it is.

Well...at least I know that my tear ducts work very well.

Furlough my Foot!

I just received a letter via overnight delivery from Frontier...starts out: "We regret to inform you that as of September 1, 2008, Frontier Airlines will be permanently eliminating a number of positions at DIA... You are receiving this official notice because your job will be eliminated as of September 1, 2008."

Lovely, huh? Here I thought I'd be waiting in the wings until things got better. Instead, I'm out in the cold.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Ouchie!

As if being furloughed wasn't enough, I had an unfortuate incident on Friday with:
The Dog
The Newly Washed Kitchen Floor
My Slippers
The Lawn Service
As I lay on the floor after experiencing all of the above, I realized that I now know how it feels to fall when you are old...

I will let you use your imaginations as to how the scene unfolded, but the end result was a sore right wrist. So sore that I ended up at the doctor's office yesterday. One temporary splint and five x-rays later, I am resting comfortably. No word yet as to whether it is a fracture or a sprain...but my vote is going to a sprain.

I am back on duty on Tuesday, July 1 and I know for sure that they are not going to like my splint...stay tuned for the next exciting episode!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

DEVASTATION

Frontier Airlines announced yesterday that we are facing a reduction in our fleet, as well as a 17% across the board reduction in force. It looks like at least 170 flight attendants will be furloughed (rehired at a later date). I guess that's better than in the other departments...they are being terminated.

It is so, so sad. My eyes kept tearing up when I was in the crewroom - our VP - Inflight was there answering questions, and it sounds like it's a done deal. She's going to try and make it voluntary, but I doubt seriously that they'll get enough people willing to take an early retirement. I am 79 from the bottom of 1037 flight attendants, and am pretty sure that I will soon be without this wonderful job.

So I am grieving the news today, and know that one of these days that I will pick myself up, brush myself off, and move on to something bigger and better. Maybe I'll become a Circus Clown, a Cruise Line Director, or maybe an Underwater Basket Weaver.

Any ideas?

Mom to the Rescue!

I took the redeye flight to NYC and arrived at Jen's around 8AM. We slept in until around 1PM and then spent the next three days watching "The Gilmore Girls," eating ice cream, walking, climbing 6 flights of stairs, going to Vynl for breakfast/lunch/dinner, walking, going to Jen's job, running errands, walking, climbing 6 flights of stairs, doing laundry, and climbing 6 flights of stairs.

I turned into my Mom when I said "Let's clean your closet!" to Jen. But she let me. I emptied things out, made more room available, bought a shoe rack for their hallway, etc. etc. etc. I even have a couple things lined up to do the next time I am there.

While Jen worked, I played with my new camera, testing it out on unsuspecting tourists, as well as worked on my Sudoku puzzle book.

Jen is doing very well. She played in the Broadway Softball League today on the "In the Heights" team - they won! Yippee!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

What a Weekend!

On Friday, I got the extra jumpseat on the flight to Chicago...! Whew! There are perks to being a flight attendant.

The wedding yesterday was gorgeous. I will post some pictures soon. The reception was at this fantastic place in Frankfort, IL - it was a large building with walls that opened - so it was an indoor/outdoor party. Open bar, dance floor, delicious buffet, firepit, waterfall & pond, gazebos. And it was a beautiful evening weatherwise. I caught up with most of my first cousins, hung out with a few of their kids, and ate delicious wedding cake and candy from the Candy Bar!

I spent a portion of this morning with my long-time friend Joan - she picked me up at Midway airport and drove me to O'Hare. We stopped for breakfast along the way, so we had a nice, but short, visit. At O'Hare, I visited the concourses where US Airways, Delta, American and JetBlue have their gates and tried unsuccessfully to get on a flight to NYC. Each of those carriers had cancelled a flight to NYC today!!! So all their remaining flights were packed.

So then I took the train from O'Hare to Midway - at one point, we had to get off the train, get on a bus, and then get back on the train...the line was under construction! Anyway, when I got back to Midway I tried to get on two different Delta flights to NYC, but they had also cancelled an earlier flight and were begging people to give up their seats. What the heck is going on?!?!

But I did get a regular seat on Frontier back to Denver. Then I went to another concourse to see if there were any more flights to NYC today - JetBlue had one...but they cancelled it!!! So...I went to the Frontier counter and found out that our redeye flight (leaves DEN at 12:35AM and arrives around 6AM) is overbooked by two seats and has 5 standbys, none of whom are flight attendants...so I am planning to fly the jumpseat...that is not going to be pleasant on an overnight flight. But at least I will get to NYC.

I had better go take a nap...

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Living the High Life

My daughter never ceases to amaze me. She has a job selling merchandise at Broadway shows - two of which just happened to have won major awards on Sunday night! She did not attend the Tony Awards Show at Radio City Music Hall, but instead, her boss Matt gave the sales crew tickets to the "Viewing Party/After-Party" for "In the Heights." Here's a picture of her and her boss at the party:

She occasionally works at "South Pacific," which won the "Best Revival of a Musical" Tony award (along with SIX other Tony awards), and most often she works at "In The Heights," which won the "Best Musical" Tony award (along with THREE other Tony awards)! So, of course, she had to have her picture taken kissing Lin's actual "Best Score" Tony...

and a picture with the guy who created and starred in the show,

Lin-Manuel Miranda...

And...let's not forget those that attended the party who are famous in their own right! Here's a picture of Brooke Shields (who, surprisingly, wasn't the nicest person) ....

and a picture with the hottest man on earth - Taye Diggs.

What a rough life she is leading...

A Purpose!

Yesterday I researched the Internet for my in-laws...I went in search of Pickleball and Retirement Communities. Here are my results:

Pickleball exists in Colorado Springs! This is the sport that my father-in-law plays practically every day. In fact, he has a gold medal from the Senior Olympics in Arlington, VA! So, if and when he relocates, he'd like an area that has already established the sport...most are located in FL, TX and AZ, but we did find one group here. That's a start.

Next, we looked into two retirement communities - one well-established and very large (500+ residents) and one under construction and relatively small (around 100 residents). They favored the smaller site - the model homes were awesome! Plus, it is connected to the gerontology and psychology departments of the University of Colorado, as well as their nursing school Beth-El College. There will be lots of activities, based on what the residents want, they've lured away a chef from a local restaurant, and the location is down the hill from where we live. We're going back this afternoon to take a hard hat tour of the actual units that are available.

Lastly, I went to the website for the Colorado Springs Senior Center and printed their Summer 2008 Activity Book. Let's just say...between that book and the activities that will be offered by the residence, if anyone is "bored" it is their own doggone fault!

It's a hard decision to sell the family home and move across the country, so don't expect any news flashes...but at least we've researched the available options in our area, and they know what to expect as far as activities.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Yesterday

Yesterday is a blur. I woke up at 3:40AM (DC time) and drove to Diane's house to pick her and her family up and drive them to the airport. Then I drove back to Mom's, put the finishing touches on my face, and then she and I drove back to Diane's to pick up my cousins Pat and Rory, and ended up back at the airport!

This time, I got out, too...everyone else we brought to the airport was heading to Nassau, but I was heading back to CO with my in-laws. They arrived soon after and we played "the waiting game" wondering if we were all going to be able to squeeze onto the flight. SUCCESS!

I gave (Hershey's) kisses to each of the crewmembers as a thank you for the ride, and we were on our way. But once we were back in CO, I realized I still had to drive to Colorado Springs! I took my in-laws on a harrowing ride...weaving in and out of traffic, speeding up to 84mph and down to whatever the hog in the left lane felt like driving, all in my quest to return home. Yikes!

Once home, we visited Safeway to plan that evening's meal (Crockpot Classics are a LIFESAVER), and then I tried to stay awake for the rest of the evening. Greg arrived home at around 6:45PM or so, dinner was at 7:15PM or so, and I was in bed at around 9PM or so. I don't quite remember getting ready.

But today is a new day! Everyone is up and about...and I'm not sure what the plans are for the day. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Friends are a Good Thing

I helped my "baby sister" pick out a bathing suit this morning (she's going to the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island on Friday), and we also found some jeans at the Tall Girl Store! Then we took Mom to lunch at Anthony's, and Mom and I spent the afternoon playing Balderdash, 65, and Scattergories.

This evening, one of my friends from my high school years, Kathy, hosted an impromptu dinner for me and a few of our friends - Robyn, Lisa and Mary Kay. It was so much fun to catch up with everyone's lives, share a meal and a bottle of wine, and relax and talk for a few hours.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

100 Degrees in the Shade

Yes...you read the title correctly. It was 100 degrees in the shade today here in Virginia. And that is not even taking the humidity level into consideration...

I played BINGO at the Wrinkle Club (officially known as the 55+ Club) with my Mom (she's the President), and I actually won $3!!! There was a short meeting, then everyone ate their lunches and snacks, and then we played BINGO (the part that Mom HATES with a passion - I, however, enjoy it!).

Afterwards, we came back to the apartment and took naps. Ah...the joys of being old. Naps are allowed. We then went to our favorite Chinese buffet for dinner, ran a couple errands, and then settled in for the night at her apartment.

Of course, the settling in part includes playing cards. Tonight we played 65. We actually tied for the first game, but then she beat me badly in the second game. So I'm now going to go to bed, defeated and sad. Boo hoo hoo.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Fun Website

I discovered an interesting website this morning http://morph.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Transformer/. Here are the results of the morphing of my blog picture...

Baby Susan / Teenager Susan

Modigliani Susan / Mucha Susan

West-Asian Susan / Afro-Caribbean Susan

Ape Susan / Botticelli Susan

East-Asian Susan / Manga-Cartoon Susan

Manly Man Susan

Maybe it's time I called Frontier to see if they would like me to come back to work...

Saturday, June 7, 2008

6th Day of 29 Days

I drove to DIA via Boulder (or was it Wyoming?!?!) to pick up Jen on Thursday afternoon. The reason for the "long way around" was that I had an errand in Boulder - which took me exactly 10 minutes to complete! But I did learn that Boulder is only 1/2 hour from the airport. Amazing.

Jen and I are enjoying each other's company - watching "The Gilmore Girls" and just hanging out. We went to see the "Sex and the City" movie yesterday - it was her 3rd time and my 2nd. Hopefully, she and Greg will spend some time together today and tomorrow - I think we'll celebrate Father's Day early and go out to dinner on Sunday!



We had a bit of neighborhood excitement yesterday - a brush fire started in a gully up the hill from us in the afternoon, and by nightfall was hopefully put out. It got within 300 yards of homes (that are about a mile away from us)...I noticed the smoke when a plane flew VERY LOW over our home - it turns out that it had fire retardant that it dropped on the fire. Never a dull moment, huh?

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

3rd Day of 29 Days

Well, well, well. I have accomplished absolutely NOTHING! Though I did run to the grocery store and dropped off a pair of pants at the tailor shop...

Jen had a slight change in plans - she will be returning from El Paso tomorrow, and will stay with us until Monday. I think she's enjoying her time with her best friend, Valerie.

I've been making/changing/cancelling flight reservations, as well as catching up on email, etc. But out of curiosity, I printed out a map of all the destinations that Frontier flies and then marked on the map the number of times I've flown to each city - these are turns and overnights all rolled into one number! Here are my results:

Five visits - Salt Lake City, Chicago

Four visits - Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Cancun, St. Louis, Washington, DC

Three visits - Sacramento, Phoenix, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Jacksonville

Two visits - Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Dayton, Nashville, Louisville, Philadelphia, New York, Tampa

One visit - San Jose, Las Vegas, San Diego, Tuscon, Albuquerque, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallerta, Guadalajara, San Jose Costa Rica, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Atlanta, Ft. Myers, Monroe, Hartford

Here is a list of places that Frontier flies to that I have yet to visit - Omaha, Anchorage, Vancouver, Spokane, Portland, Orange County, Boise, Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel, Oklahoma City, Milaukee, Akron/Cleveland, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale.

And while I'm at it, here's a list of places that Lynx (our baby airline) flies to that I have yet to visit - Bozeman, Billings, Jackson Hole, Rapid City, Fargo, Grand Junction, Aspen, Durango, Colorado Springs, El Paso, Wichita.

Next time I'm procrastinating from doing something else, I'll have to sit down and calculate the mileage I've flown!

Monday, June 2, 2008

1st Day of 29 Days

On my first day of "vacation," I slept in until the lovely hour of 7AM (after waking up at 2AM, 2:30AM, 3:30AM and 4:30AM). I ate breakfast and read the paper, then sat down at the computer to work on my email...but I started falling asleep at the keyboard! So off I went to my sofa in the den, where Kikko and I took a nap for several hours!

The rest of the morning/afternoon were just as exciting! I did not even get dressed until 5:30PM, and that was only because I had a Church potluck at 6:30PM.

I think I could get used to this "not working" stuff.

My little girl used her flight benefits for the first time today - she flew from New York to Denver and then on to El Paso. She just arrived there (that's why I'm not in bed yet...I've been waiting for her to land) and is now with her best friend, Valerie! Jen will fly back to Denver on Wednesday and then spend about 5-6 days with us. It will be great to have her home.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Too Pooped to Pop

Right as I was dozing off last night I heard a loud "whoosh" of water coming from the vicinity of the bathroom. I got out of bed and peeked in and saw water coming out of the light fixture above the shower and flowing into the bathtub! I called the front desk, changed into my workout clothes, and waited for maintenance to arrive. When I showed the guy the problem, he said "Hmmm. This is not good. We are going to have to give you another room."

So I packed it all up and moved up one flight...the new room wasn't quite as nice. Double bed instead of king, no kleenex anywhere, older TV (not a flat screen). Boy, am I becoming a snob!

Our van this morning was at 4:50AM, and then we were off to Denver! I barely even remember the flight now...it seems like so long ago. After I said goodbye to the crew, I called crew scheduling and they told me I was doing a turn to Cancun, and the flight was leaving in about 45 minutes.

So I went to my new gate, got settled on the plane and met my new crew. I had a snotty passenger who was a frequent flyer and kept flashing his FF card. He wanted free TV for his entire family (he's allowed only one free TV), he wanted more blankets brought onto the plane, he wanted to keep his beverage even though we were getting ready to land. He was a real pain in the derriere. I'm kicking around the idea of "turning him in."

Anyway, Cancun looked real nice from the airplane - I wish I could have stayed! I had good conversations with both of my co-workers. It turns out that the aft galley flight attendant is NUMBER ONE in seniority - after I found that out, I started goofing up stuff, and had to remind myself that it's no big deal that she is #1 of 1044 and I am 81 from the BOTTOM of that 1044. I learned lots of tips by watching her - she's been a flight attendant for 40 years! The front flight attendant has been with the company for 11 years, and she was a lot of fun to talk to also! She had lots of good stories to tell.

So...even though I am now EXHAUSTED, it was a great series of trips. And now, if everything goes as planned, I will not be working again until July 1. (However, I just noticed that the company is looking for "will fly" flight attendants...COLAs may be reversed if that keeps up.)