Merry Christmas (finally)!

Yes...it is 12/27/09, and it is Christmas in the Moore household!

After arriving back in Denver, we found out that our CPT was being replaced with another - we were a little sad, because we (the FAs) were working on "setting him up" with our single FA. He did leave our trip with our phone numbers and email addresses...the ball is now in his court.

Our flight to Portland, OR was uneventful and our new CPT was really very nice. We did not do anything as a team for Christmas Eve - I think we were all trying to pretend that it was just another ordinary night. In the morning, however, you could see that the hotel staff was trying to make their guests feel like it was Christmas - there were Hershey's hugs, candy canes, fresh pastries and fresh fruit for us to take with us as we flew back to Denver (normally, there isn't any of these). And, I'm happy to report, the carpeting in my hotel room was not soaking wet (like it was in my previous two visits)!

When we arrived in Denver, I went to a "real lunch" with the CPT and the FO at the Denver Chop House - a "real restaurant," complete with tablecloths and waitstaff. Yay! We had artichoke dip for an appetizer and then prime rib sandwiches for lunch. Delicious! Merry Christmas! We also had a good talk - the CPT is the VP of FAPA (which I think stands for the Frontier Airline Pilots' Association). I told him that he had the entire lunch to convince me of the need for the flight attendants to unionize. And he did a good job. If we could manage to do what they have done, it'd be the same as our current "leadership council," but with legal protection. There's no need for Teamsters or AFA to represent us - we can speak for ourselves.

After lunch, we picked up our "Christmas Lunch" from Frontier (a delicious ham or turkey sandwich, snack bar, applesauce, brownie and tangerine) and headed to our Nashville turn. One of our FAs from the trip had dropped the turn, so we were joined by some "fresh blood." We also changed our positions, so I didn't have to deal with Christmas passengers' bags any longer!!! Woo hoo! By the time we finished the loooooonnnnnnnng turn, we were all ready to be home. We all agreed, however, that it was a great trip with a great team!

So I went ahead and drove home. Jen was home from college, the tree was decorated, the presents all wrapped, and we decided to wait and see what the morning held. I came downstairs at around 6:46AM on 12/26 and looked online at my schedule...bummer. I saw a turn to Orlando. A senior mama evidently had too much eggnog and called in sick. I was so upset. I really wanted to stay home and celebrate with my family. After throwing myself a pity party, I pulled myself together and moved on. (However, I do plan on using my voodoo doll to seek revenge on the unsuspecting slacker.)

The trip to Denver was horrific. Just as it was the night before, from the south edge of Denver to the airport, the roads were snow-covered and icy, and there was blowing snow everywhere. Not what I needed to get me into a holiday mood. Then, as I was exiting the highway onto the airport property, my car started fishtailing...fortunately, I seem to be pretty good in keeping cars going straight on snow/ice, and I made it safely to work.

But unfortunately, I did not enjoy my fellow FAs as much as I might have - I got an overwhelming sense of "having to defend myself" as to how I was doing my job. I do my job the way that I was trained. Period. No questions. But I was asked, "why do you do it this way?" and, "why do you do it that way?" when all I really needed to say was, "Ladies, just read your manual!" Sheesh. And I just read the latest weekly newsletter from the company and in it, it addressed one of the problems I had - hahahahahahaha! I am seeing that the company really DOES want us to do it the way that I've been doing it! Woo hoo! A sense of support and vindication! Yippee!

Anyway, that trip couldn't be over fast enough. Fortunately, the passengers were a lot less high maintenance than on Christmas Day - most of these people were either a) returning from Christmas vacation at Walt DisneyWorld or b) FL residents flying to the ski areas for a winter skiing vacation, so they were all pretty much in a very good mood. That was good. The CPT and FO were really nice and I enjoyed talking to them, but it sure was great to have the trip end.

As I was walking to the bus that would take me to the employee lot, I heard those magic words, "You are released to your days off..." Halleluiah! Let our Moore family Christmas celebration FINALLY begin!