Exhaustion

I got to sit the couch on Sunday from 6AM until 2PM - at least crew scheduling told me that I was staying late early on during my shift. I slept for 2 hours when I got there at 5:30AM, ate a McDonald's sausage McMuffin with egg, walked around the concourse for awhile, visited with friends, slept another 1 1/2 hours, and then it was time to go home!

The fun began when I got called later that day. Crew scheduling assigned me to a nice 3-day trip starting early the next morning. But when I looked at my destinations, I realized that I'd be flying coast-to-coast two days in a row!

I started out in Denver and did a round-trip to Portland, OR with one crew. Going there, the overheads were filled with suitcases, bags and coats, and the seats were filled with passengers. On the way back, the seats were still filled, but they carried much less onboard. I love those kinds of flights! When we returned to Denver, the rest of the crew was done for the day, but I stayed on board waiting for my next crew that was coming in from Minneapolis. One of the flight attendants was my good friend, Jenn! It's always nice to be able to fly with your friends - it doesn't happen often enough!

But the sad thing is that we flew to New York's LaGuardia, and I had to leave on a 7:20AM van to go to the airport with yet another crew! Meantime, my current crew didn't have to leave until early in the afternoon. Bummer! But after flying coast-to-coast, I sure earned a good night's sleep!

On today's flight, I returned to Denver, lost two flight attendants, and then gained another two - and on we went to Seattle for the night! Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for the company, we had only 80 passengers on a 162-seat plane. Sad, but I needed the break! On the flight from LaGuardia to Denver, I spoke with a young woman who seemed very interested in becoming a flight attendant! She was on my next flight to Seattle, too, and I got her email address so that I could correspond with her and let her know when Frontier starts hiring again (if ever).

There was also a guy from NYC who had a fun time teasing me and the other flight attendants about us being from Colorado - and after talking to him and giving him a can of soda and seconds, what does he do? Get up and go to the bathroom before we reach the gate - at a time when the Captain would have to NOT move the plane because someone was out of their seat. Of all people...  :(

I also met a woman on the last flight who told me that she used to be a flight attendant many years ago. And next she told me that, "...way back then they used to weigh us every week. Obviously, they don't do that any longer." Hmmmmm. I think I should be offended!

Then I had a couple try and take advantage of Frontier. Our company policy is to give free TV to any soldier, in uniform or not, as long as they present a military ID. The husband said that his wife had not yet gotten her TV. It wasn't indicated on my paperwork that she was supposed to get it, and I asked them to show me a receipt. They couldn't, but then she mentioned how she was in the military. She showed me an ID card, but kept her fingers covering part of the card. Interesting. It didn't look like the typical ID card, so I asked to take a closer look. Well...she is a contractor for the Army - in other words, she works at the commissary! I told her that she is NOT a member of the military - she insisted that she was! I then told her that my hubby had been in the military for five years, and that she is NOT a soldier. Her husband later apologized me for the "misunderstanding." Shame on them. Here we are doing something nice for our service members, and she decides to take advantage and tries to pass herself off as something she's not. Tsk tsk tsk. Bad karma will follow them.

We got to Seattle and headed to the hotel in 40 degree temps - after sitting in the room for a little while and sipping a caffeine-free Diet Coke (my afternoon drink of choice), I decided it was time to head downstairs to the bar for my bowl of New England Clam Chowder. YUMMY. It was SO DELICIOUS. I could have had another bowl. Nice.

Now it's time to start winding down. I'm exhausted after flying coast-to-coast two days in a row. Tomorrow I fly back to Denver - and wonder what I'll end up doing. I am still on duty on Thursday, so they could give me a two-day trip. But I won't know until after I return to Denver. This is one of the bad sides of being on reserve...not knowing what the future holds.

Speaking of which, a rumor I heard has been confirmed by a reliable source. I was told that Frontier does not plan on hiring any flight attendants in 2011. I am so very bummed. I had been told in October that we'd be hiring early next year, and that there was hope for me to get off reserve. But today's rumor conversation blows that out of the water. What do I do now? Continue the life of a reserve flight attendant? Quit and get my life back? I just don't know. I don't want to leave, but I really wish I had more control over my life. What to do? What to do?