Finally!

I canceled my Saturday follow-up doctor's appointment because it was pointless. Why pay $25 to be told what I already know? Better yet, why go to a doctor who will tell me to make my own decision as to whether or not I go to work and how many days I am off? I want someone to tell me WHY all this keeps happening!!!

My regular doctor had done blood tests on me, and I got a call telling me that all the tests came back normal. That was so frustrating to me!

I was scheduled to go to Fairbanks, Alaska for 48 hours on a few days later, but had to cancel that trip. Arrrggghhh. I so wanted to go. But I really was still feeling lousy. So I called in sick, and decided to take the bull by the horns! I researched local allergy doctors, asked my doctor who she thinks is the best in town for allergies, and then made an appointment. Fortunately, I was able to get in fairly quickly!

I had 67 scrapes on my back and 21 shots in my arms...the final decision was that I am allergic to NOTHING! That was good news, but SO FRUSTRATING. If I have no allergies, why am I still getting sick? So the doctor ordered a CT scan of my sinuses, ordered me to do a nasal rinse twice a day, and gave me two kinds of nose sprays. The CT results came back the next day and revealed that I had an infection! Yay! Finally, a possible answer as to why I've had a post nasal drip since 4/15/11. Yippee! He then gave me an RX for an antibiotic for 21 days, and a recommendation to eat Activia each morning! So far, so good - I actually feel human again! Yay!

On a side note, when I told the doctor my issue with septic shock back in May, he said he's heard of that kind of reaction to Bactrim before...so now I'm back to thinking that all that ICU stuff was due to a bad drug reaction. That helps with all the uncertainty I've had as to what's happening to me!

Since I've been feeling better, I went back to work. I did a three-day trip to Minneapolis (went to Long Tall Sally - a tall girl store - at the Mall of America) and actually found pants that fit as well as a pair of shoes! The next night was spent in Seattle, and the highlight of that trip was having the hotel's delicious clam chowder for lunch before I had to report for duty. The final night of the trip was in Grand Rapids, Michigan at a very nice hotel. It was a short night, so I didn't do anything other than sleep! The crew on this trip was GREAT! On a couple of the flights, we were on a 320 and needed an extra flight attendant. The first one was MEAN and yelled at us over stupid things. Then we warned the second one that we didn't want to be yelled at! If she couldn't be nice to us, we wanted her to just be quiet. It worked!

I'm now on the last night of a 3-day trip that I picked up. I started out on Friday morning very early (4AM) and worked the first flight to LaGuardia in the morning. After that one leg, I was done for the day! I had made plans with Jen and James to go to dinner and a Broadway show - and that's exactly what I did! We had dinner at Southern Hospitality - a restaurant owned by Justin Timberlake. The BBQ pulled chicken is to die for, along with the BBQ baked beans and corn bread. I wish I had placed a double order and taken some home with me! It was a late night, and I had an early show this morning. Darn. I didn't want to get up. But I had to fly back to DEN and then on to San Francisco. Unfortunately, I was too tired to go out and do anything...so I sat down, intending to do some work on the internet, and I promptly FELL ASLEEP! After about an hour, I woke up - my hands were still poised above the computer keyboard! So I got up, had some dinner and now I'm getting ready to call it a very early night! The captain and one of the other flight attendants have family here, and I have a cousin who lives in Half Moon Bay, CA - but I have no idea how far away that is. Maybe next time I will give my cousin a call and see if she's available for lunch.

Next up, I am off until 8/7 when I fly to FAIRBANKS, Alaska for 48 hours! Yippee! I was able to trade my trip for a FAI trip, and I am so excited! This being a lineholder thing is pretty awesome! I can trade trips, drop trips, and even pick up trips off the tradeboard. A bit of control in my everyday life and I'm LOVING IT.

I am actually starting to fall asleep as I write this, so I am going to call it a night and go to bed!

Not Again!

I am sick again. At least I didn't end up in the ICU this time. I now have bronchitis - I was able to do my double Portland overnight trip. It was a great trip, aside from the fact that I felt horrible.

I enjoyed spending time with my former employee, Laura, on my first afternoon in Portland. She took me downtown where we had dinner at Jake's - delicious fish and chips! I love how they've taken old buildings and found new uses for them. Laura is a published author of walking tour books, so on a future visit I hope to have the time to have her take me on a guided walk!

The second layover was a bit longer, and I stayed put. The furthest I ventured out was to the "Hot Pot Sushi Spot" - a sushi restaurant that has a conveyor belt with the selections passing by you! The color of the plate determines the price of the sushi - you just take the plate off the conveyor belt, eat it, then grab another. At the end, they'll add up your plates and that's what you pay! I have to see if we have a restaurant like that here in Colorado Springs! Of course, I had to finish off the meal with a visit to Yo! Yogurt next door. Then I went to bed at 6:30PM. Yes...you read that correctly. I drugged myself up so that I could sleep. The previous night, all I could hear was the rattling and rasping of my chest - and that was with earplugs. This night I wanted to sleep. And I did!

I left the trip earlier than the rest of the crew - they had a 2 1/2 hour sit in Denver and then a Las Vegas turn, and I got to go home. And not a moment too soon! I was feeling horrid. I called my doctor's office using our "secret code" - and I got an appointment for the next day. The girl who answered the phone offered me an appointment for August 15. I told her I'd be dead by then.

My next trip was a 3-day starting tomorrow - I was looking forward to going to Minneapolis, where I was going to spend Friday morning at the Mall of America trying on anything and everything in my size! It's probably a good thing that my doctor grounded me! Then Friday night I had a short layover in Los Angeles - not even enough time to run over to Trader Joe's for my Multiseed Soy Crackers. Yummy!

I have a follow-up at the doctor's office on Saturday - that visit will determine if I get to go to Fairbanks, Alaska on Monday for a 48 hour layover. I have mixed feelings - I want to be 100% healthy before I go, and I'm not sure that I'll be able to pull that off by Monday. I was bringing a friend with me on the trip, but now there are only 2 empty seats. There are too many variables right now...I just want to feel better!

Back to Portland - the second night, my hotel room faced Mt. St. Helen's. Awesome! Laura told me all about how you can go up to the top of the crater, but have to watch your footing - someone stepped into some ash that was deeper than expected and he fell into the crater. Yikes! What a way to go! I also took an incredible picture of Mt. Hood as we were flying into town, and maybe one of these days I'll post it to this blog and to Facebook.

My last flight back to Denver with the crew was on an Airbus 320, which means that we have an extra flight attendant. Our fourth was a girl named, Kelly - but I call her "Sunshine." She calls me "Number 1." After we did the safety demo, the passenger in 12C told Sunshine and Kari that they needed to do their safety demos more like me - fluid hands, animation, etc. I don't think Sunshine appreciated the comment, but Kari told me all about it! Hahahahaha! I just wish the guy would write a nice letter saying how wonderful I am. Ha! It's a good thing I don't do this job for the written accolades! I do it because I am good at it, and I have fun! Even when I feel like ca-ca.

Well, I guess that's all there is to say for now. I need to find out my flying fate. My last paycheck was for a whopping $12.50 and that won't go very far. I need to catch up! But I can't do it if I can't breathe!!!

The Wait is Over!

I was released from medical leave on June 11th. My June schedule was blank, except for my vacation that was scheduled for June 23-30. The head of the Crew Planning Department told me that I needed to pick up an additional 19 hours and 18 minutes of flying from open time to complete my June schedule. Wow - that's just like being a lineholder!

Then I was told that I missed the deadline to be included in the July bid, and all my classmates ACTUALLY GOT LINES! Woo hoo! I asked the head of Crew Planning what my situation is, and he said that I could choose to be on reserve, or I could BUILD MY OWN SCHEDULE with at least 60 hours from open time. OMG. I'm officially a lineholder! It only took 3 years and 10 months. I am in shock.

So I picked up 60 hours of trips off of open time, then I picked up a trip or two off the trade board. Then I swapped a trip or two for other trips in open time, and right now I'm waiting for someone to give me a 48 hour layover in Fairbanks, Alaska for a 3-day. But she hasn't approved the trade yet...I'm not sure what she's waiting for. A friend wants to go with me, but I will need an answer soon in order to for my friend to get time off from work. 

After I did my 4-day, I focused full-time on Jen's wedding. All the events - bachelorette party, bridal shower, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception, and brunch went off without a hitch! My little girl was absolutely beautiful!

 

 Jen modeling her gown for the photographer in the bridal suite before the ceremony.

 

 Casey (the best man) escorting me to my seat before the ceremony.

  Brittany (the bridesmaid and cousin of the bride) coming down the aisle.

 

Valerie, the maid of honor (and bride's best friend).

 Greg escorting his daughter down the aisle.

 The outdoor ceremony with Pike's Peak in the background.

After the guests left and Jen and James left on their honeymoon, it was time to go back to "normal life." I had a three-day trip scheduled starting on 7/1 and had an absolute blast on the trip! Why? I had a great crew. The A flight attendant (Nichole) was one of our new hires that helped push me up the seniority ladder, the B (Bridgette) was a wonderful lady I last flew with back when I started and the CPT and FO were very nice - Chris and Jason. We all just hit it off and had lots of laughs!

As usual, the passengers picked up on the fact that we were enjoying our jobs! We got lots of compliments...but wouldn't it be nice if just one of those people put it in writing?!?!? We also had our share of screaming babies/toddlers. I managed to quiet a couple by telling the kids, "Shhhhhh! You are waking up the babies!" One mom, however, told me that her kid was ONLY 1 and doesn't know any better. She said that she just lets him scream! Are you kidding me? I told her that none of the passengers sitting around her want to hear her child screaming for all or even a part of the trip! I was shocked. Fortunately, the kid was awesome and did not make another peep!

Our first night was spent in Nashville, TN - we got there really late in the evening and got to sleep in the next morning. I knew that there was an Irish Dancing competition at the Gaylord Hotel downtown, but I chose to stay in my nice COLD hotel room, looking out the window at the crowded swimming pool. I really don't remember how I passed the time...but it flew fairly quickly.

Our next night was in Seattle, WA. Again, we arrived late, but this time we had a morning show time. Not my favorite! I used to be a real morning person, but after having been on this job for 46 months, I really prefer going to bed and waking up without an alarm clock. BUT, that was not to be. We flew back to Denver, and then had over a two-hour sit until we did our "victory lap" to Indianapolis. Let's just say that NONE of us wanted to do that trip, but we had no choice. So the CPT and FO asked us to rate their landings to break up the monotony of the victory lap. I gave the landing in IND a 9.8 - it was pretty awesome! Then I gave a 9.8 for the landing back in DEN, too. We actually arrived 30 minutes early, and while we were waiting for a gate, the CPT called us and asked us to give him the scores. So I wrote a note saying, "It was a tie! You both were awarded 9.8". But then I had a change of heart...I sent another note deducting .5 points from the second landing due to the fact that we were still sitting on the taxiway waiting for a gate! You could hear the CPT and FO laughing at the first note, and then REALLY laughing at the second note! It turns out that they had a wager going...they're flying together all this month, and the loser had to bring the beef jerky and sunflower seeds for their next trip! I think the FO won.

I don't fly again until Saturday, and then I'll do two layovers in Portland, OR. It is SO NICE knowing when I'm flying and where I'm going! I've even gotten in touch with a former employee from my Yellowstone National Park days - we're going to have an early dinner on Saturday night!

Soon, we'll get to bid for our August line. I have been playing around with bidding for individual trips that I'd like as well as days off that I'd like. It will be interesting to see what I end up with since I'll be at the bottom of the lineholder list! Stay tuned!