I'm Back!

My last post was on 11/28/11 - where the heck has the time gone?

I had a quick three day trip at the end of November running into the beginning of December - but I was a bump on a log and was a slam-clicker. Believe it or not, I skipped going to the casinos in Vegas, and the next night in Chicago I chose to stay in the hotel instead of partying with my crew downstairs - if I didn't have such early show times, I would have come out and played...especially in Chicago, where I have a TON of family.

Technically, when I left Vegas and headed to Chicago, I was on reserve status again. Yuck. And I had the next two days on reserve - the first day I was supposed to do an overnight to Kansas City, but let's just say, that for the first time in four years I slept through my alarm and actually missed my show time! Never before had that happened. I called Crew Scheduling to let them know that I "blew it," and asked if they still wanted me at DIA. They took a couch-sitter and put that person on my trip, and then I got to sit the couch from 6AM until Noon.

And then, of course, they sent me on a turn on Sunday - one that had a very early morning show time. That made four days in a row of early show times - one as early as 2:15AM Denver time! And guess what happened?!?!? Yes, I got sick with another sinus infection! That's the way it's always been in my life...if I stay up all night or don't get enough sleep, my body is unhappy, and a sinus infection takes over. Bummer.

Fortunately, I got an appointment the next day with my allergy doctor's nurse practitioner, and she gave me some antibiotics and I was told I'd be ok to go back on duty two days later. WRONG. I had so much gunk running down my throat, lots of pressure in my head, and there was no way that I could go back onto an airplane and be cordial and welcoming! I'll go back to work on Thursday, 12/15, and in the meantime, I've come to realize that I AM ALLERGIC TO RESERVE duty! I've got a five day stretch to go before Christmas and then five days afterwards, and then reserve will be over for another year! Halleluiah!

So, what do you think about Alec Baldwin? What an ass. We don't have first class, so I doubt he'd ever lower himself and fly on one of our airplanes. No great loss, huh? Yes...it's true that only one cell phone won't make a difference with the communication service. But what if all 162 or 138 people had a phone, laptop or Kindle turned on and searching for internet signals? I believe that would interfere with the plane's communication systems. Pilots have reported interference with their equipment - these electornic devices may be the cause. But obviously, Alec is too important to listen to and follow the FAA requirements.  And calling the flight attendant a former 1950's gym teacher?!?!? I wish she could have retorted back to him that he's a fat bum who doesn't deserve a beautiful daughter (he called her a pig several months ago).

It's time to enjoy the last couple days off...before having to jump back into the reserve pool!

I'm Tired

I had to wake up at 2:20AM (Denver time) in Dayton, OH to get ready for my 5:20AM shuttle to the airport. I made a BIG MISTAKE and fell asleep while watching TV when I got into my hotel room yesterday. When it was time for bed, it was VERY HARD to go to sleep - I'm paying for it now.

This morning's flight was easy as pie. Everyone was in a great mood, we left DAY early, and we arrived in DEN even earlier! But I wanted to pass on some comments I heard from other crewmembers on the crew bus to the parking lot this morning.

- A passenger asked the flight attendant for a diaper for her baby. When the flight attendant said she didn't have any, the passenger asked if she could ask all the other passengers if they had one. How/why does one travel without being properly prepared for their baby, their own personal hygiene needs, etc. Really?

- On a flight from Branson, MO to Salt Lake City, UT approximately 99% of the plane were passengers who were at least 100 years old. The flight attendant removed the big fluffy coat from the overhead bin, and asked whose it was. A little old man said it was his, and said, "I'm entitled to my overhead space." The flight attendant tried to explain the the passenger about putting the larger roller bags in first, and then followed by putting the coats in the overhead. The passenger looked at the flight attendant, pointed his bony, crooked finger at her, and said, "SCREW you!" His wife hit him and told him to shut up, while the other old ladies expressed dismay from having heard such insulting language! Whatever happened to treating women with respect? The same flight attendant said that when she later asked him what he'd like to drink, he pointed that long bony, crooked finger at her, and said, "I don't want ANYTHING from you!" Really?

The Difference a Day Makes

On the second busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday, my flights were on time (if not early), and everyone seems to have been in a great mood! Halleluiah!

On the way from Seattle to Denver, we had the Akron University Girls' Basketball team, who had just won their game. And then from Denver to Dayton, we had Miami University's Hockey team, who had just won a tournament. Lots of happy, but tired athletes today.

The nastiness of the infamous three passengers last night is all but forgotten. Today, passengers approached me off the airplane while I was walking from one gate to another, or waiting for the hotel van, and told me that I was so funny or that they loved the chocolate chip cookies that I served! It makes me happy.

I flew with another brand new flight attendant this morning from Seattle to Denver - she, too, agrees that this is the easiest job in the world. She has such a good attitude, she's easy-going and happy - I told her that she is an awesome addition to our company. We need to get rid of the tired and worn out flight attendants and bring in more like the lady I flew with this morning. It's so refreshing!

And here I am in Dayton, OH for the night. I had hoped to go out walking once I got here, but it's rainy! I forgot that it rains for hours and hours here (well, anywhere in the east). I'm so used to storms that blow in, rain hard, and then blows right back out! So instead of taking a long walk, I decided to turn on the boob tube and I promptly fell asleep! Now it's past 9PM and I have to be up at 4:25AM. Argggh! But I have one leg home tomorrow...and I'll probably promptly fall asleep on the couch when I get home!

A Long Day

I am on the 4th day of 6 days of flying, and until today, it had been wonderful! I actually got to go out to dinner with my baby girl and her hubby on her 23rd birthday! We went to one of the most wonderful steak houses that I'd ever been to...The Old Homestead. I had an 18 oz. filet mignon, and OMG. It was incredible! But, as always, it's so tough to leave my daughter in NYC. You'd think that I would be used to it by this time.

Our flight from LaGuardia to Denver was fairly uneventful. Most everyone slept, which made my job even easier! While we were inflight, the boys needed to come out of the flight deck for a potty break. And guess what? They couldn't get out of the flight deck! The door was "stuck." They tried and tried, and we finally called them to ask what the heck they were doing! That's when they told me to push against the door. I did so, and almost lost my footing as the door swung open. Well, once we were on the ground, that broken door caused our flight to be delayed!

The bad news is that the part we needed was in Arizona. Then there was talk of downsizing us to an A319, but then we'd have to kick 19 people off the flight and how would we choose? So they decided to wait for another plane to come in and we would take that new plane - we left 3 hours late. People started boarding the flight with an "attitude," and I told them not to be mad at us! It was a mechanical, clean and simple. Things happen.

I thought the flight went really well - there were some very nice people on board who took the time to tell me how great we all were, that I had a great sense of humor and that my sound effects during my safety demo are great! As his reward, I gave the gentleman a dozen chocolate chip cookies! But towards the end of the flight, I came across a row of people who were VERY UNHAPPY. There was a couple with a baby and a guy sitting next to them. The baby cried most of the flight, so the parents were frustrated and the guy was irritated beyond belief. They all told me that they hated my airline and would NEVER come back. I expressed my sorrow to them. The guy felt that it was horrible that we did not have the part in Denver that was needed to fix the plane. Well...that's what happens when your company gets bought out by another. Things change. The couple was pissed because their kid had been inconvenienced for 6 HOURS. There weren't enough ticket agents, so it took forever to get their bags checked, and get through security. And their poor child was exhausted. And he screamed. And screamed. And then he screamed again. But it was all OUR FAULT. Haven't these people ever heard of Benedryl?

Anyway - as I left those angry passengers and walked back to the forward galley, lots and lots of passengers told me how great of a job we did, especially considering the circumstances. That was JUST what I needed to hear! We continued to hear more of the same during the deplaning. EXCEPT for the mom of the screaming baby. All she wanted was my name. Lovely. Just lovely. I seriously doubt that she'll be writing me a complimentary letter.

So, to blow off steam, I walked to our hotel - I walked at my own pace and just enjoyed the cool, crisp evening. I plan on writing my report about the "incident" just in case she follows through and complains about me. I can hardly wait.

When I got to my room, the last thing I wanted was to be around more people - so I ordered ROOM SERVICE! I don't normally use it, but I really did not want to be around people anymore. So I've now finished my clam chowder, creme brulee and Coors Lite! Yummy yummy yummy! But soon it will be time to go off to bed - we have a van scheduled at 5AM. Tomorrow, we'll fly back to Denver and then continue on to Dayton, OH - the place where I was scheduled to spend 49 hours over Thanksgiving! Thank God I got out of that and was able to spend an amazing day with family.

So now I'm taking my last sips of beer and it'll soon be time to go to sleep!

Pay it Forward...

I was pleasantly surprised to find this handmade card in my mailbox today - it's from the girl whose plastic box went missing. I sent the box and its contents to her - and she was sweet enough to send me this card!


Front of Card



Inside of Card

So...to those co-workers who told me that I'd never find her missing plastic box, I say, "You won't be successful if you don't try."
 

Random Thoughts...

I was lucky enough to have a bunch of days off in a row - I had originally planned to go with Greg to a jet rally in Mesa, AZ but he decided not to go because of a "plane crash" issue - and I decided to go visit a good friend in California. This good friend is suffering from cancer. The big C. It's nasty. I came in on Friday morning, and she had had a chemo session on Thursday. She had gotten a "new cocktail" and it was hitting her hard. My job was to get her to sit down and do nothing. Fat chance.

This woman has a very busy life, and she's not going to let cancer (her third battle with it) get the best of her. She has multiple businesses that she owns and she essentially has two full-time jobs in addition to her own businesses. On Friday, she was bouncing here and there, doing work in her home office, answering calls, running to the toilet, then answering more calls. She finally settled on the couch.

Cancer is nasty. The treatment is nastier. Her whole body was aching. Her newly shaven head was throbbing. I made a pasta dinner and a salad - she enjoyed them, but then lost both a little while later. On Saturday, she was still aching. I kept her on the sofa most of the day and forced her to relax. We watched movies - "The Little Black Book," "Sister Act," "Eat, Pray, Love" - and tons and tons of detective/crime shows. So many murders...so little time. I am convinced that she's studying up to be a serial killer, and I'm sure she will NEVER get caught.

Today she was feeling a bit better, so we ventured out to a flea market where she sells stuff, and stayed for a little while - it was chilly and starting to rain, and she does not want to get sick. Her immune system is nonexistent right now. Then we spent the rest of the day at the house. She's feeling a lot better today, but dreads her next chemo session tomorrow.

She is very fortunate to have a "surrogate daughter" who practically lives with her - the daughter's mom died a couple years ago from breast cancer, so she knows exactly what to do and loves keeping my friend company. My friend also has a son nearby, but he's tied up so often keeping the businesses running, attending to his own wife/child, and like me, he probably doesn't know what the heck to do. Her other son lives on the east coast, just started a new job, is newly married and is unable to come out on a regular basis. I'm sure it is very tough on him.

What do you do for someone who is so sick? My whole purpose of going was just to keep her company and hang out. I brought magazines, my laptop, and just kind of hung out. I've become a demon on "Words with Friends" on FaceBook. I did tell my friend that I have no clue what to do for her. And she never really did tell me any specifics. I was just THERE.

I'll be leaving in the morning - time to get back to my bills, etc. and get ready for my next trip that leaves on Wednesday. I will be flying Southwest again - last time I checked there were lots of seats available so I should be able to get home just fine.

I've been doing a lot of praying, and requesting other friends to pray for my friend's recovery, too. Why is there cancer in the world? I tried to keep my friend positive and happy, which was a lot easier to do today than it was the first two days of my visit when she was feeling so sick. And these treatments - chemo. Makes one sick to their stomach. And then radiation, what will most likely burn and blister her skin. Really? I guess those treatments are still more beneficial than the alternative...

On to a better topic - I got the reserve schedule for December that I expected. Woo hoo! There were seven of us who dropped down from being lineholders, and for the month of December will be at the mercy of crew scheduling. Oh boy. I did not get all the days off that I requested - I'm in the process of trying to trade days. I get only 11 days off a month while on reserve (this month I have 15 days off), so I need to use them wisely. I did get 12/20 through 12/26 off. That's when Jen and her dog Liza come home, followed by her husband James and his mom Deniece who arrive on 12/23. I'm excited that Jen has chosen to have a tradition of a "Colorado Christmas." And I will be able to fully participate and prepare for it! That makes me very happy.

THE LAST PARAGRAPH WAS CENSORED AND
REMOVED FROM THIS BLOG.

Back Home Again...

I made it through the 4-day trip unscathed (almost). Sometimes it's difficult to bond with a crew - there are so many personalities. Especially when the crew likes to stay up until 3 or 4am while hanging out at the bar! On this trip, I was SO EXHAUSTED the first night - I'm not sure why - so I didn't join the crew downstairs. On the second night, I wanted to get a good night's sleep so that I could be "fresh" to meet up with my good friend, Sheila. But I heard that the B flight attendant went out to a bar, and it was a very uncomfortable situation. What USED to be a crew hangout was now a gangsta' rap bar - he was the only white, and no one would talk to him, call a cab for him, or call the hotel van. I am very glad that I did not venture out with him! Our last night was too short of a layover to do anything - thank goodness.

But it's interesting to watch the dynamics of the team. Let's just say that I did not feel accepted by the Captain - was it because I didn't come down and party until 3am? If it was, then that's just too bad! I don't like hangovers and I could barely stay awake on the plane! I got along fine with the First Officer and the A flight attendant, too. But the B flight attendant was puzzling to me. He was a "glass is bone dry" kind of guy. Someone would make a comment about our company's recent 3Q webcast, and he would just turn the hope and promise upside down and make it into something negative. Those kind of people just drain me. But this time I actually confronted him! It turns out that he has "short-timer's syndrome" - he'll be quitting in June.

On another of my flights, I got high praises from three passengers! Two ladies sitting by a window saw what they thought to be their bags sitting on a belt loader on the ramp. They called me over, I relayed the information on to the gate agent, and supposedly the Captain went downstairs to check things out - but he didn't actually go over to the bags. That would have rested these ladies' fears. But no, he just spoke with a ramper - at no time did they see anyone take a second look at the bags. Really? How much time would that have taken? Instead, I had to calm their fears and tell them that we needed to "trust the system" and "I'm sure everything will be alright." During the flight, I gave them each a customer service card with my name and employee number. I told them that if the bags were not at the baggage carousel to be sure and give customer service my information - I'd explain what I tried to do in Denver. As they, and the woman sitting behind them, got off the plane I was thanked profusely for my attempt to calm their fears. I haven't heard anything, so I am hoping that the system worked and they were reunited with their bags!

I sometimes wonder why other flight attendants don't get these kinds of requests - or is it that they get them and they ignore them. I guess I'm pegged as someone who cares. That could be a good thing, but I realize that it could be a very disruptive thing, too. It makes me feel good to be able to figure things out, to let them know that the airline has the best intentions.

I did get to experience one of the great benefits of this job - I got to visit with a very dear friend of mine on my Atlanta layover. We have been friends since we were 9 years old in the 4th grade - that's about 46 years ago! And the last time I spent any time visiting with her was 16 years ago! Every once in awhile we'd chat via email or talk on the phone, but when we got together we just picked up where we left off! She is a true forever friend.

For December's bid, I actually voluntarily dropped back down to Reserve. Yes...I did it voluntarily. There is no way that I would be able to get Christmas off while holding a line, so I made the hard decision to be abused by Crew Scheduling for a month. Jen, James, Liza and James' Mom, Deniece, will all be coming out to Colorado for Christmas, and I wanted to be here. The line assignments came out yesterday, and sure enough, I got reserve. There were eight of us lineholders who dropped down, and I am #6 from the top. That means that I should have Christmas off, as well as the days surrounding it. I'll look at it this way - I'll have lots of time to read while sitting on that sexy black leather couch! Hopefully, I'll miss all the craziness of the month by being off on the days it'll occur. I feel strongly that this was the right move for me - I want to be with my family.

Ups and Downs (No Pun Intended...)

I'm on the third day of a four-day trip, and I'm ready to be home. I don't think the captain is fond of me - but you know what? I don't really care.

Yesterday, we were boarding our flight from Denver to Atlanta, and I had a bit of a problem with a nasty passenger. This guy had placed a couple straw hats in the overhead bin and then went to the back galley to schmooze with the B flight attendant. I removed the hats and asked the passenger to hold onto them until the roller bags had been loaded into the bins. the guy started getting upset, and told me that there wouldn't be any space left if he waited. He also said he has just taken four flights, and this was the FIRST time someone moved his hats. I apologized and explained that I needed the space, but would be glad to put them up later. That wasn't good enough for him.

During this time, a couple passengers placed smaller bags in the overhead bin, and I told the man that there was some space for his hats. He called me a control freak, and told me that he didn't want me telling him where to put his bags. I asked him to quit being difficult, and he talked back and asked me not to be difficult. I didn't think he was being serious, but then when I told him again to put the hats in the overhead, he started yelling at me and he dropped the f-bomb. That was it. I was done.

I called up front and asked for help. The captain came back, got my story, and took the passenger off the plane. He asked if I'd be okay with the guy back on the plane. I said as long as he behaves himself and apologizes to me.Well....he was interviewed by a bunch of Denver police, the gate agent later told me that he expected trouble from this guy, and then the police let him come back on the plane! Really?

Once he was back on, he didn't say a word to me. No loss. When he went back to the bathroom, he slammed the door going in and slammed it when he came out. He was just obnoxious. But no one would kick him off. It really frustrated me.

Then today, I got to visit with a very close friend of mine who I've known since I've been in the 4th grade - we hadn't seen each other since 1977 - it was definitely a high!

The Search for the Plastic Box

When I returned from Vegas yesterday morning, I turned on my cell phone - no messages. So I headed over to the General Office (GO) to see if I could smooze my way into getting the "plastic box" from Lost & Found. The front desk woman, Deborah, put me in touch with the guru of the Lost & Found, Dennis. Yes, he had the box! Within 5 minutes I had it in my hands - I was so excited that I almost cried!

Before I left the GO, I decided to look inside the box to see the seashell necklace...it wasn't there! Oh no! All kinds of scenarios starting flying through my head - someone stole it, it was never in there in the first place. I was heartbroken. Just as the girl said, there were lots of MAC cosmetics. There was also a bracelet made of plastic beads and a leather strap bracelet.

I called the girl on her cell phone with the good news/bad news and asked her to call me back.

That was yesterday. I haven't heard a word. Does that mean that she found the necklace elsewhere in her luggage/purse and she's too embarrassed to tell me? Or is she too upset that the necklace wasn't in the box?

I may never know. I'll send her stuff to her today...knowing that I tried my hardest.

Good Things Happen to Good People

 Back in September I had an amazing thing happen...I was on my way to see Jen and James to celebrate James' 30th birthday. I had a very large Bed Bath & Beyond bag filled with stuff - a wrapped gift for James, my work sweater, a doggy coat for Liza that I got at a craft fair, a loaf of Jen's favorite bread, several dozen chocolate chip cookies to give to the firemen by Jen's apartment, and an airline blanket sealed in a plastic bag. And guess what I did?

I lost it. I carried it to/from St. Louis, and then all the way to New York City. BUT, I left it in front of the LaGuardia Airport terminal when I loaded my bags onto the hotel van. I realized it on the way to the hotel, and the van driver drove me back to the airport as soon as we got everyone off at the hotel. We literally got back to the hotel within 10-15 minutes of when I left the bag, but it was gone when I got back. I was so sad.

I showed up at Jen & James' apartment the next morning empty-handed...well, I did stop at McDonald's and bought Egg McMuffins for all! But I was so down that I had lost everything. It was all replaceable - but I couldn't believe I'd been that stupid. I kept beating myself up. That was on Saturday.

On Monday evening when I called Greg to say hello, he told me there was a message on our answering machine. It was a woman calling from Connecticut...she told me that she had picked up my bag at LaGuardia, tried to turn it over to security, but they would not accept it. So she took it home with her. Her goal, she said, was to reunite the bag with its owner. I must have left a paper in the bag with my contact information - thank God that I did!

I called her back the next morning and we had a nice chat. She wanted to drive the bag back down to Manhattan, but I didn't want her to go out of her way. Instead, she offered to mail it to Jen & James' apartment - the place it was intended for. And guess what? She did! I later sent her a card with some cash for reimbursement for postage, and I included a few Colorado goodies. It was amazing to know there are still good people.

So now it's my turn to pay back that kindness. Last night, a girl in her late teens/early 20s got on my flight to San Diego. Her eyes were puffy and red, and tears were still streaming down her face. Unfortunately, I was tied up with another passenger who had left her cell phone in the waiting area...but during the flight, I learned that the girl was distraught because she lost a small plastic box. In it was MAC makeup and a necklace made of shells.

The makeup was no big deal to her - but the necklace was very special. Her Dad had passed away only days before, and the necklace was one that her mother had made for her father, and he wore it all through college. Her Mom had just given her the necklace as a remembrance of her Dad.

For some reason, this girl tugged at my heartstrings. I think it was because the loss of her Dad was so fresh, and I still miss my Dad so much. I told her that I would do whatever I could to try and find that box for her.

So this morning, when I had a short layover in Denver, I found one of the gate agents that had worked my flight to San Diego. I told her the story, and she did a little research for me before I left on today's flight to Las Vegas. She found someone who found a small plastic box in the gate area, and that this person turned it over to the Frontier Lost & Found this morning. She included the phone number for that office!

So when I arrived in Vegas, I called the number. But unfortunately, when you call, you're told to send an email or leave a voice message. So I did both - it was after 4pm in Denver when I did, but I'm hoping that tomorrow morning they read/listen to my messages and call my cell phone to tell me that they have the box. Then I'll run home, box it up, and send it to the girl. And, of course, I'll call her to tell her it's on the way.

Please keep your fingers crossed - I'm hoping that it'll all work out. I know how much the momentos I have of my Dad mean to me - I'm hoping to give that shell necklace back to her Daddy's little girl.

Is it Really November?!?

Obviously I'm not doing such a good job of blogging these days...I guess I've been too busy on Facebook playing Words with Friends! I guess I do have a bit of a competitive streak in me after all.

I can't remember when I posted my last entry (and I too lazy to go and look), so bear with me if I repeat myself. I've pretty much had "a line" at work since July - it's truly "a whole new world." I know when and where I'm going ahead of time, I can plan my life around my schedule, I can swap, drop and trade trips - it's awesome! HOWEVER...I'll be voluntarily going back on reserve for December so that I can be home for Christmas. Jen, Liza, James and his Mom will all be coming for the holidays, and it'd be horrible if I wasn't home to share it with them!!! So...in less than a month I'll get to know that sexy black leather couch again, I'll be called in the middle of the night to take an early morning flight to Kalamazoo, MI (no...we don't fly there), and I'll be worked to death because all the senior mamas decided to take the day off. Heaven forbid they work what's on their schedule! I dread it...but I will make the best of it!

I've tried to get at least one long overnight in DCA (Washington DC) and LGA (New York City) each month - it's been fun to have lunch with my high school girlfriends, to visit with my in-laws, and of course, to visit with Jen and her hubby, James, and my granddogger, Liza! I see them most often - at least once or twice a month! It's worked out well!

Twenty-seven years ago TODAY Greg and I walked down the aisle together at St. James Church in Falls Church, VA. I can't believe it's been that long. We've had lots and lots of fun times, some really sad times, we've each grown and changed, but we're still hanging in there!

Something really cool happened on one of  my recent trips (but I can't remember which one...) - I was sitting in the Captain's chair in the flight deck (he was taking a potty break), and a little ways in front of the plane there was a flaming star (meteorite, space junk, whatever) falling and then it burned out. Wow! The First Officer saw it, too! It was SO INCREDIBLE to see. And, of course, when I came out of the flight deck and told the other flight attendants, one of them asked if I'd gotten a picture! Well...

I've been in Vegas a lot recently - first time for fun, and then the last two times on layovers. The second time I was there, I was with a very generous captain. He had been treating us to snacks all during our 4-day trip - McDonald's snack wraps, ice cream, Arby's Cheddar Beef sandwich, breakfast burritos - you name it. When we got to the Hard Rock Casino, we all went our separate ways to play our favorite games. I lost pretty quickly (I had won over $300 the previous week by putting $20 in a penny slot machine), and as the other ladies lost their money we gravitated back to our sugar daddy...oops, I meant captain. We all took turns on his video poker game, and then headed over to a blackjack table where we took over the entire table! The captain gave us each four $5 chips, the dealer gave us tons of helpful hints, and we each won some money! It's fun playing with someone else's money! Soon it was curfew time, and the captain said we could keep our winnings, but we gave him all the chips we had - I think we made him a little bit of money. It was so much fun! What a great crew!

There is such a difference between a good trip and a bad trip, and the crew has a lot to do with that. We don't need to spend 100% of our free time together for it to be good. But we do need to be able to get along and work together. Not too long ago, I flew one leg with a male flight attendant, and he kept calling me a "control freak" - I finally got mad and told him that HE was the control freak and that he needed to quit calling me names! When I mentioned this to another FA, she told me that he is one of the biggest control freaks that she's ever worked with! If I never work with that guy again, it'll be too soon!

I'll try to post more as I go along - I've had some really wonderful experiences with crews that I want to remember, and this is the best way to do that.

Earthquakes and Hurricanes, oh my!

Gosh, it seems like Fairbanks was so long ago! I had my week's vacation after that...I don't remember what I did! During those days, though, I celebrated my birthday! Oh wait, I DO REMEMBER part of what I did! I went to VEGAS! Over 1 1/2 years ago, I purchased tickets to see Celine Dion in Vegas before she ended her summer run. Jen and James met me there and we had a wonderful weekend! It was VERY HOT. And while we were there, it RAINED! And boy, when it rains, IT RAINS. Very heavy, for about 10 minutes or so, and then it was gone. Unfortunately, it causes flash floods in some areas, but nonetheless, the locals all ran outside and were so happy!

While we were in Vegas, some major family drama erupted. Very damaging family drama. I'm feeling destroyed by this. Very nasty things were put into writing that were directed at me and Jen, and it is so very hurtful. But, as usual, we're being told to "turn the other cheek" and just move on. I have no cheeks left (face or butt...well, I WISH I didn't have as large of butt cheeks as I do... but that's a whole 'nother story). Anyway, I am not a believer of "cutting all ties" or "never talking to someone" ever again, but I'm feeling that's what's happening to me. The sad thing is, is that NO ONE will stand up for me. NO ONE. Status quo, unfortunately.

The following weekend, I had a layover in NYC and was able to meet Jen and James for brunch in their city! We went to an "upscale" Mexican restaurant, and it was delicious! After a short visit, it was time for me to go back and hit the skies again. My next night was in SLC, and I did a whole lotta nothing while I was there.

When I got back home on 8/22, I couldn't go to sleep right away. So I stayed downstairs playing on the computer. At approximately 11:45PM I heard a very weird noise and a weird shaking or "rolling." It turns out that there was a 5.3 earthquake centered near Trinidad, CO. Wow! The next morning I did a "walkabout" around the house to see if there was any damage to the house, and I found that our garage floor is now cracked. Lovely. I will have to call the insurance company (yes...we've had earthquake insurance ever since we bought this house).

With the earthquake behind me, we prepared for the hurricane - I was scheduled to fly in/out of DCA and LGA during the hurricane. Hmmmm. I wasn't too thrilled about that. First, however, I had an overnight in DCA. Fortunately, we were a day or two ahead of the storm, so I was able to enjoy a nice visit with Greg's parents and one of my longtime girlfriends, Kathy. It was so good to catch up! We visited for awhile, went out to lunch at the Olive Garden, and then it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready to fly back to Milwaukee and then on to LGA.

We (the crew) were not happy about the pending LGA trip. Mainly because, the city of New York was shutting down the entire MTA (subway and bus) system at noon on Saturday. I was really bummed - I had planned on another brunch with Jen and James, and we were going to meet up with my sister, Nancy and a longtime family friend, Sister Barbara. They were going to be in town to have lunch and see "Jersey Boys" - but everyone's plans got changed. Broadway canceled all its shows for Sat/Sun, Nancy and Sister Barbara canceled their day trip to NYC, and since the MTA was shut down, I had no way to get to see Jen and James. Our return flight was scheduled to leave at 5:49PM on Saturday night, and then the flight got canceled because the City was closing the airport at noon. Fortunately, our company put us on a flight out of NYC at 11:59AM - thank goodness! We had over 20 crew members that were being "evacuated." We were originally scheduled to go to Denver, but we eventually got there via Milwaukee! I had already decided to stay at a friend's condo north of Denver - because I was starting another 3-day trip the next day. So I got to settle in for a quiet evening with a much shorter drive.

I was so glad that this 3-day ended. It started out just fine, and then little-by-little, things started going wrong. The other two flight attendants were "picking" on me. I'm not sure what I did to tick them off, but they thought that having me do all the work was funny. One of the flight attendants fit the stereotype of a flight attendant - she was inseparable from another crew member, and she let passengers know when she thought they were attractive. A little bit of flirting is fine, but practically throwing yourself at someone is a bit harder to take. I even asked her if she wanted me to leave (she was flirting pretty heavily with the passenger in seat 1D, and yes...he was cute, but she was over-the-top), as we were getting ready to take off! Sheesh. Talk about feeling like a third wheel.

Today's trip will be with two of my classmates, so hopefully it will be much better because we'll all work well together. I just wonder who our Captain and First Officer will be. My fingers are crossed.

I am very happy that no one that I know was injured or lost any property due to either the earthquake or the flood. Let's hope that the natural disasters stop for awhile!

The Fun Continues!

On day 2 of our adventure, we called the Discovery III Riverboat to see if they  had any space for us to take the 3 hour riverboat cruise, and they said that they had a few seats, but that it didn't look promising. Not satisfied with that answer, the three of us showed up at the dock and ended up getting complimentary tickets for the tour (a $54 value). Go back to the link in the last post and look at the pictures that I added to my album.

It was a very interesting cruise. We had several times where we stopped in the river and talked with someone on the shore. The first guy was Dave Monson who owns the Trail Breaker Kennel - his wife was Susan Butcher who won the Iditarod 4 times! She passed away 5 years ago this month from cancer. It was fun watching his demo of having a dog sled team pull him in an ATV (with the engine pulled out). They are fast! I also enjoyed watching the dogs hang out on the tops of their doghouses. Our Kodi, a miniature husky, likes to do the same thing!

There was also a float plane that took off and landed, and then took off again alongside the riverboat. We passed many beautiful homes - and these are not summer homes! People up here stay here ALL YEAR. And it can get down to -60 degrees! Yowza!

We also saw a beaver doing his thing, a couple of owls just sitting on a log alongside the river, and then we spent a couple hours at the Chena River Village. At the village they showed us the typical clothing that the Athabascan wear, the different types of animal skins, and they had beautiful gardens to look at, buildings we could go into, and a pen with a bunch of sled dogs - all huskies - where we could lean over the fence and pet the cuties.

It was a fun morning! I spent the rest of the day relaxing, blogging, and taking a nap! We leave here tonight at 9:30PM and will be back in Denver at 5:30AM. Once I'm back, I'll be off work for a week for vacation!

Next adventure? I'm meeting Jen and James in Vegas on Friday, and we're going to see Celine Dion on Saturday night - her second-to-last night in Caesar's Palace!

Fun in Fairbanks!

This is my third time trying to get to Fairbanks, Alaska for a 48 hour layover...and I made it!!! One of the wonderful perks of this job.

We arrived last night at around 9:30PM, but you wouldn't have known it - it was still light out...kind of an early dusk feeling. One of the other flight attendants called ahead to make sure that we were assigned to the cabins at the hotel - they're right near the Chena River. The cabins are so cute!!

Here's a link to my photo album on Facebook - I tried downloading the pictures to this blog, but let's just say that it was a pain in the neck...! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2342076914086.137627.1314851818&l=119af651e0&type=1.

The captain and first officer brought fishing poles and they've disappeared off the face of the earth. So the flight attendants decided to go out and have fun sightseeing. So this morning we met up after breakfast and started looking for a rental car. What we didn't know is that the Army is holding some sort of exercise this week, and all the small, medium and large cars are all gone...for every rental company. There were some SUVs available as well as some pick-up trucks. We decided on an SUV - we felt it was overkill, but it was either that or sit at the hotel all day.

We started out heading to the North Pole, Alaska. It was really cute. All the stores, restaurants, etc. had candy cane striped poles holding their signs. The street lights were candy canes. The nearby Church was St. Nicholas Catholic Church. We stopped at the Santa Claus House to see what we could spend our hard earned money on, and I'm proud to say that I spent nothing. Yay! I saw a couple ornaments that I liked, but they weren't exactly what I wanted. So we took a few pictures, visited with Santa's reindeer behind the store, and headed on down the road. We were disappointed that Santa wasn't there yet - we had an hour to wait. So we moved on.

Our next stop was at a couple overlooks along the Tanana River on the way to Delta Junction. The scenery was just gorgeous. It was overcast and a bit drizzly, but we still managed to get a few great photos. We were looking for animals along the way, but all we saw was a German Shepherd!

We finally arrived at the Visitor's Center at Delta Junction. There were lots of cool displays, as well as lots of cute gifts. But again I resisted. I found the state bird of Alaska outside of the Visitor's Center - in fact, there were two of them.

It was time for lunch, so we headed back towards Fairbanks and stopped at Rika's Roadhouse in the Big Delta State Historical Park. Rika was a strong woman back in the early days and had a roadhouse that served the men who worked on the Alaska State Highway and worked on the communication systems for the military during WWII. Most of the original buildings are still there, and are now filled with antiques for our enjoyment. There is an operating restaurant that we stopped at, and I had the most incredible crab/corn chowder bisque and strawberry rhubarb pie! Delicious!

Afterwards, we drove down the road a little ways and watched as some men were working on the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline. They were tethered to the pipeline (over the river), and were adding pieces to the pipeline. It was interesting to watch as their co-workers brought a piece of metal from the yard, loaded it onto their speedboat, drove to a spot beneath the pipeline, and the guy tethered to the line lowered a line with a hook on the end. The guys on the boat attached the metal, the worker above pulled up the metal and then attached it to the pipeline. It was also fun to read the threatening signs posted near the pipeline!

As we headed back to Fairbanks, we were disappointed that we hadn't seen any wildlife! Then right outside the fence along Ellison AFB, we saw a moose! Yay!

Once back in Fairbanks, we went to "downtown" to see what it looked like. It wasn't horrible, but I think Anchorage had much nicer shops. We also walked over to Golden Heart Park and looked at the First Unknown Family statue that was erected in 1983. It was very beautiful and honored the first Inuit family. On our way back to the hotel, we dropped off the SUV and now we're without transportation, sort of. The hotel shuttle is supposed to take us wherever we want to go within Fairbanks - so we'll see what happens.

We had thought about going to the infamous Salmon Bake at the Pioneer Park - they have an unlimited buffet of Salmon, Cod and Prime Rib. Had they also had crab legs, I would have gone. But one of my co-workers doesn't eat fish, and I wasn't totally convinced that it was worth the cost...so we decided to eat at the hotel. Instead of having an Alaskan specialty, I ended up with a delicious grilled cheese sandwich!!! It was so good. After dinner, I took a walk around the local area while taking pictures (the sun had FINALLY come out), and then retired to my room.

We should have another full day of fun tomorrow before we have to take the van back to the airport at 9:30PM. It's been a fun visit, and I look forward to coming back again (and reserving a car beforehand!) - it will be a fun time!

This is the Life!

It's Thursday afternoon, and I've spent approximately the last 30 hours relaxing at my cabin in Breckenridge, CO. Nice. Very nice! Normally, I come up alone during the summer (Greg likes to come up in the winter to ski, and I used to come up with Jen until she left for college), but this time I brought two of my Frontier co-workers and one of their husbands.

We've been spending our time eating, drinking, talking, swinging in my hanging chairs, Erik went fishing, and Jenn went hiking. It's been so relaxing!

I fly again on Sunday when I do a turn to Louisville, KY and then spend the night in Chicago. Unfortunately, it's a relatively short layover and it's mostly in the morning on Monday, so I doubt I will get together with anyone. Then later that evening after I'm back in Denver, we'll head Fairbanks, Alaska for 48 hours. Unfortunately, the friend who was supposed to go with me a few weeks ago cannot come this time. So I invited my lovely daughter, Jen. But the day after the trip ends, she and I and her husband are meeting in Las Vegas for a concert. Jen wasn't thrilled about flying cross country twice in two days, so I think she'll pass on this adventure. I've invited a neighbor to join me, but she's already got plans, too. Alas, I will be going alone. One of the other flight attendants is bringing her husband, and maybe I'll be able to tag along with them.

No matter, I will have an absolutely WONDERFUL TIME during my first visit to Fairbanks, Alaska.

My last two trips were really good - I got along well with the crew, everything went well on the flights, the hotels were nice, and the layovers were just right. I'll be putting in about 97 hours this month, which includes a week's vacation during my birthday. The goal for this month is to relax and take it easy!

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!

I Wasn't Kidding...

Less than two short weeks ago, I headed to NYC to be with Jen when she had her first wedding gown fitting. We had to postpone the fitting appointment because I could not get into the shower to ready myself for the appointment. Instead, later that day, Jen and James took me to the ER at a local hospital (St. Luke's - Roosevelt Hospital) - I was admitted to ICU early the next morning and got to be "pampered" for a day and a half. Sponge baths, foley catheter, bed pan, IVs in both arms, IV in my neck, NINE bags of fluids, countless antibiotic drips...it was just delightful.

The diagnosis? Sepsis - a potentially life-threatening condition, in which your immune system's reaction to an infection may injure body tissues far from the original infection. As sepsis progresses, it begins to affect organ function and eventually can lead to septic shock — a sometimes fatal drop in blood pressure. Early treatment, usually with large amounts of intravenous fluids and antibiotics, improves chances for survival.

On my second full day, I was moved to a room on the Medical floor and got to enjoy the hospitality for another couple of days - hospital food, crazy patients who try to knife themselves and others, roommates who sleep with ALL the lights/TVs on, all-night IV drips that prevent a person from getting more than 15 minutes sleep at a time, and groups of doctors who roam from room to room checking on the progress of their patients.

I presented an interesting case. Was my sepsis due to an allergic reaction to Bactrim, an antibiotic prescribed by my Colorado doctor? The Infectious Disease doctors did not think so. My entire body turned beet red when I checked into the ER, and stayed that way until the day of my release. There was no itching - just an intense looking "sunburn." Along with that, I had nausea, acid reflux, and no appetite. The doctors seemed to think that my sinus infection, made worse by a stomach flu virus, caused my body to crash. My blood pressure dropped dangerously low - 80/45 and I was fed those 9 bags of fluids along with lots and lots of antibiotics.

I got released after four days of hospitalization, spent a few days on Jen and James' couch to build up my strength, got to attend the wedding gown fitting (Jen is going to be a BEAUTIFUL bride), and then managed to grab the jumpseat on a flight back to Colorado on Saturday.

Why did this happen? How can I prevent it in the future? I have no answers. Kind of scary, huh? I have heard, however, from three others who have had allergic reactions to drugs in the past, and they all had the same sunburn-type rash that I did! Also, I had blood drawn yesterday and all the tests came back normal, including my liver function test. That is GOOD NEWS. My doctor still wants to do a CAT scan of my liver/spleen based on the recommendations of the doctors in NYC, but it appears that all else is good. I just need to finish recovering my strength...and I'll be as good as new!

I'm Allergic to My Job!

Yes...you read it correctly. I am allergic to the job that I love. Fortunately, I'm only seasonally allergic. Thank goodness. It appears that I have developed allergies late in life, I'm exposed to lots of different environments every week, and I experience pressure changes constantly. Unfortunately for me, those allergy irritations have usually turned into bronchitis before I get treated. On my last flight (LAS to DEN) I started getting a really bad headache in the back of my head as we started preparing to land - it continued to grow and I thought my head was going to explode! It turns out that we all have sinuses in the back of our heads!!! I do not want to experience THAT again! So far this year I've been to the doctor twice, I've followed all her suggestions for allergies, I'm mad and I'm fighting back! (I'm also on sick leave on the couch until the gunk clears out of my head...)

Our newest class of flight attendants has graduated! Yahoo! Twenty-seven new flight attendants have joined us here in Denver. Hopefully, we'll soon "feel" their presence - I'm up to 99 hours for April, and I worked every duty day except one.

That reminds me of a recent conversation in the crewroom - a senior mama was upset because the company is setting the bidding threshold for lines at 95 hours. So that means that everyone is getting assigned that many hours, even if they normally work more/less. The kicker is that they can't drop any trips if the "flight attendant grid" is in the red (not enough flight attendants to cover the couch sits and on-call at home). And lately, the grid is ALWAYS red. However, the new flight attendants may help that situation. Anyway, the senior mama was crying to us - 4 reserves sitting on the couch - telling us that she NEVER works 95 hours! I interrupted her and told her that the reserves have been working between 90-110 hours each month for the past FOUR MONTHS. She then told me that I "just didn't understand" - she getting assignments to places she didn't want to go on days she didn't want to fly. Wah wah. I just looked at her and said, "And what do you think RESERVES get to do? Sheesh. She should seek her comfort elsewhere.

Even though people have told me they would, no one has written in a complimentary letter for me yet. Instead, they tell it to my face. One of the best recently occurred the other day - I parked the cart next to a guy in his 20s as I served a couple rows in front of him. I decided to show off my two-handed pouring style, and he asked me, "Do you like your job?" I looked at him and wondered if this was a trick question..., "I LOVE my job! It's the best job in the entire world!" He then replied, "I can tell - it shows!" What a nice compliment! I'm just "being myself," being silly, but yet being serious when the need calls.

That brings back a memory - in my previous life I was an internal auditor for a food & beverage company. I never sat behind the same desk for more than a couple weeks in a row - I was constantly traveling from one place to another. One of my visits was at Zion National Park. Now, remember that I had all this silliness bottled up inside of me, probably since I was a baby, but this professional job I held didn't let me express that silliness...until one night at Zion. Each auditor was given a little cabin to stay in, and in the middle of the night, I stole all the toilet paper from my room and toilet papered a car that was parked a short ways away. I thought it was a park ranger's car that I was teasing. BUT, the next morning at breakfast, I found out that it was the Head of the National Park Service's car! Oops. No one ever knew, because I was always such a "good girl." But now I'm letting that silliness out.

Since I'm higher up on the seniority list at work, I bid for mostly weekends off in May. Wow. Even if I don't have plans for each weekend, it'll be nice to actually be off from work on the same days as my husband and friends. Woo hoo! At the very least, I'll be able to set up some nice trades, using weekend days as my trading "bait." Life is good!

Home, Sweet, Home!

It's pretty hard to remember to keep up this blog - at first, there were lots of new things to write about. Then I started traveling and I had funny, or stupid, stories to write about. And then slowly as the months passed, the reserves started working harder and harder. Our days of sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring were over. We started working on every single duty day...usually 19 or 20 a month! And to top that off, when we would work, crew scheduling would try and squeeze every last drop from us and work us between 14 and 16 hours! Exhaustion set in, and when I got to a hotel or home, I glanced at Facebook and email, and then went to bed!

But I'd like to announce that a NEW DAY IS DAWNING! A new class of flight attendants is graduating this week and about 27 of them are being assigned to Denver. WOO HOO! That fact reflected in my May schedule...I was no longer 35 from the bottom of the reserve list. I was more like 62 from the bottom, so I took my chances and bid for weekends off! And guess what? I got every single day off that I bid for. Oh my God.

There is another class starting on May 2 and another on May 28 - after those two classes graduate, I may be a lineholder! And what does that mean? That means that I can bid for the days off that I want, I can put in preferences for the position (A, B, or C) that I like to fly on the plane, I can avoid certain types of flights, and I can maybe even request a few trips that I'd like to fly. I'll be very junior. But what I'm hoping to do is get a schedule, drop everything I don't like, and then pick up trips that make me happy. I'll KNOW IN ADVANCE what I'm doing, where I'm going, and I won't have to answer calls from crew scheduling any longer! Halleluiah!

However, when it comes to the holidays, I very well may drop back down to reserve so that I can have the holidays off. Ah...to have a normal life again. Is it a dream?

For those who are wondering, I still love my job. It makes me happy. I am very good at it. I get to be me, act silly, but still convey messages about safety, help people who aren't feeling well, entertain passengers with stories, etc. I recently flew with two Milwaukee-based flight attendants who had been with the company about a year. It was so refreshing! They are still in the "I love my job" phase, and it showed. The passengers are upbeat and happy, the flight attendants are upbeat and happy, and everything goes really smoothly.

That's unlike what it's like to fly with DEN-based flight attendants. Most have had about 3 years experience now, and there are a lot of burnt-out flight attendants. I've witnessed rudeness, yelling, negativity, bad attitudes - all on the part of flight attendants. Then I have to work doubly hard to keep myself upbeat and happy. Recently, a more senior flight attendant came to me during a flight and asked, "Do you really love this job this much, or are you just acting?" And I could honestly tell her that I really do love this job.

With the new hire classes, my friend EC's new program on virtue, how can one NOT love it? Sure, there are things that can go wrong, but if you don't take it personally, just sit back and relax a little and enjoy the ride, it really isn't that bumpy!

So...as I head towards the end of April, flying at least 100 hours for the third month in a row involuntarily, I know that a better, slower life is just around the corner - I can hardly wait!

Opposites

I just got assigned to a high hour 4-day trip starting tomorrow afternoon...so it'll be awhile before I'm back home sitting at my desk. So I decided to jot down a few thoughts before I hit the road...

Opposites. Or should I call it "full circle?" What I'm referring to is life. Back when we were young'uns, our parents took care of us. And now that we're aging, we are the ones taking care of our parents. Mom used to encourage us to get out of the house and go play outside, and now we're encouraging Mom to get out of the house and play outside! When my Dad was ill, my sister took care of all his needs - just as my Mom had taken care of her when she was a baby. All this is truly a part of growing up that I don't like. I want Mom's quality of life to stay good - I want her to have friends, have lunch dates, go to club activities. But she has to want to - we can't force her to do anything since she's an adult.

Opposites. In the early days of our marriage, we had issues with my husband's side of the family. Miscommunication, misunderstanding, and hurt feelings. Somehow we worked through all that and didn't hold grudges. But now the miscommunication and misunderstanding is occurring on my side of the family! I'm afraid to say anything, make suggestions, or say what I really feel. It's so sad. We're preparing for our only daughter's wedding, and instead of everyone being happy for us, we keep running into roadblocks and hurt feelings. Why can't we all get along?

So...I'm having to distance myself and not take these comments and actions personally. And I'm trying to help my daughter understand why things are being said and done, and why people aren't excited and happy for her. But I'm afraid that it's going to harm her future relationship with everyone. It's so sad. But I've got way too many other things to worry about...why can't we all get along?

Lots of great things will be happening soon at my company! One of my training classmates is working hand-in-hand with upper management to change the environment of our company. We are striving to be a company of integrity, where everyone does the right thing even when no one is watching. There are new procedures being instituted, trainings being held and unfortunately, there's lots of griping. Some of that griping is on the internet where anyone/everyone can see. Why would someone do that? Does he not care that management might see what he's said? I was tempted to bring his ranting to the attention of management, but I figured he doesn't need any help hanging himself. So sad. But it's so hard to work with him.

So I will keep doing what I do best - having a good time welcoming our passengers, working with the crew, and just enjoying the heck out of my job. There's lots weighing me down, but the trick is to not let anyone else see that. I keep silently praying and hoping that all goes well - a happy smile is what the passengers want to see...not a worried half-smile.

I am looking forward to this trip - it has late show times, so I can "Sleep in" and wake up on my own. Ahhhhhh. I can hardly wait. First we'll do a turn to St. Louis, then we'll overnight in Seattle. I'm looking forward to a nice bowl of clam chowder in the bar - so good! Then the next day we'll head back to Denver and then on to Detroit for the night. I looked up a friend from high school who now lives in Detroit, but she's already made plans for the day I'll be there. That's okay - I'll hang out at Bob's Big Boy for breakfast! The next day, we'll fly back to Denver and then go back to Seattle for the night...and maybe another bowl of clam chowder? Then on Monday, our last day, we'll go back to Denver and then we have a round-trip to New Orleans! Too bad it's not an overnight! I have one day off on Tuesday, and then I'll be back on for five more days!

 It's late, I'm tired, so I guess I'd better sign off for the night...Goodnight!

March Madness

Where in the world is Susan? I have been all over in the past month and a half - too many places to mention individually. So...I'm just going to write down some thoughts.

I am still on reserve. Fortunately, a hiring event was held last month for two days, and people have actually been hired and start a training class on March 28th! The big question is this...where will they be assigned? DEN or MKE? And I don't think we'll know the answer until the class starts. But there's hope. And hope is a good thing.

We have a new thing called the "Culture Club" - a team of three men who are trying to guide the top management into realizing that the current management style is NOT working, and that a mutual respect, high moral standard type of style. On Friday, our CEO wrote a letter talking about the new program and how he hopes things go. And, believe it or not, a fellow flight attendant made a not so nice comment on Facebook. I replied and said that I liked what Bryan said. But...I was pretty much attacked, and then deleted, and then UNfriended. I did make the comment that if people aren't going to "buy into" the style of management, maybe they should quit and find a company that more closely matches their beliefs. And I'm not talking about any weird, cult-like beliefs - the main focus is on integrity. Doing the right thing, especially when no one else is watching. I know I'm in the right place. The question is, how do I deal with those that aren't.

I have been working on every duty day for the past couple of months. We are understaffed, even though we're being told otherwise. I worked over 100 hours last month - my paycheck was great, but I'd really like to spend more time at home. My "to-do" list is getting longer and longer. The interesting thing is, is that not everyone is working so many days...

Currently, I am in NYC dogsitting my favorite (and only) granddogger, Liza! Jen and James are in Vegas for the weekend attending the wedding of his cousin. Liza and I have spent lots of time at a doggie park next to the USS Intrepid along the Hudson River. It was so fun watching Liza play with all the other doggies. She'd tease them and get them to chase her! When the larger dogs would come in, she'd try and get them to chase her, too! At one point today, she had a dog toy with a treat inside, she was sitting under my bench, and a large dog came over to see what she was up to - but Liza gave out a couple loud barks, and the big dog ran away! It was so funny!

I spent a little bit of time today visiting the Brain Exhibit and the Butterfly Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History - when I got there I realized that I forgot to load the battery into my camera! Bummer! I could have taken some AWESOME pictures of the butterflies. So I guess I'll just have to go visit the exhibit again! Sounds good to me!

I rode the bus to/from the museum and I got to do a lot of observation of NYers. The little old ladies - they got on the bus, sat in the handicapped area, dropped a bag that was on their lap, and yelled out in a loud NYer voice, "SHIT!" The young black girl with the earbuds in, the iPod on full blast - so loud that you can hear the song she's listening to without sitting next to her. The young Asian guy who jumped on the bus, sat down, and finished dressing - putting on cufflinks, tying his necktie - wherever he's off to, it's obvious he's late. The old gentleman who is pushing his wife in a wheelchair - she's all bundled up for the cold weather, bent over, and seems to be "out of it." But her hubby is taking care of her - getting her on and off the bus. Lots of different types of people, all busy doing their own thing. Kind of lonely, though. Don't you think?

In order to have this nice stay in NYC, I've pretty much screwed myself for the rest of the month. I have 5 and 6 day blocks of duty, separated by only one day off. Ouch. I'll have to do as best as I can. So here goes...!

Rest and Relaxation

Crew scheduling's new motto is, "work 'em until they drop!" It is against their rules to let us have duty days where we used to sit at home waiting for the phone to ring. Now...I had three days left on my schedule and they gave me a three-day trip. It was a good one! Hmmmm...let me see if I can remember where I went. Oh yes! I did a Milwaukee turn and a Phoenix overnight. The next night I did a Dallas overnight, and then we did a Phoenix turn...and I was released to my two days off. The three flight attendants stayed the same during the entire trip, but we kept swapping CPTs and FOs but that was okay.

After my two days off, they gave me a REALLY WEIRD two-day trip. I started out deadheading to Milwaukee (flying as a passenger instead of working the flight), then I worked a turn to LaGuardia and spent the night in Milwaukee. The next morning we deadheaded back to Denver. Weird. The passenger sitting next to me commented on how our planes seem to be filled with other Frontier crewmembers!

Fortunately, I was released to my three days off at 10AM. Yahoo! There was a union membership meeting for a couple hours and then a reserve roundtable meeting. I went to both, and the first one didn't have a lot of new information to report. But the second meeting was a great opportunity to share our feelings about having been on reserve for 3.5 years. We gave a lot of constructive criticism and a lot of good ideas. All this for the union contract that won't be created for another 3-5 years. In the meantime, we're holding on as best we can under the current work rules.

But now I'm off for a few days, and I actually got to go to the cabin in Breckenridge for a couple days with my hubby - believe it or not! We haven't been up here together in FOREVER. He's out skiing, and I'm hanging out with the doggies. It is snowy and cold here, and SUNNY. Yay!

Delays, Delays and More Delays

Well, I THOUGHT I'd be back in Denver at 7:30AM on Monday morning. It didn't quite happen that way.

We had a 5:05AM van time at the hotel - at about 4:50AM, I took a quick look at my schedule to see if crew scheduling had given me a turn once I returned to Denver. They didn't, but what I did see was that our 6:30AM flight time for IND-DEN was now listed at 8:30AM.

Instead of going downstairs, I called the CPT and asked if he was aware our flight was now at 8:30AM. He wasn't. So he told me to stay in my room, called whoever it is that he calls to find out what the heck is going on, and then he called me back and tried to reach the rest of the crew. We were now going to take the 7:15AM van to the airport. Yay! The First Officer had to go downstairs to tell the other two flight attendants to go back to their rooms, while the CPT called the limo service to reschedule our ride.

We actually did leave the hotel at 7:15AM - but we still had another 2 1/2 hours of sitting around in the airport and on the plane. It seems that we were waiting for a part, and it didn't arrive until around 9:40AM. Why the heck couldn't we stay at the hotel until that time? And why didn't we get word about this from crew scheduling? We should have been told the night before so that we could have gotten a good night's sleep! It turns out that the part had to be driven from Milwaukee to Indianapolis. I just don't understand.

However, I did enjoy my crew. I fully expected to be given a turn afterwards, but was released to my days off. Woo hoo! I just finished those and got to sit the couch from 6AM until Noon today. It was delightful! I'm now waiting to see what crew scheduling has in store for me for the next three days...♥

Winter Craziness

I had a very nice couple of days visiting with Jen, James and Liza before they headed back to NYC. However, on their last night, crew scheduling struck again...

There was a Spokane stand-up that needed a crew - it was scheduled to leave Sunday night at 8PM. I received a call in the afternoon from crew scheduling trying to junior assign me to the trip. If I had answered the phone, I would HAVE to take the trip. I didn't want to leave on my day off, even though it would have been at overtime pay. So I let voice mail pick up the message.

A few hours later, I get another call from crew scheduling. This time they're telling me that I've been assigned to a Spokane turn, with a show time of 2:00AM. Are they kidding me? My duty start time is 12:01AM, and they're wanting me to hop in my car, drive to DIA, and work a flight? Huh? To fully understand, I call the Inflight Manager on Duty. Let's just say that I didn't hear what I wanted to hear.

So I kissed my family goodbye and headed to DIA. The other two flight attendants were just as bad off as I was. The flight was just a little more than half full - when we got to Spokane and all the passengers deplaned, we turned off the lights and set up little beds for ourselves for a quick hour's nap.

I was woken up by crew scheduling calling me. They said that when I was back in DEN, I was being assigned to a PHX overnight. Let's just say that they kept giving me trips, taking them away, and then giving me others. Finally, I was given a PHX overnight. For real. For sure. No more changing it.

Once in PHX, I get another call from crew scheduling - by this time, I had been awake for 36 hours, aside from the hour's nap that I took on the plane. This time they told me that I was going to do a CUN turn when I got back to DIA. Are they kidding me?!?!? I tried to get them to give it to someone else, but no luck. So I waited until I saw how I felt the next morning, and THEN I called in FAT. Otherwise known as "fatigued."

On Monday, I worked a 13.5 hour day, and they were wanting me to do the same for Tuesday. What am I? A super hero or something? Ha!

I already had Tuesday scheduled off, and then managed to get assigned to the C couch on Thursday (4PM until 10PM). While sitting the couch, I found out that I was awarded a 4-day trip that I'm currently working now - at first we did a turn to ATL, then we had a layover in SLC. Yesterday, we left SLC and flew back to DEN. After that, we went on to San Diego for the night. And now we are in Indianapolis! I surely get around.

The crew I am working with is good, and I'm enjoying getting to know them. But I'm also hoping to be released when I return to Denver tomorrow morning at 7:30AM. HA! I laugh because it is snowing in Denver as I write this. And it's supposed to be snowing when I leave here in the morning.

Before I sign off, I do have to say that my ATL-DEN flight on Friday was weird. Totally weird. There were at least 50 Auburn fans - Auburn is playing Oregon on Monday in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, AZ. These people were crazy!

And there was a family of 4 that acted weird, too. Of course, they were not seated together and the gate agents were letting us take care of the situation. There were two young girls, a younger boy and their mom. I settled the boy and mom together in one row, and the two girls in another row a couple rows back. Well...those little girls were probably the worst behaved girls I have seen in quite awhile! They were in jammies, were barefoot (even when going to the bathroom), and each and every time I walked by (especially when my hands arms were full). They wanted headphones, they didn't want to sit there, they wanted to know how long the flight was going to be...and the last time I "serviced them" I was collecting trash. One of the girls asked for, "Ice cold water" and I told her to wait until  I was done. I was in the back when I finished and stayed to chat for a few minutes. Then the little girl shows up, tells me I had promised her a nice ice cold glass of water....Sheesh! Unfortunately, my employer does not look too kindly on employees drop-kicking children back to their seats.   :)

Happy New Year!

Little did I know that all hell was breaking loose in Denver on the 30th! We got back to DEN from SNA about a half-hour late, but then our MCI overnight got delayed about 3 1/2 hours due to a combination of mechanicals and weather. We FINALLY arrived in MCI at around 2AM local time, and found out that our 17 hour layover was being reduced to 8 1/2 hours (the minimum according to the pilots' union contract). Our SAN turn for the 31st was re-crewed, so my fellow flight crew got released when we returned to DEN at noon, AND they got full pay for the flight that got re-crewed.

But...since I'm STILL on reserve, I got assigned to sit on the couch for FIVE HOURS and then do an LAX turn. I was NOT a happy camper when I found out. But after holding a "pity party" for myself, I decided that I was going to have a GREAT DAY...and I did!

The other two flight attendants on my LAX turn were wonderful, friendly, easy to talk to - it was so nice! And I had some crazy passengers on board, too! One entire row of passengers absolutely LOVED me - they thought I was funny! So I gave them comment cards with our website address so that they could make a comment to the company. As everyone was deplaning, another passenger came up to me and told me that I should be teaching flight attendants how to be flight attendants! Wow. That one left me speechless! It was the perfect way to end 2010.

The flight back to DEN was also a good one - I even had one passenger give me a drumroll as I poured the 6th and final drink for his family, without having to ask for any hints as to what they ordered! I stretched my mind to its limit! Woo hoo! When we returned to DEN, the shuttle bus to the parking lot just leaving, but he made a u-turn to come get us! Wasn't that sweet! Seeing how it was -2 degrees in DEN, we really appreciated it.

The drive home was a mix of "tipsy drivers" and icy roads, but I managed to get home unscathed. The only problem I faced was that my windshield washer fluid was frozen - thank goodness there wasn't a lot of crud being kicked up by the drivers in front of me. At one point between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs, the outside temp dropped to -12 degrees! Ouchie wow wow!

I have today and tomorrow off, and I fully expect crew scheduling to call and try to junior assign me (force me to take a trip but with time-and-a-half compensation), but I want to stay home and enjoy the last two days at home with my little girl, her fiance, and my grandpuppy! So I will not be answering my cell phone or home phone unless I know 100% it is you calling!

Happy 2011...