Back to LaGuardia!

This month has been pretty slow from a reserve flight attendant's point of view. I sat the couch FIVE times - and those were all within 17 days. But...I'm not complaining. It's so nice having a break from the non-stop flying that the poor reserves have been subjected to over the past several months. And...December is coming!

After my Ft. Lauderdale mini-vacay, I had a couple days off and a couple couch sits. Then I lucked out and got a three-day trip for my last three days of duty in the month of November. And it was a good trip, too! We started out flying to Milwaukee, and then flew to New York's LaGuardia for a 17 hour layover! And you know what I did during that layover, don't you? I got to trek to Jen's apartment to spend a little time with her and my grandpuppy, Liza! THESE are the perks of this job that I love.

Now I'm in my Seattle hotel room - it's cold and rainy outside, warm and cozy inside! We'll be leaving in the early afternoon to head back to Denver...and to my FIVE days off!

On this trip, I am the B flight attendant - not my favorite position, I've learned. Part of the reason is that it is so isolated from the passenger and the flight deck crew. I prefer to be in "the thick of things." It keeps me entertained and keeps me going!

Every once in awhile, a passenger or two will come to the back galley to visit. Most flight attendants do not like these "visitors," but I usually welcome it. Last night I visited with a Mom and her almost nine-year-old daughter. The Mom would love to be a flight attendant, but she is only 5'1". Bummer. We kidded around about ways that we could "stretch" her out for the measure portion of an interview! I think she's make a great flight attendant.

And, of course, my fellow flight attendants provide all sorts of entertainment. Trying to guess, "what's coming next" from a flight attendant who doesn't necessarily follow "the rules" when it comes to providing service, to those ladies/men with fun stories to tell! It surely keeps a person entertained! And, of course, I've been known to tell a fun story or two...

At the Beach...

In the living room, looking down the hall.

The view you'd see if you sit on the toilet!

Looking from the hallway into the living room.

The view when you sit on the sofa.

The view as you look down the hall towards the entrance.

Well, what can I say? THIS is why I do this job. Even though I am here for only 14 hours, I got to enjoy the sun, fun, sand, sea and surf for a couple hours before it got dark. And the room I got this time was AWESOME. Two of the four walls are floor to ceiling windows. Nice.

It was an adventurous trip getting here - our original plane had a fuel leak in one of the engines. One of the ramp people saw it, and we were sent back to the gate. Thank God. That could have been disastrous. The mechanics could not find the fuel leak source, so we ended up getting a new plane. But before that, the Captain got on the P.A. and told everyone what was happening - because of that, everyone stayed pretty calm. They also realized that we weren't going to fly on any plane that wasn't safe.

Prior to this trip, I got an overnight in Orange County - I went with another flight attendant to Trader Joe's and In-N-Out burger. Delish! I had a good talk with the other flight attendant - Erika. She was just elected our first AFA (Association of Flight Attendants) Union President. She's got a good head on her shoulders.

I recently learned that one of my classmates from training and another in the class after me have left the company.  :(  And then I found that another of my classmates is leaving the company in early December. How sad! I guess they just can't wait any longer for the company to start hiring new flight attendants so that we can get off reserve.

In the meantime, I will be happy to take the Ft. Lauderdale trips, the 24-hour New York City layovers and the 18-hour Washington, DC layovers!

Physically Healthy, But Maybe Not Mentally...

I ended up going to the doctor's office again, and this time I saw my regular doctor. And she gave me drugs because I had bronchitis. And she told me to stay home for another five days. That meant that I wouldn't be back at work until Monday, November 1st.

I wasn't thrilled, because I had been biting at the bit and wanted to hit the road again. It ended up happening before I expected...I had to make an emergency trip to Virginia to deal with an issue at my brother's home in southern Virginia. I spent three days talking, listening, and ended up having to seek some help from our company-sponsored counseling service. I was just a bit overwhelmed. And I still am.

The one thing I know for a fact, you can't change what you don't acknowledge (thank you, Dr. Phil).

After three days of mixed emotions and confusion, I headed to NYC to check in early for my dogsitting assignment. Jen and James had been invited to a wedding in Baltimore (that they're attending right now as I write this), and they asked if I could dogsit for Liza for the weekend. If I didn't have free flight benefits, that would not have been an option. But this is just what I needed...a nice, relaxing time with my grandpuppy.

Today was the first full day that they've been out of town, and Liza and I decided to sleep in until 6:45AM. Yahoo! We've gone on "potty walks" several times, I went out to the Saturday Flea Market, watched people on Broadway by Macy's, looked at the Christmas windows at Macy's (isn't it TOO EARLY for Christmas windows??!?!?), and got a few groceries (the new Lean Cuisine pasta "steam-in-the-bag" is delicious).

Tomorrow, I am have a late lunch/early dinner with one of Jen's friends whom I also know. Other than that, I'm going to enjoy the last bit of peace and quiet...ahhhhhhh.

Under the Weather...Again!

I haven't flown since 10/11-12 when I went to Minneapolis for a night. Why? Cause I'm grounded. Not by the FAA, but by me. My head has been stuffed since 10/13 and I've got an AWESOME cough! Woo hoo! It's fun to sneak up behind someone who's been a butthead to you, and let out a deep resonating cough! People actually run away from you!

But I do have to say that before I came down with this latest malady, I had a wonderful few days in Florida with family and friends at my niece, Lindsey's, wedding at Walt DisneyWorld.

Opa walking Lindsey down the aisle.

Lindsey and Greg taking their vows.

Walt DisneyWorld has their wedding planning down to an art. Everything was beautiful, went smoothly, and the wedding cake was DELICIOUS. Probably the best wedding cake that I've ever tasted!

Jen was able to join us at the wedding of her cousin, and she and Lindsey's sister, Brittany, got to spend some quality time hanging out in the parks! Greg and his parents spent the day after the wedding at Epcot, and I found myself some nice shade and spent the day relaxing!

When I came back from Florida, I got assigned to an overnight in Minneapolis, MN. I LOVE the hotel there, and was able to hitch a ride on the hotel van to go to the Mall of America. And guess what I did there? I went to the new "Long Tall Sally" store - the new version of the "Tall Girl" store. It was SO NICE to fondle the clothing, try things on that were too long for me, and just see things up close. Ahhhh. It is the ONLY store in the USA where I can try on tall clothing. We had an early morning show for Tuesday, and I got released at 7:30AM - WOW! An extra day "off!"

On Wednesday, I had my annual recurrent training from 8AM until 5:30PM at the General Office in Denver. Only one other reserve flight attendant was in my class - my good friend, EC! We both passed the door drills, the emergency equipment review, the CPR and self-defense testing...we're ready for another year, hopefully NOT on reserve! The Director of Inflight spoke to us during lunch, and told us that there will probably be a new hire flight attendant class in May, 2011. I had grabbed ahold of EC's hand before this "announcement," hoping that she was going to give a date in 2010. So I was kind of disappointed. Oh well...life goes on.

As usual, I had fun during training - it's a nice reminder of WHAT I'm supposed to be doing, and now that I'm really comfortable in my job, I always have some extra space in my brain to pick up and remember something that I had forgotten!

After my training day, I had four whole days off! BUT...I was sick as a dog for all those days. Then on my first duty day, I went to the doctor and got a note excusing me from work for the next six duty days. Today is day five of those six days. I'm doing a lot better than I was...but my head is still stuffy, my cough is amazing and I'll be going back to work on Monday.

I'll be spending my last few days of sick leave repacking my suitcase, doing laundry, maybe even raking leaves if the weather (and my breathing) cooperate. I'll also do a bit of TV watching, while muting ALL the political  campaign ads. I'll be so glad for all this to be over!

Six Days of Travel

On Friday, I had a modified C couch sit, meaning that I had to report at 2PM instead of the usual 4PM. When I arrived, crew scheduling told me that I (and the other two couch-sitters - including my buddy, Dennis, who makes flying so much fun!) had an overnight in New York! Only problem - we wouldn't arrive until 1:30AM. No big deal. AND we were deadheading home on the 5:30PM flight, meaning we didn't have to work it...just sit and sleep! Woo hoo!

Of course, I immediately contacted Jen to see what she was doing on Saturday - she and James had plans to attend the "Beauty and the Beast Sing-a-Long" movie at the AMC theater in Times Square at Noon. So guess what I did? First I went to the apartment to play with Liza - she's such a cutie patootie! Then on to the theater!

The girls sitting next to me were celebrating a 20th birthday, so they were pumped. When the movie FINALLY started, we had so much fun singing along. And guess what I sang all the way back to the hotel? "A Whole New World!" Ahhhhhhh.

And I have made a decision. It is MUCH HARDER to sit on a plane as a passenger than it is to work that flight. I tried to sleep the entire way back to Denver...didn't quite work, but I tried.

A few hours after I got back home in COS, before I went to bed, I happened to notice that I scored an actual FOUR-DAY trip! I wasn't going to have to sit at home and wait for that doggone phone to ring! Yay! So I called crew scheduling to let them know that I had seen the trip, and I went to bed. One of the only problems is that I was starting to feel sick. Bummer. So I made sure that I had my Zicam, Tylenol, Sudafed, and ibuprophen...and off I went!

First up, I had a turn to Nashville - I was happy because I was flying with my buddy, Bruce! Yay! We always have a lot of laughs. Next up, we had an overnight in Salt Lake City. Bruce was planning on having Mexican for lunch the next day, and I was planning on joining him. BUT...I had a horrible night of sleep, and I was sick, sick, sick with a bad cold when I woke up. I stuck with my medication routine, slept most of the day, and Bruce offered to bring back a Mexican meal for me! What a sweetheart!

I rallied enough to do well on our flight back to Denver, which was about an hour and a half late due to San Francisco airport traffic issues. The passengers weren't thrilled, and of course, they were worried about their connections. I think a few might have had to be rescheduled, but most may have made them. There were a couple 20-something guys who complimented me on how nice I was, and that I'm the best flight attendant they've ever flown with. So I kindly asked them to "put it in writing!" Ha ha.

The sad thing is that Bruce left the trip, and wasn't going with us to Dayton for the night. And after he left, things started going downhill quickly. We were already late, so the crowd was restless. The scouts brought on our first passenger and her hubby - she was unable to walk and needed to be assisted by an aisle chair. As soon and they got her and her husband settled in their seats, she starts throwing up. A lot! The scouts were still there and were able to catch most of it, but the C flight attendant brought them more bags, and when she did, she ran forward to where I was, trying really hard not to barf. She ended up running off the aircraft. In the meantime, more passengers were boarding, and I called the gate and told them to stop boarding!

The CPT told us to decide what we wanted to do. We unanimously decided to get her off the plane - supposedly she had just spent time with her grandson, who brought home some germs. Her husband assured me that she had nothing else left in her body. But she looked so white and sickly. AND they did not want to get off. So we called the paramedic - he agreed that she shouldn't go to DAY, but she signed a waiver saying she was still flying. Well...that didn't fly with me, or with the passengers sitting around her that told me that she needed to get off! What's a girl to do? So I told the Gate Supervisor that the other passengers were concerned and complaining.

The woman's daughter and son-in-law were brought down the jetway, and as soon as the paramedic left, we brought the son on board. He got off literally one second later and said, "They're getting off." Halleluiah! I felt bad for them, but relieved for me and the rest of the passengers.

There was one guy sitting in the row behind them, and he was nasty nasty nasty to me. Mostly because, when the sick woman was still on board, the husband handed me a large bag filled with BARF. I am not allowed to handle that without taking precautions (it is infectious waste), so I told him "One moment" as I went up front to get some plastic gloves. When I got back, the nasty guy behind them had grabbed the bag and taken it to the flight attendant at the back of the plane - she wouldn't touch it, either! She told him to place it in the lavatory trash can. But he was mad at me the entire flight, and let me know it. His bad karma will definitely catch up to him in life.

However, it wasn't all bad. We had a soldier on board who was returning home after being away for 10 months. I announced that he was on board and that he was HOME after we landed, and everyone clapped for him. His mom was the ramp supervisor for Frontier, and she was waiting for him to arrive. So when we got to the gate, and the agent opened the plane's door, I just stepped aside as the mom ran in and hugged her son! The other flight attendant and I just burst out crying, and everyone started clapping again. It still gives me goosebumps!

A great ending to a long day...

Outstandingly Breathtaking...

After returning to Denver from St. Louis, we flew a turn to Seattle. As we were getting ready to land, I noticed all the passengers leaning over to look out the aircraft left windows. What the heck were they looking at?

Mt. Rainier as seen from the airplane's window.



Our plane's winglet with Mt. Rainier in the background.



Absolutely gorgeous.

What a wonderful thing to see! And to top that off, when we got back to Denver, I got released to my day off! How can life get any better?

Last Minute Trip

Yesterday, I started out by sitting the couch at DIA at noon. I had my lunch, magazines, a book, and lots of plans to catch up with friends. At 12:30PM, crew scheduling calls me off the couch to start a 3-day trip. The flight attendant on the first turn of the trip (to Minneapolis) showed up to work not feeling well early that morning, and as they got back to Denver she felt even worse. So she called in sick, and I had 35 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart!

That is a prime example as to why the airline has us sit "ready reserve."

It was a fun crew - Fred and Chris up front, Brenda and Kelly in the back. Lots of teasing, lots of joking. You have to keep it light when you are flying to Los Angeles...sometimes there can be strange characters on board. But yesterday was fairly normal, the flight went well, and we got into LAX in the early afternoon. I felt the ocean calling to me, so I changed my clothes and hopped on the trolley that'd take me to Manhattan Beach. What I should have thought of is that it had reached 114 degrees that day in Los Angeles, so the beach wasn't necessarily going to be a "cool" place to hang out.

So when I got to Manhattan Beach, I decided to eat an early dinner at a restaurant called the Kettle. Jen and James went there the last time that they were in Los Angeles, and Jen raved about the Tortilla Soup. Even though it was hotter than hell outside, she said it'd be worth it! So that's where I went.

Chicken Tortilla Soup from The Kettle Restaurant

After I was done with dinner, it had cooled off a bit outside, so I walked down to the beach and pier. It was so absolutely beautiful! I spent time walking in the sand, walking on the pier, and doing A LOT of people watching. It was the perfect afternoon!

The sun was setting, but no one seemed to notice.

A beautiful day on the beach.

Looking south from the pier.

The aquarium at the end of the pier.

After walking around awhile, I headed back to the trolley pick-up point. It's a really nice system - the trolley picks-up at around 5 or 6 different "stops" around a bunch of hotels near the airport, and the first stop is Manhattan Beach. Then after you leave Manhattan Beach, there are two additional stops before returning to the hotels - both are malls. One is an indoor mall and the other is an outdoor mall - with lots and lots of stores and restaurants to choose from!

However, I chose to return to the hotel because that 5AM van was going to be ready for us before we knew it!

After returning to Denver, we kept the same plane and prepared to fly to St. Louis, MO. We got a new first officer, Juan, but kept the other crew members. There were a bunch of siblings sitting in the back of the plane - they had all just flown in from Oregon, Washington, Utah and Minnesota, and were all gathering to spend time together in Missouri. It turns out that one of their sisters recently passed away, so they were going to spend some quality time together before another one passed on. What a great idea!

Fortunately, it wasn't as hot in STL as it was in LAX, but I still didn't feel like sightseeing. The rest of the crew had met the night before to have an early dinner at the happy hour in the hotel bar, but I had chosen to go to the beach. So tonight I decided to be social, and I met the rest of the group in this hotel's bar. They had the most awesome tomato bisque soup...yummy! We had a great time laughing, telling stories, just hanging out. And we were done at 6PM...because our van time is 4:55AM tomorrow! (Which, is really 3:55AM Denver time...)

Tomorrow, we'll fly back to Denver (and everyone but us will be sleeping), and then we head to Seattle and back. When I return at around 2:30PM, I hope to hear those magic words, "you are released to your day off!" Keep your fingers crossed!

Where Has September Gone?

I haven't done a lot of flying this month...but the little that I did was GREAT!

I had to sit the couch twice, but on my way to the airport for the second sit I got a call from Crew Scheduling telling me that I'd be heading to Houston later that evening. Cool! Houston is one of my favorite layovers because I have friends there, AND it's one of my favorite hotel rooms.

Well...a tropical storm was blowing through Houston, my friends weren't available, and I got an inside room which overlooks the lobby. Needless to say, I got a lot of TV watching done! I believe I watched a marathon of "LA Ink."

The big question about this trip was whether or not we were going to make it back to Denver in time for our next flight - to ANCHORAGE! Yahoo! Only one other flight attendant and I were going on to ANC, so we started figuring that the airline would recrew our positions...we made up time in the air heading back to DEN, and lo and behold, the plane was loaded and ready to go when we got there! They waited for us! Mitch and I settled in to our positions and then we took off.

The plane was probably 2/3 full of men in various form of hunting and fishing gear. The hunters told me that they were going after bear, and the fishermen all had their poles safely tucked into the overhead bins.

We arrived in ANC late at night. Last year, in August, it was still light outside. But this time, in September, it was dark. Our return flight would be leaving about 24 hours after our arrival, so we had time to do some fun stuff. I gave my friend, Connie, a call when I got the trip and she had the morning and early afternoon available to show me around town. We went to a little town called Palmer, enjoyed a delicious lunch and did a little bit of shopping/browsing at a couple of the town's shops.

On the way back to ANC, we stopped at a Russian Orthodox Church that had a very unusual graveyard. Each grave was topped by a small house that contained some of the deceased's valuables. It's amazing how the native tribe still maintains those "houses," which were painted in bright and beautiful colors.

Connie and I made one more stop before she took me back to the hotel - there's a beautiful place called Kincaid park that overlooks the Inlet. It's where she usually takes people to see moose, bear, and other assorted wildlife, but that day they were all hiding!



Connie and me in Kincaid Park.

 A sign in Kincaid Park that could not go unphotographed.

When Connie dropped me back at the hotel, I figured it was too early to take a nap in preparation for our all-night flight back to DEN, so I decided to take a walk...around a lake...! If you look at the following map, our hotel is located in the lower right corner - it's called the Millenium Hotel. That's where I started. 

The world's largest floatplane lake.

One of the many floatplanes that I saw during my walk

I don't believe that I have ever seen as many floatplanes as I did that day. Each "dock" had a little house holding the flight equipment, and the floatplane was tied up next to it. Some were surrounded by cute little picket fences (a woman's touch, no doubt), others were plain with no little house, and others looked like they had sleeping accommodations. During my walk, I'd see guys coming to the lake after work, locking up their cars, readying their planes for flight, and then leaving their dock and taking off on the water!

There were also quite a few hangars and "parking lots" for other planes without floats. There was a taxiway around parts of the lake that led to a runway - I lost count of the number of planes that took off that way during my walk. It's definitely a different lifestyle that what I'm used to.

After that trip, I had a few days off and then got assigned a 20 hour layover in Kansas City, MO. Again, it's a very nice hotel...but there is NOTHING to do nearby. This time, we arrived early in the morning and I got ambitious. I had heard that there was a mall nearby - Zona Rosa. I decided to walk there, and then have the hotel shuttle bus pick me up later in the afternoon.

Well...let's just say that it wasn't the nicest walk I've ever been on. The road you walk on paralleled the highway, there was no scenery to speak of - the most exciting thing was looking at the trash that had been thrown on the roadside as I cautiously stepped over it. I wish I had brought a baggie with me, and I would have collected some of it...but since I hadn't, I just looked at it, tried to figure out what some of it was, and then moved on. It was also VERY hot and VERY humid. And...of course, it was around noontime.

Silly me...I didn't follow directions and took a road across the highway and ended up at a Target shopping center (with a JC Penney, a Famous Footwear, and several other stores). I asked for directions to Zona Rosa, and instead of sending me back the way I had just come, they sent me the opposite way and instructed me to cross under the highway. That's when I came upon a WalMart shopping center (with a Lowe's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and a Borders, and several other stores). Not where I wanted to be.

I needed to get to Zona Rosa's Barnes & Noble, because that is where the hotel shuttle would be picking me up at 3PM. So I kept trudging along, and FINALLY found what I was looking for. Zona Rosa had a ton of "high-end" boutiques (read as EXPENSIVE), and by that time all I was interested in doing was sitting inside in AIR CONDITIONING, drinking WATER. I'm guessing that my diversion turned my walk from a 4.5 mile trek to at least 6 miles or so. Thank goodness I had my MBT shoes on, gently shaping and firming my buttocks and calf muscles!

I got released upon my return to DEN the following morning, and then got assigned to a stand-up to Spokane that night. The perfect ending. I hate stand-ups, but if I have to do one, the best time to do it is on your last day of duty. That's because you HAVE to be released to your days off when you return. And that's exactly what happened.

On my first day I accompanied my hubby to his surgery appointment for his right hand. Surgery took a lot longer than last time, and that was because the condition of his hand was a lot worse than his left hand. There was a lot of arthritis in his thumb joint (which has now been replaced), as well as a lot of scar tissue surrounding one of his nerves. He also had the carpal tunnel surgery done at the same time, so in time, his right had should be almost as good as new. Well...maybe not that good...but at least it'll be a lot less painful than it has been.

I was supposed to start six duty days just a couple days after his surgery, but I opted to take sick days instead. Since this was Greg's right hand, it took him a little longer to get used to doing things without it. Plus, I was concerned because this surgery was a lot more in depth than last time...

I'm now at the end of my next set of days off, and am scheduled to go back to work for three days. I've been reading my friends' updates on FaceBook, and have truly missed not being a part of their trips and traveling fun. However, I truly have NOT missed driving to/from Denver. I really look forward to the day (maybe early next year?) when I have control over my own schedule and fly a comfortable amount of hours, with a minimum number of round-trip drives to Denver...or maybe even round-trip flights from COS to DEN. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Sitting on the Sexy Black Leather Couch...

My three-day trip to LGA and SLC was great! I had several hours with Jen and Liza - though we did not make it to Central Park. It was too hot and humid! So we stayed inside at her apartment, and ordered in lunch. Very short, but very sweet.

I slept when I got to SLC - I was so tired for some reason and just needed to sleep. And that's what I did. It was great!

I had a great cabin crew on the SLC overnight, but one of the flight attendants on the LGA overnight was a bit different. She was nowhere to be found at show time, and when she did arrive she had a long story about the hotel van. The other flight attendant in the back used to fly with her all the time, and said, "she always has such creative stories." Hmmmm. The thing is, she was the CPT's pet, so nothing will ever be said to anyone in charge.

Speaking of which, has anyone ever heard of a guy getting a "kitchen pass" from his wife? A co-worker told me that a CPT hit her with that line a couple weeks ago - he wanted to know what she could do for him! OMG. How disgusting is that?!?!? She had gone to the flight deck to give the first officer a potty break, and this is what the CPT said to her. She replied, "So...where are you taking the kids for vacation this year?" Good comeback for an uncomfortable situation!

Speaking of uncomfortable situations, when I was on the NYC subway the other day heading to Jen's apartment, a strange looking man boarded my car and said to me, "Are you rich?" I just looked at him and laughed! Then he started hitting on the young girl sitting across from me. At first she listened to him, and then she went back to her book. Finally, he gave up and got off at the next stop - when a woman walked on, he said to her, "Stay good looking, cause if you don't you'll be ugly!" I wonder how long it took him to come up with that comment.

Today when I arrived at DIA to sit the couch, I walked from one end of the A concourse to the other to get a bit of exercise, and I saw some of the strangest looking outfits! First, there was a family of five - the older couple were dressed like "Dr. Quinn - Medicine Woman," as were the younger couple, pushing a stroller with a young'un. And, of course, I later saw one of the couples in the leather-goods store on the concourse! The other strange-looking person was going to Detroit. He was very tall and very thin, dressed all in patchwork leather. He had lace-up boots, and his leather pants were tight, tight, tight! His outfit was topped off with the kind of hat that Robin Hood would wear - complete with a foot-long feather! If I had had my camera, I would have snapped a pic - but how do you do that without them seeing you and punching you in the face?

I am off duty in 15 minutes. I started out with two others, but they were both sent on trips. So sad. So I cleaned up the crewroom, organized the "Lost and Found," and did all my online training courses (one was due before I go to my annual training, and all the other courses were due by the end of this year)!

I fully expect to be sent somewhere, sometime...I just don't know when or where. As a co-worker said to me today, "I'm finding that meditation, medication and alcohol are helping me tolerate being on reserve." So true, so true.

Days Gone By...Good Things to Come

I was having too good of a time to blog!

Nancy totally spoiled me when I visited. We got fresh quiche and cheese for lunch, had a great time floating in her pool, dinner at the Wharfside Restaurant in Pt. Pleasant, followed by funnelcake on the boardwalk. Awesome.

On Sunday morning, we went to early mass, and then she dropped me off at the train at Bay Head for my trek back to NYC. When I arrived at Penn Station, my original plan was to take a bus to LGA...however, it was raining. The thought of having to change buses three times to get to LGA was overwhelming, so I took a taxi. Big mistake. There was a big accident and we got stuck in traffic, and that meter was creeping up and up and up.

When we finally got to LGA, I found out that the US Airways flight to DCA that I had hoped to catch a ride on was full, AND there were 22 non-revs. Hmmmm. It did not look good for me. The gate agents recommended that I try Delta's commuter flight. Interesting fact - that flight is operated by Shuttle America, a subsidiary of Republic Airways - our parent company. BUT I have no flight benefits on their flights since it's under contract to Delta. But I have Delta flight benefits...go figure. Diane and Mark came to the rescue and gave me a Delta buddy pass, getting it into the computer system within one minute of the flight closing. YAY!

Diane & Mark's new home is absolutely gorgeous! Mom has her own "space" - and it is beautiful! I got to spend a few days hanging out with them and relaxing. Of course, Mom beat me at "65," but I whooped her hide at "Dummy." And then Mark came along and beat us both at "65." Natalie and I also got beat by Mom playing "Scattergories." Oh well...I left with my tail between my legs.

On Wednesday morning, we decided to try out the commuter shuttle bus to get back to DC, and it worked like a charm! I paid $5.75 to go from California, MD to Metro Station (note to self - get off at Le'Fant Plaza next time), and then I took Metro to DCA. I got the last seat on the first Frontier flight back to DEN - a window seat - and I slept for the entire 3 hour 20 minute flight!

I started duty again on Friday, and guess what I did? I got assigned to the C couch - usually from 4PM until 10PM, but it got changed to 2PM until 8PM. When I checked in, though, they told me that I was doing a turn to Orange County, CA and would get back to DEN at 11PM. Lovely. The flight there was almost full, and the flight back had 61 passengers. Fortunately, it went by quickly.

Yesterday, no one called me at home - and that was a good thing. I realized that I had a sinus infection, so all I did was sit on the couch and sleep all day. It was delightful! I watched several of my DVR'ed TV shows and slept through some of them, too.

And as I write this I am once again on the couch at DIA. I got the 4PM until 10PM shift again, and I actually picked-up a three day trip starting tomorrow afternoon! I'll spend Monday night at LGA (with a 19 hour layover!!!) and Tuesday night at SLC (with a 17 hour layover). Nice, huh?

So right now I have a playdate with my new grandpuppy, Liza on Tuesday morning in Central Park! YAY! I am VERY EXCITED to see her (and Jen, too) again!