don't cry for me montgomery

I'm watching Will & Grace and Karen just kills me. She's like voicemail... how can someone mail a voice!!!???

I've had so many things I wanted to blog about lately but now I'm just blah. So this will be random thoughts I've had over the last few days.
You know your morning's going back when you have coffee in your shoes.
I haven't seen French billboards in a long time. I think I'm becoming too American in my discomfort with foreign things, and in seeing foreign things as odd and weird, instead of different and interesting.
I mostly walked, but partly ran 4 miles yesterday. Now my legs and butt hurt, but it feels great. I'm tired of being out of shape.
Oh yeah. I was in Montreal Monday night. That's where I saw French billboards.
I have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow before I leave to go visit Adri. I can't remember what most of it is though. I have to start another 4 day on Sunday morning at 6am. I've been really bad about getting up in the morning lately and it's really bothering me. After that 4 day I'm supposed to have one day off and then start another one.
My passengers were great today. Not all of them, but just enough, at just the right times so I made it through a very long day. I got to work in Montgomery at 630 this morning. Since then I've been to Cincinnati, Colombia, SC, Atlanta, St. Louis, and now I'm home. Throw in 2 mechanical delays where you have to go back to the gate for an hour and you've got a super fun day.

I think that's about all for now. There's much more but I'm very tired. I miss my family and friends. On days like this I just don't have the energy to call anyone. Glad they all love me anyway.

PS. I'm watching Will & Grace still. That's where the subject, sort of, came from.

home sweet home

I just got home from work and it is beautiful. The weather is beautiful. I got my Victoria's Secret order in the mail and it was beautiful. I can relax now, which is beautiful. Do you see a theme here?

I think online shopping is fantastic. You get the shopping gratification, but then you also have something to look forward to for several days, which gives your days more excitement. It's all round a lovely thing.

I'm really tired because I got up at 510 this morning. My alarm started going off at 440 but since I didn't fall asleep til after midnight it was really hard to get up. It was also really cold up in Binghamton. Though I'm happy that it's not quite so hot, I'm not ready for the cold yet. I don't feel like I got to do all the summer things I love. It just seems like the summer was here, I worked, and now it's gone. I guess that's how things work in Grown Up Land. I'm not looking forward to how much more clothing I'll have to pack since it'll be cold a lot of places I fly.

I can't think of anything noteworthy about the trip right now. I nearly got Joe's line again next month but after putting them out for 5 minutes they changed it. Now I have the complete opposite schedule of everyone I want to spend time with. The only good thing is I have overnights near Adri and Amy. Woo hoo. I'm probably going to swap some stuff still though so I don't have to work every weekend. As Jamie reminded me yesterday though, at least I have a line. For that I am truly thankful.

I have a lot to be thankful for. The attitude adjustment about my job is going alright. Today was the only day that I started feeling really pissy toward passengers. No I don't have milk. No I don't have grapefruit juice or Fresca. It's a freaking 45 minute flight. Have a bottle of water or a Diet Coke and shut up........ Had to get that out of my system.

Yesterday I finished a book by Corrie Ten Boom called The Hiding Place. Her family lived in Holland and hid Jews from Hitler. The story is some about their lives, some about their time with the Jews, and some about the time they spent in prison. It's an amazing book. She really lived her faith. It really gives you a perspective on what a bad day is like. I recommend it to anyone to read.

I'm off to forage for some food now. Let the weekend begin!!!

Can I have a branket prease?

I'm in the oh so exciting town of Dothan, AL am about to crash. Today was a decent day. I've decided that I need to figure out how to like my job more. I have no intention of finding another job but don't want to spend every day wishing it was over already. I'm in the process of analyzing what is bothering me and how to make it better. Today I just tried to pray a lot whenever I was feeling really tired or grouchy. It helped a lot. Every flight I had today I had at least one person that I had a pleasant conversation with. Some of them were just old guys flirting with me but it's just nice to have a human connection in an otherwise robotic job. We flew back from Shreveport this afternoon, did a Detroit roundtrip, and in spite of all three of those flights being really late, somehow got to Dothan 20 min early. It was excellent. All my passengers had all their body parts (visible ones anyway). There were a few smelly ones and a few with funny accents. I had one guy ask me for a bRanket. It was all I could not to crack a smile when what I really wanted to do was laugh really really loud. I'm such a jerk.

It's pretty ridiculous what I would give for a foot massage right now. Probably my forever and undying love. Too bad there isn't anyone around here who's willing to trade. Tomorrow is just a leg back to Atlanta and then up to Bingamton, NY. Not sure if that's how you spell it, or Shreveport either. All I have to know is their airport codes. So there. I had a guy tonight offer me his ipod in exchange for my wings. Then when he saw that I'd be more than willing to make the trade he changed his mind. I can always report them stolen. I need to go to sleep so I can get up and eat the breakfast here. I've been eating so poorly lately. I need to do better.

Thanks to the beauty of the internet I just saw Israel sitting at his desk in China, eating nuts and drinking some "milk like product". Need to figure out a way so I can talk to him instead of just typing. That's for another day. This one is over and I'm out.

ears are good

I'm at my parent's house waiting for them to get home so we can have lunch and spend some time together. I feel like I haven't seen them in a long time and that's no bueno. My family is the best. I overslept this morning so I went to Amie's church instead since it starts later. It was really nice.

The trip I did Thursday and Friday was really good for me. I had to get up too early and work too long which wasn't good, but some of the people I came across were what was good about it. I think God was trying to remind me how good my life is. Trying to make me stop focusing on my puny little life and what it doesn't hold and see what my life could be like.

The first flight of our trip was up to Buffalo, NY. They preboarded an old lady and whispered to me that they thought she had alzheimer's. She was also nearly deaf. She started telling me how her daughter had put her on a plane two days ago in a city that she couldn't remember. Colorado? No, what's that place where they gamble? Las Vegas. Yeah I think it was there. She said the plane broke and somehow she ended up in Atlanta. She said they lost her cause she was supposed to be going north but was in Atlanta. She said that her son must've had the biggest fright when they told him where he was supposed to pick her up. It's got to suck to not know what's going on or be able to remember where you were last week or five years ago.

The next person I came across was a lady flying back from Albany. She was a very beautiful lady probably in her 50s or 60s. She had to be pre-boarded and needed a wheelchair in Atlanta. After we landed and were waiting for the wheelchair she asked the pilot if a spinal cord stimulator affected the airplane cause she couldn't turn it off. She had some kind of spinal degeneration and after 4 surgeries it was the last resort. She had a battery implanted in her back and a wire that ran up her spine to control the pain. And for some reason when she had the 3 hour surgery they couldn't put her to sleep so she felt the whole thing. But she was so cheerful about everything and when the pilot offered to carry her bags down the stairs she said no, that she wanted to do everything she could while she could. She had such a great attitude about life and instead of whining and complaining she was happy to be able to do the simple things.

I was riding the escalator in Atlanta and was behind a soldier. I noticed that he had a little bandaid on his head behind his ear. He also had a scar the size of a quarter. This close inspection of the back of his head made me notice that what seemed to be his ear, was actually a fake ear. I'm so thankful not to be missing any of my body parts.

The person I saw that had the most impact on me was on my last flight to Asheville. I didn't see him until he was right there in front of me and I was completely shocked. He looked like someone off of a movie. It looked like his entire body had been burned. Both of his hands were gone. His ears, nose, lips and hair were also gone. He smiled and said hello to me, then took his bags that were looped around his arms and went to sit down. I was concerned about who would sit by him in case they would be rude or mean to him. A businessman sat there and they smiled and talked for most of the flight. As I sat and looked at him I couldn't help but think how that could be any one of us. I would have liked to know what happened to him. I wondered what he looked like before and what his family or loved ones thought of him. Watching him interract with the man next to him made me realize that I needed to make sure I didn't let his outside make me treat him any differently. He stil had the same personality underneath, still felt the same, thought the same, as someone with normal skin. He had friendly brown eyes and as he got off the plane he commented on how gorgeous it was up in Asheville and how much he loved it. It made me so thankful for what God has NOT allowed to happen to me and reminded me that regardless of appearance we all deserve the same love and kindness.

I finished this at home. My family got home so I stopped writing. Today was a good day. My life is good. My family is wonderful. My friends are as well. I'm very blessed to have 10 fingers, 10 toes, eyes, ears, a functioning brain and body. My belly is full so now I'm going to chill on the couch and watch tv with my friends until I feel like going to sleep.

she said it's cold outside and she hands me my raincoat

It's raining outside and I love the way it sounds. It's so peaceful and relaxing. I'm tired even though I've only just now been awake for more than 12 hours.

Today was a cheerful day. I did things that made me happy. I forgot to mention yesterday how happy it makes me to see gas in the low $2.30s. It's a beautiful thing. Today I took lunch to Amie over at her work, which used to be my work. I saw a lot of people that I never see anymore but that I really enjoy seeing. It was good times. After that I went to Walmart and picked up my contacts. It's about freaking time. I'm so tired of wearing my glasses.

Then I went to Ross and returned some shoes I bought the other day with the intention of them being my alternate/comfortable work shoes, but after carrying them around in my bag for 4 days I didnt' really feel like wearing them. So I returned them and bought a bra. I wish I had money to spend $40something every time I need a new bra. I just don't like the other, cheaper ones as much. I tried on about 10 and found one that was passable. After that I wandered around Target and found the skirt that I bought for super cheap but needed altering actually in my size, so now I can just return the too big one and not worry about fixing them. I love skirts and they have these great knit skirts at Target half off now - $6.48. I got 3 of them the other day but one was way too big.

After the shopping mission I went over to Jamie's for a minute until I met my mom and brother back over at Target. I was giving him a ride up into Atlanta to meet Joy so they could go to the Shakira concert. It was nice to see my mother dearest for a minute. Then Peter and I drove up into Atl, all the while discussing the fantastic music of our day and other riveting topics. We met up with a friend at the Village, found Joy and journeyed over to Moe's where we ate supper. Somewhere along the way it started pouring down rain and hasn't really stopped. It's always fun hanging out with my siblings. It helps to get my mind off me and my silly little life. They're so much fun. After that I came home and watched tv with my lovely Amie. Life is good.

I think I'm getting out of my funk. I've talked to more people in the last 24 hours than in the last week it seems. Now that I finally have a line I need to start setting up habits for the other areas of my life. Work has dominated my life for so long now and so many times I feel like that's all I do. I work, then I come home and recover from work, until it's time to get ready to go back to work. I don't want that to be all that my life involves. And it feels like it is right now. I feel like I'm living the average life. I've always felt sorry for people whose lives are simply work and go home and now I realize that right now that's all my life is as well. And for me, work isn't exactly the most mentally challenging, stimulating thing. Sometimes I feel like my brain is rotting out of my ears. Now that I feel a little less funky I hope to get my focus back where it should be.

As for now, sleep calls. I must answer.

PS. I just realized that my last blog was my 100th blog. Not much of a mile mark blog in my opinion, but hey, that's life isn't it. It always seems that things you intend to be momentous rarely are. Instead momentous things usually happen when you least expect them. I think it's been nearly a year since I started blogging as well. Good times.

the farmer and the cowman should be friends

Don't ask me where that came from. I do not know.

It's been a while since I blogged. I've been away on a 4-day and due to weight restrictions (ie. my laziness) I didn't haul my laptop along. I seem to go in phases where sometimes I'm on the internet every chance I get and then sometimes I can't be bothered. All the while I was working though I kept thinking of things that I didn't want to forget, and therefore wanted to blog about.

Work-wise my trip was fairly uneventful. They've closed a runway in ATL which is going to make leaving nearly as much of a nightmare as coming in. Maybe even worse. I was finally getting used to sitting on the ramp for forever to get parked, but now, it seems that no matter what time of day it is, you have at least a 20 min taxi before taking off. Good times. Just about the only things that made any of my passengers noteworthy were two severe cases of body odor and one Xanax popping crazy lady who evidently thought all the rules of the airline, such as not wandering about the cabin immediately upon landing, while the plane is still going full speed, didn't apply to her. It was a cake trip though. Though it was a 4 day trip, I only worked 3 days. But on those 3 days I worked a lot of hours. Fewer, but much longer flights. I overnighted two nights in Albany, NY which allowed me to spend time with my bestest buddy Adri. It was a lot of fun, though looking back on it, we should have just stayed in ALB and layed around the hotel all day instead of driving back and forth. She's the best though. Not many people would drive all over tarnation to spend about 24 hours with me.

I can't think of any other work things to comment on at the moment. After getting up at 445 to be down at the van at 450 my major accomplishment of the day was shaving my legs when I got home. Quite a Monday check list: 1. fly from Manchester, NH to ATL at 6am 2. Do an OklaCity round trip 3. shave legs. I set my standards high. I also had a lovely dinner with Amie and David tonight. My quilt finally arrived and I'm not sure if I like it. I wanted the dominant colors to be green and lavender and they seem to be the most subtle colors. Yellow and dark pink being the dominant ones. I'll let it sit around in my room for a minute and we'll see.

I have more things to write about but I think they require a clearer mind. I feel like my mind has gone into veg mode lately and I need to wake it up somehow. But first I'm off to enjoy a long night's sleep in my very own bed.

PS. My back still hurts after sleeping in 3 different beds in the last 3 nights so I'm not ditching the pillow top just yet.

today is supposed to be

productive day. Instead, it's nearly 12:30, I'm still in my pjs and just now put a load of laundry in. The last few days have been recooperation time from work, but now that I have to go back to work tomorrow it's time to get stuff done. And I still don't feel like it. My schedule is really confusing my bed changing habits. I usually try to change my sheets every other week but I've only slept on them a few times so they aren't dirty yet. Feels weird though. It's one of those things like sleeping late in the middle of the week - I have to remind myself that I have a really weird job so it's ok to sleep really late sometimes and go several weeks without changing my sheets since I only spend half my nights on them.

I'm really excited about my trip tomorrow. I'll be gone for 4 days but only have to work on 3 of them. I will also be doing 8 flights, instead of 13, and getting paid more. Life is good when you have a line and can swap stuff. I'm kind of sad cause I won't be flying with Joe, but I'll get to spend the day with Adri which pretty much rocks my face off. The way it works is, tomorrow night I end up in Albany, NY around 9pm where Adri will pick me up and take me to her house (she's the best). I'll spend the night and Saturday there, then she'll bring me back the next night in time for work on Sunday morning. I think I dreamed about all this cause it's sounds kind of familiar now that I'm telling it.

Another bed related thing - can your bed be too soft?? I slept on an air mattress for a while a few years ago and my lower back used to hurt a lot cause it was too soft. Now that I got this pillow top thing for my bed my lower back hurts, but since I sleep on my bed so rarely it's hard to say if its my bed or just my back. I'd hate to have to get rid of the lovely pillow top softness. What a dilemma... :-P I finally ordered my new quilt. Now I've got delivery impatience. Don't they know I really want this?? Shouldn't it be their priority?

Probably one of the reasons I'm not feeling particularly motivated today is because I still haven't gotten to veg for an entire day since being off. On Tuesday I had to go to the dentist. I got yelled at cause I don't floss and have to go back next month cause I have cavities. Thankfully they're small. After that I went to the music store in Fayetteville and helped my mother decide between two violins for my little sister. That was fun. I'm really glad she has a nice violin to play now. No more student violin squeakiness. After that I went to Publix, bought asparagus and steak and went home and shared it with Amie. I still need to go proper grocery shopping, but it just takes too much energy.

Yesterday morning I had to get up around 7 to take a puppy up to Harrisburg, PA for my old music teacher. It's actually for her daughter but it was going to cost them a fortune to ship it up there, and since I can fly for free I was glad I could help. Thankfully I made the flight straight back so I was home around 2, but it was still really tiring. Then I came home and slept for a few hours. Maybe that's why I couldn't fall asleep when I got back in bed at 930 last night? Mr. L made what he calls frito plates for me last night. It's basically like taco salad but with fritos. It was yummy.

I guess I should get on with my day. I feel like I haven't seen anyone in a long time. I miss my friends and family. I've kind of been in a funk though so when I'm home I don't feel like doing anything. Just feel like lying around and sleeping. Hopefully I'll snap out of it soon. I hate feeling this way cause I feel like I need to just keep to myself otherwise I'll be nasty to those I'm around. Just ask my family, and my roommates. Good times. I'm so great.

your skin so wet, black lace on sweat

It feels good to be home. It's about freaking time. These last 6 days have been sooo long. Now I'm in my own bed, in my own room, and it's great. I still feel like I'm on an airplane though, which is not great. The last 2 flights of the 22 that have made up my last 6 days were a Midway Chicago round trip. For some reason "Poison" was really stuck in my head (I almost said was really running through my veins but it was just too bad :-P). So when I got in my car to drive home the first thing I did was find it on my Turn It Up cd that was already in there. Then I listened to it over and over on the way home. Really loud. And sang along. Really loud (well as loud as my pathetic vocal chord will allow). It rocked my face off. So then I got home, showered, got ready to chill out and sleep and for some reason looked at my first blog I wrote on here. It was nearly a year ago, 9/19/05, and I was talking about this song that was my new favorite song. It doesn't take a genius to figure out where I'm going with this. Yeah, it was Poison. What can I say though? It's freaking fabulous.

Like I said, today was a ridiculously long day. I'm glad it's over. I'm glad I don't have to work for another 3 days. I fully intend to sleep until I can't sleep any more tomorrow. Then I get to go to the dentist. So not cool. Toodaloo...

cincincinatti

I'm writing this blog as a tribute to the efficiency of my company. This morning I woke up at 5am in Baton Rouge so I could go to the airport, fly to Cincinatti with 12 passengers, dead head (ride) a nearly empty flight to Colombia, SC, fly 6 people back to Cinci, sit for 3hr15m and fly 40 or so minutes to Knoxville, TN. It's good to know that they value our time and don't want us sitting around doing nothing... If I sound bitter it's only because I've worked 5 days in a row now and won't be finished until late tomorrow night. For those of you who may say "I work 5 days in a row every week" let me just say, this is different. If I came in and worked 8 hours and went home that would be freaking fantastic. I'm not really complaining. Just stating the difference.

This trip has been good so far. I've hardly had any passengers which seems surprising since it's a holiday weekend. The first 3 day trip I did was ridiculous. If it wasn't for my crew being really fun I would have killed myself (or seriously considered it.) I don't think we had a single flight leave on time the entire trip. Way to go [Insert my company's name here]. I probably sound grouchy but I'm really just tired and want to go home for more than a few hours at a time. I've been at home 3 complete days since 8/17. Anyhoo... C'est la vie.

I wish I had something more interesting to write about but I don't. I don't think anything particularly grand has happened lately, and if it has I can't remember.
I did have my brother Israel and his girlfriend on my flight from XNA to ATL on Friday. It was funny cause I couldn't stop laughing while I was doing my announcements cause they were making faces at me, and then my dear captain made an announcement that I had been on American Idol and everyone started clapping for me. Kind of livened things up.

I sold my car last Sunday night after posting a blog about it. If you want to sell something craigslist.com seems to be the place to do it. I got more than I asked for it and had the cash in my hand in less than 3 hours after posting the ad. Good times.

Guess that's all for now. Only an hour and a half left sitting here.