ATRs and the Pacific

Oh yeah...

I'm not sure if anyone else will think this is funny, but it made me laugh so hard I want to write it down so when I need something to laugh about I can remember it.

Yesterday, probably on the fourth leg of our five leg day I was sitting in the galley trying to stay awake. We had been hoping all day that we'd get canceled or switched to something more fun than a short overnight in Baton Rouge. Ryan (the other flight attendant) comes up to me and says that they've switched us (Woo hoo!!) We're going to Tokyo Narita.... on the ATR. I'm a little slow at this point so it takes a minute for it to register and I realize he's lying. He says, yes, it will take us nine stops (It'd actually take a lot more than that). We have to re-fuel going across the ocean. We'd land on an aircraft carrier, fuel up, take off, then fly til we caught up with the aircraft carrier again, then re-fuel again. The mental picture, and the sheer stupidity that would be involved in a mission like that made me laugh so hard I nearly fell off my seat. It still makes me laugh when I think about it.

This is why work this month has been so fun. Plus the whole Key West thing...

After filling out one of these bulletin questionaires I was curious enough to find out the farthest place I've been. It seems that Budapest, Hungary is a mere 5500 miles away, Fenghua, China is 7509 miles away and Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa takes the cake at 8977 miles away. I have to say that with all that it took for us to get there (did I mention driving 500 miles across South Africa's Transkei with my ex future mother-in-law?), that place does seem the farthest.


Currently reading: Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons: A Novel By Lorna Landvik

a sunny Manchester day

I have nothing fantastic to blog about. I'm bored, tired, and grouchy. My reasons for being so aren't really that good either. I just am. I'm lonely but too grouchy to really be around or talk to anyone either, yet being by myself makes me grouchier.. It's a vicious cycle :-P.

It was nice to have a break from watching Flica all the time and hoping for trades and swaps... This was the first month in a year that I haven't swapped everything around. It's been a nice month of work. I'm going to miss my crew. They've been great. Next month I don't like my schedule as much, plus I have vacation so I'm trying to swap everything around. I wish I didn't have any bills. Otherwise, I'd take my potentially 14 days off and go somewhere exotic. I might still do it anyway. It's been way too long since I went far far away. I've gotten so comfortable in where I am that I can hardly remember the person who got dropped off on the side of the highway in Hungary. I think one reason I'm remembering that person again is because it seems that so many of the things I've been comfortable with have changed.

I spent my last night in our apartment on Friday night. It was uneventful. I made about 15 trips up and down 3 floors of stairs with half my stuff. If you thought moving was awful, try moving by yourself. It rocks my face off. I still have to move some stuff when I get home on Tuesday but hopefully it won't take long. I was looking at the pile that I'm making in Matt and Molly's garage and wondering what the heck all that stuff is. I'm pretty sure all I moved was my bathroom stuff, clothes, and bedding and it seems like so much. I'm moving into a smaller room with a much smaller closet so this should be interesting. I'm ready to have my stuff settled in again.

I'm going to go wander around and see if some vitamin D will improve my mood.

the thing to do

Everyone seems to be blogging about change these days, so I'll join the club. Partially because I'm thinking about it and partially because I'm using it as a delay technique.

I'm sitting on the floor in my room. It's the only room in our apartment that seems remotely normal. The only one that has furniture left in it. My Porsche poster is still on the wall but my shelves have been taken down. I was reminded yesterday as I unscrewed them from the wall of what a pain they were to hang. It was a "I don't need any stupid men" project. I did pretty good building them. Didn't need any stupid men to help me with that part. But then I found out that it's kind of hard to hang a shelf on your own. Managed the bottom one using my shoulder as a third hand, but ended up having to get Tanya to hold the other end while I screwed them in.

I think I'm not so much in a sentimental mood as in a I hate moving mood. I have to leave for work in a little over 12 hours and when I get back on Tuesday I'll have another 8 to move my stuff. I should get a move on (no pun intended - though that is a good one :-P).

I'm moving into the Jones household for the time being. I don't know how long that will be. I have other stuff to figure out before then. But for now it's cheap, convenient, and my landlords are pretty awesome. Some of the others living there... not so much awesome, but it'll do for now.

I wish that I had made time to blog about my last trip cause it was awesome and now I'm starting another one and it's getting further in the past. I'm still catching up on my sleep. I visited two beaches in two days. I found out that a good way to feel good about your body, pretty much regardless of the shape it's in, is to go to the beach in New Hampshire. That was the first time I've been to a New England beach and the water was cold, but it was amusing, and we had lobster afterwards. I had no idea Manchester was so close to the beach. The next day we were in Key West which was awesome as well. It was much, much hotter so I spent most of the day in the pool and my entire face and part of my shoulders have now peeled as a result. It was good fun and we met some crazy passengers from Boston who were fun to hang out with.

I have too much to do so I'm ending this now. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

I am le tired

I don't have my contacts on and can't be bothered to get my glasses out so this may contain typos. I'm in Baton Rouge. I am very tired. I've been reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" which makes me think, and I've also just been thinking a lot. Remembering mostly. Today I brought green beans to work as a snack. It reminded me of my Madrid exodus with Elizabeth. I basically took everything out of the frig that wouldn't last until Marikay got back. Then when we got to Barcelona early in the morning and were lost and hungry we ate tomatoes like apples and green beans like... twizzlers?? I quite like them that way. I like crunchy foods a lot, hence my love for chips and cheetos. The crunchiness of the beans helps satisfy my desire for crunchy junk. But in a much healthier way. I also talked to Leslie the other day. She was another important part of my time in Madrid. It's funny cause this is about the time I was spending time with them. Crazy how memories seem to pop up from nowhere and then you realize it's the anniversary of the memory making. (Would that be the memory's birthday?)

This was a busy week. I thought I had blogged but evidently not. I'm back at work and had a long day. It didn't help that it was preceded by a short night. We're back down to Key West on Monday. We had a great time last week and I'm really looking forward to going back. And then again next Monday. Woo hoo. Thankfully I'm not working every Sunday next month. So far it looks like Wed-Sat.

I went to the doctor this week about my back. It's been hurting for over 3 weeks now. Making life in general a pain in the baaack. He said to take 3 ibuprofin 3 times a day for 5 days. I took them yesterday and this morning and felt like I was going to throw up all day so I stopped. I also got xrays done. Hopefully they don't find out anything weird like I have a hair growing in my spine...(Weird story I heard recently. Can't remember where.) Also got a prescription for Ambien, under whose influence I'm writing this. I'm expecting my eyelids to zip closed any moment and I pass out. This may seem early, but I have to be up at 425am and for the sake of my crew I need to get some sleep.

I'll try to write something less random tomorrow in NH. Don't count on it though...


Currently reading: Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson By Mitch Albom

stories dont mean anything when youve got noone to tell them to

I finished work today before noon. It was nice, except that I started at 530 this morning. The bulk of our work was done yesterday, and amazingly enough, all on time, all without swapping planes. We were supposed to go to Baton Rouge last night but right when we came in from our previous trip they switched us to Knoxville. Was a nice change since it's only a 26 minute flight and I was able to be in bed at 8pm. Our flight back to Atlanta this morning left at 615 so we were back in the lounge by 7am. Whenever I finish a flight I always turn on my phone and check for messages and to see if anyone loves me. I was a little disappointed this morning until I realized that most normal people were still sleeping.

Now I'm in Manchester, NH and not sure what I'm going to do with the day. I need to go check out the gym facilities here. I want to take a nap but am afraid if I do I won't be able to sleep tonight. I love Hampton Inns. The Hilton we stayed in last night was also very nice. This one even has a microwave and frig. Good times. I'll eat my leftover rice, chicken, and squash from Friday. Oh yeah, you know you're up north when your hotel room ac is automatically set on 66. It's in the upper 70s here and they're all roasting.

Kathryn came over on Friday and helped me eliminate a whole lot of junk from my life. I had no idea it would feel so good to take a 3 drawer plastic storage container and throw the whole thing (full) into the dumpster. I think she should work on one of those tv shows that helps people restore order to their houses. She's awesome :). Every few days now I go through my closet and get rid of more clothes as well. I'm becoming less emotionally attached to my stuff, which is good for me. I have an especially hard time with things people gave me, but I figure if they love me and want me to happy they won't care if I don't keep their gift my whole life. Clutter seems to affect me a lot emotionally so it's good to be able to eliminate some. The fact that I still don't know where I'm moving is also a good incentive for keeping less things. I thought I had it all worked out, but evidently the offer had been made (repeatedly) without actually thinking about it.... Good times. So back to the drawing board. I don't know how much disappointment I can handle in one month.

I think I'm going to get off the bed. Maybe that will help me stay awake - especially since these beds are so comfortable.

Oh yeah, the highlight of my day yesterday was transporting the Argentinian National Rugby Team from Pensacola to Atlanta :). I felt really bad for them because they didn't fit very well on our plane but they sure were fun to look at. Seriously, what part of spending time with 18 muscular Argentinian IN SUITS wouldn't make a girl happy?

PS. This is my 200th post.


Currently reading: The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus By Lee Strobel

Last day of freedom

I woke up a little while ago and realized I have to be back at work in less than 24 hours. This kind of sucks because I feel like I haven't gotten anything done on my off days.

I had weird dreams this morning. I dreamed I was supposed to go to Germany for vacation but couldn't remember when the trip I was doing ended so I wasn't sure if I could make the flight. Then it started snowing (during summer I'm assuming). There was some big group of people and I think they were trying to sing "My Country Tis of Thee" but they couldn't stay in one key, so the director guy asked if anyone could stay in one key. I said I could and he made me sing it by myself in front of everyone. Reminded me of one of my classes in college. But then I couldn't remember the right words so I just made ones up... This whole time I'm going around trying to find a computer to find out when I have to fly.

So now I'm awake and realize I have a ton of laundry to do and need to get a lot more stuff packed. I just looked at my schedule and somehow I only have 4 days off between now and the end of the month, which means I have to get all my packing to prepare for storage finished by then. My packing guru and friend, Kathryn, has deemed my case worthy of her assistance and will be coming over in a while. I need to get some laundry going in the meantime.

Yesterday was a lovely day. I did some random stuff around the house and then my Mama and Michal came over. We ate lunch and went swimming. It was good fun and nice to be around them.

Last night I went to the gym with Molly but did the bike instead of running cause my back still hurts. It makes me really frustrated at myself when I think of how much money I've wasted not going. I wish I was one of those people who just loves it. Though I have failed and been a slacker I'm still not giving up. My mom brought me squash from their garden, grapes, bananas, and cherries, which really helps when I'm trying to eat healthier. I had two yummy meals yesterday.

Guess I should go do laundry. Woo hoo!

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

I'm very pleased to be writing this from my very own apartment. I only have 20 more days to call it that, but the huge cockroach that I killed in here last night helped me be less sad about that.

I think I need about a month off from work. The trip this weekend was a little, actually a lot disappointing. My 33 hours at Ft. Walton Beach didn't even come close to happening. I think that God is trying to teach me something through disappointment. I'm not sure what though. I don't deal with it very well. It's hard for me to know what to do because the guy I was flying with kept being all optimistic about things working out, but I can't do that because the more I looked forward to something working out, the more upset I was when it didn't. I don't want to become cynical or a pessimist, but I can't handle disappointment.

We did finally make it to Key West for a short night there. It was really nice to walk on the beach and eat shrimp. I look forward to going back there every Monday this month, but at the same time, I don't want to look forward to it too much cause then if it doesn't happen I'll be really disappointed.

I did get to see my family on Sunday cause we got stuck in Atlanta for 5 hours. That was a definite plus.

I just ate some food that was in the frig. I'm not sure where i came from, and now I'm not sure if eating it was such a good idea.

I have so many things going on in my head right now. So many decisions to make. So many things that I don't know what to do with. I look forward to when things settle down again.

It's starting to storm outside which makes me kind of happy. I like the sound of rain.

It's Friday and I didn't even know it

This whole week of not doing anything has really confused me schedule-wise. I just talked to Angela. She's driving over here to go to dinner and was saying she should be on time, but she isn't sure. I was like well the traffic shouldnt' be too bad. It was fine on I-85. She said 85 isn't usually the problem. That it's usually around 285 and I-20. I said, well since it's Saturday there really shouldn't be that much.... It still makes me laugh.

My mother got home from China today. FINALLY. It's been a ridiculous mission but it sounds like she still made the most of her extra time there. It was really good to see her. It's nice to be able to go back to the terminals and meet people. I'm proud of all the adventuring she's done. Especially considering that she's never been off the North American continent until now. China is not an easy place for beginner travelers but she did just fine.

I'm about to go meet some of the girls at Mt. Fuji. I love that place. I've eaten out way too much this week and my stomach is hating me for it. But I'm not going to stop. Last night we had Thai food and it was sooo yummy.

I feel better in some ways than I did at the beginning of the week, but some things haven't changed. I'm still not sure where I'm going to live at the end of the month. I have options, it's just the uncertainty and lack of truly pleasant options that is getting to me. I've been the biggest, grouchiest complainer all week. I can't remember the last time I was this unpleasant :-P. Good thing I have patient friends.

It's back to work tomorrow and I think it will be good for me. I need to get my mind on something else and get out of my house. My cousin Susan came up on Wednesday and we've had a really nice visit. She's a good distraction ;). Tomorrow night I'll be in Ft. Walton Beach and don't leave until Monday morning. Then Monday afternoon I end up in Key West. A flight attendant called me yesterday and asked if I'd switch my trip with hers because her husband is the captain on mine. It sucks cause ordinarly I wouldn't mind since I know her and she's really nice, but this trip is the whole reason I picked this stupid working every weekend schedule, so there's no way I'm giving it up.

My back is still killing me. Maybe some time lying in the sand will help. Now it's moving up to my neck. I am definitely getting old. The scary thing is, all the men that seem to want to talk to me lately are getting even older... That's a whole other story. I'm off to enjoy my Saturday/Friday night :-P.

we're all getting old

It's the fourth of july. Happy birthday America. I'm not feeling very patriotic today. I'll have to work on it. I am wearing blue pj pants and a white shirt. Just need something red and I'll be about as patriotic as you can get :-P.

I think I'm getting old. My vision is failing. My back hurts and I can't seem to figure out why or what to do about it. It hurts to tie my shoes, to laugh, to step into clothes, to pick anything off the floor, to sit up... And poor Tanya has to listen to me whine about it.

I don't have anything interesting to write about. I need to go make my room walkable since I'm having company. Then I'm going to go work on my tan and be lazy all day.

grumblings

I'm not a happy camper right now. My mom is stuck in China. I want her back. We all want her back. I feel like it's my fault but there isn't any way I could've known this would happen. It's such a frustrating, stupid, ridiculous, unreasonable situation. Also, my heart is broken. Only for the millionth time. I want it fixed and never to break again. But then again, who ever really wants their heart to break in the first place? Why am I so stupid as to put myself in a situation where I know I'm going to end up like this? I am not at work, which actually makes me happier than if I were, but I'm very unhappy with my company right now. If I were an impulsive person I might have quit my job tonight. I just felt that irritated with it all. I think this is all pay back for the last several depression-free months. I find myself more upset over things than I would normally be. Or that's how I feel anyway. I also found out that the new charger was supposedly delivered on 6.28. Hopefully it was delivered to the office here and they just didn't bother letting me know. Would've been nice to have a few days ago.

I need to find the off switch for my brain. I want to sleep and not have the bad dreams I've had the last two nights. It's amazing how much dreams can affect your waking self. Today I found myself nearly overwhelmed by fear that these dreams brought on me. I don't like it and had to keep reminding myself that fear is not from the Lord. It helps me understand people I know who are sometime debilitated by what, at the time, seem like silly fears to me.

I've been told several times lately that I need to find a new job. I didn't get the one I was wanting. Found that out on Monday via email. I haven't given up on it though. Just need to try a different avenue. I don't think I want to be a flight attendant for the rest of my life but I'm not ready to give up flight benefits. I think I just need to work for a different company. Tonight, instead of finding someone to cover the overnight they assigned me (mine got canceled) and let me come back in the morning after I felt better my company chose to mark me sick for the rest of my trip. There is no helping anyone out. It's a much longer story than that but makes me mad to think about it. Now I'm off til Saturday. I'm glad cause I need a break from all the madness. I'd like to work for a company that actually cares about me, if that even exists. I need to start writing or doing something else.

I found out yesterday that I have been seeing 20/40 out of my left eye. I must be getting old. At least it's corrected now.

I also signed up for my 401k yesterday. It makes me feel like I'm getting old but in a good way. I should've done it a long time ago, but at least I'm enrolled now.

I had one of the San Antonio Spurs in my front seat the other day coming back from Nassau. He was traveling with his wife. Didn't know he played for them til after he got off and my captain recognized him. Don't even know his name. They were really nice though and we talked for a while. I also rode next to an NFL player last week coming back from Adri's. Didn't know who he was either til I asked him about his ankle (was swollen from surgery which led to conversations about injuries, football, etc...). He used to play for the Giants. I wonder how it makes them feel that I have no idea who they are. Ha

Things are shaping up on the home front. I have one roommate and now we are looking for a third person, since that will be the cheapest option. Now I just need to throw away everything I own so I can start from scratch when I move at the end of the month. I will definitely have plenty to keep me busy this week.

I think I'll try sleep again. Hopefully tomorrow I won't be running on battery power anymore and can keep up with the online world a little better. I feel so out of the loop :-P. This is a lot of disclosure for a myspace blog, but I know that people who love me read it and I need to share.