sweeet

I would first like to thank God for quickly answering my prayers about my trips for next month. Last month I joined a community group at the church I’ve been attending. It meets every Monday night. I went at the beginning of February, but because of my schedule I haven’t been able to go again. I was feeling really bad this morning because I hate that I’m missing out on this (they’re about to start working on a book) and I also feel like I’m letting down the other members of my group (even though I really have no control over it. The schedules have been terrible lately and because we’re short on flight attendants they have been denying all my swaps.)

This morning I wrote an email to my group members and explained this and asked them to pray that I would be able to swap. After that I offered my trip to someone on the tradeboard, even though it wasn’t the dates she was asking for, and posted the rest of mine up there. When I got home just now and checked the flight attendant had accepted my trip and someone had offered me a great trade for another trip that also gives me 5 more hours of time. All in all it’s amazing. I’m really thankful and happy right now.

I was going to write a whole other blog when I got online, but this has pleased me too much. Today was a great day. Life is good.

PS. There seemed to be some confusion about the catering job. The lady said I did have the job. I was just saying it was tentative cause I don’t really want to be too excited about it until I’m actually working (things have a way of falling through). So that’s very good.

Tentative success

I feel good right now. It’s the beginning of a new week. I worked a dayline yesterday and made a nice chunk of extra cash that can go toward my debt. I also had an interview on Friday at the Sun Dried Tomato. I didn’t even want to go there in the first place because I don’t want to wait tables and it doesn’t seem very busy anyway, but J convinced me to. The lady called me back and I considered not going. Just thinking about having to tell another person I’m only availabe to work two days a week was filling me with dread. I’ve been rejected for that a lot lately (understandably). I was really frustrated because I’ve finally, two and a half years later, been able to get Sundays off (sometimes), and I didn’t want to have to give them up. I went anyway and the lady told me no, she doesn’t hire people for just two days a week. BUT, they have a catering company out of their restaurant that only works Friday and Saturday. Seems perfect so far. It’s more money than I would’ve been making at the spa (more work too, but that’s ok). They’re also going to be catering all the concerts at the little amphitheater here in PTC this summer, so that could be fun. She’s supposed to call me this week and give me some dates they already have down. It’s also nice because it isn’t every Friday and Saturday, which will still allow me to travel and have a life (some).

Yesterday I did two fairly easy round trips. The weather turned nasty about halfway through the day which slowed things down some, but we survived. On the way back from Norfolk we had about 15 men and a lady from Mali - which now I see is a really large country in Africa. They all spoke French and had that dark black skin and bright white smiles African look that I love. Some spoke English, but it was mostly a lot of hand motions and smiles trying to serve them. They had a translator who told me how to ask if they wanted a drink and if they wanted ice in their drinks. They also taught me how to say "you’re welcome", or "it is nothing" according to them, in French. I left my planner on one of the planes yesterday which is really terrible, but I’m praying someone will find it and return it to me.

This weekend has been really pleasant. After seeing Matt and the Sirotas on Wednesday, I had dinner with some of the Charles on Thursday. After that I went over to Mr. Fuji with J and watched Amie and Jay and some friends eat to celebrate her birthday. Friday I went shopping with J and helped him find great deals on new bed stuff, then went thrift-storing with Mama and Michal. I had to cut that short for my interview at the Tomato. Then I met Kathryn, Charity, Tanya, and J at Thai Spice for a scrumptious dinner and some good times catching up. Kathryn is visibly pregnant now and looks wonderful. I’m very fortunate to have so many fun and fabulous people in my life :-D.

I went to Canadia and what did I see

I saw some Canadians. I didn’t really have a witty answer. I just wanted a way to use Canadia in my subject. That’s all.

I’ve decided that sometimes being an adult sucks. I had to buy new glasses the other day. Of course if I had been a responsible adult and not lost my last pair then I wouldn’t have to buy new ones. Bye bye $194. And since I was irresponsible, and since I haven’t found a second job yet, I decided to take advantage of the premium pay their offering this weekend and picked up a dayline. I pray that I don’t end up hating myself for it. I stil have 3 days off. I’ll still have time to rest AND have fun. Plus I’ll be making a lot of money. Sounds like a plan to me.

Today I spent a lot of time waiting in airports. I made the journey from Tri-Cities, Tennesse (still not completely sure where that is. I was shocked to hear it was near VA), then sat in ATL for 2.5 hours, flew to Toronto, sat there for almost 2 more hours - which meant we had to clear Canadian customs, then come back through US customs - then fly back to ATL. It only took about 11 hours. Throw in a self professed, high maintenance passenger with peanut allergies and you have yourself a jolly good day.

After I came home I drove for longer than I flew to Tri-Cities, and only made it to Stone Mountain. My life-risking, rapelling, rock-blowing-up friend Matt is working on Stonewall Jackson’s beard and someone else’s lapel. Evidently they’re in a state of disrepair so Stone Mountain called in the rock doctors to fix them. His family got to watch him rapel down the face of Stone Mountain today. Wish I could’ve. For someone who isn’t from, or hasn’t lived in Georgia, this may not seem like a big deal, but for the rest of you - that’s pretty cool, isn’t it? I did get to see the Sirota parents as well as Erin and Chris and their small, blond herd :-D.
And now I’m in my very own bed, hoping I’m not getting a cold, ready to go to sleep. Life is good.

blogging to remember

I realized that one of the things I like about blogging is that it helps me remember the tiny, but interesting, or significant things that happen on a daily basis in my life. I’ve had some busy days lately, some interesting passengers, good times with friends and family, but for whatever reason - too tired, no internet (yes, I’ve heard of paper), too tired, too busy - I haven’t been blogging about it. Now, looking back over the past week, I’ve either forgotten a lot of things, or they just don’t seem as noteworthy anymore. Maybe they weren’t to begin with? Maybe some, but not all.

I’m in a La Quinta somewhere in Tennessee. Unlike almost every other trip I do, this one has flown by. I want to figure out what has made it happen that way so I can make it happen again.

I’m going to try to sleep now, but I have a lot of catching up to do. Hopefully I can do some on my four days off this weekend. Woo hoo.

I could work like this every day

Work today has literally been a day at the beach. We flew into Ft. Walton Beach last night and for the first time ever I am enjoying the long overnight down here. We don’t leave until early tomorrow morning and my toughest decision today is trying to decide if I want to go to the pool or the beach. It’s a hard life. There are a few drawbacks - it’s spring break so it’s really crowded down here and it’s very windy today so sometimes it feels like you’re being sandblasted on the beach. I’d still rather be here than on a plane. The rest of the trip won’t be nearly this fun. We do four flights tomorrow and five on Thursday.

I went to Puerto Vallarta last week. It was a really last minute trip, but I had an awesome time. I’m going to blog about that separately since there’s a lot to tell.

I just got back from walking about 30 minutes down the road and then back up the beach. The wind was kind of rough at times, but I mostly love it. People were flying kites which always makes me happy for some reason. There were blue jellyfish washed up on the beach. I couldn’t tell what it was at first. It just looked like a blue plastic bag blown up. I also didn’t know jellyfish came in blue. I’ve only ever seen clear ones. It was fun to walk on the beach with the salty wind blowing in my face and watch the people.

headed for the border

I feel like a big jerk. I got the opportunity to go to Puerto Vallarta tomorrow and I’m taking it. But in doing so I’m ditching a lot of people. Lots of people are telling me I should go, it’s a great opportunity, free place to stay, free ride, friends down there, won’t come along just any day. I still feel bad though. I wish I could be more excited. Instead I feel nervous. I don’t know if it’s age or what but I’m finding it much harder to be adventurous these days. It’s not like I need to worry about getting back in time for work. I don’t work until Monday and am coming back Saturday. I guess part of it is disappointing people. I also feel like since my work days are so chaotic and subject to change, maybe I hang on to the stability of my off days a bit more. Who knows? I was really looking forward to being home for 4 days in a row, but when Matt called from the coast of Mexico, how can I say no to that? Gotta do it while I can, right? I’m even taking a bag pack. That right there is enough to make me a little bit excited. No suitcases. No uniforms. I might not even take my makeup... Okay, maybe mascara. I should go to sleep so I can get up in the morning.

I like cities with rivers

Tonight was the first time (that I can remember) that I complained and had the hotel give me a different room. There were hairs in my beds. Both of them so I couldn't just sleep in the other one. And when I pulled back the sheets, they were all pressed into the mattress pad like they would be if someone had slept on them. Not the way they would be if the sheets had only been on the bed for a few hours. Gross. Gross. Gross. And for those who knows me, you know I'm not really fussy about germs or anything. But this was too much.

I'm in Rochester. It's thrilling. I can see a river outside my window. There's about a foot of snow on the ground and it's really pretty. Tomorrow is day 4. It's going to be a long day. We work from 7am until 6:30pm and do 5 legs. At least I'll be off until Monday after that. (Kathryn, I'll be in town.)

Today when we were leaving Newburgh there was another ASA flight that was leaving a few minutes later. A lady with a little boy accidently got on our flight instead of the other and was sitting in someone's seat. When we figured out why there were two people in one seat and I told her she was on the wrong plane she said "son of a bitch", and as only a 2 year old little boy can do he repeated her exactly. It was really sad cause she's teaching her child to swear, but it was hilarious how he copied her. I was laughing inside. Maybe I'm a jerk. It still makes me smile to think about it.

I got a call from the lady at the spa tonight and I didn't get the job. She said it's cause I'm only available certain days a week. Doesn't really surprise me. I have a feeling I'm going to come across that a lot when I'm looking for another job. I'm disappointed, but what are you going to do? At least she told me why I didn't get it so I don't have to feel personally rejected (even if I was and she lied to make me think I wasn't :-P). I guess I have four days coming up to find another job.

My sleep schedule has gradually shifted to the back of the clock. I haven't been able to go to sleep before 2 or 3 am lately. It's ridiculous. And because of that I don't get up before 11 or so. Tomorrow I have to get up early though so I need to get started on sleep.

peanuts, crackers, or cookies?

I hate when I write a bunch of stuff and then hit the wrong button and it all disappears. So frustrating.

After 3 short but lovely days off I'm back at work again. The breaks in between trips are never long enough. I'm in Virginia tonight. I'm lying in a king size bed on pillows the size of chicklets. You'd think they could splurge and get some big kid pillows.

Tonight, for the first time in my career as a flight attendant, I had a passenger with enough nerve to put his hand on me. Not once, but twice. When he first got on the plane he said to me that if I was nice I'd give him some crackers cause he was starving. I told him since, not if, I was nice I would. He was probably in his sixties, white haired and wedding ringed. A few minutes later I was standing at the row behind him talking to the passengers and I felt a hand grab my calf. I was shocked, but thought maybe he was grabbing for something else. I turned around and just said "excuse me?" in the tone of voice you use when someone has just inappropriately grabbed your leg. He was sitting near the front and during my announcements was mouthing things at me. Again, people try to mess me up when I'm talking a lot so I just tried to ignore him and assume he was innocent. Then later when I was doing the beverage service I was stopped at the row behind him. I had thought about the first incident and what I should have said to him (you always run those things over and over through your head), but didn't know cause it could've been an accident or he might deny it. I was tense cause he kept saying things to me, so when I felt him grab my calf again it made me so mad. I turned around and put my finger in his face and said not to do that again. (At the same time I had another guy taking peanuts out of my drawer - my biggest pet peeve.) I was sooo mad. Then when I got to his row he had the nerve to ask if I was mad at him. I said yes. I still can't believe it. I've heard of flight attendants being touched much more inappropriately and always figured I gave off enough of a "back off" vibe, but maybe he was too dense to be catching any vibes. I'm glad today is over.

Oh yeah, I was supposed to mention that I have an acquaintance who does not see the problem with playing an instrumental version of Timbaland's "Apologize" while her bridesmaids are walking down the aisle. Am I the only person who things this is wrong on many levels?

I interviewed to be a receptionist at a spa in PTC. I'm supposed to get called tomorrow or Tuesday to find out whether I start work on Thurs. Please pray that I do. I've been saying I was going to get a second job for a long time and finally applied for a couple. I really want this one and hope I get it.

working in a winter wonderland

Tonight, as we rode from the airport to the hotel, I tried to pretend I was in a sleigh. You know - sort of "dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh." The roads were all white. The snow was falling heavily. I could almost hear the sleigh bells. Still wasn't enough to convince me to give up the heated, enclosed van. I think anyone around me can tell that I'm from a place where snow does not often fall. The roads were either not plowed or not thoroughly plowed and sometimes we had to drive through a big pile of snow. I had to keep from acting all amazed and enthralled with it (even though I was). I'd hate to live in the stuff, but riding around in it one or two nights a week can be interesting. A semi got stuck in the snow and was having to be towed out. That never happens in Georgia.

I was reminded again today that it's much easier to be an amazingly nice flight attendant when you only do two flights a day. Lots of my passengers said nice things about me. I didn't want to point out to them that I had only been awake for about 4 hours when we did our first flight at 3 something. When we left Toronto there was another flight to Atlanta next to us that had gotten canceled (due to a dent in the wing - sissies.) Because of this the gate was in a tizzy and was having a hard time getting anything done. After they got all our passengers on there were 5 open seats and they were trying to shift people from the canceled flight. We waited and waited and waited. My captain explained what was going on but there really wasn't anything we could do about it. A man stopped me and asked if we realized that by helping these people we were causing others to miss their connections in ATL. I said that I did. We were sorry. We wanted to leave but they wouldn't let us. All true. What can I do? Then he says "Well I know this isn't entirely your fault......." Whatever he said after that I just missed. I'm wondering how this is even partially my fault? Then I slapped him and that's how I lost my job as a flight attendant...

After two of our notoriously cold overnights (Syracuse and Toronto) ended up being warm I was a little confused about the time of the year. Had spring come already? Then we flew to Fort Wayne where it's snowing like the north pole. I think it's pretty, but it better not interfere with me going home tomorrow. That's all I have to say about that.

Pretend like it’s the weekend now, and we could pretend it all the time

I'm listening to davefm in Toronto and delaying the inevitable preparation for departure. I'm back at work after barely 48 hours off this weekend. I did cram quite a bit into those hours. Got to see my family, ran errands with my mama, had a date with Amie and Jay and Jamie, applied for jobs at two places, cooked supper for Jamie and Jonathan, and went to church. It was a good few hours off.

Work has been fairly quiet. The passengers have been behaving themselves. I am noticing more and more who says please and thank you. It's ridiculous how many grown people don't. Then there are the friendly and amusing passengers. Last night my front seat guy were from Ireland, Cyprus, and Scotland. They were funny and talked to me every chance they got. Makes me want to travel more. Oh wait, everything makes me want to travel more. Israel is in western China right now and wrote a really cool blog from a monastery on the back mountain somewhere. The other day I was made aware of something I never would've thought of before. A lady got on the plane in freezing weather wearing flip flops. I learned that it isn't a good idea to get a tattoo on your foot in the winter.