Friday, October 31, 2008

Mourning the loss of my sugar snap peas

I'm back in Flinchigan. It's not very exciting. But the room is nice, the bed is a comfy king, and they left the veggies out from the manager's reception earlier. Contrary to what one might think, the less I work, the less I feel like working. This trip is such a nice change from last week's though. My last flight attendant was a nightmare. I've worked with plenty of people who were unsocial or who were rude to passengers, but I've never come across someone who was friendly to everyone and at the same time so unpleasant to me. The flight attendant this week is completely opposite, and it's so refreshing.

My work day started around 2 this afternoon with a Cleveland round trip. It's interesting to see how cheerful people are when they're headed home, and how grouchy they are when they're headed to Atlanta to connect somewhere else. After Cleveland we swapped planes and had almost two hours until our next flight. It wasn't until we got on the next plane that I realized that I'd left the bag with two apples, cottage cheese, and an unopened package of sugar snap peas on the last plane. I'm so sad. I was really looking forward to eating it. Especially the peas. They're one of my favorite snacks on trips.

I should be sleeping. I'm in perpetual sleep debt due to.. I guess lack of sleep. When I was in San Diego Peter and I stayed up only somewhat late by CA time, but it was really late for me. Put that on top of a trip that didn't let me sleep enough, and then a trip to Massachusetts where I didn't sleep enough, and I'm still tired. I don't have to get up early again until Monday though, so that's good. I do need to make sure I get up in time to eat the free breakfast and go running in the morning. I bought new earphones today. My old ones seemed to only be playing the bottom layer of all the music. It's really interesting to hear which songs completely disappear without the top layer. It's also interesting to hear only the background vocals. Definitely felt like I was the lead singer when running to those. I am looking forward to trying them out, and also looking forward to pushing myself since it's just over a week until the 10k. I've kind of been a slacker lately, but I can do it.

Speaking of progress I've made, my loan is in the triple digits and if I didn't have to pay rent and eat for the next two weeks, I could pay it all off right now. It's very exciting to know I'll be finished with it so soon. Now it's bedtime.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

My body clock is having the last word tonight

I hardly ever get on myspace anymore. There are two main reasons. The first is that hardly anything is ever happening on there. The second is that for some reason half the time I login my browser gets an error and closes everything. It's kind of a pain. I think I'm going to start writing my blog separately from there so if it closes mid-blog I won't lose everything.

Partly because I haven't been on myspace, and partly because I been too busy or too tired, I haven't blogged in a long time. I hate it because there has been a lot going on that's worth blogging about. I'll get caught up one of these days. That's one of the drawbacks of having fun I guess - not enough time to sit around by myself and write.

Since I last wrote I feel like I've been around the world twice. I spent a few days in Amherst, MA with J, Adri, and Jamie, then did a dreadful 3-day trip. Now I've been in San Diego since Sunday. We spent all day today wandering around the city. We started in Little Italy and ended up in the Gaslamp District. The weather is beautiful. We saw a lot of amusing and interesting things.

Peter and I just finished watching Amelie. I believe I have seen it in the past, but can't remember when. It was like I remembered the story as it went, but couldn't remember how it was going to turn out. It's a wonderful, charming movie. I think I'll watch it again sometime. According to my body it is now 2:30, and I'm very tired. I'll write more tomorrow when Peter goes to class and I'm all alone.

Friday, October 17, 2008

A blog about my clothes

Today when we got back from Lafayette, LA it was raining. My (other) boyfriend, the Korean Air 747, was just pushing out of its spot on E, which gave me a thrill from my head to my toes and distracted me from everything else. I got off the plane and went inside to eat for a minute (sometimes it's nice not to be in a tin can). When I came back it was still raining and I saw that my bag was delightfuly perched on the luggage cart in a way that would best allow the rain to reach it. Annoyed, I brought it inside and somehow managed to make it fit into the overhead bin.

Two hours later I got to Ft. Wayne. It's cold here. Not snow cold. Not even frost cold. But it's in the eighties in GA, so 50 something in Indiana kinda hurts. Running outside was out of the question since I only brought shorts and a tank top. I got to my room, which was also cold, and hoped to put on some warm clothes so I could be cozy. Strangely enough, all my clothes had damp spots on them. Even my socks which were supposed to comfort my poor, miserable feet. On top of that, I realized not only did I not bring a shirt with long sleeves, I didn't bring a shirt with sleeves at all. I brought linen pants and flip flops because they take up less space and it wasn't supposed to be cold.

Needless to say, when I met the pilots downstairs to go eat, I was wearing nearly all of the clothes I had in my suitcase. The beauty of it is, they're pilots. They didn't notice that I was wearing my white button up dress (work) shirt over a lavender tank top with wrinkled khaki linen pants, running shoes, and a black scarf (at least my neck was warm). And my clothes had wet spots all over them.

This is the time of year when packing for trips gets really tricky because you'll be in NY one night and it'll be 80, and then you'll be in OK the next night and it'll be 50. You might want short sleeves for one trip and be dying for a coat and scarf the next one. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of carrying around unnecessary things for a few months until it's eventually miserably cold everywhere.

I had good Mexican food at the 421 Club here in Ft. Wayne. My crew is fun and we have a good time being mean to each other. I like this hotel. They not only give you shampoo and conditioner, but also mouthwash, lotion, face soap, body soap, and a shower cap. They also have those coffee makers that make individual cups that I really like. No kings tonight. Just two doubles, but they're really comfy (the one I'm in is anyway) so they'll do. I have to get up at 4:05 and fly five legs tomorrow. Then go to work part 2. It's going to be a wonderful day.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

I think I've seen this hill before

I'm experiencing hotel deja vu. It isn't necessarily the style of the room, but all the appliances are identical to the one in Flint. Same off whitish fridge with the microwave with knobs instead of buttons on top. Same exact toiletries and clock with the face that doesn't light up and confuses me in the middle of the night. I'm sure it's the same brand of hotel, but if it isn't a Hampton Inn, I don't usually remember the name.

After five legs on the 50 today, I made it to Chattanooga. It was actually a good day. It's amazing, though, how much self talk it takes for me to make it through a long day at work - especially when I'm flying alone. My pilots are amusing, which helps some. I didn't have any particularly outstanding passengers today, but I did have a few who took the time to chat and be friendly. I'm realizing that if I'm going to maintain my sanity at this job, I'm going to have to accept that people are idiots. I'll have to stop getting annoyed when they ask me the same question over and over and do completely thoughtless things. It's not like me getting annoyed is going to make them stop being that way. I need to learn to be amused instead of annoyed. Watching passengers stop mid-way through a covered, enclosed walkway and stick their heads through the wall to ask if they were going the right way really made me laugh. I couldn't help but wonder where else they thought they were going to go. I'm pretty sure they make those little walkway tunnels to lead you in the right direction.

Yesterday I nearly had my running confidence shattered. I went up to Buckhead and ran with J. First time I've ever run with someone else, but if I hadn't been I probably would've whimped out. I was running a little behind J for most of it and it seemed like every time he'd turn we were heading up another big hill. I couldn't believe how difficult it was. My neighborhood isn't flat, but once I thought about it I realized I usually arrange my route so I'm downhill on the bigger ones. Guess it's time to stop being a chicken. Through the blur of three miles of hills, I saw two people who made me feel a little better. Seeing this father and daughter carry their fluffy white dogs up the road gave new meaning to walking the dog. Regardless of whether you're gasping up and down hills or "walking your dogs", this is the time of year to be outside in Atlanta. The weather makes me feel alive and remember how good life is.

Monday, October 13, 2008

chillin in Flinchigan

Some days it's nice to be stuck in a hotel. There isn't any mess to clean up. There aren't any errands I'm supposed to run. Nothing I have to do. Plus there's a king size bed and a tv in the room - two things I don't have at home. If I said a king size bed in and a tv in a neat room, it'd be three things I don't have at home. It feels good to be forced to be lazy.

This weekend was so busy, but so much fun. I think I tried to cram too much visiting in. Thursday after work I went to Michal's volleyball game which they won. That was followed by pizza at Oz with Mama, J, and Michal. Friday I got my hair did, ran errands in Newnan, and had dinner in east Atlanta with my uncle, Israel, and J. We went to this really great Mexican place. It was all the goodness of Mexican, minus the grease and heaviness. Plus their mojitos were the best I've ever had. The next morning we picked Joy and her friend Elisa up in Marietta and brought her and all her joyful goodness home. I was there long enough to eat a yummy grilled cheese sandwich and Jersey texted me to say she had an extra ticket to the airshow. Now, if you know me, there's not much that can stand between me and some powerful planes. I ran over there and was teased by the planes for a while before running over to S'bucks for caffeine with Isabee. I left there in time to rush home, take a 3 minutes shower, and drive out to the middle of nowhere to play Irish jigs at a wedding. We stayed there all the way through dinner and fireworks. Yes, fireworks. Doesn't everyone have fireworks at their wedding? They should :-) Following the nuptial festivities, my Chinese brother and I met up with some other friends and ventured into the exciting city of Atlanta. We saw a really great band and generally had a fabulous time. Sunday it was back to S'bucks for another dose of caffeine, and then off to church. After church we moseyed on back to ma and pa's house for some home cooking. We tormented J and Elisa with our ridiculous family ways. I think this is enough to make anyone tired.

This morning it was back to work at 6:50am. The morning was uneventful. The passengers were annoying. My other flight attendant is cool. I ran about 4 miles this afternoon. My legs hurt a little. I don't have much else to say. I'm tired. I'm bored. I'm distracted by Family Guy. I have to get up at 3:45 in the morning so I'm going to bed.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

much ado about nothing

I went to work Monday prepared to do a 4-day that was long and uninteresting but too lucrative to get rid of. Today it is finally over and except for the first round trip and the last round trip, nothing went according to plan. This has happened before, but I believe this may be the first time it's worked in my favor.

I already explained how I ended up with the surprise Key West overnight the first night. I was able to enjoy sleeping diagonal in my favorite king size bed and showering in my favorite king size shower. The next day we came back early in the morning and, probably due to duty restrictions, having our next overnight taken away from us. So I did a quick turn to Chattanooga and came home. After that I had a crazy productive day. I made a lot of phone calls on my list, rescheduled appointments, cleaned some, ran 5 miles, and practiced my violin. Our internet and cable were also out so M&M and I sat in the kitchen and listened to the debate on the radio. Molly cooked souffles for us looking very much like a 60s housewife.

The next day I didn't have to be back at work til 12:36 so I got up around 8 and did a lot more stuff around the house/room. It felt good to leave for work a little early, and know I had done nearly everything I wanted to do that morning. I was going to run again but it seemed that a monsoon was passing through Atlanta. When I was driving in to work and couldn't see the airport from the road I knew it had the potential to be a bad day. We bumped our way through the weather to Nashville, and then the trouble began. First we were delayed because we were overweight. Then twenty minutes later when we got our weight issue resolved, we got an hour ground stop going back to Atlanta. our captain, in all his captainly brilliance, decided we should push back from the gate so we can be ready at a moments notice. I guess I can't really fault the guy, cause sometimes they do let us go early, but I'm going to anyway because he's the captain and gets paid to be at fault. This ground stop turned into a 2 hour sit on the runway, complete with two crying babies. The passengers were as lovely as can be, but after that long even I was about to lose it. When we finally made it back to Atlanta, 2:45 after we'd closed up in Nashville (it's a 34 minute flight), we found out our Canton/Akron overnight had been canceled. So after playing the scheduling "call back in 30 minutes to see if we're going to send you somewhere else" waiting game, I was finally released to go home. I went back this morning to finish up with a Key West round trip. This one was successful, and I'm glad.

Now I'm off until Monday. I don't even have work part 2. (I don't know if I mentioned that I worked last Sunday at a wedding that continued to reinforce my resolve that if I ever marry, it is going to be simple. None of the stupid fru-fru traditions that everyone hates, but we still do.) I ran 3.5 miles today. I feel kind of lame after running so far on Tuesday, but my legs are still kind of tired from then. I also practiced some more today. I'm playing in a family friend's wedding Saturday, and figured it'd be best not to embarrass us all. It's all Irish music which is a lot of fun to play. Michal has one of her last volleyball games tonight so I need to go get ready for that.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Valley visit

I'm in one of my favorite places right now - the king size bed in the suite in Key West. I could be out tearing up the town, but I'm honestly content to sit in bed and enjoy the comfort of this place. I did go downstairs to the bar by the pool with my pilots earlier to have a beer and enjoy the nice evening, but I couldn't be bothered to stay for more than one. My bed was calling. I was supposed to be in Canton/Akron tonight after doing Knoxville and Key West round trips. We made it to Key West and then had maintainance. Something about the right engine not starting. Thankfully we found it out in between flights so no harm, no foul.

Saturday I returned from one of the most pleasant trips I've had in a while. After driving back from Asheville on Tuesday, I met J at the airport and we flew to SFO. His parents picked us up and about 13 hours after leaving Asheville we were in J's hometown, about 30 minutes north of Napa.

We spent the next few days drinking coffee, eating, meeting friends and family, and enjoying the beautiful valley. I got to see pictures of a pre-30s J, which really amused me. I was also able to hear stories and see the places and faces that were part of the stories I've heard for the last few years. Every morning we went to The Model Bakery in St. Helena, about 15 minutes down the hill from his parents house. Sometimes someone would meet us there. Sometimes we'd see people he knew passing through the bakery.

The towns in this area are quaint and beautiful. The scenery is breathtaking. The last time I was in Napa it was winter so seeing the vineyards starting to change colors was amazing. It's crush time so the smell of ripe grapes was everywhere. I don't know if it's considered a wine country culture, but there were so many interesting things to see and learn being in an area like that. We visited the Castello de Amorosa winery. It's a castle on a hill. I'm not sure all the history behind it, but I know it took 15 years to build and was pretty impressive. The wine samples were pretty skimpy, but it was good and the castle made up for it. I noticed that a lot of the vineyards had rose bushes planted at the end of each row. I need to figure out what that's all about. I'm pretty sure it isn't for looks.

Since I can't very well visit northern California without enjoying some of Christine's food, we made a visit to Concord. She never disappoints. We had lots of cheese, beef short ribs, polenta, and broccoli. I think even poor Scott with his squishy gums enjoyed it (he had major mouth surgery in July). We also visited the Concord farmers market and bought lots of fresh fruits and veggies. It was great seeing part of the California family. It's been too long.

It was a great trip. Cali is starting to cool off. It rained a little the last day I was there. Hopefully it didn't mess up the grapes that were still on the vines. It was nice not to work either job. Nice to sleep as long as I wanted. Nice to be driven everywhere I went. Nice to eat home cooking.

I'm off to bed. Not sure what's going to happen to my schedule tomorrow since I was supposed to be in CAK all day... Stay tuned.