San Diego Peter style

This is the abbreviated version of my trip to San Diego:

To see Peter I flew on a plane
the homeless were all quite insane
we ate a burrito
and to the beach we did go
And the sun shone without any rain

If that isn't enough you can keep reading.

I made the flight to San Diego by the seat of my pants. I understand that it's a wonderful place to go, but I don't understand why every flight, regardless of the time of day or day of week, is oversold. Getting on a flight under these circumstances makes me feel like I've gotten away with something naughty, and I can never relax until the plane has pushed back from the gate and I know I'm not going to be caught.

I left Georgia in a jacket, scarf, long sleeves, jeans, and enclosed shoes, and within minutes of landing in SD I was sweating. It was warm and sunshiney the whole time I was out there. It did get a little chilly at night, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. After being in Massachusetts where it was threatening to snow last week, this was perfect. I wonder if the amount of sunshine in San Diego has any positive impact on depression. I can't imagine being depressed in a place like that.

I've been to San Diego quite a few times, but this trip was different. In the past I've always visited Roya - who has a car. Now she and her car have moved to LA. So, this time, our sweet ride was public transportation. It was nice to be able to see the city the way Peter sees it and do the things he does. Using public transportation introduced me to a completely different side of San Diego - the homeless side. I can tell that Peter is getting used to it when he casually mentions "the homeless lady who lives in Starbucks". There are homeless people everywhere, and based on the previous paragraph, I can't blame them. There probably aren't that many big cities in the US that rarely freeze and have sunny days year round.

Everywhere we went there were homeless people. I passed a man passed out on the grass beside the sidewalk when I went running. There was the lady around the corner with the shopping cart and sparkly eye mask who, according to Peter, has breath that can span a Starbucks counter with its foulness. There was the lady on the bus with the crazy hair and odd clothing. She only had a few bags and we wondered where she kept the rest of her stuff while she was riding the bus around all day. It got to the point where I couldn't tell if someone was just dirty, or if they were homeless. One man was wearing shorts and a tshirt and every visible part of his skin was soot covered. Peter said he's always dirty like that. It looked like he'd been rolling in one of the coal bins that San Diegans use to heat their houses during the frigid winters.

Some were begging. Some were just hanging out on the sidewalk. There doesn't seem to be an age limit for being homeless. We passed an RV parked on the street. Its owner had opened the side door, and it was completely full of junk. Evidently this is common as well. I thought that after growing up in Atlanta I was immune to beggars and homeless people, but the size of San Diego's homeless population makes it hard not to notice. I wish I could say I was filled compassion and a desire to help them, but the truth is, I just want to know their stories. I want to know how someone gets to that point. I want to know how they find enough food every day to live. I want to know what they were in their past lives. I want to know why they collect so much trash. Are they riding the trolley on hope that no one checks their tickets? Are they content with their lives as they are? After a few days in the city, I've come to feel that the homeless are as much a part of the landscape as the palm trees and the seagulls.

Speaking of palm trees... Our first stop in San Diego was cleverly named Ocean Beach. We got there late in the afternoon when the light was perfect for taking pictures. We mocked the pregnant couple who was having pictures taken by the pier. The water was cold, the sand dark, and the seaweed was heavy on the beach - quite a change from my last trip to the beach. Ocean Beach seems to be a surfer/tourist town based on the number of surfers, bars, and cheap gift shops. Shopping and people watching is always fun with Peter. We tend to like the same things, and like to make fun of the same things. When it comes down to it, we're snobs and heartless jerks. And we love it. The rest of the day was spent eating burritos and tacos, trying not to get killed on the darkened water front, and listening to Peter sing the Phantom of the Opera in French.

Monday began in Little Italy, where the sandwiches are scrumptious, the delis delightful, and the grafitti grotesque. Phrases such as "poopy pants" were splattered everywhere! We spent a lot of time in an art store imagining things we would draw or paint. Our wandering led us to the waterfront where we wandered more. The boats started out small and dilapidated. We even saw the boat version of the homeless person's shopping cart. As we walked along the water we saw an interesting collection of "trees". According to Peter they were "sculptural renderings based on each artist's interpretation of what a tree could represent". Some of the ones that caught my eye were a swordfish whose scales were made of old cds, a pole with spiral steps that ascended to heaven, a dragon, a swirling music staff without any notes, and a palm tree with surboards for fronds.

The boat gradually got bigger and fancier until we reached the cruise ships. We mocked people who were taking pictures of ships they were going on, and then we took a few. Further around the bay the USS Midway (an aircraft carrier) has been made into a museum. Being an aerosexual, I have a feeling I will visit it before too long. Our goal at this point, though, was to get to the statue of the sailor kissing the nurse. It's so big that I was about the size of her shoe. The statue is on a point of land that sticks out into the bay near the Midway. There is also a Bob Hope memorial, and Peter and I made short work of using the metal statues for our photographic amusement. Did I mention that we're jerks? No hearts - either of us.

We continued to follow our feet to the gaslamp district where we had natural frozen yogurt with raspberries at Pinkberry before catching the trolley back home. It was a beautiful day to be touring an interesting city. We finished the day by watching Amelie.

Tuesday Peter had class so I waited at home while he went downtown. I went for a run, but it was really lame. I think it was because I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since early the night before. Then we went back to Ocean Beach and walked up to Sunset Cliffs where - surprise, surprise - we watched the sunset. The cliffs seemed to be quite the popular place for running. Peter and I discussed walking abreast so they would have to run through the succulents. We discussed a great many deep things such as why the surfers 30 feet below us had skateboards with them and which car full of old people was the smell of weed coming from. Later, in celebration of Peter's one year anniversary in San Diego, we had Thai food.

I tried to catch the red-eye home Tuesday night, but missed it by 2 seats. Six hours later I was back at the airport and ended up getting on the first flight - by the skin of my teeth once again. It's a good thing I like Peter, otherwise I'd never try to non-rev to San Diego again ;-). Wednesday afternoon, dirty and tired, I was met at the gate in Atlanta by J which made me very happy. Even after a funny and fun visit with my favorite little brother, it's nice to be back home. I just wish I could bring the sunshine and Peter back with me.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Home sweet away from home

Today is a day that I have to appreciate the type of job I have. I am fortunate enough to be off work and come to my grandparents' house for the last time. They're moving into an apartment this weekend. It's a good thing for them. Maintaining a big house and keeping up with meals aren't things they should have to worry about right now. They're both still in very healthy and I'd like to see them have more freedom and less responsibility. So I'm happy for them.

It's a huge change though, and I don't think change is easy on anyone. They have lived in this house for 17 years. It's the only house I've ever seen them in. Having lost both of my grandparents on my mama's side fairly early on, this house holds most of my grandparent memories. When I was 12 and I came to summer camp, I came here for the week after. I was so homesick at camp that my grandma worried I'd never be able to leave home. It was better when I was here though because we always did something fun. We went hiking and canoeing or went out to see our cousins. There were raspberries in the garden that I could pick and eat - dirty, buggy, warm, and wonderful. They always had something growing outside that Grandpa was busy mulching, pruning, watering or raking. This house is where I learned that asparagus was amazing, and I loved always having olives in the salads. It was nice when I could come up here alone because that meant I got to sleep in the blue and white room. It has a lot of windows and feels exactly like a bedroom should feel.

I'm going to miss this house. We've had a lot of good times here. We've killed at least one or two pinatas in the play house at Christmas time. This is where Joy and our cousin Elisabeth went swimming in mud and came in covered except for the whites of their eyes. I liked taking walks around the neighborhood and talking. This neighborhood is where Joy learned to drive a stick. I made her park on the hill and then start driving. I'll miss Grandma's violet plants in the kitchen window, but I'm pretty sure those will be going to the apartment.

Hopefully the apartment will make it easier for them to do more of the things they love. I'm looking forward to visiting them there soon. I'm sure there will still be icecream in the freezer at all times.

Making a pit stop at home

It sounds like there is a suit of armour banging around in my dryer. I'm guessing that isn't what it is since I usually dry clean mine. I got home from Massachusetts last night and realized that I had a lot of laundry to do and very little time to do it.

I'm going to be out of town until Friday or Saturday, which involves a lot of packing. I'll be driving to Asheville today to see my grandparents before they move out of their house this weekend. Tomorrow I'm planning to drive back in time to catch the evening flight to SFO with J. We're going to be visiting various members of our families.

Today is Adri's 30th birthday. We had quite a celebration for her on Saturday. I must say, the Amherst folks know how to have a bbq party. There is always more food than we can ever imagine eating - except for the potatoes. They didn't last - and more drink than anyone can ever drink. It was supposed to start at 3 but was kind of rainy and dreary so it didn't really get going until later. I've been visiting Amherst for over 3 year and Adri has very generously shared her group of friends with me. Sometimes I am the only American at their parties. It's nice to know that I could visit South Africa, Colombia, Russia, Ukraine, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iran, Albania or the Cape Verde Islands and know someone there. It was a good time and I think Adri might be realizing how many people love her and think she's amazing. I know I do.

Now it's time to get going. I'm a little nervous about driving in this gas shortage we're having. I think I'll stick to the interstates since I'm not counting on the little mountain towns to have gas. I've also heard they have some in South Carolina. If I do run out I hope it's at least near an airport.

I need a fire extinguisher for my sunburn, but I can’t get to it.

If you were to look in the dictionary for responsible things to do I have an idea of what you might find. Possibly a picture of me, lying on the beach in the full sun, with a bottle of sunscreen in my bag next to me. Oh yeah, the sunscreen (that I hauled all the way from Georgia) is unused and I am sunburned. I even had someone offer me sunscreen and I turned it down. Some things I just never learn...

That was yesterday. I was in Ft. Walton enjoying one of the most perfect beach days I've seen in a long time. One reason I got burned is because I was determined to enjoy the beach as much as possible, since the rest of this trip has been pure torture. I'm exhausted and people are stupid. I had to get up at 3:30 this morning and did 4 flights.

The other day a lady got on the plane. She looked a little granola-ish. Hippy skirt. Leggings, Chunky black boots. Short hair. No make up. She also had her running shoes tied onto the strap of her computer bag. Then she turned around to take her accordian off her back. Sounds like a punch line doesn't it? I commented on what a strange carry on it was. She said she plays in her friends' band sometimes. Interesting. This band is going to Palestine next month to play in a circus. Even more interesting. She is on her way home from visiting her partner in New Haven, CT (totally thought she was a lesbian). He also plays the accordian (guess not). I commented what an bizarre coincidence it was that they both played the accordian (not exactly the guitar or drums). She thought the fact that they shared the same birthday was more of a coincidence (my vote is still on the accordian playing coincidence). I was amused. She makes me feel boring somehow. I want to know how the circus is.

I have a question. Have I been a flight attendant for so long that I think it's bizarre and stupid to place personal belongings on life saving equipment? If I had a dollar for every time I took someone's bag out of the fire extinguisher compartment, I'd be rich. I want to ask them where their brain is. Instead I just take the bag, identify the idiot, slam it into another bin, and give them a death glare. I hope that their hair catches on fire and I can't get to the fire extinguisher because they're stupid bag is on top of it.

I also had a man spill his water directly into his crotch. I'm not sure if he actually spilled it or if he peed himself and claimed he spilled it. And I laughed at him. Is that wrong?

So my trip hasn't been entirely terrible. I'm just tired and sunburned. But I get to go to sleep in a nice bed in a nice hotel, and I'll be home this time tomorrow.

Usually it’s good not to have gas...

It's a weird and confusing sight to drive past gas stations that don't have any gas. Or that only have regular. I know I haven't been following the news very closely, but I don't understand what the problem is. I have enough gas to get to work tomorrow, and back home on Thursday, but it concerns me a little to think that when I get back gas might be even harder to come by. I'll have to investigate the matter.

This was a very busy, but also very good weekend. Friday morning I worked at the job part 2 and catered a breakfast. It was for a business in Ptc and only lasted an hour. It wasn't the most lucrative Friday morning I've ever had, but it at least paid for the pedicure I treated myself to later. After everyone finished eating we also got to help ourselves which was a nice little bonus.

When I got home from the store I ran 4 miles, which is a personal record. It was tough cause it was noon, and despite the cool mornings and evenings we've had, it was still pretty hot. I figured my feet needed some TLC so Molly and I got pedicures and now my toes are an interesting, but lovely, shade of tangerine(?).

Later J came down from the north and we ventured first to F'ville for some browsing, and then down to Newnan for the birthday party of some new church friends. I'm finding out that when you live in the general Fayette/Coweta area it's going to be a really small world. At this party of church friends I met fellow airline employees and old high school sports rivals, and the party was two doors down from the house Jersey just moved into. It's cool to be able to connect different parts of my life and make more friends.

The majority of the rest of my weekend was spent at the Shakerag Art Festival in Ptc where I cooked more corn dogs than any normal person will ever cook in their life. I do have to say that I'm pretty good at it. There are some friends of friends who have a stand and they needed help. It was a really busy two days, and my feet and legs are exhausted, but the extra bucks are good to have.

Aside from all the crazy work goings on, there have been some interesting developments in my life that put a nervous smile on my face. We'll see how that goes... Now I have to pack for a 4 day trip for the first time in what seems like forever. I've been spoiled being home, but I'm going to spend two nights in the Ft. Walton/ Destin area, so it should be a good trip.

runts and sharks

My belly is full of good food my mama cooked. That sentence has a lot of double letters in it. The nice thing about eating her cooking is that even if you eat too much and feel really full, it's a healthy kind of full. Not grease based or really heavy on the stomach. I went to Michal's volleyball game and took her home afterwards. Her team is very good so the matches are competitive and fun to watch.

Last night after work I ventured to the other side of Atlanta for spaghetti and company. I noticed a big ziploc bag of banana runts on the kitchen counter. I learned that this was but a small portion of a gift that was intended to entice an ex fiance to become a fiance again. The dumped one, as part of his plan to win his fiance back, has taken to sending her a quarterly email updating her on his life. He also remembered that she liked banana runts and had 20 pounds of them sent to her. Evidently the sandwhich bag full is what is left after she has filled every canister and container in her own kitchen with them. He claims that they were special ordered, but it is suspected that he hand picked them. I haven't quite processed how this makes me feel. Part of me is amused that someone would send another person 20 pounds of banana runts. Part of me is sad for the guy that thinks this will work. Part of me is sad for the guy who special ordered 20 pounds of banana runts. Part of me is grossed out at the thought of him pawing through bag after bag of runts to get 20 pounds worth. Part of me really likes how simple and runt-free my life is.

Today was my day off work. I spent the night at the girls' apartment last night cause it was late, and slept even later. I had a lovely lunch with one of my flight attendant friends. We talked about South Africa since he went there in February and I'm planning on going back there in December. I think he should either write his stories down, or let me. He went on a shark tour and go to be in a cage as a 16 foot great white was within touching distance. He is the second person I've talked to a lot lately who isn't afraid to take risks. He goes on vacations alone and finds his own fun. Some of the stories he told gave me goosebumps just listening to them.

While on the subject of South Africa, I don't think I've mentioned that I'm postponing my surgery. I didn't know that I wouldn't be able to fly while I was on medical leave. I found out that December is a very lucrative time at my other job. Adri is going home for the first time in seven years, and we've been planning on making this trip together for a long time. Also, I'm getting so close to paying off my debt. After taking all these factors into consideration I decided I would be missing out on too much financially and too many travel opportunities by having my surgery in November. I wouldn't be able to visit anyone around the holidays. I wouldn't be able to buy Christmas presents, and I'd delay paying off my loan. I'll be in a much better place by putting it off for a few months. That being said, if there's anywhere I need to go in Jan-March that involves flying, let me know, so I can plan my surgery accordingly.

I have to be at work to cater a breakfast/brunch (that's what they called it) at 7:30am so I should be asleep. I got my line for next month, and while my overnights aren't fun yet, I got 17 days off. Life is good.

Your friendly question-answering flight attendant

I'm sitting here in the flight attendant lounge at the airport, in my cute, non-uniform outfit, admiring the big bandaid on my leg. You'd think after doing something for 14 years or so you'd get it right, but I still managed to take a huge chunk out of my knee this morning when I was shaving. It reminded me of the time I cut my leg when we were living with the Davis'. Angela and I had gotten in a fight about the remote to her stereo (we were 13) and I got back from the shower with blood running down to my ankle. She was so mad at me she wouldn't even look at me or talk to me even though I was practically bleeding to death. I still have a scar from that. I think this one is going to leave a mark as well.

I've been sitting at the airport for the last two days answering questions about our new bidding system. The problem is, there are too many of us to answer questions and too few questions being asked. I've been pretty amused by the flight attendants in here, but sometimes it gets a little crazy. Right now it's just boring.

This is employee appreciation month so we had Chickfila and chips for lunch and supper. This morning, already knowing about the free sandwhiches, I stupidly bought a chicken biscuit. I'm all chickened out now. The other excitement today is this new thing on our company website where you "spin the wheel" and get points. I won 100 on my first spin, which is quite amazing. To get some perspective, I can get a cd player or 4-$10 Starbucks gift cards. I have to come back and do the same thing tomorrow but I'll be in the lounge on Concourse D, otherwise known as the badabing lounge.

This is so exciting. I'm sure you'll all be waiting at the edge of your seat to hear about tomorrow's craziness.

Never too old for fun

I just got home from the amphitheater. Trisha Yearwood performed the last two nights. I'm not much of a country music fan, but she is talented and put on two good shows. Her self professed affinity for sad songs, songs that allow you to wallow in your misery, reminded me why I can't bear to listen to country music very long. I could handle it tonight while I was working, distracted, and generally happy, but God forbid I listened to that stuff when I was already a little down in the dumps. It'd be game over.

This whole summer of concerts has been really enjoyable. It's really hard work, but it's nice being outdoors (even when it rains, or is so hot my hair is soaked in sweat), wearing shorts and polos, listening to music, and serving people who are relaxed and having a good time. One of the things I really enjoy about these concerts is the general age group. They're young enough to be fun, and old enough to be able to tip well. The music may be a little before my time, but not so much that I don't know some of it. I have been seeing and serving some of the same people all summer, and it's nice when they know my name and say hello even when I'm not waiting on them.

These concerts are also great for people watching. A few weeks ago I saw two couples come in and they all had at least one piece of camo clothing on. Some people look like they just rolled out of bed and others look like they just rolled out of Talbots. I've seen a grand variety of fake breasts and huge diamonds (or is it huge breasts and fake diamonds?? - or both). We are in Peachtree City after all. My best guess is that when these ladies' husbands make their first big bucks these are their first two purchases. But what do I know? Whatever they look like, though, they're a lot of fun.

Last night I was standing at the bar where I usually help out, minding my own business, when I was given the grand tour of one of our customer's tattoos. They started with the four leaf clover on her back, went to the design around her belly button, down to the other design on her hip, and was finished off by her foot being (impressively) placed on the bar so I could see the one on her ankle. She then informed me that the belly button is the best place for a $7,000 diamond when you get divorced. Evidently selling it is a bad idea because you'll never get what it's worth. Plus, if you remarry and he's a poor man, you can still have a nice ring.

Somehow this conversation led to a discussion about third nipples. I honestly can't remember the connection. One of the ladies claimed she had one. After being examined by all we decided it was only a mole on her side. (For those of you who watch Friends, the mole ruling was too late to prevent her from being called Chandler the rest of the time.) The conversation then segued into one between her and her two companions as to whether her breasts were real (they were). The equally endowed friend didn't understand why hers looked so much bigger. Out came the bras and the explanation that a full support, minimizing bra might be the problem. We all recommended Vic's Secret for all her uplifting needs.

This entire time, friend number 3 is denying being friend number 3 and claiming to be innocent bystander number 1. They evidently went to third grade together. Not sure how long ago it was, but Ms. $7k Diamond has grandbabies on the way. There was so much more to the conversation but these were some of the highlights.

The moral of this story for me was that no matter what my age, or where I may be in life, if I surround myself with fun people things always have a chance of being ridiculous and entertaining. I have to get old, but things don't have to get boring.

On that note, I'm being old and boring tonight and going to sleep. It's been a long week and I'm looking forward to a more relaxing coming week.

Sleep calls, and I must answer

Today I was one of "those" flight attendants. The ones who seem miserable and never smile and look like they hate you. It's probably because they do hate you. I don't hate anyone, but I'm worn out and frustrated. I didn't even have it in me to smile. It bothered me because I wanted everyone to know that I really am a nice person. But I couldn't do it. Yesterday was a hellacious day between maintenance issues and weather. We only did 4 of 5 flights but were on duty for 14.5 hours. We got sent home and had to come back at 9am and once again had maintanance. This puts people in a terrible mood obviously. I just wanted to tell them hey, I've been dealing with this for the last 36 hours and I'm more sick of it than you are. Plus there was a lot of turbulence which wears me down after a while. Yesterday I had some nice passengers that really helped me survive the day, but today everyone was mean and rude. I need a massage. I need a few days off. I need sleep.

I'm in Burlington, one of my favorite cities, and I'm in bed at 6pm. I went for a run earlier, but that's about all I can handle. I think I'm going to be happy and feel good when I wake up in the morning.

Oh no he didn’t!

I'm going to take this opportunity to share some of the things that have been said to me in the last few days.

I had a passenger on the way to Gulfport Thursday morning. He was sitting in 3C (left aisle seat). He looked to be in his late 40s. He had a beard that was almost completely gray. He looked European and had a man bag. He didn't want anything to drink or eat. He never spoke to me. He never smiled at me. He looked at me a lot, but I'm sitting in the front of the plane which is directly in most people's line of sight. When he got off the plane he handed me the stub of his boarding pass. There was a note on the back that said "If you could be different and original and call me anytime." Followed by a home and a cell number, and then "I have so much to tell you. Good luck." I'm still confused. That sentence doesn't make sense. An inserted comma might help, but it's still a stretch. And I feel a little offended that he's telling me I should be different and original. I did not call him to find out what he had to tell me.

Later that day I was flying back from Syracuse. I was going through the cabin with a basket of snacks. I got to an old man (white hair) and asked him what he wanted. He asked what the choices were. I told him peanuts, crackers, or cookies. He said he liked the other choices better. Not understanding what he meant, I asked what other choices. His response was "Coffee, tea, or me." He really caught me off guard. I told him that those were not the choices on that plane.

While this is going on in the back, I have a man sitting in 1C right in front of me who seems to be going through a midlife crisis. He is recently divorced. He is non-revving and decided to spend the night in Atlanta instead of continuing on to his destination. He kept asking me what I was doing after work and if I went out anywhere could he meet up with me. I know I'm practically an old maid, but do these men really think that I'm so desperate I'd fall for a man twice my age? And especially one with terrible pick up lines.

Later that night I met up with some of the girls and we went to Twisted Taco. Some guy started talking to me and in the course of conversation he told me he was a Delta pilot. He's in his first year and is flying the 767 doing international stuff. He said it had been a few weeks since they called him for a trip, but he didn't care cause he was getting paid $10k a month to sit around! I was just thinking, honey, that lie might work on someone who isn't in your industry and doesn't know what you get paid, but not me. He would also look me in the eyes every once in a while and say something like "wow". I know I'm not the ugliest thing around, but I also know I'm not going to make people speechless with my beauty. It was all I could do not to laugh in his face and then throw up in my mouth. I told him he was living up to the stereotype of a pilot and he was quick to assure me that he's only a part time pilot. The rest of the time he's in the Air Force. Once again, if you're in the airline industry, you know that the cockiest pilots are the ex-military ones. Double whammy.

I don't understand how these men come up with this stuff. I also don't understand who it would actually work on. I need to meet someone who isn't old enough to be my father, and doesn't use terrible lines and ridiculous flattery on me. If these are my options then I guess it's going to be a long life of single-ness ahead of me.

San Francisco days, San Francisco nights

I saw Chris Isaak in concert last night. It was all that I'd hoped and dreamed it would be - and then some.

To start things off, the tickets were free (instead of $57 each). Tanya, Jonathan, and I got there first (Charity was still on her way and we were hoping Joe would get released from the airport in time to get there) and were waiting for the opener to come on. The lady who runs the show found me, gave two VIP passes to Tanya and me, and told us to hurry and go backstage. I was all flustered and didn't even grab my phone to take a picture. We had to wait in line and as I waited I got really nervous. I wasn't prepared to meet him and didn't know what I was supposed to do or say. Tanya was asking me for names of songs in case she got put on the spot. It ended up not being awkward at all. We walked in, shook hands and introduced ourselves. He was standing there with his drummer and thankfully the lady I know who works there had her camera and took a picture for us. He was wearing a red suit with gold sequins in kind of a flame design on it. Not flashy at all. :-P He's still a good looking man, though I was kind of thrown off by the stage makeup.

From the time the concert started I could see the band was a bunch of guys who like to have a good time playing. Chris (or should I call him Mr. Isaak) has a great sense of humor. He told the lead guitar to play something pretty, and once he started playing he was like I mean something pretty that I know. His nephew was there and he walked up the amphitheater (right past us) to where he was and sat and talked to him. He told him that since he has no kids the nephew will get everything when he dies. He also joked about when the band started playing together 20 years ago and he only had one sequin on his suit. But he said he learned to stand in a way that made is shine the most. The music was great and thrilled my heart. I couldn't believe how excited I got hearing Wicked Games, Forever Blue, and Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing. For the encore his outfit got even better. It was a suit made entirely of little square mirrors. I tried to take a picture but it was just a huge glare.

I have to work the concert tonight and I'm really interested to see if all his funniness is the same every night. I've seen a lot of performers who do things that seem impromptu, but then they do it again exactly the same way the next time. I'll let you know if he's really that funny or if he has a script for it all.

I'm still a little bit giddy about last night. I heart Chris Isaak :-D.

hot pink blog typers

Sometimes I log in to my bank account and check it with the hope that by some miracle there will be a lot more money in there than last time I checked. Silly, I know.

There have been a lot of days since I blogged last. I've been very uninspired. Yesterday I was too busy painting my fingernails hot pink to write anything.

The most amusing thing that happened lately was going up to the Marriot Marquis Friday night and watching all the people there for Dragon Con. Our original plan was to just meet there, hang out for a little while, and then go to dinner. We quickly decided that leaving was a bad idea, and ended up staying there most of the evening. We saw everyone from the gingerbread man to GI Joe. There were characters from every major sci fi movie. Obi Wan taught me how to twirl a light saber. We stood out just by being normal. It was awesome. I would recommend a visit to the Dragon Con area next year.

This week I've had training for a new bidding system we're going to be using. It's awesome because they dropped almost my whole trip, and all I have to do is go to a class two days. Yesterday's class lasted about an hour and a half. I kept thinking the whole time how much better it was than being stuck on a plane all day.

Jamie came in town yesterday so we made a journey out to the TanJoe residence for dinner and hanging out. I cooked dinner for the third time in four days. I really enjoy it. I made Molly's black bean and corn salad. It doesn't sound spectacular, but it is addictive. I could eat it every day. In fact, I think I'll make some more today. It's amazing.

I'm making myself hungry. I'm going to wake Jamie up and find something to eat.

Smelly McEarwaxson

Today is my off day. It feels great. It's Friday, I'm in love. Well I'm not in love, but that's what The Cure seems to think. I'm sitting at my desk that is a plastic file box, in my desk that chair that is the floor, thinking what I shall do today. Mara is keeping me company on davefm, and the sun is shining in the window. I can't believe it finally stopped raining. It was kind of nice, since we need the rain, but I was having to work in most of it which sucks.

Yesterday was the only day this week where work was normal. I was supposed to do three daylines this week - each dayline consisting of two round trips. On Tuesday the FAA's computers decided to go haywire and we ended up just going to Gulfport and back and then sitting at the airport for 6 hous before going home. Wednesday we did a Manchester, NH turn and when we got back they told us a different crew was doing our next round trip. Still not sure why, but we don't ask questions when they're telling us to go home. Yesterday we did a Pensacola round trip, then sat for 3 hours and flew to Portland, ME and back.

I flew with a flight attendant who has been here 3 months, but somehow seems to have infinite wisdom when it comes to being a flight attendant. She didn't understand why I would make a whole pot of coffee for one person. She didn't want to serve until we'd been in the air for an hour because then people would ask for more. I'm not sure if she understands that is her job. Except for emergency situations, that is ALL we are being paid to do. It was mildly, I mean wildly annoying.

I had a man sitting within inches of me who had so much hair and earwax in his ear I thought I was going to be physically sick. I thought I should mention it to him so he could clean it out, you know as a woman and not a flight attendant, but never did. Another one of our flights we played spot the smelly person. It becomes almost a game when you walk through the cabin and get a strong wiff of stinkage and then you try to figure out who it is. I thought I knew who it was and when we were deplaning it was confirmed. The seat he was sitting in still smelled when we went back through. How can people like that not smell themselves??

I slept until 11:30 today cause evidently I was le tired. Now I have stuff to do. At least my room is still nice and tidy. I could still improve it, but it'll do for now. I'm off to enjoy my one day off

a "what I had for lunch" blog plus some incomplete thoughts

I've only flown one leg since last Monday and I'm spoiled. I go back to work tomorrow and am making an effort to remember how I really like my job sometimes. I'll probably be glad once I get there. I should like it simply for the fact that I only have to work three days this week.

Today was a really productive day. I made significant improvements in my room. I can see all of the carpet and my clothes are in order. I think I'll put some art work on the wall so when I sit here in bed I'll have something to look at other than a blank wall. I slept a little late so I didn't do everything I wanted today, but I got enough done so I can feel good about coming back home tomorrow. I didn't run, but it was raining almost the whole day.

I had an impromptu lunch with J and Joe this afternoon which was a nice break from my room. We were reminiscing about the olden days of Peachtree Landing. We had some good times there with our apartment family. Now we're all scattered and married and promoted. We still have fun. It just takes more planning.

After lunch I went to Target and bought super glue so my watch would stop falling off my wrist. Contrary to what that sounds like, I did not glue it to my skin or glue it closed. It has two clasps and the one I've been using for three years is loose. The other is fine. I glued the loose one closed and will use the good one. It's basically too much trouble to return it. I also bought a pegrack to hang by my door so I'm not always losing my purse and keys. We'll see if it helps.

Tonight was small group. We talked about the first two chapters in Judges. It's pretty interesting, though I feel like I need to do a little more homework about the customs and culture of that time period. Some of the stuff might make a little more sense then. I'm beginning to believe that one of the basic qualities of being human is going through cycles. The book of Judges is all about cycles. The Israelites would fall away from God. Bad things would happen to them. They would cry out to God. He would save them. They would get comfortable. Then they would fall away from God again. I feel like my life is a lot like this. Not just with my relationship with God, but with everything. Something becomes uncomfortable. It might be my waistline, my finances, or my relationships. I make an effort, work really hard to improve things, and they improve. Then I get comfortable again and before I know it things slide back to the way they were. This isn't always the case. Some things do change permanantly, or at least improve over time, but I feel like this is so basic to human nature. I have a lot more thoughts about this but I'm still working on them.

I have to leave for work in 8 hours so I'm going to sleep now.

Sunday evening blog addendum

After Peter commented on the fact that he is now the age that I was when Kat and Carson met it made me start remembering. They met back when I had hair almost to my waist. I still weighed 107 on a fat day. I'd never had a boyfriend. I hadn't met W. I didn't wear pants. I'd never been kissed (I'm still waiting til the alter). I'd never owned a car. I still had all my wisdom teeth. I'd never had a crazy roommate - or 15. I don't think I even had a cell phone. My, my, my.... Times have changed.

Another thing I've been thinking about lately is how we spend so much energy worrying about when we want things to happen. I used to debate whether it was better to have children earlier in life or later. Whether it was better to marry early or late. We agonize over potential decisions we'll make, scenarios we imagine we'll come across, all the time forgetting how few things we really have control over in our lives. The other day Kathryn and I were talking about how she was so ready to give birth.. but then she realized how much more hectic things would be once she gave birth. Like we actually have any say in the matter. (I'm not picking on her. Just the example the re-triggered this line of thought.) But I guess we like to pretend we do. Maybe it makes us feel important?

Tonight I ended up hanging out with Matt and Molly, eating ice cream, watching tv, and discussing the statistics in this book about people's marital happiness versus their childrens' ages. It was interesting. I have to go running tomorrow. Oh, and finish cleaning my room.

I'd never been outside of the US either.

hangin round, downstairs by myself

It's Sunday again. After teasing us all weekend, the rain is finally here. It's lovely. There is a small lake in our back yard. I'm trying to figure out what it is about my room that is so depressing. I think it's cause it's kind of dark. It's amazing what a difference picking the clothes up off the floor makes. I should probably do something besides just put them on the bed, but one step at a time.

I made a lot of money at job part 2 this weekend. It was a nice reward for working when I didn't want to. I thought the rain would dampen people's enthusiasm for 38 Special, but I think braving the drizzle made them feel like they were survivors. My legs and butt are sore from walking up and down the amphitheater, but again, that's where the tips make it all worth it.

Yesterday morning I got my hair cut. Then I went to the parents' house. Joy is home for a few days before she goes back to school. She made omlets for us (including an ugly one for the father.) I decided that it was time to have a serious discussion with him about his health. I told him if he acts like he isn't going to live another 30 years then I have no choice but to get pregnant posthaste to ensure that my children know him. It seems perfectly fair - take care of his health or I get pregnant. Nothing unreasonable about that. We saw four deer run through their yard, including two really cute fawns. We also boiled a conch shell Joy brought back from the Vineyard. It was the nastiest smelling thing I've ever smelled. All in all a pretty normal afternoon at the homestead.

Friday morning I did something I've never done before. I went to a dog show. For anyone who knows me they're like you did what? I am, admittedly not the biggest dog fan. But Isabella's mom was showing two of her dogs and Isabella wanted to see her. We had lunch plans already so I just rode along to the show. It was actually pretty interesting. There were so many different kinds of dogs, and most of them were pretty well behaved. I don't think I could've survived more than an hour without benadryl or something, but it was a good time. Something I can check off my life's to do list.

My feet still hurt from work last night. It was crazy. I don't know if I already mentioned this, but one of the ladies that runs the amphitheater gave me tickets to see Chris Isaak the week after next. I'm more excited than is probably reasonable. I don't care. I can't wait to see that show.

Kathryn delivered their second daughter, Charlotte Joy, late this morning. Very happy for them. Crazy that those kids met at my 19th birthday party and are on their second child now... How time does fly.

If I fall along the way, pick me up and dust me off

I'm letting my cereal digest so I don't get a stitch when I run. Running is hard enough without adding stupid little things like stitches.

I'm not supposed to be home right now, but I am. Yesterday morning I left Ft. Walton Beach feeling quite pukey, and the pukiness actually turned into puking, which led to me going home instead of flying all over the place. It's frustrating, but it is what it is. I'm tired of the stress this surgery is putting on me to earn as much and work as much so I can save tons of money. I think I need to give myself a break. I'm doing pretty good.

Ft. Walton was surprisingly nice on Tuesday. We had the entire day down there and spent part of it on the beach. The weather was beautiful with no signs of the hurricane/tropical storm that's hovering around Florida.

The past week has overwhelmed me with sad things happening. It's hard to understand all the terrible things that happen, and it's even harder to know how to be of help to those who are suffering. On Saturday our friend Isabella delivered her son, Ryken, at 22 weeks. He lived for a few minutes. It is heartbreaking and frustrating to not be able to do anything to ease the pain. Thankfully our heavenly Father can comfort in ways we'll never know and it's a reminder to lean more heavily on Him. There have been several other deaths lately and as Jamie reminded me yesterday we need to realize how fragile our lives our and live them to the fullest.

Needless to say, this week has felt sub-par. It's been one of those weeks when I hate my job, though it may just be because it's keeping me away from those I love. Now that I'm home, I'm going to enjoy it here, and let the chips fall where they may.

Saturday morning lounging

It feels good to wake up in my own bed. It also feels good to still be in it at 11:30am. I'm ignoring the voices that tell me to get up and do something. I think I deserve to have one day this week where I lounge.

We left Syracuse yesterday morning around 6:30am and made the long journey back to Atlanta. Except for our trip to Macon it was our 8th completely full flight this week. (When I got a little sass from some guy on my 4th flight Monday, I had to remind him that he was about the 300th person I'd served since 7:30 that this morning so my sense of humor and my tolerance might not been as keen as usual.) It was fairly unremarkable. As with many other flights, I sat within licking distance of 2 people who never once looked at me or acknowledged my presence.

We got back to Atlanta and had to wait about 2.5 hours until our last round trip. I spent half of this time booting up my computer. I think it got a virus. I spent the other half downloading a free virus protector that Adri told me about, and it's doing much better now. We finally made it out to the plane to start boarding for Pittsburgh. The passengers were already starting to come on board when they told us the flight was canceled. I don't know why. The other flight attendant started to get very excited, but I'm a little jaded. I remember what happened the last time they canceled my flight - they sent me somewhere else instead. And after waiting an hour more, that's exactly what happened. It was only Greensboro though, so we still got back on time and it wasn't too painful. Our flights weren't full either which was a nice break from the rest of the week.

There was an older man sitting in the back next to me who had really odd indentions in his skull (he was bald on top). I was dying to know what had happened, but wasn't sure how to ask him if his head was just naturally denty or did something happen. So I asked him about what looked like a scar near one of the dents. Thankfully he was friendly and wasn't offended by my bluntness. He had had a bleeding hematoma between his brain and his skull, so they drilled two holes in his skull to drain it. As I was looking at him and listening to his story I noticed that his eyes were exactly the same shades of brown as mine! They were the opposite of mine, but it was still really neat to see someone else with the same weird eyes. It made me happy :-).

Last night I drove down to Newnan and met with some of my small groupers. We called it craft night, but it was more along the lines of knitting, crocheting, and poster making. Nicole was crocheting a blanket Monday night at small group, which kind of inspired this. I started working on a scarf but ended up helping Kara with a poster she was making for her niece to encourage her to use the potty :-P. We watched the Olympics, ate pizza, and heard about each other's weeks. Two of the girls are school teachers, which I think would feel like doing a flight that was full of children for 7 hours a day. Basically that would be a nightmare.

After that I met Tanya, Joe, and (separately) Jersey at the Mac in Newnan where we also watched the Olympics. It was good to see them since it seems to take a royal effort to get friends together these days.

I think I've lounged enough. I'm going to take on the day.

I’m wasting sleep time trying to think of a title

If I type fast I'll still be able to make my goal of being in bed by 8. What has my life come to... I've had to get up around 4 the last 3 mornings and I'm tired of it. It's sad when you think - if only I could sleep til 5:30.

I'm in Syracuse. I was in Portland this morning. It's nice because it is not hot as Hades here. I went running yesterday and ended up walking most of the way. I don't know what the problem was. Today I managed to run the whole thirty minutes, but had to keep concentrating on how much I liked having muscles in my thighs to counteract the "I hate running" thoughts. I had two cups of instant mashed potatoes for supper tonight. They were good, but I would've rather had a steak, asparagus, brocoli, squash... Real food basically.

The other day a man got on one of my flights. I recognized him and assuming he was one of our pilots I made some comment to him along the lines of what are you up to? Then the more I looked at him, the more I figured he wasn't a pilot (I think he was too old). I had to figure out how I knew him so I asked his name and it turns out he was my boss's boss when I worked for the contractor. I then remembered that I hadn't really liked him when I worked for him so I slapped him... Not really. When I was in Europe I accidently sent an email to him that was meant for a friend of mine. I hope he didn't remember that. He's kind of old so I'm sure he forgot :-P. Small world isn't it?

Today I had a little girl on the flight back from Portland. She was asleep with the top of her head against the back of the seat so her neck was sticking out at an odd angle. Her eyelids were about half open and her eyes were darting back and forth. I couldn't stop laughing - partially cause she looked funny and partially cause it made me remember when Joy was little and used to sleep with her eyes open.

I have more to write but I have too much to do before bed. I'll be home in about 19 hours. Yay.

Keep on rockin' in the free world

Thanks to a crazy idea Angela put in my head last night I signed up for a 10k in November. Now the pressure is on. It's kind of exciting as well. There's no turning back or chickening out now.

I met with the girls in my small group from church tonight for the first time since the summer pretty much. We discussed what we want to study in the fall. We're looking at a book in the Old Testament since those seem to be the more forgotten, less studied ones. They also seem to have the coolest stories in them. Those OT people were crazy :-P. I had a good time talking to them and have realized that if I'm going to know and be known by these people, it's going to take a more direct effort. In a group situation I typically don't try to have my story heard (usually cause I can't make myself be heard) but if the small group is going to serve its purpose I need to be willing to be transparent and intentionally put myself out there.

Today I went up to Atlanta to look at a house some friends proposed I live in. I really want to move into the city and keep telling myself I'll do it when I get my debt paid off, but I think there's a fine line behind being wise about paying things off and letting it control my life. It turned out that this wasn't going to be the best situation for me, but it was good for me to start thinking about the next step.

Otherwise I did a lot of chores today. Laundry, bank, groceries, cleaning. I have to leave for work in 6.5 hours so I should probably get some sleep.

lazy, lovely Sunday

I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that it's Sunday already. This means my weekend is almost over and I'm still exhausted. I've had a relaxing day off so far, but I seem to have a lot weighing on my mind. There are so many decisions to be made and problems to be solved, and none are the easy kind.

Friday night when I finally got off work I had the pleasure of attending a mac'n'cheese bakeoff at my friend McCaine's. One of the things I enjoy about her is her inventive ways of socializing. Sometimes I feel like my life is incredibly dull and predictable. We also watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics which were a sight to behold. Another thing I like about McCaine is the extreme volume of her voice, and her wild enthusiasm for things (including Michael Phelps). It's nice to be around people who get such pleasure out of life.

Saturday, after sleeping as long as I felt like, I made my way to the pool de J where I was working on my tan. Then I went to the gym de J and was working on my fitness. I haven't run in a long time (this heat is infernal), but still managed to start the week 9 running program (5 min walking, 30 min running, 5 min walking). It wasn't even that painful at all. I think the only way I'm going to be such a slacker about running is to sign up for a 5k or something. I've lost enough weight where my clothes are comfortable again so that pressure to run is off, but I know if I don't keep running the weight will be right back. Plus I feel so much better when I'm active.

After the sun and run, we picked up sushi and sat on the floor of his balcony and ate. The sushi was really good. I think the portions should've been bigger. I love the rolls with the mayo sauce on them. We had another roll with unagi and avocado that had some kind of tempura inside. The combination of flavors and textures was delightful. Then it was ice cream with blueberries and raspberries for dessert.

Some of the books I've been reading lately, combined with what's going on (or not going on) in my life, and conversations I've had have led me to the conclusion that I need to be more purposeful in my living. I need to read books that I will learn from. I need to write with the purpose of becoming a better writer. I need to fill my time with things that will make my life better and more meaningful. It's funny how a book on writing can provoke so much thought. There is so much clutter and wasted words and time in my life. I don't know if I'll ever become a real writer, but I do know that I definitely never will if I'm not writing purposefully.

These are some of the things that have been occupying my mind lately and making me tired. The wonderful lunch my mama made is also making me sleepy. I should follow my daddy's lead and take a nap.

Currently reading : On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction By William K. Zinsser

As long as we get there eventually, right?

I'm in Providence and holding my breath that the flight my mama is on actually leaves. She's been sitting in Boston all day and it makes me fret that she could get stuck.

Today was supposed to be an easy day, and it was, except it was about 2 hours behind schedule. This morning I was in Daytona Beach, but because our overnight was only 15:47 we had to stay at the hotel near the airport instead of by the beach where the 16+ hour overnights stay. It was fine though. I had a nice, free breakfast at the hotel, then spent a while out by the pool. It was really hot outside but the water was perfect. One of my passengers yesterday gave me an interesting book that I started reading. I've also been reading "On Writing Well", which is highly recommended for anyone who wants to be able to write well. It makes me much more aware of the things I read and write. I'll write more about that later.

I had funny passengers tonight who kept talking about the air lounge that is upstairs on the plane. One guy told the one next to him that the stairs were in the back lav, and asked why I didn't just check the flight cause they have wireless in the lounge. I also had an old couple who gave me a little hope for long, happy marriages. The man would always hand her things to her. He opened her peanuts before his. I asked her if he always took care of her and she said for 62 years. I said that was a good reason to keep him around. He said that I hadn't asked why he kept her around - so I did. His answer was because she was the perfect wife. They were really cute.

I have to go to sleep cause we're on short rest tonight and have to leave the hotel in less than hours. Looks like she'll make it to Atlanta. Very nice.

Currently reading : Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion By Sara Miles

hey - you - get off of my cloud

I can't believe it's my Sunday already. I have to go back to work tomorrow and am not a fan. It's been really good to have some time off. I wish I could say my room reflected that I've had free time to do things, but it still looks the same. Maybe in a little while I'll do something about that.

I had a very musical weekend. Friday and Saturday I worked at the amphitheater. Rick Springfield was the performer. I'm still amused by the energy that people put into adoring him. He's old. He's a soap opera star. He isn't that good of a musician. On Sat I worked with a lady who works at the sponsoring hotel. She said that all weekend there have been women just waiting in the lobby to get a glimpse of him. Seriously people - he's not that great. He does have big biceps, but from where I was that was the only outstanding thing about him. He's very dramatic. People would give him bouquets of flowers and he would strum his guitar with them sending clouds of petals flying everywhere. Then he'd throw the used up stems back to the crowd. He came out onto the floor where they had tables set up and stood on a table and performed. At one point he took someone's phone from them and started calling people. I don't know if he's assuming that they're going to be like "OMG Rick Springfield used my phone!" and then have it dipped in gold or framed or something. It was altogether very amusing.

Sunday morning we sent mother dearest off to Joy and she made it without too much pain. She was waiting in a long line in Boston to check in for the Cape Air flight when some really rude man came barging to the front of the line. He was stepping over old ladies' things and generally thinking he was the bees knees. A few minutes later they called his name for the flight. It was John Kerry. Hmmm... Father dearest and I enjoyed food she left for us - stuffed squash, green beans, rice, chicken and oatmeal cookies. Such good food. My mama doesn't just make green beans. They're amazing. She puts garlic in them and who knows what else. But they're awesome. Michal made the varsity volleyball team (Good job Michal! :-D) at her new school and is on a beach trip with them so we missed her at lunch.

Sunday evening I picked Jamie up at the airport and we made a little last minute journey to see Journey with Amie and Ryan. I then realized that I should've brushed up on my 80s music because I'd barely heard of Heart, much less knew any of their songs. We watched in amusement as hundreds of 30 and 40 something year old women got their groove on to Heart. I will admit, it was pretty good. Journey came on and I heard all the songs I knew, plus a bunch from their new album which I didn't care about at all. Their current lead singer is a small, young Asian guy with long straight hair and tight red pants. He didn't seem to fit in with the band at all, but he sounded just like the original singer so I guess that's what matters. There were good times had by all.

Later, we met up with J at Waffle House, who had just returned from his two week jaunt on the west coast. It's been a while since I visited the WH but it was just as wonderful as I remembered.

Monday I took Jamie to the airport to go back home and took my car by the shop to find out why my new brakes are making such strange noises. They can't seem to figure it out, which doesn't really make me happy, but he said they won't fail or anything. I spent the rest of the day down in Ptc helping a friend of ours caulk and paint their house.

I'm going to eat some cottage cheese and fresh peaches and think about getting stuff done today.

The world was moving and she was right there with it

I just woke up from the second night of sleep I've had in my bed in 11 days. It was nice. I really needed it. I don't think I realized how much my erratic sleep schedule was messing with my head. I feel better now. I'm very, very hungry though. Who wants to bring me lunch?

Yesteray after I got home from my nap I slept for about 5.5 hours. I had a lot of dreams but the one that stood out the most was when I had to have surgery on my ankle. The first day they cut my foot off and I had to go around on crutches. Then the next day they reattached my foot and I had this perfect line around my ankle where they reattached it. This reminds me of my childhood when my dear older brother used to tell me that they cut my head off and sewed it back on. I never could quite figure out how they got my head under the sewing machine, but when you're 4 you can't expect to understand everything. I also dreamed I had surgery on my hand and in my dream I couldn't grab anything cause it hurt too much. So when my phone started ringing to wake me up I was scared to grab it and answer it cause I thought it would hurt.

Yesterday I did the same thing I've done every afternoon I've been home all week - nothing. I've spent far too much time in my room. I need to get out of here today. Problem is, everywhere I go costs money in gas and there aren't that many places to go that aren't miserable in this heat.

Last night I worked at the Rick Springfield concert. I didn't have any tables to serve such I just helped everyone else out with the concession stand and in the bars. I was really tired and the heat was sucking my life out, so I can't say it was the best night of my life. It was funny cause everyone was waiting for him to play "Jessie's Girl" all night and it seemed like every song started out sounding like it was going to be that one. Some of my coworkers were thinking he was doing that to tease people, but my real guess is that he only knows about 4 licks and uses them over and over. I'm back there tonight but I think we have a couple tables to serve so hopefully the night will be a little better. I have to go buy some new shorts to wear because I seem to have lost weight and my shorts are making me look like a plumber now.

Matt and Molly left yesterday to go to Rome to start a 7 day cruise on Sunday. It's going to be an empty, quiet house for the next long while.

I'm still copying my old blog over and got to this day two years ago this morning. It's kind of fun to look back and see what was going on. I do kind of wish I wasn't so vague about certain things so I could have a more accurate record. Maybe I can figure something out.

You don’t have to wear that dress tonight

Or any other night for the next 4 days.

I just made it home from a crazy night of flying. There will be no avoiding sleep today. I've closed my dark curtains in my room and in a minute I'm going to sleep as long as I feel like it.

I knew last night was going to be rough when, at about 4pm, we were in the middle of our third torrential downpour for the day. My flight at 8:30pm was already delayed. When I got to work it was delayed further because we were waiting for the plane to come in from Syracuse. It finally arrived around 10:30 and I went out to get the plane ready. A ramper comes up and tells me he thinks our flight is canceled. This seems too good to be true - not that I want to strand anyone in Atlanta - but I'd like to sleep in my bed. Turns out, there was a bad storm in Jacksonville, NC where we were headed and their weather system and runway lights were down. Flight canceled.

The captain and I get on the bus to go to our cars around 11 and about halfway there he gets the call that we have to go to Augusta. Their crew timed out. Fair enough. I knew it was too good to be true. Augusta is only about a 30 minute flight and I had just had a cup of coffee before we got canceled, so I was going to be awake for a few hours. Turns out, that flight was supposed to leave at 6:35pm. Whenever it finally left it was waiting in line to take off and the crew timed out. Sucks for them. We eventually landed in Augusta a little after 1am. Everyone was nice because they had been told we had returned to the airport to take them to Augusta, and they were just happy to get there.

We got in the taxi to go home and our driver started complaining immediately because there isn't another flight coming in all night and he hasn't made any money (it's 1:30am dude. Sorry). As we drive to the hotel my ever so polite captain asks him if the van is stuck in overdrive or does he just want waste gas... My captain is one of those guys that talks constantly about anything. They talk about that for a while and within a few minutes my captain has figured out that based on an 8% fuel savings by not using overdrive, the cab driver could save at least $1000 a year. Greeeaaaat. It's 1:30am. Who cares?

Then as the first officer and I are sitting in the back looking at each other in amazement at the ridiculousness of the conversation, the driver starts telling us how dangerous Augusta is. He said he had a passenger once who asked him to pull into an alley. The driver said "I reached down like I was scratching my leg and pulled out my .38. I turned to him and told him, get out of my van or I'll blow your head off." He proceeds to explain how he told him he had just gotten back from killing people in Iraq and this guy wasn't any different to him. If he didn't get out of the van he'd kill him. He said "I know you have a gun in your belt. If you want to live get out of my van." The guy evidently didn't believe him so he said he'd give him 5 seconds to find out if he was bluffing or not. It's now 1:45am, and I can't believe I'm hearing this story. It's time for bed. It's time to get out of this crazy man's taxi. Thankfully we didn't ask him to pull into an alley, and none of us had pistols in our belts so we made it out alive. The world is full of all kinds of strange people.

Three hours later we were loading up to go back to the airport, and now I'm home. Sleepy time.

And on to the grapeless Vineyard

One of the things I love about visiting Amy and Shane is the breakfasts Shane cooks. After a crazy couple of days I woke up Sunday morning to the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. The Whites definitely know how to make people want to come back and visit :-).

Adri, Mo, Katya, Charity, and I all headed to the Boston airport around 9am. I was a little nervous because we were each trying to do completely different things. Charity needed to get back to Atlanta. Katya was flying on a buddy pass to Frankfurt and we wanted to change it to go via Cincinnati. I needed to buy a ZED fare (discounted ticket based on distance) on Cape Air and try to get a flight to Martha's Vineyard. I was worried Charity wouldn't get a flight at all because they were full. I was worried Katya wouldn't make it to Cinci or that she wouldn't get first to Germany. I was worried the ZED fare wouldn't work, never having used one, or that the flights to MV would be full.

I finally got both girls checked in and purchased my ticket, which has to be done at a Delta counter, and headed over to find Cape Air. This is when I discovered that I hate the Boston airport. It has 4 terminals - A, B, C, and E - and instead of being set up all in a nice row like Atlanta, they're in a circle. There's a shuttle that runs between them, but after waiting 10 minutes I decided to walk. I walked from A to E which was easy enough. Then to go from E to C you have to go through what seemed like the old airport graveyard. It was hallways covered in tiles from the 50s that had empty baggage carousels and lots of empty rooms. It seems that when they decide they no longer like a part of the airport, they just build a different terminal.

A very long walk later I found the Cape Air counter. They were very friendly and told me there was space on the flights. They also asked me how much I weighed and weighed my rollaboard and laptop bag. This should've been a sign that I wasn't going to be on a big plane. I finally got to the gate and had to wait an hour cause I had just missed the 1pm flight (they leave on the hour, every hour). When they started calling for boarding they would call section 1 passengers 1-8, then section 2 pax 9-17. I then looked out the window and saw the little fleet of Cessnas. I figured out that depending on how many tickets were sold they were take 1-3 planes every hour. Each plane carried 9 passengers and 1 pilot. We finally went down to board the plane and the captain told us that a plane had just run off the runway in MV so the airport was closed!!! I figured it was par for the course for my weekend travels. Thankfully it was temporary and we began boarding shortly thereafter. They asked if I could take the seat up front. I sat in the seat behind what would've been the First Officer's seat. Then the captain turned around and asked if I would mind sitting in the front since someone was going to have to! I kept trying not to laugh because it seemed like a joke almost. I couldn't believe that I was riding on such a small plane, nevermind in the right seat. It gave me a new appreciation for when people get on our planes and are amazed at how small they are. Though in our defense our cabins are at least pressurized and we do fly actual jets at normal speeds and altitudes. It was really fun to ride in the front as we took off after a United 757. We had a great view of Boston as we took off and never got so high that we couldn't see the beautiful houses along the coast. About 35 minutes later we were in Martha's Vineyard.

Joy picked me up at the airport. It was really great to see her happy, smiling face. I really had no idea what to except when I arrived on the island. I didn't know how big it was or what the terrain was like. We drove for about 10 minutes through a lot of trees until we finally got to Oak Bluffs, which is where Joy lives and works. The house she lives in is a beautiful house painted in shades of lavender and blue. I was amazed at how many perfect little gingerbread style houses were everywhere. We dropped my stuff off at the house and went to Pomodora's, the Italian restaurant where she works. There I met a lot of the people she had told me about. Everyone seems to love her, but really, who doesn't? One of the cooks made us a great salad with different types of meat, cheese, olives, peppers and dressing.

Later in the afternoon it started raining so we slogged over to Joy's friend Kiera's family's house for a barbeque. Even in the rain everything was beautiful. It was the nice kind of warm summer rain that I love. Everywhere we went we stopped along the way to say hello to different friends. Kiera is Irish and her uncle lives on the island. She is here for the summer working and has become good friends with Joy. Her parents were in town for the week to visit so most of her friends had managed to get the night off work and spend the evening together. Joy's Brazlian friends, Alex and Jean Luca, cooked steaks for everyone. Instead of serving them to each person on plates, they would slice them in strips as they came off the grill and we all sat around on the porch eating. It was a really nice evening.

The next day Joy and I went to the beach for a little while before I had to get the bus to the airport. I was surprised by how clear the water was. I have very little experience with New England beaches and have always had the impression of the cold, dark, possibly dirty Atlantic. As many of you already know, this is far from the truth. Unfortunately I slept late and only got to spend about 30 minutes there before it was time to go to the airport. The bus took longer than we had been told so I missed the flight that I was hoping to make. The next flight didn't have any seats on it. By the time I flight came along with seats on it it was 5pm. I was looking at the flights from Boston to Atlanta and they looked terrible. I was really worried about getting back in time for my trip that started at 8:30 this morning. I didn't want to get rid of it because it had a long overnight in Fort Walton Beach and I needed the hours. But when 5pm rolled around, there was only one more flight out of Boston, and two naps came up in open time I had to trade it. This gave me another day and a half to get home without any penalty.

I decided if I was going to be stuck somewhere I'd rather it be the Vineyard with Joy. I got on the bus and went back to the restaurant where she was working and surprised her. I ended up hanging out there until Kiera's parent's came in and we ate dinner together. Kiera's cousin BJ is four and was so amusing. I had told him on Sunday night that I didn't have a belly button, so he was going around pulling up people's shirts to check for belly buttons. He pulled up Kiera's dads and came back to tell me "Jared has a belly button and it's kind of gross." That's pretty much how he was the entire time.

After we ate and all the kids got off work we went wandering around the town. Joy has a really interesting combination of friends and it's fun to be around them. We ended up at a place called the Island House and danced until it closed. Joy won a bag, tshirt, hat, and flip flops for being such a good dancer :-). After that place closed we were standing on the sidewalk trying to decide what to do when three guys came along and started talking to our group. One was wearing a shirt that said something about Iraq veterans against the war. He started into his campaign, explaining to us their three goals and how they intended to implement them. Alex seemed pretty interested, but I'm a little wary of any sort of fanatic. I believe in causes and I respect people who are passionate about things, but I like to meet someone who can wait more than 5 minutes of meeting you before getting on their soapbox. In our attempt to get away from these guys we started walking toward the beach. That didn't work and they came with us. Joy, Kiera, and I started wading into the water. Joy had told me about this algae they have there that lights up when you disturb them. When you walked into the water in certain spots it was like clouds of pixie dust surrounded your legs. Sometimes it looks like lightning bugs in the water. We were enjoying this amazing sight until one of the veterans decided he wanted to swim properly and took all this clothes off and ran into the water (stirring up loads of lovely algae, I'm sure). Thankfully he warned us so we didn't have to see anything too traumatic. Not five minutes later though, the cops came along and informed us it was time to call it a night. It was kind of annoying because there weren't any signs posted saying the beach was closed. We weren't doing anything besides walking in the water (except for naked guy who the police quickly spotted). It was a beautiful night though and we had a great time. I'm glad I got stuck there another day.

And so the journey began...

I'm sitting in the Martha's Vineyard airport, yet again, waiting for a flight to take me to Boston where I will try to catch a flight to Atlanta. This is hopefully the end of a trip that I wasn't sure was going to begin.

Friday I got up at 4:20, flew back from Providence, and did a Memphis round trip. On the way back from Memphis I had a proper celebrity on my flight. It was Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin and famous solo artist. I did not recognize him by sight (there are very few singers I'd actually recognize by sight) but one of the rampers told us he was on the flight and from there he was easy to pick out. The British accent elped, plus the curly ponytail, and cool but not over the top jewelry. I never said anything to him indicating that I knew who he was. I always feel weird approaching celebrities. But I did chit chat with him a few times. He had a good sense of humor.

After we got back to Atlanta I, like the heartless flight attendant I am, dumped our wheelchair passenger off the plane so I could run over to the next gate, meet up with Charity, and try to make the flight to Portland, ME. They cleared me for the flight, but since I was going to have to wait several hours in Portland, and Charity didn't get on, we decided to just wait in Atlanta together. This ended up being a good decision because we were waiting forever. There were about 5 more Boston flights and another Portland. I almost got on the next Portland without Charity, but once I got on the plane they realized someone couldn't count and there wasn't actually a seat available for me. Thanks to Charity's refusal to give up and Adri's willingness to pick us up in Boston whenever, we finally got on the last flight to Boston. At this point I had been in one airport or another for about 17 hours. I was seated between two quiet, friendly people, but it seemed that the rest of the plane was full of crying babies and obnoxious children. There was a girl sitting behind me, who was at least 10 years old, who sobbed and wailed because her mother's reading light was bothering her. I was so tired I folded over on my stomach and slept for a while.

We finally got to BOston and in the car with Adri, Mo (Adri's roommate), and Katya (Mo's girlfriend) around 12:30 or so and set off for the great north. Amy and Shane had left Portland earlier to go set up the campsite and get ready for rafting the next day. We finally arrived in West Forks, ME around 5am. It was starting to get light already. We parked near some cabins and walked through misty, good-smelling woods to the field where the tents were. We were all in a tired daze and weren't really sure which tents we were supposed to sleep in. Shane finally heard us and came out and told us where to sleep. Turns out, they had barely gotten back to the campsite. They had been across the street earlier in the evening and our rafting guide was attacked in a bar. Shane tried to intervene and got scuffed up as well. Black eyes and police reports ensued. Sounded like an exciting evening, but I'm glad I missed it. I finally fell asleep dreaming of the bird-like mosquitos that were hovering around my head and any piece of uncovered flesh and slept a few hours.

The actual rafting trip the following day made all of our pain and suffering up to this point completely worthwhile. We left the campsite around 10am and rode up to the top of the river. The day was perfect. The sky was blue with the occasional puffy white cloud and the sun was warm but not hot. As we got in the river and started through the rapids we found that the water was really nice (you all know how I love cold water). The river was rough enough to get your heart pounding, but not so rough that you thought you might actually die. Our guide was a regular New Englander who liked to yell and scream at us. His command for us to stop paddling was "good" which I have decided is the stupidest way of telling someone to stop. Sometimes it sounded like "ok, good, stop" other times it sounded like "good job, keep it up". After we got through the rough stuff we went swimming for a while. The water was so clear you could see your feet down below you. I learned how to pull someone into the boat and took pleasure in feeling strong and powerful heaving people out of the water. We had left a cooler halfway along the river and ate lunch sitting on some rocks with our feet in the water. Our guide gave Charity some guiding lessons and before we knew it she was bossing us around as well (oh wait, she always does that... hehe). We had such a good time in the sun and the water. It was a wonderful day.

When we finally made it back to Portland that night Shane, Amy, Charity, and I decided since Charity had never been to Portland before we needed show her the town. After driving all the way from MA the night before the rest of the crew decided resting was more important (understandably). It was so nice to be able to go out in Portland at night without wearing a jacket and snow clothes. We went to a few places we'd been to before and ended up at a bar with a huge outdoor patio and a live band. The main draw, though, was the super size Jenga games they had. I think it's a genius idea. People enjoy playing. People enjoy watching. It's an easy way to keep people occupied for hours. While we were watching one of the games I recognized a pilot I'd flown with a few months ago who was there for the overnight. It was pretty bizarre that we happened to be in the same place at the same time considering how many pilots we have and how many bars there are in Portland. It was a good time. charity is the Jenga queen. We finally went home and crashed at Amy and Shane's.

It is now time for my flight to Boston so I will have to tell about the rest of my journey later.

Currently reading : Her Last Death: A Memoir By Susanna Sonnenberg