Denmark is cool. Red Sox are not.

Heck, the Europe is cool. Except for jet lag. I'm beyond the point of exhaustion, and am watching the Yankees game in order to stay awake while I describe the wonders that is my journey to Copenhagen, compliments of my kick ass job.

Let me start by saying the back of the bus kicked my ass. I was not first class aisle, and was responsible for a galley; I've never been responsible for a galley before. Needless to say, the lead was not impressed with me. International service is hard - there's the pre meal beverage with those goddamn peanuts, the meal (chicken or beef?), and another full beverage service with a water service every hour. Going there, we ran out of red wine. Coming home, I had a couple that almost single handedly drank all the Heineken in coach; I had another girl drinking Jack like it was her job. I was surprised that I didn't have to flag either of them. Other than that, the flight was rather uneventful.

After we got to the hotel around 8:30, I decided that I was going to see the city and took the 10:30 bus tour. Similarly to the state I'm in now (as the Yankees are leading 4-0), my chickens were cooked and I was having a hard time staying awake. Of course the tour guide is from the city and had an accent so I had to pay attention. I missed what he said Copenhagen means - Wikipedia says it means merchant's harbor. The country of Denmark is comprised of a peninsula as well as an archipelago; there are over 200 (I think) islands, and only 85 are populated. We drove around and saw city hall, the Parliament building, we stopped to see changing of the guards at the Palace (once again, the Queen was not there). We walked around to the Gefion Fountain, which is right by The Little Mermaid, both of which I thought I recalled from art history but that all runs together (like the CHURCHES! right, Allison??). By that time we'd been touring for over 2 hours, and I fell asleep when we stopped at the National Cathedral, which is Lutheran. Got back to the hotel around 2, slept til 5:30, met with the crew at 6 for dinner and was back in bed by 10. I'm very perturbed by the lack of ketchup and extreme use of mayo. I am new to even putting mayo on my turkey sandwich, let alone using it for my pomme frits. Its kind of nice to be able to have a coke everywhere you go; Copenhagen also has 7-11's like South Jersey has Wawa's. I think I liked it better than London because the weather was beautiful - 60 and breezy, and as a tourist, I didn't feel overwhelmed with different things to do or with its size. The actual city is home to only 500,000 with 1.2 million people in the metropolitan area; in terms of population, it is comparable to Oklahoma City or Buffalo.

Next time, I'd like to actually go into the art museum and possibly Tivoli Gardens, which is an amusement park. Rent a bike, and cycle around town. Its a cool little city, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to go - regardless of how exhausted I am now.

Could be what's wrong with the Red Sox too.

Nah.

You're Green

I'm going to Copenhagen.

And you are not.

Be back Monday, bitches.

New York, New York

Today was the most moving day I've had in a long time. I woke up this morning at 5:30, trying to catch the 9 am flight to DCA. Unfortunately for me, the 9 am flight goes to Dulles and not Reagan; the DCA flight was at 11. I was mad at myself for not paying attention - its not like IAD and DCA are close enough to blame on dyslexia. So I was back at my crash pad by nine.

By then my roommate was up, and she was going to the city for the day so I decided to go along. From here, we take the light rail to the path into the World Trade Center Station. I was completely unprepared for what I saw. I know its been six years since everything, but all these emotions came bubbling to the surface. The ride is so short, and after once you're out from under the river, you're right there in ground zero. As soon as there's light, you're surrounded by giant concrete walls, with symmetric holes where steel used to go. There are ramps and construction workers; it feels so alive yet mournful. The walk from the platform to the street is colorful with children's art portraying events that happened there and memories associated with them. I didn't realize how close St. Paul's was, or how miraculous it is that it's still standing. I'm sure the last time the chapel was used for its intended purposes was the remembrance service with our President in attendance. It has all sorts of artifacts and displays inside, and the chairs and pews are pushed to the sides. I lit a candle (such a Catholic thing to do!) and signed the wall with a fuchsia Crayola crayon. I was amazed at the different tourists that were there, the ones who didn't speak English, the ones who had obviously been there before, and the others who, like me, were so touched and moved with tears streaming down our faces.


After that we went to Chinatown and bought knock-off hand bags.

And a good day was had by all.

London, Part Two

London was fantastic. I loved every moment. In terms of my actual job, I did a much better job on the service; I was first class aisle again. My fellow co-worker in the galley was new too, which worked out well for him because we were both rather clueless. As a new flight attendant, the only thing I know for sure how to do is evacuate the aircraft; everything else is rather hit or miss. Going there things were kind of choppy and the service took a long time, but coming home we only had 7 people and the service was perfect. This is definitely my favorite position to work, and I hope someday you'll get a chance to fly with me and check it out. The best part of the whole service is definately the ice cream sundaes - bring your own M&Ms!

After we landed, I debriefed with the pilots til 1 in the afternoon. Then I took the train into Victoria and met up with Janel. We had an early dinner at a cute little Italian resturant (we're protesting the horrors that is British cuisine, including the mayo that comes with anything fried). We met up with the crew for a bit, but they wanted Indian food so we parted ways. Janel and I went to Marks and Spencers and I found the most perfect piece of clothing EVER and for those of you closest to me, call and we'll further discuss. You'll laugh when you hear, and I appologize for not being able to fully share the wonders that is British bras, on the internet, for anyone in the world to read.

Now, up until this point in the day, the weather was horrible. Rainy, chilly, and not tourist friendly. As soon as we were done in M&S around 7, the sun had emerged and we were off! We went to Buckingham Palace, walked over to Big Ben, and made our way over to Trafalgar Square. It was amazing; London is beautiful when the sun's out and you're not alone, not like last week. I can't wait to take Hilary - we'd have a blast!

That night back at the hotel, I met an economist named Jamie while the crew and I were down at the bar. He was very sweet, American, came complete with manners, and bought everyone drinks - charged to his company. He was talking about how he spends a lot time in London and was excited to sit down and talk to Americans. He said he hadn't been into London yet, and I told him he should go and then we discussed the glories of being in the airline industry. Out of all the professions, only actors, musicians, and athletes party harder or as frequently. I highly doubt there would ever be a "CPAs gone wild".

Fear not my friends, I made it to bed by 1 am, and was bright eyed and bushy tailed for our noon flight home. The only annoying thing about flying in the UK is that all liquids must be travel sized (the same rules passengers must follow in the states) and they apply to crew members too (same rules passengers must follow in the States. Annoying, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. There are some airports in the States where certain crew members or ramp workers are not required to go through security. I think that's not fair to those professionals who are out there everyday, or passengers who expect an achieved level of secuirty, and service, from the TSA.

The coolest part about this trip was that I flew with two female pilots, one captain and the other a first officer (she was the international relief officer) and of course another male FO. They were both cool and to see them in a tradionally male career made me feel all Susan B Anthony/Gloria Steinum. It was also nice to be with female not flight attendants. They have a different perspective on the industry and better stories. It was also interesting to me to see the differences between pilots on different planes. I hope I get to fly with everyone again - the whole crew was a blast to work with. I also hope I get to go to London again, and hit up the Tate Modern. I love how finally after learning about all these different places and all those annoying art history classes I get to go and see it all! And come the fall, you guys can come with me!!! Yay free travel passes and yay off-season tourism!!!

Now You're Really Jealous

In London... right now... as I type... again...

Thank you crew scheduling!!!

Liam! Its Summer!!!

I stepped out into the night and put my feet down on the wet patio floor
The sky's air had been cooling and steam rose from everywhere
I could feel drops of rain slipping off tree's leaves and splattering to the ground
It's always misty after a summer pour
And I'll remember turning around and looking out
And staring in and focusing on this one beautiful girl
And I said, "Oh who is this? Where was she all those crazy years?
Where was she when my heart couldn't take its beat?"
I sipped down some warm ginger ale
And drew back a breath
And headed over to see about this girl
I couldn't say a thing and I just stared open and wide
And I connected with her eyes to feel my gut fall through the floor
Oh my god, I think I'm falling.

~Saves the Day
Banned from the Back Porch

23... That's Still Cute, Right?

Today, I officially turned twenty-three years old. Its practically been tradition that I have a shitty birthday; things just never seem to go quite right for me on my special day. There have been a few exceptions - like that year when my college roommates surprised me with a cake on RutgerFest, or when my boyfriend at the time drove two hours from his school to mine for birthday lunch. But this year was one for the record books and here's how my birthday celebration week went down:

Sunday - Bar Med, Crowley, UK with my crew... in a word, amazing. One of the guys knew the owner/manager person of the bar, so we got free drinks (okay, maybe the hot girls/birthday girl got free drinks?) all night long and danced up on the little stage next to the dj booth. I made eyes with a hot British chap on my way into the "lu" and his way out... one of your friends was wearing a Playboy shirt... you should call me...

Wednesday - one word: Grandma

Thursday - 1/2 price Sushi with JoeCo. Fantastic sushi.

Friday - Cold Stone Cake!!! Hilary's prom too... but mainly just the mint chocolate Cold Stone cake.

Saturday - yay birthday! Dinner at Outback. Shopping spree with my mom, and got to talk to all my favorite people.

I dunno, it may not sound like much to all you guys out there but it was just what I've always wanted. And as for tomorrow, we'll see what crew scheduling has in store for me. I didn't get the trip that I wanted this afternoon; but, last time that happened they sent me to London, so I'm hopeful. Always hopeful.