Swinging Through the PHL

On my way home from vacation, I opted to fly from Orlando to Newark and then down to Philly as opposed to taking the train (my car was at my parents' house). This was the first time I can recall in my entire life that my father wasn't waiting for me either at the gate, you know, back in the day when that was allowed, or on the other side of security. I understand - the man was at work and as soon as I landed he was en route. As I was making my way out of the terminal, I stopped to go to the bathroom and was greeted with the most glorious of airport bathrooms that I have ever seen in my life! Each stall was HUGE - all were handicapped size with a changing table, sink, and enough room to fit a frat party. It was as if all my years of complaining about the horrors that are airport bathrooms finally paid off and someone heard my prayers. Had I not been in a rush, I would have snapped a million pictures, but as soon as I was curbside, there he was. Next time... There's always a next time.

Irish Bikini Fail

Having shopped all over the states and Europe, I have come to find that Irish/British clothing fits me best. It's curvy-er, cut bigger/differently in differing proportions and is more often than not, of higher quality. I discovered bathing suits at Debenhams two summers ago and fell madly in love. I bought two that year, one last season, and another at the beginning of this season. So pumped.

A few weeks ago I was in Dublin, just shopping about and fell hook line and sinker for this little blue and white number. I tried it on and this bikini made me feel beautiful. For $80 USD, I figured I'd treat myself - Happy Birthday to me - and hold on to that feeling of utter grace and beauty.

Which I did, til I unpacked it here on vacation and saw I bought the bottoms a size too big. It's not the end of the world - it fits just fine. The size smaller would have just fit more snug and been more appropriate for intense aquatic activity. Perhaps I'll invest in them as well because it's a really sweet suit and I love it. Certainly suits it's purpose.

Via iPhone

Moderately Impressed

My current suitor took me out to birthday lunch, and when we were walking back to my car he pulled me in the opposite direction. The next thing I knew, we were at a florist shop and I was holding these. I love them. They smell amazing, are so beautiful. The best part is I didn't get them as an apology. Happy Birthday to me, from a *moderately* impressive suitor.

How To Introduce Yourself 101

First Officer: Hi, I'm Paul.

Flight Attendant: Hi, its nice to meet you. I'm Alyssa.

Paul: You look like my ex-fiancee.

Alyssa: Awesome. She's your ex for a reason.

Paul: No no, its a good thing.

Alyssa: Oh. Well, you look like Minnesota.

And yes, Paul actually commutes out of the MSP. He was rather Marshall-esque, surprisingly enough. He was a sweet, genuine person and we had a lot of fun tearing it up in Dublin.

Ah, its good to be out online.

Exhaustion Is Cute!

April was my first *real* full pull teaching in my own base, balancing living in my humble abode, family obligations, and quality time with my peeps.

I. Am. Exhausted.

My schedule went something along the lines of teach for six days, off one, teach one, off one, teach six, off one, teach one. Off six - that was Easter. Teach two, off two. Fly, because its now May. Don't get me wrong - I loved every minute of being in the classroom and evaluating the "students". There were so many rewarding moments clearly depicting, in my mind, how valuable the skills of a teacher truly are. I'm looking forward to the break and flying again; I get such cabin fever.

Totally looking forward to feeling jet lagged all the time; its a whole different type of exhaustion.

There's no place like home!!!

Happy time in the fridge :)

Separate But Equal

As I've mentioned before, my favorite part of clearing customs and heading on my merry way is all the people waiting on the other side for their loved ones: the men holding flowers and teddy bears, kids with the "we're proud of you / welcome home daddy" kind of signs, the more often than not Latin mothers who are already weeping even though the flight they're waiting for doesn't land for another 20 minutes. Prior to 9/11, these were scenes at the gate; I have very fond memories of being collected at the gate by various people throughout my life. Last night, I got to pick up my sister Hilary at the gate and it was a pleasure to do so.

HOWEVER. Like everyone else, I still had to go through security which is a slight less painful experience when cruising through the employee line. There were a few pilots and flight attendants in line, and we were all waiting patiently. Along comes some guy, who's not a crew member just an airport employee, who took his bin of personal belongings and cut the line! The pilot behind me totally called him out on his rudeness and this guy just didn't care. The employee line is there for us so we don't have to cut in front of passengers, not so we can cut in front of each other. We all have to go through security, we are all equally employees of the airport. So wait your turn!!!