Bottles of Fun!

My past two trips were Berlin, speaker position off airport alert, and Geneva, I was called 3 1/2 hours ahead of time at home. The best part about flying to mainland Europe (and Ireland) is there's no liquid restrictions. Even as crew members, there are liquid restrictions flying out of the UK, which is where I go more often than not as we are all well aware. I have grown accustom to not even trying to get hummus or yogurt (only Muller's rice in either strawberry or vanilla custard) through, let alone investing in bottles of fun at the supermarket. I don't have time to be checking my bag, waiting for it on the carousel; when I clear customs, I want in my car and home. Anyway, I digress.

So on these two trips, Berlin and Geneva, I was able to bring home bottles of fun! My favorite bottles of fun! I bought a hefeweizen in Berlin and a Leffe Brune in Geneva. AND my best friend J, who just came home from Italia brought me back two Fantas and a bottle of my favorite red! My fridge is full of fun and you are full of envy ;)

Fanta and

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Leffe, cold Fanta, and a .5 liter hefeweizen... yum!

Skin and Bones

As I have previously mentioned, I haven't flown this many hours since last summer. Since then I've dropped a few pounds and now can wear a size 2. I know its shallow and vain, but it sure is nice to see that little 2 on the inside of my pants. I can't see it, this is my body and it feels the same to me. I've been working out a bit so I feel healthier and it is far easier to lug my overstuffed bags through security and up and down the terminal. But last night en route to Geneva it dawned on me why the pounds have literally melted away: I had stopped flying! I wish you all could have seen the things I stuffed in my face on that plane. I was first class galley, which didn't help. I had a cashews, piece of garlic bread (YUM!), one of the veggie spring rolls with the sauce, pretzel bread, a salad with creamy dressing, a coach chicken (stir fry with rice, egg, and what looked to be broccoli and carrots). And a bite of brownie. And a handful of grapes. OH - and I had a half of a wrap before we took off. What makes eating on the airplane worse is that I ate all this between 8 and 11, and didn't sit down to have an actual meal. I only have one more "trip" (okay, reserve days that could equal a trip) and I know I won't plan out food to bring with me for 3 days. I think I'll make this my goal come May, when I head back out on line.

I did try to pick up Manchester where they have a microwave in the crew room. Instead, I got assigned this trip, with no microwave, and a kebab shop two blocks away. And with the Swiss franc the way it is, that's about all I can afford.

PS - When you spell check on a French computer, English is wrong. I appologize for any mispellings; you know, more than the usual.

Germania!

Good aviation news: I flew my tush off in March and so far, its been non-stop flying for April. I haven't flown this much since last July. This past week has included Edinburgh and Berlin. Good beer everywhere!

I'm getting ready to leave for Germany for a month; that adventure begins in a little over a week. Anxiety is beginning to set in because I have yet to hear from my school with necessary information such as where I'll be living for a month, where the school is, how to get to where ever it is I'm going. Moreover, I still have a few pesky reserve days that I can't seem to get rid of and we all know what kind of scheduling drama can ensue from those! There are a few loose ends I need to tie up here at home too, and with all these balls in the air I'm a bit concerned as to where they'll land. Keep you posted, and most certainly will be blogging from Deutschland!

TXL

Skip down the avenues

holding my hand

flowers bloom

sneezes scrunch your face

Brown waves flail behind

my grinning head

breezes blow

promises

summer's ahead

hold my hand

come along

Adventure

is our hearts song

The Squeakiest Wheel Gets Oiled

The above was one of my grandmother's favorite sayings. One of my biggest flight attendant/pilot pet peeves is loud, squeaky roller board wheels. There's no reason to have inoperative wheels that are louder in the terminal than the ever annoying, constantly playing TSA announcement "unattended baggage will be removed immediately for inspection and may be damaged or destroyed".

And I was guilty of said wheels. They were loud. I've had my bag for three years and these are my second set of wheels; they used to roll beautifully. I have roller blade wheels and for about two and half years, they functioned perfectly. In the last few trips, I've noticed my bag being a bit harder to drag and noisy. At first, I didn't even know the sound was coming from my bag! When I got off my last trip (ps - I just worked two trips in a row, which is something I haven't done since September!) and my dad took a look at them. The bearings had rusted a bit, so he cleaned them up and WD-40 - ed it up! He claims they're now all ready to go. I'm hoping to get another year or two out of my roller but I'm ready for a new tote. Tote #3.

To the Couch... And Beyond!

Guess who got assigned yet ANOTHER round of airport alert??? That's right - I had alert on Tuesday at 2:30 in the afternoon. Woot. I got called around 4 to go to Stockholm, which was exciting! Well, except that it's still winter in Sweden and I failed to bring my coat. All the other line holding - I know where I'm going - flight attendants had their coats. I was forced to be a bad stew and wear my sweater - in the terminal!

The trip over was an easy 7 hours 15 minutes. We all had breakfast together; it was one of the nicest breakfast spreads I've seen at a crew hotel (for free) in a long time. Stockholm is like the big kid Dublin with its hot breakfast and fancy gym. I slept from 9 to 4, and at 5 went downstairs to the gym. Two of the flight attendants and I signed up for two classes offered at the health club - body pump and power yoga. Then we sat in the sauna for 15 minutes. Back up to the room for a light dinner of a luke warm lean cuisine heated in the sink with boiling water and asleep by 10:30 for a wake up call at 5. Buns on the van at 6, and another 8 hours and 40 minutes home.

I wasn't sad that I didn't go outside and see the city. Sometimes trips are work. But if work means hanging out with a pleasant, friendly crew and working out at a beautiful gym, I'd take that over your cubicle any day. From the window in the crew van, Stockholm is definitely a beautiful city. There was still snow on the ground, though most of it was grey and dirty; the waterways throughout the city were mostly frozen or had chunks of ice floating around. I'm excited to go back and hopefully will get a chance to go in the summer!

AND I'm good for another three days.

Fines for NJ Transit?

For those of you who live in the northeast, you're aware that we've been pounded by your standard issue nor'easter storm. It's similar to a hurricane, it has no name, and this particular storm at tornado force winds. As a result, a New Jersey Transit commuter train on the northeast corridor (NYC to PHL) was trapped, powerless, between stations for five hours and more details can be read here. In the aviation industry, that would result in a hefty FAA fine; so much so that Continental Airlines has announced that it would just cancel flights instead - that can be read here. So does that mean that NJ Transit has to pay up? Its the same people, lacking the same amenities in circumstances that are beyond their control and they're at the mercy of ATC, the airline, mass transit organization, Amtrak, and as always Mother Nature. Are the same rules and fines applicable to Greyhound or MegaBus or Bolt? I don't think its unreasonable to fine these public transportation operators should they fail to provide adequate emergency service, just as long as all mass transit operations are included.

As for you, fellow travelers, what's the deal with not bringing your own food? I always have at least a Special K bar in my purse and that's just when I go to the mall. Its either awfully brave or quite foolish of you to assume that an airline or train company can provide for all your needs, especially in the event of an emergency. So next time you head out there, pack a lunch, read the safety information card, and remember that you only have control over your actions and reactions.