Oh That Scheduling...

Guess who has airport alert tomorrow at 2:30???

Oh how the fun never ends.

Yes, This Really Happened

IAH to LAX, I walked through the cabin six times with my little blue trash bag, and filled them all up. I sat down on my little jump seat to enjoy On The Road.

Ding. Flight attendant call button, 3/4ths the way up the cabin (I was in the back).

Customer, hands me his dirty cup with his nasty napkin in it: Can you take this for me?

Me, complete with dirty look: Sure.



Clearly, I'm not new anymore and am becoming slightly jaded.

What a Good Day!

Today, I drove in Manhattan. Afterwards, I truly felt like I could accomplish anything. It was such a rush, competing with cabbies for lanes, desperately trying to avoid knocking down pedestrians... completely exhilarating.

I also baked oatmeal cookies, complete with frosting, and they were a huge hit amongst the gents who had been laboring all day in the rain. I suppose my secret is out - I'm domestic. But I think I'd rather be a cab driver than baker...

To top it all off, I get to go to Los Angeles tomorrow... even if it is only for nine hours.

What a good day!

The Universal Appeal of Wawa

In the great states of NJ, PA, DE, MD and VA is a store called Wawa. Those of you who are from the mid-Atlantic states know exactly what I'm talking about; my west side friends are sick of hearing about it and maybe have been there once and only with me. Wawa is a glorified 7-11/gas station mart/mom and pop deli that actually makes your wildest dreams come true. There's a wall of coolers with everything from soda/juice/water to ice cream (Ben&Jerry's!), that matches their island of treats with fresh fruits, salads, pre-made hoagies... shelves of various snack items and miscellaneous toiletries (if you're in a bad neighborhood, those are locked in the glass case or behind the counter). Finally, the one thing that distinguishes Wawa from its competitors, such as the Quick Check, is its deli counter. There are touch screen monitors that make life so much easier so when you want a salami sandwich with lettuce and onions you don't have to announce it to the entire store; deny cheese - its okay to be lactose intolerant; afraid of condiments such as mayo and mustard? no one has to know. There selection includes your usual lunch meats and hoagies, chicken both breaded and grilled, these meal bowls, soups, and my personal favorite chicken salad. Wawa is also known for its coffee; Jersey residents I know will steer clear of both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks in favor of the Wawa. I know my limited description here makes me sound like I work for them, when we all know I don't. Yesterday, I had lunch at Wawa with an out-of-towner who fervently believed that Wawa chocolate milk cures cancer... I think that's still up for debate with the FDA. Besides, everyone I know would say its the ice tea. My point is that Wawa needs to be everywhere. I saw those 7-11's in Copenhagen and those crazy Danes have it all wrong. Wawa is where its at.

She's Real Fine, My 409

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to go to Cancun. I told everyone - random hottie on the plane, my roommate who's been there 4 times, etc. So when the open window first opened, I figured I wasn't going to get anything so why bother. Two hours after it first opened I logged in just to see what was up and there were two 2-day trips: the first one I clicked on had a 17 hr Cancun layover and it was MINE! One leg there, on aircraft #409, which was a pleasure to work with a great crew. The hotel we stay at is absolutely amazing and is probably one of the nicest hotels I've stayed at in my life (rumor has it that the only other nicer hotel is in Tel Aviv - I'll keep you posted on that).

We got there around 1:30, and by 1:35 we were sunning ourselves on the beach drinking margaritas. Who else do you know gets paid to drink margaritas on the beach? After I had had two, I found a gaggle of guys playing volleyball and decided to go join them. When I was in college I played intramural and my nickname was Daria, as in the MTV cartoon, which should give you a clue as to my skill level. During the game, I'm kind of afraid of the ball and not very good. It didn't really help that my crew was standing on the side lines cheering me on in front of a bunch of strangers that I was trying to impress with my serving skills (it was like sixth grade basketball all over again, but that's a different story for another time). I did manage to score six points; no one was keeping score. It started to drizzle and rain, but we kept playing. It was so much fun and totally worth the two hour sit in IAH and the three hour sit in TPA, complete with a rain delay and ground stop.

Cancun is amazing and someplace that everyone should go to at least once.
If not for a whole line! Oh that magical land of holding a line!

Reality Check

Now that I've been home "sick" for the past three days, I have been granted the opportunity to watch an absurd amount of television. We're talking enough tv to satisfy SMH and Maureen, if you could even believe it. From this endless marathon, I have decided a few things:

1) my day absolutely is not complete without watching at least one episode of Scrubs. If I'm a flight attendant long enough, Zach Braff WILL be on one of my flights. We all know he knows where EWR is - maybe we'll go to Tel Aviv!

2) my sister needs to marry Ryan Sheckler. He's absolutely adorable; I can't possibly be the one that marries him because that would make me look above all things, old. And like a gold digger, but I'm not nearly as opposed to that one.

3) flight attendants would make for some great tv. For those of you in the industry, you know what I'm talking about. All night flights overseas, debriefing, napping, and partying til its time to get back on the plane the next morning... Going out with the crew in three different cities and making table reservations and calls for cabs using the CEO's name... Drinking in the local bar til the wee hours of the morning and not answering when scheduling calls, or chancing it and excusing yourself to see what it is that scheduling wants... following the floozies (male and female) and meeting their NYC/LAX/DFW/ORD/DEN/MIA boyfriends... Watching the pilot's wife and kids interact with his flight attendant mistress at 35,000 ft... I just think all of these elements make for some good reality tv. And as much as we inflight crews would love it, we would never do it because we'd be fired in a heartbeat.

I think someone's just going to have to write a book.




P.S. My illness is ear block, caused by a sinus infection... that's also my new nickname around the house.

The Netti Pot

Flight attendants are interesting people; after all, it's a different type of job, thus attracting all walks of life for this adventurous career. Last week, I flew with a guy from SAN and he was holding this mini watering can on his way into the lav. I was intrigued. What was he going to water in the airplane bathroom? So I asked. As it would turn out, this particular contraption was a Netti pot; apparently, as seen on Oprah (or here). It's what my mother likes to refer to as the nose enema. You empty a little packet of powder into said watering can, add lukewarm water, dump contents in one nostril while tilting your head so it will drain out the other. It's important to use your mouth to breathe. So I went to my local drug store and invested in one (I also got a free flu shot, which is rather sketchy now that I think about it...). Anyway, so I tried it and for the first time since "fall" hit, I actually feel like I can breathe and my supposed allergies have been relieved. I've never had allergies in my life, put on a plane every day and BAM... Allegra was my new best friend. Oh Allegra and Claritin, you have been replaced by my mini-watering can Netti Pot. He can satisfy my needs in ways that you never could. It's definitely an experience pouring water into your nose. It burns and feels uncomfortable but the results are totally worth it and I would highly recommend it for people who are constantly stuffed up, have allergies, or are flight attendants. Okay, pilots too.

Go Netti pot!