What's a girt bar?

Who doesn't love the crew scheduling wake up call at 2 am to report to the airport in three hours?

For what reason, you ask?

Fly to LaGuardia, work to Houston, and deadhead back to EWR. The other two flight attendants were also international reserves who had less sleep than I. I had a whole three hours! I got to sit in the flight deck for the ten minute ride to LGA and had an awesome view of the new Yankee stadium. There's something about watching the sun rise over NYC that amazes me every time. I worked first class down to Houston and was quite lost with no three tiered carts, silver coffee and tea set, or bake on board cookies. Domestic is like another airline! As for the deadhead back to EWR, I tried my hardest to pretend that it was just like crew rest for three hours and was rather unsuccessful. At least during crew rest I'm not in a middle seat, I can hide behind a curtain and foreign children are better behaved than Americans. I made it back to the house in time for dinner and the Bachelorette, in bed by 10 and up at 8 this morning... who gets up this early??? I go back on call at one, and am patiently waiting to find out whether or not they'll grant me an extra day off tomorrow. I desperately need some beach time!

RIP Nikon

I read somewhere that in order to make my blog more exciting, I needed more photographs and snapshots. Good advice, bad outcome.


After my fabulous Glasgow for the 4th, and kilo of cherries in Frankfurt, I decided that finally in Belfast, I did indeed need more shots of the cool things I do on layovers. I picked the trip up because it was the only position I was willing to work and I knew if I didn't pick up the chance of working was not good. There were these two cool senior mamas on the trip who picked it up to hang out and invited me along to take the tour of the city.


Belfast is a mildly depressing and sad place. There's a lot of British/Irish turmoil and we toured the murals and spent time on Bombay Street. And that's where it happened. I dropped my camera. Here are the last shots I got:

And the next trip I got? Paris, for Bastille Day. Sans camera. So the great debate ensues: fix it for $80 (it needs a new LCD screen) or wait for Santa to bring me a new one.

International, First Class, PARIS

Update: I did indeed get a trip. Late Paris. Here now.

Did you know it's Bastille Day???

Eff yeah.

Wishing, and Hoping, and Thinking and Praying

Right now, at this very moment as I type this, I'm on call. I originally bid the 1-9 pm call out line; that means scheduling can only contact me during those eight hours, and as always I'm subject to reassignment. I was reassigned a different call out line for today, 11-7. I've been sitting around for the past four waiting for the phone to ring and another four to go. I just keep wishing/hoping/thinking/praying for a good trip tonight. I'm next on the list which means only one more trip has to pop into open time and its mine! I'll keep yous guys posted - just keep those positive 'you're going to get a trip' vibes coming my way!

Congratulations!

Three of my friends are getting married this year: my BFF from 8th grade to her college sweetheart, my best friend from Rutgers who has loved her Marine for the past five years, and a fellow reserve friend who's expecting. Moreover, my best flight attendant friend got engaged last night.

I'm destined to be an old maid.

I have conflicting feelings about all this - I'm excited for each one of them and I truly wish them the best! It's just that we're all at this awkward in between age of still living at home (bride #2 will be living at home until her wedding night, that makes me feel better) and not quite yet started our "real lives". But the more I look around, the more I realize that this is pretty much it. And to keep track of this in between-ness time and to celebrate my pity party, I invested in my very own Skagen two faced mother of pearl bling watch. I figured it was slightly more positive than the Burger King that I desperately wanted to gorge myself on. Did I mention I got a good deal on it? Mazel tov!

AM's Best Week Ever!

This past week at work has been one of my best weeks ever. Started off celebrating the 4th in Glasgow. Dropped 30 pounds at Primark, my favorite British store, and then had a free burger and beer to celebrate our Independence from Britain, which is a big deal to the Scots. It was one of the first times the entire crew, all six flight attendants, two pilots, and the captain's wife, hung out and socialized for an extended period of time. I got to work with one of my favorite fellow juniority reserves up in first class, always a treat! And then when I got home from that fabulous trip, I was assigned Frankfurt (Frankfurt, First Class, International... haha!) with another reserve buddy of mine. This Frankfurt was even better than the last - this crew was so much fun! We had a great relaxing layover full of shopping and find German dining with those world class German beers! The running joke of the evening was how badly the captain was trying to set me up with his 26 yr old son - regional pilot, smoker, who lives in Austin... and has a girlfriend. I guess he likes me better...? As we were deplaning he said let me know when you lower your standards and I'll give you his number! It's just so refreshing to work in an environment where everyone is on the same page, trying to accomplish the same goals (feed everyone and get to and fro safely), with easy-going, positive, can-do kind of attitudes.

This week has just made me very thankful not only for a job in general, but one as fabulously amazing as mine. I most certainly am one lucky and blessed woman!



OH! And as for my grand eating tour of the country, I had my schnitzel and cherries for breakfast before even leaving the hotel, a chocolate croissant in the airport, and I also bought a sandwich to enjoy en route to EWR. Every last bite was so tasty and delicious, each calorie so worth the workout I have planned for myself tomorrow!

EWR2FRA

I spent today doing the grand eating tour of Frankfurt. I bought a kilo (by accident, I wanted a half) of cherries. These are the sweetest, softest cherries I've ever had in my life! So amazing, I know I won't be able to have any more at home for the rest of the season. A bunch of us went out to dinner and had a fabulous dinner of Jägerschnitzel and beers, with a gelatto cone for dessert. It's unfortunate that on these amazing non-UK layovers, the only thing I really want to do is eat. Mission accomplished!

Marrying Up

Its official: I have to marry a doctor, and definitely the medical kind.

A few months ago, I was chopping an onion for my special Lent vegetable soup when I missed and took a chunk out of my middle finger. My father came home from work to find me with my left hand wrapped in paper towels, on the phone with my doctor's office asking how to determine whether or not I needed stitches. I didn't, but had a nasty wound for days. Not cute when working first class aisle.

Today, we had decided on tacos for dinner and I was to make the guacamole. Three avocados were $4.95 at the Super Wal-Mart; my mother was less than pleased. So about a half hour prior to dinner, I started chopping the ingredients. A tomato, a bit of onion, small piece of garlic, and then it was time to half the avocado. I cut into the first one, and when I went to remove the pit with the knife I somehow managed to take a chunk out of my ring finger on my left hand. This cut was far more painful than the first; my first instinct was to cover the wound, apply pressure, and hold it above my head. It was one of those flap kind of cuts, and being that I have no real medical knowledge, I didn't want to head to the hospital right away and embarrass myself. So I made my mother take me across the street to the neighbor's house, who's a nurse, to assess my situation. Due to the "flap" nature, they usually don't stitch that type of flesh wound. From these experiences I have deduced two things: I clearly should not be allowed to use a knife and most definitely need to marry a doctor to take care of me and the subsequent children of the union because we all know how well I handle medical emergencies.

And my hand still hurts.