start sending mail here...

Once again I am in London. This trip however, has a friendlier crew and our rooms only took an hour to get. None of this matters as I will have two days off when I return to enjoy and recoup from Halloween. My Dorothy costume is awaiting me at the house and I am so excited to go trick or treating. I am hoping this 45 hour jont over to the UK has been enough time for me to get over my irratation with my roommate constantly being home lately. We are usually good about having our schedules balanced but since she personal dropped days, they are now in sink and after a week of coming home and her being there, I am going a little crazy. I love my alone time in my house, alone time here is just that...alone time. Our downstairs neighbors hooked me up with a deal on a flatscreen (thanks Carol). I was super excited to watch the third game of the WS but sick that the stupid Sox won. Now that baseball season is over, I can give 100% of my attention to the ol' Ducks, who have been playing pretty damn well this season if I might say so. I was able to enjoy the USC game this past weekend in an Oregon Alum bar. It was so great to be around fellow Oregonians!! Made me a little more homesick though.

...the damn winter is coming up though

Once again in London, I feel like I don't ever leave the UK. I am very excited however to have Saturday off so I can watch the USC/Oregon game and the world series...got to love October! I am working my favorite position of first class aisle but my galley gal is not someone to be reckoned with. I have successfully stayed out of her way and I think she has spoken thirty words to me the whole trip. The other aisle gal has never worked first before and keeps asking me questions, so I have been babysitting her all trip. I warned her to stay out of the galley although it would be fun to see her get her ass chewed I was not in the mood to deal with the aftermath. I have kept to myself once more on the trip and layover mostly because there is no one that exciting on my crew. It sucks and I miss the summer when this flight and others were chalked full of reserves that wanted to go out and have fun. I haven't gone out with the crew for a month and I miss it. My pilot is trying to get me to pick up a trip with him in two weeks, which, of course I will if I can...he was fun to go out with and super cute.

I have decided that I am no longer calling John and with help from my favorite author, Greg I remembered that if a guy is ready, he will let you know. So it up to fate now as I have laid the ground work/baited the trap (just kidding). I don't really know what I want. I think of how great it would be to have a boyfriend but then there are many times that I don't want to be bothered. I might just want to get on Didi's program of partner for the winter, single for the summer. Hmmmmm...

stewart

Monday night and we were in the mood to get dressed up and see what Manhattan had to offer for the evening. Christina and I were feeling a bit on the fancy side and made it a point to aim our adventure for hotel bars and more upscale places. We started off with a warm up drink at our local watering hole and got carded because we were so dolled up. On to Barunda then Tao' where we met Stewart. I watched him circle the bar working up the courage to come and talk to us. Finally he sat down and his North Carolina drawl as our names. He was very sweet and wanted to take us where ever we wanted to go. After exchanging looks with Christina, she said yes and off with Stewart and his driver we went. On our way to Columbus Circle we got sidetracked by the Pierre hotel and stopped in for a drink in which we met Marquaret and her friend who then wanted to take us to Bruno's which is a members only club that Christina had been taken to prior on on of her dates. So off we went. A bottle of wine there and we were ready to dance. Our newest memeber of the party wanted to go to some other exclusive club but we wanted to get our groove on in the MPD. The driver liked us so that is the way he headed until the other dude flipped out and wanted to go home. We got out of the car and headed to the nearest bar, Employees Only where I discussed the leaving of A-Rod from the Yankees (my opinion) and Christina flirted with some guy. More walking and then we were finally dancing. Of course we had to end our evening at Cafeteria with grilled cheese and just as we were paying the bill and about to turn into pumpkins this guy, Jimmy came up and started talking to us. It came up that I was from Oregon so he took me over to meet his friend, Rueben a player for the NY Giants and former Duck alum. Rueben and I talked about Duck football while his girlfriend fell asleep on the table. In bed around 0530 laughing about the strange paths our evenings always seen to take.

pooche patrol

A week later and I am back in England, this time in Manchester. We stay at this great hotel with gothic ceilings and mazes for hallways. A part of me wants to wander and get lost but the stories of the haunts and ghosts that live here, make me hesitate. I spent most of the day sleeping after our flight was delayed by an hour. It is getting to be that time of the year once more when the weather decides our departure and arrival time. Flight was easy and I am becoming more and more confident in the first class galley position. I have sat around all week on call with nothing coming my way flight wise. Instead, I interviewed to become a part time dog walker on Wednesday by spending the day walking miles around the East Village with dogs and my new friend Beth. I will be on call with this job as well and may have some overnights with the pooches. A paid night away from the air mattress...sign me up!
With time on our hands the roomie and I decided to hit the town and see what was shaking. We met a guy at Butter the other night who invited us to his table at Marquee. Hoping to run into some Yankees we headed to Olives and then the Underbar...nada going on. Marquee, Pink Elephant, House, Bunglow 8, a visiti to my boy, and homemade grilled cheese ended our evening at 0530. I was feeling homey and made some lasange Thursday, gotta love fall cooking.
So get this. I am in Manchester and want something warm and quick to take back to the hotel. Sadly, I decided on Pizza Hut for familarity. I walked in and everyone was being waited on and eating there pie with knifes and forks. It was bizzare! I got my personal pan and went back to eat it with my hands.

change of weather

The weather has turned, soup is ordered in place of salads, the lattes have switch from iced to hot, sweaters are coming out of the closet, and thoughts of home fill me. There is not one specific place I long to be but the idea of hot apple cider, the smell of turkey cooking, and a warm fire is what my heart desires even longs for at the moment.
I am in London after failing to make it to my check in yesterday due to weather. I have my first mark on my file, a mistrip and am disappointed to have risked being away from base simply for the idea of family. It was not my family, mind you, but Christina's who welcomed me in, feed me, and made the comforts of home avaliable. I spent three great, lazy days in Kansas City and gained five pounds from the incrediable food and lack of activity. Let me tell you, the bbq is everything that they proclaim it to be!

My absence from writing is not due to want or laziness, I just always want to write when my computer is unavaliable. I don't take it on international trips because of the hassle of transport and security. Therefore it sits at home waiting for me to pick up and pour out my thoughts.

The month of September was filled with new trips to new destinations and was all around a great month. I discovered Glascow (much different from its conterpart, Edinburgh) but still lovely. Great shopping! Manchester was also new and I had a great time there looking for Crayton's jersey in white, going to the best Indian food ever, hanging out at the gay bars and with a cool pilot...enough said. Our hotel is gorgeous there and the rooms boost thirty foot high ceilings and the reports of being haunted. I had the pleasure of playing host to my mom in my city of NYC. We walked through Central Park, let her meet the guy, dinner in Little Italy, went to San Germano festival, shopping on Fifth Ave, taught her how to hail a cab, spent time in a old fashioned soda shop, and then took her to Ediburgh on my flight. We returned and watched Wicked, which was the coolest play ever. I highly recommend. And it gave me the final decision to be Dorthy for Halloween.

Things with John are great, moving at a slow pace. It is nice however, to have someone to hang out with once a week. He is oh, so handsome and still gives me butterflies to think about. My Yankees have been eliminated, sadly but I was able to go to game three and witness the end of an era. The game was incrediable and just being there....wow! My Ducks are doing well and I plan now to go back to my room and watch the play-by-play on my phone. Lazy days in London, sometimes I just have to smile at what a great life I have.