devil horns

There are pros and cons to being assigned airport alert. The biggest con is that you can’t mentally prepare for your workday and you are unable to pack for your layover. Knowing that this weekend would provide a decent trip due to its place in the calendar, I prepared to go to work. So I packed hoping for something great like MAD or AMS. The great thing about AA is the fantastic trips, which appear out of the blue, for example my FCO trip was a gracious gift from AA.
So I went and sat near the phone and chatted with fellow flight attendants. The notorious sound emanated from the walls, where I would like to add that someone finally took down the devil horns that used to surround the phone. I answered the phone and called down the lucky contestant. She argued for a bit with the caller and then called another name. That person then called mine. I go to the phone and am asked if I have my French Visa…of course. So off to Paris I go. Not the trip I had in mind but it will do. I get on board to find that I am flying with some familiar faces and one of which is a gentleman which I walk dogs for. The crew turns out to be fantastic!!! Love everyone and the trip flew by with chatter and doing each other’s hair.
We were getting close to finishing our service with one last round of coffee. Bonnie and I walk up to two aisles together then turn dramatically to start the show. Well, some guy had his feet in the aisle and of course, I tripped over them. I managed to save most of the coffee and not to fall but some splashed on a passenger who hadn’t been the most polite to us the whole flight. He jumps up dramatically and causes a huge scene. We handed him wet clothes and we yelled at us that we wasn’t working and that he was already wet. Just made himself look like a complete idiot. I offered him my apologies and a dry cleaning voucher and he continued to yell. I just kept on with the service receiving an apology for the man with the feet. I leaned over and told him, it wasn’t a big deal and that man only received instant karma for what a jackass he had been the whole flight.
I had to tell the purser what happened and she went with me to present the dry cleaning voucher. She shook her head with a smile when she read what I wrote. “ While performing the coffee service, I was tripped by a gentleman’s fee in the aisle. I managed to save majority of the coffee and my balance but unfortunately some splashed onto the gentleman in 16D. I continued the service with a smile after my apology.”

fleet week myth

During my week of take out and watching SITC, the episode about Fleet Week was among the watched. On my subway ride home the other day, I saw a sign announcing the arrival of the nation's finest starting on Wednesday. In my Blackberry it went.
So therefore in good NYC girl form, I got dolled up last night and headed to Times Square looking for the big party. I wasn't sure how easy it would be to find these sailors but there they were...everywhere! I had no quams about going right up to them and asking were the party was. But every group I ask, the Marines, Navy, and the officers didn't know of any party. In fact, they themselves were looking for a party. I explained that I was watching the SITC episode were the girls went to a "big Navy party"...still bub-kiss! Disappointed in not being able to live in the moment how I envisioned, I headed for a drink at a favorite bar. As usual, I quickly made friends with those around me and ended up spending an enjoyable couple of hours talking with photo journalist for CNN. All in all a nice evening, only because my party dress didn't go to complete waste!

utc outcome

So I had to re-meet with my supervisor last Friday. I went in with my old Blackberry, my new Blackberry, my new phone, receipts, emails. the union guy, and my New York attitude. She said that I have soon my commitment to the job and she wasn't going to make it a step of discipline. It is nice when you are ready for battle and there winds up not being one.

life

As I approach my last day of dog walking and running the company, I am relieved to be just a flight attendant for the next six days but also sad that I only have one thing going on. I enjoy being super busy and even though my laundry hasn't been done in two weeks and I have three pairs of tennis shoes on the floor, going and going suites me. I purposely let go of plans this evening so I could clean my house and gain a bit of sanity back before the long weekend.

Last weekend was spent in Manchester with my good friend, Nate and a pretty good crew sans the pilot who needed to take a class in political correctness. I returned to meet with my dog colleagues and then was invited to the Subway Series. The exhaustion went away with the invite and our seats behind home plate were fantastic, if we would have won the game, it would have been even better! Monday was another full day of pooches followed by the Broadway show Altar Boyz, which was silly but the cast was wonderful.

Today the rain continued to pour more and more each hour. I was soaked on the train ride home reeking of dog smell and the pee from the one dog which I had to carry all the way to the park. I am sure the unlucky people who choose to sit with me where not happy. I myself was pretty miserable until I made it to the shower. My clothes are still drying.
It is a few pooches before I hand back the keys to Beth and make my way to Glasgow tomorrow. A nice hotel, one of my favorite positions, and an early return come Friday because tomorrow....yes tomorrow, ladies and gentleman is the beginning of FLEET WEEK!! I just watched that episode of SITC and I excited to meet up with some sailors come Friday evening!

A gentleman on the 6 train this morning said something which I had to write down because even though I haven't directly asked for a sign in my direction of life lately, he gave it to me.
He said,
"what you do for a living has nothing to do with life".

ten dogs: eight hours

Exactly eight hours from the time I left my house, I was walking down my block sandwich in hand. My feet started to ache to be freed from their supporting role. I have walked ten dogs in seven sessions only sitting to eat a crepe and check out a Woody Allen film set and then to grab a Klondike bar on my way to the yorkies. My appetite has increased with this minimum ten mile a day job to the fact I finished all of my Pad Thai last night which usually last me three meals. It's okay because I am feeling good, the sunshine has returned to NYC and I feel like I am getting things accomplished in a strange way. A downfall of my day was my phone dropping into the toilet during the hundredth pee of the day. I dried it quickly but was certainly glad to already have a replacement at home waiting. So now I have a new phone but no ones' phone numbers until tomorrow morning. It is kind of nice to be so discounted from the world...only briefly though.
Well, old lady here is off to my shower and then on to bed. These pooches are wearing me out!!! ; )

dogs, dogs, and more dogs

Putting last week behind me in both my mind and thoughts. I started the week fresh in Oslo. I don't give a shit if my supervisor doesn't like me and wants this whole UTC business to drag out for another week. I decided to just do my job and remember that I work for holidays. I decided to embrace the week in which I could put flying aside and just focus on NYC. I am taking over the dog walking biz for the week and am excited about the exercise, the fresh air, and the feeling I get when I am with the dogs.

Pooches Day One
I woke up to the rain and wind. It is May for chrissakes and only 42 degrees outside and I have to walk the dogs. So I layered up and headed off to Starbucks for a kickstart to the long day ahead.
The puggles were first and those two....patience is a virtue...
Then my favorite, Sophie the yellow lab
Lulu the Benji look a like and while I was at the park with her, a woman approached me and asked me if I wanted to be a hair model. Mind you, the rain is still pouring down, I hadn't taken a shower, and was wearing a baseball cap. I asked her if she was sure she wanted me. So after I dropped off the mut, I headed to the saloon. An hour later, I was looking fabulous, well my hair was at least. A free haircut and style.
In that hour, the rain stopped and remained away for the rest of the day.
Zeus was next followed by the yorkies and conversation with Orlando my coworker.
Back to the puggles as we are attempting to potty train them.
A slice of pie in between.
And finally a new client, Chloie who is an absolute doll and somewhat of a celeb at the dog park.

Pad Thai, a little Sex in the City, and some George time. That's my evening.

bfs...more like bs

There is no real flow to my past 36 hours so I have decided to itemize events instead.
1. Slept in til 1500
2. Headed off to look for a pager (due to UTC)
3. Got coffee (thank God for Starbucks)
4. Went to Circuit City (man, do I miss customer service)
5. Went to five other places asking about pagers
6. Headed into Verizon and ended up dropping off my phone for diagnostic check
7. While waiting on corner for light to change, a bird shit on my head
8. Got a napkin from a street vendor and ordered a lamb gyro
9. Purchased an air con unit from PC Richards (man, do I miss intelligence)
10. Ran home to shower and eat my gyro
11. Washed hair three times
12. Walked back to Verizon store with luggage
13. Almost had a panic attach with the slowness of getting my phone
14. Found out that it was a statewide Blackberry issue on Saturday
15. Made friends with the guy because he ended up being a flight attendant as well and is going to email my supervisor
16. Jumped on the 6
17. Transferred to the E
18. Bought the Post and New York magazine while waiting for the train
19. Changed for work
20. Checked in without being yelled at (still waiting)
21. Grabbed a protein smoothie
22. Waited for gate
23. Met crew (not impressed)
24. Met my galley guy, he asked me if I had even worked the position before
25. Gave him dirty look and knew it was going to be a long flight
26. I was right
27. Long taxi in which I solved all the USA Today puzzles (it’s only Tuesday don’t be too impressed)
28. Had General Wesley Clark on board
29. Figured out who he was
30. Ended up talking to the pilots because I didn’t like anyone else
31. Arrived in BFS
32. Almost got detained because our airhead purser didn’t bring a crew declaration form
33. Got searched
34. Finally in hotel room (a handicap one but cleaner than BFS usually is)
35. Went for a walk around the city
36. Bought some crisps and a recommended mag
37. Took nap
38. Met pilots and purser for beer
39. Benedicts-Guinness
40. Went into the Europa hotel to ask how many times they have been bombed
41. Crown Saloon-Guinness
42. Listened to princess tell us how she is saving money because her boyfriend pays for everything
43. Realized why guys hate women
44. Ditched the whiner
45. Went for another beer with the boys
46. Robinsons-Guinness
47. Bed

0320

It was exactly twelve hours after my alarm awoke me that I rushed into the apartment, threw my backpack on the bed, and hauled ass to the bathroom. A part of my punishment for my dis functional phone was a turn to Florida. First I am certainly grateful it was not to PBI or MCO, it was simply to RSW and I was back galley so I didn't really have to deal with anyone. The check in time for the trip, however was 0545...that's right, the time I usually rolling into bed is when the damn alarm was going off. Since it is Sunday, the trains don't run at the crack of dawn and I had to order a car service to the airport. I finally board the plane and realize I have no clue what to do on a domestic flight. Thankfully the fabulously gay load loved me and did most of my work for me. We sat in the back row after the twenty minute service and talked the whole flight. On the way home, a class mate of mine, Josh was the load. So we stayed and talked the whole time. Other than the tiredness of the whole day, it wasn't that bad. I did fall asleep on the train ride home and unfortunately missed a gorgeous day in the city due to my nap.

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and I have absolutely nothing on my plate other than have a margarita or two...but not too many as I still have a headache from Friday night.

better to have UTC than a UTI

My pink coat is over the laundry basket and my dress and bra are in a pile nearby. My new blue shoes are close to the bed and would indicate they were the last to be removed. At 1000, I woke up wondering were the hell I was and thinking I might still be drunk.

I had a choice last night: stay home watching a movie and order Thai or get out in the city and have a good time. The weariness of my day voted for the former but I pepped talked myself into the later. I got dolled up and headed to my watering hole for a couple starter drinks and to get some food in my tummy. I sat in my usual corner watching games and watching the crowd. A few guys named, John of course, came up to talk to me about sports their three homes in the Hampton’s, blah, blah. They wanted to invite me to a Club Med reunion and I just laughed at the thought and told them I was going to go out dancing. As in standard form, Larry tried to get me drunk with free drinks and I finally decided it was time to go because the Yankee game had ended an hour ago and I thought it would be a brilliant idea to go to their hangout and see if they were there. The Underbar was a little more packed than usual but my investigation showed no signs of my crush or any of his teammates. So off to the MPD I went. Feeling confident in my ability to get in anywhere, I went over to Buddakon and got right in. I spent the next hour or so talking to another John about art and museums. I stumbled over to Tenjune to finally make it to the dance floor. Side note: Nichole I didn’t wait in line at any of these places! Next thing I know I am hand in hand with some French guy and we are heading up to the bar where I had already switched to water and then I heard a song I loved and back out to the dance floor. I am not sure when I decided it would be best to go home or if the club closed or what. I do remember being in the cab with the French guy and I remember walking through my door with him on the other side holding my panties. I always get an attack of morality as given by the contents of my purse, it was everything I had taken with me, lip-gloss, wallet (a little lighter from the cocktails and cab rides), a pen, a comb, and of course of NYC condom. I did have an addition of some environmental sticker, good to know that I was being green even when I was drunk.

I finally rolled out of bed at 1500 to discover I had a UTC from work, which is odd because the phone never rang or showed missed calls. I had six voicemails from scheduling that came in all at once. It was very odd but I certainly didn’t feel like working so maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I headed out the door with a mission of KFC to find an envelope on the call box that said “FAO the flight attendant of Continental Airline”. I opened it to find a business card and a note from the French man.

sleep

Back in ol' London and not by choice mind you. I was assigned this trip last night and breathed a sigh of relief to be working in first class. I had it in my head to venture out but couldn't seem to drag myself out of bed. The motivation was there when I packed but the rain seemed to keep me inside. Needless to say I didn't venture out of the hotel room until nine this evening and the only thing I could find to eat is BK. Let me formally not endorse eating here, as the Brits managed to take all the flavor out of a chain restuarant as well.
I seem to be in a funk lately, not wanting to do anything but sleep. I would consider it a mild depression although it is spring time. So I suppose this layover suits me at the moment with all the oppurtunity in the world to stay in bed.
I am waiting for something great to happen, I don't know what but I need something incrediable in my life soon. Here is hoping!