For my 400th post I am going to look at all the things (that I can think of) that have changed since I have lived in NYC.
(about the city, there has been 399 other post about changes in me)
metro card was $1.75 now $2.25
NY post was .25 now .50
tribough bridge is now RFK bridge
bridge toll was $6 now $8
spitzer was governor now it's patterson
hilary was our senator, now some lady with kids
the crown has reopened on lady liberty
cigarettes are now $11/pack
4th of July fireworks on the hudson this year
old yankee stadium closed and new stadium opened
same for shae, now citi field or as we dub it tax payers field
mighty wall street crashed
the yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in 13 years (i was at the last game)
the oak room in the plaza hotel has reopened
TKTS now accepts credit cards
taxis now have tvs and accept credit cards
the law changed on how many times a person can run for mayor (2 to 3)
the NY Giants won the superbowl (greatest game ever, btw)
this will be edited as i remember more things or find all the notes that i constantly write to myself.
28 July 2009
29 july
i have been corrected about my first flight as a crew member, it was in fact 29th of July. I completely forgot about base orientation.
I was sitting airport alert for the second day in a row when the phone rang for the girl in front of me. She pitched a fit about having to go to Zurich and even though I had plans for the evening, I told her I would go. No dice, it's first in, first out. The third hour of arrest was half way through and I begin planning out my dinner and what I would wear to a fundraiser that evening when the phone rang again. I jumped up to grab it because I was covering for a classmate of mine who went to get a donut and it was for me. I was instructed to go to the gate and replace a flight attendant who lost is id badge. So on I went to gate 72. The guy was a bit of a dick to me to say the least when I told him what I was instructed to do and told me he'd be back when he found his id. I told him he could come back but I wasn't getting off the plane. So I scrambled around the back galley as I never work back there and have no idea what to do and off we were to Barcelona.
So my favorite layover ever was repeated on the third anniversary of my first layover. Only this time it was different. My pilot friend, Jim was not on the flight. I couldn't drag myself out of be until 1700 to go sight seeing since my body is having none of this working all hours of the night business. Instead I took the metro down to the beach and walked and walked. I dipped my feet into the Mediterranean and thought about my journey and how it is coming to a close. Then I wandered through the streets snapping photos and enjoying the Spanish culture. I stopped to refer to my map and looked up to see the damn hard rock cafe that I walked in circles for on the last visit. Finally I was hungry so I hopped the metro back, changed clothes, grabbed my book and treated myself to dinner. I sat alone and had a fantastic meal but missed company.
I realized this: you can repeat a destination but never the experience. Live in the moment when it is happening, enjoy every second because it is fleeting.
I was sitting airport alert for the second day in a row when the phone rang for the girl in front of me. She pitched a fit about having to go to Zurich and even though I had plans for the evening, I told her I would go. No dice, it's first in, first out. The third hour of arrest was half way through and I begin planning out my dinner and what I would wear to a fundraiser that evening when the phone rang again. I jumped up to grab it because I was covering for a classmate of mine who went to get a donut and it was for me. I was instructed to go to the gate and replace a flight attendant who lost is id badge. So on I went to gate 72. The guy was a bit of a dick to me to say the least when I told him what I was instructed to do and told me he'd be back when he found his id. I told him he could come back but I wasn't getting off the plane. So I scrambled around the back galley as I never work back there and have no idea what to do and off we were to Barcelona.
So my favorite layover ever was repeated on the third anniversary of my first layover. Only this time it was different. My pilot friend, Jim was not on the flight. I couldn't drag myself out of be until 1700 to go sight seeing since my body is having none of this working all hours of the night business. Instead I took the metro down to the beach and walked and walked. I dipped my feet into the Mediterranean and thought about my journey and how it is coming to a close. Then I wandered through the streets snapping photos and enjoying the Spanish culture. I stopped to refer to my map and looked up to see the damn hard rock cafe that I walked in circles for on the last visit. Finally I was hungry so I hopped the metro back, changed clothes, grabbed my book and treated myself to dinner. I sat alone and had a fantastic meal but missed company.
I realized this: you can repeat a destination but never the experience. Live in the moment when it is happening, enjoy every second because it is fleeting.
25 July 2009
7.25
I am not sure if it was exactly three years ago today that I was on my first trip as a flight attendant. I am at the age when things are becoming a little foggy. However I can tell you that it was eleven years ago today that I was hit and run by a car while riding my bike down to Fred Meyer and my scar on my knee and wrist remind me to be smarter about life decisions. I can also tell you that nine years ago today, Matt kissed me for the first time.
The past three years have felt like a different lifetime, and in some ways I guess that it has been. I am not sure where I was last year at this time, I know that I was busy working, busy enjoying life and balancing the three jobs and a boyfriend. I know that I was packing up my first apartment in the city and getting ready to move to BK. I know that I was happy last year at this time and the year prior as well. July is a good month for me and maybe, just maybe that accident happened so I could stop and reflect about a year past and have a smile at it's conclusion to this anniversary of something that may have injured me more. I am happy now even though there are a million questions coming at me about what I am going to do and where I am going to live. Right now I am living in the moment and stopping today to not only celebrate the change of life that is happening to Nichole but also the cross road of a change that will happen in me as well soon.
The past three years have felt like a different lifetime, and in some ways I guess that it has been. I am not sure where I was last year at this time, I know that I was busy working, busy enjoying life and balancing the three jobs and a boyfriend. I know that I was packing up my first apartment in the city and getting ready to move to BK. I know that I was happy last year at this time and the year prior as well. July is a good month for me and maybe, just maybe that accident happened so I could stop and reflect about a year past and have a smile at it's conclusion to this anniversary of something that may have injured me more. I am happy now even though there are a million questions coming at me about what I am going to do and where I am going to live. Right now I am living in the moment and stopping today to not only celebrate the change of life that is happening to Nichole but also the cross road of a change that will happen in me as well soon.
22 July 2009
news
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Continental Airlines Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, said it will trim 1,700 additional jobs and increase some fees after reporting a $213 million second-quarter loss as demand and fares declined.
The deficit of $1.72 a share widened from a loss of $5 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier, the Houston-based airline said today. Sales fell 23 percent to $3.13 billion.
The job cuts, which represent 3.9 percent of Continental’s workforce, reflect the pressure on the industry from the collapse of business travel in the recession and fare sales to fill planes. The reductions are on top of 1,200 eliminated positions the carrier has announced since May. Continental’s quarterly loss was its seventh in a row.
“We must take aggressive steps to increase revenue and reduce costs,” said Chief Executive Officer Larry Kellner, 50, who is stepping down and being succeeded on Jan. 1 by President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Smisek.
The job reductions and fee changes will produce $100 million in annual benefits when fully implemented next year, Continental said. The carrier will add $5 to checked-bag fees for customers who do not prepay online and increase by $5 the cost to make a telephone reservation.
Severance Costs
Excluding $44 million in costs for severance, terminated contracts and a drop in value of Boeing Co. 737 jets that are being retired, Continental’s loss was $1.36 a share. On that basis, the loss was 1 cent more than the average forecast of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Continental asked 700 flight attendants last month to accept leaves beginning Sept. 1 as U.S. summer travel wanes. It eliminated about 500 reservations jobs when it shut a Florida call center last week. The carrier cut 3,000 jobs in 2008 as fuel prices rose to record highs.
Also releasing results today are UAL Corp., whose United Airlines is the third-biggest in the U.S., and fifth-largest Southwest Airlines Co. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted a second-quarter loss excluding one-time expenses of $319 million, or $1.14 a share, on July 15.
Combined losses excluding one-time costs at the eight biggest U.S. airlines may be $1.2 billion, according to Michael Linenberg, a Bank of America Corp. analyst in New York.
In June, Continental increased its target for shrinking seating capacity this year to 6 percent from 5 percent. The carrier has suffered from waning corporate-travel demand because it has about 50 percent of its seating capacity in international markets, the most among major U.S. carriers.
Flu Outbreak
An outbreak of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, reduced revenue by about $50 million for Continental and its regional airline partners. Continental, with the most flights to Mexico of any U.S. airline, cut its seating capacity between the U.S. and Mexico in half during May as demand collapsed.
The airline’s yield, or average fare per mile, tumbled more than 18 percent in its main jet operations, led by a 24 percent drop on flights across the Atlantic. Revenue for each seat flown a mile, which reflects demand and fares, fell 17 percent, as miles flown by paying passengers dropped 5.7 percent.
Continental paid $762 million less for jet fuel than a year earlier as the price per gallon dropped 40 percent. Costs for each seat flown a mile, a measure of efficiency, fell 13 percent.
Second-quarter costs for pulling Boeing 737s out of service were related to Continental’s decision last year to park 73 mainline planes and an unspecified number of regional jets in 2008 and 2009 to lower operating costs.
Continental ended the quarter with $2.77 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
Kellner’s plan to step down to start a private-investment firm was announced by Continental on July 16. He became CEO in December 2004.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 21, 2009 07:35 EDT
the question posed:
how are ya sister? how bout that big news today?!?! was looking at your profile and it sounds like you are so unhappy with the job - and i'm just curious to know as to why you are so unhappy with it?
my answer after thought:
hey gorgeous!! I am well, the good part about not working a lot is that i at least get to enjoy nyc all summer.
i thought about your question last night and have come up with this answer.
craig, you and i have different jobs. yes we are both cabin crew for the same airlines but i live my life in fear.
i fear that i won't be able to pay rent next month because i don't control my schedule.
i fear that if i do give in and make plans, that i will have to cancel them do to scheduling messing with me and i will have to break a commitment.
i fear that if i pick up a trip (with the only control i think i have) that it will be taken away for me.
i fear that i will miss the phone ring on a 24 hour call out and i will be in trouble with my supervisor.
i fear that my life is not my own.
i can handle all of this in the winter because i know it will happen but now, when we are supposed to be busy?
it is more of a mind suck than anything, and there is only so much that an intelligent adult can deal with.
i have come too far to quit, so i am riding out the wave for a reward to the almost year of not being busy.
i would love a furlough, if i don't receive a cola...i need a mental break from the fear.
The deficit of $1.72 a share widened from a loss of $5 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier, the Houston-based airline said today. Sales fell 23 percent to $3.13 billion.
The job cuts, which represent 3.9 percent of Continental’s workforce, reflect the pressure on the industry from the collapse of business travel in the recession and fare sales to fill planes. The reductions are on top of 1,200 eliminated positions the carrier has announced since May. Continental’s quarterly loss was its seventh in a row.
“We must take aggressive steps to increase revenue and reduce costs,” said Chief Executive Officer Larry Kellner, 50, who is stepping down and being succeeded on Jan. 1 by President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Smisek.
The job reductions and fee changes will produce $100 million in annual benefits when fully implemented next year, Continental said. The carrier will add $5 to checked-bag fees for customers who do not prepay online and increase by $5 the cost to make a telephone reservation.
Severance Costs
Excluding $44 million in costs for severance, terminated contracts and a drop in value of Boeing Co. 737 jets that are being retired, Continental’s loss was $1.36 a share. On that basis, the loss was 1 cent more than the average forecast of 10 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Continental asked 700 flight attendants last month to accept leaves beginning Sept. 1 as U.S. summer travel wanes. It eliminated about 500 reservations jobs when it shut a Florida call center last week. The carrier cut 3,000 jobs in 2008 as fuel prices rose to record highs.
Also releasing results today are UAL Corp., whose United Airlines is the third-biggest in the U.S., and fifth-largest Southwest Airlines Co. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. posted a second-quarter loss excluding one-time expenses of $319 million, or $1.14 a share, on July 15.
Combined losses excluding one-time costs at the eight biggest U.S. airlines may be $1.2 billion, according to Michael Linenberg, a Bank of America Corp. analyst in New York.
In June, Continental increased its target for shrinking seating capacity this year to 6 percent from 5 percent. The carrier has suffered from waning corporate-travel demand because it has about 50 percent of its seating capacity in international markets, the most among major U.S. carriers.
Flu Outbreak
An outbreak of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, reduced revenue by about $50 million for Continental and its regional airline partners. Continental, with the most flights to Mexico of any U.S. airline, cut its seating capacity between the U.S. and Mexico in half during May as demand collapsed.
The airline’s yield, or average fare per mile, tumbled more than 18 percent in its main jet operations, led by a 24 percent drop on flights across the Atlantic. Revenue for each seat flown a mile, which reflects demand and fares, fell 17 percent, as miles flown by paying passengers dropped 5.7 percent.
Continental paid $762 million less for jet fuel than a year earlier as the price per gallon dropped 40 percent. Costs for each seat flown a mile, a measure of efficiency, fell 13 percent.
Second-quarter costs for pulling Boeing 737s out of service were related to Continental’s decision last year to park 73 mainline planes and an unspecified number of regional jets in 2008 and 2009 to lower operating costs.
Continental ended the quarter with $2.77 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
Kellner’s plan to step down to start a private-investment firm was announced by Continental on July 16. He became CEO in December 2004.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 21, 2009 07:35 EDT
the question posed:
how are ya sister? how bout that big news today?!?! was looking at your profile and it sounds like you are so unhappy with the job - and i'm just curious to know as to why you are so unhappy with it?
my answer after thought:
hey gorgeous!! I am well, the good part about not working a lot is that i at least get to enjoy nyc all summer.
i thought about your question last night and have come up with this answer.
craig, you and i have different jobs. yes we are both cabin crew for the same airlines but i live my life in fear.
i fear that i won't be able to pay rent next month because i don't control my schedule.
i fear that if i do give in and make plans, that i will have to cancel them do to scheduling messing with me and i will have to break a commitment.
i fear that if i pick up a trip (with the only control i think i have) that it will be taken away for me.
i fear that i will miss the phone ring on a 24 hour call out and i will be in trouble with my supervisor.
i fear that my life is not my own.
i can handle all of this in the winter because i know it will happen but now, when we are supposed to be busy?
it is more of a mind suck than anything, and there is only so much that an intelligent adult can deal with.
i have come too far to quit, so i am riding out the wave for a reward to the almost year of not being busy.
i would love a furlough, if i don't receive a cola...i need a mental break from the fear.
13 July 2009
mr preston
The feeling of being with a friend, the comfort was undesirable between us. We spoke for hours about everything and could have spoke for days longer. It was a give and take, a real adult conversation; we were not longer teacher and pupil, we were adults and friends.
I picked up a trip to Bristol because of the three choices of first class positions; I liked this city the best. Well, since I have never actually explored the city but had a great time visiting things surrounding the city. It dawned on me later that Bristol was close to Wales. I have been wanting to go to Wales for quite some time as it just next door to the oh, so familiar England and a part of my heritage stems from there. Another reason I longed to go and visit this country filled with myths and castles is due in part to my jr high teacher.
I had gone to a private school my seventh grade year and was placed in eight grade level since I was the only seventh grader enrolled. There was a click, as there tends to be in middle school, of five. Ken, Curtis, Rachel, Amy and myself. We wore Espirt and Guess and were represented by our favorite color of Skittles. We were inseparatable and adore each other thoroughly. Our teachers were as follows Mr. Wimmer who talk math, Dori who taught health and made us wear sand around for weeks on end, Scott our cool ass science teacher who liked to curse a lot, and finally our main teacher Mr. Preston.
I don’t remember what the first day was like meeting him because he was new to the church group prior to the school year. I do remember loving his accent and listening to him tell stories about Wales. When I look back now, I think he was planting the travel bug in me without my knowledge. It would take years for this bug to actually bite me. The first week he attempted to teach us English, we informed him that he was not suited to do so because he couldn’t even speak it properly. Thus yours truly got the role of the English teacher for the year.
We conjured up so many memories yesterday of things I remembered and then he would remember something. It was humorous to relive those moments that when in mind, only seemed like a few years ago. But alas, it has been twenty.
Cardiff in itself was a great little town. We enjoyed a pint while wandering through the food festival along the bay. We would stop and chat for a while and then move on. I found it necessary to take a ride on the slide and couldn’t convince Steve to be a kid with me. We took an open bus tour, ate some fish and chips and I tried mushy peas. They taste a lot better than they actually look. We went for a drive in the country, and I was not only able to meet his children and connect with his beautiful wife, but I was also taken to the castles of stories
It was such an amazing day, mostly for my soul. Some teachers really do make a life long impact on their students….
I picked up a trip to Bristol because of the three choices of first class positions; I liked this city the best. Well, since I have never actually explored the city but had a great time visiting things surrounding the city. It dawned on me later that Bristol was close to Wales. I have been wanting to go to Wales for quite some time as it just next door to the oh, so familiar England and a part of my heritage stems from there. Another reason I longed to go and visit this country filled with myths and castles is due in part to my jr high teacher.
I had gone to a private school my seventh grade year and was placed in eight grade level since I was the only seventh grader enrolled. There was a click, as there tends to be in middle school, of five. Ken, Curtis, Rachel, Amy and myself. We wore Espirt and Guess and were represented by our favorite color of Skittles. We were inseparatable and adore each other thoroughly. Our teachers were as follows Mr. Wimmer who talk math, Dori who taught health and made us wear sand around for weeks on end, Scott our cool ass science teacher who liked to curse a lot, and finally our main teacher Mr. Preston.
I don’t remember what the first day was like meeting him because he was new to the church group prior to the school year. I do remember loving his accent and listening to him tell stories about Wales. When I look back now, I think he was planting the travel bug in me without my knowledge. It would take years for this bug to actually bite me. The first week he attempted to teach us English, we informed him that he was not suited to do so because he couldn’t even speak it properly. Thus yours truly got the role of the English teacher for the year.
We conjured up so many memories yesterday of things I remembered and then he would remember something. It was humorous to relive those moments that when in mind, only seemed like a few years ago. But alas, it has been twenty.
Cardiff in itself was a great little town. We enjoyed a pint while wandering through the food festival along the bay. We would stop and chat for a while and then move on. I found it necessary to take a ride on the slide and couldn’t convince Steve to be a kid with me. We took an open bus tour, ate some fish and chips and I tried mushy peas. They taste a lot better than they actually look. We went for a drive in the country, and I was not only able to meet his children and connect with his beautiful wife, but I was also taken to the castles of stories
It was such an amazing day, mostly for my soul. Some teachers really do make a life long impact on their students….
10 July 2009
lack of concentration
The lack of writing hasn't been for lack of thought or story lately. It is due to the simple fact that I have become ADD lately.
I am living in this amazing space for the month of July and possibly August and I just want to soak up every moment possible here. I have the fortune of participating in a housing swap with a guy who lives in SoHo bordering the West Village. Both are incredible neighborhoods which I used to wander around prior and wonder what it would be like to live here. Now I am here. I have a smile on my face every moment when I walk out the door or when I am walking past incredible restaurants on my way back home. I am not sure how long I will get to live here so I am living each day as though it was my last here in NYC. I have turned down any sort of travel this month and even feel bad leaving for a trip for work. I walk around and wonder if anyone wants to give me there rent controlled apartment forever and if there is a market for dog walkers here in this neighborhood. All in all I feel very blessed and want the month to go in slow motion.
I am continuing my life as a minimalist as I am living out of a trunk and a small closet space. It doesn't even phase me and I am dressing better now that I walk out the door to a catwalk half the time. One of the most important lessons I have learned from this journey is the lack of necessity for so much crap. I only need my spirit and the rest of the stuff is just filler in life.
I have many more epiphanies but must find the notes on which I write these down. The are scattered through out my pocketbooks and in my phone. I have learned so much from living here and even though I haven't got the chance to really get it down and work through it, I live it everyday. And that is what is important.
I am living in this amazing space for the month of July and possibly August and I just want to soak up every moment possible here. I have the fortune of participating in a housing swap with a guy who lives in SoHo bordering the West Village. Both are incredible neighborhoods which I used to wander around prior and wonder what it would be like to live here. Now I am here. I have a smile on my face every moment when I walk out the door or when I am walking past incredible restaurants on my way back home. I am not sure how long I will get to live here so I am living each day as though it was my last here in NYC. I have turned down any sort of travel this month and even feel bad leaving for a trip for work. I walk around and wonder if anyone wants to give me there rent controlled apartment forever and if there is a market for dog walkers here in this neighborhood. All in all I feel very blessed and want the month to go in slow motion.
I am continuing my life as a minimalist as I am living out of a trunk and a small closet space. It doesn't even phase me and I am dressing better now that I walk out the door to a catwalk half the time. One of the most important lessons I have learned from this journey is the lack of necessity for so much crap. I only need my spirit and the rest of the stuff is just filler in life.
I have many more epiphanies but must find the notes on which I write these down. The are scattered through out my pocketbooks and in my phone. I have learned so much from living here and even though I haven't got the chance to really get it down and work through it, I live it everyday. And that is what is important.
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