Never a Dull Moment

Well 3 trips later, I've decided this has been an exciting month. I don't know what it is about August, but everyday at work has been an adventure. Not all adventures have been great, but good stories nonetheless.

It all began when I was scheduled to sit reserve at the airport on Friday. I already had a 4 day trip scheduled to start Saturday so I wasn't anticipating much, maybe a Denver local. I wasn't going to take my overnight bag, but I figured it was packed and ready for Saturday's trip, so I might as well take it. It wasn't too long into my sit, when I was told I had 20 minutes to get to the gate for a no show flight attendant. The plane had to be out ASAP...and I would be on a 4 day trip! It's a little overwhelming to have 20 minutes to prepare yourself for a 4 day, when you have no idea where you're going!!! I made it to the gate with passengers very happy to see me, and their plane soon out for departure. With quick introductions to the crew, a super fast preflight, and learning I would be going to San Francisco, Chicago and Kalispell we were ready to board.

San Francisco was awesome. I rode the Cal Train downtown, and it was fun just to walk around. I realized however, that San Fran is way too cold for me in the summer, and I need to pack warmer clothes in my overnight bag! We flew to Edmonton, and our Edmonton to Chicago flight happened to have a famous passenger. Unfortunately I wouldn't know if someone famous was on my flight if they were sitting in the first row...literally! We were on our hotel shuttle when the other flight attendant told me that the guys in the back (who were very entertaining) were in a band, and their lead singer was the guy in first class. Of course I figured he was some sort of musician because he had a really cool music tattoo that I admired pretty much the entire flight. She told me they played in Wendover recently so I asked who the band was. She was not a fan of Country music so it took her a minute, but then she informed me that it was Gary Allan! "SHUT UP!" I yelled, "My friends are gonna kill me!" So yes, Gary Allan sat right in front of me, and I had no idea. But hey, I've served someone famous so that's cool.

San Fran

Deep Dish Pizza

I didn't have a lot of time in Chicago, but I did try some Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. That is a lot of pizza!!!! The hotel in Chicago is the most confusing hotel I've ever been in and I got lost multiple times, and it is also under construction. There are hallways that have no electricity and are closed off, somehow I ended up in one of these on one of my lost adventures. I felt like a cast member in a scary movie...terrifying really!

The most adventurous of the flights was Chicago to Kalispell. It's a pretty long flight so we had a lot of passenger bonding time. There was a nice couple in first class who own an acupuncture clinic. They were teaching me all about it. It was all very interesting, but I still don't know if I'm sold on someone sticking needles in me! There was also another couple in first class who wanted to take full advantage of their free drinks. Between both flight attendants serving them, they were pretty happy. We eventually ended up cutting them off...good thing I think because they were starting to get a little tipsy. The guy was very appreciative though, and kept complimenting us. He wanted us to work their return flight next week. When we were descending he motioned me over..."I asked the other flight attendant and she said we couldn't smoke as soon as we get off the plane, but my parents are picking us up and they don't know we smoke (they were 30 by the way). So I was wondering if we could just smoke really quick as soon as we get off?" I told him NO, and explained that with a huge machine full of fuel that would be a terrible idea. I told the other fa, and we spent the rest of the flight making it very clear to them that smoking was NOT ALLOWED!

Delicious Caramel Roll

Kalispell was beautiful! I went to an antique store which was pretty interesting. I also had the most amazing caramel roll ever!!!! We had an early morning flight, but the sunrise was absolutely beautiful. A great wake up for sure.

I ended up having the exact same overnight a week later. The Chicago to Kalispell flight was not nearly as great. It was actually the flight from hell. It all started with a terrible downpour in Chicago. There was no jet bridge so people had to walk up the plane stairs, and there was nothing to block the rain out of the plane. They wouldn't hold boarding, so we had buckets of rain running into the plane. All of the passengers were soaked! We were pushing water out of the plane, and trying to keep the heavy streams form going into the flight deck. It was more like we were on a boat. When we finally got everyone boarded and loaded an extra FOUR boxes of paper towels, it was time to close the door. I was already soaked from the rain blowing into the doorway, but when I shut the door, it was like someone poured a bucket of water over my head. Tons of water came crashing down over my head. As miserable as I already was from being soaking wet, we also were on a plane that was 1/4 full of out of control children. There parents could care less what they were doing. In and out of seats, chaos causing, screaming...the other fa and I literally had to mentally prepare ourselves before venturing to the back of the plane! It was insane. We filled both trash carts, and I have never seen a plane trashed as bad as that one. When we landed in Kalispell I told the gate agent that we needed some help cleaning. She was like, "Is it really that bad??" I told her to see for herself. She got on the plane, and all she said was "Woah, I don't know if our sweeper can handle this!" Ya, it was a rough day, but we had a fun overnight to make up for it. We went to a cool little Saloon. It was pretty legit with an old time cash register, sawdust floors and pretty good pizza!

Kalispell Sunrise

I also had an overnight in Tulsa, which was fun because I got to visit an Aunt and Uncle who live there. The night I was there, they had an incredible thunderstorm. From their house, I had a great view of downtown, and the stormy sky. It was a beautiful storm, and I must admit I'm a fan of midwest storms...absolutely amazing. It was also such a great experience to be able to spend some time with family I don't get to see very often!!!

I've worked with some awesome people, but unfortunately not all personalities work well together. One FA and I certainly were not on the same page. Thank goodness it was just a local!!! I fear that had we been on an overnight together, I would have needed some anger management possibly. I don't even remember her name, her name to me is...Crazy Face! Crazy Face is a very happy person, but she had a staring problem. She would creepily stare at you and smile with a blank face for what seemed like forever. She also had major trouble making a decision. Everything she would do seemed to take forever because she would always question it. A lot of times we pour leftover juices and sodas into the empty water bottles. I started to do that, and she proceeded to tell me that she didn't think we were supposed to do that anymore. I told her that I wasn't aware of that and I and every other flight attendant I've flown with do that all the time. Later on when we were finalizing cleanup she told me she really didn't think we were supposed to do that and she was going to pour out the liquid. The flight was just a super short flight, and with the slowness of Crazy Face we barely had time to cleanup before we were landing. I was the forward flight attendant, and instead of asking me to go get snacks people requested she insisted on writing them all down and taking them back later (such a waste of time). When we were boarding there was a cat in the exit row. She asked me if this was ok, and I told her no. Later on, she brought out her manual just to make sure this was true. She was behind on her pin count so I told her I would brief the exit row for her. After finalizing the pin, she told me she wasn't ready to close yet because she had to brief the exit. I reminded her that I did it, but apparently it wasn't good enough because she insisted on doing it again. Flying with Crazy Face was sure an exhausting experience. I think if I see her on my flight again...I just may have the flu!

Hello Monterey

Recently, I just finished a trip with two of my favorite overnights, Monterey and Victoria! I also had one night in Boise, and it turned out to be a lot better than I expected. The flights started off a little rough with some delays, and then there was the 45 minute weight and balance delay. The plane was 1400 pounds overweight, and nobody would volunteer to get off. I don't blame them though because due to the other flight bookings they wouldn't be able to get out for 2 more days. Trying to answer all of their questions and keep people happy for that long is incredibly hard. I had people yelling at me, and asking me questions left and right. Unfortunately the agents weren't giving me many answers and they weren't helping me out much. They finally decided just to pull off all of the checked bags (which didn't really ease the anger of the passengers). That flight wasn't much fun at all. People were angry about bags, connections, and delays. There was a passenger onboard whose wife was a flight attendant. He told me that when he told her they were sitting there with a weight and balance delay she didn't even care when he would be home, all she said was that she felt bad for the flight attendant. I told him his wife was my new best friend. A lot of the passengers were very nice, but of course there were the few who really tried to make it hell for us all. "The Doctors" were traveling home and were worried about their connection. They insisted on speaking to the Captain and having them hold their connection flight. I told them that was unlikely. I also had to explain to them that no matter who they were this flight was not safe to take off and until it was figured out, this plane wasn't going anywhere. I helped show them the gates and I think they ended up making their connection, so eventually they were appreciative! As soon as they pulled the bags and were weight cleared those gate agents sprinted off the plane, leaving me to deal with the rest....joy! Once we were off, things ended up not being so bad. Just a lot of questions about their baggage, again understandable.

Sunset in Monterey

This trip had a few flights with incredibly stinky people. This is a hard one for me to deal with. Honestly it makes me sick! I think complimentary deodorant and breath-mints would be a great idea. It can't be enjoyable for anyone. One passenger was complaining to me about the volume of the PA, it was so hard to listen to him because his breath about killed me right there in the aisle! Seriously people, it's called hygiene!!!!

Despite the delays and other people's personal issues, the trip was awesome. I walked to the beach in Monterey, spent some time in the amazing hot tub, stayed in an amazing hotel and met a super nice pilot from Florida and another cool lady from Jersey. I wasn't anticipating Boise to be super great, but there is a really nice river walk and it was beautiful. I went crab fishing in Victoria and caught a living starfish. The hotel there is amazing! They have robes and slippers in the room, and a spa at the hotel. Victoria is generally a pretty senior overnight so I was so fortunate to be there.

Awwww

Amazing Hotel in Sidney BC

Victoria Overnight

So that's the story so far. I don't think I've ever had a day that felt routine in this job, and that's what I love. There is never a dull moment, and so far I don't think there ever will be!!