Happy Holidays

The joys of being on the bottom of the pyramid when it comes to the all powerful and mighty seniority system of the airlines are endless. Really who doesn't love working every holiday, weekend, long hour, low paying trip out there?? In all reality, I have very little to complain about, and my experiences over the holidays seemed to be eye openers for sure! Not every moment was great, but I did have plenty of good experiences to look back on. I would definitely call this last month a growing point in my life as I faced a new way to spend the holidays!

In my 22 years of life I have never been away from home for the holidays. I am very much set in my ways when it comes to seasonal tradition. It all changed this year when I was assigned a 4 day trip the 23-26. Fortunately most hotels have all of the television stations that show my Christmas favorites so I didn't miss any Christmas Vacation, Christmas Story or Elf time! The food was a little bit different as my Christmas breakfast consisted of a stale muffin and cheap OJ and I had a lovely family Christmas dinner (Captain and FO being my family) at Denny's! And just like extended family holiday parties, there were people that made my day and of course the people that cause those suicidal holiday spikes (I'm talking about you, Bozeman Beasts)!

I gained a new appreciation for those who spend holidays away from loved ones! It's much harder than you anticipate. I can't imagine how hard it is for those in the military so far from home, or for people across the Country who just can't afford to go home to see their family. I think precious time with my family for the holidays is something I always took for granted, but I realized just how fortunate I am to be around so many people I love and care about!

Well enough of the mushy stuff. Here is a brief overview of my first holiday season as a flight attendant. May it always be memorable!

The adventures began in Denver with an overly friendly driver and the longest shuttle ride of my life. I decided to take the hotel shuttle to a nearby mall. Of course this was going to be a 20 minute journey and it was just me and the driver. He was from Ethiopia, and apparently ready to find an American woman and settle down. Fortunately he did not know where Utah was, or anything about it for that matter. He was asking me if he should move there. I told him it was basically like Denver, but he should probably stay in Denver because it was a little more exciting. He then went on to tell me Salt Lake was better because I was there so he was going to move there. For the next 20 minutes I awkwardly tried to avoid answering any of his questions about our future together and me becoming his American Woman...oh boy.

Outdoor World in Denver

There were plenty of people that helped make working the holidays worth it. I had many passengers thank me for working so they could get home to their families (not that I had a choice, but hey you're welcome!). One passenger wrote me a very sweet Christmas card and included a nice assortment of Ghirardelli Chocolates. There are a lot of unaccompanied minors traveling during the season, and it was fun to hear their Christmas stories. My favorite were the two cute sisters. The older girl had to walk with the help of crutches, and her younger sister was so helpful and made sure to take care of her. They were so excited to tell me all about their Christmas and show me their new dolls and jewelry. They were absolutely adorable.

I've always been a huge fan of New Years Eve. It may have something to do with my Grandparents turning us all into party animals at a very young age. This year I was a little concerned with New Years Eve options in the grand old town of Idaho Falls, but I decided I had to do something. I text a friend from there and asked her what in the world people do in Idaho Falls on New Years. She told me to go the the Shilo....yes the Shilo Inn. I was a little skeptical too! On the way to the airport I was telling the pilots about her suggestion. They laughed and asked what in the world is at the Shilo? Our shuttle driver piped right in "oh yeah they have a dance floor there". My eyes lit up. A dance floor at the Shilo....yessssss!!! Pilots continued to laugh and asked jokingly if I was going dancing. Is that even a question?? (they totally thought I was kidding) I however, was not kidding. That night I ventured through the cold over to the Shilo to find the place to be on New Years Eve, and it did not disappoint. I was a little nervous/feeling a little loserish at first being at such a social place, but it wasn't long before I made new friends and was dancing the night away. Despite an early show time the next morning I celebrated into the new year. Feeling happy and content with my new friends and doing something a little different on New Years!