Excuse me whilst I complain..

I woke up 2 hours ago, but I still feel groggy, like my eyes just opened.

I have to report in 1 hour and 15 minutes. I was lucky enough that I brought along some cereal and soy milk for breakfast on this trip. I probably won't get much else to eat today.

6 legs, 1 swap, no breaks, 10 hours of duty. OY! I'm going to be dead by the time I end in Modesto tonight.

I want to be happy. I want to mean it when I tell passengers "I'm doing great today, How are you?"

I can be honest to you...my cyber friends. For some reason you come back and read about my life. Ron, I hope to meet you someday...and DJ. I feel like I already know you.

No, things are not going okay at home. It's a train wreck. MB continued to drink...and I can't believe anything he tells me. I don't trust him and he knows it. I fear for the safety of my children. The thing is...he's a GREAT dad when he's not drinking, and when he is drinking he's still a good father (meaning he's not at all violent) but a vehicle is a very dangerous thing for someone with alcohol in his bloodstream. Now he's going to be mad at me for writing this. Sorry.

How can I do this? How can I keep my job that I LOVE and manage to provide a safe evironment for my girls? I get migraines trying to figure it out. Where there's a will there's a way. I am a clever girl...I will make it work. This happened in training...and once again our fragile family unit is tested.

Sidenote: No, they don't make us take off our rings at work...I took it off as a statement that I can't stay married to a man who I can't trust. I'm tired of crying, but the tears won't stop.
I'm not trying to get sympathy. The pain is just more than I can hide right now.

Smile through the wreckage

Yesterday I drove to Fresno for the last time. At least for working. This is my last trip out of the FAT base.

I boarded the plane with a sinking feeling in my gut. Something wasn't right.

My very first passenger of the day wore handcuffs. The young officers sitting nearby entertained him with their psp player. This was unusual. Even more out of the norm was the fact that they let him order a drink. Pepsi. But what had me getting a bit freaked out was what happened when I handed the drink to him. He reached out and took it from me...with NO CUFFS on! Yep, that's right. The officer had taken off his cuffs. That made me nervous and I know it's not allowed. Luckily nothing happened.

The next flight had an FBI agent onboard. Interesting...my mind imagined what would have happened if he had only been on the flight before and saw the semi-free prisoner.

Later that day, my stomach still felt bad. You would never know it. On the outside, I made jokes, played with the babies and pretended my safety demonstration was the inflight movie.

On the last flight into Redmond. I sat in my jumpseat and played with my new acrylic fingernails. I used to play with my ring, but it's not there anymore. It feels strange not having it on. Like I have given up my security blanket. I looked out the window into the fallen darkness and wondered why things had to change?

These are the times when I'm sitting alone in my hotel room where the freedom to cry exists...so I do. Later, when all the people are nearby I smile through the wreckage to see a brighter side, where happiness is found in strangers. They can't hurt me if they don't know me. I think that's why I am pulling away from my crews lately. I've noticed that I have less interest in answering their questions about me. I keep my life story to a minimum now.

The daily passengers and the things they do, keep my mind off the wreckage. The new places I see give hope and awareness of hidden dreams.

Where will this day take me and what will I see? What will I learn and how will I change?

Cool Night for the Arts

This is the social event of the year for our small country town. It was a lot of fun. The fundraising event for our elementary school was held at Venizo Winery, just a few miles away.
My friend Dana, has worked her butt off for this night. She has been soliciting every business within miles to make the silent and live auctions a huge success. Heck, she even wanted my art! I donated one of my barn paintings and I'll be damned if it didn't even rake in a few bucks.
Me and my new friend, Diana
Me and my all time favorite people dancing it up...Dena, Toni and Denise. Note: I tried to upload the edited version of this photo, but blogger kept posting it sideways! Uhhh
This is also a new friend, Torri. She worked as a flight attendant for 18 months before going into the ops dept. for Horizon Airlines (Alaska's regional airline). Yep, it's a small world after all!
Me with Spencer Davis. I'm friends with his daughter, Sarah. Spencer is a famous British rocker and most known here in the states for his song, "Gimmie some lovin." We all had fun dancing to his music. Look him up on the web for more info...he's rocked out with John Lennon! Hmmm, looks like I need to do some situps!
Michael and I, almost ready to go home.

More Pictures of KSC

For more pictures of my trip, click the title.

Lunch with an Astronaut

Here is a photo of me with astronaut, Bill Pogue. Our lunch group only contained about 10 people, so I was able to ask as many questions as I wanted...and trust me, I DID!
Bill flew for the USAF Thunderbirds and was the test pilot for both US Air Force and British Royal Air Force before becoming an astronaut in 1966. He served in the support crew for Apollo 7, 11 and 14 missions. He was the pilot for Skylab 4 which was the final Skylab mission and first one to spend the longest time in space...84 days! For those of you who don't know- Skylab was our first space station. It reentered Earth's atmosphere in 1979, scattering a trail of debris over the Indian Ocean and Western Austraila.
I found Mr. Pogue to be very interesting and funny. Did you know that you grow 3 inches taller in space? I didn't, and neither did they- which caused painful bruising on their shoulders after a spacewalk because they didn't fit very well in their Earth tailored suits. Without gravity to compress the spine- the disks between your verebrea expand...causing a growth of about 3 inches.
Mr. Pogue is also the author of "How do you go to the bathroom in Space?" and "Space Trivia" of which I bought and had both books signed.

Group PIC

from left to right- First Officer McLauchlin, me & Captain Molskness

First Plane in Rain

We landed last night in Redmond, Oregon. Although it was dark outside, I noticed rain drops smeared across the window in 1C.
RAIN!

I know it seems a little strange to be getting so excited about rain, but it's my first time working as a flight attendant and having it rain outside. I like to see the seasons change. Rain is a clear indication. However, I wasn't expecting the extreme drop in temperature.

I opened the main cabin door and yelled, "Holy Crap! It's cold!"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized that it wasn't at all very appropriate or professional behavior. Opps.

Luckily, everyone who heard me just laughed.

Also lucky for me, I had just purchased a used uniform sweater that morning before I started my trip and had put it on back in SFO.
However, I didn't pack for cold weather. I have things like skirts and tanks in my crew bag. I hope it's still warm in the south. If not, Michael can bring me a sweater. I'm going to try and list him on my last flight tomorrow from Sacramento to SanFran. On Sunday he will fly down to Fresno to pick up my car and drive it home for me. That way, I can fly straight back to Sacramento after my fun trip to the south.

Now it is almost 8:30am and the free breakfast here will be closing at 9am. I'm absolutely starving as yesterday came and went without a real meal...just small snacks of crackers and a brownie.

After breakfast (and hour or so after) I hope to get outside and run. It's still cold...I see people all bundled up standing outside to smoke their cigs.

Have a great day friends!

Cat got your tongue?

These two are the same age...5 months old. Puppy- Valena and kitten- Tricksy

I took this shot this morning. No animals were harmed in the taking of this photo. They play this way all the time! It's hilarious.

STS 115 Atlantis

check it out! Click the title.

First Officer Beejal Patel

AKA...BEEJ! Beej is Palm Springs based. Likes brownines!

It's just one leg.

I'm frustrated.

I've been trying to get rid of the last leg on the last day of my next trip (Sunday the 17th). So far I'm unsuccessful. It's just one leg from SFO to FAT.

I've tried requesting a perfect attendance day. My request was CANCELLED because they said I didn't have a perfect attendance day. Funny- I seem to remember getting paid for perfect attendance...

Next I tried requesting user time. I had 3.9??? hours accumulated so far. This time my request said "DENIED". Apparently you have to have been with the company for at least 6 months before you can use user time. My 6 month date doesn't happen until Oct. 11th.

I called Crew Support. They are the ones who handle all the scheduling. They said there was nothing they could do for me. That the only way I could get out of it was if another F/A took it for me. Uh- huh...

It is now on the swap board and I'm offering an additional $40.00 or a hotel room in SFO to anyone who wants to do one leg (less than 1 hour) and get 3.45 hours of pay.

So far I've got one person who is interested, but only if nobody else will take it by Friday.

But Kathy- it's just one leg and it starts so early...why can't you just work it and then leave for the south?

Easy. If I do that I only have one shot at getting to my destination and that would include a 4 hour layover in DEN (which hasn't been getting anything out on time lately) and I wouldn't get there until 10pm at the earliest. I think I'd get stuck somewhere. If I can drop this one leg back to FAT, there is a direct flight, first class to Atlanta I might be interested in that gets me there at 2:06pm. Much better. Kennedy here I come!

So, I'm working on it. Wish me luck!

We Remember

This message was sent out to all SkyWest employees. I believe we have a excellent leader here at SkyWest. He is just one of the reasons I love working for this company.

"As airline employees, we have an intimate connection with September 11, 2001; the events of that day carved its place in history and in our hearts. We each remember where we were and what we were doing when we received word of the senseless acts of terrorism that would forever change us as individuals, an industry and as a nation. In the wake of terror, heroes were made out of ordinary individuals, many of you included. We joined together for support as families, a company and people across the world mourned for the thousands of lives lost. We celebrated heroics and found ways to offer support - as individuals, as a company and as a nation. We remember and honor the lives lost and celebrate the heroes of September 11th - as individuals, an industry and a nation."

-- Jerry Atkin, Chairman and CEO, SkyWest Inc.

Blue

The following poem was written by my daughter, Katie. It was written as a school assignment. They were given the word "Blue" as a theme and asked to write about it.

BLUE: I AM by Katie Battles

I am a soothing lullaby, dancing in your head. No limitations or boundaries can contain me. I glide gracefully across the ocean, leaving a trail of ripples on the break of the water. Sadness is the only thing that builds deep inside me. Nothing can compare to this rush of emotion. Deep breaths calm me as I exhale my exhaustion.
I am the waves in the wind that is beaten upon your face. Believe in me as I have for you and take a deep breath, singing the soothing lullaby.

A second with the Sun. A morning with His Son.

Put your face right in the sun
I promise I won't tell anyone
In your eyes and out your ears
liquid drops of golden tears.

Something like that. I wrote that last week as I was driving to Fresno. It was early in the morning and I took a moment to admire the sun coming up behind me.

I often think of Jesus when I watch the sunrise or sunset. Something about that moment...when the peace of early morning glory or the blazing sherbert colors of the evening falling sky settle into my sights, I feel blessed. The warmth is true. The promise is there. I remember what Christ has done for me.

Thank You Lord.

Sorry for the delay...

my my...has it already been a week? Time flies for me now. haha.

I've got so many little unrealted things to report. First off...

I GOT MY TRANSFER! Can you tell I'm happy? See my face smile? It is. I will spend the rest of this month (Sept) in Fresno as scheduled, but bid for October in Sacramento. Yippee! I will most likely be on reserve...but who cares? At least I'll be home and saving money on gas & rent. I'm hoping I'll get some sweet jet trips that allow me to see new places.

Next up...Kisses. Do you remember me writing about the old Italian lady who kissed me as she was deplaning? Well, it happened again. Only this time it was a man about in his 60's. He kissed my head as he was deplaning because he was happy with the way I treated some kids on my flight. The kids were brother and sister about 7-10 years old. Both were unacompanied minors leaving their mom for 3 weeks to go visit their dad in SFO. Ellaina was excited about the flight until she caught a glimpse of her mother waving good-bye from the terminal as we were taxing to the runway.
She said, "Triston, I think mom is crying." Then she started bawling. I felt so bad for her. I wanted to give her a big hug and tell her everything was going to be okay, but I was strapped into my jumpseat. Instead I asked her if she would be my helper during the flight.
Ellaina sadly knodded her head.
5 minutes after takeoff I got up and asked Ellaina to help me with my announcment. She smiled as she told everyone over the PA that we have coffee, soda, water and juice.
I let her hand out the snacks ask everyone what they would like to drink. She felt like such a big girl and it got her mind off of missing her mother. One of the passengers even gave her a tip!
I made sure to thank her over the PA for being such a great assistant flight attendant and everyone clapped for her. I also wrote a note (which I often do for well behaved children) to their parents, letting them know how much I enjoyed having them on my flight.

Children and babies are so cute! I love 'em.

Update: As you can tell I didn't go to Florida to watch the Shuttle, Atlantis go up. I believe it is scheduled to go up tomorrow. We'll see. I'm currently planning the trip to Kennedy Space Center for the 17th. Actually that will be my day of flying there...well, down there anyway. I'm going to go to Alabama first and drive. I know...it sounds crazy, but it's what I want to do. I'll be sure to write about my adventures.

Yesterday, out of the blue, a man gave me a coin as he was deplaning. "Be sure to watch the shuttle go up this week." he said.
I looked down at the coin. Both sides displayed a picture of the shuttle and said "STS 115 Atlantis."
I stumbled over my choppy words as I tried to say..."uh, I wanted to see it launch in person..."
But he was already down the stairs and gone.

Dang, I thought. I would have liked to talk to this person about Atlantis. What does he know about it? Who is he? Hmmm....the wonder had my head spinning. I often so curious about the people around me.

Today is my one day off before I start another trip tomorrow morning. I had to stay in Fresno because it was not enough time to go home. I miss the family, but I will survive and so will they.

Take Care Wavers. I think I'll go pamper myself with a nice pedicure & perhaps, if I feel like it...a manicure too.