Happy New Year & kinda okay Christmas

Of course some of the new year will be happy. In fact, I'd like to think MOST of it will be happy. It will be because that is what I choose.
Some of it will suck no matter what I do.

So here's to the new year.

I'll be in Canada tomorrow night.

I just talked with the girls. They are in Oregon right now visiting family during their Christmas break.

Oh, Christmas in Denver was fine. Boring, but fine. I was able to take the deadhead back to Sacramento as scheduled. However there was some trouble at the gate. I guess I wasn't authorized for a ticket, but when all was said and done...I'll be damned if the computer didn't spit out a first class seat!
So I got to experience my first ever first class treatment. Let me tell you it was SWEET!
Merry Christmas Kathy!
I hadn't eaten all day and by that night I was hungry. I recieved a nice Asian Chicken Salad and warm cookie. Not to mention the drinks and warm nuts! I thought that was just a joke, but you really do get warm nuts.
I was also given a big bag of Starbucks coffee, but dang it...I left it on the plane. Doah!
I got home about 9pm and was able to visit with the girls for a couple hours. I left early the next morning for a 4 day trip and they left for Oregon before I came home. I've had today off and starting a 3 day trip tomorrow.

Was that confusing? Sorry.

Today I bought myself a new wool coat and a samsonite crew bag. I sure hope the bag fits in my FA closet.

700, the day after.

So are you dying to know how it went? Sure you are....right.

Well, first I got to the plane and half my crew was missing. I went ahead and preflighted and got the coffee/juice started for first class.
When my other FA, showed up I was informed that I was NOT the forward flight attendant and that's when it hit me. I read it wrong. FF means "facing forward" and FA means "facing aft". Oh man! That means I had studied for the wrong position. Opps. Luckily I had done some reviewing for the aft, and announcements are not a problem for me anymore.
Also it turned out that the other Flight Attendant I was working with (Shawna) was awesome. By the second leg we were buddies.
I made her laugh and she kept telling me how much she needed a good laugh.

The plane itself was nice. The seats are much larger and it was kind of neat to sit in the back and give my announcements without having to do the demo.

As always there were cute children and sweet smelling babies that I pampered. I also took a picture of a young family who was flying to Aspen to have family meet their first born. Asher is a beautiful 3 month old baby boy who was dressed in a red santa suit. I got their email address and sent them the picture last night when I got to the hotel.

Oh yeah, I also met my first famous person while on the job. I was in the aft of the plane while boarding and a lady who looked familiar got up and headed my way looking for the bathroom. I let her in and thought about what I would say when she came out.
"You know, you look a lot like Judith Light." I said.
She gave me a slight wink and said, "that's because I am."
I got all jittery and quietly said, "I knew it!"

She was flying from LAX to ASE (Aspen) with her husband. I know she's getting older, but I thought she looked beautiful. She wore a modest off white pants outfit with a stretchy off white shirt. She's just one of those people that have that "famous" look.
After our service was completed, I discretly asked her if she would sign my trip schedule. She was pleased to do it and asked my name. On the back it reads...
"For Kathy, Thanks for being so nice! Happy Holidays, Best Always, Judith Light"
After that, Shawna came up, rolled her eyes and pulled the manifest out of her pocket and said, "Would you mine signing mine too?"
Judith was absolutely delightful! She was also helpful. Before we could close the door, we had to put some carry on bags in the cabin because there was too much weight in the back. She noticed that we had brought her bag onboard and she offered to move all her stuff around so that we could fit it under her seat. It was one of our longer flight and having that bag under there doesn't give you any leg room. She was fine with it.

All the rest of the flights went fine despite the fact that we ran about a half hour late all day. We were supposed to get a 2 hour break after the 3rd leg in Denver, but ended up being late on that too. No breaks means no food. I had some chips from the crew meal and ate some pretzels that were left in the back seat. One of the flight attendants thought I was sick for doing that.
"NEVER EAT WHAT YOU FIND IN THE SEATS!!" she yelled at me. Well, I don't normally, but I was talking with those people and had watched them open the bag of pretzels. I knew they were fine and I was hungry!

One the last leg, I gave my final "welcome to" announcement and sighed a breath of relief. It had been a long day and I was tired. Even so I thought about how I might be able to get on a flight back to Sacramento that night instead of having to wait for Christmas morning.
It turned out that I had tons of time to sit there and think about it. There were no ground crew to bring in our plane and we waited 40 minutes only a few feet from the gate.
Once we got inside I was walking with the capt. towards the terminal when I heard someone call out my name. I looked up and saw Ron!
He was standing in line with his crew to board a plane. Deadheading, I think. I was shocked to see him, even though it's not that crazy since we both work for SkyWest that it should happen sooner or later.
We hugged and conversed for a minute. It was a little strange to finally meet someone that you know, knows so much about you. But it was nice. Ron, your a good guy and a great flight attendant! BTW- thanks for the advice with the 700.

I met back up with my captain and we both tried to get on flights that would take us back to our families for Christmas. I don't know about him, but it didn't work for me. I ended up staying here in the hotel. I was supposed to deadhead out this morning, but Crew Support called me at 12:30am to notify me that my deadhead was scheduled wrong and that I would not be leaving Denver until 5:45 tonight. So that's takes us this moment in time. I'm sitting here on reserve in the hotel in Denver for Christmas.
I've tried checking earlier flights out of here, but nothing is available. I'm not even sure that I won't be bumped tonight. I'm positive spaced, but I can still be bumped by a mean gate agent. All the flights are oversold and if I'm not considered a "must ride" I can end up staying another night here. The problem with that is that I'm supposed to start a 4 day trip from Sacramento tomorrow morning. O'well. I guess it will all be fine. No worries.

It's Christmas! And I never leave home without HIM.

:-)

Just some pictures

Santa driving a jeep in Tijuana

The trolley in San Diego that takes you to Mexico

Me at the Flight Safety building in SLC.

First Class First on Christmas Eve

I knew this day was coming!

I'm being sent on my first 700 aircraft tomorrow. It will be the United Express Explus. 66 seats, with 2 FA's. I will be the Forward FA in charge of the first class cabin and all announcements. I'm trained for it, but I've never done it. I don't remember much and I'm scared to death!! I've never even sat in first class before!

Ron...now would be a good time to comment! Help!

Okay- so I'm actually excited. I like doing new things. My report is at 5:05 tomorrow morning. I've got so much to do today, but since my stress level is through the roof, I'm leaving in a minute to go for a run. I really need to calm down. The next 6 days are going to involve every emotion I have. I was hoping they wouldn't work me for Christmas. Pipe dream! Just remember Kathy...Christmas isn't a day...it's a gift.

As most of you know, Denver has been a nightmare. Guess where I'm going? Yep, Denver.
Also, LAX and ASE (Aspen, Co.) My overnight is Denver. Chirstmas Day will find me back in Sac sitting ready reserve for 5 hours. Then I start another trip on the 26th.

Oh boy.
I'm nervous, but I know I'll do fine. I'm trusting God and confident in myself.

Egg timers and Pearls

Where to begin?

I wish to document all the funny things that happen on my flights. I would like to...but there are just to many. So I will have to write the ones I can tell in the shortest amount of words.

2 Male United FA's board my flight to Phoenix. They were both going home after a long 2 day layover in Sydney,Austraila. (No, they were not a couple). They were funny and I loved talking with them. Steve read my palm and it was also his birthday. He noticed my lifeline is broken into two parts. He asked how old I was and said that my break is happening right about now. He also said that the largest portion of my money was going to come more towards retirement age. I was kinda freaked, but intrigued.
The other guy (I don't remember his name) sat in 1A and talked with me a lot. When we landed they asked me if this was my overnight. I said "yes" and the one guy (not Steve) gave me a beer. It was one of his special beers that he had brought back from Austraila. I thanked him and wondered what I was going to do with it. I don't like beer myself. I gave it to my captain, but later asked for it back. I want to give it to my brother-in-law who loves beer and would really appreciate it. It would be nice since he is driving down from Oregon to pick up the girls the day after Christmas. I want them to go spend some time with family over the break. I'm sure I'll be working.

What else?? Let's see...Oh yeah, I got to do something that hardly any FA's (or anyone else for that matter) get to do. You remember that bad storm that went through Seattle a couple weeks ago? Well, I was in Bellingham, Washington that night which is close by. The storm was loud! Our report time was early, but our plane never made it in the night before, so all our flights the next day were cancelled. We did fly one leg to SLC and overnighted there instead of Vancouver. That's where I had the opportunity to check out the flight simulators. While the captain was showing me the sim, 2 pilots and an instructor had returned from a break to finish their training session for that day. I was invited in!
It was very cool. It felt very much like a real take off and landing. I watched the instructor create problems for the pilots. We had a right engine fire. I helped out with the NTSBO. That's an acronym for an emergency procedure. During the hour long session we spun out on the runway and crashed during one of the landings. The windshield turned red and the instructor said, "congratulations...we're all dead."

***
CRAP! I can't believe this. What you just read is only a third of what I wrote for this post. Blogger just screwed me over when I tried to spell check it. So here ya go, mistakes and all. I'm to damn tired to re-write the rest. I'll just have to do it tomorrow. It was something like...blah, blah, blah...was in Tijuana, Mexico last night...blah, blah, blah....company store....blah, blah, blah.

Sadness moved forward

This morning was quiet and somber as I drove the narrow mountain roads towards the courthouse in Placerville. I didn't feel like listening to my usual upbeat music. In fact, music was the last thing I wanted to hear. Words in my head and tears on my face were more than enough to pass the time.
Halfway there, I pulled over. I removed a pad of paper from my purse and searched for a pen. These are the thoughts I needed to write down...

"I know I have to do this even though it makes me sad. The birds are still chirping and the deer still wonder through the forest. The sky is white and it seems like the trees grew a blanket of moss overnight. The rain stopped falling and the wind died down. A vail of leaves drape me on both sides.
A few stolen moments of reflection overflow my soul. Looking ahead the road curves before I can see the finish. Where am I going? Behind me I can not see the start. I do not regret where the road has brought me thus far."

I spent 4 hours going over paperwork and talking with experts at the family law center. I filed my papers and got a case #. The ball is not quite rolling yet. First MB must be served. The clock starts ticking after that. I am the one who chooses who will serve him. I am not allowed to do it. However, this is not going to be a surprise. We went over the petition last night. I also showed him the papers he will get when I got home. This feels strange, but I am hopeful that it is the right thing to do. He will get better. I know it.

I stepped outside the courthouse into the pouring, weeping rain.

Not just another broken nail

I can't believe it!

I've had these nails for what....3 months now and in the last 2 weeks have broken 4 nails! It's not what you think...Oh, boo hoo, Kathy broke a nail! Let's all sob and pray for her!

I have acrylic nails. They are kinda of thick. I had just gotten them done and they are very short. When they break, my real nail usually breaks too. If the break is down far enough my skin tears along with it. It hurts!

Yesterday I was lifting an atlas container (this is the big metal box that the soda drawers are kept in) and my two middle fingers on my left hand got caught. The nails snapped all the way across right in the middle. Blood immediately started oozing from the crack.

I decided to leave it alone for a while, but soon discovered that I was going to have to do something about it right away. Everytime my nail would hit something (even just putting my hands in my pocket) it would bend the nail and cause pain. I looked for bandaids, but none could be found. Of all times to be out of bandaids on the airplane!

We had a break after that flight, so I went into the crew lounge. I asked outloud..."does anyone have superglue?" I yelled. Nope.

One girl just looked at my nails, laughed and said, "that's why I don't have those!" Thanks. I wanted to say, "bitch" but of course I'm much to nice for that.

I was able to find bandaids on the next plane and made sure to put the sticky side over my nail to keep them from bending.

Today was a blessing! Duen Mallard was non-reving on my flight. He's a brasilia captain that I used to fly with in Fresno. We were taking him back home to Idaho Falls. He had some superglue.

That should hold em til I get back to Sacramento. My trip ends tomorrow. It's been a good trip. Most of our flights have been either on time or early.

I got to run in Bellingham. Tonight I'm in Rapid City. And oh, I've got to tell you...there were the CUTEST little girls on my flight today. They both wore red santa dresses and made me smile so big!
I held the youngest one and we both waved and said "good-bye" as the passengers deplaned.

One of my passengers said that I would make a good bartender. He only said that because he handed me his soda bottle and I did a reverse dunk in the trash while I was sitting in my jumpseat.

Scrubbed. Saturday Launch Set.

The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery was scrubbed Thursday after poor weather conditions spoiled the attempt at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Earlier in the day a cold front moved in over the spaceport, bringing clouds and winds into the area. The cloud ceiling proved to be too low for a safe launch, prompting NASA to postpone Discovery's flight.

NASA officials have set the next launch attempt for 8:47 p.m. EST on Dec. 9.


Hmm...I'll be in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Discovery STS-116 Ready for Night Launch!!

Please enjoy my cut and paste abilities taken from Nasa's website.
___

With the help of the Closeout Crew and Astronaut Support Personnel, the STS-116 crew members are taking their seats inside Space Shuttle Discovery as the vehicle awaits liftoff at 9:35 p.m. EST. Once in place, the crew will begin powering up Discovery's systems and getting the ship configured for launch.

A cold front moving through the Central Florida area is producing a lingering blanket of clouds, gusting winds and isolated light rain. The team will press on with the countdown for now, in case the weather cooperates after all.

Discovery's orange external tank has been loaded with 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen. These propellants power the orbiter's trio of main engines during the entire ride to space. The loading process, called "tanking," began at 11:30 a.m. EST and ended at 2:30 p.m. The tank will be continuously "topped off" during the remainder of today's countdown.

There are no technical concerns being addressed with Space Shuttle Discovery. The vehicle, crew and the mission's payloads are ready to fly.

The STS-116 mission is the 33rd for Discovery and the 117th space shuttle flight. During the 12-day mission, the crew will continue construction on the International Space Station, rewiring the orbiting laboratory and adding a segment to its integrated truss structure.

Live minute-by-minute updates of the countdown to Discovery's liftoff can be followed by visiting NASA's Launch Blog.


I wish I could be there to see it. Instead I'm back in Bellingham, WA. I just got done running (5 miles) and I'm so hungry that I could just fall alseep.

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Megan!

Yesterday was Megan's birthday. Since I am working on the weekends this month, I asked her if she would like to do something less traditional this year for her birthday. Luckily she liked my idea of invited a couple friends to go out to the mall after school.

Here's what we did:
First stop...Limited Too (a girls clothing store in the mall) They had fun trying on dresses even though I couldn't afford to buy them. Hey- at $60.00 each, who could?

Then we walked across the upstairs left wing bridge to "TeddyCrafters". Here you pick out your animal, choose a voice and heart, tell the stuffer how fat you want it, then dress it up and give it a name. It certainly is an expensive way to purchase a teddy bear, but without a doubt, the funnest.
Megan made a giraffe that sings the "Happy Birthday" song, stuffed it with a green heart for health and dressed "Kayly" in a pink cheerleading outfit. Katie made a Husky dog that says "I love you" and dressed it in a tux to remind her of her boyfriend. Naomi made a horse that sings "You are my sunshine", stuffed it with a blue heart for friendship and dressed it in a soccer uniform. Kevi made a black poodle dog that sings "Jingle Bells" and dressed it in a shimmery red Christmas dress with a matching hat.
After all that creating (and playing with sling shot monkeys) we left and decided we were hungry. No problem. I had planned (and already had cooked) meatloaf and mashed potatoes at home, but the group couldn't wait. Megan spotted the food court McDonalds, while the rest of us wanted the chicken terriaki rice bowl at Panda Express.

Everything was going great and nobody seemed quite ready to leave. So I asked Megan what else she would like to do. She looked around and suggested that we go into "Bath and Body Works".
"I like the smells." she smiled.
I hadn't realized that they sell slippers, socks and robes there. While I was feeling the soft material, Kevi and Naomi bounced up and down to tell me that they REALLY had to go to the bathroom! I quickly put down the socks and looked around for the nearest restroom.
Then I remembered where it was. Past the carousel and next to Rubios. I had to laugh as I watched 3 little girls running down the hall in desperation, all 3 with a bright orange teddycrafters bag flung behind their backs.
After that, we started heading for the door, until I caught sight of their twinkling little eyes watching the carousel. I turned around to face them and asked, "Would you like to ride the carousel?"
Huge smiles and a big YES! was the response. I rode the merry go round too, although it felt much slower than I remember as a kid.
In the car, they girls sang and giggled all the way home. It was music to my ears. We topped off the night with cake and presents.

Relate to me in Pictures. Words from a broken heart.

GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO. I didn't even get off the plane. I leaned outside the cabin to take this picture. It was beautiful here.

FIRST OFFICER, RICK LUMLEY. Have a coke and a smile!

CAPTAIN BOB DONOHOE.

ME taking a break to enjoy the view from the flight deck and chat with the guys.

LAKE TAHOE. If you could see Reno and Carson City in this picture it would be at the bottom of the frame.


As for me and my drama- things were calming down until yesterday. Yes, another episode. I will file divorce soon. I am so frustrated because he doesn't care about himself. He just wants to die. I can't save him. I want to....but I can't. I can't force him to believe that he is God's beloved child or that he has a place in this world. I can't make him want to live.
There is only one with that power and He gave us the freedom to choose when we were created. This power floods our soul when we accept Him. It did for me. I remember it well. I still feel it today.

The power of the Holy Spirit. I believe and have faith that it alone can save Michael. But he has to choose it.

Live for what? Myself? My God? My kids? What?

Does it feel like you live in this place that doesn't make sense? Hold on. Help is on the way.