Sky Snippets: Local Time

One of the worst phone calls a flight attendant can ever receive goes something likes this. Your alarm clock just went off, and you think you have an hour to get ready and your butt down to the hotel lobby to start another day of flying the friendly skies. All of a sudden, you hear your room phone go off.

*Ring Ring*

Me: H-hello.....?....

Caller: Carmen?

Me: yeah...?

Caller: Where are you? The shuttle is about to leave!

Me: ?!?!?!?!....I thought we were leaving at 5:30! It was written on the envelope with the room key!

Caller: That was written in eastern time. Local time we are leaving at 4:30, aka now.

Me: $%&^*#@

Caller: Yeah. Can you be downstairs in 10 minutes?

Its the worst feeling in the world— a sinking sense of dread, anger, dismay and confusion all rolled into one. You bolt out of bed like a ninja and get ready faster than you ever have in your entire life. Belongings are tossed into your bags, and you fervently hope you didn't leave something important behind.

Your crew is uncomfortably nice about it.

"It happens to everybody",

"we wouldn't have just left you."

"We care about you and were worried something had happened"

....yet it doesn't do a thing to make you feel any better about setting the alarm for the wrong time. You make an oath to always check local time, and set your clock accordingly.