Probation & Prestige (Charlotte, NC)

Greetings, everybody! Sorry for the lack of posts here lately. I've had a great deal going on, and not just in the great blue yonder. Sometimes it takes a little while to breathe and reboot, and while I missed updating you on my wayfaring shenanigans, I definitely needed the break.

With that said, a great deal has happened since I last told you about the {Greek festival} Belle and I attended here in Charlotte. Rather than try to mash it all together in one post, I'll do several updates this week, in the order they transpired.

First off the list, Belle and I had recurrent training! As I mentioned previously, recurrent training is basically a day-long review of all the emergency procedures, drills, equipment operation, and medical training we completed {back in Phoenix}. Since we only graduated in March, we weren't terribly anxious about passing. What we didn't expect was to meet the lady who has not only been a flight attendant the longest with US Airways, but also of any other airline! Her name is Bette Nash, and she's {somewhat of a celebrity}. She started with Eastern airlines in 1961 and has been flying ever since. In other words, she is the senior mama of all the senior mamas! Back in her day, you were only hired as a flight attendant if you had a nursing degree, were stunningly beautiful, single and under the age of 28. After you were married, or got "old", you had to quit. How times change!

[caption id="attachment_704" align="alignnone" width="500"] Bette when she was my age, way back in the 60's. Picture courtesy of Post-Gazette.[/caption]

She was doing her recurrent training as well ( though she's been doing it so long its a wonder she doesn't just teach it herself!) Even though she's in her 70's (or maybe early 80's), she's still sharp as a whip, spirited and very funny. Belle and I asked to have our pictures taken with her, and she happily obliged. I was such a fan-girl! If I can manage to do anything for 50 years, I'll feel like I'm winning at life.

[caption id="attachment_706" align="alignnone" width="642"] Carmen SanDiego and the famous Ms. Bette Nash[/caption]

A whopping 5 days after our recurrent training was the end of our flight attendant 6 month probationary period. It's hard to imagine half a year has passed since that fateful graduation day, where we counted our lucky stars for making it through 4.5 weeks of training. Now we are finally full fledged, union represented flight attendants! As one senior mama whimsically told me one flight, now we'll basically have to murder someone to get fired. I don't know how true that is, but it was a comforting thought. What I do know is with this job, time flies like nobody's business and its still hard to believe I moved to Charlotte and am jetting all over the world. It's almost exactly a year since I applied to be a flight attendant, thinking it would be fun but I'd probably never hear back about my application.

[caption id="attachment_708" align="alignnone" width="642"] We made it![/caption]

At the probationary meeting, my supervisor let me read the letters from passengers over the months that I received in regard to the good job I was doing. One was from an elderly lady who took her first flight with us, and said I had taken good care of her and calmed her fears. Little things like this are so encouraging. I asked my supervisor for more information about commuting and getting a line, and he seems to think the proposed merger with American Airlines will help a lot with moving up in the ranks. We'll see whether that happens or not!  It was also really fun to see the other flight attendants from our class; we all were delighted to see each other make it to the 6 month mark and prove our mettle in the airline world.

Until next time, catch me if you can!

—Carmen

 

Crisis Averted

As much as I hate to admit it, making mistakes in the early days as a flight attendant are inevitable. In my ideal world, I would micromanage all the details and get everything right so I never have to feel that gut-wrenching terror of messing something up and the worst case scenario ensuing.

Pretty much anything bad that can happen is magnified 5x in my head before it even happens. This can be both bad and good. It's good because when so many scenarios are occurring to me as I plan for a trip, I tend to over-accommodate and am prepared for a number of things most new hires may not consider. Thus, when crap hits the fan, I am prepared with my extra shirts, list of flight numbers and backup alarm clock.

However, this can be bad when things go wrong and I nearly kill myself with anxiety. For example, a few days ago when I had 5:30 AM OPR (on premises reserve). The day was destined to have some tense moments from the start. First off, I calculated my wake up time wrong. I had to be there at 5:30, which means I should leave an hour beforehand from my apartment. Having that extra cushion of time between the moment I get in my car to the moment I get to the employee parking lot ensures I'm not pressed for time when I'm waiting on the airport shuttle, getting through my security checkpoint or walking to the crew room. I can have peace of mind in the logistical realm. However, for some silly reason I set my alarm clock for 4:30, rather than 3:30, and I woke up at the time when I wanted to be out the door.

I had the realization of my late start dawn on me when I was lathering up in the shower. Expletives ensued, followed by the quickest shower, accoutrements and dressing ever performed by human hands. I got out the door by 4:50 and zoomed to the airport, thanking the stars that there was nobody else on the highway. 10 minutes later I was at the parking lot, and I ran to the bus stop. What was actually probably about 5 minutes felt like 50, and when the driver pulled up I was a nervous wreck constantly looking at my watch and cursing my luck.

I got the airport around 5:15, and walked with purpose towards the checkpoint. It was about that time I realized I had left my badge at home. The badge that would get me through the checkpoint, and the badge that without I would not be able to go on a trip should I be paged from the crew room. My heart completely stopped and a lump welled up in my throat.

What could I do? There wasn't enough time to go home, even though I'd gotten to the airport with some time to spare. Should I just try to go through the normal people security and hope I didn't get a trip so I wouldn't need my badge? No, that would be an absurd game of chance.

I had to call scheduling and tell them I needed to go get it. Which meant I'd be late. As a new hire with 6 months of probation to go, I wasn't sure if this meant I'd get a mark against me. I was desperately determined not to give my supervisors any reason to doubt my impeccable responsibility and punctuality. But what else could I do?

I called scheduling with pulse racing, imagining getting fired for forgetting my badge. I imagined telling my friends and family that I had gotten sacked in the first month of duty for a stupid, stupid mistake. I've worn my badge ten million times, how could I forget it?

Scheduling answered, and I told them my woeful story. Their answer was surprising.

"Oh, you forgot it? Well go back home and get it and then call us when you're back at the airport. We'll check you in at 6:30 instead of 5:30."

That was it? Jumping Jehosephat!

A giant stress balloon deflated above my diaphragm and I finally relaxed, feeling a little silly. When I told my story to some older flight attendants later that day, they let me know that the company had invested so much time and money in me that they wouldn't fire me unless I did something really really extra stupid. Like not show up for a trip. Or an accidental door slide deployment.

Crisis averted.

Lesson learned: crap happens. Try to prevent it as much as possible, but the people who work in scheduling are human and will work with you if something goes awry.

Wings, Cake and Couch Surfing

At our graduation, we had a beautiful ceremony, got our wings pinned on us, did a dance and song we choreographed as a class for the occasion, had a piece of cake and then were immediately shipped off to Charlotte. Everything was timed down to the minute, and when we were seated on the flight across the country, there was a certain sense of shock. All that had transpired in the last month and a half was over, and we were real life, freshly minted flight attendants.

Or, almost.

We still had to attend 2 days of training and orientation in Charlotte. There were 2 additional types of aircraft we needed to be trained on, and the lot of us had to figure our where we were going to live. Without exception, this has been the quickest I've had to make plans and settle down. Fortunately, Belle, Jasmine, Aurora and I knew we were going to live together, but we had no idea where.

The airline gave us 5 "settling days" after orientation in Charlotte to go home and get our lives together, and find a place to live. During this time, they provided hotel accommodations as needed, but the rest was up to us. My prospective roommates were confident we'd find something, but I was skeptical.

5 days? To completely settle in, and be ready to fly the next duty day? Even if we were really familiar with Charlotte that would be a major hustle. And what exactly would we find? Would it be decent, or would we be so desperate not to be homeless that we'd end up in some dump? I hated to leave Charlotte to go home when there was so much left to do, but I hadn't seen my family and friends since I left for training.

The 2 days of E-190 express and A-330 international flight training whizzed by. By now, learning all the ins and outs of a new plane and being tested on our proficiency was second nature. We got to know our union representatives, and met our supervisors. We learned what would be expected of us. We said goodbye to our classmates who were going to be stationed in Philly or DC (this was far more difficult than I expected), and headed out.

Going home was everything I'd dreamed of and more. Darcy met me at the airport and surprised me by calling to say he was on the way, but then came up behind me at the baggage claim and gave me a huge hug. That guy. :) The next morning I met up with my Chattanooga friends and since it felt like Spring for the first time this year, we went out on the deck and had homemade sangria and guacamole. It was almost as if nothing had changed. When I recounted what happened at training and my operational experience flights, it  felt like I was talking about an alternate lifetime or a parallel universe. When I left Chattanooga, I thought I would relish the opportunity to exist under entirely unfamiliar appellations —but coming home, I realized just how refreshing it was to see my friends, to sit on the same deck, and catch up on the latest gossip and news. The only thing that had really changed was I'd know exactly what to do to save them if we were on a jet and an engine blew out.

Instead of flying back to Charlotte and using my shiny new flying benefits, I loaded up my little car with the remainder of my belongings which I had set aside as "necessities", and drove the 5 1/2 hours to North Carolina. I really enjoy driving, so it wasn't a big deal. What was actually tiring was the next day when Belle, Aurora, Jasmine and I crammed into a vehicle and drove all over town asking the same questions. Do you have 4 bedroom apartments? If so, when are they available? How much of a security deposit? Do you offer discounts for preferred employers?
If it hadn't been for those 3, I think I would've given myself a nose bleed. Nobody had apartments available right away, so we'd have to either invest in a hotel room or stay with friends who lived in Charlotte. And that's exactly what we ended up doing. I never knew how grateful I'd be to sleep on a floor with just a blanket when it meant not having to pay for another hotel, and move all our belongings yet again. Despite the inconvenience of living out of your luggage, you learn to pack like a pro, and know exactly what you need at your finger tips, and how to fit it all in a 21" rollerboard.

Finally, after much contemplation, we decided on a 3 bedroom luxury apartment located only 10 minutes from the airport. It's a breathtaking gated community with "sparkling pool" and "state of the art fitness complex". We don't have any furniture yet, but sleeping on an air mattress is an upgrade at this point. Pictures of my new room soon, I promise. Though you may be tempted to laugh because of the plastic bins my clothes are in. You'd think I lived in a refugee hut, rather than a luxury condo.

Once we settled in, we cooked dinner, had some wine and ate on our living room floor. We had learned how to set up shop in a completely new town, and hadn't gone insane. It's a good life.

Until next time. Catch me if you can!

-Carmen

Hooked on Phoenix

2/10/13

Here Goes Nothing, Here Goes Everything

Hello readers! I am so honored by the overwhelming responses of support and encouragement as I start this new adventure in the wide blue yonder. In response to multiple requests, I have added an email subscription option to my site, so you can have my updates delivered directly to your inbox rather than checking the blog location for the latest post. It should be right at the top above the posts as a header, and you can enter your email in directly.  As they say, instant gratification takes too long. :)

Thanks so much again for your interest in my little exploits around the world!

As I’m typing this first part, I’m sitting on flight 1507 from Charlotte NC to Phoenix Arizona. The jet is an Airbus 321; a mighty behemoth of an aircraft, and it feels like a small city of people floating along at 32,500 feet. I felt a surge of pride when I saw the shiny fleet of US Airways jets taxiing down the runway on my connecting flight. It feels like, for the first time in my life, I’m doing something truly ambitious and of my own choosing. One could argue that graduating college is ambitious, but at the same time, when I started my college career I didn’t really know what else to do with my life. It more or less happened because I didn’t know what else to do for the betterment of my life. Now, I’m forging my own path with the machete of my imagination.

The lady who was sitting next to me threw up into her purse when the plane took off, and so I have the pleasant scent of stomach acid looming in my nostrils as I sip my coffee and type. It would seem flying makes her nervous. I was clandestinely sorry for the flight attendants who had to help clean up the mess, and had an abrupt moment of truth about my future job. Still, I’m excited. Pushing myself out of Chattanooga and starting a career beyond what I had ever imagined for myself feels far more rewarding because it is a decision made entirely by my own volition.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of events, and trying to recall even 24 hours ago feels like holding a handful of water while trying not to let it all seep through my fingers. Brandon and I woke up to go to breakfast with some old friends of his/new friends of mine who wanted to catch up and see me off. This took the edge off the whole “last day in the Noog” effect, and it really humbled me how these kind people who barely know me were so eager to deepen our acquaintance. We talked about all the beautiful places to hike and explore in the Arizona area, and as a huge outdoor enthusiast I took note. I’m not sure at this point how much logistical freedom I’ll have outside of training, but if it’s at all possible I plan to do some exploring—even if its just around Phoenix itself.

Afterwards I went to the mall, where I picked out the perfect shade of red lipstick— a required part of my future uniform. In fact, reading the persnickety appearance requirements in the employee training packet is really amusing. Your makeup has to be just so, and your hair length and style also has to fall within very strict parameters. They only allow certain color hair ties and clips, and your clothing has to be approved every day at inspection. It really drives home the point that we, as representers of the airline, must demonstrate a carefully tailored image. Very glamorous, yet a little intimidating. As trainees, we may be asked to change our personal appearance down to the last detail or go home.

Later that evening, Brandon and my friends surprised me with a going away party. It wasn’t a complete surprise (I tend to catch on to hints and surreptitious glances between my friends when me leaving was mentioned in conversation) but I was utterly blown away by how many of my buddies showed up to send me off with gusto. We had a fun dinner, dancing and general merriment. A couple “posters” with well wishes, advice and random drawings came home with me, and they’re going to be proudly displayed in my hotel room for the duration of my stay! I love you guys!

3 airports and 2 time zones later….

After landing in Phoenix, I found my luggage and somehow managed to not get completely lost on my way to the hotel shuttle. The enduring impression I had of myself was having only a vague idea of where I was supposed to be, but acting like I was on top of it. I walked with purpose, and by that I mean busted  move all over that airport. Airports in Phoenix and Charlotte are not at all like airports in Tennessee. These are like small cities within themselves with luxury haberdashers, restaurants, massage parlors and even shoe shiners. My mind has been blown.

When I arrived at the hotel, we were informed by the general manager that US Airways has provided for our every need during our stay. We get two free meals a day, and three free alcoholic drinks between designated hours (?!)

The hotel shuttles will take us anywhere we need to go for shopping or tourism, and we are free to do as we please when we’re not in training. In addition, we get to keep the rewards points for staying over a month at this brand of hotels, which amounts to a free weekend anywhere in the continental US for the future. I plan to use this wisely.

Today is mainly for getting settled in and rested. I’m currently writing post cards to loved ones (watch your mail!) and will probably go down to the lobby to socialize. Or maybe I’ll just sleep the night away. A 6 hours flight really takes a lot out of you, and how my fellow classmates are talking about going on a Target run already boggles my mind. Right now the weather is beautiful, but slightly rainy and I’d rather reconnoiter the town with fresh energy. Tomorrow I start training and my new life as a flight attendant trainee officially begins. We’ll get pick out and get fitted for our uniforms, receive text books, and meet all our fellow classmates.

Anyway, I think I’ll end here for now, but keep your eyes open for new posts about training very soon. It looks like we have Sundays off every week, so that looks like the best time for updates.

Pictures

I'm feeling really lazy right now, so instead of trying to organize these into the post in a complementary manner, I'll just dump them here and add captions.

My room!

post cards!

the other part of my room

a blurry picture of Phoenix airport that I took from my phone. 

Brilliant shampoo/conditioner/shower gel dispenser. Everyone should have these!

The carousel baggage claim. It was massive!