Orange You Glad (Orlando, FL)

It was all sun, all fun on a recent trip to Orlando.

I was delighted to find out that I would be flying with Y.P., one of the women I befriended while in {flight attendant training}. She's originally from Russia, so she has this adorable accent, and her personality is so bubbly and positive, its a pleasure to work with her. We joined up with B.O., who graduated in the class previous and was equally fun to be around. She had lived in Orlando since she was 19, so we relied on her for directions when we decided to go on our Floridian adventure.

We saw an upside down building, rode a trolley, stopped for ice cream, and admired stone animals and towering fountains. We even briefly considered going to {Downtown Disney} (rides, restaurants and sites similar to Disney but without having to pay to get in to admission) but decided we wanted to have some pool time. We stayed at {this} fabulous resort hotel which had multiple restaurants and a giant pool. I was a goon and forgot to bring my bathing suit, but YP lent me some black shorts, and I just jumped in wearing those and my black bra. Nobody noticed and it was so totally worth it! The water is perfect this time of year, and we all spent a good hour sunbathing and splashing around. I, being unable to tan, doused myself in a good SPF 55 before hitting the diving board. Good times ensued.

We were rather sad to leave Vacation Heaven, but we had a great time and enjoyed each other's company. YP and the First Officer (who was from Sweden) talked about how many languages each of them knew, and the process of becoming an American Citizen. I felt slightly guilty that I can only speak English competently and Spanish rather poorly. Time to brush up on my {duolingo}, I guess!

[caption id="attachment_635" align="alignnone" width="640"] YP, BO, EW and I on the flight back to Charlotte. Good times![/caption]

Below are a bunch of pictures from the hotel, our day jaunt around Orlando and us generally just being silly. Click on the smaller images to view the full-sized photos. Enjoy!

[gallery ids="627,626,625,624,623,621,620,619,622,618,617,614,613,598,597,596,612,610,608,607,606,605,604,603,602,600,599"]

Tally-ho Tampa! (Tampa, FL)

If you live on the eastern end of the US, chances are this is what it looks like outside your door:

[caption id="attachment_421" align="alignnone" width="650"] the rain down in Charlotte NC[/caption]

In the South, our summers are filled with beautiful sunny mornings, and rainy, dark afternoons/evenings. Its just one of those things. Unfortunately, this often results in flight delays. Aint nobody got time for that!

About the only thing you can do when this happens is go run off somewhere sunny and precipitation-free. Dreary days lead to a bleak mood, and this is no bueno! It's summer! Time to have fun!

This week that delightful getaway happened to be Tampa, Florida.
The Florida flights are usually filled with vacation-hyper children, parents wrangling them, and old people. Lots and lots of old people.
This time around, pretty much everyone was asleep on our way down to the bay (which makes a flight attendant's job a breeze) and we made it to our hotel with plenty of leftover energy to get out and enjoy ourselves.

The first thing I did was check in to my hotel room. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is a very comfortable hotel, and conveniently close to the airport.

[caption id="attachment_424" align="alignnone" width="698"] Image courtesy of Hilton Garden Inn[/caption]

My room sported a comfortable king sized bed, a flat-screen tv, a fridge, microwave and desk area. As all flight attendants who pack their own temperature sensitive food are aware—a room with a fridge and microwave is a huge blessing. Its a very kind consideration for these amenities to be provided by the hotel, so props to Hilton Tampa!

[caption id="attachment_415" align="alignnone" width="642"] My king sized bed[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_416" align="alignnone" width="642"] The room came with a microwave and mini-fridge—a very nice touch that not all value hotels offer[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_417" align="alignnone" width="642"] My nice comfy little desk and chair[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_413" align="alignnone" width="642"] my vanity area[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_414" align="alignnone" width="642"] The soap was conveniently labeled for the body part it was best suited for[/caption]

 

Within walking distance were some strip malls, including a Target, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Macy's. I decided to bypass the shopping and went straight for the nearest beach. Tampa's beaches have beautiful white sand and blue-green ocean. In this July heat, the water feels amazing to just soak and swim around in.  Remind yourself that you deserve this vacation, and life is too short not to abscond somewhere beautiful for awhile.

[caption id="attachment_428" align="alignnone" width="800"] Ahhhhh yesss[/caption]

 

 

 

Hurry Up and Wait (aka my first couple weeks on the job!)

I've started keeping a moleskine notebook by my side at all times, because no matter how much I try to make a mental note of all the things I've done and seen, I can't possibly keep up with the adventures I'm going on. I've met so many new people and done an endless list of things which are firsts of their kind in the past few weeks alone. It's a good problem to have!

Before I took this job I was worried I'd end up in a life where every day was basically a repeat of the last, give or take a few tedious details. Working as a flight attendant is the exact opposite. Every trip is different, and while certain things are the same (uniform, aircraft fleet, supplies, etc), everything else is fascinatingly varied. I still sit in awe of the fact that I'm getting paid to be a world traveler extraordinaire.

I remember well that first day when my class got our phone calls from scheduling. They went in order of seniority, so we literally watched as one person's phone went off after the next. We all were just so excited and ready to see what they'd say; hoping for something exotic and far away.

When I got called, I had to steady my voice from sounding over-enthusiastic. This was difficult to do when the guy offered me a trip to Aruba.

Would I like to go to Aruba and have a night all-expense-paid night at a beach resort? Gee, let me check my calendar. I might have a dentist's appointment that night.

OF COURSE I WANT TO GO TO FREAKING ARUBA!!

In Charlotte it was a cold 35 degrees, and the thought of lounging by the waves was almost too good to be true. One of the nice things about being at the bottom of the seniority totem pole as new hires is we get all kinds of trips. As soon as a senior mamas drop a trip or someone calls in sick, we are the first line of response to take their place.

On one of my first assignments, I got to sit OPR (on premesis reserve) with two of my lovely roommates. We got called in order of seniority, so we picked the same time slot. Basically, OPR is where you sit at the airport for 4 hours, waiting for someone to call you for a trip that has to be filled immediately. This usually happens when a flight attendant is late to check in or calls in sick, or is delayed at a different airport and can't make it to the next flight. OPR has a reputation for being boring, but I love it. The mystery of where you could go if you get called, and the camaraderie of hanging out with other flight attendants is awesome. I get a lot of reading done and/or blogging, paying bills etc.

That first OPR with Jasmine and Belle was awesome. The three of us are already inseparable and we kept each other entertained with 4 hours of YouTube videos, pictures, and advice from senior flight attendants who came over to see who these new kids were. That's another thing I love about this job; everybody is so happy to see us. They say it's inspiring to see our fresh enthusiasm, and it reminds them how much they enjoy their jobs. We learned so much, and when it was time to go, we were a little sad. Still, we strutted our stuff through that airport and giggled about how we were finally legit flight attendants.

[caption id="attachment_58" align="alignnone" width="300"] Belle, Jasmine and I on our first night waiting OPR[/caption]

The next week, Jasmine and I got a trip together. I forget where we went, but we were having such a good time. After we had served our passengers (flashbacks to training where she  and I practiced serving, we could hardly believe we were doing it for real!) we stood in the front galley, out of sight of the passengers and kept making each other laugh. She would do some crazy dance and I would do something silly, and we both just couldn't believe we were getting paid to do this. Then, being the crazy kid she is, she got the idea to climb into the overhead bins after the passengers had deplaned. I was sure she wouldn't fit, or even be able to haul herself up there, but sure enough—she made it happen!

[caption id="attachment_60" align="alignnone" width="300"] she is so crazy! But I love her![/caption]

The next week, I got a 4 day trip to NewYork, Philly, Orlando and Punta Cana DR. It was a big deal for me, because nobody knew me on this trip and I wanted to make a very good first impression. Of course, being me, I assume I'm going to mess everything up under pressure, and I obsessed over studying the aircraft and the position I would be working before the trip. But, it turned out to be great. I met a cool guy named Patrick, who had been working for the company for over 30 years. He was from the same town in Ohio as Darcy, which I thought was incredibly cool, and had a girlfriend from college who he never married because she hated his job. I've heard this a lot among flight attendants. Their spouses want them to be able to spend Christmas or birthdays at home, but we just aren't able to guarantee that.

I guess its hard for me to understand why the day of the month is so important. I wouldn't mind celebrating my birthday the week before, or remembering an anniversary the week after. The important thing is the quality time spent together, not necessarily the date, right?  The lack of precise freedom over schedule and planning ability is perhaps one of the drawbacks to the job, but to me it's not that big of a deal. I have a good friend who is getting married at the end of June and if I am unable to make it to the wedding itself, I will be there to see her beforehand and show my support. Plus, I got her and her husband free tickets to Europe, so I don't think they're complaining too much. ;) Flexibility is key, and I knew what I was getting myself into. Still, I felt kind of bad for Patrick and wondered how it felt to be in a relationship where one partner constantly wasn't happy with your lifestyle.

Our New York leg of the trip was spectacular. The flight was at 8 am, and we got in at around 9:30 and the rest of the day was ours to spend in the city. Our hotel accommodations were right in the middle of downtown Manhattan, and I called my good friend Andy to hang out with me. As it turned out, we spent the entire day together exploring the city and enjoying ourselves. We went to Central Park, the Garment District, Strawberry Fields and all over the metro. It was truly a perfect day.

[caption id="attachment_63" align="alignnone" width="300"] My sweet New Yorker friend Andy and I[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_64" align="alignnone" width="300"] walking around downtown Manhattan always takes my breath away.[/caption]

For more pictures on my trip to New York, as well as many other pictures from other trips, check out my instagram account at www.instagram.com/wingedwayfarer!

Well, that's all I have time for now, but I'll be updating again soon!