yesterday was truely wonderful. scott had everything planned. he cooked me a delicious dinner, and looked after me all day. i didnt have to lift a fnger, for which i was so grateful. I felt like crap, with a severe head cold, which now has started to ease and at least my voice has returned, even if i am still al little croaky.
We went for a walk thru the laines in brighton, looking at all the xmas lights. it was like strolling thru diagon alley. so romantic.
today we met up with a friend of mine from sydney, who was visiting relatives in brighton. was nice to see a familiar face from sydney.
And tonight we have been given some more wonderous news, in that we have managed to play with our rosters and are off to barbados together. YAY!!! so we get a romantic layover in the sun for 24 hours.
that also will mean i have a few more days off at the other end.. although scott is still working NYE and i still havent found a way to be on his trip. but im holding on to the fact we will find a way.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
speechless
Had a fantastic trip to Miami. crew were fantastic, everyone worked together as a team, with no slackers, and everyone was in an great mood.
we had to shut off the entertainment system halfway through the safety video due to refuelling, so with no notice we were told to do a manual demo. before i knew it i was standing in front of the entire cabin, doing a manual safety demonstration, i only realised what i was doing as a was standing there with an oxygen mask fastened over my face (vast improvement i might add), i was so in automatic mode the fast i was doing my very first one was almost lost on me.
about halfway through the flight, out of no where, i completely lost my voice. no idea why. i think i have a head cold, but the only symptom was a slightly stuffy nose and loss of my voice. was so funny, i sounded like a drag queen on crack. i would get half way thru a sentence to passengers and then it would go completely and nothing would come out.
got a bit tipsy when crew had a few drinks after we got to the hotel, and went to bed to rest the throat.
next day i had to walk 20 blocks to the nearest pharmacy to stock up on a handful of different remedies just so i could have a voice for the flight home. otherwise i would not have been fit to operate the flight (cant work if i have no voice for safety reasons) but luckily it was loud enough to fly, even if i was all raspy sounding.
had some severe turbulence on the way home. was standing in the galley and next thing you knew, my feet actually lifted off the floor....only slightly, but enough to make me realise how quickly turbulence can hit. its weird how turbulence can feel so bad down the back in the galley, but be completely smooth at the front of the plane.
just before landing, i did manage to spill an entire jug of orange juice all over myself.. from my stomach to my shoes. i was amazed at how water resistant my uniform is, as most of it just wiped off and my pants were dry. thankfully.
well, its xmas day.... missing my Friends and family but so happy scott and i are getting to spend our first xmas together....even if i am sick.
got some amazing gifts from scott. i got a new watch, with dual time (so very donna jensen from view from the top)
and got a roboquad robot.
but best of all....... scott bought me the naming rights to a star!!!! how amazing is that.. he even gives me the stars. now i just have to think of a name and then pick a star from the available list and officially name it. its the most wonderful and romantic gift anyone has gotten me.
he has also made me breakfast of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels and champagne, which is what i have every xmas with mum back home so he has really gone all out to make my xmas a special one and no so homesick.
next trip coming up in a few days to nairobi...and scotts off to barbados. not sure if we will have new years eve together.. as scott will be away, and im off. so i may end up sitting at home alone on new years eve... oh well.. xmas sure has made up for it.
we had to shut off the entertainment system halfway through the safety video due to refuelling, so with no notice we were told to do a manual demo. before i knew it i was standing in front of the entire cabin, doing a manual safety demonstration, i only realised what i was doing as a was standing there with an oxygen mask fastened over my face (vast improvement i might add), i was so in automatic mode the fast i was doing my very first one was almost lost on me.
about halfway through the flight, out of no where, i completely lost my voice. no idea why. i think i have a head cold, but the only symptom was a slightly stuffy nose and loss of my voice. was so funny, i sounded like a drag queen on crack. i would get half way thru a sentence to passengers and then it would go completely and nothing would come out.
got a bit tipsy when crew had a few drinks after we got to the hotel, and went to bed to rest the throat.
next day i had to walk 20 blocks to the nearest pharmacy to stock up on a handful of different remedies just so i could have a voice for the flight home. otherwise i would not have been fit to operate the flight (cant work if i have no voice for safety reasons) but luckily it was loud enough to fly, even if i was all raspy sounding.
had some severe turbulence on the way home. was standing in the galley and next thing you knew, my feet actually lifted off the floor....only slightly, but enough to make me realise how quickly turbulence can hit. its weird how turbulence can feel so bad down the back in the galley, but be completely smooth at the front of the plane.
just before landing, i did manage to spill an entire jug of orange juice all over myself.. from my stomach to my shoes. i was amazed at how water resistant my uniform is, as most of it just wiped off and my pants were dry. thankfully.
well, its xmas day.... missing my Friends and family but so happy scott and i are getting to spend our first xmas together....even if i am sick.
got some amazing gifts from scott. i got a new watch, with dual time (so very donna jensen from view from the top)
and got a roboquad robot.
but best of all....... scott bought me the naming rights to a star!!!! how amazing is that.. he even gives me the stars. now i just have to think of a name and then pick a star from the available list and officially name it. its the most wonderful and romantic gift anyone has gotten me.
he has also made me breakfast of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels and champagne, which is what i have every xmas with mum back home so he has really gone all out to make my xmas a special one and no so homesick.
next trip coming up in a few days to nairobi...and scotts off to barbados. not sure if we will have new years eve together.. as scott will be away, and im off. so i may end up sitting at home alone on new years eve... oh well.. xmas sure has made up for it.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
the top 6 things that are annoying me about flying
thought i would have a good vent and get it all out of my system. Here are the top 6 things that get on my nerves about passengers so far. they are really in no particular order since it depends on the day as to what annoys me more.
1. People who start pressing their call bells before they have even sat down, wanting this that and the other. how about waiting until we are airborne and able to access the galleys before asking for the world.
2. after walking down the aisle handing out UK landing cards and saying in a clear loud voice, landing cards for the UK are required by anyone who does not have a UK or European passport, and then having all Americans on the flight think that this does not apply to them. perhaps they think that either they are exempt from any immigration policy around the world because they are American, or they just don't realise that American is not part of Europe.
3. people who wait until you have walked 3 rows past them before deciding that they do want coffee. or better yet, when asked if they want coffee they wait until you have half pours the cup before asking...is that Tea??
4. passengers that respond when asked...Orange Juice or Water.... answer yes please... and when you ask which one do you want.... they either get stumped, like it was a life threatening decision and they simply cannot choose due to absolute fear of making the wrong decision.... .or that they point to the OJ and say water. (whats ever worse, when you have a jug of either as and if they want oj or water and say to you no but ill have a coke... like youve have stored one up your arse just in case somsome should want one.
5. when you walk down the aisle with a coffee pot in one hand and a serving tray in the other, and someone asks you to take their meal tray. how many hands do they think you have.
6. passengers who try to have an indepth conversation with you, whilst wearing their headphones, and wait until you have finished a lengthy explanation about something before removing their headphones and asking you to repeat what you have said.
hats off to all flight attendants around the world, because its a hell of a lot harder than it looks. and to all those who think that we are just waiters in the sky... well there is so much going on behind the scenes, that if thats all you are seeing, then we are doing our jobs well.
ok, rant over... los angeles was nice.. despite the flights there and back being hell. still tired and jetlagged, but i have 2 days to get over that before im off again. yay.
1. People who start pressing their call bells before they have even sat down, wanting this that and the other. how about waiting until we are airborne and able to access the galleys before asking for the world.
2. after walking down the aisle handing out UK landing cards and saying in a clear loud voice, landing cards for the UK are required by anyone who does not have a UK or European passport, and then having all Americans on the flight think that this does not apply to them. perhaps they think that either they are exempt from any immigration policy around the world because they are American, or they just don't realise that American is not part of Europe.
3. people who wait until you have walked 3 rows past them before deciding that they do want coffee. or better yet, when asked if they want coffee they wait until you have half pours the cup before asking...is that Tea??
4. passengers that respond when asked...Orange Juice or Water.... answer yes please... and when you ask which one do you want.... they either get stumped, like it was a life threatening decision and they simply cannot choose due to absolute fear of making the wrong decision.... .or that they point to the OJ and say water. (whats ever worse, when you have a jug of either as and if they want oj or water and say to you no but ill have a coke... like youve have stored one up your arse just in case somsome should want one.
5. when you walk down the aisle with a coffee pot in one hand and a serving tray in the other, and someone asks you to take their meal tray. how many hands do they think you have.
6. passengers who try to have an indepth conversation with you, whilst wearing their headphones, and wait until you have finished a lengthy explanation about something before removing their headphones and asking you to repeat what you have said.
hats off to all flight attendants around the world, because its a hell of a lot harder than it looks. and to all those who think that we are just waiters in the sky... well there is so much going on behind the scenes, that if thats all you are seeing, then we are doing our jobs well.
ok, rant over... los angeles was nice.. despite the flights there and back being hell. still tired and jetlagged, but i have 2 days to get over that before im off again. yay.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
luck of the draw
just got my jan roster. spewing i didnt get a sydney trip AGAIN!!! but i did get 2 orlandos (i like those) and 2 nairobi's and a johannesburg and a barbados.
just as well scott and i both get a night LA together this week.
ill try to swap onto a sydney trip soon tho as dying to get home and see friends and family
just as well scott and i both get a night LA together this week.
ill try to swap onto a sydney trip soon tho as dying to get home and see friends and family
Thursday, December 13, 2007
chewed up and spat out
just landed from Orlando. 9.10 hours there and 7.42 coming home. with 24 hours downroute.
flight over was full and pretty busy. 747 was amazing to work on.. even if it was huge. got an hours crew rest even.
went out for drinks when i got there with the crew, and woke up with the hang over from hell. the hotel is attached to a huge shopping mall, but alas, no money to shop with so had to settle for getting scott just one xmas present.
flight home was half empty so got to have 2.15 hours crew rest. was a bit weird to go trotting off to go lie down on a bunk whilst passengers were sitting downstairs, and then hit some pretty bad turbulence. totally weird feeling being strapped to a bunk, whilst the tail fo the plane is fish-tailing all over the place. managed to get about 1.5 hours sleep out of it. and emerged looking refreshed and thankful i wasnt sitting in a normal seat for 7 something hours.
still ended up feeling delerious and hypoxic when i got off, and its amuzing to see all the crew turn crazy when we get on the crew bus, from tiredness, jetlag, and hypoxia. one of the fun things of the job!
flight over was full and pretty busy. 747 was amazing to work on.. even if it was huge. got an hours crew rest even.
went out for drinks when i got there with the crew, and woke up with the hang over from hell. the hotel is attached to a huge shopping mall, but alas, no money to shop with so had to settle for getting scott just one xmas present.
flight home was half empty so got to have 2.15 hours crew rest. was a bit weird to go trotting off to go lie down on a bunk whilst passengers were sitting downstairs, and then hit some pretty bad turbulence. totally weird feeling being strapped to a bunk, whilst the tail fo the plane is fish-tailing all over the place. managed to get about 1.5 hours sleep out of it. and emerged looking refreshed and thankful i wasnt sitting in a normal seat for 7 something hours.
still ended up feeling delerious and hypoxic when i got off, and its amuzing to see all the crew turn crazy when we get on the crew bus, from tiredness, jetlag, and hypoxia. one of the fun things of the job!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Top Ten things that spin me out about flying
1. Waking up in the morning and thinking, "I'm going to another country today!"
2. Not having to go thru immigration like everyone else, and not even showing my passport coming and going from the UK.
3. Getting to 'Arm Doors and crosscheck'
4. Being downroute and converting foreign currency back into British Pounds. (this really does my head in as normally it would be back into aussie dollars.
5. Standing in front of the cabin and doing a Safety Demo. (after years of watching others do it.
6. Pushing a trolley up and down an aisle asking chicken or beef.
7. Being in an aircraft and not actually knowing where in the world im flying over at any given time
8. Having everyone in the airport and on the plane looking at you all the time.
9. Sitting in a jumpseat for takeoff and landing
10. How quickly an 8 hour flight can go when youre not sitting down watching movies.
2. Not having to go thru immigration like everyone else, and not even showing my passport coming and going from the UK.
3. Getting to 'Arm Doors and crosscheck'
4. Being downroute and converting foreign currency back into British Pounds. (this really does my head in as normally it would be back into aussie dollars.
5. Standing in front of the cabin and doing a Safety Demo. (after years of watching others do it.
6. Pushing a trolley up and down an aisle asking chicken or beef.
7. Being in an aircraft and not actually knowing where in the world im flying over at any given time
8. Having everyone in the airport and on the plane looking at you all the time.
9. Sitting in a jumpseat for takeoff and landing
10. How quickly an 8 hour flight can go when youre not sitting down watching movies.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
The Eagle Has Landed !!!
OH MY GOD!!!! I love flying!!!!
Ok gordon and i were shitting ourselves when we got to the airport. The Pre-Flight Briefing was nerve wrecking but wasnt as bad as we thought. next thing you know we are going thru security.. everything was a total blur..i was so nervous.
Next thing i know, we are on the plane, checks complete and im trying to figure out everything in the galley.. i hadnt even realised passengers had started boarding until i saw a strange man standing in the galley.. scared the crap outta me.
Had to do my first video safety demo.. had no idea what i was doing as we had only seen it once during training.... almost wished it was a manual demo.. at least i know that back to front.
Before i knew it, we were strapped into our jumpseats and hurlting down the runway.
lets just say it was a real trial by fire. totally full flight, lots of seat back video problems, passengers complaining headsets didnt work, ran out of meal choices and the call bells did not stop for the entire flight. but i tell you, i havenever had 8 hours pass so quickly.
had listened to my service trainers and had crouched down to deal with all my passengers, and by the time i got off, my thigh muscles were so sore i could hardly walk.. my feet were killing me, i was deliriously tired but i loved the entire experience.
Brooklyn was freezing cold, and i was only there for 16 hours so slept most of it.
fliht home was a breeze, really felt i knew what i was doing for the services except for the duty free.. got totally confused on the computer but hey, i know it now.
had extreme winds on landing and aircraft was all over the place, but just goes to show how great our pilots are as we didnt have any issues, apart from us being a bit scared down the back.
slept for about 16 hours when i got home.
can hardly wait for my next trip and getting to deal with more passengers and get to play on a 747 next time !!!!
Ok gordon and i were shitting ourselves when we got to the airport. The Pre-Flight Briefing was nerve wrecking but wasnt as bad as we thought. next thing you know we are going thru security.. everything was a total blur..i was so nervous.
Next thing i know, we are on the plane, checks complete and im trying to figure out everything in the galley.. i hadnt even realised passengers had started boarding until i saw a strange man standing in the galley.. scared the crap outta me.
Had to do my first video safety demo.. had no idea what i was doing as we had only seen it once during training.... almost wished it was a manual demo.. at least i know that back to front.
Before i knew it, we were strapped into our jumpseats and hurlting down the runway.
lets just say it was a real trial by fire. totally full flight, lots of seat back video problems, passengers complaining headsets didnt work, ran out of meal choices and the call bells did not stop for the entire flight. but i tell you, i havenever had 8 hours pass so quickly.
had listened to my service trainers and had crouched down to deal with all my passengers, and by the time i got off, my thigh muscles were so sore i could hardly walk.. my feet were killing me, i was deliriously tired but i loved the entire experience.
Brooklyn was freezing cold, and i was only there for 16 hours so slept most of it.
fliht home was a breeze, really felt i knew what i was doing for the services except for the duty free.. got totally confused on the computer but hey, i know it now.
had extreme winds on landing and aircraft was all over the place, but just goes to show how great our pilots are as we didnt have any issues, apart from us being a bit scared down the back.
slept for about 16 hours when i got home.
can hardly wait for my next trip and getting to deal with more passengers and get to play on a 747 next time !!!!
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Virgin gives you wings!!!!
in the words of my group OMG!!!!
i got my wings on monday night. was a bittersweet evening in that we all passed but was the last time we would be together as a group. I was group spokes person and had to get up and make a speech to thank all the trainers. got about 1 sentence in and started to get all weepy.. how embarrassment. but go tthru it fine.
got a surprise tho. the class had voted me the class hero and i got a trophy. i thnk thats what set off the waterworks.
anyway... here it is.. wednesday...D Day. i am about to go get dressed and take my first flight... scared, excited, nervous... all of the above.
watched view from the top last night for some last minute pointers.
better keep it brief as i have to go manicure myself within an inch of my life.
i got my wings on monday night. was a bittersweet evening in that we all passed but was the last time we would be together as a group. I was group spokes person and had to get up and make a speech to thank all the trainers. got about 1 sentence in and started to get all weepy.. how embarrassment. but go tthru it fine.
got a surprise tho. the class had voted me the class hero and i got a trophy. i thnk thats what set off the waterworks.
anyway... here it is.. wednesday...D Day. i am about to go get dressed and take my first flight... scared, excited, nervous... all of the above.
watched view from the top last night for some last minute pointers.
better keep it brief as i have to go manicure myself within an inch of my life.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
last full training day done and dusted!!!
after a sleepless night.... stressing and pondering my practical drills all night, the day had arrived where our actual practicals took place.
we all marched from the classroom to the training rigg, like prisoners walking the long green mile. you could have heard a pin drop as we all entered the training rigg and st down... everyones knees were shaking.... palms sweating and butterflies rattling to get out.
but guess what..... i passed with flying colours. we then finished off running through our practical experience on all the boeing doors, and running through all the bells and whistles of the boeing.
then a little nice surprise came at the end of the day...as we realised that was it... end of 6 weeks, with only our 2 written finals on boeing to do on monday... that in fact, since we passed the practicals today.. .we are indeed FLIGHT ATTENDANTS!!!!! regardless of the outcome of mondays exams..... i WILL be flying on wednesday, because that is on an Airbus. (mind you, i cannot fly on a boeing if i do fail monday and would need to do the 3 day conversion course again...and im so not going to let that happen...esp since i have been getting 100%-96% in every exam so far.)
I WILL be getting my wings on monday... i cannot believe it. even now i am fighting back the tears that threaten to well in my eyes, that i have finally, after all these years, achieved my life dreams. Not only this, but doing it for one of the worlds best airlines.
but you can bet i will be crapping my pants on wednesday as i walk into that pre-flight briefing room, and even worse as i step onto that plane... feeling like i dont know what to do from one moment to another... but in my heart i know that i do know it all.. just have to get over the nerves.
we all marched from the classroom to the training rigg, like prisoners walking the long green mile. you could have heard a pin drop as we all entered the training rigg and st down... everyones knees were shaking.... palms sweating and butterflies rattling to get out.
but guess what..... i passed with flying colours. we then finished off running through our practical experience on all the boeing doors, and running through all the bells and whistles of the boeing.
then a little nice surprise came at the end of the day...as we realised that was it... end of 6 weeks, with only our 2 written finals on boeing to do on monday... that in fact, since we passed the practicals today.. .we are indeed FLIGHT ATTENDANTS!!!!! regardless of the outcome of mondays exams..... i WILL be flying on wednesday, because that is on an Airbus. (mind you, i cannot fly on a boeing if i do fail monday and would need to do the 3 day conversion course again...and im so not going to let that happen...esp since i have been getting 100%-96% in every exam so far.)
I WILL be getting my wings on monday... i cannot believe it. even now i am fighting back the tears that threaten to well in my eyes, that i have finally, after all these years, achieved my life dreams. Not only this, but doing it for one of the worlds best airlines.
but you can bet i will be crapping my pants on wednesday as i walk into that pre-flight briefing room, and even worse as i step onto that plane... feeling like i dont know what to do from one moment to another... but in my heart i know that i do know it all.. just have to get over the nerves.
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