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I decided that I’m going to actually use my health benefits this year. I overheard a conversation on the plane the other day. One girl was telling her friend next to her that “2017 is going to be all about me!”. That’s my thought as well, only I don’t want to sound as conceited as she did. So instead this is the year where I’m going to start to use the benefits that I’ve been paying for. This started yesterday with a visit to the dentist.
When I called to set up my appointment, I realized that I hadn’t been to a dentist in about 14 years. I remember I was still living in Logan, Utah because a former bishop of mine happened to be my dentist. He managed to do a crown or a bridge (I don’t even know the difference) out of porcelain. Yes, that particular tooth is made out of toilet seat.
Yesterday was my check-up and cleaning. Sadly, the years (and lack-of-flossing) have taken their toll on these pearly-whites. My new dentist, whom I was referred to by my coworker Matthew, was able to find 9 cavities! This is by far a personal record, and while I don’t wish to brag, I don’t think that’s as bad as it could have been. A lesson has been learned. I’m going to start flossing daily.
I shared this on facebook, and I LOVE the conversation that ensued: Here is the screenshots-
Don’t I have the most awesome friends?!
Along the same lines, this is (probably) the year where I will get to experience a colonoscopy. Doctors usually advise men to start having this done at the age of 50, but since my dad had prostate cancer (which he beat), my brother Matt and I are at an even at a higher risk than the average male. Have you had a colonoscopy? Could you please describe your experience in the comment section below?
Tonight I’m in Boston, Massachusetts
I just had an early dinner at NoName, a pretty good seafood restaurant on the Boston Fish Pier. According to the internet, this restaurant has been around since 1917. The food was pretty good. I had the fish chowder, followed by a seafood plate consisting of oysters, scallops, shrimp, scrod, and french fries.
The real thing I want to tell you about is the TV FoodMaps app. This app is incredible (and is how I found out about NoName)! It is a database of so many of the restaurants that were featured on shows like “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” “Food Paradise,” “Eat Street,” and more. You can search by a particular city or even do a local search in the area you’re currently located.
I haven’t used it many times because I keep forgetting that I have it on my phone. Hopefully, I’ll remember to check it out in future travels.
For some odd reason, I love spreadsheets. I love to organize lists. If I can choose the font or sort the data- that is like the ultimate turn-on. This small obsession has lead me to start another list. I have decided to start keeping track of the airplanes that I work or even just fly on. This list will have the date, Notes about the aircraft (anything cool, Corky, or annoying), The crew I’m working with, the online history of this particular aircraft, and the number of times I have worked on it (from today onward).
The FAA has a website that allows you to track the history of every plane. It’s pretty cool. I checked it a few years ago and found out that I had been working on a plane that had once been in an accident in Chicago.The plane was, and is totally safe to fly, as this particular incident involved an icy runway and the miscalculations of one of the pilots, or this is my understanding.
The sad part about this is the fact that I have been working here for 12 1/2 years and I’m barely starting to collect this data. Think of all the cool stories I could have been collecting up to this point as a flight attendant! I’m positive that I’ve worked on so many of the same planes, time and time again. Oh well. Better late than never.
Since 2006, I’ve been driving a 2002 Ford F-150 truck, whom I have lovingly named ‘Gus’. This has been a great truck, and I haven’t had very many problems with it. If I recall, it had only been in the shop two or three times in the last 11 years. I couldn’t be happier with Gus! Even so, I have a feeling that I’m overdue for some major vehicle problems. That tends to happen when trucks reach Gus’ age.
Over the last several months, I have been thinking that it’s time to get rid of my truck and get a vehicle that has better gas mileage. When my Ford was brand new, the internet tells me that it only got about 17 miles to the gallon. I don’t know exactly how much it gets now, but I do know it’s less than that.
Three nights ago, I was doing some research on the web, looking at different cars that I might be interested in purchasing. I decided to check out some Kias. I really like the look of their hatchbacks as I’d seen quite a few of them on the road. I thought maybe I can find one that isn’t going to be a total gas-guzzler. I filled out some of my information and submitted it, expecting to be contacted in a day or tow.
Ten minutes later, a Kia salesman from Layton called me. I told him what I was looking for and he said he had a model on the lot from that was one year old, and it only had 2000 miles on it. I set up an appointment to come and take a look at it. I told him that I wasn’t quite ready to buy, as I was waiting to receive my federal tax refund. Still, he said I needed to see this car and if I was interested, at least he’d know what to look out for.
When I got to the dealership, I asked to speak with the guy who I had talked with, and the receptionist told me that today was his day off. I found it odd that he would set up an appointment with me on a day where he wasn’t even coming to work. Another salesman overheard me talking and quickly offered to help.
This salesman didn’t know about the car that the first salesman had told me about on the phone, but he told me we could walk around the lot and if there was anything I’d like to take a look at, he’d show it to me. The very first car that caught my eye was a beautiful blue Niro. This is the first year for the Niros, and since I’d been taught to never buy a brand new car off the lot, I made the comment, “I’ll have that one in about two years!”. The salesman told me he’d be right back, and returned with the key.
He showed me the car, and it was pretty much my dream vehicle. I’m not a car person, but this thing had everything you could ask for. I told him I wasn’t interested in anything with the number ‘2017’ in the name. He then handed me the key and suggested we take it for a drive. I knew where this was going- and I did not want to be pressured into buying this car!
The test drive was wonderful! I have never driven anything so smooth- maybe this is because I’ve been driving a V-8, half-ton pickup for too many years. At any rate, I wish I could to report that I stood my ground and left the dealership with nothing more than a brochure or two. In a moment of weakness, the evil salesman ran my credit and crunched some numbers.
Meet my new baby. He doesn’t have a name yet.
Update: February 11, 2017
I have been trying to think of a suitable name for the last two days. This morning I decided that since I have such a love for Scotland, I’d give this car a Scottish name. I pulled up an online list of Scottish names and decided that this vehicle will now be called Calum.
Sometimes the fact that I don’t live at my base (Denver) can get annoying. Instead of driving to work, like most people. My commute is a 50-minute drive to downtown Salt Lake City, then I have to wait for a shuttle (up to 30 minutes) to take me to the airport. Next, I make my way to the plane but mind you- if it’s a full flight I need to get there early because our non-revenue flying is on a first come/ first serve basis. If I know it’s going to be a full flight, I try to get to the gate at least two hours before the flight. Add to that an hour-and-fifteen-minute flight and that’s a commute that can often take me three and a half hours or more!
The only saving grace is the fact that I don’t have to make the commute every day. I usually work at least two trips in a row, so that leaves me away from home a minimum of six days (this is my own choice- a normal shift would be three days on and four days off). This is the reason I don’t own any animals or even plants. If I have to feed or water something to keep it alive, it’s probably going to die. I’m totally a dog lover, so this is a horrible fact of my life right now.
The good news, however, is that our union protects my commutes. If I get to the airport and find out there there’s no room on my flight, and no other flights to get me to Denver, I just have to call crew scheduling and tell them the situation. I may miss out on some of my trip pay, but at least I don’t have any attendance points against me.
There are two ways to look at a commute like this:
- It SUCKS that I don’t live at my base!
or - I’m so thankful that I work for a company that allows me to commute from anywhere in the world, as long as I’m willing to make that commute.
I try to focus on the latter.
So- why on earth do I live in Utah? Among the reasons if the fact that this is where my parents live. I was living in Kentucky for five years and when they opened up our Denver base, I decided that it was time to go live closer to the folks’ (close enough that I don’t have to board a plane to go visit them, but far enough that they won’t come over unannounced. I need to make sure my living room is clean, don’t forget). I figure that an hour-and-a-half warning should be plenty of time to clean up any house, right?
I’ve been traveling for about a week and a half, and I’m ready to get home and sleep in my own bed tonight. At the moment, I’m sitting on the floor at Denver International Airport. This is because I’m using the wall socket to charge my various devices and there’s no chair nearby. My plane should be here soon.
As I was leaving my hotel room this morning, my phone rang.
It was crew scheduling again. Even though I was literally in the hallway, walking toward the elevator, they told me that there had been another change in my assignment. Instead of working in Las Vegas and then to Indianapolis, they told me I was now going to work to Denver, then on to Indianapolis. Now I didn’t have to be at the airport for another 3 hours or so- that I would be filling in for a flight attendant who had to call in sick when they were already working a trip.
Before my flight pushed back, I checked the temperature outside. -2°. I love the cold, even when it’s THIS hard- it’s magical. En route to Denver, I took a picture of the fields below. Not a bad view from the office!
By the time I landed in Denver, there was yet another message to call my scheduling department. No longer am I needed to go to Indianapolis. Instead, I’m off to Minneapolis. I do understand that flight attendants get sick. I also understand that there will be weather and mechanical delays and cancellations in this industry. Still, I am starting to feel like the flight attendant whipping boy.
After three hours of “airport appreciation” in Denver, I worked one more leg to MSP in Minnesota. I worried that there would be another message letting me know about yet another assignment change. Luckily, there was no such message. I was free to head to the hotel.
After changing out of my uniform, I walked over to The Mall of America for a few minutes. Even though it’s very close to the hotel, it was a strenuous walk. It was only 5° out, and so I felt an instant and constant ice cream headache. I don’t think the north pole would feel much different.
Even though I only worked two legs, I am exhausted. I can’t wait to climb into bed and nod off. Even though I wondered where I’d end up, it was still a good day. I was blessed to meet so many new coworkers and report that all the passengers were great.
It’s a very rainy day in Los Angeles, California.
It doesn’t even look like California at the moment. When my first flight landed, I had a message to call crew scheduling. I did so, and the scheduler on the other end of the line told me that I had been rerouted. I was initially supposed to work two legs, but now that has become three. The way things are looking, I’m not even sure where I’m going to end up tonight (or when my workday will be finished, at that).
I’ve decided to look at this job as an adventure since I get to travel to so many destinations, and you never know what will happen in a day. I’ll try to remain optimistic. The good news is that now my trip pays more than it did when I left my base this morning. I can’t wait to see what happens.
Happy New Year from Orlando!
Watching the rain fall in a tornado warning. This is totally hot chocolate weather!
DavTravels 