1 Mar 20177 Mar 2017 / Dav / 4 Comments

I’m new to the world of WordPress– this is the service that I’m now using to post to DavsAddiction.com. I just discovered that someone gives you what is called a “Daily Prompt” (The Daily Post). This is supposed to make you think or be inspired to write. I noticed today’s word is “Hesitate”. This is the perfect word for me to think about since I am the self-proclaimed world’s worst procrastinator. I am, but then I’m not.

This brings to mind a conversation that I recently had with my dad. He was telling me about one of my ancestors and how he was trying to get this man’s life story down. He expressed his frustration that so many members of our family aren’t as interested in knowing the stories in their family history. He said that when he dies, most of these stories will die with him. My response to him was, “People always make time for what is most important to them.”

I know there’s certain drives and passions that I was born with. I also know that so many of these passions I’ve been able to develop over time. For instance- for as long as I can remember, I have loved to travel. It just so happens that I’ve chosen a vocation that allows me to feed this passion. So- how much of this passion is nature and how much of it is nurture? Was this seed planted due to the fact that my parents’ would load all of us kids into the car and drive from Arizona to South Carolina every summer? Or does it stem from something earlier?

Here’s where I will try to tie this all together. I never hesitate or procrastinate the things the matter the most to me at that particular moment. These priorities do change often, I’m not sure if it’s my undiagnosed attention deficit disorder or if it’s something else. I don’t know how my brain works. I listen to the world around me and it can be frustrating when someone tells me my priorities should be different than what they are. Do I “go through the motions” even though my passion may be pulling me a different way?

-Dav

via Daily Prompt: Hesitate

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19 Feb 201712 Mar 2017 / Dav

18 Feb 201712 Mar 2017 / Dav / Leave a comment

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?

9 Feb 201712 Mar 2017 / Dav / Leave a comment

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.

Let’s Talk About Working On Reserve

7 Nov 201620 Aug 2021 / Dav / 1 Comment

Usually, when you work a reserve trip, you are getting the worst assignment available. If a flight attendant has 18+ hours on a sandy beach, they’re less likely to get rid of that trip. A flight attendant is less likely to call in sick for a great trip, as well. I DO NOT condone using a sick day unless you indeed are sick. Actions like that will come back to definitely bite you in the butt!

Since I’m based in Denver, I have decent seniority- I’ve been here long enough that I never have to work reserve unless I pick up a reserve block by my own choice. Usually, that means I’m helping out a friend, or maybe I’m trying to get more hours in the month. It’s a rare thing but not unheard of. I wait for the call from scheduling- I cross my fingers and say a prayer that I don’t get a bad trip. This week, I did get lucky with my assignment.

On the second night of my trip, I ended up in Nashville, Tennessee, after working two short legs. I was given over twenty hours in music city, so I decided to head downtown and find an early dinner. I ended up at Jack’s on broadway. This restaurant is a definite tourist attraction, but it also has some really great barbecue! This is one of my favorite overnights!

After dinner, I searched on my phone to see if there were any shows or events in town. I was hoping to find a good deal on last-minute tickets. I, once again, got lucky! It is with great excitement that I can now check off number 44 of my bucket list! Even at this late hour, I managed to get myself a ticket to the Grand Ole Opry!

Since I had a few hours to kill before the show started, I decided to take a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This was amazing! Memorabilia from so many of the artists that I grew up listening to!

The concert was amazing- they had been having it at the Opry house, but this time they were back at the Ryman, which is something that I have always wanted to experience!

The artists who performed were Jeannie Sealy, Mike Snider, Kelsey Waldon, Jon Conlee, Connie Smith, Jamey Johnson, Riders In The Sky, Jesse McReynolds, Jamie Lynn Spears, Bill Anderson, The SteelDrivers, and Kristian Busch. Jamey Johnson surprised everyone and brought Allison Krauss!

So- all of the artists played two songs, but when Kristian Busch got to the, he only played one song. I thought that was rather odd since he appeared to be the headliner for that evening. When he left the stage, the announcer said that we would have a commercial break, and then he had a surprise for us. Since it was getting late, I decided that it was time to head back to my hotel. I had to be up early the following day.

I left through the gift shop, and as I was purchasing a shot glass, the lady ringing me up told me that there was a surprise and that I needed to head back into the auditorium. I told her that I had to be up early, but she looked me in the eye and said, “Trust me! There’s a surprise, and you need to go back into the auditorium!”. I found that odd but did as she said. As I re-entered the auditorium, I saw a band setting up, but nobody singer was approaching yet.

All of a sudden, GARTH BROOKS walks out. The crowd went wild! Suddenly, I’m incredibly grateful that the gift store clerk didn’t let me leave! After singing The Thunder Rolls, Garth said, “I want to introduce you to someone!” TRISHA YEARWOOD walks out! I’m beaming! Did you know that hearing Trisha Yearwood sing live is number 97 on my bucket list, and hearing Garth Brooks sing live is number 120 (not even kidding)!

26 Oct 201612 Mar 2017 / Dav / Leave a comment

Another barf bag of love! I love my job!

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31 Aug 201612 Mar 2017 / Dav

20 Oct 201512 Mar 2017 / Dav / Leave a comment

This morning I printed out a map of Scotland. With a pen, I have circled some of the places I’d like to see, many of them I’ve never been to, but some are ones that I’d hate to miss out on, and would like to experience again. The only plan that is for sure- I will fly into and out of the U.K. via Glasgow, one city I truly love, and I must visit my absolute favorite city- Edinburgh.

15 Sep 201512 Mar 2017 / Dav / Leave a comment

Last night I had a great time getting together with some of my dear friends from my Utah State University days. This was the group who I went with to the United Kingdom for the very first time, back in 2002. These are the people who I blame for this stupid obsession that I have with Scotland. We needed to get together, have some ice cream, and reminisce about the old days. We called this our London Reunion.

We met at the Leatherby’s on 5400 South. When I arrived, Colee was there with her husband Jonathan, and James had brought his son Luke (James’ wife Heather was feeling under-the-weather so she was at home with their youngest). We chatted for about 10 minutes until Dave and Dominoe arrived as well. Missing from the original London group was Makaylee and Julie. It’s sad when real life happens. We wished that everyone could have attended.

We didn’t really talk a whole lot about London. We did share a few memories, including James’ attempt to navigate causing us to end up on the wrong coast of Scotland. At first, he denied that it was his fault, but we pretty much ganged up on him. My memory of this experience is falling asleep in the van and waking up to David telling us that we had been headed in the wrong direction.

We talked for about 45 minutes to an hour and it dawned on me that I hadn’t actually seen Dave and Dominoe for over 7 years (apart from Facebook)! This is horrible! I need to be a better friend! To remedy this, it was suggested by myself that we try to get together once a month, but they all argued that once ever three months would work better- since many of them have kids and lives and schedules and stuff to do. So hopefully we can get something set up in December, and if we’re lucky, maybe we can get Makaylee and Julie in attendance!

14 May 20159 Feb 2019 / Dav / Leave a comment

Coming in at number 26 on the bucket list is to go to Disneyland for more than one day consecutively. I often work flights in and out of southern California and I see the little kids with their Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse ears, or their princess shirts and I ask them how long they are going on their vacation for. It’s quite common to find that are going for at least a week. That may be a little excessive, but I’ve never been for more than one day.

When I was young, it was quite a big deal for my family to go to Disneyland. I remember we’d drive to California one day, spend most of the second day at Disneyland and then day three was driving back to Arizona. This was huge! A few years ago, I got to spend the day with my friend Arron there, but that was still just one day. This needs to happen!

Here are some pictures from my day at Disneyland with Arron (this happened back in February of 2009):