Our first trip together...

Over 5 years ago, when Simon was a First Officer, we first met. We were assigned a whole month of flying together, but it was the first trip that was the most memorable and when I first knew he was a good guy.

On our second overnight, in grand ole' Sioux Falls, I got pretty sick and ended up having the hotel van take me to the Emergency Room. I was given some pretty good drugs and sent home that night. (As a new hire Flight Attendant, SkyWest continually embeds the idea that you'll get fired if you abuse the ability to call in sick... this should have been when I did call in sick but I was too scared too.) Since I was so new to Skywest, my insurance hadn't kicked in (but was supposed to be already) so I couldn't get my prescriptions that night.

The next day we did a few legs of flying and by the time we got to our hotel for the overnight I was in pain, needing my prescriptions and not a happy camper. We went to our rooms and perfect timing, mine had not been cleaned. I think I was about to go into the fetal position and cry, but luckily Simon hadn't gone in his room yet and saw that something was wrong. He immediately gave me the key to his room and went and got a new key for himself.

He apparently came back to walk with me to the pharmacy, but I was in so much pain and discomfort that I don't actually remember much. All I do know is that the next knock on the door was Simon with my prescriptions and some juice.

He had taken the initiative, as I was not going to get very far, to fill and pay for my prescriptions. The captain had gone with him to the pharmacy, and gave him much warning that Simon should not pay for my prescriptions as I was, as a stereotype, an unreliable Flight Attendant and would never pay him back.

With the medicine I felt much better and Simon definitely took care of me for the rest of the trip...... and funny thing.... I never did remember to pay him back.

Your flight crew and the "Friendly Skies"

After almost 7 years of going to an airport dressed in a funny uniform, I thought I would recount the usual attention and comments that are passed our way each and every day we go to work. Also, these comments , while taken with a patronizing smile (internal sigh) are very annoying, so this post might serve those traveling on how not to annoy the flight crew before they have even begun flying the airplane.

1. Standing in airport terminal in pilot uniform, question asked.." Are you a Pilot?". Now this is a common one, believe it or not and I usually answer through clenched teeth " Yes...". What I want to say is that I am actually a river boat Captain but I usually hang out at airports because I like to be asked dumb questions.

2. "Where are the bathrooms?" This one usually asked while I am standing under a sign that says Restrooms. Also, don't ask " Is there a place for me to smoke".... I don't know, or care.. When was the last time you saw pilots gathered in a smoking room in uniform dragging away on cigarettes?

3. " Which gate is flight 6523 going out of?" Usually followed with, "how come you don't know, you work here don't you?" Well, technically yes I do work here but I haven't memorized the gate allocations for the thousand departures of each airline today. Call me lazy, but when you ask me this question I am standing underneath a monitor with your flight information on it.

4. Please don't talk to me at the urinal. Ever. For some reason, people are drawn across normal social boundaries when they see someone in uniform.

5. If you see someone in uniform at a hotel don't presume I am a concierge and tell me to get your bags... Oh by the way, I probably will if I get the appropriate tip.

6. Do not get on the airplane and say loud enough for the pilots to hear, " Oh, its one of those small airplanes again!" We're kind of proud of the airplane we fly and its taken lots of poverty and training to get to that plane. Also, that small airplane keeps us alive every day so we kind of have a bond thing going on...

7. "Are you old enough to fly an airplane" Although, I take this obviously as a compliment, its not usually said like this... passengers have a way of relaying their anxiety in snide comments, so this is said to question age over experience. Trust me, I have flown with young and old pilots, age doesn't matter. What you should be asking your pilot in a snide remark is" How will you perform in an emergency situation today sir?" ( I added the sir part by the way..)

8. If you see a Pilot/ Flight Attendant in the back of the airplane traveling with everyone else, it is likely he/she is going to work or coming from work. Either way, this is valuable time to relax and not think about work (hard as it is on an airplane..) Comments such as " How can you fly the plane from back here?" This is usually followed by " Are you a Pilot?" and "What are you doing back here?" Ok, here's a hint. I have noise cancellation headphones on. I am not looking at you. It's not ok to tug my sleeve to get me to answer these questions or fill your time as you didn't BRING ANYTHING TO READ AGAIN ON A FOUR HOUR FLIGHT....

Hope this helps, and by the way... if you do want to ask me anything at the airport, feel free... I am always friendly and professional especially if you ask me what coffee do you want to buy me from Starbucks or what I want for lunch..

Game Show Question Results

#1 WipeOut (6 votes)

#2 Jeopardy (5 votes)

#3 Dancing with the Stars (4 votes)

#4 Deal or No Deal (3 votes)

#5 American Idol (1 lonely vote by a Mr. Simon Dunn)

#6 Moment of Truth (0 votes)

I am very excited that Wipeout had the most votes! And extremely amused which one Simon voted for!

California Surfing!

Our good friend Loren visited us from Denver for a few days, so of course we had to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and waves at Doheny .

Loren had only surfed once but got up first time..

This wave looks small but Simon is actually surfing a "giant" .. its a photographic distortion!

Carrie relaxed and read all day while the boys ended up sore and sunburned.. but a great day.

It's temporarily uglier... but stay posted!

What our house looked like with the excess decorative roof line that served no purpose...

So we had some work done to even the trim out and it will look temporarily ugly until the much awaited painting of the house!

We're in the process of choosing the house paint color.. so we have put the samples on the front of the house.. this way it will inspire us to paint soon so the house doesn't look like it is army camouflage.

Playoff Game #4

Our friend Brian invited us to the Ducks playoff game against San Jose.

It was a great game and the atmosphere was awesome. The Ducks won 4-0

The boys at the game!

The ugly shed's demise

If you didn't know we have the ugliest and yet, most well-built shed ever constructed in the back yard. 

 

 It was a particularly annoying week at work so Simon decided it was a perfect time to let Mr. Shed meet the sledgehammer...

There was a few hours of grunting and new "British" words I hadn't heard before... but it seems the shed came off worse in this encounter.

By the way, when you destroy an ugly shed you create a new ugly pile of wood...

Bye Shed... no more will we hear the "wow" of our guests when they first lay their eyes on your ugliness. We will not miss you.