Small World

This is the coolest thing! I received a comment on my blog the other day, from the man I mentioned in this post. Here is what I said:

I have been wearing glasses since the 3rd grade when I was 8 years old. Got my first pair on Valentine's Day...and the cute boy in my class, Steve L***** told me he liked my glasses. (Green eyeglasses! UGH!) He even played a game with me at lunchtime. Sweetie-pie

I had his full name actually written out. So, here is some of what I received in yesterday's e-mail:

Hi Annette:

I can't believe I am writing you this comment ! Please read on -Anyway - I was shocked to see when I was doing some google searches for my family members & some friends when I put my name in to the google bar...Steve L*****. Your blog came up and - I THINK I am the only Steve L***** on the planet ! The only thing that made me think it was not me is that you described "that" Steve L***** as cute and . . . well - I have not heard that phrase describe me EVER in my life :-)

I did not initially recognize your face - and - in fact, I still do not. But ; when I put the dates together (you being 8 years old & us being in school together), I can only deduct that it was at Sacred Heart School in Jax, Florida - am I correct ? Must've been 4th grade then ?! Am I wrong? Sister Mary Leon ? Ha - maybe I'm stabbing in the dark and I'm way off here but - just thought I'd venture this way.

Now - (if I am right somewhat), you won't BELIEVE what I'm about to say but I had a crush on a girl named Annette there but she was not a blonde...but she was absolutely the cutest girl in the entire school in my book. But I never told her (I don't think!). And - if I told you I liked your (green!) glasses, I meant it but.......

Well - if you'd like to let me know I am wrong - or hopefully right ; please email me okay? We are both in aviation though funnily enough ! ......I hope to hear from you - If I don't though, I'll just assume that I'm way off here (though I'd love to know if another guy with my name actually exists !).......

Happy holidays, Steve

So, a couple of e-mails exchanged and it is indeed the man who, in 1968, was my very first crush! He lives in Singapore, now! I am stunned and amazed at the power of the Internet! It is a very small world!

StewedBeef

You have to check out one of the best blogs on the planet! StewedBeef is hilarious and informative and I have to check in on Duncan everyday. He is a Flight Attendant with great stories and great recipes. That's right, it's two websites in one: blog + recipe book, at no extra cost!

Hotels are Gross!**

Well, this video just about grossed me out a couple of weeks ago! It shows how Hotel Housekeepers clean the drinking glasses in hotels. Watch it at your own risk!

When I check into my room, I do my thing to make me feel better. I carry Clorox Wipes with me and use one to clean the remote control, faucet handles, toilet flusher handle thingee, and the toilet seat. I don't sit on the bedspread--ever! And, I put a towel on the chair in the room--I just assume some people sit around naked in their hotel room and I do not want their butt germs on my clothes.

Some of my colleagues joke me that I am messing with my immune system by not allowing these germs to get into my system. HELLO! I am trapped in an aluminum tube with 50-70 people carrying God-knows-what-disease, and hacking it up into the air I have to breathe. No one needs to worry about my immune system!

My sister, Donna, who is now a Senior VP of a big bank, used to work as a Hotel Housekeeper when she was in high school. (See--you have a crappy job when you are a kid, and it waaa-ay motivates you to do better for yourself!!) Anyway, she will not use the face cloths that the hotels provide. I have no idea why--she just doesn't. No tellin' what she saw 30 years ago on the linens people leave behind....

There is one hotel chain that does a cool thing--Hampton Inns. If the hotel has updated its' soft goods, they will have a white duvet cover on their "Cloud Nine" bed. This white duvet cover is changed between each and every guest--so you can sprawl out on the bedspread if you want--it is clean! Love that!

**with all due respect to my fabulous brother-in-law, who runs a couple of very nice--and clean--hotels.

Dumbass

Happy Holidays!! NOT!!

I finished working my trip last night--it was an easy scheduled trip: commute in to Chicago (ORD), work three legs, and end up in Grand Rapids, MI (GRR) for the overnight. The next day, just one leg back to ORD in the afternoon. Easy, right?

Oh, nooooo! Not enough crews for the flying scheduled....some had timed out*, and some had called in sick--not to mention that we are understaffed for pilots to begin with. I wonder which nitwit made the decision to sell tickets for flights they knew 6 months ago wouldn't go...

*Pilots have flight time limitations--they cannot fly more than 30 hours in seven days, more than 100 hours per month, or 1000 hours per year. When they reach the tipping point, it is called "timed out."

Doesn't take much of a brainiac to look at historical records and say...I have X number of pilots--if we manage them well, then only X percentage will "time out" and be unable to fly the holiday crush. Of those that will be able to fly, X number will be on days off, and X number will call out sick....therefore, we'll be able to fly X number of flights over the Christmas holiday.

I'm tellin' ya--let me give running the airline a shot--I certainly couldn't do any worse!

So, we are short staffed over the holidays...I flew Christmas Day and the the day after. We got to ORD after our first turn, and had to go park the plane in the "penalty box." Yep, thats' what we call it--the penalty box, or sometimes, just "the box." This is a holding area for planes waiting for gates.

We get to the box and park, and my Captain makes an announcement that it will be at least 30 minutes before we get a gate. He was being optimistic--plus, that's what the Tower told him...it took an hour and a half! We sat in the box for 90 minutes waiting for a gate.

Why no gate available, you ask? Because there were empty airplanes sitting at all the gates that had to be moved before we could park there. The planes could not be moved because they needed crew to move them. Where were all the crews? IN THE PENALTY BOX!!!!! It was a mess, mess, embarrassing mess out there that day. And it wasn't just us, it was all the carriers--the box looked like a smorgasbord of airlines out there!

Frustrating for me because the pilots have the cockpit door closed and can read the USA Today, call their wives, work a crossword puzzle, check e-mail on their Blackberry.....I am the one who has to try and keep the smile going when my customers are waaa-ay pissed because they may miss their flight to be with their family on Christmas Day because some nitwit couldn't do the right thing and not sell tickets for flights he knew we couldn't staff....

Okay, rant over....

My next trip covers the "transition" which is where we transition our December schedules to our January schedules. So, I have a five day trip starting on New Year's Eve. I'll be ringing in 2008 in beautiful Springdale, Arkansas (NW Arkansas Regional Airport--XNA). We arrive there around 5 p.m. on New Year's Eve and our van departs the hotel at 5:30 a.m. the next morning. Since that means I have to get up at 4:15 a.m., I suspect I won't be seeing the ball drop this year.

After leaving cold XNA, we go to Miami (MIA) --just long enough to aggravate me with perfectly warm temperatures--probably hovering around 76 degrees when we get there! We will be there for 50 minutes before we are scheduled to leave for Charlotte, NC (CLT). After that, we go to ORD then on to Bloomington, IL (BMI) for the overnight. That will be a long day--scheduled to be working for 11.35 hours.

The next night I end up in ORD--the next: XNA, and after that, finally: my own bed with my own sheets and pillows!

In cat news:

Norm took Emmie to our veterinarian this morning--she was a rescue kitty and we just wanted her to be checked out. Plus, we had her microchipped, should she decide to become a wayward kitty like her older sister, Spikey.... Anyway, he put her into the Sherpa and she started crying! Meow, meow, meow.... He said she cried the whole way to the vet's. We have determined that everytime she was moved to a new foster home or cage, it probably involved a Sherpa--and she may have thought she was having to leave us. We will do whatever we have to so that she knows she is home and is safe, forever....

So, more pictures of the new baby. The first is Emmie in front of the fireplace with Delaney Jane. The second is me with Emmie--we both just woke up from a nap in my desk chair. The last one is the baby perfecting her "resting" skills!

Santa Came Early!

Santa came early and brought us this new bundle of energy! Her name is Emmie and she is a 6 month old rescue kitty. She is PRECIOUS!

Here is Emmie's "mug shot" from the kitten rescue organization, Fancy Cats.









It's official--we are cat ranchers!

Okay--this is the video of the rough seas the other day....take a look at the horizon and the bow of the ship!

This is the weather on the television screen that day...the relative wind was nearly 60 mph!

Quick check-in!

We are in Sint Maarten...and had a lovely day. Slept in, had a late brunch, and went ashore. Took the water taxi into Philipsburg and shopped a bit. And, it was hot today, so we came back to the ship and went to our favorite spot--our balcony. I just took a quick nap and Norm is online with his Pentagon super secret password protected with the fancy special secret spy guy computer attachment thingee. We are going up to the pool bar to watch the ship as she departs the dock as we make our way back to Port Canaveral on Sunday.

I'm taking pictures, but this dial-up is shamefully slow. Will post on Monday or Tuesday.

We are following tropical storm Olga--and the waves are HUGE today--15-20 feet, relative wind is 50 mph!!! I took an 8 second video showing the bow of the boat against the horizon and will try to upload that! Norm is napping, I am considering going shopping, trivia at 5:15 (we came in second yesterday, Donna would be proud! By the way, the first ready to eat cereal was______________.) Dinner is at 8:30....

(This dial-up is pitiful! I am not sure the video will load....if not, I'll post it later.)

If the video loads, look at how far up and down the bow of the ship goes as compared to the horizon.

We are heading south to St. Thomas (STT) from the Bahamas, which is where we were yesterday. The Captain has the stabilizers out so we rock forward to aft, but not side-to-side. Some people are seasick...and for now, am counting my lucky stars that it doesn't bother me. (To me, it is like a carnival ride!) Calm seas in St. Thomas tomorrow--we are going to go look at Island Packets.

Port Neighbor

I know the picture is sideways--it was sent from my cell phone. The Internet connection on the ship is painfully sloooooo-ow. I'll fix the photo when I get back. Anyway, it is a picture of our Port Canaveral neighbor, the Disney Wonder. I heard the ship's bell ring...and it sounds like the first notes of "When You Wish Upon A Star." How cool is that??

Carnival Sensation--just before she backed out to sea. The tugs pushed her backwards...so it looked as if she was backing right into our ship. We sailed behind/ahead/beside her all night.

Norm and I got settled in our cabin, had a nice drink on the balcony, and went to dinner last night. Two other couples and a couple of friends are our tablemates...they are all very nice. Ater dinner, we watched the parade on the Promenade--very colorful! Norm then went upstairs to the Viking Crown Lounge while I went and gave Royal Caribbean $40 in the casino. :(

Currently, we are anchored off Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean's private island. It is basically a beach day on steroids...alll kinds of beach activities are available: jet skis, kayaks, SCUBA, snorkeling, parasailing, a water park, banana boats.

We decided against going onshore and this morning we slept in...had coffee and breakfast on our balcony...and Norm got the Internet connected (finally!) in the room. It is dial up at 46kbps! I think I am going to cry!!!

Formal night tonight--we just may bypass that--although, Norm has a new, bright floral Hawaiian shirt that will look great with his sports jacket....formal night Norm style!

No Shuttle Launch today!

View from our cabin in Port Canaveral...the little white building is the shuttle assemby building at NASA...and the shuttle launch was scheduled for couple hours ago...but was scrubbed this morning. It would have been spectacular to see!

Graduation from Stewardess College

(By the way, I am very proud of how perfect the back of my hair looks! It happens--once a decade!)

Delaney's First Snow

Next Adventure

I just got home from a trip that kicked my ass! I spent the last five days getting up at 3:45 in the morning for 5:00 a.m. departures from the hotel to the airport. Add in some wintry weather mix in Chicago, a couple of mechanical delays, and my days were loooooo-ong. I have eaten so much Advil the last couple of days!

Saturday, Norm and I are leaving for Orlando--get this--on a real airline ticket. No standby for us this time!! We'll have a rental car and hotel for the night--we are staying at Patrick Air Force Base lodging-- then we drive to Port Canaveral. We leave on Sunday for a seven night cruise on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas . I'm really looking forward to this, mostly because Norm can't finagle his schedule like I can to take more time off, and he can sure use some down time. He works long days at the Pentagon, and needs time where he can unplug and unwind.

I actually typed the word unplug above like I meant it! Make no mistake, we'll have a laptop in the stateroom, he'll check his work e-mail at least twice a day the first three days, then it may dwindle to once a day..but, he will still be working a little. But, he'll be able to sleep in, take naps, watch the world go by from the balcony--really de-stress the way he likes. I plan on gettin' him likkered up, too! ;)

And, while I love hanging out in some fab European city--London, Paris, Rome-- or my new favorite place, Buenos Aires--a cruise is just a great vacation! People think you are "all cooped up" on a ship, but that is so far from the truth! Your stateroom isn't huge (unless you book the Royal Suite with its' baby grand piano) but it is big enough for what you want to do. (Go for the balcony, you'll never cruise without it again!)

The ship we'll be on has an ice skating rink, rock climbing wall (that puts you at 200 feet above the ocean when you are at the top!) rollerblading, casino, golf sims, shopping, specialty restaurants, a spa, and a fitness facility that has you overlooking the ocean as you work out.

I started packing today and already have too much stuff going with me! I'm one of those travelers that likes to have my stuff with me, whatever it is. The rule is, if I pack it, I have to carry it. No problem...thanks to the airport Skycaps!

We're going to Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Martin. I prefer a less port intensive cruise... with more "sea" days. There is plenty to do or not do on the ship to keep one busy or not busy. When we get to St. Thomas, I am hoping to do a daysail/snorkel excursion like we did in Hawaii. I'd like to dive,but it has been so long since Norm dove, he won't go without a refresher course. It's been six years since I dove last...but, let's just say I am more willing to dance on the wild side. I don't think I have forgotten much of any of it. (By the way, we are talking about a 40 foot dive....nothing huge, with other people around.)

In Philipsburg, St. Martin, I am undecided as to what to do. Last time I was there, my sister Donna and I went to Orient Beach. We found out when we were there that it was clothing optional (By the way, most people on the clothing optional beach should have opted for clothes. Seriously!) Anyway, I went topless and it was great to have the girls out in the sunshine....

I think that St. Martin would be a fun place to go shop and have lunch and then head back to the ship--in my not so humble opinion--if you only have a partial day to play there, most of the Caribbean islands are much the same.

The first port of call is Coco Cay, which is Royal Caribbean's private island. This is basically a beach day, with snorkeling, jetski's, swimming, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and pretty drinks with umbrellas in them. May go there or may stay on the ship--who knows.

Whatever we do, I know it will be relaxing for Norm. Even if we do nothing but hang out on the balcony of the our stateroom and spend time together without the pressures of a clock or calendar, it will be great. Okay, and some shopping, too!