Thoughts From 35,000 ft: Bombs and Plane Crashes

When I first started this job the first question I would be asked about my job would always be, "Is it so much fun?" but the second question was almost always "Aren't you scared?".  No, is my standard response because to be honest I never really have been.  They say you are more likely to die crossing the street than on a plane.  But, now I know why people ask...because of today's incident in Brussels, because of 9/11, and because terrorism is rampant all over the world and it's proven that using planes to create mass panic works.

Sure I have thought about how I could die on a plane, I know that given 2 minutes there are a handful of people I would text, but I don't think about it every time I step onto an aircraft.   I don't know if I could do my job if every time I got on a plane I considered what I would say in a goodbye text to my parents, my brother, my best friends, and the select other few people who fall in the "given the opportunity I need to say goodbye" list.  I have never been good at saying goodbye to begin with so if I was starting every day contemplating what I would say, I would be a wreck the entire day!

Every human being, including you, is born with the potential to be and do more than anybody in this world. You were born to have an impact on somebody, just like every single breathing soul on this earth.

—  James & Allie

I do consider terrorist attacks all the time though.  But it seems like fluke plane crashes are more common than a hijacked aircraft or planted bomb these days.  I am trained to notice every person who walks on board my flight.  Determine who could help in an emergency, who might need extra help in a situation, and notice any suspicious characters.  I have seen every plane crash, I remember 9/11, I have read all those articles, and watched all the movies, not to mention heard all the stories of incidents from people I have worked with.  I think this is why I think about it so much.  It is a constant topic of conversation.  I know that the aviation industry is one of the largest targets for terrorist organizations so I have to consider it with all the violence our world is enduring at the hands of terrorists.  

This morning when I so happened to be awake at 3 am when news of the Brussels attack hit media, my first thought was holy shit it's happening again.  I then thought about everyone I know who works our international flights and accounted for where they might be to rule out Brussels.  I then started reading all the articles and watching the videos.  I myself was supposed to be walking out the door to go meet a friend in Florida but I was glued to my couch.  I had woken up 30 minutes earlier and decided not to go then heard of what had happened.  I realized all I could do was write.  I sit here writing this and watching planes land and my heart gets a certain tug at every descending plane.

So far 21 people have been killed in Brussels, 2,977 people died on 9/11,  224 people died on the Russian charter flight back in October.  These are just 3 incidents, but when you look at a timeline of events, it has been going on since 1933 and several plots have been foiled, such as the infamous "shoe bomber".  While recently in NYC I went to the 9/11 memorial, being a flight attendant I knew it would touch me a little differently than if I hadn't chosen this career.  I did't know that the first names I would come across would be cabin crew, I didn't expect it to move me to tears, and I didn't expect to just want to sit there and soak it all in.  I stood there starting at the names of the Flight 11 cabin crew thinking I hope I never know anyone who dies like this.  Writing this breaks my heart all over again because some my favorite people in the whole world now are cabin crew like me.  You never think it will be you or anyone you know till it is.

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world"

-Dead Poets Society

I just hate that I live in a world filled with so much hate and violence.  I hate that it seems like nothing is being done to make it stop.  I hate that it could be me or someone I know who ends up in an airport or on a plane that is used as a weapon of mass destruction.  What I don't hate is my job.  I refuse to let some horrible, awful person make me feel scared when I haven't before.  I won't stop getting up, putting on my wings, and welcoming people aboard my flights.  I guess the point is that this world we live in is messy and violent and at times it's heartbreaking.  We have a choice though, to be scared and let that fear consume us or we can stand together affected by what happened but determined to effect change.  We have to make this world a safer place, we have to stand up, we have to fight.  As a flight attendant I bow my head to all those people who lost their lives, to the people who lost someone, and to all of those who are scared.  My heart is with Brussels but my mind is desperately trying to find a way to change the world.

xxx
your favorite flight attendant
B

A Lesson in Romantics

When the Boeing 777 landed on the runway in Paris, I took a deep breath and laughed because my dream of wandering the streets of Paris had just come true.  Yes I always thought my first trip would be as someones fancy and broke assistant tagging along to fashion week, but here I was with my best friend in the seat next to me, and I thought, "I have arrived".  I needed this moment so much more than I thought I had.  I needed this great escape.  I pictured myself living here from the moment we stepped off the plane.  Every building we passed could be my potential new flat, observing the locals thinking I might know them one day and trying my best to not look like a tourist because for too long I had admired the french and would hate for them to hate me.  I had no makeup on, besides the bright red lipstick that every Parisienne has and my bitch face had been perfected.  They would love me here!

As I write this I am cup number 3 of coffee and I know they would be proud.  I had coffee with every meal...meals took over an hour and it was great.  In this magically place I was the happiest I had felt in months.  This new year had brought me a lot more tears than I had imagined and I needed to feel like my old self, until that moment I hadn't been sure how to get back to there.  They say if you are going to be sad, be sad in Paris.

Our hotel was situated right in the Champs Elysees.  This meant we were surrounded by it all, the Arc de Triomphe  was a block away, all the designer shopping you could want steps away, delightful cafes on every corner, and our hotel was the most charming place we could've ever asked for (way to go Hotels Tonight).  As we made our way through the city we stopped in a cafe for breakfast and indulged in cafe au lait with a chocolate croissant.  Then headed towards the Louvre, stopping in museums, taking pictures of everything we laid our eyes on and eventually stopping in a little cafe built from floor to ceiling windows smack dab in the middle of the Jardin de Tuilerie.  We sat there for about two hours sipping coffee, talking about why the french hate americans so much and observing all the other people in the restaurant.  We ended our meal with the most delicious Nutella crepe we could have ever imagined.  My camera couldn't capture the beauty that is the Louvre.  I tried to photograph every inch and angle but not a single picture did it justice.  This is a place you couldn't photograph you had to just experience it for yourself.  We wandered through the exhibits, climbing countless numbers of stairs and admiring every piece of art, every sculpture and even the staircases and rooms themselves.  Of course we found the Mona Lisa, marveled at the marble statues, but for me the most glorious of the exhibits was the recreation of Napoleon's apartment.  It was like touring a mini Versailles.  The glitz, the gold, the extravagance...it made me wonder why no one decorates like that anymore.  The chandeliers alone made me envious that I didn't get to experience that time period for myself.  Not to mention I probably could've been married off to a prince and had my own estate filled with this kind of glamour.  As the sun began to set, the lights began to turn on and the museum took on a completely different lighting than it had before when the lighting was au natural and dimmed due to the grey skies that had been present all day.  As we worked our way back towards the front we came across a Stars Wars exhibit and that was fabulous...I mean Darth Vader in the Louvre!  We didn't get to see everything that this extravagant palace of art had to offer but we got a taste that left me wanting to come back and spend an entire day there just marveling at the art and maybe I would have a prince fall in love with me while I gazed the way Blair Waldorf did in Gossip Girl (a girl can dream, especially in Paris).  

Being that I am severely addicted to the finer things in life, we couldn't leave paris without getting Laduree.  We walked down the most quintessentially Parisienne street lined with fabulous shops and tiny cafes to find ourselves staring into the pastel lined windows of the world renowned macaron shop.  We stepped inside and I knew it was meant to be because they had special edition Alice in Wonderland boxes, so I immediately began filling those little boxes with pieces of heaven.  After leaving what might be the second happiest place on earth we headed towards the Eiffel Tower to watch it sparkle.  And watch it sparkle we did!  It glittered and gleamed and it was the perfect way to end our stay in this magical place.

I figured at some point during this trip I would feel lonely, being that we were in the most romantic place on earth and knowing just how single I was.  Funny thing though, not once did I feel this way.  Not once did I wish I was there with a boy instead of my best friend.  I realized for the first time in maybe forever I was happy with who I was, alone and all.  I was in love, with me!  I found the girl I was looking for among the architecture, and the coffee, and the art.  And somewhere between that first cup and the last I was happy again.

That next morning we grabbed our bags and stepped outside, I felt sad to be leaving.  Breathing in that cold crisp air , walking those cobbled streets, taking in all the art and architecture and fashion was everything I needed.  It brought me back to life.  For a brief moment, before I stepped into our cab, I thought of never coming back to the states.  Just leaving it all behind and living the rest of my life with a swipe of red lipstick and my hunter boots.  But I got in the cab and said goodbye, but not forever.  Sometimes all you need is a little magic in life and an escape route.  Paris I love you and I will see you soon.

xxx

B

Thoughts from 35,000 ft: It Is So Damn Glamorous Up Here

I know I have been slacking the past few weeks on posting but specifically on posting these weekly posts that I promised all you faithful followers!  For that I am forever sorry.  Between Paris, the jet lag from Paris and then the trip I just got off of I have been preoccupied.  But I am back!  Back with lots of thoughts as well!

These past 4 days I have been earning my premium pay slaving in first class.  I'm just kidding, I actually like working first class because you are hardly ever bored.  People expect you to cater to their every whim so they will run you ragged by the end of the day.  That is fine though because with all the catering comes the stories and rampant thoughts.

As my trip came to end, I only had to work one flight home, a 4 hour flight but regardless just one!  This is the holy grail of flying for me!  I hardly ever get off that easy but when I do I am a happy flight attendant.  I finished my meal service and finally sat down for a second to eat my lunch and take a breath.  As I sat there eating my cranberry and mandarin orange salad off a plastic tray, I thought I wonder if those fabulous Pan Am girls did this back in the day.  Here I was curtain drawn in the galley sitting on a box, eating off a plastic tray, shoes off, feet on a hot water bottle because they were getting frostbite and killing me.  After 4 days I was not this glamorous barbie doll traveling the friendly skies and being fabulous but rather an exhausted, sleep deprived hot mess trying to hide that behind concealer and lipstick.  But is it ever glamorous....NO.  Our job has been listed as NUMBER 3 on several "Jobs Most Detrimental to Your Health" lists.  Nothing that high up on the list could be considered glamorous too!

Let me let you in on all that is not glamorous about our "glamorous" career:

1. Beauty sleep is not a real thing because some of our hotels feature green carpet and come with horror stories of bugs and mice.  This means you carry all your luggage into the room hoping it doesn't touch the floor, then you put on socks to walk around the green carpet which you will later throw away just in case! Right before you jump into bed trying not to touch the comforter.
2. We spend way too much money on face creams, sleeping pills and coffee just to survive the sometimes 4 hours of sleep.
3. That red lipstick I flaunt has been all over my face at some point in the day which means makeup touch ups in the bathroom before, during and after flights.  And god luck getting it off once in your hotel room!  May the odds be ever in your favor.
4. Since I am only a year deep into this mess I usually fly with "senior" flight attendants some want to love you and keep you from being bitter and some want to ruin your life for the duration of the flight so good luck smiling through a 12 hour duty day when Nancy keeps making your announcements, being rude to passengers and telling you how it was in the good ole days before all the mergers.
5. When you are working in First Class, you will serve meals on plastic trays that make the whole set up look cheap but the passengers are expecting a meal worthy of a Michelin star.  Surprise I just heated up your meal in the "oven" and who knows how long it was on this cart before I did that.
6.  Everyone thinks that I get to go to Hawaii every week and everytime I complain about my job someone chimes in "well sometimes times you go to Hawaii so it really can't be that bad"...one time actually, and two times my parents took me to Hawaii for free too so actually shut up because I have spent the past 6 months with 8 hour layovers (enough time to sleep for 4-5 hours then do it all over again) in freezing cold Minnesota, scariest hotel ever Reno, and a number of other mundane places and the cool places I never actually get time to see because the layover is too short or my hotel is in another city all together.  For example the Chicago long layover is next  to some mall 2 hours north of the city!
7.  On the note of traveling, yes I travel for free but only when there are open seats on a flight and only when my schedule permits so that awesome Paris trip I took is not attainable every month but you're right I travel for free so that's all that matters
8.  People make comments like "flying is so not what it used to be" to which I want to counter, neither is the caliber of people who travel, as that passenger walks barefoot into the bathroom with their barefoot child.  My point here is that the people on planes are not as glamorous as they used to be either. 
9.  Let's talk about the polyester-wool blend we also call a flame resistant uniform! Not only do you sweat walking the 5 miles from your car in the employee parking lot to the train you take to the airport, but then you burn up on the plane that isn't cooled because its 110 in Phoenix and  you have to set up your galley which is a workout! All this gross fabric making us sweat all so we don't go up in flames, well we are required to wear pantyhose which will adhere to our skin if we have to slide down the escape slide!
10.  On the note of painful things, we spend up to 14-16 hours a day on airplanes.  Want to know what that does to our skin?  Drys it out, breaks it out and forces us to pray to the skin gods if we weren't genetically blessed with amazing genes (I was not blessed).
11. Our sleeping schedules are unreal as well...going to sleep after a red-eye, waking up at 3am on the east coast when your base time is 3 hours behind that.  All-nighters where you get 3 hours of sleep before your next van time (that is 3 hours if you sleep in your uniform with your makeup on).  And don't forget when you get minimum rest every night with maximum working days.
12. Thank god we no longer have to face weekly weigh ins because, we eat most of our meals in airports or on the plane.  We gain weight and lose weight and do it all over again.  All that fast food is bad for your skin too but so is not eating because you didn't have time to pack food then never had time to get off the plane and get something.
13. Lastly, if you are on Reserve like I am, crew scheduling will call you whenever they want.  We are on call everyday (except our off days) for 12 hours to 24 hours.  They will call you at 2am when you just dozed off, they will call you when you're on your second jam singing in the shower, they will call you while you are in yoga.  If they want you they will call and you are required to answer no matter what!  So we sleep with our phones on loud, set to the most annoying ringtone, and pray we get through the night before our number is up.

Basically the only thing glamorous about flight attendant life is our ability to be glamorous on our own and the vacations we take on our days off!  But, hey, I am still going to do my hair and put on red lipstick and smile for the masses and maybe one day we can make those Pan Am girls from back in the day proud.  Until then I'll be serving you cheap wine and lukewarm nuts. See you at 35,000!

xxx

B