that's HOT

So I'm going to be in Kuwait for about two days. I just checked the weather forecast for Kuwait City and the high for Sunday is 118 degrees!!! And this in a culture where it's not acceptable to show a lot of skin, even in bathing suit fashions. Luckily, the hotel we typically stay at is outside of the city and caters to lots of foreigners, so they won't freak out if they see you in a bikini at the pool. That's good, 'cause that's my plan to endure the heat. (and to think people bitch about Charleston...!)

thoughts on other airlines, part deux

By the way, I just saw this little blurb on the Discovery Channel about Song, a Delta-owned carrier intent on redefining the experience of flying, mainly by seeking to personalize one's entertainment and service.. you can pre-order your meal from a relatively large variety of selections, pick out of ten movies or other on-demand entertainment from your own seatback screen, etc. etc. I also checked some random fares to to compare and I saw one from Orlando to JFK for only $134, round-trip. So they're cost-effective too, apparently.

Let me just say that I haven't flown Song, but I kind of want to. I should also add (or perhaps reiterate) that the airline I work for is a charter, so Song isn't a competitor of ours. My interest is as a frequent passenger.

So Discovery documented Song's maiden flight, and all the passengers were grinning ear to ear as the CEO romanced them and a rollicking good time was had by all. Obviously, that can't be representative of every flight, but it was such a far cry from the miserable drudgery of flying most airlines, it had me intrigued.

Unfortunately, at the moment Song doesn't fly routes that would be particularly useful to me, but I hope they start soon.

thoughts on other airlines

Hello from my Baltimore airport-area hotel room, where I've ordered room service and holed up for the day.

Originally, I was supposed to work a flight to Frankfurt tonight, but that was before the fickle ways of fate and US Airways came into play. I was delayed in Charlotte because they couldn't FIND their cockpit crew!. How mind-numbingly weird is that? Honestly, in situations like these, I don't think they should go too much into specifics in their boarding area announcements. 'Cause that just made everyone picture the pilots belly-up to some airport bar in the next concourse.

Let me just add that the other disgruntled passengers had some very choice words for their past and present experience with US Air.

Oh well, truth be told, partially it was my airline's fault for only scheduling me to have about 14 and a half hours block-to-block in Baltimore. Per my wonderful contract, I must have no less than 14, otherwise they must pay me lots of money! So when I arrived almost two hours late, I had to be pulled off my Germany trip. Can anyone say auf wiedersehen?

So now I'm going to Ireland and Kuwait before heading back. It's sad, but, the only thing I can think of is - they have an awesome complimentary breakfast buffet at our hotel in Kuwait. Yum. Does this mean I'm jaded and world-weary or just cheap and hungry?

the bane(s) of my existence

Is banes a word? I don't know.

One.
Paperwork. I am literally flooded with panic when my life is full of little bits of paper demanding my attention - to be collected, stacked, organized, filled out, unfolded, folded, mailed, filed, thrown out. You wouldn't think that flight-attending would be a paperwork-heavy vocation. But it's all the bureaucratic nonsense. I have AMEX statements to reconcile, receipts to collect, bulletins to file in my manual, letters affirming I've updated my manual to be signed, newsletters, bid packets.. and other miscellaneous and sundry forms demanded by both my company and the FAA.

Two.
Getting things in my eye. For some reason, I'm a master of getting sand and other nearly invisible particles in my eyes. It's become a phobia, I now carry Visine in my purse.

Three.
Bills. Enough said.

Four.
When one actor on a soap opera is replaced by another and everyone has to act like they're the same person. They're NOT! (Yes. I watch them. Sometimes. I mean, usually. Just One Life to Live and General Hospital. Okay? Stop laughing.)

Five.
Cellulite. Not that I, um, have any. It's just that I feel bad for people, that, uh, do. Yeah.

My cats are spooning

It's just so goddamned cute.

Viral fun

A lot of flight attendants tend to be germ-phobes. It's understandable, all of that recycled air and shared arm rests and tray tables is pretty disgusting if you think about it. Plus people are always trying to hand your their nasty trash - my favorites are (used) diapers or soda bottles filled with spat-out smokeless tobacco. Yum!

Also, airports. Just the thought of how many people put their bacteria-ridden, sweaty palms on escalator rails makes me queasy. Or (shudder) the bathrooms there.

But while I never considered myself fanatical in my considerations of the invisible world of germs, I think I'm rapidly heading in that direction.

For one thing, right now I'm sick with some loathsome virus that my roommates passed on to me, most likely due to their lax domestic hygeine. Not to mention their collective refusal to go to the doctor! I'm serious. This is the second time one of them has gotten me sick in less than six months because they prefer "toughing it out" rather than getting medication, so they spend at least a week being sick, spreading their viral fungus throughout the household until it catches my poor abused system unawares. ("jet-lagged? immunity down? let's GET HER!!")

So I've started carrying around hand sanitizer and cringing whenever someone coughs, then counting to fifteen before I take a breath again. Compulsive and frightening, or necessary behavior in this world of predatory germs?

Sometimes, I just don't know.

Okay, so tonight I ran into a guy I knew in high school. It must've been eigh t years since we really hung out. Long story (and, oh God, it is) short, I told him I'd give him a ride home from the bar, a short distance away. Well, when we got there, he had (oops, patting pockets..) lost his key. So he devised an interesting scheme to get in - we'd go around back and I'd climb his balcony. Okay, sure, I thought. Not gonna happen, but I'll go ahead and prove I'm game. Well, he attempted to hoist me onto his shoulders, which resulted in our (drunkenly) toppling over several times, but then, I managed to actually stand all the way up and grasp the bars of the balcony. Having gained some 15 -20lbs. since high school, I seriously doubted my ability to lift my own weight over the railing. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it wasn't easy, but I did it. I scaled the balcony! I let him in and he said, "Don't you feel young again?" Yeah, actually.

Hello. My name is Devashan and..

I'm addicted to Spider Solitaire. I've gotten fairly skilled at the medium level, which incorporates two suits (spades and hearts), but still have not a clue as to how one goes about winning the expert level. It's disheartening, as at this point I've spent a scary portion of my waking life playing.

I find myself playing it every time I'm using my computer for something else and it takes more than a nanosecond to load. I become MIA from IM conversations whenever I get sucked in, but in true addict fashion, out of shame I lie and pretend I got a phone call.

And the worst part? Several times when I've been quite tired and trying to lull myself to sleep with non-thoughts, it pops up in my brain! Ten of hearts on the jack of hearts and then, nothing, okay, deal again, then.. Is there a support group for this?

My alarm didn't go off!

Maybe it's karma. I've used the line as an excuse so many times, only whoever's keeping score above us knows. But it really, really didn't go off this morning! I swear! It was set correctly, in fact, it was STILL set an hour after the desired wake-up time. Many times, I've inadvertantly switched it to p.m., or even changed the actual time, human error being to blame in both cases - but not today. I find it difficult to believe that I would have turned it off and then re-set all while technically asleep. Maybe I'm spoiled, I've gotten so used to depending on wake-up calls my many nights in hotels, and most of the time when I'm home I don't really need to get up for stuff.

You'll be gratified to learn, dear reader, that despite alarm-clock adversity, I did manage to get ready and make it to my dentist's office on the far end of Mt. Pleasant (from downtown!) in half an hour. Whew.

O, my throbbing head!

This has seriously got to be the worst hangover I've had since New Year's Day. I kid you not.

I was with my friend Alexandrialeigh at the Spoleto Finale last night at Middleton Place. Buoyed by the gorgeous plantation setting along with the lovely symphonic entertainment, we killed a bottle of champagne and one of red wine as we picknicked. The fireworks afterward were amazing, and I took a great picture of A's profile bathed in red light.

We wandered in confusion through the parking lots for quite a while before we came within range of my car, and the panic button subsequently saved us from the blind leading the blind. Poor A's shoe broke but I tried to lift her spirits with assurances that we would indeed, eventually laugh at this.. still waiting, really ;)

Anyway, after all that I ended up drinking a LOT at my friendly neighborhood watering hole and behaving in a rather silly manner to the tune of a 5 a.m. bedtime. Yikes.

Today, I dry out!

Whoever you are, you suck!

Open letter to the girl who stole my parking spot on King Street last night:

Obviously, you realize how challenging it is to find decent parking on Friday night, especially in the upper King St. corridor, otherwise, you wouldn't have so unapologetically slid into the spot that was so clearly spoken for by my right blinker. You're lucky that there was a cop sitting behind me because after I'd been circling the surrounding few blocks several times, your shameless theivery drove me into a veritable, foaming frenzy. Because of the threat of nearby law enforcement, I relegated my response to merely mouthing, "Bitch!" at you as you smirkingly put the car into park. Well, I did (eventually) find another (suckier) spot, but just remember.. karma bites back, honey!

Soccer moms

So every time I'm driving behind some SUV with one of those soccerball stickers, I get this uncontrollable wave of dread washing over me. I just don't want to ever be one of them. And it's weird because I vaguely see, in my misty, distant future, being a wife and mom, perhaps. And what if my kid plays soccer and absolutely break-my-heart begs me to put one of those things on my car? I mean, that's a pretty effortless way to make a kid happy, why not? I'd be selfish not to give in! I'd have to counter-balance it with one of those Darwin fish stickers or some other sort of anti-establishment statement, though. Okay, maybe, but I still won't drive an SUV!

yay, I'm back.

When the air slaps you in the face like a hot, wet blanket, you know you're home.

Aloha

My criss-crossing of the globe has nearly come to an end, at least for now.

To sum up:

- a hellish 24-hour journey to Okinawa, Japan thru San Francisco and Osaka(12 hours of which I was stuck in a MIDDLE seat);
- a lovely day at the beach there, marred only by the threat of a fistfight between inebriated representatives of the Army and Marine forces; also, a pony bit me because our photo op happened to interrupt his attempts to mount the other pony;
- a relatively uneventful working flight to Townsville, Australia (my only seven hours of true work this entire trip) - however, it was delayed two hours because the military had miscounted its passengers;
- an arrival in TSV just as the sun went down, a quick outing for dinner and cocktails followed by an early a.m. departure (before sunrise);
- an empty ferry flight to Honolulu, during which I slept for six hours and ate lots of chocolate;
- a night drinking mai-tais and celebrating the end of our probationary period (seven months! at last!)
- ..which brings me to now, 10:30 a.m.

So there you have it. Today I will sun myself and then depart for home this afternoon. I hope the aforementioned sleep deprivation and dashing around will excuse my silence these past few days, blog-wise.

Doing errands sucks

So most of today was pretty crappy, including the weather. Somehow, I got foiled in everything I tried to do. I went to vacuum out my car, which last I remember cost 75 cents. Anyhow, I had $1.75 in quarters so I went strolling over to the machine that sells Armorall wipes, which cost $1.00. Okay, I thought. No idea what the dastardly Fates had in store.

So I put a buck (in quarters) in the machine and it gypped me. I was particularly aggravated because I wore longish jeans today and they were soaked six inches up from traipsing around the car wash in the rain. It's all right, I consoled myself. I still have enough money to at least vacuum the thing.

But I'd neglected to account for inflation striking the Super Suds car was in Mt. Pleasant. Over on Bowman, you know? Luckily, I ended up scouring the car and found an extra quarter under one of the back mats. So granted, I did get to vacuum.

Then, though, my stupid doctor wouldn't renew a prescription that I needed before leaving town tomorrow (nothing sordid I swear). Then, I couldn't find a pair of work shoes I needed, despite visiting five shoe retailers.

Ultimately, I ended up taking a break during happy hour and playing pool with a friend. Clearly that was what I needed, because then my luck started to change. HQ (i.e. crew scheduling) called me and said my flight wasn't until 2:44 p.m. tomorrow (yay! esp. since said friend's birthday begins at midnight tonight) and I'm laying over in San Francisco! Couldn't be more excited. I've been jealous ever since my friend Alexandrialeigh went recently.

Mr. Mojo Risin'