Day two was good, too!

I went up flying today and had a good time, as well as learned some interesting things. Some of the things we did were a little stressful, like quick descents and flying at the aircraft's slowest speed that would maintain flight. The aircraft behaves "funny" in these conditions, so, to those not used to them, like me, it can feel as though something is wrong. It was good stuff to learn though, and now I am more confident with those aggresive manuevers and how they make you feel. We also worked on go-arounds and more coordinated turns, this time with steeper banks.

My next lesson will be on Monday, September 9. I am working all this coming week, but have four lessons already scheduled for the week of the 9th. I'll probably make some good advancements that week.

Tonight, Beth and I heading to her parents house for dinner. That should be nice. Next week I'll be flying to Bermuda (twice), Orlando and Santo Domingo. So, I'll be hanging out in the Caribbean for the most part. Should be good weather, maybe I can get some sun!

Woohoo! I had my first flight lesson today!

I have another tomorrow, and I attempted to schedule one on Sunday, but my instructor is unavailable. I am going to be gone for a little over a week starting Sunday night, so I really want to fly as much as possible. The check from financial aid came yesterday in the mail, so I was chomping at the bit and scheduled my first lesson today. That was a lot of fun! The lesson got me familiar with the airport, familiar with the airplane and also familiar with my instructor. All good things to start with. Now, I have homework! Ugh...but, who ever knew homework could be so fun?

It was a bit warm and windy to fly today, but we managed through all the turbulence and side-slipping to make for a great lesson. We performed two touch-and-goes as well as several turn maneuvers designed to get me comfortable with the controls and allow for more coordinated turns. It's easy to let your eyes rest on the control panel, instead of looking outside to see the beautiful view. I am sure my eyes will drift up more as things become more familiar. The stuff we went over today is all stuff my uncle has worked with me on in the past so it was a great way to start. I felt comfortable knowing what some of the maneuvers we would be doing ahead time.

My allergies are beginning to ease up a little, but I am not sure if that is because I took some over the counter medication last night or not...who knows. I hope the recovery continues!

I have spent this whole week chasing after people and paperwork related to my injury-on-duty earlier this month. I missed five days of work, one of which were due to the company's molasses-like response to clear me back to duty through my doctor. My doctor cleared me to return to work on 8/14, but the company didn't get it processed until 8/15. The big problem, however, is the company charged me two sick days of the five, and paid me out of my sick bank. To the best of my knowledge, this is against state worker compensation laws in Massachusettes, but the insurance company and my union are looking into this. It's just been a big hassle all week, and it's not even something I should have to deal with. American treats us so well!

Still suffering from my allergies...

I have wiped and blown my noise so many timess now that it is getting really red and raw. I hate that part of a cold. Also, the inside of my noise is tender. I hate being sick! These damned allergies! You'd think I would be on the clear since I take a daily prescription oral medication as well as getting a shot in my butt every two months. But no, they're still here to haunt me.

At least I am at home, and able to catch up on stupid home stuff like laundry and grocery shopping. Those are the plans for today, although I've only done one load of laundry and I haven't even taken a shower yet. I guess I need to get my butt in gear, or else there will be hell to pay when Beth gets home. Who am I trying to kid? I must admit, my wife doesn't nag me like some might nag their husbands, so I am very thankful for that. I love you honey!

Yes, I am alive!

It's been awhile since I've written, so I thought you might be wondering. Well, a lot has happened since my last post so I'll get into it. I am back home from Boston. My mom and aunt Dynie came into town this weekend, as well as Jenn and her friend Denise. Jenn and Denise were here for the Blog Convention, and my mom and aunt were here for a mini getaway. Everyone has gone now. We had a nice weekend, a little busy but relaxing, too. Now, I am home suffering from allergies, as usual. I've been sneezing incesently all weekend, and now my nose is stuffed up.

All of my financial aid for school is in order now, for both flying and academic. What a relief that is. Now, I am just awaiting my FAA Medical Certificate and I'll be ready to start flying. Meantime, I will continue my ground school and start my academic classes. It should be a busy few months ahead, but fun and exciting, too.

Heading back to work again...

I leave today for Boston, don't know where I'm headed tomorrow.

I spent last night installing an attic fan in, of all places, our attic. It is supposed to help with cooling the house and saving money! No complaints there. I just don't know if it works yet. The fan operates on a thermostat, and it is set to 105 degrees. It must not have been over 105 degrees when I installed it because when it was wired up, it didn't turn on. Now, when I tested it downstairs just prior to taking it up, it worked fine. This morning, I am going to crawl back up into the attic and turn the thermostat down to make sure it comes on.

The problem is the power source for the fan is in one crawl space, while the access to the fan is in another. So, I had to go into the roof in two different places to install it. I was so friggin' hot last night when I wired it I couldn't stand to crawl through the insulation again to turn the thermostat down to make sure it worked.

I also spent the last two days with Beth in her new classroom. It seems to be just about ready! Her first official day is Wednesday, and the kids return on Monday, August 26. She is looking forward to meeting her new students and getting the year underway. She has only 19 students at the moment, but that will change within the first few weeks to 22 or so (she can go up to 25).

While in her classroom, I worked on her author study bulletin board. I made drawings of characters from various author's books to put up on the bulletin board the month the author is being featured. I drew a young Patricia Polako from the book "Thank You Mr. Falkner" written by Patricia Polako. I also drew the witch from the "The Witch's Broom," Mrs. Twit from "The Twits" and Ramona from Beverly Cleary's Ramona series. Although I traced the images from various pictures, I must say I colored them quite well. They look really, really cool!

More progress has been made on the shool front! I have officially registered for my classes at UVSC! All my classes this semerster are specifically related to flying, including Private Pilot Ground School (which I've already started) and Private Pilot Flying and Licensing. In all I am registered for 16 credits. I have my FAA Medical Exam on Monday, August 26. Financial aid seems to be on track still, which floors me. I am excited that it is all coming togeher!

Well, I looked more into the coming layoffs and determined there is a window of about 650 flight attendants between me and the last flight attendant that would be furloughed. So, for now, I look safe for this round. However, I do not think I would survive a round in the future.

I am sure many of you have heard the news...

American announced today another round of layoffs affecting about 7,000 employees company wide. The flight attendant group, in particular, will lose about 2,550 more positions. Now, these 2,550 won't be lost entirely through layoffs. They may be accomplished through a combination of leaves, retirements and furloughs. So, the big question, "Will Kevin still have a job?" Well, although I am not certain, I believe I am high enough on the totem poll to beat this latest round of layoffs. Apprently, all affected employees will know by October. It's another wait and see. Of course, I will keep you all posted.

Well, I've seen it all...

I was on eBay today checking out what type of American Airlines stuff they had for sale. Among the most rediculous items was a flight attendant PA card. This card is issued few times a year and has all of our PAs in it. It's going for $3.25. Who would want that? There is also an AA First Class amenity kit going for $20.50. I can't believe that. I could make a fortune since I see at least a hundred of them a month. There were playing cards for sale, menus and china, among many other things.

There were two things of interest. There was an American Airlines "stewardess" uniform made for Barbie for sale. Apprently in 1961, AA joined Matel and allowed Barbie to become a flight attendant. I thought that was kind of neat. It's going for $49. There was also an AA ticket from 1950. If you were a collector of airline memorabilia, that would be a good find. I guess it just amazes me what people can sell. I guess I should never under estimate anything. It's just too bad I don't have the moral ineptitude... there is a killing to be made and I wouldn't even have to work for it. I bet I could even sell the silver plastic garbage bags we use to pick up trash!

Home again and resting...

Though I am taking it easy as best as possible, I am still very sore from the turbulence incident. My shoulders both are still sore and my left thigh has increasingly become painful. It really goes to show how easy it us to hurt yourself in a situation like that. I have been taking 30 minute walks at night to keep my exercise up, but I have found that it helps warm up the muscle in my left leg and it hurts less for that time. I just need to make sure I don't over do it and I don't go up any hills. The stairs in the house are what's killing me the most.

I am supposed to return to work tomorrow, but under the discretion of a manager, I've been instructed to stay home and rest and file injury-on-duty paperwork. I suppose this means I will be home for a few days. We'll see. I called my supervisor today only to find out she was out for the day, and then I tried to call the manager on duty and that didn't even work...it's supposed to. So, I am not sure how this process will evolve. I imagine there will be some hoops to jump through. However, I shouldn't be pushing around 300 pound carts or attempting to evacuate an airplane with these injuries. I could end up exasperating them if I attempted my everyday duties on an airplane. And, I am not a fast mover right now with my leg.

Looking back on the incident it is still very frightening. Not knowing what was going on was the worst part. The G-forces we experienced seemed to go on for a long time. I remember having time to think about what was happening and analyzing what might be wrong, even though the incident was over in a matter of seconds. It's amazing how quickly your mind enters survival mode. I really didn't know what was going to happen next. It's hard to put into words the experience. It happened so fast, but was so tramatic. I guess what upsets me the most is no one was waiting in San Juan or later in Boston to make sure the crew was allright. That's a little disturbing.

Back from my trip to San Juan with quite a story to tell...

While flying today from Orlando to San Juan, we encountered severe turbulence. Now, y'all know I've been flying for a while now, and I've had some unsettling experiences, but this one made me think twice. And I am paying for it now. While cruising along at 33,000 feet and coming out of some clouds the plane shot up about a hundred feet and then fell again a hundred feet. (Jenn, you and I had a similar experience on Southwest as kids, although not as bad. Remember?)

When we shot up, myself and another flight attendant were working in the first class galley, and we both immediately fell to the floor. It was as if someone had just knocked my feet out from under me. I was standing at a counter and I grabbed on to it with both hands as I fell. In the process, I managed to pull or strain both shoulders and bruised my right wrist. It almost looks as though I tried to slit my wrist. It is somewhat swolen, although it does not hurt. My shoulders, however, are causing me some pain. The other flight attendant with me grabbed the counter so hard her fingers are bruised on the tip under her finger nails.

It was a little chaotic immediately after the episode. I got off the floor and went to my jumpseat and belted in. The captain called moments later to check on everyone, told us there wouldn't be any more "bumps" and wanted us to walk through the cabin and check the passengers. They were all very shaken, some were crying and others were just looking for a comforting face. While it was happening people were screaming. Fortunately no one was injured. The crew, on the other hand, did suffer injuries, but none required immediate medical assistance. Often times with these types of turbulence episodes, flight attendants will break their legs and/or arms, hit their heads and sometimes suffer head trauma. It could have been much worse, thankfully it was not.

I'll tell you, I was shaken. The only other time I had turbulence this bad we were forwarned. The captain told us there had been reports of moderate turbulence ahead and we belted in. It was bad, but we knew it was coming and we were sitting. This came out of left field. All the crew was shaken. My hands and arms were visibly shaking for a few minutes afterwards. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. While it was happening, it didn't feel like it was going to stop. I'm still breathing heavy from the event, and it happened about noon pacific time today.

Despite this aweful experience, the trip was fun. The hotel in San Juan was everything it was cracked up to be. The pool area was gorgeous and the beach, and ocean, were awesome. The water was about 80 degrees! I sat on the beach for about 3.5 hours, worked out for about an hour and then went to dinner with the rest of the crew. Great food at the Metropol! I had garlic chicken (along the lines of the Stinking Rose in terms of how strong!) with black beans and rice. It was delicious. When we got back to the hotel, I sacked out. I fell asleep wearing my clothes, not under the covers, TV on and curtains open. It didn't matter, I was exhausted.

Tomorrow I am heading home hopefully for a few days of rest and recovery. We'll see how that goes.

Woohoo!

Finally I got a trip for tomorrow! I am headed to San Juan, where I will layover for 21 hours! I hear the hotel is great with an awesome pool and a great beachfront. I am psyched! On Wedenesday, I fly from San Juan to Orlando and back to San Juan and then up to Boston. It's only a two day trip...but I am thankful to get one.

Still hanging around in sweltering Boston...

Fortunately forecasters have predicted a storm for tonight that will cool things down into the 70s for the next few days. Thank god. I can handle the heat, but the humidity kills me.

I had an interesting dream last night that was totally unprovoked. I dreamt about friends from high school! It was just like high school days, but we were all our current age. It was a trip. There were people in the dream that I haven't seen or talked to in a long time. When I say unprovoked, I mean I haven't had any conversations about high school or these people recently. It was very wierd and very vivid. Interesting to say the least. When I woke up this morning, it was still very clear in my mind.

Still not flying...it is going to be one long month!

I talked to my parents today about their weekend trip to Austin. What an adventure it turned out to be. After packing up today from their campsite, they headed over to some natural hot springs nearby in the motorhome. They got stuck in a big mud hole. After trying unsucessfully for over four hours to get unstuck, a truck came by and pulled them out. Their was no cell phone service in the area.

Brian had called me earlier in the day because he was supposed to meet my parents at the bike shop in Austin and they weren't there when they should've been. Brian didn't know if I had talked to them to know where they were. Brian finally decided to drive out to the campground to see if they were still out there, and ended up passing them on the way. Brian said the motorhome was covered in cement like mud, and apparently dad was too. When I talked to my parents later on, my mom was laughing about the whole incident. At least they were able to look back on it and laugh. My mom said even though they had only left home the morning before, she said they felt like they'd been gone for a week. No doubt!

What I thought was going to be a boring weekend in Austin turned out to be quite an adventure. National Lampoon comes to mind...

After finally sleeping today...

I went grocery shopping. I haven't stayed here in Boston for an entire month like I will be this month, so I needed to get myself some food. It was nice to get out. The weather today is not near as hot as it has been, although it is still uncomfortably humid. I will probably go for a walk with this other flight attendant tonight...I guess she takes real long walks. It should be nice to get out again though. I am looking forward to it.

I still don't have a trip tomorrow. They've given everything that needed covered out and they still managed to find a way to forget about me. Boy, I can't wait to get this reserve thing over with. This month is my last one-on-one-off rotation, where I sit reserve every other month. I won't sit reserve again until December. What a dream...

I've completed my morning airport runs and the bed is calling...

Just another 30 minutes while I wait for the load of laundry I started to finish drying. Must...get...sleep.

Up very early this morning after about two hours of sleep...

All my housemates have trips today, except for me, so I am the lucky one who gets to take everyone to the airport in the house car. I have already done two drop-offs, and I have another drop-off in about 40 minutes. Then, I have a pick-up about 3p later today. Ugh, even though it is a quarter to seven here, it's only a quarter to four at home. Needless to say more sleep is in my future.

Back in Boston...

Thanks to Jenn my website has undergone some more user friendly changes. The comment system is all new and improved, again, this time from Jenn's tried, true and tested commenter. I liked it's ease of use, among other things, and asked her to hook me up. Thanks a lot Jenn. For all of you, it's easier than ever to reach and touch someon...uh, me.

I saw the last 20 minutes or so of a show on MSNBC called MSNBC Investigates. It seemed like the episode maybe a few years old, but it was talking about the young homeless population in Portland. I guess Jenn would know something of this living there. I couldn't believe how many young homeless people there were. Many of them were there by choice, but many others needed help. I know there are young homeless populations nationwide, but Portland seems to be the mecca of it all. It just really surprised me. The few times I've been to Portland I've missed that scene entirely, yet these kids were photographed in downtown Portland at places I've been too. It just all seems very sad. Nearly 100 new, young homeless people show up in Portland each month.

My parents followed Brian to Austin, NV today where he is doing a story for Channel 2 and the Reno Gazette-Journal. The story is about Austin's economy (if they've got one...:-) I don't know the reason for going to Austin, I talked to Brian on the phone earlier today, but as you would expect, the cell service in Austin is less than steller and the conversation was cut very short. Two wierd things: 1) why Austin and 2) why on earth would my parents go, too? My mom told me she was looking to go out of town this weekend with my dad, but honestly, Austin? They could've come to Boston and had a much less rustic experience. To each his own. Why not Austin, TX? Now that's a great town, too. If I ever had to live in Texas, it would either be in Austin or San Antonio. That's another story.

The website has been updated even more.

1. Heading graphic changed
2. Comment system added

The website has been updated. Highlights...

1. New recipes...dips, dips and more dips
2. Emeril Legasse recipe for strawberry ice cream
3. August calendar
4. Kevin's webpage updated