Fall Colors

We had a wonderful time in Wisconsin. The Fall colors were amazing and it was nice to be somwhere where we could actually experience Fall. Here in Vegas, Fall means a slight cool down... mostly it's the nights that get cold. The days are still warm. No changing of colors here. The only red, yellow and green we see are on the stop lights. But the weather here is beautiful, I just miss the cold sometimes.

Beth and I found our corn maze. It was quite large, but fortunately we had a map to help us through. We tried without to start, but realized we were never getting out if we didn't open it. We spent about two hours lost in the corn, but it was great fun. My parents said there is a corn maze in Gardnerville, which surprised me, because I don't remember corn being grown there. Interesting. I have some photos in my Kodak Photo Gallery. If you'd like to view them, write me and I'll send you a link.

Venison tenderloin, fish fry, hand picked cranberries...

It all must mean one thing: Beth and I are in Wisconsin. We flew in yesterday and are already reveling in the laid back atmosphere of the countryside. And the trees... they are amazing. Bright bursts of orange, yellow and red mix with the green to provide for one of Mother Nature's most spectacular shows. It's cloudy today so the colors aren't as vibrant as when the sun is out, but still an amazing show of color.

Last night Beth's grandma Doris made venison tenderloin for dinner -- it was fantastic. Tonight we're going to one of the many infamous fish fries in the area. There really isn't anything amazing about it, fried fish is fried fish, but it is distinctly Wisconsin and therefore a must do when we visit. We may go pick cranberries today from one of the local marshes. It is supposed to rain tomorrow so that won't be a good idea. We're also hoping to find a corn maze to get lost in. Ah, the simplicity of the country. It was a buys week for me so I am enjoying even more this little retreat. I return to Vegas on Monday to return to New York on Wednesday, and Beth will fly back to Vegas Wednesday as well.

Beunos Dias a Caracas

I was lucky enough to get a four day trip the first day I was on reserve. I stayed in Miami last night and and am now in Caracas, Venezuela. Tomorrow I head for Trinidad, a small island off the northeast corner of Venezuela -- still considered the Caribbean. I'll head back to New York sometime Monday afternoon.

I found an interesting advertisement in the USA Today yesterday that proclaims, "Jesus is coming!" and gives eight reasons why his arrival is imminent. I left it in my hotel room, but will be sure to share it soon since it was funny in a nutter kind of way. Since most of my loyal readers are agnostic, atheist or otherwise don't give a crap, you'll appreciate the humor. Just don't tell me you believe it.

More to come...

Reserve takes its toll

I knew that coming back to work was filled with good and bad, isn't it always? Having a paycheck again is priceless, literally, but sitting reserve is a hefty price to pay to have that paycheck. Fortunately, as has been in the past, I only have to sit reserve every fourth month. Hanging around JFK allday waiting for an assignment is no fun at all. That is what I got to do on my birthday. I ended up getting a trip to Paris the day after my birthday, so it wasn't so bad afterall.

My cell phone is acting up and I'm having to take Beth's with me the next few days. I'll have to take mine in and have it checked when I get back, no time now. It started today. It is absolutely essential that I have a working phone since I am on-call, the company has to have a way to get a hold of me. Thank goodness Beth has a phone.

Now, I am headed to New York again to sit reserve for five days. I know I'll be fine... there are quite a few people I know there and it's nice to see them after being away for so long. That'll help to pass the time. It is likely I'll get a decent trip at some point which is likely to take up three of the days. If that happens, all will be good. So long as I don't sit there and do nothing. In the end, it'll have been worth it for more than just the paycheck, I have seven days off starting the 19th. Beth and I are planning to head to Wisconsin, but aren't sure yet.

Bonjour!

Here I am in Paris at our hotel, the Sofitel Rive Gauche. I walked around familiar places like Notre Dame and the Pompidou Center... familiar because that is where Beth and I spent most of our time when here over the New Year with Dan and Rene. I even walked by the door to Rene's apartment just for nostalgia's sake. Can't wait to come back someday with Beth, Dan and Rene. We really had a nice time. I even had a crepe with nutella, as necessary as breathing oxygen itself. I'll have a little more time to walk around in the morning, not sure what I'll do then... probably stay near to the hotel since I am not familiar with this area. It'll be nice to get out and see some new things.

You're not free to move about the country

Unbelievably, Southwest Airlines booted a passenger off one of its flights because she was wearing a t-shirt with pictures of Bush, Cheney and Condi on it and the words, "Meet the Fockers." The passenger has contacted the ACLU and they are investigating.

Here's a clip from USAToday:

"A Washington state woman says she intends to press a civil rights lawsuit against Southwest Airlines for barring her from one of its flights because of a message on her T-shirt. Lorrie Heasley, a lumber saleswoman, was wearing a shirt bearing the pictures of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice along with a phrase mimicking the recent film, Meet the Fockers. Heasley, who wore the shirt without incident on the first leg of her flight from Los Angeles to Reno, says she wore it as a "gag" to amuse her parents, who were to pick her up at the airport in Portland, Ore. "I just thought it was hilarious," said Heasley, who felt she should have the right to wear it."

Here's the full article from the Reno-Gazette Journal.

If you would like to contact Southwest Airlines and urge them to not pander to the political idealogues of one side while squandering the other and violate our First Ammendment Right to Free Speech, you can call or write them. They do not accept emails.

Southwest Airlines Customer Relations 214-792-4223
P.O. Box 36647 - 1CR
Dallas, TX 75235-1647

Flight Plan

Beth went and saw Flight Plan over the weekend with her grandmother and suggested I go see it. She liked the movie. I did too. There were a few things, as a flight attendant, that weren't quite right, but overall they did a good job. Despite what my and other flight attendant unions are saying, I loved the line, "It's okay to hate the passengers." Of course it is. You learn that on day one of flying. The only caveat is this: you can't let the passenger know.

So what was right and wrong about the movie?

• Planes don't land nose wheel first
• Flight attendants don't immediately run through the ailses with oxygen bottles after the masks fall, they too grab the mask nearest them
• Large aircraft really do have an avionics bay... not as large as portrayed in the movie, but usually large enough to stand in
• The large flat pannel screen that showed the cabin layout in the galley and activated flight attendant call lights... those really exist, just not that large - and they don't usually show a layout like that, rather the aircraft is divided into zones and specific seat numbers show up where the call button has been pressed
• There isn't access to the large, open space above the passenger cabin
• There is access to the cargo hold on some aircraft
• The fictional aircraft in the movie, the E474 is similar in design and size of the new Airbus A380, which began test flights earlier this year

Now I'm just waiting for Elizabethtown to open since Kirsten Dunst is wearing an American Airlines flight attendant uniform, right down to the wings and name tag. Wonder how that happened?

People really do read my blog!

I'm back, from outer space...

Oh, wait. That's not what I meant. Hey, I'm back online. I forgot to renew my domain name before I left on my trip and just walked in the door minutes ago. Thanks to the heads-up from a couple of loyals, QQflyboy.com is back in business! Thanks for reminding me!

I'll have a real post here somtime tomorrow, but for now, it's time to snuggle in bed after a long absence from home...