“One Wild Night” (and another one..and another one…)

   So, as of lately I have been having a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. No, it’s not some foreign unpronounceable disease, but something a lot more mental. It’s taken me a couple of days to pinpoint the source of this icky feeling, but before I unveil what it is..let’s go back a couple weeks..maybe even months.

   For starters, my life is not the worst. It’s actually quite interesting, some might say. For those of you that have been under a rock or skip over my status/profile updates and/or 4Square check-ins (I’m not THAT offended..the favor is returned to some of you), I’m a Flight Attendant. I have been for almost two years now and it’s original intentions were to give me a break from my first love: Fashion. It honestly is the perfect job for a twenty-something that doesn’t have a ball-and-chain, a mortgage, or little kids with homework to juggle. Although with my move to Nashville has forced become a productive member of society, something is still off. It’s not like I’m unhappy with life…I’m just not happy with it. I guess content would be a better word. It seems as though I live in an endless cycle. I work a trip (mostly 4 days at a time) and then I come home, crash for a couple of days and then get ready for my next trip. There is no excitement to be had and the shininess has worn off of my job. Even the excitement of shopping at the Mall of America has gone dull (and we ALL now I how I like to spend my money…and yours). Which leads me to my main point (and the big reveal): Life is living me. I’m a slave to my work schedule (and not the music like Britney once panted some time ago). One might ask, “Is he going through a Quarter-Life Crisis?” I would have given that question a firm, “YES.”

   I don’t know if everyone is going through is crippling mental state, lingering in the back of your mind on loop. No fun, trust me.  While everyone else is getting hitched and popping out babies, you to tend to wonder, “What the hell is wrong with me?” I’m a good Southern Boy, so shouldn’t I been planing for kid number two and wondering if the correct percentage of my check in going into my 401K plan?  Being one of a different breed, that didn’t come with my chemical blueprint. I’m on the road less traveled and it seems as though I’ve lost my “Spark”. Even my defining characteristic is vanishing (Fashionisto, M.D.) and I feel as though I need to “GET IT TOGETHER!” Once again, I have nothing to complain about. I mean, I’m young, not wholly unfortunate looking, healthy and have a job that honestly pays me to pass out peanuts and talk to people on the way to destinations I never EVER thought I’d go (or even heard of..Elmira, NY— anyone?). I just feel like I’ve been given Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket and I’m subconsciously postponing going, because I can’t find to right outfit to wear ..and it’s only because I want to look my best. Okay, maybe I should rephrase that for the people in the cheap seats… I can go anywhere that Delta flies with my flight benefits and I’m waiting for the right time. That’s the Catch-22 of it all. There NEVER will be the right time. Life is living me and passing me by. It’s taken me a while to come to this realization and it took a Flight Attendant I flew with to verbally slap me into a new found clarity. If we think about it from a monetary standpoint, why not go to the exotic locations I’ve only dreamed of for a SERIOUS discount while I still can? Not that being a Flight Attendant is bad in any way, shape or form, but I just don’t plan on being one forever.

   So what does one do to shimmy and shake out of this funk? Well, I plan to welcome ADVENTURE into my life more. No more playing it safe. I need to start experiencing experiences and my new Mantra is going to be “WHY NOT?” 2012 will be a one for the books. I wanted to put in Black and White so that I can be held accountable. I’ve devised a mini Bucket/To do list I would like to accomplish before the year comes to a close. Without further ado, here we go:

          1.) Have a Spot of Tea in London

          2.) See a Kangaroo in Australia

          3.) Go to the Moulin Rouge

          4.) See a Show during New York Fashion Week

          5.) Have Custom Italian shoes made

It may seems like a lot, but three of them can be done on the same trip (mainly because you can hop around Europe easily). Of course finances come into play, but I’m not trying to buy Gucci or stay in Crowne Plazas when I go. It’s the experience.  I know that everything will work out and and fall into place. This line of thinking is solely based on the fact that I TRULY believe this job was given to me for a reason and Baby Jesus wanted me to meet specific people (some of you are reading this) and see certain things that life has to offer. He’s done his part and now it’s time to have COMPLETE FAITH and do mine. 

   So where do we go from here? Well, first up, I have something cooking with a very good Flight Attendant friend of mine to go International. It’s about time my passport is used for something other than going in and out of Canada (not that there is anything wrong with Canada or Canadians…I LOVE Toronto, eh). The destination will be be reveled soon enough– let’s just say that I’ve always wanted to see a Matador up close…    

 

                                                      Live is for the Living, so come let’s go…

                                                                            J

“Georgia (Will ALWAYS be) on My Mind”

So, I know that it has been a while since the last time we spoke, but life has been crazy. As some of you that are close to me, or spoke to me in the last week or so…I’m moving. I had been toying with the idea for the past couple of months, but I’ve been waiting for the opportunity at work for everything to fall into place. Well, obviously it has. Come this weekend, I will make my final bow to the lovely city of Douglasville and head up to the “Hip and Trendy Music Haven” that is known as Nashville.  It’s so funny, because a lot of people ask me why I chose Nashville. For starters, with me being a city boy, it has that “I-live-in-a-booming-metropolis” feel to it, but yet, it is not overwhelming. Plus it doesn’t hurt that Sam lives 15 min away and I can SEE Jonathan’s building from mine. I’m really excited for this new chapter of my life and for those of you that will be along for the ride… let’s get-it!!!

Flying in Style to Las Vegas

I feel as though this seems to be my swan song to the city that has been a quick car ride away. Although, I will be the first one to tell you that I’m not an Atlanta Kid, that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good lunch date with friends at Taqueria Del Sol. It just doesn’t excite me to go into the city. I don’t get a sense of “I’m better than you” when I talk about hanging out in Midtown. There HAS to be a reason for that … oh, yeah I’VE LIVED HERE FOR ABOUT 24 OF MY 26 YEARS ON THE THIS EARTH! It’s time for a change..and dogonit– I’m a gonna get it. I will say that the conveince of having great friends so close will be the most thing that I will miss. In respects it seems like I’m up and leaving, but the strange thing is that I’ve been talking about this move for the past three months. I gotta tell you, it’s as weird for me as it is for everyone else. It’s like no one REALLY expected me to do this and then when it’s time for me to say good-bye to everyone..everyone says, “Wait. Where are you going?” I don’t know. Maybe it’s me and all this is in my head. REAL TALK:  To those of you that I see and talk to all the time, and even to those that I don’t see and talk to all the time , but would be no less excited to see you if I bumped into you at the local, friendly Wal-Mart…this post is for you and I’ll miss yo crazy asses. Equally. **Special Shout-Out to my Number One Boo, Ms. Brittany Buchanan (follow her @freshBrit on twitter)*** Nashville is the perfect city for you to feed a unique blend of  your love of Country Music, Celebrities, and sensitive singer-songwriters that specialize in guitar playing… heheee…

J Squared Unite!!

So, On a lighter note, Nashville is NOT ready for me. I have a whole new slew of adventures to be had and a whole new group of friends to be made. we aren’t even mentioning the small fact that Jonathan and I will not only be in SAME CITY, but the SAME APARTMENT COMPMLEX..I mean I can LITERALLY see his apartment from mine. Oh, you have no idea who this Jonathan character is…let me introduce you. He’s from NOLA, about 5’8″, and well CUT YOU just as look at you…and that’s how we bounded (cause we’re the same in some of said aspects). We met during Flight Attendant Training class and it seems as though our lives we kinda running parallel, which means we INSTANTLY clicked. I’d easy put him in the “Friends you’re destined to meet” category. He got a couple of months head start on me because he got a fancy grown-up job, but that won’t stop me from hitting the grown running. there’s lots of fun to be had and he is the one I’m gonna have it with. EXCITEMENT!!

Normally, I’d try to find a clever way to work in the song lyrics to the title of the post I’m posting (if you haven’t noticed that I’ve been doing that and that all of my post are song titles…shame on you), but this one just needs to end simply and matter of factly. I will forever me a Georgia Boy (all though TECHNICALLY I’m a YANKEE), I pride on having Southern Charm, and  to this day, if you cut me, I bleed BLUE AND WHITE (Hail Southern!!!!). I’ll be back, my parents live here for goodness sake!! So, I’ll leave you with lyrics from the iconic song written by Ray Charles…

I said Georgia,
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Peace Up, A-Town Down.

J

“Time Of The Season” Part Two

As one can tell, I have made a very grown-up decision to FINALLY become an adult. I mean, I’m adult, but I mean, like with an apartment and renter’s insurance and stuff. Where is that place that I have chosen to WREAK HAVOC on?

NASHVILLE

It’s so funny that even before I made the decision to move, Nashville ALWAYS made its way into the conversation. Whether it was a destination that I was doing a quick turn to or the place that I run up to have a breather from life and Atlanta. I actually chose to spend my Birthday up there, but that was mainly because I had a consultation meeting with Mrs. Karan about my Photo Shoot (Yeah, You read that right. Let’s go ahead and go on a rabbit trail– shall we?). I decided that I had SO MUCH FUN at Sam’s Photo Shoot for CMT, that I wanted one done for myself.

Don't forget to SMILE with Your EYES...

So the ideas that I’m going for the shoot are: Firstly, “An Alternate Sin”. If you’ll indulge me, think of  ”what if Adam and the Serpent were in on the Eating of that damn apple?” Yes, that does mean that a snake will be involved. Think of Britney Spears in the I’m a Slave 4 YouVideo or the Infamous Photo Shoot from the inaugural season of ANTM. 

Up Next, I would LOVE To Be “A Man About Town.” You can reference “the impeccably well dressed man in the midst of the concrete jungle.” I would think that some would consider me that. Mrs. Karan suggested to be submerged into the Nightlife of Nashville. Broadway is a very cool street downtown, so I know that AMAZING pictures will come from it. The coolest reference that I could find is of course of an actor from one of my favorite shows TRUE BLOOD. Mr. Ryan Kwanten did this spread for GQ and it always stuck out in my mind. Anyway, if you don’t watch True Blood, you’re lame.

He's the nicest Kid in town...

Finally, the last look that I want to accomplish is “Action Jackson.” With this idea, it’ll be lots of movement, lots of color, and lots of clothing influence from the 1960′s. Just having fun and seeing what makes it on camera . I’m really excited about the opportunity and Mrs. Karan is excited as well. If anything it’ll be something that I can look back on and be really happy that I did when I was a “Strapping young Buck”. We shall see.

ALRIGHT…Back to the regularly scheduled program. THEN, my New Orleans Boo, Jonathan just got a job up there. I had already been thinking of possibly moving up there because it will be easier to commute to our new base that is opening up in Detroit. I gotta tell you that the idea of working out of Detroit as a base is going to be only slight of AMAZING. My Seniority Number (which is a BIG part of my decision) will JUMP tremendously if and when I go up there. I’ll go from barely getting the leftovers that no one wants, to getting WHAT I LINE I WANT. It’ll be mainly flying the bigger planes that we have, which means another FA to talk to . Also, there are a lot of destinations going out of Detroit, so EXCITING new place to go. I think it is a VERY Smart Career move and to be honest with you..I would be dumb to NOT do it. or at least try. I don’t have the life altering items and people that can bind me to one place. I really want to try having a line (set Schedule) before I decide if I want to be a Flight Attendant anymore. The great thing about knowing my schedule so far in advance, I can just go up to Detroit when I have a trip. Therefore, Nashville was the likely candidate for a great city that I can live in and basically live in two different worlds. I can be a Flight Attendant AND be in the same city incase Samantha needs anything. Jonathan and I have found a great apartment complex to live in (not together…we realized that wouldn’t work) that’s only 10 min. from Downtown and the Airport. The parents are on board and I honestly feel really confident about his decision. All I know is that Nashville is NOT READY for Jonathan and I to FINALLY be in the same city…Lordy, Lordy .

It’s time to be a grown up. It’s time to have something of my own. It’s the time of the season. I’m, so excited to decorate my own place. To come home WHENEVER the freak I want to! I thought about this SO MUCH (You don’t even know).
I mean, My parents are possibly the best thing since sliced bread…I can’t live there forever (even thought they have told me that they are COMPLETELY fine with it). Trust me, they’ve taken the time to show (me) what I need to live….and be happy.

To the Next Chapter in Life,

~J

“Time Of The Season” Part One

Sorry Ladies and Gentlemen that it has taken me so long to get back to you. To be honest with you, I was either TOO BUSY or just NOT FEELING IT. Anyways– I apologize in advance. Hopefully the end;less amounts of info I will impart will TOTES make up for it– SO…Shall we begin?

WORK

Work has been going…to say the least (“the VERY Least”.. right RIZZO?).  Most of the times with this job, You are on a horrible endless cycle. I said it plenty of times and I’m sure that You’re sick of me harping on it, But I’ll say it again: I’M ALWAYS TIRED!! I get off a trip, have a day or two recoup and then it’s time be back at the “rat race” again. I’ve going to a couple of new places (like my current location in Pensacola, Florida where I type this entry and it’s sequel while looking at the Gulf Of Mexico), Madison Wisconsin (wasn’t there long enough to really tell) and a couple of other lovely places. My Flight Crews have been great (it can MAKE or BREAK a trip…thank Baby Jesus that I’ve Been Lucky). I’ve worked enough hours to keep me busy and out of trouble (or so I would let you think…). I surpassed my One Year Anniversary without Cussing out a Passenger or another Crew member, so I think that THAT is an accomplishment in itself– ANYWHO. Work is Work. That’s the gist of it.

In between the times that I’m not a slave to “The Friendly Skies”..I’ve been Lucky enough to be a slave to my FIRST love…FASHION. The One, the only Amy Harriott has been enlisting the help of Number Boo and I to Bring Fashion to the masses (okay, maybe not the masses, but at least those watching  in the atrium on the 2nd Level). So For JANUARY, FEBRUARY and APRIL Market, I have helped out with all of the preparation that comes along with Market. That involves, but is not excluded to, picking up garments from Showrooms, lining and/or dressing the models for the show, and lots of other super glamorous things you can think of. I ALWAYS Love going to the Apparel Mart and doing the shows. It always shows me a fragment of the glamorous fashion life I used to have. That’s alright,I WILL GET BACK…trust.

BIRTHDAY

So this year of our Lord and Savior, I turned 26. O. M.G. Honestly, I know that everyone says something to this effect– but WHERE has the time gone? Not only has this year almost passed me, but I remember turning 21 YESTERDAY!! Well, Now I guess I’m considered an adult versus a young adult. I still don’t know how to process this information about this milestone, and my birthday was almost a MONTH AGO (get it together..I know). The light at that end of the tunnel was definitely the present that I bought for myself. I got me a MAC BOOK. Yes, I finally made the switch over to the APPLE WORLD and I gotta tell you America— IT FEELS AMAZING!!! I freaking love this thing already and I haven’t had it long. I just feel like it can do anything..and everything. IN. LOVE. His name is Alexander MAC Queen (get it…heheheeeeeee) after the famed British Fashion Designer. The name actually came really easy (I knew that I wanted the name to have “Mac” in it), and he was the topic of conversation because his house was chosen to design the wedding dress for the now Catherine, Duchess of Wales and Prince William (In a word: STUNNING). I’m so glad that even after his death he is still getting recognition that he deserves. I digress– If you don’t have an Apple computer..get one. end of story. and Happy Freaking Birthday to me….

To Sum things up: Life is busy, but when it is it NOT for everyone? I guess it’s the time of the season to take you in the sun..to Promise Lands (one can hope). Summer is almost upon us. Seasons are changing and so is the Season in my life. Next Stop: GROWN-UP Land. Oye-Ve….

It’s the Time of the Season,

~J

“Folsom Prison Blues”

Well, Hello America!!! I gotta tell you that I’m so very sorry that it has taken me this long to correspond to you, but I have a good excuse….WORK.

I have been flying NON-STOP. As soon as I get off of a trip, I pretty much get scheduled for another. The only silver lining to this is the paycheck I’ll be getting in week. Just to give you a quick analogy of how busy I’ve been: For the months of August and September I averaged about 60-75 hours; for the month of November ALONE  I worked 105 hours. I know…WTF!!! Anywho- work has been great. I got to go to some new places like Houston, Texas (both to George H Airport and Hobby Airport) and Harrisburg, PA (COLD, COLD, and uuummmm…COLD). I’ve had great crews and I think that the unknown anxiety has started to wear off because I’m starting to become more comfortable with my crews faster.

–NOW FOR THE NOT SO HAPPY PART OF THE CATCH-UP SEGEMENT— 

I was talking with my Godmother (and well, anyone who would listen to me) that I think that the shiny newness of this job has officially worn off. In some of my previous posts I alluded to the idea that it could be happening and America it has. I AM SO SICK OF FLYING! I shouldn’t say that…more like we need a break from each other. I joke and say that, “if I could just have an 8 count..then I would be fine.” I don’t know–I just feel as though I’m going through the motions…no excitment, no nothing. If I could honest with you America for a second..I think that the series of events that has happened over the past 2 weeks could have been a foreshadowing of events. Maybe it’s a sign from the Big Man Upstairs  that life needs to slow down, if not only for my health…but for my sanity.

SIGN #1 : Attendance. So I was late to work. I know that this isn’t the end of the world, but I had start doing A LOT better. Once upon a time, I was late for EVERYTHING. I don’t know..maybe I’m pulling at straws here, but it seems to me that if one is fully well rested then his or her day will go a lot better. I just have to be on my P’s and Q’s for, like, EVER…

SIGN #2: NOVEMBER.  As previously stated, I worked a lot in November, but what I also failed to mention was that we had out-of-town company for Thanksgiving. That means that on my days off from flying, I had to clean my room (which literally looked as though a hurricane came through it), clean bathrooms and spare bedrooms, and decorate the house with Holiday cheer. So, I guess you could say that even on my days off I worked. Well, the good thing is that everything finally got done (I was putting ornaments on our second tree as family was pulling in the driveway). I cooked my dishes for Thanksgiving day (Hashbrown casserole for Thanksgiving Day and Muffins for Thanksgiving morning) and had to head to bed early to be at the Airport on Thanksgiving Day.**Don’t worry–I got Holiday Pay…HOLLAAAA!!!!!** I’m still tired from those events..and I am still getting called on trips..*sigh*

SIGN#3: The Passing of ‘Midnight’.  Yes, you read that correctly. For those of that are a little confused. My ’99 VW Passat’s name is Midnight (after the Dark Indigo color he is) and he officially bit the dust yesterday. While on my way to work yesterday for a 3 day trip, my check oil light came on then smoke started to come out of the hood. AAA was called, I was towed all over the place to get it fixed (I’m thinking that I just needed an oil change) and after hours and hours of waiting at Auto Care Shops…I was told that I needed a new engine. As we all know, that it EXPENSIVE. Expensive in the fact that I don’t have that kind of money and more importantly I don’t know if it want to put that kind of money into that car (he is 11 years old)…It’s sad because I LOVE that car. I love zooming around in it and looking better than the general public in a foreign Car. My dad has made it his personal mission to solve this conundrum, but to be honest with you, I just need a few seconds to get my barring together. It all happened so fast. I still can’t wrap my head around that fact that when I raise the garage, my car won’t be sitting out there. So now, I need to figure out if I need to put on my “Big Boy Pants” and get a new car or what…***sigh…life.** For what it’s worth, I’ll miss Midnight…may he rest.

So, as you can tell that I’m kinda in a melancholy mood..I mean, I’m not loving my job right now and my car just died on me. At one point yesterday, I just wanted to shoot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. That’s drastic I know, but I just gotta be patient. Life isn’t bad, things could be worst and I know they’ll get better. So, I’ll let the Man in Black sum things up: “I hear the train a coming, it’s rolling ’round the bend, but I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t when…”

                                    I’m stuck in Folsom Prison and time keeps draggin’ on,

                                                                                    J

“A Whole New World”

     So, I gotta give it to Atlantic Southeast Airlines, just like any other job I assume…just when you feel as though you’re might be ready to throw the towel in…something amazing happens. So America, I have to tell you that I kinda have been stuck in a rut. Over the past month I’ve just feeling….blah. Some of you may know how that feels every now and then. I think that I just settled into a routine that seemed to suck out all of the energy in my life. I’d become boring and no fun….just a sad shadow of the once glamorous and outrageously social butterfly I was in college. As you can sense..there’s a “woe as me” vibe coming on, but we’re gonna swirve into to oncoming traffic and drive up the exit ramp like Nicole Richie did a few years back– I say all of this in preparation for the BOLD statement that things are starting to look up and dare I say, I REALLY LOVE BEING A FLIGHT ATTENDANT.

     I mean, don’t get me wrong..all the walking in Airports, staying in different hotel rooms, waking up waaayy before Jesus even thinks about turning on the lights and the fact that you meet around 300 people in a day can get a little old. That’s when they pull you back in and give your love of traveling a swift kick in the balls (which should be apart of the frame as to why you’d become a Flight Attendant..it definatley ain’t the passing out peanuts and Classic Coca-Cola to a 40 something Businessman typing up a report on his brand new iPad). As of lately, I’ve been sent out some wonderfully random trip to places I’d NEVER want to go– and dare I say again…have really enjoyed. Case in point: KANSAS. So, what the big deal about Kansas? well, as side from the fact that the only it really has going for it is the fact that its most famous draw is The Wizard of Oz. Yes– everything you can put the classic film’s logo on..they did. Just go one day and walk around the airport in Witicha..you’ll see what I mean. I’ve been twice and it seems as though it’s a nice little town to VISIT..not stay past a couple of days or so. Next up: OMAHA, NEBRASKA. There’s not too much else for me to say about this town. It was cool I got to go,I wouldn’t be too upset if I was sent back…but I did get to scratch “Go to a Rodeo” off my bucket list.  

The Cheap Seats A.K.A. "The Nose Bleed Section"

Yes, you read that correctly, I went to a Rodeo with my crew and actually had a very good time. I mean, if I’d known I was going…I would’ve worn my ”Black Cherries” (my favorite Cowboy boots) and wouldn’t have gotten so many stares… . Moving along to my next argument: SOUTH DAKOTA. I recently just got off this trip (so the horror is still fresh in my memory). Sioux Falls is in a word…BORING. maybe if I was there longer than 6 hours…it’d be a different story. ANYWHO– So far, I don’t recommend going anywhere past St. Louis. Just skip over everything else and head to Las Vegas and everything in between until you hit the Pacific Ocean…geeez.

     The shining achievement of my recent travels has to be TORONTO, CANADA. We had a 24 hour layover in Toronto..and I gotta tell you, those Canadians know what it’s aboot (yes pronounced A-Boot, like our friends up North do). The Hotel we stayed in was AMAZING (A Hilton..) and the people were so friendly.

Downtown Toronto

The other Flight Attendant I worked with and the First Officer went out to lunch (where I had my first Fish and Chips…which was DELICIOUS by the way), and went on the hunt for Postcards for Brittany in these really cool underground malls they have (I was told it’s so they can be accessed during the Winter from the inside and on the outside all of the other times…cool, eh?). ANYWHO, I enjoyed my time there and can’t wait to go back!!! I’ve gone a couple of other place that have been cool, like Detroit ( I was there for 33 hours in a REALLY nice hotel) and a couple of place I didn’t know existed or that people flew there, like Lewisburg, West Virgina..but  I guess people who live there have to travel, too.

     Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen the one thing that I ABSOLUTELY love about being a Flight Attendant is the fact that we get to fly for free. This was so effortlessly used about a week and a half ago, when I had to dash up to Nashville to help out my good friend Samantha. In the pervious days that lead up to this jet setting event I had come down with some mysterious illness (no it wasn’t a STD either..) that caused me to have something VERY similar to a MIGRAINE. Now, I’ve never had a migraine before, but what I had seemed like one to me– but my doctor begged to differ. ANYWHO– I literally went from almost knock knocking on Death’s door, to getting it checked out, to popping all sort of good medicine…to LITERALLY on a plane to Nashville to help Samantha out with her…wait for it….PHOTO SHOOT. Now you know I wasn’t going to miss that…you crazy. The ENTIRE experience was just like out of a dream…a wonderful magical dream where everything thing is more wonderful than you can imagine. I landed in Nashville on a Tuesday Night, Sam and I grabbed Dinner, and turned in early (her: she had to get up really early to be on the radio…:) and me because I was doped up on meds ). I got up to listen to Sam on the radio (very surreal…but VERY COOL– I was screaming in her apartment while she was on, “Aaaaaahhhhhh Sam’s on the Radio!!!!!”). Sam made it back to her apartment, we packed up everything for the shoot and head to the studio. What I can remember and type here definitely does not do it justice. The studio was amazing..so many different options and so much creativity just waiting to explode EVERYWHERE…I had my “game face” on and it was time to get down to business. We had a slow start…just warming up to the idea that it was ACTUALLY happening and getting into the flow Sam and I get into that makes us “Josh and Sam”.

Behind the scenes...literally

I gotta tell you-in my preparations for the shoot, I put together a “Look Book,” just a reference for Sam and I, so that we wouldn’t have that weird awkward silence of …”what do I do next?” It’s full of posing examples and styling ideas for me to make the shoot go as smoothly as possible– and thanks to the man upstairs…it did. Mrs. Karen (the photographer) was AMAZING (so amazing, that I am going to have a photo shoot made for my birthday)!! Sam TOTALLY knocked this one out of the Ball Park…to say that she “handed it to you on a silver patter (as I like to say),” would be an understatement..I was so proud, cause as we all know– if you show absolute confidence, the world will never question you otherwise.

     I honestly think that the idea of ” where could I be sent and what will I be doing next?” is what have given me a jolt of energy. I love the fact that I can say that I’ve been to a Rodeo in Omaha, Nebraska and that I could fly to Nashville to help out Sam with something that was important to her career. I just love that. On this last trip, I was so annoyed with the fact that I was going to South Dakota and not somewhere cool..but there’s always a way to be humbled when you get your britches in a bind. Flying back to Atlanta from Sioux Falls it was in the wee hours of the morning. Most of the time on the really early flights we have to work, we pray that 90% of the passengers will stay alseep..so it can give us time to get prepared for the day. On this particular flight, I was mainly upset because I didn’t get enough sleep and I knew the flight was going to be about 2 1/2 hours (not fun…you get bored after you do all of your stuff you have to do). We didn’t have that many passengers and there was only 2 people on 1st class (they take up ALL of your attention), so the Beverage Service was quick, which means I had a little time to properly wake up. As I was doing that, we have a little peephole window on the service door that you can barely see anything out of, I saw the most beautiful sight of fluffy clouds and crystal blue skies..it was an unbelievable sight, and an indescribable feeling. We were soaring (we all wanted to get back  home ASAP), tumbling (gotta love turbulence), free willing– through an endless fluffy sky. Ladies and Gentlemen..I give you the silver lining. So that’s your latest update on my adventures…

                                I’m in a whole new world and I can only hope it gets better,

                                                                       J

“Walking In Memphis”

So, I finally decided to be a good employee and put myself on the “Call me First” List. What that does, is exactly what you would think it does…it puts you on a separate list that enables you to be called before there rest of the regular employees that are on the Reserve List. I gotta tell you America…it’s killing me. I just got done with back-to-back 4 day trips. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not complaining, especially since I’ll be happy with my check on the 15th, but come on…can a brother get a breather or something?

Things started our nice and calm, of course. I knew ahead of time that I was going on the trip. There was no where really exciting that I went on this last trip. I did however get to fly into the Northwest Florida Airport (which is really nice in that “tacky beach house decor” that Florida Beach Houses, Condos and Hotels are known for). We spent the night in Panama City and it was like I stepping back in time. We passed by the Edgewater Retreat, where I spent some great time at, that wonderful first week of May while in college for Leadership Retreat. It got me reflecting of course…how could it not? Time was so much more simpler and we didn’t even know it. The main problem I had while in PC was to figure out how long I wanted to stay at the beach to work on my tan (yes, us chocolate individuals CAN tan and like you get a nice even coat once a year). How I was that THAT could be my biggest problem instead of trying to muddle my way through grown-up decisions and trying to predict foreshadowing events and ramifications. We only passed by for a second, and honestly that was good enough…I think that my head would have exploded if we actually stayed there.

On the trips that I’ve been going to on lately, I have been going to some of the same spots. I always go to Memphis (and have an hour plus wait time walking around the airport with the crew until the next flight out), Baton Rouge (of course, said in that Creole kinda way bbaaaabbbbbiiieee :) ) and Gulfport/ Biloxi, Mississippi. Maybe I’m supposed to make friends in these places who knows. The most interesting part of the long stretch of trips came on my days off. I decided at the last-minute to head over to MS to see my grandma (Madea) on my days off. I’d already been up since 4 to work our flight out of Panama City, worked flights all day (made it into Atlanta around 6:30, my flight to MS left at 7), called and got released and made it to the flight in just enough time as they were finishing up the boarding process. Made it to MS and had fun just enjoying hanging out with Madea and the country scenic change of scenery. I got up Wednesday morning (4:30 to make a 6 o’clock flight) and miss the first flight because of the slowest security lady I think that I’ve EVER met in my life. I kept telling her that I was gonna miss my flight, but she kept moving slower than molasses in January. Got on the next flight to Atlanta and when it was all said and done (after getting my haircut and running other errands) I made it back home around 1 o’clock…and do you know that I got a call to start ANOTHER 4 day trip at 4? I mean they didn’t care that I’d LITERALLY just flew in from MS and that I wasn’t technically at home resting on my off days….NO.

So I frantically ran around my room trying to get things together for my trip. Thank the Lord that my grandma INSISTED I wash my clothes while I was at her house. They’d originally given me a trip to start on Thursday, but that changed three times within the span of an hour. so they called me for a trip on Wednesday and it was the first time that I had a 2 hour call out…to be honest with you I don’t really like it. I like to not be rushed, especially when I could EASILY forget something. ANYWHO– I went ont he trip and had a blast with my crew. we went back  and forth to Memphis most of the time, but the only new places I can add to my master list of all the places I’ve flown are Louisville, KY (shout out to Heather Lacy ) and Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. So, now I’m back and I’m gonna try to rest as much as I can…just in case I get a call. Stupid “Call Me First.”

                                                             I guess I’ll put on my Blue Suede Shoes,

                                                                                              J

“Don’t You (Forget About Me)”

   So, the last time we left off on my adventures..I’d just got off of a trip. Well just to catch up you up, I sat around for almost a week and a half before I was given another trip…not that I’m complaining. I needed that rest.

So, the time finally called for me to go on a trip and I gotta tell you….it was so much fun. I ended up picking up the rest of the trip from a Flight Attendant that got hurt during flight. That means the crew had already been together 3 days and had already bonded without me, but the good thing about random combinations of people– when you click, you click. The Captain was super cool, I’d already worked with the FO on a previous trip and the other Flight Attendant, was probably the best thing since Sliced Bread. Her name was Nancy, she was from Lebanon and was the spunkiest thing you’ll ever meet….and of course I was ALL about that!!! The time flew by (pun intended) and I honestly hated for the trip to be over. The two days I was with them we only made a couple of round trips to Columbus, OH and stayed the night in Charleston, SC. It wasn’t a hard trip, but it was fun nonetheless…

After this trip was done, I had a couple of days off and then I was given a 4 day trip, but it was promptly taken away…and I was given a nap to Brunswick, GA. For those of you that don’t know what a “nap” is or don’t remember the definition from a previous post, it’s where you work the LAST FLIGHT into a city and work the FIRST FLIGHT out of said city in the morning, meaning you’d really only be in your hotel long enough to take a nap. I was ANNOYED, because naps are the worst. I’d rather work 7 flights in a day than do a nap… ANYWHO- I digress. Brunswick was alright, but I’ve been there before while in college. It’s a skip and a hop away from GA Southern.

Alright..this is where it starts to get interesting…for the past two months, my best friend Brittany has been planning a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC to go and see our friend Adam and my old college roommate Jeremy in Charleston, SC. I’d been trying my hardest to get the days off in July (honestly since the beginning of June) and it was JUST NOT WORKING OUT. This is due in large parts to the fact that July and August are our busiest flying months, therefore NO ONE can be off on the days that they’re understaffed. Wouldn’t you know that the weekend I needed off was apart of those understaffed days? I’m just gonna be honest with you America: I was TOTALLY just gonna call in sick. I mean, I feel as though I’m a good employee and I try to do everything like one is supposed to…BUT I haven’t seen or hung out with my friends in FFFFOOORRREEEVVVVVEEERRR. It’s completely selfish and I could care less what anyone thinks. It WAS GOING to happen…until I got called on a trip. I weighted the options– and of course, I would get in more trouble for calling out on a trip that just calling out of Reserve (esp. since I normally just sit around the house and do nothing)…so I went on my trip and was forced to live vicariously through 2 of my angels and get distorted second-hand play-by-play info on all the fun that they had without me…I’m still sad that I couldn’t go, but that brought up that fact that I need a vacation, like, YESTERDAY.

The trip that I just got off of was fun, my crew was great and we went to some cool places like, Baton Rouge and Memphis (side note: that’s a really weird airport, if you ever go there…). I feel more and comfortable with everything that I have to do to make sure everyone on my flight is safe and taken care of. My beverage service is getting a little faster. I was on the 200, which means all 4 days I flew by myself, which totally gave me a “Woe as me” feeling. 

The entire time I just wanted to be on the beach with my boos..instead I’m on my way to Shreveport, Louisiana singing to myself “don’t you forget about me, cause I’ll be alone, dancing (you know it baby)”…and I’m still loving the fact that I’m racking up frequent flyer miles….

                                                                            J

“He works hard for the money”

 So, I finally got my very first trip in Atlanta flying for Delta… and dare I say that is wasn’t as bad as one might have thought. I guess that I built this little fantasy of what flying was supposed to be like here. I mean the only thing that I have to go by was my IOE flight and what I learned in class. For those of you that have been keeping up with me, You know that I haven’t been flying while here in Atlanta. I mean, for a while there, I was alright with it. I mean how wouldn’t want to be paid to sit at your house in your own space and do JACK SQUAT…i gotta say, It was the life. But of course, Me being me, things just HAD to go and change (for the better some might say). I was FORCED (yes forced against my will) to attend the Next Step Training that was assigned to us. Not only was it the biggest waste of my time (mainly because they just went over the same material that went over on the last day of class), BUT I didn’t even get to have it with my Jonathan and Christopher. The ONLY saving grace was that Melissa sat next to me …I just adore her. ANYWHO–  while in class, silly me says out loud, ” you know, I haven’t been flying at all since I’ve been back in Atlanta.” Boy was that a mistake.. little did I know that one of those nice people feed me to the wolves. The craziness has officially stated…

Within the past 4 days I have been to Myrtle Beach, Ft. Laurderdale, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Moline (Illinois), Bloomington (Illinois) and Greensboro (North Carolina). I know right? I know right? Can i have a breather or SOMETHING…and the bad (and Good) thing about it is that I already have a trip scheduled for Friday. I was gonna put myself on the list to fly more for the month of July, but goodness gracious, if this is what I have to look for then, uuuummmmm……

I’ll make it through– just venting a little. My flights have been great and my crew that I’ve flown with has been AMAZING. I still couldn’t have asked for better. I racking up on that great sites of the United States, so I guess I need to be grateful for everything and the fact that I get to do so great things with this job. As you can tell, I’ve just talked myself back to reality…

So they gave me a little break and then the crap hit the fan.. I just got off a 4 day trip. I know…I didn’t really thing that they resisted. So, bounced around the US for the past 4 days. My crew, of course, was AMAZING. The other head Flight Attendant was great. Her name was Rose and she was just they sassiest thing you ever meet…it just made the whole process just a little bit easier to get used to. We went to Columbus, OH, Birmingham, AL, Newburgh, NY, Syracuse, NY, Detroit, MI, Greensboro, NC…crazy, right? It was a super busy fun time…the flights were longer, so that was different. I had great passengers and i didn’t have to choke a bitch…all in all it was good times had by all.

—and then Crew Scheduling called me. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Flight Attendant lingo, crew scheduling is the department that handles scheduling our trips. They call you at the most random times to give you the worst news..you have a trip. I’m kidding, they’re great, they just need to get it together over there..some sort of a system in place. ANYWHO– they called me yesterday at 5:13 AM to tell me that once I got back from my 2 and a half hour trip to Oklahoma City, I was going to Northwest Arkansas. Are we serious? I was BEYOND tired, then I had to do a turn to Arkansas, which was an hour and a half trip. Well, obviously I made it through it. I made it home and passed out…

I mean I work hard for the money (including Holiday pay!!!!), hopefully they treat me right and give me time off for my trip to Myrtle Beach . I need a nap.

                          j

“Home”

Getting home was way more of a process that it should have been. For starters, I was called for a trip the night before I was to fly home. I’m still sad because we had this going away party that planned and it fell apart before our very eyes. So, I didn’t get to spend time with all of my IAD Boos before I left them for 6 months.

My trip was crazy, I was basically filling in for another Flight Attendant, so I went up with one crew nad came back with another. It was a mess. The trip was called a “nap” meaning you go to the destination on the last flight and come back on the first one, which in my case was the 5:50 flight back to IAD. We got to the hotel at 1 and I had to be down the lobby 4:50, that means I only got like 2 hours of sleep. So work my flights and make it safely back to IAD at 7:30, and rush back to the hotel (by 8) to get all of my stuff and check out to be back at Airport by 8:45 to make my flight by 9:55. I didn’t think I was going to do it..I checked luggage and made it through security nad to my gate in enough time…but of course it was too good to be true. Everything could work out so well..my flight had mechanical issues. We all know that means a long delay. A very long delay. The gate agents kept telling everyone that “they’re telling us a few more minutes.”  That was a lie because I those few more minutes turned into a 6 hour delay. Of course Hindsight, I would have just gone and chosen a later flight, but all of my luggage was on the plane and I didn’t wanna have to deal with trying to find it once I made it back to Atlanta. Christopher had a later flight and made it to the gate and I was still there waiting!!! They fixed the problem, but all of the people on the original flight were displaced (they all had connecting flights they needed to make), so there was A LOT of open space on the plane so Christopher decided to ride back with me. We finally get in the air at like 4 something…the good thing about it, is the Flight Attendant Christopher and I had was AMAZING! He was super cool, he had a Feroshous jew fro, Elvis Aviators and a whole “NYC SoHo musician” vibe about him and top of that he was hilarious when he did his announcement demonstrations. We land and I get all my crap and my dad picks me up…it was just a long day. For no reason. I had been up since 4 something, I was so tired that I couldn’t go to sleep if I wanted to. Thank goodness that’s over with, but I know that’s what could happen every time I fly. Like my Facebook status said, “I don’t I’ve ever been happier to see Georgia Red Clay!!!”

                                                            Take me hhhooooooommmmeeee,

                                                                             J