Carrie Bradshaw Meets Crash Pad

Now the lifestyle of a flight attendant sounds glamorous. Getting to travel all around the world staying in hotels you never would have seen, meeting people you never would have met, doing things you never would have done... all while getting paid for having a smile on your face. Sounds great right? Well it is until you're based in a city away from your home.

One thing most people don't know about flight attendants is most of them do not live where they are based. For instance, I live in Atlanta but I commute to New York for work. Doesn't sound that bad, right? Well others commute much farther to The Big Apple, like my roommate who commutes from Portland, Oregon and a classmate who commutes from Honolulu, Hawaii.


This requires most of us to get a place outside of our home city called a crash pad. Since most of us can't live the Carrie Bradshaw Sex and the City lifestyles of Manhattan we're forced to settle for the suburbs of New York. Which is where I will "crash" while this glamorous lifestyle begins.



The definition of glamorous for a crash pad:
- a bed that you call your own (this is known as a cold bed, opposed to a hot bed that you share. One body in, one body out. Hence "hot" bed).
- a shower
- somewhat convenient transportation to the airport (or multiple airports if you work for my airline where we work all three in the NYC area)

Thats it. If you have these three things you have got it made. My crash pad is a 4 bedroom 2 bath townhouse with room for 12 roommates. Yes! 12! All 12 people in one small townhouse splitting 2 bathrooms in New York City. That would involve a grand total of 6 bunkbeds. Glamorous right?

On the other hand, I do have a trip to Shannon, Ireland coming up next month... so it kind of makes that twin size bunk bed all worth while until I can afford my studio apartment in Manhattan. If Carrie can do it I can too right?

My Life In One 50lb Suitcase

So I've packed... and unpacked... and repacked.. and unpacked and repacked again. I've looked at my next month's schedule 7 different times, and every time gets more confusing. Overwhelmed is an understatement. Training and graduation has come and gone and my first day as a flight attendant starts tomorrow.

I have come to the realization that my new life motto is going to be "flying by the seat of my pants." I literally have no choice. I keep telling myself, "Get excited! You're going to New York City in less than 24 hours!" I can't wait to see all the sights The Big Apple has to offer and do the typical tourist thing... but wait. I'm working. Not on vacation. So the Statue of Liberty and Central Park is going to have to wait. This trip is for business, not for play. Which is why I'm trading in my high-heels for on-board shoes.

Even my off days will consist of becoming best friends with scheduling, figuring my way around the city and becoming very familiar with the route between LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark. Yes, even Newark, New Jersey. Jersey? Yikes!

The other thing that keeps throwing me off is I'm not just packing for a trip to New York City. I'm packing for a trip to West Palm Beach, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Tampa. And not to mention my days where I'm on call where I could end up anywhere! I could be in California, or Washington DC, or Africa, or Italy, or Alaska! There is no telling. I'm a girl. When you tell me to pack a bag for one night I pack enough for a week! Now you're telling me to pack for a month? Right. This is sure to be an epic fail.

So my life has been shrunk to one 50lb suitcase. My miniature wardrobe that will last me anywhere from 11 days to an entire month. In any climate all over the world. Wow. Did I really sign up for this?

I'm also leaving behind the world I know. My amazing boyfriend, my great friends, and my loving family. The land I grew up on where I have plenty of place to stretch out and run wild, and where I wake up to wild turkeys and my horses in the pasture every morning is about to be replaced with a view of skyscrapers and living in a crowded one bedroom apartment with 10 people.

This is definitely the craziest thing I've ever done. I never knew serving peanuts, pretzels, and a Coke would ever be so difficult.

Red Lipstick Means I'm a Woman... Right?!

Every time I see a woman wearing red lipstick I think of elegance. When young girls wear red lipstick they just look like a mess. They look like they've been playing dress-up in their mother's makeup. But when a woman wears red lipstick, it's beautiful. They're classy, sophisticated, and elegant, and only a woman that has a certain amount of confidence can pull off red lipstick. Today, I wore red lipstick for the first time.

Today was actually a day full of firsts for me... It was the first day I wore my uniform to work... I got my first full month's schedule today... and then I had my first breakdown over my schedule and my new career...

Access days!? Jetway pickups!? Required Rest!? Legalities!? Swaps!? Pickups!? Deadheading!? I have no idea whats going on! I just know it seems like there are very few days where it looks like I'll actually be at home and very few days I'll be flying trips I actually want. In fact, this weekend will actually be the last time I'll be home until Memorial Day Weekend. I think... again... I still have no idea what I'm doing. I just know I've never been away from home that long before... and I still don't have a place to stay while I'm in NYC. And its starting to seem like I may actually have to move to NYC until I can get the hang of this whole flight attendant lifestyle. As I was driving home today I realized just how scared and nervous I actually am. So there it was. My first breakdown. After 7.5 weeks of training, it finally caught up with me.

After starting to cry a little bit I went to check my makeup in my rear view mirror... thats when I had another first. It was the first time I looked in the mirror and saw myself as a woman. There I was in my flight attendant uniform... driving a car I purchased myself after my college graduation... freaking out about a job that I got on my own... because I would actually be on my own... in my red lipstick. Then instead of being so upset, I started to feel proud. I know there are tons of girls that would love to be in my position. People dream of living in New York City and there I was scared to leave Powder Springs. Then I realized... I'm a woman now, whether I like it or not.

I am blessed for this opportunity God has given me and I am going to enjoy every second. It's going to be hard. It's going to be different. I am going to struggle but I will make it out a stronger woman than I was before. So then, I dried up my tears... held my head up high... took a deep breath... and reapplied my red lipstick.

The Adventure Begins

My life has changed dramatically over the past year. Looking back now I never would have known this is where I would end up. I've always been your typical small town girl. My friends and family have always come first and I've always dreamt about love and my future. The only difference between most small town girls and me... I never really wanted to leave. I was completely content where I was.

Last summer is when my mind changed. On a whim I decided to do something for myself that I had never done before. I took out a student loan and decided to study abroad to Italy. Best decision ever. Because of that trip I have made friendships that will last me a lifetime and discovered my passion for traveling around the world.

After college graduation in December, the typical post-grad job hunt began. It didn't take me long to come across the new listings for a flight attendant position. I never thought about becoming a flight attendant, but the job seems so glamorous. I mean lets be real... it's one of Barbie's many jobs. Who wouldn't want a job that Barbie has!? So without thinking I applied. Little did I know I was one of 100,000 people who had the same intention. After waiting three months... an intensive phone interview... and an even more intense 7-hour interview I was offered the job on the spot. My hiring manager said our group was the Top 10 of the 1,000 new hires. In other words we were one in the 1/10th of a million people that applied for the job that got hired. WOW!!

Now I've been through an even more intensive 7 week training process. 10-12 hours a day. 6 days a week. exhausting... but so fun! I love waking up and going to training every morning. From learning FAA regulations, 9 different aircraft, first aid and CPR, how to deliver a baby, emergency evacuations, bomb threats, and of course how to pour a coke... the past 7 weeks have been a whirlwind. I've already experienced 3 training flights that have given me glimpse into my future. One including a unexpected 7 hour layover in the desert of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have made even more friends that I thought I would never make and would never have the chance to meet. And now I will have the opportunity to travel around the world, all while being paid. Sounds like a dream.

I graduate from Initial Flight Attendant Training on Friday and not too soon after I'm being sent to the Big Apple to start my career. I've never even been to New York and now it will be my second home. I'm excited but extremely nervous to see what this new career has to offer.

Right now, I'm just living on a wing and prayer!