Survival of the Fittest

I've done it. I have survived my first week as a flight attendant in New York. Longest week of my life. I feel like I've already been here a month. It's quite an adjustment I must say. I'm used to waking up every morning and looking at a beautiful green passture with my horses casually grazing as I hop in my car and drive to work. Now the only bit of grass I see are the lifeless weeds that sprout between the cracks in the sidewalk as they are trampled on by busy New York pedistrians as I walk to the subway, praying I get on the right train.


That's another thing ive survived. Public transportation. Public transportation is almost unheard of in Powder Springs. We recently got our first bus stop to encouraging commuting to downtown Atlanta and that was a huge deal. Not because people wanted to take the bus... But because the parking lot for the bus stop was built on a prime "muddin" spot for four wheelers. Talk about some mad rednecks.

Needless to say my study abroad trip and my mastery of the Italian subway system, mixed with my roommates uncanny ability to fit in like a real New Yorker and figure out exactly where she is at all times has made this transition a little easier. Until today when I was forced to take the bus and subway by myself to get from LaGuardia back to my crash pad, thanks to a 5am airport standby. Thank God for the maps app on my iPhone cause of course I got lost. Not bad lost, but enough to freak me out. When I emerged from the dark subway staircase and was greeted by a tall building instead of the normal "Chicken House" restaurant next to the flower shop, I was a bit worried. Turns out I just exited on the wrong side of the tracks and was headed to Queens instead of flight attendant central where I live. Rookie mistake.

The next thing I have almost survived... Access days, or what we call A-days. In other words, being completely accessible to my airline 24 hours a day at their beckon call to send me anywhere their little heart desires. My first A-day I was sent to Kansas City for a 9 hour layover. No big deal, I actually enjoyed it. Today's A-day got a little worse... 5am checkin for airport standby, which means waking up at 3 to get a 4 o'clock shuttle to the airport. So from 5-9 I sit... And wait. And wait some more. Until scheduling decides to send me somewhere last minute. Last week a classmate scored a trip to Barcelona waiting standby... And another is in Africa for 6 days... And another in Paris. So where am I going to get to go on this spontaneous international adventure? Rome? Venice? London? Of course I went... no where but the crew lounge. Joy. Which led to my subway mixup on the way back home as I hurried home exhausted and disappointed. So what do my A-days consist of tomorrow. Something even worse. The one place everyone in my airline hates going. Jersey. So my southern little butt will be in Newark, New Jersey at 5am for an early morning flight. No fist pumping here.

At least my luck has been better than others. A classmate had an emergency evacuation due to a smoke filled cabin on his very first flight!! Intense. Crew members are having to go through counseling and everything. I'll take Jersey over that any day.

If a week has this much to offer I can only imagine what the next few months has to in store.