Employee of the Month

Tonight I just found out at my part time job I was awarded the Employee of the month for December. Wow barely four months and I'm already Employee of the month, I've been with the airline for two and a half years and not sure they even know I exist...LOL. Now one might wonder what someone gets for being Employee of the month and am pleased to tell you that I will recieve a free dinner and my name goes on a plaque in our restaurant.

How long is too long to wait for the "World's Greatest Pizza"?

My mother had been wanting to try this restaurant Pizzeria Bianco which she had read many rave reviews and had been wanting to try for a couple years. We had attempted to go a couple times, but after hearing the wait was four or more hours and even then we might not get to eat...we always ended up somewhere else. Last Saturday, we were determined to finally stick it out and wait. We arrived around 4:45, and had to wait about a half hour to put our name on the list. We were told that we would get inside around 9:25-9:45....OMG I think my dad is going to blow a gasper when he hears this news he was already complaining about being hungry. They told us we could leave but you have to call and check in every hour to keep your place on the list. We decided to go across the street and get some appetizers and drinks while we waited. I can't imagine waiting in the summer because the heat would just be too unbearable, but we enjoyed a nice cool but not too cold evening. Although we had a bit of a disaster with the cold or non-existent appetizers, we had a nice chat and enjoyed the atmosphere. Eventually we moved in front of the restaurant and chatted with the various other waiting guests. It seemed like every time someone would come and talk to us, that would ensure they would be soon let inside. Finally at 9:30 our name was called and we were able to go inside. By this time we were all starving and didn't need any time to decide what we were going to order. On a side note...my mom was all excited when she found out they had bottled coke and ordered a diet coke to find out that they only have coke because Chris Bianco, the owner, only drinks coke so he doesn't feel the need to stock any other options. We ordered four pizza's and were served quickly. I really liked the "Verde Bianco" and the other ones were pretty good too. All the pizza's are homemade by the owner and he makes each one personally. The restaurant itself is really small the capacity would be about 40 or 50 max. I really enjoyed the food, but not sure it was really worth the four and a half hour wait. I think next time I would get their a bit earlier and plan on making it a night. Plus I would have one person wait in line and the others grab a table inside the bar located next door because by the time we tried to get a table they were all gone. Plus make sure you have a late lunch so your not ready to eat your own hand...lol. And you can also ride the light rail so you don't have to pay for parking...another story altogether...or have to drive home after many bottles of wine.

http://cityguide.aol.com/phoenix/restaurants/pizzeria-bianco/v-101795934

http://www.pizzeriabianco.com/index2.html

A day of Hope for our future...

January 20, 2009, will be a day that has forever touched my heart. Not only is this the day my grandfather celebrated his 80th birthday, it is also the day the first African American man was sworn in as the President of the United States of America. My brother was lucky enough to witness such a momentous occasion, he had many trials and tribulations to reach his sought after spot on the lawn of the Capitol (to hear his account check out his blog: http://alcaniglia.tumblr.com/ ).

I imagine the energy of the crowd and the hopefulness in each man women and child attending such a historic day. As I sit at home watching history take place, I felt a tremendous sense of hope and excitement for the coming years. I feel we have been stuck in this black hole and we can now see some light at the end of the tunnel. I am hopeful for this new chapter in our lives and I understand things won’t change overnight. I am in it for the long haul and I hope Mr. President can live up to the challenge set in front of him. I look forward to seeing his daughters grow up over the next four or hopefully eight years and would love to see the White House through the eyes of a seven and ten year old. I can imagine them playing hide and seek in the oval office or playing in the yard with their new puppy. I really enjoyed reading the letter from the Bush twins to the Obama girls: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123239885943895155.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular

I look forward to the years ahead of us and I give my support to our new President, please don’t let us down.

My Nanu (grandfather) turns 80 tomorow

Wow 80 years...I can't imagine living eighty years and living through all the changes through his life. Yesterday we went golfing and I allowed Nanu to beat me although my dad and sister weren't quite as generous...lol. During lunch my mother asked him..."What has been the most altering change over the past eighty years?" His response was the Internet and basically the computer in general. I am so shocked at how knowledgeable Nanu is with the computer. He uses it every day to talk to his cousin and keep in contact with friends and family around the world. I hope that if I ever make it to eighty that I am as mobile and active as him. Everyday he works on his yard pulling weeds, pruning his fruit trees, and in general just keeping his yard looking pretty. After our wonderful steak dinner, we enjoyed watching the Cardinals win their way to the Super Bowl.



What a great day to celebrate, and I look forward to many more years to come! Happy 80th Birthday Nanu.

Heroes on the Hudson…

I want to start out by letting everyone know that I was not flying yesterday, and thanks for all of the concerned texts and phone calls I received. I was working a double shift at my part time job and had a chance to take a break before the night shift. During my break I grabbed my phone and was shocked to have a couple missed phone calls and text messages. Since I had only been away from my phone for a couple hours, I started to freak out and think that something horrible had happened. After scanning the text messages and checking my voicemail, I became aware of the tragic plane crash of US Airways flight 1549. I immediately called my family to assure them that I wasn’t flying and was safe. My brother filled me in on the details of the crash and I was relieved to find out all the passengers and crew survived. I don’t think the whole situation really hit me until later that night when I had the chance to see the many news reports.

This incident has had me thinking and filled with mixed emotions….part of me is sad because I think about how horrible this tragedy could have ended. I think about how each person assumed it would be like any other uneventful flight. I can’t help but think…Would my instincts kick in? Would I have been able to safely evacuate an aircraft full of 150 passengers? Each year in recurrent training we practice planned and unplanned emergency landings and what actions we would take in each situation. We are taught that each time we sit on our jumpseat prior to take-off, we mentally reflect all of things we would need to say and do in the event of an emergency. I don’t think that I have ever really felt like I would need to use that training. I’ve always told myself that the likeliness of getting into a car crash is more likely than being in a plane crash and so I guess I’ve always had this sense of false security. Thankfully flight 1549 landed safely and all passengers and crew were safely evacuated.

As I was saying I’ve always had this sense of invincibility in flying. Now I have had my fair share of mechanical problems and precautionary landings, but I have never really felt like my life was in danger. My biggest fear was having a medical emergency on a flight, and not having any medical personnel to assist. Now don’t get me wrong I have been nervous a time or two about this or that, but never really thought that something tragic or potentially life threatening could happen to me. I guess I have been living in denial and this event has really brought things close to home. I fly for US Airways and on the same type of aircraft regularly, and I have even flown similar routes. Every time I see footage of the crash, my eyes well up with tears. I can’t help but think how tragic things could have ended. I hear all of the stories of the passengers and I can’t help but think of what must have been going through their minds the minutes before the impact.

I’ve noticed how most of the news reports have focused on captain “Sully”. I am impressed with his quick thinking and fantastic landing on the Hudson. I am a bit disappointed on the fact that they have not really mentioned his co-pilot or the flight attendants. The whole crew is responsible for safely landing and evacuating flight 1549. I am so proud of my fellow co-workers and want to thank them for a job well done!

I start thinking about after they survived the crash and what I would do if I was in their place. My biggest concern is how I would contact all of my friends and family. My cell phone is usually in my lunch bag as it doesn’t quite fit in my cute flight attendant uniform without looking like a girth on my hip. I’m not sure about you but the only phone number I know is my cell phone number, the rest are all saved in my phone. I guess maybe I should memorize a couple numbers just in case I’m separated from my phone and need to contact my family. This may sound a bit silly but the next thing I can’t help but thinking about is all of the things that I would need to have replaced and how much it would stink to be separated from my cell phone, I-pod, computer, camera, passport, and credit cards. The rest of the items wouldn’t really be a big deal some clothes, shoes, extra uniform pieces, books, toiletries, etc.

I send all of my thoughts and prayers to the crew and passengers from flight 1549, and I am thankful that everyone made it out safely. I hope that I am never in this type of situation, but I am thankful that I have been given the tools and knowledge to safely survive a crash.

The dating scene....stinks

OK so I've been single for some time now and I unfortunately I haven’t been on that many dates. This being said...I now remember why I have been so reluctant to get out and dive right in to the dating scene. I went out on the worst date EVER...and I'm not exaggerating. Let me explain...I met the guy at a Christmas party and I was a bit sauced so that is my reason for not realizing he was a jerk. The red flags were apparent but I wasn't really paying attention to them because I just wanted to break the streak of no dates. He suggested Valkyrie , which I really didn't want to see but he insisted on that particular movie. Also on a side note...a movie on a first date although pretty safe, not my idea of a great set up for a first date. We agreed upon a neutral meeting place and time to meet. As any girl does before a date I got all primped and dressed up for the big event. I arrived about twenty minutes early to make sure I wasn't late. I txt him when I arrived and he didn't respond...I just figured he was driving and so he would call or txt when he arrived. As the time for the movie was close to approaching I started to think that maybe he was going to stand me up. He finally called about 3 minutes before the movie was to start to say "So did you buy my ticket yet?" I was like um no do you want me to get in line? So here I am waiting in line hoping he will show up before I have to actually pay for the tickets. He arrives just as the people in front of me approach the ticket counter. I step up to the window and order two tickets to Valkyrie the lady says "OK that will be $14" I look at him and wait for him to pull out money and when he doesn’t...I dig money out of my wallet for the tickets. Now did I mention that I didn't really want to see this movie and not only did I have to pay for the movie but we were also going to be late. He says to me as we are leaving the ticket booth "I can't believe you just paid for the tickets" I respond "Well what did you expect me to do...you didn't pull out any money" "Well I expected you to wait a little bit longer and make it really uncomfortable...then I would have paid" ARE YOU KIDDING ME...who does this? Now don't get me wrong I don't mind paying for things on a date, but he went about it all the wrong way. The date didn't get any better from that point on I should have just ordered a ticket to the movie I actually wanted to see and went solo because the rest of the date was a waste. I'll spare you all of the details but here are some of the highlights...no refreshments or popcorn because we were too late....He chose a restaurant I didn't really want to eat at even after I made a couple suggestions....He asked me stupid questions we as flight attendants seem to always get "So have you caught anyone joining the mile high club?" "Do you have a guy in every city?" He just really enjoyed making me feel uncomfortable and if this is the kind of thing I have to look forward to on future dates with other guys, I'm not sure I want to partake. I plan to ignore any contact from him EVER....I guess better luck next time.

The weight loss challenge

Ok so my family is having a Biggest looser challenge to see which one of us can get ourselves back into shape and shed the pounds. I am having a difficult time getting myself motivated. I really want to loose the weight and look good by my b-day in May, but just don't feel like actually doing anything. I need some help getting motivated...any ideas? The biggest problem for me is my funky schedule, and the trials and tribulations of eating out of my lunch bag that is usually packed with the leftovers from our fridge....not always the healthiest choices. I am also just not really motivated to get my butt moving. First off I just need to make it more of a priority and just get going....easier said than done. (As I sit here in my hotel room and avoid the work out room, maybe later...lol) Wish me luck!

30 fun filled freezing hours in Ohio

Here I am in Columbus on a thirty hour layover, with no desire to venture out of my warm hotel room. I have been working a lot between my part-time job waiting tables and flying that I am excited to have an entire day dedicated to whatever I want. I don’t have to think about the pile of laundry I need to do or the cleaning that needs to be done, I can simply relax and enjoy a day of surfing the net and catching up on some good old Law and Order (Doesn’t matter how many episodes I’ve seen I can watch this show over and over…thank goodness for TNT marathons).

I have vacation next month…which means I should have about 14-17 days off in a row for my one week vacation(my 2nd week is in May). Some of you may think that I have vacation every month, which is partially true however since I started my part time job; I haven’t had any free time to travel or even visit some friends and family. I am not sure exactly where I am going to go, but I have a bunch of ideas. I really want to go to Australia, but I am a little skeptical about traveling there by myself and no one seems to have the finances to join me. I would also love to go to Thailand but again I’m a little skeptical about traveling solo. Now don’t get me wrong I have traveled by myself before and if I was going to Europe, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. My friend K talked about going to Peru, but I'm not sure how commited she is and I don't want sometone to flake out at the last minute. So then I was thinking maybe I’d just do a bit of traveling locally to visit some friends in Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, Omaha, Kansas City, DC….but I think it’s a shame to not leave the country and get my cultural fix. So I guess I’m just going to play it all by ear….and I’ll update when I have decided.