Blog-TOWER OF BABEL

Now I know why I do not want to ever leave the house. I will turn into one of those people that used to be in my hometown neighborhood when i was a kid. They were "shut-ins" as my parents would say. They had lots of cats(they did not venture either), wore worn out green sweaters with moth holes, smelled of old oatmeal, Liniment, and cough drops, with a vacant untrusting stare. I know because me and maryanne, my 9 year buddy, would ring the doorbell, and look for 1 minute at the human form at the door, and run off.

On Monday, I leave the house to go to Teterburo NJ, I get cut off 3 times. I am stopped at a light, no turn on red. The jerk behind me, is beeping his horn. I get out of my car (not advised), and ask why are you honking your horn? He say in his Jersey accent, "you can go, DERS  no cops". ugh.

No peace.

On Tuesday, I leave the house there is an elderly woman in the break down lane. No one stops except me. Where are we going? Are we in such a rush, that we do not care about one another? No peace.

On Wednesday, my credit card is charged with 'VIDEO GAMING'. My son thinks I am a bank, busboy, maid and sponsor for fun. No peace

On Thursday, My landlord takes my trash can with out telling me. I look everywhere for it. I bother the neighbors. He took it because he does not like my 55.00 garbage can. It is now being held hostage locked in the basement.  No peace

On Friday, an friend cancels lunch, after I made all her favorite stuff. I ate ALL of it. No peace

On Saturday, A trip cancels, fender bender and my son will not hang out with his mother.

On Sunday, I broke my toe again, pull my back out, get bitched out by a flight attendant for cleaning up her nasty f------ a/c (she is freelance as well)  and get stopped by DC cop for cell phone usage.

On monday, I start over. maybe some peace. I am going to up my cat population and get that green sweater.

So I keep getting theses yellow envelopes for peoples bank,multiple bile colored envelopes , total bounced check and returned check fees totaling 250.00. I asked the bank manager if I was going to be taken off to jail They do have lot of jails in ct. The women's jail is far worse than the mens. more bickering. probably no hormone  replacement, Xanax or tequila  there.

Being broke is sort of like a prison sentence. No freedom, no joy ,no national enquirer bought in the check out line. Now I read it and put it back. The cashier leers and says to herself, she must work for an aviation company. I used to love this aviation company, It was pristine, lovely and I was proud to be a part of its mechanisms. It will be great again too, but I cannot go back there. Too much history, like an old boyfriend, once hurt, I lie in wait for more disappointment.   It is never the same, i lay an broken woman. 

So back to talking about prison, if I did have to go. Would I have a roommate that I called Bitch? Would they pair me up with another flight attendant who wrote bad checks, or would I get a bank robber or a mass murderer? I would like the bank robber because, in this economy, i am going to need a new trade. Murder was thought of this week, but it is a messy occupation. Do they have a resume center there? Can I collect unemployment whilst living with my bitch? Can I get on Ameritrade? Do they have vegetarian fare? Church? Pilates? Coke machine? Quarters? Meditation classes? Only one phone call a day? Any thoughts?

 I cannot get on an airplane to save my life. Are they leaving without a flight attendant or are freelancers just taking every trip that comes along? I can see a lot of a/c in my hangar. It is like the twilight zone has taken over, or it looks like an abandoned movie set. There is no activity, no laughter, not towing in or out of the hangar.
 
It may be time to leave this career, to finally make a commitment to educate ones self into another NEEDED field like dental or nursing. How do you keep your head out of the lions mouth? My son asked me if we are going to be homeless soon. He loves CNN, and have the pulse of the american economy running thru his head. I said "no, we have a lot of friends and family that would not allow that" but I wonder, could this be worse than 1982?

Sorry, I have not written in a while. The Market had gotten the better of me, but it is coming back.
Have you ever had some company call you for a trip, a 1-2 day trip, and you quickly said yes. Then the phone rings again, and it is another company, asking you to do a 19 day Paris, London, Maui, Caribbean trip and you have to say no?

 

How do you feel? Do you want throw yourself off a building? Wish you were dead on the first phone call? Do you try to give trip number 1 to someone else? You feel incredible loathing, envious and fearful? Do you malign yourself all day and night? After not flying for 1 month, you get 2 days? What are your thoughts?

 

Sometimes to do freelancing, you may need a wall to put a hole in. Everyone wants you on the 26 December, 5 January, Super Bowl, the Masters, NBAA, etc. What about the rest of the year? And the timing! Can I land at 2 am from a 1 day trip and be at xyz airport at 530 am? What if there is weather? There is a lot of gambling when you say yes. Any thoughts?

On October 1, I gladly attended Executive Catering on Elm's cooking class. I was hungry and excited. The food is like coming home. All the chefs have a genuine passion for flavors, spices and what will work on the aircraft and what will not. They know aviation, the pluses and the perils of it. They know even if the weather is awful, the food will be wonderful.

My favorites were herbed griddle cakes with pears and gorgonzola, a beautiful spicy shrimp and coconut soup, spinach and radicchio with roasted butternut squash, pears and pecans, crispy pork medallions with apple horseradish, grilled smashed red potato, sweet ricotta pudding with red flame grapes, and vanilla bean mousse.

I have never been disappointed by Molly Sprongs catering. When the boxes get delivered to the a/c, it is like Christmas morning, I do not hesitate to open the boxes of wonderful delicacies. Her number is 860-350-0106, fax 354-0106. She is located on 12 Elm St. New Milford, CT 06776. Try them, and you will fall in love.

The market used to mean good things. profit, gain, a place to meet, to get the latest news, fresh vegetables, fruit, a job, who was the best craftmans.... it all dated back to the 14 century. Now when the market is mentioned, i gasp. does anyone, especailly in aviation, have a plan b when their bread and butter has turned to toast? I do not.

I never had any really rich uncles, my mom died penniless, my brother and sister are teachers, i have no inventions on  the horizon, i do have a morgage, but i have a car payment, insurance, college fund to fill and about 5000.00 in general credit card debt. I have been so broke, i slept in my car in college and have eaten ketchup as a food group.I was 19 and had no fear!

At least the car i lived in for 2 weeks, had a heater and I was too proud to tell anyone I was broke. I lived on cheese puffs, coffee and thank god i did not turn orange from all the food coloring ingesting that nutritious snack, I am healthy and so is my son.

The hair color and manicures have gone, the coupons get clipped, and i try to walk to town now instead of jumping in my truck to go 1/2 mile. I do not buy brand, the yoga class never got signed up for, and i put flyers around the neighborhood for errand running. There is alot of pasta in my kitchen, and I buy in bulk. I pray that tomorrow i will not see another atrocity in the financials. Can I sell a kidney? Can i do without my mad money? will my son get his college fund? Can I ever retire?

No one can answer this.
I can still muster up a starbucks once in a while, and i now need my friends and family closer than ever, which is not a bad thing.

Are we in the wrong business? I saw my 401K lose mucho dinero last week, plus the bailout, plus there is no freelance flying, there is no one on the streets or in the stores, restaurants and ever the parking lots at the dollar store are showing signs of slowdown. No one is buying and no one is flying.

Flying can be rewarding and it can be heartbreak hotel. How do we handle it? Prozac? Vodka? Yoga?...Where did our future go? I am afraid to breathe, I look at my son sleeping in his bunk bed and wonder what type of life will he and his kids and his kid’s kids have?

He knows we screwed up, he knows Bush is week. and he knows the Pros and Cons of Obama and McCain, he is 12. He told me the other day that “We cannot make another mistake with the Presidency” but with the economic downturn, flying tanks, flight attendants have had enough. They are now leaving the field and doing something else that will not be touched too much by economics like Medical, ElderCare, and Dental. Because we always need these services. Any thoughts?

Today's aviation is not easy. It was a lot easier 15 years ago when I started. Aviation companies are busy trying to keep their companies open, fuel prices are off the charts, people are cutting the budget, downsizing to the bare bone. I do not mean to sound like that gruff old guy Andy Rooney on 20/20, but people were a lot nicer then. The people in charge called you back, were cordial and tried to help you. You knew their kids names and they knew yours. If you really broke, they got you on a flight to pay your car insurance.

 

 Is this or is it not the HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, are we in customer service or customer stuckupness. Why do we now feel that when we call the head flight attendant, or director of cabin service, its like they just woke up in a bad mood and make you feel like you are a total bother, thorn in the side, fly in the ointment and just should just go throw your unimportant self off a cliff? WHO DO THEY WORK FOR?

Please go away and never call me again. I called someone in charge in February and I am still waiting. I have a flare gun, should I head it towards Teterboro?

For all you freelancers out there, here are some tips, during these trying economic times, to save money. A lot of the items you pay for are not covered when flying. Yes, you can file them with your taxes as expenses, but you can try to cut back while doing these things. You may have to fly to your aircraft. It is cheaper to first go to individual airline sites, more carrier are offering exclusive deals to avoid paying broker fees to orbitz or travelocity. Sign up for fare alerts out of your local airport. There is a site called www.airfarewatchdog.com or www.farecompare.com. Fridays and Sundays are the priciest days to fly. 

To price shop for gas, go to www.gasbuddy.com, you can enter your travel route, and they will tell you where to find cheap gas. Also certain credit cards, like the Discover open road card will offer 5% rebates on gas and maintenance purchases. As far as cheaper meals, you can go to www..opentable.com, for menus around the world, with prices. With the high cost of food, i am thinking for my household, of BJs or COSTCO. I have never seen the economy this bad, lets hope it ends soon. 

I just spent 72 house with my family. My bother Bill is a teach, my older sister is a teacher, my Brother-In-Law (a teacher), my Cousins are nurses, my Dad was a dentist, my Uncle was priest, my Aunt was Nun. So I have should have read a lot of books, been prayerful and holy, with straight white teeth. (ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THIS IS TRUE). 

Anyway, what the hell am I getting at? Oh, Yeah the persecution complex. No one of the above “God Fearing” straight laced people in the above sentences, wanted me to be in aviation. It is dangerous, it will kill you, aren't you afraid to fly, what about the drunks? (LIKE I DO NOT HAVE THAT IN MY FAMILY), Could‘nt  you get a normal job? 

When are you going to grow up? Have you been laid off yet? Why don’t you teach or try the post office? Do you only serve nuts? When are you going to get a job where you are around more so we can hang out? 

The last statement was enough! I fly for “Sanity Sake”! The away time helps me be the calm, I like to travel, I tried clerical, teaching, skip the nun thing, I tried being a booking agent, scheduler, nothing worked, so well as saying goodbye for now.