So, I find myself currently sitting in my hotel in Omaha, Nebraska. Got here about four hours ago, went out to eat lunch with my other flight attendant and first officer, and now I'm just chillin waiting on the rapture to occur. What better way to wait than to get on my blog and tell a story?! There is no better way.
Picture it, Richmond...Wednesday morning. I have to work Thursday morning. I woke up, mowed my jungle of a lawn, and went out to eat lunch with my friend Jean (which has become a regular occurrence on the days I leave Richmond for work.) I got to the airport around 1:30 planning on catching the 2:45 US Airways flight to LaGuardia. As I'm sitting there, both the 2:45 and the 3:40 flights are delayed by one hour. I continue to wait. At 3:30, both flights cancel. In my mind I begin to say many choice words, but I'm trying to figure out my next step. "Ah-ha! There is a Delta flight that leaves at 3:15 for JFK! But it's currently 3:30...maybe it's delayed!" Turns out, the JFK flight was delayed. So I ran back to the other side of the airport, went through security all over again, and arrived at the Delta gate.
When I arrived, I saw a Delta ERJ-145 sitting on the taxiway. "Dammit," I think to myself..."I missed it!" I go up to a gate agent to ask if I missed the 3:15 departure to JFK. She said no, that was the 1:30pm departure still awaiting takeoff. Yes...you read correctly. The current time is 3:45 and the 1:30 is still awaiting takeoff. Even though I should never be happy about delays, I was excited because this delay was my ticket to work.
The 1:30 departure sat on the taxiway for nearly 2.5 hours then came back to the gate. Of course...the angry passengers came off to be rebooked on missed connections, etc. I was still waiting for the 3:15 plane so I could get to work. Both planes kept getting delayed. 6:00pm rolls around, and they decide to board both planes. "Ladies and gentlemen," I hear, "we are gonna begin the boarding process for both flights to JFK because both planes are going to take off right at the same time." So, we wait in line and finally board the plane. I am on a plane with about 20 other passengers...and the other Delta plane beside of me had 16 passengers. "Yay! We're finally going!" Or, so we all thought.
We sat on the plane for about 40 minutes, watched a rainbow come and go in the thunderstorm, then our captain informs us the other plane (original 1:30 departure that is now 5 hours late) has a mechanical issue. They planned on moving all those passengers onboard our plane so that we could all get to JFK. "That's fine," I thought. We had plenty of seats. I see the ramp guys pull a ladder up to the other plane and fix it. Yay! It's fixed!
Then, the rampers begin unloading our suitcases from our plane. "What is going on?" I thought. I am getting to New York today if I have to swim up the coast of the Atlantic! Our pilots come over the PA and tell us they have just hit the 16 hours of work mark and that we have to deplane and get on the other plane to JFK because they are now illegal to fly. Ok...not a big deal. There are 20 of us, 16 on the other plane...36 total, for a 50 seater plane. We gather our carry-ons and proceed to deplane. I stop to talk to the flight attendant before heading over to the other plane. I walk off of my plane to go get on the other one...and here it comes: the other plane was pushing back from the gate...with the door closed...and with only 16 people. None of the people from my plane was on there.
I am going to give a precursor to the following conversation: I was in my uniform going to work. I understand I am supposed to be respectful to everyone, but I lost it at this point. I was on my 6th hour and watching a plane leave to go to NYC without me and 20 other people who needed to go. This is how is went:
-Gate agent is standing at the bottom of the ramp.
-Zach: (throws carry ons onto the wet ground with an attitude) "Are you fucking kidding me right now?"
-Gate agent: "What?"
-Zach: "you have 20 people trying to get to JFK who were told we were gonna be on that plane and you're letting it push back?"
-Gate agent: "We couldn't help it."
-Zach: "What do you mean you couldn't help it? You've known for 10 minutes this plane is gonna leave because you hooked up the tug and now you're letting it go without all of us. You've got to be fucking kidding me."
-Gate agent: "The pilots closed the door and said they had to go."
-Zach: "I honestly don't know what to say right now. Are we gonna go on the 7:30 flight?"
-Gate agent: "It's cancelled."
At that point, I grabbed my bags and walked away. I had made friends with a United flight attendant named Katherine a few hours earlier and we were both trying to get to NYC. We spent this whole ordeal together. We immediately run inside the airport and hop onto a plane heading to Washington-Dulles. We were happy with anything that would get us closer to NYC.
We land in Dulles around 8:30, with only two options: one plane to JFK and one plane to LaGuardia. Both were oversold. We end up sitting on the taxiway for about 30 minutes because a thunderstorm wouldn't allow the ramp guys to marshal the plane to the gate. We run in the airport and run to the LaGuardia flight that is delayed until 10:50pm. Long story short, people missed their connections and we got on the plane. Landed in LaGuardia at 12:15am.
Yes, it took me 11 hours to get to work on Wednesday. It was a fabulous time. I'm not sure anything could be more fun...other than the impending Rapture. It's about that time.
Until next time, and if we make it through the Rapture, Zach will leave it at that.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Joys of Travel
Actually written on May 15th at approximately 830pm somewhere in the air between DC and Denver...
I find myself in the air pretty often. Yea, it's my job. As most of you know, I am a flight attendant now. It's pretty crazy how much my life has changed over the course of the past few months. In December I was driving to work in a bank every single day and I was miserable. At this moment, I'm on a plane headed to Denver, Colorado, then I'm gonna head down to Tucson, Arizona to visit my best friend Colton, his parents, and his girlfriend Alison.
I've not updated my blog in quite a while. Perhaps I should bring it back to life. I need to find something to do with my spare time. I used to sit on planes for hours and look out the window in amazement of where I was at (35,000 feet above the ground.) Now that I am on the go so often, I am pretty used to the sights out of the window, so blogging with my interesting airline stories may be the best way to pass my time.
I'll start with a brief synopsis of the past few months. I could write a book, but I'll spare you. I now work for Shuttle America, a regional airline that operates Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection, and United Express flights. I'm based out of New York City's LaGuardia Airport I love it. It's a ton of fun and I get to go places which is what I wanted. The people I work with are amazing. I've met some great friends through the job, although I do miss my friends from college and from Richmond. I have a very good schedule and sometimes I find it hard to believe that I actually have the job that I do.
I have a new appreciation for flight attendants. Before I start my story of the day, let me tell you about the past few hours of my life…
I ended a "trip" in LaGuardia last night and I along with the wonderful First Officer I had been flying with for the past few days headed over to JFK to head down to Washington, DC. I spent last night with my good friend Hunter with plans of leaving today to go to Tucson, Arizona for a few days. Even though I fly everywhere for free, I fly space available…so, if there are no seats on the plane I do not fly. I decided not to leave Washington, DC today until around 3PM because my flight to Tucson didn't leave Atlanta until 7:25 and I didn't want to sit there for four hours. I looked on my iPhone (my new favorite accessory) and saw that the 3PM flight to Atlanta was overbooked, so when Hunter dropped me off at the airport I ran to the AirTran gate to catch a flight to Atlanta. Long story short: AirTran had no seats, Delta's 3pm had no seats, Delta's 4pm had no seats, Frontier was delayed by 2 hours, and I really thought I was out of options. I ended up hoofing it over the United counter and getting a United flight to Denver. Once in Denver, I will connect to Tucson on Frontier Airlines. Yes, I know it's confusing, but it's what I have to go through to get where I'm going. In the end you may be sweaty, tired, frustrated, angry, hungry and look like you just ran a marathon through the Saharan Desert, but at least you make it.
I have to say that I'm very satisfied with life at this point. I like driving down the road with my windows down, sunroof open, blasting my music. The other day I was doing just that and I was thinking about how I honestly don't have any worries right now. I wouldn't complain if my life stayed like it is for a while. I love my family, I love my friends, I love my job, and I am very content. I hope I stay this way for a while.
For now, I'll just keep on flying and see what comes my way.
Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.
I find myself in the air pretty often. Yea, it's my job. As most of you know, I am a flight attendant now. It's pretty crazy how much my life has changed over the course of the past few months. In December I was driving to work in a bank every single day and I was miserable. At this moment, I'm on a plane headed to Denver, Colorado, then I'm gonna head down to Tucson, Arizona to visit my best friend Colton, his parents, and his girlfriend Alison.
I've not updated my blog in quite a while. Perhaps I should bring it back to life. I need to find something to do with my spare time. I used to sit on planes for hours and look out the window in amazement of where I was at (35,000 feet above the ground.) Now that I am on the go so often, I am pretty used to the sights out of the window, so blogging with my interesting airline stories may be the best way to pass my time.
I'll start with a brief synopsis of the past few months. I could write a book, but I'll spare you. I now work for Shuttle America, a regional airline that operates Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection, and United Express flights. I'm based out of New York City's LaGuardia Airport I love it. It's a ton of fun and I get to go places which is what I wanted. The people I work with are amazing. I've met some great friends through the job, although I do miss my friends from college and from Richmond. I have a very good schedule and sometimes I find it hard to believe that I actually have the job that I do.
I have a new appreciation for flight attendants. Before I start my story of the day, let me tell you about the past few hours of my life…
I ended a "trip" in LaGuardia last night and I along with the wonderful First Officer I had been flying with for the past few days headed over to JFK to head down to Washington, DC. I spent last night with my good friend Hunter with plans of leaving today to go to Tucson, Arizona for a few days. Even though I fly everywhere for free, I fly space available…so, if there are no seats on the plane I do not fly. I decided not to leave Washington, DC today until around 3PM because my flight to Tucson didn't leave Atlanta until 7:25 and I didn't want to sit there for four hours. I looked on my iPhone (my new favorite accessory) and saw that the 3PM flight to Atlanta was overbooked, so when Hunter dropped me off at the airport I ran to the AirTran gate to catch a flight to Atlanta. Long story short: AirTran had no seats, Delta's 3pm had no seats, Delta's 4pm had no seats, Frontier was delayed by 2 hours, and I really thought I was out of options. I ended up hoofing it over the United counter and getting a United flight to Denver. Once in Denver, I will connect to Tucson on Frontier Airlines. Yes, I know it's confusing, but it's what I have to go through to get where I'm going. In the end you may be sweaty, tired, frustrated, angry, hungry and look like you just ran a marathon through the Saharan Desert, but at least you make it.
I have to say that I'm very satisfied with life at this point. I like driving down the road with my windows down, sunroof open, blasting my music. The other day I was doing just that and I was thinking about how I honestly don't have any worries right now. I wouldn't complain if my life stayed like it is for a while. I love my family, I love my friends, I love my job, and I am very content. I hope I stay this way for a while.
For now, I'll just keep on flying and see what comes my way.
Until next time, Zach will leave it at that.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Power Behind a Story
People cease to amaze me...and I don't say that with anger. Diversity amazes me. Struggles amaze me. But most of all, stories amaze me.
I love stories. I want to hear them. When I am trying to get to know a person, I want to hear the stories they have. Whether it is stories about family, stories about friends, stories about happiness, stories about struggles...it doesn't matter. It is one's stories that make a person who they are.
For now, I work in a restaurant. I'm a server. I deal with people for probably about 95% of my job. And every single table I go to, I think about the stories they have. It is probably not noticeable at work, and the people I work with will not know this about me until (and if) they read this blog, but I think a lot at work about the people and environment around me. I had a table last night...two older men who have been partners for 28 years and recently became legally hitched. As I always try to instigate conversation among my tables, this conversation was inspiring. Twenty eight years...wow. And they have never been happier. It's sad that I only had a few minutes to talk with the gentlemen because I wanted to hear more. I wanted to hear the stories behind their lives, their struggles, their fears, and what has kept them going.
I think a lot of the motivation we get comes from stories. When we get depressed over something, many times we think of other people and say, "I'm not the first person who has ever faced this problem, and I won't be the last. If someone else made it through this, so can I" And many times, that keeps us going.
I've recently begun working the crisis hotline again. I've been doing it off and on for a year and a half now. Yea, a lot of times, it's not happy stories. After I hung up my phone from a 7:30am call this morning, I thought back...what kind of story lies behind the man who I just hung up with. It's ironic, but many times I find joy behind working a crisis/suicide hotline. I learn so much from the people I talk with, and maybe they learn from me. Although many times I find myself struggling to figure out what to say, hopefully what I do say inspires or helps them in some way.
If you're reading this, I want you to think of your stories. What stories do you have that make you who you are? I am lucky to have many people in my life...my family, friends from college, new friends in Richmond. But when I think about it, I don't think I have taken the right amount of time to sit down and listen to stories.
It doesn't matter who you are, I'll buy your coffee...as long as you provide me with your story.
Hopefully I'll see you around...
I love stories. I want to hear them. When I am trying to get to know a person, I want to hear the stories they have. Whether it is stories about family, stories about friends, stories about happiness, stories about struggles...it doesn't matter. It is one's stories that make a person who they are.
For now, I work in a restaurant. I'm a server. I deal with people for probably about 95% of my job. And every single table I go to, I think about the stories they have. It is probably not noticeable at work, and the people I work with will not know this about me until (and if) they read this blog, but I think a lot at work about the people and environment around me. I had a table last night...two older men who have been partners for 28 years and recently became legally hitched. As I always try to instigate conversation among my tables, this conversation was inspiring. Twenty eight years...wow. And they have never been happier. It's sad that I only had a few minutes to talk with the gentlemen because I wanted to hear more. I wanted to hear the stories behind their lives, their struggles, their fears, and what has kept them going.
I think a lot of the motivation we get comes from stories. When we get depressed over something, many times we think of other people and say, "I'm not the first person who has ever faced this problem, and I won't be the last. If someone else made it through this, so can I" And many times, that keeps us going.
I've recently begun working the crisis hotline again. I've been doing it off and on for a year and a half now. Yea, a lot of times, it's not happy stories. After I hung up my phone from a 7:30am call this morning, I thought back...what kind of story lies behind the man who I just hung up with. It's ironic, but many times I find joy behind working a crisis/suicide hotline. I learn so much from the people I talk with, and maybe they learn from me. Although many times I find myself struggling to figure out what to say, hopefully what I do say inspires or helps them in some way.
If you're reading this, I want you to think of your stories. What stories do you have that make you who you are? I am lucky to have many people in my life...my family, friends from college, new friends in Richmond. But when I think about it, I don't think I have taken the right amount of time to sit down and listen to stories.
It doesn't matter who you are, I'll buy your coffee...as long as you provide me with your story.
Hopefully I'll see you around...
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