tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51476101944214300712024-03-13T15:08:09.627-07:00Real Life of a Pilots WifeChristyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-42129559397428743592017-03-27T14:44:00.000-07:002017-03-27T14:46:27.632-07:0010 Tips for Nonreving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Remember that old Kenny Rogers song "The Gambler" Know when to Hold 'Em, Know when to Fold 'Em, that could be a nonrev song. You have to know when to try and when its not worth it. A recent news story today got me thinking about nonreving. So I thought I'd share my tips from the past 12 years.<br />
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<b>1) Take the First Flight of the Morning</b><br />
I can't say this enough or often enough. Sure you want to sleep in, but do you want to get to where you are trying to go? Or is sleeping more important? If you answered sleeping, nonreving might not be for you. You always take the first flight of the morning (see I said it again) even if it looks bad you have the potential of paying pax oversleeping, this means more seats for you! Also guess what happens to those later flights you wanted to take so you could sleep? The pax that overslept that first flight....are all on the later flights...in front of you.<br />
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<b>2) Be Nice to the Gate Agents</b><br />
This is really a tie with #1. These are the gate keepers to your beloved flight. Yes, yes, but they are mean and unreasonable (not everyone is nice) but ultimately it doesn't matter. As my mom would say "Life isn't fair." Weather they are nice or not they decide the fate of your flight. 98% of gate agents are nice (if not a little stressed) but there are some that are clearly having bad days. This is really of no difference to you, you treat them all the same. You treat them as nicely as possibly, the words "I'm sorry" "Thank you so much" "I appreciate it" are all phrases you should use. It doesn't matter if the gate agent is a fire eating dragon munching on a small child behind the desk, you are still nice. Never lose your cool or start yelling, besides not getting anywhere, you're libel to get your nonrev privileges revoked. Even if they are doing something clearly wrong and screwing you, there is not a lot you can do, remember you are riding for free...or close to it.<br />
Example: I once had a gate agent (on a flight that had 25 empty seats left) not call any nonrev's. There were about 15 of us standing there waiting. Not one of us moved, even when she said final call for boarding. One poor guy who clearly hadn't ever nonreved before finally approached her with his security document and must have said something like "Is this the right flight?" She went ballistic. Like nuclear ballistic. "You are a nonrev, that is NOT a ticket, I will give you a ticket if there is room, you need to wait over there." Should she have been awful? No. Am I glad that guy took one for the team? You bet, she didn't seem as if she would let us on until he walked up. Would that have been me? Heck no. I didn't want her saying I was rude and having my privileges revoked.<br />
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<b>3) Have a Plan A, B, C, D, E, and F for FUN</b><br />
Have as many plans as you need to get there. Dh and I were going from Chicago to San Francisco one time and we went from Chicago to Kansas City to San Diego to San Francisco. Yes it took forever BUT we got there. Also learn when its in your best interest to do this. Sure we could have waited a few hours in Chicago to see if we got on the direct flight to Oakland BUT it would have been close and if we would not have made it we would have been screwed and not gotten there at all. Sometimes it's worth it to 3 leg it to make sure you get there. Also look for alternative routes, I once flew from Houston to Milwaukee instead of into Chicago....gotta do what you gotta do.<br />
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<b>4) If You Have to be Somewhere Don't Nonrev</b><br />
This is what money is for. If you have to be somewhere (wedding, cruise, etc) please buy a ticket. Heck go on a cruise and listen to people talk who did buy tickets, its not always guaranteed then. I have heard stories of weather, and maintenance issues from people who almost didn't make their cruise. My caveat is, if you want to go two days before then go ahead and try to nonrev...you have time.<br />
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<b>5) Pack Lightly</b><br />
I can't say this enough...for the love of god, DON'T check a bag if you are going somewhere. As a nonrev if they lose your bag you may never see it again. Also, think about this, if you decide to fly into Milwaukee instead of Chicago your bag is still going to go to Chicago or vise versa. If you need to check a bag you need to buy a ticket. My one caveat(again) to this is when we went to Japan with just carry on's, we returned with two checked bags. One of our carry on's broke and we bought a ton of souvenirs. IF you are going to check a bag, check it on the way home. <br />
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6) Be Prepared to Sleep in Airports<br />
Not much to explain here, every year we add a new one to the list. We've slept in quite a few most notable are: Midway, Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, Kona (in Kona we bought a ticket!). As I have gotten older I am more willing to pay for a hotel for 4 hours than sleep in an airport, esp if I want to be presentable the next day to nonrev.<br />
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<b>7) Be Flexible</b><br />
IMO this is a must. You really can't expect to fly out to Las Vegas on Friday and fly back on Sunday. There are wayyyy too many paying passengers, you won't make it. Not to say you can't do it, I have done it twice, BUT I also understood and planned for not returning on Sunday. One of my first nonreving experiences was doing this exact trip, but at the time I didn't know better and let dh (boyfriend) at the time plan it. Big mistake esp since I had to be at work on Monday. I ended up calling in sick and also learned a valuable lesson.<br />
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<b>8) What (Not) to Wear?</b><br />
So I'm not going to say much about this, at this point everyone has heard about United and their buddy pass dress code I'm sure. I'm only going to say, if you look at the dress code and think something you're wearing *might* be questionable your best bet is to change so they actually let you on the plane.<br />
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<b>9) Expect the Unexpected</b><br />
Storms happen, mechanicals happen, aircraft swaps happen. All of these and more may screw up your nonrev plans please refer to #7.<br />
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<b>10) Be Grateful</b><br />
Always be nice, pleasant, and grateful. Always remember no matter how bad it is, you could always be the person on the outside looking in wishing you had nonrev benefits.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-88132906236186141172017-03-21T16:19:00.002-07:002017-03-21T16:19:46.723-07:00Tag Team<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So what's it really like when both you and your spouse are in the airline industry? This is a great example of our tag team day(s). We are extremely lucky that my mom watches our dogs/cats and even horses, but we don't want to burn her out, so when we can we do "tag teaming." <br />
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My day started at 0200 (2am). Surprisingly I woke up feeling decent, super early shows are always hit or miss depending on how well I sleep the night before, we'd gone to bed at 9 and it seemed to have paid off. I leave dh sleeping as he is on reserve and starts at 0800 (8am). I go out to feed the horses (yes they hate me) sometimes breakfast is at 2 sometimes its at 9. Since I need to leave the house about 3ish I won't be turning the horses out before I leave, I'll let dh learn that fun chore is for him later. So I go slogging (because all it has done is rain the last few days) through my mud soaked horse field throwing flakes of hay out for them to eat once dh turns them out. I take about 6 steps carrying half a bale of hay when I realize my boot got stuck in the mud somewhere behind me and I'm bootless. Perfect way to start the day as I stagger back to get it I fall over sideways because my one remaining boot has falling victim to what I am coining "quick mud." At any rate I manage to get the hay out and get back to the house. Getting ready to go, let the dogs out, throw my stuff in the car, at this point dh is kind of awake so I tell him he has to let the horses out before he leaves, hope he has fun!<br />
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Driving to work I decide to skip DD (dunkin donuts) this is clearly the downward tuning point of my day. Stupid me at 3:30 in the morning thinking, I can wait to get some coffee on the plane. At any rate I still feel pretty awake by the time I check in. As I sit there updating some app on my ipad I've never used but someone thinks I need, I begin to think skipping the coffee was a bad idea. I feel like this update is taking forever, my email says it should take 10 min, last time it said that it took 30. While I am desperately waiting for the update, I decide to stop at McDonalds to grab coffee because I'd clearly done something bad in my last life and my flight leaves out of the gate as far away as possible. I try to turn this into a positive because now I have to walk by a McDonalds so I could still salvage this with coffee. Stand in line for 10 min and still get to the gate early. From here on things run ok, boarding, take off, etc. I get to the back and go to grab my coffee, only to find that its fallen over in the cubby and the cup is floating in the coffee that it once contained. For the second time before dawn I regret my decision not to stop and DD.<br />
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My first flight of the morning reminded me of being in a washing machine, for 2+ hours, this did not bode well for the rest of the day, since the next two flights were basically along the same path we were on now. Perfect. We land late, I check my texts see that dh is headed to the airport for an 1100 flight, which will work out great. He texts me he let the dogs out about 0830 so they will be fine until I get home about 1430 (2:30pm).<br />
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On my next flight I realize that I didn't eat my yogurt that I threw in a ziplock with ice. Which is great, I'm glad I have it! Until I open it, when realize its 8 hours after I put in the ziplock which now has warm water in it, blah! Oh well I can stand to skip a meal, into the trash my breakfast goes apparently it wanted to join my coffee. Other than that the flights are uneventful (besides being bumpy) and we land early! I even manage to run and get catch the bus to my car right before it leaves. Then I get to my car, and I can't find my keys, of course. So I proceed to pull everything out of my huge tote to dig for the keys, which I finally find after I dump everything out...on the wet grass. At least I found them right?<br />
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On the way home I stop and grab some food for lunch, since I've now been up for 12 hours and haven't had anything to eat. As I turn on the street my house is on I realize its Saturday, and I start swearing, a lot. Saturday is dumpster day, and unless a miracle occurred I was betting dh hadn't realized that either. I pull in the garage and look out back to make sure dh actually did let the horses out, change, and inhale my lunch. I check dh's schedule to see where he is and what he's doing. Turns out he has a two day and gets back at midnight (actually 0100) the next day. I immediately start digging through his contract because that trip then runs into his day off, I'm trying to see what the options are or if its legal (at my airline its not). But apparently someone was smoking crack when they wrote the last contract because there's some weird caveat that actually 0200 is considered the next day not midnight, <span style="background-color: yellow;">say what?</span>?<br />
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Anyway I figure since dh is gone it's time to finish putting the Christmas decorations away, if I wait for him to do it, it will never get done, and if we do it together I might kill him. I happily put decorations away (not really I hate it) but since I'm trying to decide if I want to pick up a turn in the morning no booze for me. This fact is making me more sad as I drag Christmas boxes to the basement, you see we have baby gates that I can't get the stupid big boxes through so I have to drag them out the front door, through the garage, back into the house and down to the basement, starting to think a glass of bubbly would be great right now! After this fun I go let the horses in and face my fate of a full dumpster. Then a miracle occurred, I opened the dumpster and it was empty! My awesome garbageman had rolled my dumpster out, emptied it and rolled it back, I was so happy I could cry.<br />
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By the time I get back inside dh has called me, and he's now 2-3? hrs late and stuck in an airport I'm very familiar with. So I excitedly tell him where to eat because a new restaurant had opened that day which was the highlight of everyone I know that is based there. And this, this is our excitement. He finally leaves on his last leg while I clean the house. Its a lot of give and take and planning sometimes to make our schedules work but totally worth it!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-44652547866079604262016-11-21T08:40:00.000-08:002016-11-21T08:47:05.527-08:00Why I won't fly Allegiant<br />
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I normally love to watch "Air Disaster" and any show like that. However as I turned it on this morning to watch while I ate breakfast I was greeted with the <a href="http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/pages/AAR0201.aspx" target="_blank">Alaska Airlines Flight 261</a>episode. I lost my appetite. You see the reason I did is because dh used to work for an airline, that had more than 4 issues with jack screws on elevators (which was the cause of the Alaska Crash). Many of these shows I find interesting, this one I found scary because of the similarities of his previous employer. Unlike Alaska who I am pretty sure given their safety record since then seems to have learned their lesson, pretty sure dhs previous employer has not as evidenced by this <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/investigations/allegiant-air/mechanical-breakdowns/" target="_blank">article</a> .<br />
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Sure I have heard people say its fine and that the press over blows everything . I'm sorry, dh worked there for three years and was in the safety department for some of that time, I would never set foot on one of their planes, not at least until their CEO is fired or leaves. You see company safety culture comes from the top down. Everyone wants to believe that the airlines would never put you in danger but that's not quite the truth. There is a matrix of risk vs profit. Most airlines are smart and make this a small percentage. However some airlines want to make a larger percent on the profit side, which means cutting corners and sweeping things under the rugs. This is the reason dh is no longer at his previous employer, because no matter how loudly he and others he worked with demanded change in maintenance and safety no one higher up would allow changes to be made.<br />
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You may wonder if things are so bad why hasn't the FAA done anything about it. Well to be honest the FAA is more reactionary than anything else. Take for instance <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/20/us/faa-files-show-early-lapses-by-valujet.html" target="_blank">Value Jet </a>this airline (scary enough the CEO at Allegiant was at Value Jet) had many big problems before its <a href="http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/pages/AAR9706.aspx" target="_blank">final crash</a>. Only after the crash did the FAA pull their ticket.<br />
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I'm not saying don't fly them, I can't tell you what to do, or what not to do, god knows as long as people save $10 they will fly on a winged elephant. I'm simply telling you as a pilots wife, why I will not fly them.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-26802819280175888502016-09-27T12:14:00.000-07:002016-09-27T12:16:12.193-07:00Trading Places<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsd8pugfh24Flp16TNwE1IhvXlMkEAx9g95es9Jh8HM_Fb-vANlrVTzbgd_pXq349_F6NkvrdnIPGEMT5aTLwtQtMw9_PAcIwDJBhU_9s0bLWrVHAf8T13X-v3C5Ko4wjejiFbaYmuyGY/s1600/3500blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsd8pugfh24Flp16TNwE1IhvXlMkEAx9g95es9Jh8HM_Fb-vANlrVTzbgd_pXq349_F6NkvrdnIPGEMT5aTLwtQtMw9_PAcIwDJBhU_9s0bLWrVHAf8T13X-v3C5Ko4wjejiFbaYmuyGY/s320/3500blog.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So as the wife of a pilot I often hear (and even have said)
some of the things I have learned in my last few months of what I call trading
places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While dh had been out with a
knee replacement I started traveling a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let me say it’s a totally different perspective when you’re the one
doing the traveling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I never understood why dh didn’t always want to hop in a plane
and go somewhere on his days off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of all
the things this is the one that flabbergasted me the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean free flights, why not go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I however totally get it now (as does dh from
my perspective).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We wanted to go
somewhere when I had a few weeks off and he kept asking me where.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he had been stuck at home for two months
doing not a lot (other than pt) but I was so tired I just didn’t care, I didn’t
want to be near and airport or a plane or any of that hassle. I finally told
him if we were going somewhere he better plan it because I was incapable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was a total eye opener; I would still
rather drive to Michigan than fly to Denver. I’m trying hard to put my finger
on why I don’t like it, I think it’s because I only have a few days off and I
don’t want to spend them hanging around an airport trying to get somewhere. So
the next time your dh drags his feet about going somewhere I promise it’s a real
thing and has nothing to do with you!</div>
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Going out with the crew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This tends to be a big issue for a lot of couples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dh and I have never had a problem with this,
but I see a lot of pilots wives post about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In all honesty (unless you have a party animal for a husband) it’s
pretty low key, either dinner in the hotel restaurant or somewhere close by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also the same conversations a lot of the
time, where do you live? Where are you based? Do you have kids? All the normal
type questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it usually turns to
union and work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also in no way shape or
form should this “free time” be construed as replacing time with family, kids,
etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure occasionally you do get a crew
that goes and does something fun, but you have to remember their still at work,
it’s never as fun as if their family would be there instead of the crew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly I’m grateful for anyone who goes
out, it helps the time pass and does form a comradery with the crew.</div>
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<br />
Another big complaint I see is, they get to sleep in and in
a hotel room, with no distractions (which I used to think was amazing!). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I , truly hate hotels (I’m betting most crews do).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See here’s what (most) hotels do, they have
certain rooms that are “crew rooms” they use every night for crews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means they don’t really clean them, and
I’m talking nice hotels too…Sheraton…Marriott…etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the sheets are pretty maybe the change
them maybe they don’t’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also that
“quiet” you think your dh is getting, isn’t real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I sit here and type no less than 3 times
has someone knocked on my door, even though the “do not disturb” sign is
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because if your dh checks out after
normal check out hours, their screwed, and if you leave your room always take
an id. If you leave after the normal check out time 9 times out of 10 the key
won’t work.</div>
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So overall that “fun” you think your dh is having isn’t
always fun.</div>
Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-1580508051191585752015-07-01T20:38:00.003-07:002015-07-01T20:41:05.906-07:00DOJ vs Airlines<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzpoCAqsvOFxGOIdX0_7ziKGk8bY_WIgx8SKE3hrBIjtqJdXeV1MX1dF9Vnd4scd1vKBVGR7cUTu6QennWrMsw1zEk8Hvb04peth8SNJNkxHyw7sXLRJrAoiWNoa6jPCFtBDyrn33_xU/s1600/3500blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzpoCAqsvOFxGOIdX0_7ziKGk8bY_WIgx8SKE3hrBIjtqJdXeV1MX1dF9Vnd4scd1vKBVGR7cUTu6QennWrMsw1zEk8Hvb04peth8SNJNkxHyw7sXLRJrAoiWNoa6jPCFtBDyrn33_xU/s320/3500blog.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Look its a price gouging airliner, quick get the pitch forks! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So this bugs me a lot. That the DOJ is calling out the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/01/politics/doj-subpoenas-airlines-unlawful-coordination/index.html"> airliners</a> This bugs me for a few reasons.<br />
<br />
First of all they (DOJ) deregulated the airlines in the 70's, which means they can't tell them what to do now, unless of course they want to re-regulate (is that a word?).<br />
<br />
Second I don't think ticket prices are that high. When I can buy a ticket on SWA for under $100 for a trip that would take me 16 hours to drive I'm pretty sure I am getting the better deal.<br />
<br />
I will be interested to see how this plays out after all the DOJ is the one that approved the big 3 mergers. <br />
<br />
<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-67114057470877437612015-06-18T16:17:00.006-07:002015-06-18T16:22:27.710-07:00Vacation and Meldowns<br />
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We went to
the Lawn Club on our cruise and we (my dad and I) got to cook with the
chef's! It was great fun!<br />
<br />
So the intention today was to catch up with a post about our awesome
vacation, which has been overshadowed by the need to touch on the giant
meltdown at dh's airline. So it seems dh's airlines crappy management has caught up with itself ie: chronic under staffing of everyone, FA's, dispatch, schedulers pilots (to some extent) and of course outsourcing the gate agents. Turns out you can only beat people so much before they rebel or in this case quit (dispatch).<br />
<br />
Their convoluted hiring of FA's has screwed them as well (also the fact that the FA's have gone 8 years without a contract). Take for instance my good friend named "Pam." Pam went to an open house to be a FA, she would have been great; she's a great person, who is upbeat and nurse! So she sent her resume in and got a call! She was planning on going to the job fair in Dallas (which they were hiring for that base) so imagine her surprise and displeasure when the email said that she needed to go to LAS job fair and interview! This was approx a week before the LAS job fair and she couldn't get the time off, much less pay for a last minute r/t ticket there, not as if they would get her out there for the interview. So they lost an excellent potential FA because of stupid paperwork snaffu's like this, take this an multiple it, now you have a problem.<br />
<br />
The airline is trying to grow, I understand that, but you have to have support staff to do that, you can't grow pinching pennies it's not as if the airline couldn't afford it. So now in the heart of the meltdown, our esteemed (sarcasm) MEC has told the company that in order to "get the airline back on track" the pilots will happily ignore the contract, fly more that it allows, and for no extra pay. You can imagine that hasn't gone over well, especially in this house! I am completely astounded the MEC would decide this, management needs to be held accountable for their penny pinching, short sightedness. Telling them we will happily break the contract for them is only enabling them. The MEC also used the veiled threat of "if we don't help the airline it will be in real trouble" ie: you might need a new job. Fine so be it, let the airline fold (I doubt it will) when issues like this happen and the MEC folds it just lowers the bar across the board for all airlines. Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-60481640037280750872015-04-08T12:01:00.000-07:002015-04-08T12:07:40.282-07:00Why Allegiant Matters<br />
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So if you may think the Allegiant (potential) strike doesn't effect you, and you'd be wrong. In this industry (as someone said) nothing happens in a vacuum. Whatever happens to Allegiant will indirectly effect you at your company. For instance dh's' airline is starting (soon) contract negations no doubt that since Allegiants pay and benefits are substandard they will use them as a comparison of a competitors airline's pay and benefits. This is not helpful to dh's contract negotiations, or any other airline, as the lowest common denominator always drags down the average. This is why everyone should be behind a pilot group when they strike.<br />
<br />
What is Allegiant striking for? Well the recent one that is going to court on Friday is what is called a "Status Quo" strike. Right now Allegiant pilots are just trying to get the company to honor the work rules they have, "to maintain status quo" The judge ruled last year that the company had to maintain status quo and put things back they way they were (scheduling, and disability were the big issues) but so far the company hasn't, hence the strike for "Status Quo." Yes Allegiant does have to follow the RLA (Railroad Labor Act) and no, no airline has ever struck for status quo, but railroad workers have, so it's not an illegal strike. It would however be a first for the airline industry. Why has no airline ever struck for status quo? Because no airline management has every been greedy or ignorant enough to not follow the work rules they agreed to, to the extent that Allegiant has. So if you see an Allegiant pilot give them your support!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-35479542762394613352015-03-16T19:13:00.002-07:002015-03-17T13:19:06.995-07:00Disney for DINKS: Childfree and Disney Lovers!<br />
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Yes it is Christmas, but no kids hiding anywhere!<br />
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So there is no surprise to those of you that know us, we LOVE Disney. <br />
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We often get questions about it. Why go to Disney without kids? Is it really that much fun if you don't have kids? Yes, Yes, and Yes to any other question you can think to ask. When dh was based in Florida we had annual passes and used them often, this year sadly we let them expire, though I am guessing we will get them again in the future. I thought since we love Disney and have been so much I would do a series of blogs about them from our point of view, without kids. A lot of the information isn't necessarily "dink" (Double Income No Kids) or "child free," after all you are at Disney, but I do add in tips geared toward adults. This is the first blog in the series and will cover hotels, not too exciting but it's info you need to know.<br />
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So if you stay "on property" at a Disney Resort and are flying in you get to use the free Magical Express Bus that runs from MCO (Orlando International) to the various Disney Resorts. Also you get extra magic hours that are only for guests staying on property. Disney has, more or less, three levels of resorts. They call them Value, Moderate, and Deluxe. The also have a Campground and "Super Deluxe Villas."<br />
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Let's start with the Value hotels. The name says it all, nothing fancy, the rooms have a small fridge in them, but other than that they are a basic generic hotel room. All the different levels of resorts have pools, however, the pools at the Value level have a lot left to be desired. They are of course nice and clean, after all it is Disney, but they remind me of a sea of concrete, they have some umbrella's and chairs but nothing to really write home about. The Value resorts all have a food court in them, much like the food court at your mall, your options run from pizza, to sandwich's,burgers, salads, and chicken. Nothing really exciting but it's a step above McDonald's, plus they do have cans of beer and small bottles of wine. The Value Resort buses are usually pretty busy too, it seems like they always have a long line at the end of the night.<br />
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Now to the Moderate Resorts, this is my favorite level of resort. It is (of course) a little more expensive but well worth it in my book. The rooms are slightly nicer and the grounds are a lot nicer, more tree's and more of an ambiance. This ambiance carries through to (most) of the pools, my favorite pool of any of the resorts we have stayed at is the Port Orleans Riverside pool. It's wonderful, lots of trees and shade if you want it, a nice bar almost on the water, they even have a slide which my husband loves, as well as hot tubs! The Moderate Resorts all have a food court similar to Value Resorts but they also have a nicer sit down restaurant and bar as well. Buses still seem busy at the end of the night, the big drawback to a larger Moderate Resorts is that they have a lot of bus stops within the resort, so it seems to take forever to get out of the resort itself.<br />
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Lastly on to the Deluxe Resorts, now we have only been lucky enough to stay at a Deluxe Resort once (Boardwalk) for two nights before they cancelled hubby's crew discount. Deluxe Resorts are way to expensive for us, but that doesn't stop us from walking around them and going to the bars! The room at Boardwalk was amazing. Amazing. It had a balcony, and a kitchen, it was the best room we have ever stayed at in the park. On the flip side we were there so little I wouldn't spend that kind of money for a room like that again, unless of course you aren't going to the parks for a few days and want to enjoy the resort, which is also totally fine. The pool was great, it also had a slide and a bar, though I still liked Port Orleans pool better, but none the less still very nice. Also the restaurants around there (Boardwalk) are great, they have The Big River Grille and Brewing Works. This is of my favorite restaurants anywhere on Disney property, the price is good as is the food, and of course the beer! While we haven't stayed at the Polynesian we love the Kona Cafe for breakfast, it seems like all the Deluxe Resorts we have visited have some great restaurants. The one big plus of the Deluxe Resorts is proximity. Most of them are very conveniently located to one park or another and actually within walking distance to some parks, so it does save a lot of time waiting around for the bus.<br />
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Now there are two hotels I haven't mentioned, The Swan and The Dolphin. They are Disney Hotels but don't fall under their normal "Resort Categories." Price wise they fall between Moderate and Deluxe. I haven't ever stayed at them as they book up early, so I can't comment too much on them, only that I would love to stay at them as they are super convenient to EPCOT which is one of my favorite parks. So if you have a chance I would certainly stay at either one.<br />
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*Disney Resorts do not have that annoying resort fee that so many others are adding these days.<br />
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Now for the off property options, you can stay off property but close at the Downtown Disney hotels or you can stay far off property.<br />
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Downtown Disney hotels are mostly convenient and it's not even necessary to have a car as you can take a shuttle from the airport to the hotel for $25 pp each way. They also offer more dining options as it's a quick walk to Downtown Disney with all the restaurants they have to offer. For the really ambitious you can even walk about 2/3 mile down the street to the shopping plaza where there is a grocery store, McDonald's, BW3, Pizza Hut, and various other chain restaurants which do help the budget. The Downtown Disney hotels have a wide range of pricing; there is a Best Western, but also a Hilton, all within walking distance to Downtown Disney. However as a side note if you rent a car most of these hotels charge you to park, and also have resort fee's.<br />
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Now for the real off property hotels<br />
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These run from scary cheap hotels to super nice Sheraton's and condos. We have stayed at all of the above, my feeling is if you're committed to staying off property you should just go as cheap as you can stomach since you are already paying for a car. Also beware the resort charge, I hate them but they are becoming more and more common, so that room you think is $50 is really $70 after the "resort fee."<br />
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Now for a few "adult" suggestions . I would say unless you really love kids shy away from the Disney Value Resorts. Nothing against them, I've stayed there many times as they are cheap, but they kind of have that Chucky Cheese feel to them, loose children everywhere and the only place to eat is the food court, no bar to escape too! Overall I would recommend a Disney Moderate Resort or a Downtown Disney Hotel. These seem to be the best compromise of price and quality, along with more adult entertainment. For instance Port Orleans French Quarter has a jazz bar, and downtown Disney has some pretty good bars my favorite being Raglan Road which is an Irish bar. Downtown Disney also stays open later and is pretty nice at night after most of the kids go to bed. If you have the extra money I would of course recommend the Deluxe Resorts and their Super Deluxe Villas. These are always almost close to a least one park, have some of the best restaurants, pools and even bars. I heard a rumor that the renovation at the Polynesian will include a Trader Sams type bar like the one in California, which was amazing and probably deserves it's own blog!<br />
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Next time I will cover the "Holy Grail" aka The Magic Kingdom, until then, Whistle while you work! <br />
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<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-630410677869183182015-02-22T18:19:00.001-08:002015-03-10T14:24:03.498-07:00Nonreving Fun<br />
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<i> Our successful nonrev trip to Japan!</i><br />
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So the airlines try to sell nonreving as a "'perk" of working for them, in fact the regional dh worked at told them it was worth $10,000 a year. I would have rather had them pay him the extra $10,000 to be honest, it would have been more useful. For non-aviation folks nonreving means non-revenue passenger, it is flying standby if there is a seat available. Airlines have different agreements with other airlines regarding this, at dh's airline I can fly on them and also pay taxes (plus some) to fly on other airlines. Weather I fly on dh's airline or a different one it is still standby, seat available.<br />
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So lets start out with this, nonreving is not for the faint of heart. When you nonrev you are last to get on, heck I have had some gate agents send me down to the plane when they aren't even sure there is even a seat left, only to have to walk back up when everyone shows up. You also stand the chance of being treated like crap by the gate agents. Now as a paying passenger you're probably sitting there saying they treat everyone like that, which might be true. The difference is that you (as a paying passenger) can complain or at least be mad about being treated like crap, where as I (when a gate agents screams at me, yes it's happened) has to stand there and smile and say "I'm sorry." Even though I'm not sure what I did and I'm sure not sorry, because if the gate agent reports to the company that I was a rude/angry/pita, in anyway we would lose our pass travel privileges and dh could lose his job. So that's the downside, dealing with unpleasant gate agents, and not knowing if you are going to make your flight, hard to plan a vacation that way.<br />
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So the perks when they work are fantastic. We just got back from an awesome whirlwind trip to Japan, courtesy of nonreving. The flip side is that we didn't know we were going for sure until we got on the plane, which makes it hard to plan but thankfully our friends who we were visiting understood. It also meant that we had to adjust our travel day once (or twice) but it all worked out. The key with nonreving is Flexibility.. If we hadn't made the flight we had a backup, and we had a backup to location. If we couldn't go to Japan we would have gone to Europe or Hawaii, or really where ever there were empty seats. Flexible.<br />
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<i>Our less than successful trip to Frankfort for Christmas Markets...but a lot of FUN!</i><br />
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The key with nonreving (besides Flexible) is fun! Honestly that's the best way to look at it. One of the most fun nonrev trips I have done was to Disney World for Mickey's Christmas Party with our friends. Originally we were all going to meet in Frankfort, but because of the Lufthansa strike dh and I couldn't get there. So we all changed courses and headed to Orlando for some Disney Fun! Even getting to Florida was a bit of a challenge for dh and I, when we walked into Midway it was chaos due to weather. So instead of going to Orlando we went to Tampa and drove over, I booked the car when we were walking down the jet bridge! Again Flexible. <br />
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The honest truth is if you can't be flexible and have to be someone where, or if you don't want to deal with crappy gate agents and middle seats, buy a ticket. I have bought tickets in the past and actually have some for later this year, if its a strict timeline and super important then buy a ticket. Nonreving is not for events where you have to be there. For instance I will buy a ticket to get on the cruise and nonrev home, I for sure don't want to miss the cruise but don't mind if I sit for a day (or two) in the airport on the way home. <br />
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So happy travels no matter where you end up!!<br />
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<i>"You must always be able to predict what's next and then have the flexibility to evolve."</i><br />
<i>Marc Benioff</i><br />
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<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-49547672193616876312015-02-07T10:56:00.002-08:002015-02-07T11:08:49.842-08:00A Tale of Two Perspectives<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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, Perspective<br />
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Perspective is something I think is important to have in the aviation industry. Everyone has a different path in this industry, some come from military background, some go to college specifically to be an airline pilot, there are many paths to being an airline pilot. With each path each pilot has taken comes perspective.<br />
There is no "wrong" path be becoming a pilot, where people run into a problem is that they believe that their perspective is the only one. <br />
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In this industry luck truly is 90% of when/where you get hired, the other 10% (I would say) is networking. Since luck does play such a huge part in your career trajectory, people who have been lucky lack perspective on what happens to the less fortunate. This doesn't make them bad people, but they also aren't necessarily people want to talk/work with. <br />
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<b>A Tale of Two Perspectives</b><br />
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For example dh flew with a CA (we will call him Bob)a few months ago that he has become friends with, he is younger than dh (that gets more and more common these days) but he was a great guy, I even got to meet him once when I was non-reving! Bob is great and very down to earth, easy to get along with, and understands that nothing in this industry is a given. Bob was furloughed from his regional and was lucky to get hired on where is now currently and upgrade relatively early in his career.<br />
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Now onto CA Jack (again not real name), Jack is also younger (younger than Bob even) Jack got hired here when he was 22. Jack isn't a bad guy (hey he bought everyone coffee!) but lacks the perspective of a hard airline career. Jack tends to think every one can do what he did in their career and doesn't understand how someone can be 40, have a masters, and still only be an FO. Jack can't understand this because Jack's never had anything bad happen in his career, he lacks perspective, and to be honest acts entitled. This comes across when talking to him in his attitude. <br />
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Honestly though age has not much to do with perspective, it seems life experiences are much more of an indication on this. I have met some really great down to earth guys in the industry that are in their mid to late twenties, these are almost always the guys who have been either A) furloughed or B) worked at an airline that went bankrupt. These guys pass no judgement on anyone, after all they understand the instability of the industry and the way it works. I have also met 40+ year olds who act/sound immature because they have been lucky in their career and don't understand why everyone doesn't just do what they did. Then there are the guys who have been lucky and they know it, these guys are great, no condescending remarks and comments about how "easy" they have had it.<br />
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I *might* be biased but dh has a pretty good attitude about his career. He's been through a furlough, a fake flow through, his regional being sold, and he still loves his career and won't even consider doing something else besides flying, trust me I've tried. But recently he's gotten really down on himself and his career, this has something to do with his very sad W-2, but also he's flown with a few guys recently who have been the lucky ones and lack perspective, and think that everyone should have done what they did. These aren't the people anyone wants to fly with, so even if you don' have perspective have some understanding that perhaps not everyone is as lucky as you.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-65402535960391003602015-01-27T12:26:00.001-08:002015-01-27T12:46:34.446-08:00Rich Pilot, Poor Pilot<br />
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At least it is a nice view<br />
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Thanks to 9/11 and all the ensuing bankruptcies there are very few "rich" pilots save for some southwest guys who got good stock options back in the day. Contrary to popular belief airline pilots are not swimming in money and lighting hundred dollar bills in the cockpit while your stuck in the back.<br />
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I know every single one of you who isn't in the aviation industry will google this as soon as you read this so let me help <a href="http://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/airline-and-commercial-pilots.htm"> you </a> Now the next thing your going to do is say the average is $98,000, that seems pretty good, and it is pretty good. I for one would be ecstatic if dh made that a year. However after 14 years as an airline pilot that's not what he's making, not even close. Remember that $98,000 is the average which means that half make more and half make less.<br />
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I'm sure at this point if you're not in aviation you're thinking to yourself so get another job that pays better, after all dh has been flying for 14 years he should be able to "move up the ladder" so to speak. I certainly wish this was true. In fact dh has had 3 different airline jobs, but you see at the airlines unlike most other jobs your past experience doesn't count for jack shit, it only helps you to get an interview. Since dh has flown the 757 you would think that maybe he could go to United/Delta/FedEx who all fly 757 and say "I have X number of hours flying this plane and I was an instructor on it. I also have my masters in Aviation Safety, I am worth X number of dollars so that's what you will pay me." However it doesn't work like that, the experience gets you the interview and maybe the job but that's where your useful experience ends. If you are hired you are placed in seniority order from date of hire, below everyone already hired, no matter if you have experience or not. Along with this every airline you start with places you on first year pay regardless of experience. So the philosophy of "moving up the ladder" doesn't work so well in the airline world.<br />
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Now you might be ok with your pilot making almost $100,000 a year which is fine but then think about getting on a flight where the pilot makes $15,000 for the year, still feel as comfortable? True all pilots have the same standard FAA training BUT I bet you that guy making $15,000 is more stressed. At some point in everyone's life (well most everyone) you've had a crappy McDonald's type job that paid this, but it was probably when you were in high school, and maybe college. Not when you are 40 and trying to figure out how to pay a mortgage and feed your family. So you do what almost all pilots do (besides load up on credit card debt), you go cheap whenever you can ie: load up on free breakfast from the hotel. Being the poor pilot you are you will stash away some of your breakfast and eat it for the rest of the day, you can't afford to buy anything else if you are only taking home $15,000 a year. I know that dh has many times only eaten yogurt and a can of cold ravioli all day (or ramen) in order to cut costs.<br />
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Only a small percentage of your plane ticket actually goes to paying for the pilot. While this <a href="http://elliott.org/blog/minimum-wage-pilots-heres-one-way-of-looking-at-flight-deck-salaries/"> chart </a> is about 7 years old the numbers have not changed much. So on average you are paying $3.72 per hour of your flight toward pilot pay. Say you are on a two hour flight only $7.44 of your ticket goes to pay your pilot. Doesn't seem like a lot now does it? The rest goes toward; fuel, maintenance, insurance, and of course greedy airline CEO's.<br />
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Real poor pilot examples; dh and two other new hires at his airline compare W-2's. One made $35,400, one made $25,300 and dh made almost exactly $26,000. That is total, not take home. Dh took home almost exactly $10,000 for the year. For flying an airbus full of people, with his 14 years of experience and his masters degree. This number isn't sad, its pathetic. This is why I get so upset when people say pilots are rich, yes some are well off, but some are barely scarping by. Think about that next time you get on a plane.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-11362789551712709642015-01-20T19:34:00.000-08:002015-01-20T19:37:28.309-08:00Mythical Pilot Shortage<br />
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Somewhere out there....is a pilot shortage.<br />
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You know that old saying "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." This can be true of applying at airlines to, it never fails to amaze me the number of people who will only apply at certain airlines. If you are that desperate to get out of your current job, why would you not apply everywhere (that would be a step up) and hope for the best.<br />
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Honestly the whole "pilot shortage" is not every really going to happen at the major level, its just not. As the majors retire the boomers they will shrink the airline, farming more out to regionals and code sharing with other carriers. Yes they will have to hire some but it's not going to be in the huge numbers that people are expecting. So why would you limit yourself to just one airline?<br />
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Lets play the numbers game shall we? So I just added up the number of pilots of 4 large regionals this is about 14,000 pilots (numbers from apc). Going by the numbers that people have posted for hiring I would guess that maybe (if no unforeseen circumstances) the airlines (non-regional)will hire about 4000 people next year. So you have about a 29% chance of being hired, remember your millage may vary as I only have numbers for 4 regionals and did not include hiring numbers from cargo companies.<br />
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The pilot shortage doesn't look so good when you and more than 14,000 of your closest friends are competing for 4,000 jobs. Its unfortunate but for right now it's the reality. This means that unless you are happy staying at your regional and never moving on you need to apply everywhere. Yes, everyone wants to go to Delta, the reality is they are only hiring around 1400 people this year out of more than 14,000. And before everyone freaks out, I'm not saying it's not possible I'm saying it's not probable. So unless you are happy staying at your regional (or wherever you are) apply everywhere. Other wise please don't come crying to me about how much you hate your regional but have only applied to one airline. <br />
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* regionals used were XJT, SkyWest AE and Republic<br />
*majors hiring numbers were from DAL UAL, AA, NKS F9, SWA, JBChristyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-79056128001701621892015-01-11T10:35:00.001-08:002015-01-11T10:40:14.047-08:00The Truth About Training<br />
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Since dh just finished his annual pc (proficiency check) I thought this might be a good time to talk about training and how much it sucks for everyone. I have been fortunate enough (haha) to have gone through 4 major training events with dh as well as all the yearly proficiency checks. They all have sucked some more than others. See the truth about training and why its awful is this; in every training event their job is on the line. Period. It's super stressful and they are not allowed to make ANY mistakes. ANY. This makes for some super happy fun times but understandable so.<br />
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Now I'm sure your thinking well someone must fail training and they don't get fired so it's not as bad as you make it sound. True some people do fail check rides and make mistakes, after all we are human. And true these people (probably) won't lose thier jobs. But what does happen is it goes into the pilots "Permanent record" at the FAA, which if he ever goes to apply at another airline for a job they can see that he has failed a check ride, so this failure will follow him and haunt him for the rest of his career. True people do get hired at airlines with failures BUT not often, and who wants to take that chance when there are a lot of people competing for a few jobs it's a detriment if you have a failure in your record.<br />
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So this is how we end up with super stressed pilots during training, and why I do everything I can to be nice and support dh during training, because short of his parents or sister dying I wouldn't tell him anything. Dh who is normally a nice even keeled guy can be short, snippy and do things that baffle me during training. I just take it in stride and put it down to stress. I also don't call dh during training at all, unless its me calling him to make sure he's awake. I let him call me when its convient for him to take a break, these are usually short converstaions. I wouldn't want to disturb him while he is studying or if he is asleep, I want in no way shape or form want to be at fault and add stress to his training.<br />
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<b>The 4 big Training Events: </b><br />
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<b>Upgrade</b>- I had just met dh right before his upgrade at XJT. Honestly this was the best training event I have been through with dh maybe because we were dating and not living together so I didn't get the full awfulness of it.<br />
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<b>MD-80 new hire training</b> - This was awesome it was over his birthday and Easter and our Anniversary. How many holidays can you hit in one training event? I did get him a card and sent it with him, for his birthday. Didn't see him for Easter or our Anniversary, he called me on our anniversary but that's as much as a I got. Also his favorite dog died during training and I didn't tell him until he got home.<br />
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<b>757 training</b> - As far as training goes this was great in dh's book, they used the United sims in Denver and it was very thorough dh was very happy with how well the training program worked. However I ended up having kidney surgery while he was in training. Then had complications and ended up in the hospital for 4 days while dh went back to training and I spent some quality time by myself in the hospital until my mom came to stay with me. Once I was released from the hospital I flew home by myself (surgery was out of state) drove home from the airport 5 days after surgery picked up our dogs from the kennel and went back to taking care of our horses, all while dh was in training.<br />
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<b>A320 training</b> - Hands down the worst more stressful training EVER. There were no big catastrophe like me having surgery or a dog dying, but due to Spirits super condensed training dh was a basket case. The days were really long and then they had minimum number of days in the sim before the type ride. It was awful, it was beyond awful, I would have rather sat in the hospital by myself again. They also kept changing things while they were in training so one day it would be one way, the next day it would be a different way. I am extremely thankful to dhs sim partner they were both panicked so it worked well and they worked well together. It honestly got to the point where I didn't want to talk to him because he was making me panic! Thankfully he and his sim partner passed but every year the pc is awful, just something we have become accustomed too.<br />
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You never know the true hell of training until you live through it, your hubby (or boyfriend) might be the nicest person in the world but put them in a training environment and they turn into a person who is unrecognizable to you, trust me this is normal.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-63422465870246874142015-01-08T20:49:00.001-08:002015-01-08T21:14:10.968-08:00One Year Ago Today!One year ago I started on my bucket list run. I had run 3 half marathons before signing up for the Dopey Challenge at Disney world. It took place Thursday-Sunday, and was a 5K,10K, half, and full marathon, each day you ran a longer distance. I had never run a marathon and to be honest had never really thought of running a marathon, that's a looonnngggg way, and with all my <a href="http://www.fightlikeagirlclub.com/2013/04/christys-fight-like-a-girl-story-endometriosis/"> health problems </a> I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do it! So this is mainly a blog in pictures. Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ie2QIGOTmS7jCqvslU-WlacY9Jzo_HlzoTzJNgw92COLVaVkTtpIO73218ZL4bLt-ll_EbEpD8LWxDLbwnlyY5elQ588xSrGhCs7s2eK-p2dYNkBNPH1yp9WD0RMeh5q3tUlYsQTcuA/s1600/IMG_4268.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ie2QIGOTmS7jCqvslU-WlacY9Jzo_HlzoTzJNgw92COLVaVkTtpIO73218ZL4bLt-ll_EbEpD8LWxDLbwnlyY5elQ588xSrGhCs7s2eK-p2dYNkBNPH1yp9WD0RMeh5q3tUlYsQTcuA/s1600/IMG_4268.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
The most influential person in my running career Jeff Galloway. I love him and his run/walk method it's what got me through the Challenge. He was also very surprised to hear that in less than a year I went from running my first half marathon to doing the Dopey Challenge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9OtXCZmtE0qqpulybdXVgtXQPY7-B8zoi-dWA0sdoN6tMjExPrK7o0do9mQCB40G2BhMw053khCO4M69Ynm4WKzt7kVGBh74PVHnG9kaNiFS6bdRqVqRgaXqdIl7-EIJqmzCs8yFGN0/s1600/DSC_9835.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a> <br />
<b> 5K</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDysxGJLxAF5TBKmAw29pOG2DC-Qf7cTUkw4SLB08QHUVhmMkHajgqUxxuU34Hjscqe0tk4lognqpM8kXuItFF6AKD08yO_wzbIXG9dZQnVqARUd_j0Jwq5_WCNLFitiFZTNu0565C_Cw/s1600/DSC_9638.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDysxGJLxAF5TBKmAw29pOG2DC-Qf7cTUkw4SLB08QHUVhmMkHajgqUxxuU34Hjscqe0tk4lognqpM8kXuItFF6AKD08yO_wzbIXG9dZQnVqARUd_j0Jwq5_WCNLFitiFZTNu0565C_Cw/s1600/DSC_9638.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a><br />
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Pre-5K breakfast!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The volunteers were awesome!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMrv25fFfip3voO643NnnCBMMkpqksFesrfB3X1iqMGiU8qbmAbMqaDbbiFzCrMixHFBi6F9hvlXbVP5wQkWzTepBEK0Fuio554uVV1OdPxkvSIYd6ObDjrtIwxsXuRPuDj4q6TwNHmc/s1600/DSC_9739.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMrv25fFfip3voO643NnnCBMMkpqksFesrfB3X1iqMGiU8qbmAbMqaDbbiFzCrMixHFBi6F9hvlXbVP5wQkWzTepBEK0Fuio554uVV1OdPxkvSIYd6ObDjrtIwxsXuRPuDj4q6TwNHmc/s1600/DSC_9739.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post 5K getting my wristband for Dopey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuqR77tzSkc9oOP4CHqhiCtrrDXroPmGCoENYUjcpAB_N0BoWizWoE5s2m7Zokn0usaX0D3H2Dn6OEz929V7REwF097Nm5vU2MyRj-6GeXk61O_SoPW7OsWYpzv155p3pR4NrkXTi6vk/s1600/IMG_4198.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuqR77tzSkc9oOP4CHqhiCtrrDXroPmGCoENYUjcpAB_N0BoWizWoE5s2m7Zokn0usaX0D3H2Dn6OEz929V7REwF097Nm5vU2MyRj-6GeXk61O_SoPW7OsWYpzv155p3pR4NrkXTi6vk/s1600/IMG_4198.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Epcot after the 5K</td></tr>
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<b> 10K</b><br />
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On to the 10K! This is probably the best picture I have out of any of the races.<br />
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The only picture I have of me crossing the finish line of any of the races.<br />
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2 down 2 to go!<br />
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<b> Half Marathon</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtHaIjwg1WTHmAnL5YxyyBLt-P9noap1Pce22oaqaGpBI56_v_wvcszIi60PwMZXmL-H7fehZ0DwzIr_T6A5Yd9msnkDX0EYgfcwS9Rq3NRTKZLK92VYHpWYAw_0RQsMa8Yturs71uSA/s1600/DSC_9752.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtHaIjwg1WTHmAnL5YxyyBLt-P9noap1Pce22oaqaGpBI56_v_wvcszIi60PwMZXmL-H7fehZ0DwzIr_T6A5Yd9msnkDX0EYgfcwS9Rq3NRTKZLK92VYHpWYAw_0RQsMa8Yturs71uSA/s1600/DSC_9752.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a><br />
My warm-up before the half.<br />
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Running the half, at least I still look happy!<br />
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Stopped to take a picture with the VW<br />
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Closest thing I could find to a pilot :)<br />
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Finished the half, this was my least favorite race, I hated the course and it was hot and humid.<br />
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<b> </b><br />
<b> Marathon Day!!</b><br />
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Pre-marathon the big event, the breakfast of champions, donuts and diet coke<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The castle</td></tr>
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The traffic looked Awful!<br />
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The lurking buses waiting to sweep people.</div>
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The final three medals; Marathon, Goofy and Dopey.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture with all 6 medals!</td></tr>
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<b> Post Race Fun!</b><br />
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Post Race at Downtown Disney<br />
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Most everyone was wearing the Dopey medal, not me, my favorite was the Marathon Medal, still can't believe that I ran one!<br />
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Great group of folks I met online that all did the Dopey.<br />
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Mickey Striking a pose with me!<br />
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Thumbs up!<br />
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The Awesome medal hanger my Aunt made me. It has all my Disney Medals on it, plus one of hubbys.<br />
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All in all it was a great experience and I loved it. I think 2016 will be Dopey Part II for me, as this year it was impossible due to my kidney and hip surgery. I really thought I would only run one marathon so I could cross it off my bucket list, but Dopey has enticed me to try again, bring on 201^!<br />
<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-9458347187692903362014-12-24T07:42:00.002-08:002014-12-24T07:42:54.033-08:00Christmas as a Pilot's Wife<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIk7Dkbgbb2Ayme1pZjAZU1LBcjZhEvUmjGnogx3dhzhuOaRrINde6szh7YGIHwsg7pUMoWJiLKFRECktcbSTciSvXju33r1ixMG2MRK9fP-iA3FXiNGEVWsM8swuw8rc65-LzNuboRb8/s1600/DSC_6976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIk7Dkbgbb2Ayme1pZjAZU1LBcjZhEvUmjGnogx3dhzhuOaRrINde6szh7YGIHwsg7pUMoWJiLKFRECktcbSTciSvXju33r1ixMG2MRK9fP-iA3FXiNGEVWsM8swuw8rc65-LzNuboRb8/s1600/DSC_6976.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Merry Christmas from Disney!!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will be the first person to say we are extremely lucky
this year that dh is home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being
said there have been many years when he wasn't, and that's the normal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let's start with the year that I met dh, he was in upgrade
training in Houston (we had moved down there) and we didn't come home for
Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My family was very
understanding of this, especially considering I had known dh for 6 months at
this time and it included a move across the country with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However dh's parents didn't understand this
and I was blamed for him missing Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Great way to make an impression on future in laws right?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fast forward to a few years later he was actually home for
Christmas and his good friend (pilot) had an overnight where we lived at the
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great even though it wasn't
a long overnight there is nothing better than helping a pilot have at least
have a little bit of home on the holiday.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there were the Allegiant years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which brought a whole other level of crap to
the holidays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My absolute favorite was
the year they let him trip trade off Christmas, which was great we were so
excited!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until two weeks later, after we
had already bought our tickets home it "magically" appeared back on
his schedule, a lot of screaming ensued which resulted in the company
(basically) telling us "too bad so sad it's on your schedule
now."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The joke was ultimately on
them though, due to their fantastic maintenance program dh had super scary emergency
landing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This in turn gave him Christmas
off, even though he had to sleep in the airport after his flight and told the
schedulers to go pound sand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Communication was stellar the chief pilot gave him and the CA<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(coincidentally one our best friends these
days) and dh the time off because of the nature of the emergency, but didn't
tell scheduling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So scheduling kept
calling dh asking where he was, he finally turned off the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I picked him up at the airport Christmas Eve morning
and the only thing he wanted was breakfast somewhere with a bar, it was bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there were the years I drove from
ABQ-ORD by myself in the truck with the cats and dogs because dh couldn't any
time off around Christmas (or Christmas).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Every Christmas has a story it seems in those Allegiant years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there was last year, dh had just switched companies,
which in and of itself was a fantastic Christmas present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we also knew that because of that he
would be working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dh was home on
Christmas Eve and I dropped him at the airport Christmas Day morning at
6am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And my day went on from there,
Christmas with his parents, and later in the day my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While dh got a nice turn to LGA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every year we make it work, some years are
better than others no doubt, so I will leave you with a poem I wrote one year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was supposed to drove to Chicago but I got
a hundred miles away and something was wrong with the truck so I flew at the
last minute with a giant box of presents and a cat in a snow storm, it was
fun...or something....also VERY expensive!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christmas Time Pilot Wife Style (Night before Christmas)</div>
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<br /></div>
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T'was the trip before Christmas and all through the house</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>everyone was stirring
perhaps even a mouse.</div>
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The truck had been packed with less than a care</div>
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in the hopes that I would soon get the hell outta there.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The animals were snuggled all safe in the back </div>
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while visions of sugar plums danced while they yacked.</div>
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While me in the front along with puma the cat</div>
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<br /></div>
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When out on the road there was such a shudder</div>
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I turned back home before the truck went a flutter.</div>
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Back to the computer I ran in a dash</div>
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hoping to book tickets that wouldn't cost me much cash.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Success with free tickets, send me away</div>
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only to turn out at the airport I must stay.</div>
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the snow of the century that all airport passengers fear.</div>
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<br /></div>
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and this will no doubt cost you another dime.</div>
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<br /></div>
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On Delta on Airways, American, and Continental</div>
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and whoever we could ride on without being judgmental.</div>
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to see how to get out of all this fuss.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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my husband calling to let it be known.</div>
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That I would be staying the night in a hotel,</div>
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because the roads to my house had closed...what hell!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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By the time I arrived in Chicago I'm not merry</div>
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Little did I realize my fun was just beginning</div>
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back to the airport I drove to pick up my husband who was
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Two days I got to see my husband before </div>
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he flew off to Ft Lauderdale once more.</div>
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Then quick as flash back <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the airport I drove to get him</div>
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and on Christmas Eve even by now I'm quite grim.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But my fun was not over, because I got sick myself</div>
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what better to visit an ER on Christmas day...when else?</div>
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After receiving two shots which I dread</div>
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the rest of the day passed in my happy floatly head.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Lucky for me I had a few days to shirk</div>
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before following dh to Ft. Lauderdale for work.</div>
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Could barely stay awake till midnight on New Year's Eve</div>
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then my one day at the beach it was 30 I was <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>peeved!</div>
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<br /></div>
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The next morning again to the airport for our O'Dark thirty
flight</div>
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And we finally made it back home before midnight!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-63206118125732289142014-12-21T16:52:00.000-08:002014-12-21T16:53:19.338-08:00Great Expectations<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I don't know if it's the Christmas season or what but recently
I have talked to, and heard of pilots bemoaning the fact that they have been at their
regional for X number of years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Depending on what X is depends on whether I want to tell them to grow up
and welcome to the real world or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here's the truth, in the regional world there is no magic number of years
to be there before you can go to a major.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some in the military go straight to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> a
</span>major, some go to a regional and then move up, but there is no hard fast
rule about how long one can plan on being at a regional.</div>
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A bit of background here might help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dh started flight instructing, worked charter
for 2 years, was at his regional for 10 (and furloughed for 2 of those 10
years) worked corporate while he was furloughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he went to a LCC, he was there for a
three years, of which we<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mostly wish he had never left his regional as it was far superior to the
LCC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now he's at Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we are extremely happy to be at Spirit and
it's worked out better than we could have ever planned, this wasn't how things
were suppose to go when he started.</div>
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You see when he started at Continental Express (yes it was
still owned by Continental) and they had a flow through, he was going to be at
Continental in 5 years flying across the pond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But what? What's that? 9/11 happened and the Continental guys flowed back
to the Express side which pushed dh into a furlough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So you think this is just the way the game is
played right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He got furloughed but will
then sometime flow up to Continental right? Wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Continental then sold Express to pay for their
pensions and killed the flow through in the process. So pretty much there went his thoughts of going to Continental.</div>
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Now I'm not saying all this to be sad and upset, it is what it
is, it's the airline industry and quite frankly it sucks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you expect anything out of this industry
you are in for a rude awakening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure
everyone knows someone, who knows someone, who got hired at Delta as an FO, but it's
so infrequent you are probably better off playing the lottery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes me laugh (if I didn't want to hit
them) when I hear guys say "I've been at my regional for 3 years I wasn't supposed
to be here this long, I should be at Delta/AA/ect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm not sure why they haven't called
me."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This annoys the crap out of
me, I'm sorry that someone somewhere told you that you were special and you wouldn't be
there for more than three years, but there are a lot of guys worse off than you.</div>
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The guys I have met that seem to have every reason to legitimately
complain about the airline industry (but don't) are the 50+ year olds who are
in new hire classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of these guys
have had the absolutely crap beaten out of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Case in point one guy in dhs new hire class
was at DHL then went to World/North American and was furloughed when he was
over 50.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want to start complaining about
your three years at a regional when you're 28, get a life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I give these older guys a lot of credit most
of them have an upbeat view on life and are happy to be anywhere that there paycheck
doesn't bounce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it's a generational
issue more of a "me" generation vs. boomer and generation X (though I have met a
few younger guys who were furloughed from Comair who are very nice and down to
earth).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless of the case I would ask you
take a minute and think before you start complaining, not only because it makes
you sound spoiled but also people are less likely to help someone and write them a rec, when they are complaining.</div>
Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-65122631525271179682014-12-12T20:37:00.002-08:002014-12-12T20:39:45.225-08:00Being a Pilots Wife<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXX42S76ptIlNeLipjs6w_-W86UOHxCNTTPsF-8iqVfKKrAKNmSb-7UxI1gaUlLR_-LctmbXuBDgqm__IrcQZbTnhJMcJuYZVIDgxWH40RdrPBVodgDncNHXBGOSUkc27F3txjpiFamU/s1600/flyblog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsXX42S76ptIlNeLipjs6w_-W86UOHxCNTTPsF-8iqVfKKrAKNmSb-7UxI1gaUlLR_-LctmbXuBDgqm__IrcQZbTnhJMcJuYZVIDgxWH40RdrPBVodgDncNHXBGOSUkc27F3txjpiFamU/s1600/flyblog.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are a lot of things non-aviation folks just don't understand, after all how could they? Here is a list of my top "misunderstandings."<br />
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1) Holidays - At some point in their aviation career your pilot will not be home for the holidays. This means any holiday Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas etc...And it won't be just one year they will miss these, it will be many years of missed holidays. Last year when dh started his new job he worked every holiday, even the hallmark ones (Valentines day, St Pattys day, etc...) and this year he is working New Years Eve but that's ok we knew that would happen when he took the new job. The family though...lets just say over the last 10 years they have gotten used to it.<br />
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2) Free Flights! Those "free flights" you get when you marry a pilot will at some point allow you to sleep in a crappy airport. I'm not talking a nice airport like DEN I'm talking crappy like CLE. Those free flights are great, if there are empty seats on the plane, but these days its harder and harder to find a plane that isn't stuffed to the gills. So while it's not impossible to fly standby these days, its a far cry from what ever your friends and family think you do.<br />
<br />
3) Day Tripper - Along with #2 is that your relatives may not understand going to Disney World for the day. To people who don't fly a lot it seems like a big effort to go for just one day, but for you the well seasoned nonrev it's just another adventure. Hell I've driven to the airport just to meet dh for dinner if he had a few hours sit, fyi DEN is great for this as they have a lot of stuff outside security. <br />
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4)Scheduling - your relatives won't understand this, especially to start with. For me after all these years in the in industry it's second nature and I forget that people have no idea that words I'm using sound foreign. For some reason I am having a difficult time describing reserve lines right now (you would think it would be self explanatory right?) I think it is confusing people that sometimes he flys and sometimes he doesn't on reserve. I keep getting questions of when is his next trip? And do you really have to fly on reserve days or will you be around? <br />
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5) Loneliness - Here is one of the most undeniable truths about being a pilots wife, you WILL be lonely. I'm not saying all the time, or every time he is on a trip, but there will be times when you're sick, or when you want to go out that you will be lonely. This is not meant to be a "poor me" cop out, but it will happen, and probably more than once.<br />
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6) Being by yourself - This goes hand in hand with #5 you will get used to going places/doing thing by yourself. This can mean anything from going out to dinner, going to the zoo, going to a wedding, or going to family Christmas by yourself. You will get used to this, and hopefully after a few years your relatives will either understand your pilot is at work or at least stop asking about it.<br />
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7) Pilot Wife the Great Fixer - In the spirit of #5 and #6 you will get very good at fixing things yourself. It never fails the minute the pilot walks out the door something breaks. Oh and it's almost always after normal "business hours" so you can forget having someone come fix it!<br />
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8) Training - The world stops for training. Training is critically important every year its "you bet your job" in the simulator. I can't count the number of things I haven't told dh while he has been in training; dogs sick, dog died, I'm sick, somethings broken, I say nothing when he is in training. Training is so stressful to start with I won't add to that unless absolutely necessary.<br />
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9) Unions - Depending on your relatives they may or may not understand Unions. Some people love them, some people hate them, but they are very present in the airline industry. Usually if some starts bashing on them we stay quiet, its hard for folks outside the industry to understand how important they are in the industry. Having been at both a union and a non-union airline, we (well dh) will NEVER fly at a non-union airline again if he has a choice.<br />
<br />
10) Rich Pilot - The best for last, all your relatives who think that dh is a pilot and is rich. I know many a pilot families who qualify for state aid us included when dh was on first year pay. Yes, if your pilot is a mainline widebody captain he's making a decent living, other than that he's probably not rich, unless he made his money somewhere else.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-9623486083903737222014-11-26T20:18:00.003-08:002014-11-26T20:19:18.893-08:00Thankful Thursday<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm20jtpljcRybh5PsUqAWBbKHFwMiKPD3Ps2AJ9Ju-6RS-47DZGJeyX8m2Nyi56vGANXsB0iB9jNtc037RTC_jNDXPvk0QfmAQYqZ8iarZKBxqczw3SWDDLkAZSSt4jSKmLeCusl-cVd0/s1600/DSCN9802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm20jtpljcRybh5PsUqAWBbKHFwMiKPD3Ps2AJ9Ju-6RS-47DZGJeyX8m2Nyi56vGANXsB0iB9jNtc037RTC_jNDXPvk0QfmAQYqZ8iarZKBxqczw3SWDDLkAZSSt4jSKmLeCusl-cVd0/s1600/DSCN9802.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
And here is a fun one for tbt circa 2005!!!<br />
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I know a lot of times in the airline industry we complain, and sometimes with good reason. However, in reality I have A LOT to be Thankful for tomorrow.<br />
<br />
1) First off I am thankful for both our families, they both have helped us out a lot (and continue to do so) is so many ways, I am forever grateful to them.<br />
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2) I'm grateful for our house and where I live. I love having a little bit of acreage but being able to get to one of the country's busiest airports in 45 min is priceless. It's a good mix of country/city for us.<br />
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3) Thankful for our health, no really I am, it could be a whole lot worse. Also glad to have our super good health insurance!<br />
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4) I am super thankful dh has a job, and that it is a good enough job that I don't<i> have </i>to work.<br />
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What are you Thankful for?Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-66878101105330407462014-11-23T20:01:00.001-08:002014-11-23T20:15:40.044-08:00Attitude Affects Everything<br />
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My favorite pic after the marathon,<br />
I refuse to let any illness/surgery stop me!<br />
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So I just hit a milestone with my last hip surgery, maybe not a good milestone, but that was my 10th surgery!! That's right 10 surgeries (of various nature, most related to endometriosis) and these are just the ones that I have had general anesthesia for, I figure local and twilight don't count.<br />
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My hip surgery wasn't bad by my standards, the kidney surgery a month prior was WAY worse. It was horrible, and I ended up spending 4 days in the hospital. Comparatively hip surgery was a breeze, I woke up and my first thought was, Why is it so late? We are going to hit rush hour! Turns out my hip was worse than they expected so it took a lot longer, that seems to be a common theme in my surgeries.<br />
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The thing is through all these surgeries I keep pushing forward, true some are much harder to push through (kidney surgery) than other surgeries. One of the best things my mother instilled in me was even if you don't feel good get up, take a shower, and get dressed. Its a "fake it till you make it" type philosophy. This has worked wonderfully well for me, well that and a handful of pain killers sometimes, but none the less I don't often miss things because of how I feel.<br />
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I don't want you to think it's all unicorns and happy pills though, I do end up in the ER, sometimes a lot. Sometimes I end up passing out when I get to the airport to pick dh up so he can take me to the ER, but I am usually back at it the next day. Since dh is sometimes gone 5 days at a time I also don't have the luxury of lying around saying "poor me" I still have to take care of the horses/dogs/cats and anything else that comes up when he is gone.<br />
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Are there things I would have liked to do but can't? Sure, I desperately want to run the Goofy Race (half marathon and full marathon) at Disney this year, but that's not going to happen. The important thing is to keep your head up and keep moving forward.<br />
<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-22976603131187946512014-11-09T20:56:00.001-08:002014-11-09T20:56:02.430-08:002 Short Years<br />
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2 years ago.<br />
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That's what I am thinking sitting here tonight, while strapped into a medieval torture device. 2 years ago I first found out that Disney World had races. You see we had just finished a cruise and were killing a day at Disney before flying home. I had seen people walking around with medals on wondering what they were from. I asked a nice couple and they informed me it was from the Wine and Dine half marathon, which they had run the night before!! It was as if the clouds parted and the sun came out!<br />
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I love Disney how had I not heard of this before? So I went home and immediately signed up for the Princess Half Marathon (which was in Feb) and then got lucky and wiggled into the Tinkerbell Half Marathon (which was in Jan) when they had a Black Friday sale. <br />
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I had never run a half marathon before, but what the heck why not? Turns out I loved it. So after doing those two races and because they were each at different parks (Disneyland and Disney World) I also got the coast to coast medal! And of course when it was time for Wine and Dine I signed up, turns out it was my favorite race, one of the few that is a night race and they keep the park open late for an "after-party" after the race, it's fantastic. <br />
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Those races it turns out were just preparation for Disney's newest race introduced this year, the Dopey. I happily forked over the money to run a 5k, 10k, 1/2, and full marathon (4 days in a row). By now everyone thought I was crazy, it's one thing to do a half but a full? And running them back, to back, to back, to back? But I did it, and had a great time doing so, and now as a sit here tonight looking longingly at my facebook page and everyone who is running Wine and Dine where I should be I'm saddened, but it has also given me a chance to reflect on t how much I have done in 2 years! Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-90499148410428090872014-10-24T21:27:00.000-07:002014-10-24T21:33:07.477-07:00Happily Married<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So in the last month I have had two different people comment on how "when they get married want to be like us."<br />
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The first was at the salon when we were getting our hair cut. We made the appointment so mine was first then dh's. Why drive twice? So in our usual way we sat there and talked to the girl cutting our hair and bantered back and forth with each other, nothing uncommon for us. That's when she remarked that "when she gets married she wants to be (happy) like us." I thought it was a nice complement and then forgot about it.<br />
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Last week when we were at my dr's office we waited for about 2 hours, yes its a long time but I LOVE my dr. So we were sitting there chatting and bantering, and playing rock, paper, scissors. The awesome girl that works there, commented that is was "fun to watch us and how happy we were together." Honestly I still didn't think much about it.<br />
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So flash forward to now, I was thinking about a few posts I have seen on fb about being happily married and it got me thinking. To be honest dh and I are pretty happy, sure the first year or so was a bit of an adjustment, but we survived it and learned from it. Just as we survived him working at his last airline and never being home and working all the time, even when he was off.<br />
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Being happily married isn't about living in some happy land with prince charming, and if you think thats what it means then you won't be happily married. Sure, sure when you first get engaged/start dating it will seem like all fairtales and unicorns and you will think thats what it will be like when you are married. News Flash; it won't. There will be times when you don't feel appreciated, and even though you cleaned the house your husband comes home and re-cleans the house. There will be times you give him a list of things to do, only to come home and find he hasn't done any of them, or it takes him 3x as long to do something as it should. You may disagree on how to do a project, big hint don't do them together! The list goes on about little things that can and will drive you crazy if you let them.<br />
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But if you have married your best friend it's not all bad. Honestly dh and I hardly ever really fight, sure we might disagree on something but its usually minor. I can't remember the last time I was super pissed off at dh, it clearly wasn't important enough to remember. Dh and I honestly don't have a ton in common. To start with dh is a clean freak and bordering on OCD, which is absolutely what I want in pilot someone who is organized. Is it what I want in a husband? Well its what I got; where as I am absolutely not a clean freak, definitely disorganized would probably categorize me. I can (almost) always find things but they aren't always in a "logical" (according to dh) place. Dh is also super mechanical minded where as I think airplanes (and cars) run by pfm (pure fucking magic). We would definitely be what you would call "opposites attract." As the years have gone by though we've grown to like (or tolerate) each others hobbies, one of my favorite shows is Top Gear, this would not have happened 10 years ago. Dh also tries to understand and help with the horses. Ever relationship is give and take.<br />
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My best advice is to ask yourself; Will you be mad about X issue next week? Next month? If your answer is no then it's now worth arguing about.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-12578644731575624672014-10-17T12:22:00.002-07:002014-10-17T12:25:38.040-07:00Air France Flight 447<br />
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So in light of the article in <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2014/10/air-france-flight-447-crash"> Vanity Fair </a> that recently came out I thought I would post about it. Seems like it's been a long time (5 years!) since it happened, but I was very happy to see this article, mostly because of how good I thought it was. Now I know you non-aviation people probably won't read a 9 page article on a plane crash, and that's ok, but if you do read one, read this one.<br />
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Coming from a standpoint of having this same exact situation happen to dh (in a different plane, and during a clear day) I find this crash fascinating, and lucky for me dh has his masters in Human factors and safety in aviation, so he finds it just as interesting. He also hates the airbus that he now flies, BUT he knows how important it is to know about scenarios like this, the more you know the better off you are.<br />
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That's really what this article is about in a sense and is also why I like it, its extremely unfortunate that this happened, but the best thing we can do is learn from it. If nothing else this crash may help prevent another. I am sure that is of little consolation to the people who lost loved ones on the flight, but hopefully they could find comfort in knowing that it may help prevent another crash.<br />
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My goal with this blog is not to break down the article to you, nor will I (or my dh) EVER Monday night quarter back a deceased crews decision. I know this temptation is there for a lot of people, but just remember you have NO idea what it was like, nor do you have any idea how you would react. You might think on this won't happen to me, or I would do this instead, but in the heat of the moment you really have no idea what you would do. Never Ever walk on a dead pilots grave. Instead use this as a learning process, so if it does happen to you, you are prepared.
Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-36019836288701306522014-10-16T18:41:00.001-07:002014-10-16T18:42:52.427-07:00Network, Network, Network.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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So it's recently been a conversation on Facebook as well as
in our personal life so I figured I'd talk about it. Networking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don't know how many people I see say
"My husband has applied everywhere and no one is calling, he hasn't gone
to job fairs and doesn't <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have letters
from anyone, and I don't know why no one is calling him."</div>
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While HR does somewhat run the show these days at airlines
networking is still key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are proof of
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When dh decided last summer that
he needed to move on from his job,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he
had 2 interviews in 3 months of when he decided to leave (at majors).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is ALL because of networking, and I
don't mean networking as in cold calling people you met 4 years ago for 10
minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The folks that helped dh out
were people we have know for at least 2+ years (and in one case 6 years).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These guys (and their wives) are our friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we met them years ago our thought wasn't
"how can they help us"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it was
"hey these guys are cool and fun to hang out with, and we have a lot in
common."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So once these guys heard
dh was looking for a new job they were both happy to help out, without us even
asking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is how networking is
supposed to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we meet up with
these guys every year in Vegas for <a href=http://www.jetcareers.com> Jetcareers </a> </div>
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A tale of two Pilots</div>
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So now it's time for a real life example of networking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a good friend named Dave (name
changed of course) Dave and dh were in the same new hire class 14 year ago at their
regional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's right 14 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through the years Dave and dh have stayed in
touch, we even stayed at Dave's house when I had surgery and dh used Dave's
house as a crash pad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dave also stayed
at our house on Christmas one year on a long layover. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dave is still currently at his regional and
dh want to help him out, so he takes Dave's resume to HR at his current company
and Dave helped himself by going to a job fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sure enough Dave now has an interview at dh's current company.</div>
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We also know a pilot named Bob (again not real name) Bob was
an FO at dh's regional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We liked Bob,
Bob was fun to hang out with, we even met up for dinner a few times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Bob drifted off and we hadn't heard from
him in 2 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few days ago we got a
text from Bob, Bob wanted to know if dh could help him get a job.....at the
airline dh left last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once we
nicely told Bob he wasn't there anymore we haven't heard from him again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now we like Bob, but this isn't the best way
to network.</div>
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So I wish everyone well in moving on, but keep in mind that
networking is really important!</div>
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*Yes there will always be those few people who make it
somewhere without knowing anyone, but Networking is making your own luck!</div>
Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-64890710855284135292014-10-05T17:47:00.000-07:002014-10-05T17:53:42.133-07:00New Reality<br />
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The new reality in this case not as pretty as this pic.<br />
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I don't come on here often and have a pity party (well sometimes I do about dhs job) but I don't often have a pity party about my health problems. I had someone the other day tell me I have a good attitude about it. My response was "Thank you, but having a bad attitude won't change anything." To be fair I am completely pessimistic about a lot of things, but don't often talk about my health problems, in my book, it is what it is and I can't really change it, so why complain to everyone about it.<br />
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In my book I figure I wake up about 50-60% feeling like crap, about half the time I work out of it without taking anything, the rest of the time is better living through chemistry. And of those times about 2-4 times a year better living through chemistry doesn't work and I end up in the ER. As for my list of ailments they include: endometroisis, crohns, kidney issues, migraines, and an assortment of random issues: ie: torn cartilage in my hip.<br />
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My most recent bout was with my not always happy right kidney, but thanks to better living through chemistry my recovery from surgery and hospital stay last week hasn't been awful until today. Thanks to some new bogus government rule any narcotic prescription has to be signed and actually walked into a pharmacy, you can't call it in or fax it, or even use pre-authorized refills, which is where I ran into trouble today. You see I have a refill of vicodine since I have run out from surgery, and since my dh doesn't like to see me flop on the couch like a dead fish in pain I went to get it filled. No joy. No way to fill thanks to the stupid new government rule.<br />
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Which leaves me in a quandary, I've run out pills my dr prescribed for me after my surgery, and I can't fly to Houston to get another one, what to do? Emergency Room of course. Now don't get me wrong I know an ER Room is not for this purpose but because of these new restrictions that's exactly what its come too.<br />
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For me (and many others) this is a waste of resources, I don't want to pay to go to the ER to get a refill for something that is legitimate and has already been authorized by my dr. The folks in the ER don't want this kind of paperwork bullshit because they have much bigger problems to deal with, but none the less that is what it has come to.<br />
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Sorry for the rant and the pity party but this really pisses me off.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147610194421430071.post-42982869520297181802014-10-03T13:22:00.001-07:002014-10-03T13:35:58.797-07:00Surgery....When Married to a Pilot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjbktKCytrT1-F0SerH22XueRqsctJZqV6jmEo8Tfl6Oyri_Kk8lwi2owofDaIrNe8xuQFXRg9t9PloChZLR3nJMuuS8MyJJCaAxwp4UBNAEdafi92_VRxOGYcaD5du141_VNzQjeUjY/s1600/surgerypic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUjbktKCytrT1-F0SerH22XueRqsctJZqV6jmEo8Tfl6Oyri_Kk8lwi2owofDaIrNe8xuQFXRg9t9PloChZLR3nJMuuS8MyJJCaAxwp4UBNAEdafi92_VRxOGYcaD5du141_VNzQjeUjY/s1600/surgerypic.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pre-op!<br />
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So surgery is never fun, ask me how I know ....I've had at least 10. But being married to a pilot adds an extra layer of "fun" to surgery. To start with even trying to plan sugery is a pain, remember we don't know his schedule until about a week before the month starts! We were lucky in a sense dh had the day of my suregery off and the day after my surgery off, but as history has shown us when I have kidney surgery I usually end up in the hosptial for about 3 days afer surgery, even though the insurance considers it a "day surgery."<br />
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So once we got dh's schedule we discovered he had a four day trip 2 days after my surgery, not good. To add more complications my surgery was out of state. So we started the FMLA process which worked really well, dh could use his sick time to drop the one trip and all would be well. What happened was even better! He managed to move that trip so no FMLA was needed, as a side note the process for FMLA worked great, but it takes a lot of time to set everything up, probably about a month.<br />
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So I was all set for surgery, and dh even had the next 10 days off! This was such a much better deal than the last time I had kidney surgery, dh basically dumped me at the emergency room the day after surgery when I super sick and went to work. His former carrier was awful about time off and never had enough reserves/coverage to be able to drop anything, even a valid sick call would land you a carpet dance, it was bad. So this time was like a breath of fresh air, he dropped what he needed and no problem!<br />
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Surgery was about what we expected, and recovery took about the same amount of time as last time, but it was so much better this time staying in the hospital since dh was there with me. Not much is lonelier than staying in the hospital by yourself because your dh is at work.<br />
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Also a big shout out to my AWESOME mom who drove to TX during my first kidney surgery when dh couldn't stay, and this year took care of our herd while I went to TX for surgery, Best.Mom.Ever!!!<br />
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<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14386851064491877659noreply@blogger.com0