Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Brass Rail

For those who live in Minneapolis, the Brass Rail is again open, under new management, and the place looks awesome!  Just spent the afternoon there for some beverages, and had a truly great time. 

Be sure to check it out sometime soon before it goes wacko again from the old 'farts'. 

State of the art sound system, lighting, new bar, new door to outside 'smoking' area, removal of the back bar and a VIP area for the weekends that you can order bottles of stuff just for you.

Loads of fun, can't wait to go again!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Where does the time go?

Wow, you mean to tell me my last blog was on Sep 11?  I can't believe it!  Guess I've either been busy with work, school, or nothing has tickled my fancy to post about.

I would go with school and nothing to post about.  This month I was on Availability.  I could have spent every waking moment on the computer waiting for someone to drop their trip into the 'Open Time' and picked it up, but I wasn't going to waste my time with that.

I had some issue at first with this semester of school.  I had some severe anxiety about doing math, but it has finally gone away.  I'm more comfortable doing the homework now, but still don't like doing it. 

I really miss Cody the dog.  I'll get to see him tonight finally.  I'm really excited.  It's been several weeks, and I just feel bad I haven't seen him sooner.  But he's with his daddy, and that's all that matters.

Last weekend I was home in Winchester, VA for my high school band reunion.  It was a lot of fun to not only see people from my class, but make friends from classes ahead of me.  It was a little awkward when I was stuck between two girls that I had dated and they were both like, "I dated Gordon"...."So did I".  Kinda fun though.

Well, not much else to report.  I'm on a line next month for work. Not what I wanted, but I could've had worse.  I'm doing LGA-ORD turns.  They are the late departures, so I'm sure there will be many weather delays.  Well, maybe I can finally get a decent pay check!!!

Until next time,
Sluggo

Friday, September 11, 2009

Rainy day in NYC

Despite many delayed flights to the NYC area today due to weather, I was able to get here on-time!

Sure, the earlier flights were having those creeping delays due to low visibility, but fortunately, the flight I chose only had a 25minute delay, but we made up that time in the air.

I was nervous listening to the older gentlemen describing how he can't remember where he parked the car, how he hates driving in rain, and driving at night. Best of luck to their journey home!

I get to start my 3-day Super 80 trip tomorrow. Sad to see one friend couldn't make the flight, but happy to see another was able to pick it up. Should be a fun 3-day!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Pretty busy day in aviation land! Glad to hear that the MEX hijacking went uneventful, just interested in the details of what happened now.

Not much is going on otherwise, Saturday I do a S80 3-day trip!!! Can't wait! Been a long time to layover in SLC.

Cell phones on planes?

oh geez, I hope not!!!  I think working on the plane is about the only place I've actually come to enjoy getting away from my laptop and iPhone....peace and quiet.  However, why don't the airlines consider the use of cell phones on planes?

Thankfully, this issue has been addressed on Gadling.com and I again don't have to go into detail thanks to someone else's hard work!  I'm sure the FAA and the FCC will continually look into this issue.  Until then, the FCC has upheld it's decision on the current ban of cell phone use on planes.

I would suggest that when the flight attendants ask to turn off all electronic devices when that entry door closes...please just do it.

What's in that Seatback pocket?

A while back a discussion on a great twitter page ensued about what are the rules about placing things into seatback pockets on the airplane.  We've all done it....board the plane, get to our row, stow our carry-on, and then plop right down into our seat, search around in our bags for either those great magazines we just bought in the terminal, or pull out that book we just can't put down, then put it immediately into the seatback pocket.

Boarding continues and finally the announcement comes.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, the forward aircraft door is now closed.  All electronic devices need to be turned off and put away at this time.  Laptop computers may not be placed in seatback pockets, nor any other personal items including books, personal magazines, or even a boarding pass'...did I hear right, not even a boarding pass? 

So several of us Flight Attendant 'twitterers' started asking each other about the issue, until The Flying Pinto wrote to the FAA and asked about their policy and/or regulation about this issue.  I mean, it's not just us that were talking about it...Budget Travel.com, the NYTs, and even Smarter Travel. EVERYONE was talking about putting items into seat-back pockets.  She actually got an answer!  I'm not going to go into detail here about it here, but you can read The Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on Seat-back Pocket items.

Basically what she found out was there is:

"currently only FAA "guidance," not a regulation . The agency is recommending airline companies consider the guidance as a way of developing their own set of company policies"

So, if a Flight Attendant asks you to remove something from the seat-back pocket, then it is part of that airlines' policy, and you should go ahead and remove the item and not argue with them about it. As silly as it may be, you can get in trouble for not complying with crew member instructions because it is part of that airlines' guidelines that have been set by the FAA.

For the most part, the only item that seems to be the biggest culprit are laptop computers.  It doesn't matter what airline I commute on, they all say that "Laptop computers are not allowed in seat-back pockets".

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Now just testing the texting from iPhone to see of this really works!

Just testing the waters

So I've become a fan of Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and now I have a Blog.  Not sure how often I'll post or update anything, but should be a little more fun to talk about passengers, crew members, or anything else going on in my life at the moment.

Right now, I am in my 3rd week of my 2nd year of school.  I've gone back to school with the University of Phoenix online.  I must say, the last year has flown by so fast, it's hard to believe I'm already in my 2nd (sophomore) year! 

I'm working on a Business Degree.  However, the 1st two years are working on your Associates, then if you choose to continue, then it's on to your Bachelor's Degree.  The only problem that I'm having right now is my math.  I really dislike math with a passion, especially when I don't understand the rules of doing math....specifically fractions.

I have had many offers on help with my work, but I must do this on my own...besides, the next door neighbor is a math teacher and has offered his assistance if I ever get stuck.  So far though, I've maintained a B, but it is only 2wks into the class!  lol

Well, that's it for now.  Check back later and see what kind of things I'm getting myself in trouble for.

Sluggo