DCI Open Class Championships

DCI Open Class Championships
By Michael Boo | boomike@dci.org Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 3:06 AM

The DCI World Championship Open Class Finals on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2011, was the first time all Open Class corps performed together, since the Prelims show the day before was rained out after just two corps performed. Both shows were held at Ames Field in Michigan City, Ind.

Since there were no Prelims results, the top 12 corps in the Finals were declared Open Class Finalists. Also, Yokohama Scouts and Jubal were announced not by their placement amongst all corps in Finals, but as the 1st and 2nd place International Division corps. But for the sake of this recap analysis; those two corps will be discussed according to how they appear on the official contest recap. Although the two International Division corps scored in the top 12, the 13th place Forte and 14th place Colt Cadets were declared 11th and 12th Open Class finalists and all remaining Open Class corps finished two positions higher in Open Class than they appear on the contest recap.

In the caption awards, Best General Effect and Best Percussion was won by Blue Devils B, with Oregon Crusaders being awarded Best Brass and Best Visual Performance, and Spartans taking Best Color Guard.

Please note that when looking at the scoring recaps, the two General Effect captions, Visual and Music, are added to the final score without being divided in half. The six remaining judges in the three Visual captions (Performance, Ensemble and Color Guard) and the three Music captions (Brass, Ensemble and Percussion) had their scores divided in half before being added to the final score. This is so the judges could work with 20 points each and not 10, which allows them to deal with tenths and not hundredths. (The two decimal places result when the scores are divided in half.)
All Open Class corps now proceed to Indianapolis, where they will compete head-to-head with the World Class corps in the DCI World Championship World Class Prelims.

Blue Devils B (1st-95.00) took 1st in both Visual and Music Effect, Music Ensemble and Percussion, the combined Effect score 0.50 above Oregon Crusaders. Since the corps placed 4th in Visual Ensemble and Color Guard and 5th in Visual Performance, scoring 0.50 under OC for 4th in total Visual, (compared to OC’s 3rd place), the Effect gain and the Visual deficit were a wash. It therefore came down to the 0.30 gain in total Music, (where the corps was 2nd in Brass and 1st in the other two captions) to call the show by 0.30.

Oregon Crusaders (2nd-94.70) took 1st in Visual Performance and Brass, 3rd in Color Guard and Percussion and 2nd in every other caption. Despite being up in Brass by 0.20 to BDB, the corps was down in Music Ensemble by 0.30 and down in Percussion by 0.50, the 0.60 deficit in those combined Music captions accounting for the 0.30 total deficit to BDB once those caption scores were divided in half.

Vanguard Cadets (3rd-94.20) took 1st in Visual Ensemble, and despite talking 2nd in Visual Performance and Color Guard, won the Best Visual award. Percussion also took 2nd, while both Effect captions, Brass and Music Ensemble placed 3rd.

Spartans (4th-91.50) scored 19.2 in Color Guard, 0.70 above BDB. Visual Performance and Visual Ensemble both placed 3rd, with Visual Effect and Brass placing 4th. Music Effect was 5th, while Music Ensemble and Percussion took 6th.

Revolution (5th-89.25) was 4th in Music Effect, Visual Performance and Percussion, 5th in Visual Ensemble and Color Guard, 6th in Brass, 9th in Music Ensemble and 10th in Visual Effect.

Genesis (6th-86.85) was 4th in Music Ensemble, 5th in Brass, 6th in Music Effect and Visual Ensemble, 7th in Visual Effect, 8th in Visual Performance and Percussion and 11th in Color Guard.

7th Regiment (7th-86.15) was 6th in Visual Effect and Visual Performance, 7th in Visual Ensemble and Brass, 8th in Music Effect, Color Guard and Music Ensemble, and 10th in Percussion.

Yokohama Scouts (8th-85.35/1st-International Division) was 5th in Visual Effect, 6th in Color Guard, 7th in Visual Performance and Music Ensemble, 8th in Visual Ensemble, 10th in Music Effect and Brass and 11th in Percussion.

Music City (9th-84.80/8th in Open Class) took 5th in Music Ensemble, 7th in Music Effect and Color Guard, 8th in Brass, 9th in Percussion, 10th in Visual Performance and Visual Ensemble and 11th in Visual Effect.

Legends (10th-82.30/9th in Open Class) was 8th in Visual Effect, 9th in Music Effect, Visual Ensemble and Brass, 10th in Music Ensemble, 11th in Visual Performance, 13th in Percussion and 15th in Color Guard.

Raiders (11th-81.90/10th in Open Class) took 5th in Percussion and 9th in Visual Performance and Color Guard. Music Effect, Visual Ensemble and Brass placed 11th, Music Ensemble 13th and Visual Effect 14th.

Jubal (12th-80.20/2nd in International Division) was 10th in Color Guard, 11th in Music Ensemble, 12th in Visual Effect, Visual Performance, Brass and Percussion, 13th in Music Effect and 14th in Visual Ensemble.

Forte (13th-79.20/11th in Open Class) took 7th in Percussion, 12th in Visual Ensemble and Color Guard, 13th in Visual Effect, Visual Performance and Brass, and 14th in Music Effect and Music Ensemble.

Colt Cadets (14th-79.15/12th in Open Class) took 9th in Visual Effect, 12th in Music Effect and Music Ensemble, 13th in Visual Ensemble and Color Guard, and 14th in Visual Performance, Brass and Percussion.

Les Stentors (15th-72.10/13th in Open Class) was 14th in Color Guard, 16th in Music Effect and Percussion and 15th in all other captions.

Racine Scouts (16th-69.55/14th in Open Class) was 15th in Music Effect and Percussion, 17th in Music Ensemble and 16th in all other captions.

Blue Saints (17th-63.05/15th in Open Class) was 16th in Music Ensemble and 17th in all other captions.

Spirit of Newark (18th-56.60/16th in Open Class) was 18th in all captions.

Turning off electronic devices...why is it so hard to do?

Today on descent into Montego Bay, one of my Flight Attendants asked a passenger to turn off his iPad while we were preparing the flight for landing.

He just hit the top button and put the iPad into 'Standby' mode, but not turning it completely off. She asked the gentleman a few more times to turn off the device, explained to him that the device was still in standby mode and not powered down.

She informed him that she herself has an iPad, and explained how to turn it off, yet he wanted to argue the fact that even in 'Airplane' mode and in standby mode, it wasn't emitting any wave lengths to disrupt our flight. Unfortunately for him, the FAA and FCC deem that simply turning a device into 'standby' mode is still considered 'on'. So we as Flight Attendants must enforce the Federal Air Regulations ensuring that the airplane is ready and prepared for landing. This includes ensuring all devices are powered completely off.

A few months ago while working on a night flight, during the safety demo, I witnessed a passenger texting on his iPhone. I informed him that the device needs to be off. He kept insisting that it was off, yet I would cath him still texting. So, I went to his phone, picked it up, and showed him how to turn it off, as required by the Regulations.

Is it really that hard to do without your precious phone and/or electronic for 5 minutes?

Passports and Crew Members

After flying the last 10yrs as a Domestic Flight Attendant, I never got the chance to do much flying as an International Flight Attendant....well, especially since my carrier keeps the two separate. However, I have gone on trips overseas where I needed my US Passport to clear Customs and Immigration control.

When you are a passenger on a flight, or boat, and travel into a different Country, you need to clear their Immigration Control checkpoints. There, the Immigration officer would input your data into a system to check to make sure you aren't an International fugitive, and that you are OK to be in their Country.

When I was based out of Chicago, I did a lot of flying into and out of Canada, and Mexico. Whenever we would clear Customs, the Customs officials would often stamp your passport showing that you were in the Country and that you were OK to be a visitor on Business. The only problem is after a while, your passport would fill up and you would need to pay and order for inserts to put into your Passport. This can get costly (thankfully most carriers reimburse their crew members for Passports and/or Inserts as the Passport is something required for their job)

Now that I'm an International Flight Attendant, I'm noticing that when you are a crew member, there are some Countries that require you to clear through the normal route, and others that don't check your passport just as long as you were on a 'GenDecs' form that has Cargo Documents and Crew names. The only problem is, as being a new International Flight Attendant...along with being a Purser, there is a LOT to learn. Some countries require you to hand over all the documents to the agents before passengers disembark, others require you to keep a few copies so when you go through different checkpoints, you hand over a document to an Immigration Officer.

Some countries require only a Passport, some require a number of forms that can be from just 1 form to 3 or even 4 forms. I know when you travel into Mexico as a visitor (as well as coming into the United States as a visitor) you are given a 'visitor' card that you must keep with you in case you are stopped by authorities to show you are authorized to be in the country. When you leave, you hand in the form.

Some countries require that you go to certain Embassy's to get a Visitor Visa to visit their country either as a visitor or a business traveler. Often times, these Visa's cannot be interchanged and you have to apply for visitor/business Visa separately. Being a airline crew member, majority of our Visa's are designated as a Business Visa and often are reimbursed by the airline, and cannot be used as a visitor to that country.

Upon returning to the United States, we as crew-members have a crew form that we fill out to claim any type of Duty-Free merchandise we bought abroad, or in-flight. It's a pretty simple form and makes it so much easier to enter than having to continuously fill out the normal US Customs forms.
Depending on what city you are arriving to, and how many flights are arriving at the same time, you can either clear customs rather quickly, or it can be a painstakingly long wait to clear customs. Often times, the names have to be correct on the form, or otherwise it might be a little difficult for that crew member to pass through security (LOL)

There is a new way to clear customs through the Global Entry program. It allows citizens and Crew-members to clear customs without having to wait in the long lines to talk with a Customs Border Protection Officer. For a nominal fee, you can get a pass, where all you have to do is go to Kiosks at select airports,  answer select questions, and go on your way. Once you answer the questions, you are given a slip of paper and you show it to a Border Patrol Officer before exiting the Customs area.

I just wish there was a way to know, before hand, which country requires what. Thankfully I've been very fortunate and have had some great crews who have been to the places I have been to so far and know what is required and/or needed. Requirements do change often within certain time frames, but it would still be good to know before you're caught off guard of what is needed.

Another item that would be good is to know what cities/layovers have to offer, but I guess I'll have to save that for another blog posting!

Finally got my stitches out!

After 9 days having stitches in my head from passing out from Heat Exhaustion/Dehydration, I finally got them out this past Friday. I thought there would have been more pulling as the nurse took them out, but thankfully there was none.

I am still waiting on my Doctor to fill out my Family Leave paperwork. She's giving me just as much of a hard time as my airline does making sure it's filled out correctly. Either way, one can't fly with stitches as your body expands in the air, so it would have pulled the stitches out.

I have been drinking plenty of water since my incident. I'm still amazed how fast everything happened, and how awesome the folks who were with me helped me to ensure I was ok. I even went back to the bar where I fainted and the girls who initially helped out came up to me and asked how I was doing. They were impressed with the stitches and scar, I guess because they saw first hand the wound.

I'm excited to get back to flying tomorrow. It's been a long 11 days doing literally nothing but lounge around resting up. I was so bored that I actually cleaned/dusted my room (which it desperately needed)! Yesterday I decided to cut my hair and hope to remove some of the skin that was still attached to my scar.

I'm quite happy with how my scar turned out. Probably would have been less if I actually received some ointment to put on it, but without anything being applied, I feel it looks good. Now I just have to remember to drink more water during work. I've always been bad about not drinking water while flying/working.


You may not realize it but you can easily suffer from dehydration on airplanes especially on long flights. That's because air in the cabin is usually much dryer than air on Earth. Humidity refers to the amount of water molecules in the air. Our comfort zone as people is around 50% - meaning the air is 50% saturated with water. Air in an airline cabin can fall to as low as 1% on long flights.

Dehydration doesn't only mean you'll feel thirsty. It means your body will lose water so you'll end up having a dry nose, dry scratchy bloodshot eyes, and dry itchy skin. This shouldn't frighten you. There are many ways to get around this. Before boarding your flight, go to one of the stores, or restaurants inside of Security, and buy a bottle of water for yourself.


The first thing you should do is take plenty of bottled water on the flight. Drink about eight ounces of water every hour on the flight. That's about 240 cc/ml. Drink some water before the flight too so your body will be prepared for the dry conditions on the airplane.

If you're already on the airplane and you remember this tip after the airplane has taken off then ask the flight attendants for water. Try to avoid tap water on airplanes. Airplane water IS potable, however some older planes aren't kept up to FDA standards.  Sadly, there aren't many set standards for airplane tap water so avoid drinking it. Remember, if the bottled water is out, you CAN drink the airplane water, but it is highly discouraged.

You might love to drink alcohol and coffee but avoid them on the flight. Alcohol and coffee are diuretic drinks. That means they actually absorb water out of your body cells. They'll actually get you more dehydrated. Stick with the bottled water you bought before boarding the flight, and your body will be just fine.

Immerse a handkerchief in your drinking water and place it above your nose if you want to breathe in humidified air. Wrap it around your ears and place it atop your nose for as long as you desire. You might also want to sprinkle your face with water using a perfume bottle. Fill it in with your own drinking water before the flight. Sure, you'll look funny to those around you, but you're the one who is staying hydrated!

What happens when your body is Dehydrated

There are many things that your body does as a natural resource to help prevent it from going into a dehydration shock, however, when you do go into a shock, it may not be pretty.

• Heat exhaustion is one part of the spectrum of heat-related illnesses that include, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.
  
• The body cools itself by sweating and allowing that sweat to evaporate. This requires enough fluid in the body to make sweat, air circulating across the skin, and low air humidity to allow that sweat to evaporate.
  
• Activity in a hot environment can overwhelm the body's ability to cool itself, causing heat-related symptoms.
  
• Symptoms of heat exhaustion include profuse sweating, weakness, nausea, vomiting, headache, lightheadedness, and muscle cramps.

Sometimes, what may happen is a fainting spell.  Fainting, also called syncope (pronounced SIN-ko-pe), is a sudden, brief loss of consciousness and posture caused by decreased blood flow to the brain. Many different conditions can cause fainting. These include heart problems such as irregular heart beat, seizures, panic or anxiety attacks, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), anemia (a deficiency in healthy oxygen carrying cells), and problems with how the nervous system (the body's system of nerves) regulates blood pressure. Some types of fainting seem to run in families. While fainting may indicate a particular medical condition, sometimes it may occur in an otherwise healthy individual. Fainting is a particular problem for the elderly, who may suffer serious injuries from falls when they faint. Most episodes are very brief. In most cases, the individual who has fainted regains complete consciousness within just a few minutes.

Fainting is a common problem, accounting for 3% of emergency room visits and 6% of hospital admissions. It can happen in otherwise healthy people. A person may feel faint and lightheaded (presyncope) or lose consciousness (syncope).

Last week, the temperature here in the Twin cities was very high, so was the humidity and dew point. (we actually hit our all-time high in dew point), so the air was very thick and heavy.  I remember during the day enjoying about an hour on my balcony getting some sun, however, I wasn't drinking enough water to absorb the amount of water I was sweating.  Let alone the night before I had a couple of alcoholic drinks. (surprisingly not my normal amount)  Either way, I had come in from a trip, exhausted, not drinking much water (which I don't normally do anyway) and now here I am basking in the sun trying to broaden my tan.

Later Wednesday night, I had gone to a friends house for dinner, again not drinking any water, and then we went out to watch a parade at a local bar. Instead of ordering water, I ordered a bottle of beer, and went outside where the temperature was still very high, as well as the dew point, and started to watch the parade. Hoping to watch some local high school bands perform, but was disappointed that the few who were in the parade didn't play past where we were.

I remember telling my friends how boring the parade was, and just leaning against a railing, and looking at my friends phone. Next thing I know, there are about 5 people standing over me asking if I was OK. Apparently I had fainted and hit my head pretty hard on the sidewalk.

I must say, the staff at the bar were extremely helpful and assisted every-way possible to ensure I was good until the paramedics arrived and took over. (darn-it, I should have taken pictures!!!) Initially, a few firemen showed up and gave me oxygen (the mask stunk) along with a couple of Minneapolis police officers asking me questions like, how much was I drinking, what happened, what day was it, who was the President.

Finally the ambulance arrived. I'm escorted into it and lay down on the gurney. I was pretty coherent, but my blood pressure was extremely low,

What is low blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels. It constitutes one of the critically important signs of life or vital signs which include heart beat, breathing, and temperature. Blood pressure is generated by the heart pumping blood into the arteries modified by the response of the arteries to the flow of blood.
An individual's blood pressure is expressed as systolic/diastolic blood pressure, for example, 120/80.The systolic blood pressure (the top number) represents the pressure in the arteries as the muscle of the heart contracts and pumps blood into them. The diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) represents the pressure in the arteries as the muscle of the heart relaxes following its contraction. Blood pressure always is higher when the heart is pumping (squeezing) than when it is relaxing.

as well as my temperature, which I do remember sweating profusely while waiting for the ambulance.

They hooked up an IV and off to my hospital we go (no sirens darn-it!) Once there, go directly into a room, and wait for the on-call doctor. Once he arrived, he took the bandage off and again asked the same questions as before. Then he said he was going to get one of the nurses to come in and clean my wound before he stitched up my wound.

Before this time, I really didn't know the extent of the laceration until I had one of my great friends take a picture of it with my phone. (gotta get this documented or people wouldn't believe me! LOL)

So after another 30 minutes or so, a nurse comes in with a large cart and a big smile and says "I'm here to clean the wound" (no, she wasn't that happy, but it seemed like it) After punching some code into the cart like Nurse Jackie and getting a few supplies out of the cart, she was ready to scrub my wound clean to ensure there was no foreign debris inside my head before the doctor stitched me up. Luckily, the doctor said I only lacerated two layers of skin, so it wasn't deep....but if I didn't get stitched back up, I would have one ugly scar.

I'm not sure how a nurse starts off knowing how to clean a wound, or remove skin when they are new and deals with the first burn patient, or other types of wounds, but I must say, they aren't gentle after a few wounds later. (at least that's what it felt like, I thought she was going to go right through my skull a few times as she was cleaning. I know she was doing her job, but OUCH!)

Finally she was done, and the doctor comes back in to stitch me up. I was lucky in only needing to receive six stitches. I guess after being numb from the cleaning, I didn't feel him stick a needle in my head to give make the area numb for the sewing part, however I could feel and hear the stitches being tied and pulled. (it was almost kinda cool feeling)

I of course had to ask if this was going to mess up my hair, I was reassured that it wouldn't. Although as the nurse was cleaning, she did say she removed a small patch of hair....I just hope it grows back! LOL

The bad part of this whole thing is I can't fly with stitches. Since I'm in a 'recovery' mode, if I fly with a wound (stitches) and expand while in flight, I could re-open the wound and would cause more scaring. I really love flying and am saddened that I can't fly, especially that this is my first month as an International Purser based in Miami!

I should be getting my stitches out hopefully on Friday, and suppose to be back to work the following Monday. Not sure if it's because I'm a little more alert to my body now, but I have been drinking a LOT of water, and very little alcohol. I'm sure that it will be a while before I can enjoy the sun again like I have in the past without feeling a bit groggy and funny.

So if you don't take it from me, at least listen to a doctor about staying hydrated.

"Staying hydrated is fundamentally important to a successful summer exercise regimen, in fact, for any activity," says Survivor consultant Adrian Cohen, MD, of Neutral Bay, Australia. As the medical advisor for many reality shows, including Survivor and Eco Challenge, Cohen has seen firsthand the havoc that dehydration can wreak on performers and performance. "Whilst we tend to focus on hard, sweaty workouts and long jogging sessions, even a brisk walk or a scratch basketball game in the hotter weather puts demands on the human body, and without the 'fuel' (water) the engine runs dry," says Cohen, author of several books including Survivor First Aid.
Successful, balanced hydration starts with prepping yourself for exercising in the heat, says New York City- based sports medicine expert Lewis G. Maharam, MD. "Take 10 days to two weeks to get used to hot weather, building workout intensity and duration gradually," he says. Engage in higher-intensity activities during cooler morning hours and do easier work during the heat of the afternoon, he suggests.

Sluggo's first trip as an International Purser - Flight Attendant

After 11yrs of flying the Domestic routes with my airline, I've finally been able hold the proffer to fly Internationally. Most airlines have the International and Domestic flying integrated with their flying, however at my airline, it's separate. So it was a great joy to learn that I held the proffer.

In going International, I had to do about 8hrs worth of online training to learn how the services were to be done vs. how they are done domestically. After doing the online training, I then had to go to our training center down in Dallas for a few days to learn the 'ditching' aspect of our Emergency Procedures. I was a fun few days, but very tough as well as we had to make sure how to inflate rafts, learn new commands to evacuate the passengers from the aircraft, and again touch on the service aspects on the long-haul flights.

After training, I transferred to my new base in Miami and started my first flying on July 2nd. It was a tough one, but a good one to start learning the aspects of what the differences are between domestic flying, and my new international flying. When I called our 'reserve' tape to learn of my fate, I learned that I would be working Miami to La Paz, Bolivia, sit for an hour, then fly over to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

The flying time wasn't bad. It was less than 6hrs, and the service was a basic pre-plated lunch entree, along with a smoked salmon sandwich follow-on service about an hour prior to landing. It felt just like my old JFK-SFO trans-con flights that I use to do.

Amazingly, when we landed in La Paz, I learned that the elevation of the airport was at 13,000ft above sea level. This meant the pilots had to don oxygen masks on landing since we would be so high up. I learned that while on the ground, the local staff bring oxygen in case passengers felt ill or faint while we waited to be cleaned and fueled up for our next leg.

I felt fine, however, the First Officer said that he felt a little dizzy while walking up the jetbridge stairs from doing his walk-around. It was around that time that I realized that Bolivia was on the opposite side of the equator, and they were in their winter months. Sure enough, it had started snowing a little and even formed ice on the wings while we waited.

I was shocked to see how thorough the ground staff was in cleaning the aircraft, as well as do a security sweep of the aircraft. It really made me feel good that security was high on their priority as they took apart all the seat cushions, opened every cabinet and drawers, and checked all the passengers on the plane.

Was all the security checks were done and some new passengers were boarded, we were off to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It was only an hour flight, so we got there pretty fast. Just like other short flights domestically, there wasn't any service in Main Cabin, but we had a beverage service in First Class. Before we knew it, we were landing by 1am.

Finally got to the hotel around 2am. I was very amazed at how the electricity worked much like a few other hotels I've been to where you have to place your room key into a slot to power everything. I'm actually amazed that more hotels don't utilize this system as they could really save on electricity.

I was suppose to go to a few markets with my fellow crew members, but I didn't wake up until later than we had planned on meeting, besides, it was cloudy, damp, and very windy. I think the temp was around 45degrees F. (of course, the day after was sunny and 60)

I would have loved to gone to the local zoo, local market, or even have gotten a massage at the hotel, but I was extremely tired and kept it quiet. Another thing I was amazed at, the free wifi was faster than some hotels in the US where you have to pay for the service!

Our departure back to Miami was suppose to have been at 12:30am, but we were slightly delayed departing due to some weight and balance issues. Once the pilots figured out what was going on, we were on our way.

I figured that since it was going to be an all-nighter flight, I was expecting a light snack and a follow-on breakfast before landing.  Boy was I wrong! It ended up being a Full-on dinner where I had to plate all the entree's, along with a full ice cream sundae. Something that should have been reserved for dinner, not a late-night supper. The pre-arrival follow-on service was just breakfast breads and juices. The flying time was 6hrs 30mins. I wasn't tired at all since I rested all day, but the other crew members took their breaks (even though they technically weren't suppose to. LOL)

We finally landed in Miami and the flight was done. I had great crew members that helped me tremendously. I can't wait for my next long-haul flight.

Sluggo's trip to London

Since my last post, I had mentioned that I was going to London again with my great friend Jeremy. He was going to be working the flight, as Purser, and I was just going to go along for his trip. He had a 24hr layover in London, so it was enough time to get in, take a nap, and do some running around London and see what it has to offer.

I get to Chicago a bit before he does. Keep in mind, I just worked a trip from San Francisco - New York's JFK airport that night, then hopped over to LaGuardia airport to get to Chicago. I think I had about an hours nap on the plane, otherwise, I didn't sleep at all.

Initially the flight was going to go out of K12, but it soon changed out of L8, and First Class was not looking promising for me to sit up front, where he was sitting. Fortunately for me, not only did I get on the flight, but I actually was able to sit in First Class!

Of course I had to have a pre-departure Champagne, and now we're off to London! The flight was roughly 7hrs 30mins. Surprisingly, I didn't sleep, or at least I didn't think I did, even though one of the other flight attendants said he saw me sleeping during one of my movies. Either way, I was comfortable. First up, were the Crudites and dip. This was basically something to get you started on your meal. It consisted of slices of celery, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli. Now, on the most delicious appetizer! (MY FAV)

I can eat this appetizer day-in, day-out because I LOVE the smoked salmon. We use to have this on the domestic trans-cons, but they took this away to save some money, however, here is what the appetizer consisted of: Smoked salmon and tarragon shrimp accompanied by capers, red onion, and sour cream. Water, Pommery Brut Champagne, Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Merlot.

The Merlot was extremely tasteful and really accompanied the plate well. I would have asked for more, but being a good non-rev, I didn't want to take from the crew getting any food on the flight.

Next up was the Salad. I wasn't going to have a salad, but I took one anyway.  The salad consisted of: Fresh seasonal greens with squash, cucumbers, artichoke hearts and roasted tomatoes with pepper cream dressing. I could have added a Cajun-style roasted chicken breast, but I decided not to add it since I wanted to save room for the main course.

Since I was sitting in First Class, I had Video-On-Demand, so I started watching a movie that I've wanted to watch for a while, "The King's Speech". (Based on the true story of George VI and his friendship with a speech therapist who helps the stammering King find a voice.) Awesome job!

Next up on the menu was the main course. Dinner consisted of: Sauteed breast of Chicken featured with a ratatouille sauce, smashed potatoes with bacon and a medley of baby vegetables. Surprisingly, it was very good. I think I just about licked the plate when I was done. I can now understand why people want to pay Full Fare to sit up here due to the service. I just wish we would do the same on Domestic First Class Trans-Con flights. Something to differentiate from Business.

Of course following dinner, one has to partake in the dessert! Vanilla Ice Cream with Bailey's Irish cream. Simple and to the point, but good. I probably would have gone with just butterscotch, but since I don't get to drink on my flights that I work, I thought I should do it up....especially since I'm paying for this non-rev experience! (because I'm less than 25yrs with the company, I still have to pay taxes on the services in First Class, so this trip wasn't cheap!)



By this point, "The King's Speech" was over, so I wanted to watch another movie and selected "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1".(As Dark Forces threaten to tear them apart, Harry, Ron and Hermione set out to destroy the secret to Voldemort's immortality) I'm so behind in my movies, this flight really helped me get back on track!


It must have been during "Harry Potter" that I took a few cat naps that the one flight attendant said I took. I don't remember a lot of the movie, but it was still good. Once "Harry Potter" was over, then I watched "Inception"(In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job to date: Inception.) I tell ya, I think I have to watch it again because I lost a LOT of info because there was so much going on. It was interesting that someone can think of different levels of your dreams, and other people trying to attempt the data in your brain, through your dreams.

By this time, it was time for our descent into London's Heathrow Airport, so a Pre-Arrival Beverage of chilled sparkling water to freshen you up.  Since I was in First Class, I was able to deplane early, and get through customs quickly. The sad part was, they changed the pick-up point for friends/family traveling with crew-members. Fortunately the crew and van weren't waiting long when Jeremy found me, and we were on our way to The Forum for our layover. The sad part was, the other in-bound crews from Miami and Dallas passed us, so that meant that when we got to the hotel, we'd be behind them in getting rooms, and sure enough, we waited a little over an hour.

During this time, Jeremy asked me if I wanted to go right out and tour the city, or if I was tired and wanted to sleep. It truly didn't matter to me, so I left it up to him since he was working all night, and he chose to sleep. We set the alarm for 1pm, however we overslept and got up and showered in time to head out by 3pm.

It was a gorgeous day in London. Low 70s and sunny. We stopped by the concierge desk before leaving the hotel to see what theater shows were on performing that night. Jeremy had mentioned something about Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical, but I was a little tentative about seeing a bunch of drag queens prancing around on the stage. Either way, I left it up to him to decide later what we were going to do, so we ventured down to Gloucester Road Tube station and got on the tube to Westminster Tube station. Not going to London that often (my 3rd or 4th time) I didn't know where exactly we would come up until we got above ground. Yup, you guessed it, right next to the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben) and Westminster Abbey. Since we had such a late start, we got to Westminster just in time for the 5pm Evensong service.  I know if we had other friends with us, we'd probably not have gone, but we went in for about 20 minutes of the service and listened to the Westminster Abbey's Boys Choir sing. It was awesome.


Once we left the Abbey, we walked along Whitehall and passed the stables were the Royal Horses are housed. It was open, so we peeked in and saw where many military parades have gathered. (or at least via video) We kept walking along Whitehall and passed the National Portrait Gallery and stopped at a TKTS half-price ticket store to see how much tickets would be for Priscilla. Unfortunately, the guy said that all the tickets he had had already been taken back by The Palace theatre. We then walked to the box office to see what kind of deals they had, but all the tickets were pretty costly, or had obstructed views. The girl at the box office suggested that we try another TKTS location, so we go trotting off to another store, but they were closed. Jeremy wanted to buy some tickets at a discount place, but they were only $10 cheaper than at the box office, so I told him lets think about it.


Of course, Jeremy wasn't too happy, but he relented and back to the box office we went, and somehow, we got AWESOME tickets at a GREAT deal. It was almost a 2-4-1 type deal.

Before the show, we ran to grab a bit to eat at an Italian restaurant called "Amalfi". We shared a pizza, dessert, and a glass of wine. Ok, we didn't share the glass of wine, we each had our own, but it was great.  

The tickets the Jeremy got were 4th row, almost center. It was awesome! The show was non-stop fun. I have to laugh, having worked at The Ordway Center for Performing Arts before flying, I can understand how different company's are strict about taking pics or being on cell phones. The Staff at The Palace were on top of it! They were awesome. Anytime they saw anyone taking a pic or texting, they were right there to tell them "NO"! We had so much fun during the show, I really didn't believe I would enjoy it, but I would LOVE to go back and see it again! I heard the production that's on Broadway is a bit censored from that of the London production, which is sad because it goes to show that those in the U.S. just can't handle the language or half nudity...I mean, there was a kid sitting with his parents in front of us who loved the show, so why can't parents just allow their kids to see this in the U.S.?

After the show, we went to Rupert Street Bar in Soho, then to Comptons of Soho London. By this point, I was getting tired and a little lit, Jeremy wanted to go to G-A-Y bar for one more drink, but I said I was fine, so we hopped back on the tube and back to the hotel for an early morning.

I got up at 6am to put myself on the standby list, got back to the room and took a shower. By this time, it was time for Jeremy to get up and get ready. He wanted to stop by this great coffee shop that he frequents, however when we got there, they had closed. (presumably because of the Starbuck's that was right around the corner).

We all load up on the bus back to Heathrow, they drop me off at the front to go through the regular passenger line and security, where I had to relinquish the rest of my contact solution bottle, shampoo (yes I do use some) and after-shave lotion. Once I finally got to the gate, the crew was just coming up from their screening and I checked in at the gate and got my First Class seat.

I started watching my movies again. Started off  with a movie that we were playing on our Westbound Domestic flights, "The Company Men" (When corporate downsizing leaves Bobby and co-workers Phil and Gene unemployed, the men are forced to re-define their lives.) Next I went with a sci-fi: "I am Number Four" (This science fiction thriller follows an extraordinary teen who is a fugitive running from enemies sent to destroy him.) . It was interesting, I don't remember seeing advertisements for it, but the way they left it, there will be a second one coming out at some point.

Once again, time for meals to come out. I again had the Crudites and dip. I didn't care for the dip this time, as it was just a herb vinaigrette dressing, rather than an actual dip like we had leaving Chicago. Now comes the best part, the appetizer: Smoked salmon and tarragon shrimp accompanied by capers, red onion and sour Cream. Groom Lenswood Savignon Blanc. Again, I could just eat the smoked salmon since it is my favorite, but I chose not to since I didn't want to become a pain for the crew.

The Main Course had the same options as going to London, so I chose a different entree this time.  Grilled fillet of beef served with porcini mushroom butter and bordelaise sauce, diced yellow peppers, haricots verts, baby carrots and olive oil potatoes. I didn't care for the green beans that accompanied the vegetables, however the beef fillet just melted in my mouth. It was delicious. I probably could have eaten another one it was so good. We don't get anything like this on Domestic, so I savored ever last bite (except for the beans).

I guess you can consider me a simpleton. I again chose the Vanilla Ice Cream, but this time with Kahlua! I actually liked it better than with Bailey's. By the end of dinner, the movie was over, so I selected "Little Fokkers" (It's taken ten years, two kids with his wife, Pam, and countless hurdles for Greg to get "in" with his father-in-law, Jack) There were some funny parts, some dull parts, but over-all I liked it.

Just about 2hrs prior to landing, it was time for the 'Light Meal' to come around. I didn't eat breakfast on the way to London, however I wanted to eat something more, so I got the Grilled Chicken Breast offered with tabbouleh kebab salad, tzatziki with pita bread, kalamata olives and feta cheese. This was recommended by Jeremy, so I had to try it. He said that the pizza was never any good (too gooey) I was pleasantly surprised at how good the stuffed peppers were. I was enjoying my bottled water I didn't realize that a drink appeared on my tray, so Jeremy asked me to take a sip. I about killed over. I don't think there was any Coca-Cola with the double Jack Daniels he put in the glass! LOL Alas, it was good. By this time, it was time for my last movie: "Gulliver's Travels" (Jonathan Swift's iconic literary satire gets a larger-than-life, 21st century revamp)

I once again had an awesome trip to London. I really can't wait until I get over to the International side. Hopefully this summer I'll have my chances, but until then, I'll continue to do my Trans-cons!