Wings WINGS Wings!!

Well, I did it. I got my wings. Can't fly without them. 

I have to admit I almost cried when we had our mini graduation ceremony. It was tough --but we did it-- and the feeling of accomplishment and relief was palpable. 

Then they shuffled us all off to the airport in our squeaky new uniforms and we all went home. Almost anti-climactic. 

Here are some random photos:

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MKE Graduates!!

LOOK! I'm getting my wings!

My room-mate, McGuirk.

She's pretty cute.

Day 19: The last night

So this is the last night I will spend in Indiana for this FA training. Phew. All I have to do is pass the final written test and I will get my wings. I have studied for a while but have to get up at 6 am (or 5:45 by my room-mate's alarm) so I'm going to call it a day. Everything is packed except my toiletries. My uniform is laying out, pressed. A final hush falls over the crowd . . .

Day Off

Didn't do much today. We did move hotel rooms twice since our air conditioner was getting the floor pretty wet in our first room. Then they booked us in the wrong room. So now we are in a third. It's cleaner than our first but they all look the same. Now I am a bit disoriented when I go out in the hall, as to what direction the elevator is. heh.

Anyways, that's the excitement of today - so good-night!

A couple of days ago at the fire dept.:

My friend, MKE, shows us how to put on a PBE (Portable Breathing Equipment).

 

Day Almost Done: But not Quite

Today I got checked off on CPR/AED and had a first aid written test. I passed both.

Then we had people come in and talk to us about payroll and attendance and customer service. The customer service lady read a bunch of letters to us from actual customers. Pretty funny. I don't know if she has a good job or a terrible job.

People are crazy (or maybe I am) and hilarious!

Wow, being a flight attendant sounds like a lot of work - not only keeping all the plates spinning but being super customer serving.  But if you travel with me I'll try to make your trip pleasant.

I'll also try to come up with something more interesting to write about. I have to say that I am really beat and will be glad for the constant high stress to be over with. . . supposing it does get over with.

sigh

It's my Birthday.

I'm so tired I want to punch myself in the face.

Evacuate! Evacuate!

More exciting for me than for you . . .

Day 11: Flight Attendants Prepare Doors for Departure and Cross Check

We watch a lot of plane crash videos in class. Terrifying. Sickening. Educational. 

From now on YOU must keep your seatbelt fastened when in your seat, COUNT the seats to your nearest exit or the front exit, and don't take your carry-ons with you if you do have to evacuate. They're not kidding when they say, "Every second counts." The life you save might be the 50 passengers behind you. (OH, and DO NOT inflate your life vest until you LEAVE the aircraft. I won't tell you what convinced me of this one.)

On the happy side: your chances of being on a flight where at least one accident related fatality occurs is about 1 in 8.45 million. Still the safest way to travel.

Now I have to go practice opening the doors so that I can save your life in an emergency. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now closing the door."

Day 9 or 10: I don't know for sure

Starting to learn where everything is in the plane and what everything is called. Did you know that on the Embraer 170/175 pilots have ropes hanging over their seats in case they need to emergency evac out the front windows? So manly. The rest of us take inflatable slides.

Oh, and if an evac slide is accidentally deployed it costs the company $57,000 and somebody's job.

So tired and so overloaded with all I have to memorize.

Prayers appreciated.

Thanks.

Day 8: Crickets

View from Window.

You know what crickets sound like. You can hear them sometimes on a summer night when there are no other sounds.

Today was great. I passed another written test. I also passed some hands on stuff with emergency equipment. It was kind of fun. I got to test a Portable Oxygen Bottle among other gear.

3 more people were kicked off the plane. 2 failed tests. 1 chose to leave. As soon as somebody is going to leave they are completely separated from the pack and we never see or hear of them again.

Starting to pick characters for my reality show. Rich material.

Attached please find photos of hotel environs.

Luv, me.

BTW

I want more comments. Come on people, I'm funny.

Day 7 and Some Good News

For a while now (like a few years) I have been worried about my memory. Granted it was all started by a book I read about Alzheimer's and memory loss and how the only marker that Alzheimer's is onset is that one sometimes forgets things but is otherwise fine. But I have good news. I have a better memory than I thought. I am keeping up with the class of over 50 students and maybe even slightly above average - and I'm older than a bunch of them.

There is so much to memorize and absorb that I fear at any moment the memory card is going to get full and that will be it. I will end up with half my wings. sigh. You can't fly with one wing.

The days are a blur of furious note taking and following all the restrictions and then going back to the hotel to memorize all the notes and prepare to do it all over again the next day.

So far 3 people have left ground school: one person got below a 70% on the first written test and was sent home. The next person was more than 5 minutes late to class one morning because she got lost. The third left today. She was an EMT from Philly who was bright and led a lot of the study groups. Last night she didn't sleep AT ALL and had to stand up in the back of class to stay awake. When she found out that we were staying late in class to go over emergency equipment she told the instructor that she couldn't physically stay awake that long. He then said she could leave the program - which she decided to do. She was immediately put up in a different hotel and booked a flight home tomorrow.

I have to remember all this for when i write the script to my reality show on ground school.

Day 4 and the Uncelebration of the Independence of America

I have a lot of studying to do. Instead I hung out at the hotel bar and ate a burger with other people who were trying to drink a bit before it turned 9pm. (company policy is that a crew member has to stop drinking at least 12 hours before scheduled duty and we have class at 9 am). I did not drink because I was planning on studying and am tired enough to feel tipsy already. Then I made a phone call, took a shower and am now dinking around on my hackintosh.

But I will study after this.

Today we learned all about the FAA rules for special assist passengers (handicapped, kids, elderly) and Flight Attendant Standards and Requirements and carry ons. Who knew there was so much to learn?

Where are canes and crutches stowed? Why is there a carry-on limit? What is the chain of command on a flight? What 6 items must a FA have or they're not allowed to fly? Now multiply these questions by 200 and then memorize them. It's strangely fascinating.

Today a friend asked me if ground school would be a good reality show. There is NO doubt it would. No doubt at all. I'm already dreaming up drama that has to happen before this is over.

There were just fireworks going off about a mile away. I could see them just barely top the trees behind the hotel. Today I celebrate the loss of all holidays for the next few years - if I actually end up as a FA. But happy day for the rest of you free and brave. Eat a hot dog for me.

Day 3

Well, I passed my 2nd test with a 97%. It was a little tricky. Guess it gets harder from here out. One person in the class (out of 50 something students) got below a 70% and was sent home. Anything below a 90% is a retake and you can only retake 2 out of the 9 tests.

On a good and delirious note: We went to a hangar and "toured"a plane. Did you know there is a trap door to the cargo hold so that you can throw people down? Ok, that's a lie. But it was still cool. We weren't allowed to take photos.

Now It is almost 2am. and we have classes tomorrow so good night.

Days 1 and 2

I didn't want to post without a photo. I'd rather post a photo without a word. But I may not have the time or wherewithal to take a photo for a while.

So, I'll just write a thousand words instead. OK not really.

First of all. It is the end of the second day and I am fried. We have a huge test to take tomorrow and I think that I know the material pretty well. There are so many details to know. This test is going to cover: all the city airport codes we were suppose to memorize, military time, basic aircraft familiarization, the flight attendant manual, and a whole bunch of terminology and company policies. And this is only day 2!

Training is held in a non-descript office building that rises out of the flat grassy Indiana landscape. It is overly air-conditioned and mostly windowless. We haven't left the building before 8:30 pm yet. Yesterday was mostly administrative (benefits, HR, uniform order, fingerprints, drug test) today we got a basic lesson on how airplanes fly and their basic parts (I found interesting).

We are staying in a great hotel. It's new and pretty hip and clean. The staff is nice. We are, however, pretty far from any sort of store and only surrounded by fast food restaurants and other hotels. We also have a nice exercise room (I've used 2x's) and a tiny pool.

Tomorrow, after a full day of classes, my group is going to train on an actual plane. I might get back from there at 1 or 2 in the morning. Ahhhhhh. Wednesdays will be our only day off.

I'm leaving out a lot of details but I am really tired. My room-mate (Jen from one of the Carolinas) is laid back and nice and studying as I type. It's after midnight. I am going to take a shower and climb into bed. The beds are very comfortable. I brought my own pillow. It seemed a fussy thing to do but every time I climb in bed and put my head down I crack a smile. It feels like I won.

I must

remember to take out my nose ring. must remember to take out my nose ring. must remember to . . .