I got a line!
After only two and a half months of agonizing reserve, i have a set schedule for July. Its the shittiest line ever but its a line just the same. No more having to call crew scheduling every day after five o'clock to find out what i'm doing the next day...i know now already every flight i'm taking and when. I have every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off so if anybody ever wants to do anything, those are the only days that month i'm availible.
What's good about my line though is that its an Embraer line (meaning i only fly on that one plane). The last sequence i had was on a CRJ. I hate that aircraft. I've only worked on it three sequences and every time something bad has happened- the first time i had the jerk pilot who yelled at me, the second time we had an emergency landing, and this time...i had both. The captain was such an asshole! I can't even really describe it, it just made working even more horrible. And to make matters worse, i ended up being with him longer than scheduled because going from chicago to little rock, we got deverted to wichita. I could go into more detail but i won't, just know it was a trip from hell.
I'm much better now. I'm in Richmond, VA and the crew actually seems nice (the FO is a little too nice.) Its so not fair. I work with young, cute first officers all the time and they don't usually flirt with me. Now i'm working with this old, ugly guy and he's all over me....it sucks.
I'm doing my best to muddle through this job. I even found one part i like- the saftey demonstration. I've seemed to find a way to ensue applause (and being the totally narcasstic, self centered person that i am, that is just the greatest thing ever). All i'm doing really is mouthing the words to the CD while i demonstrate how to fasten seatbelts, etc but the audience (damn i mean, passengers) actually pay attention (as opposed to how they normally zone out as soon as that monotone voice comes over the PA). I'm actually not supposed to be doing what i'm doing. Even though i am getting them to listen, its still not something a flight attendant at a "conservative airline" should be doing. The co-flight attendant i had the other day on the CRJ actually ratted me out to the asshole captain who proceeded to chew me out about it. All that means is that i won't do it anymore on the CRJ (when there's another FA). I mean even if there was some kind of inspector or whatever on board, what are they going to do, fire me for lip syncing?? I don't care if they do...i'm getting applause!
Anyway...i tried the new coke recently- C2. It tastes like they took half a can of coke and half a can of diet coke and mixed it together. That said, its not that bad. I'm sure it won't last though. Oh well...c'est la vie.

A Maiden Voyage!
So i have just finished a very brutal sequence and could not be happier that it is over. I had a six day block and took 29 flights in that time period (seven of them were in one day!) I've also managed to sprain my foot. And in true Taryn style, i don't even know what i did. All i know is the top of my right foot hurts really bad when i stand on it and i now walk with a slight limp (its worse in the heels i wear for work.) I finally broght myself to go to the doctor about it today (something i had been putting off since i don't have insurance- i missed the cut off date to sign up for it through the airlines) and after running an x ray and stuff all the guy could tell me was "take some Aleve and put ice on it." I guess i'll learn to live with the pain.
On the plus side, one of the flights i took this week was on a brand new plane. They had ferried in the aircraft from the manufacturors and i got to work the very first flight on it. It smelled like a shoe store...it was cool.
I also overnighted two nights in a row in the same place. Harrisburg, PA where they give you a Hershey bar when you check in (its like twenty minutes from Hershey Park.)
I flew home last night (only to have to go back to Chicago first thing in the morning tomorrow) but i went to see my kid sister's show she was doing. "Meet Me in St Louis"....it is the dumbest show ever- not quite as bad as "Bye Bye Birdie" but worse than "Oklahoma". My friends Becca and Tommy came with me and Becca and I used to do shows at the place where this play was being performed. It was so weird being there. The lady who directed it had acted in the last show i did there and she was real nice to me and all when i went up to her but part of me doubts if she even remembered me. I knew a couple of people in the cast and i feel so old seeing them all grown up (its been since high school that i've done any of the shows there.)
Anyway, enough about community theatre. I am going to Broadway! I've decided to go to New York in a week and a half. Not to like move there or anything (i wish i could) but to visit for three days. I have this whole list of things i want to do...i hope i can fit them in. I just think its the best way i can think of to spend my 23rd birthday. This trip is certainly the light at the end of this very dimly lited airline tunnel.
And hey, THEY SAY THE NEON LIGHTS ARE BRIGHT ON BROADWAY
THEY SAY THERE'S ALWAYS MAGIC IN THE AIR
BUT WHEN YOU'RE WALKIN' DOWN THE STREET
AND YOU AIN'T HAD ENOUGH TO EAT
THE GLITTER RUBS RIGHT OFF AND YOU'RE NOWHERE

THEY SAY THE WOMEN TREAT YOU FINE ON BROADWAY
BUT LOOKIN' AT THEM JUST GIVES ME THE BLUES
'CAUSE HOW YA GONNA MAKE SOME TIME
WHEN ALL YOU GOT IS ONE THIN DIME
AND ONE THIN DIME WON'T EVEN SHINE YOUR SHOES

THEY SAY THAT I WON'T LAST TOO LONG ON BROADWAY
I'LL CATCH A GREY HOUND BUS FOR HOME THEY ALL SAY
BUT THEY'RE DEAD WRONG I KNOW THEY ARE
'CAUSE I CAN PLAY THIS HERE GUITAR
AND I WON'T QUIT TILL I'M A STAR ON BROADWAY

Taryn's Summer Reading List:
I've been reading alot of ChickLit lately. It all started with "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Nanny Diaries"- both of which are really good.
I've progressed to Jane Green novels now- "Jemima J", >"Bookends", and "Mr Maybe". They're all really good but the plots are all kinda the same (much like my beloved Nicholas Sparks.)
I've yet to read her "Straight Talking" book or whatever her very newest one is.
Other mindless ChickLit that i plan to read include:
"The Wedding" and "Two Weeks With My Brother" by Nicholas Sparks (the only two books by him that i haven't read yet)
"The Right Address" by Carne Karasyvov and Jill Kargman
"Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho
"Bridget Jones' Diary" (i haven't read the ultimate chicklit book yet)
"Confessions of a Shopaholic" (another classic girl book)
"Lily" by Cynthia Bonner (a romance novel that's out of print but i ordered off Amazon because a friend from high school recomended it)
"Coffee, Tea, or Me?" by Trudy Baker and Rachel Jones (its written by a flight attendant)
There are other novels I intend to read though that aren't "chicklit":
"Live Bait" and "Monkey Wrench" by PJ Tracy (they're mysteries)
"This is Your Life" by John O'Farrell
The Di Vinci Code" (everybody on my plane reads that book!)
"Catch 22" by Joseph Heller (its just one of those books that a person should read)
"The Movie goer" by Walker Percy
"Timeline" by Michael Crighton
"Wicked" and "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" by Gregory Maguire
Currently i'm reading "One More Time". Its Carol Burnette's autobiography. Its really good- much better than Alison Sweeny's autobiography (from Days of Our Lives) which i read before this.
Let me know if anyone has any other suggestions.
The Tony's were on last night. Best new musical went to "Avenue Q". Has anyone heard of that? Its like "Rent" meets Seseme Street. It looks really crazy.
I also saw the new Harry Potter. It was good. Not better than the first two but i definatly thought it was just as good (despite the new director). I also saw Shrek 2 and thought that sequel was equal to the original. Movie tickets in Chicago are $9...that is so crazy!
Anyway...not a whole lot else going on. I'm in Columbus right now. Staying at the Signature Inn- its pretty nice. Guess i'll go to bed...

So since i left Orlando nothing too terribly exciting has occured. I got a missed assignment the night i left Florida. That's the one bad thing about flying standby, if the flight is oversold we get bumped. When that happened i missed work that night though. I'm not real sure what that means for me. Since i'm on probation (the first six months you always are) I'm not allowed to call in. They haven't fired me or anything though so i guess it just goes on my "permenant record" or something (which if its anything like high school when they threaten you with stuff like that, then i'm sure it'll be ok.)
The next five days after that though i was on Ready Reserve- which means i sit at the airport ready to go at a moment's notice if they should call me. The first night back to work they didn't call at all (which sucks because not only did you get all dressed in that stupid outfit but you have to take all your stuff because you never know for how long you'll be gone if they do call.) The next night (and i was lucky because all the shifts were the late shifts: 7pm til whenever the last flight goes out, unless they call you out obviously, and the last flight usually goes out by 9:30) they used me for an overnight to like Cleveland or somewhere. The next night i had gone up there for nothing because since i had just gotten back that morning i wasn't 'legal' for a trip (something they informed me of two hours after i'd signed in!) The next night they gave me a CDO (continuous duty overnight) to Albany. Here's the thing, typically you have to have 8 hours between flights on an overnight (not necessarily 8 hours sleep but 8 hours from when a flight blocks in in the evening til when the next flight in the morning blocks out) but not on CDOs. We had like 5 hours (we got in at 1 am and had to leave at 6am) so i just stayed up all night at the hotel (which they do provide for you anyway.) With that though i was able to have the rest of the day off when i got back, then the following day would have been day #7 for me on duty which by contract we can't do so i got an extra day off before my two scheduled days off (today and tomorrow.) I flew home Monday night and yesterday went to Baton Rouge to visit friends. Tonite i took my sister to see Shrek 2. I need to watch flying all around like i do. Even though its only like $30 or so, if i do that four times a month, that adds up (plus the risk of getting stuck) but i can't stay in Chicago on my days off. I don't ever see any of my airline friends except in passing at the airport and so i justify my gallivanting off as necessary to my own sanity. I'm pretty independant and would like to think adequatly self sufficiant, but i also enjoy human contact. And at the risk of getting unecessarily sentimental, life's too short to not spend it with the people you like.