Snow on Christmas in New Orleans. Saints still have a shot at the playoffs. Taryn good at an office job. Either there are some serious miracles happening or a sign of the coming apocolypse.
So...i have no money, i just got some crappy headshots taken and my car has started to act retarded. Other than that though, things are good. My apartment has been more like a bed and breakfast lately- there are just always people here! And i've been acting manager all week at work while my manager was on vacation. Its hard when people call up yelling at you and stuff but besides that i've got it down. I just don't want to get pulled into the trap of working all the time. I was supposed to be off tomorrow but i got sucked into going for a couple of hours. Alot of the managers work from home sometimes and if i were to get promoted i wouldn't want to feel obligated to do that.
But anyway, tomorrow is New Year's Eve...guess i'll have to work on a good resolution...
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Survivor- the office Outback....
lately its been so crazy at work, people are getting fired left and right. I'm starting to wonder who will be next to get kicked off the island. It won't be me, i'm actually fairly good at what i do believe it or not. I almost in a way wish it would be though. Its starting to get really boring. The only interesting thing that has happened lately is that one of my clients was Joe Horn. I had to call him to set an appointment for a tech to come out and fix his computer. He called me 'baby' -it was funny, all my friends laughed at me. I dunno, its better than alot of office jobs could be i guess, but its still getting to the point to where i wish there were something else.
In terms of 'something else', Becca and i moved into our apartment the other day. We've now slept there the last three nights and have had several visitors so far. Everyone seems to like it- i feel like a proud parent!
Anyway, i had to reinstall the operating system on my computer- that sucked because it wiped out my hard drive but at least it pretty much works now.
Not that we have internet at our apartment yet, we don't have cable or a phone line either but soon we should. Ah...such a nice word- soon.
lately its been so crazy at work, people are getting fired left and right. I'm starting to wonder who will be next to get kicked off the island. It won't be me, i'm actually fairly good at what i do believe it or not. I almost in a way wish it would be though. Its starting to get really boring. The only interesting thing that has happened lately is that one of my clients was Joe Horn. I had to call him to set an appointment for a tech to come out and fix his computer. He called me 'baby' -it was funny, all my friends laughed at me. I dunno, its better than alot of office jobs could be i guess, but its still getting to the point to where i wish there were something else.
In terms of 'something else', Becca and i moved into our apartment the other day. We've now slept there the last three nights and have had several visitors so far. Everyone seems to like it- i feel like a proud parent!
Anyway, i had to reinstall the operating system on my computer- that sucked because it wiped out my hard drive but at least it pretty much works now.
Not that we have internet at our apartment yet, we don't have cable or a phone line either but soon we should. Ah...such a nice word- soon.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Moving on up...
so i found an apartment! the plan originally was to get my own apartment in the city but i've now ended up with a roomate in the suburbs. Its kinda expensive, not that big, and like five minutes from my parents' house but otherwise it is perfect!
We're going tonite to sign the lease and we could move in on the 15th (that's next week!)
I know i've had apartments before so this isn't that big of a deal but for some reason i'm just really excited about it.
So much is happening all at once though.
As much as i hate to admit it, i'm actually pretty good at what i do at work. There's like nine of us in my department and everyone is pretty cool so i'm happy for that.
Its good that i have a job because so much money stuff is being thrown at me. I had to get all new tires for my car, i have to get new headshots taken for my auditions next spring, plus with all the moving stuff...its crazy!
The guy who is doing my headshots is this guy that my future roomate Rebecca met. He's a photographer/artist and last weekend i went with him to gallery openings downtown. I've come to the conclusion that of all the museums i've been to (and i've been not only to many around N.O. but also the Met in N.Y. and the Louvre in Paris) that my favorite, is the childeren's museum. I'm just not a cultural type person- a conclusion i came to long ago but still try to go against for some reason. Maybe i'm just too dense to appreciate art. Oh well...i don't care.
I can appreciate alot of other things.... i saw a really great production of "Cymbeline" recently. I went to a concert for Mark Broussard, who is absolutly amazing. I went to the last two Saints games and came to really appreciate the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers (God knows you can't appreciate the Saints)...
You go through periods of time in which nothing productive is happening. This is not one of those times. I really feel like i'm doing things. Nothing of great importance to anyone else but at least i feel like my time is being occupied well and sometimes something as simple as that, can make one feel very good.
so i found an apartment! the plan originally was to get my own apartment in the city but i've now ended up with a roomate in the suburbs. Its kinda expensive, not that big, and like five minutes from my parents' house but otherwise it is perfect!
We're going tonite to sign the lease and we could move in on the 15th (that's next week!)
I know i've had apartments before so this isn't that big of a deal but for some reason i'm just really excited about it.
So much is happening all at once though.
As much as i hate to admit it, i'm actually pretty good at what i do at work. There's like nine of us in my department and everyone is pretty cool so i'm happy for that.
Its good that i have a job because so much money stuff is being thrown at me. I had to get all new tires for my car, i have to get new headshots taken for my auditions next spring, plus with all the moving stuff...its crazy!
The guy who is doing my headshots is this guy that my future roomate Rebecca met. He's a photographer/artist and last weekend i went with him to gallery openings downtown. I've come to the conclusion that of all the museums i've been to (and i've been not only to many around N.O. but also the Met in N.Y. and the Louvre in Paris) that my favorite, is the childeren's museum. I'm just not a cultural type person- a conclusion i came to long ago but still try to go against for some reason. Maybe i'm just too dense to appreciate art. Oh well...i don't care.
I can appreciate alot of other things.... i saw a really great production of "Cymbeline" recently. I went to a concert for Mark Broussard, who is absolutly amazing. I went to the last two Saints games and came to really appreciate the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers (God knows you can't appreciate the Saints)...
You go through periods of time in which nothing productive is happening. This is not one of those times. I really feel like i'm doing things. Nothing of great importance to anyone else but at least i feel like my time is being occupied well and sometimes something as simple as that, can make one feel very good.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
She works hard for the money, so hard for it honey...
So one full week of working 9-5 (well 9-6 technically) down and I'm still alive to tell the tale. Maybe I'm being dramatic, I mean millions of people work jobs like that for their whole lives and have absolutely no problems with it. Its not that I think I'm too good for an office job or something, I just feel like its a waste. The job itself isn't too bad. The people are nice and I've caught on pretty quickly to the work- which consists of setting appointments between customers who have purchased extended warranties for their computers and are having hardware trouble and the technicians in their area who will fix them. Its a little more complicated than that, making sure the parts have been ordered and going to the right places and stuff but that's just about the jest of it. Its hard to see progress though because there are always open cases. When I worked for dominos, someone would order a pizza and I could physically see that person's order being placed, pie being baked, and food being delivered- end of story, that's progress. And at the end of the night, everyone who wanted pizza had gotten it. With this job, as soon as one case opens, more are being sent in. Every night I go home and there are still 60 or so cases in my direct attention who need help (and since I STILL don't have internet access on my computer at home, i really sympathize.)
But anyway, at least i have time for a "real life". I went to Natchitoches last weekend (it seems like i go alot, but its always only for like two days at a time.) And this weekend is St Rita Fair! St Rita is where i went to grammar school (in Harahan) and last year was the first time i'd been in like five years at least (Mickey and i went because we were in New Orleans for something for Circle K that weekend i think.) And then i'm going to Baton Rouge tomorrow to go see "Rent" with Becca and Candace and some people. I really like being spontaneous and easy going but its also nice to be able to make plans and for the first time in a long time, i get to do that. Plus its just comforting knowing what city you're going to sleep in in any given night...
So one full week of working 9-5 (well 9-6 technically) down and I'm still alive to tell the tale. Maybe I'm being dramatic, I mean millions of people work jobs like that for their whole lives and have absolutely no problems with it. Its not that I think I'm too good for an office job or something, I just feel like its a waste. The job itself isn't too bad. The people are nice and I've caught on pretty quickly to the work- which consists of setting appointments between customers who have purchased extended warranties for their computers and are having hardware trouble and the technicians in their area who will fix them. Its a little more complicated than that, making sure the parts have been ordered and going to the right places and stuff but that's just about the jest of it. Its hard to see progress though because there are always open cases. When I worked for dominos, someone would order a pizza and I could physically see that person's order being placed, pie being baked, and food being delivered- end of story, that's progress. And at the end of the night, everyone who wanted pizza had gotten it. With this job, as soon as one case opens, more are being sent in. Every night I go home and there are still 60 or so cases in my direct attention who need help (and since I STILL don't have internet access on my computer at home, i really sympathize.)
But anyway, at least i have time for a "real life". I went to Natchitoches last weekend (it seems like i go alot, but its always only for like two days at a time.) And this weekend is St Rita Fair! St Rita is where i went to grammar school (in Harahan) and last year was the first time i'd been in like five years at least (Mickey and i went because we were in New Orleans for something for Circle K that weekend i think.) And then i'm going to Baton Rouge tomorrow to go see "Rent" with Becca and Candace and some people. I really like being spontaneous and easy going but its also nice to be able to make plans and for the first time in a long time, i get to do that. Plus its just comforting knowing what city you're going to sleep in in any given night...
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Office Space.
So i sold out...i took an office job. My friend Kim (the girl whose wedding i'm in next spring) her mom and fiancee work at this IT company near my parents' house. I'm going to be working there now starting tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly what the job consists of, all i know is there is a computer, a phone, and a cubicle...ug, i think i'm going to die. I've never really had a 9 to 5 type job before. In fact, its been a while since i've had a job where i'd drive to work and just stay there for hours on end (delivering pizza for a year, i'd drive around all the time and then with the whole flight attendant deal, i'd fly around) so this should be interesting for me.
Its sort of ironic that this company does work with getting customers fixed up with technicians to work on their computers since mine at the moment is out of commission. I decided to switch from AOL to Earthlink and when i did my internet explorer apparently went out because now whenever i connect to the internet it says, 'cannot find server. page cannot be displayed'. It sucks, i have spent countless hours on the phone with Earthlink, Microsoft, and Dell- all to no avail so now i'm stuck borrowing other people's computers from time to time because i refuse to do a system reinstall and wipe out my hard drive like they suggested.
Otherwise things have been good these last two weeks. Not having a job was nice- i was home everyday for "The Young and the Restless" but then after a while that fact begins to become a bit depressing, hence the getting a new job thing. Its cool though because i got to do a lot of visiting with friends and stuff these last couple of weeks that i hadn't gotten to do for a while. Its funny, during the month and a half that i lived with my parents between graduation and leaving for flight training i used to go to the Quiznos in Harahan a lot. There was this guy named Keith who worked there and he and i used to trade stories about customers wherever i'd see him (him about customeres he had there and me about Dominos ones). When i told him about my flight attendant job his reaction was very different from anyone else's. Most people i told seemed so happy for me, they thought it sounded like a really great opportunity. I'll never forget what Keith said, "It seems like such a lonely life". Its amazing how profound the words of a lone sandwich maker could be. I don't like to use the word lonley because it seems so pathetic but what i do know is that its really nice to be back in the company of people i know. Why have substitute friends when you can have the real thing?
Anyway, i'm now in a position to be part of a routine. hmm, i guess i'll have to see how that will go...
So i sold out...i took an office job. My friend Kim (the girl whose wedding i'm in next spring) her mom and fiancee work at this IT company near my parents' house. I'm going to be working there now starting tomorrow. I'm not sure exactly what the job consists of, all i know is there is a computer, a phone, and a cubicle...ug, i think i'm going to die. I've never really had a 9 to 5 type job before. In fact, its been a while since i've had a job where i'd drive to work and just stay there for hours on end (delivering pizza for a year, i'd drive around all the time and then with the whole flight attendant deal, i'd fly around) so this should be interesting for me.
Its sort of ironic that this company does work with getting customers fixed up with technicians to work on their computers since mine at the moment is out of commission. I decided to switch from AOL to Earthlink and when i did my internet explorer apparently went out because now whenever i connect to the internet it says, 'cannot find server. page cannot be displayed'. It sucks, i have spent countless hours on the phone with Earthlink, Microsoft, and Dell- all to no avail so now i'm stuck borrowing other people's computers from time to time because i refuse to do a system reinstall and wipe out my hard drive like they suggested.
Otherwise things have been good these last two weeks. Not having a job was nice- i was home everyday for "The Young and the Restless" but then after a while that fact begins to become a bit depressing, hence the getting a new job thing. Its cool though because i got to do a lot of visiting with friends and stuff these last couple of weeks that i hadn't gotten to do for a while. Its funny, during the month and a half that i lived with my parents between graduation and leaving for flight training i used to go to the Quiznos in Harahan a lot. There was this guy named Keith who worked there and he and i used to trade stories about customers wherever i'd see him (him about customeres he had there and me about Dominos ones). When i told him about my flight attendant job his reaction was very different from anyone else's. Most people i told seemed so happy for me, they thought it sounded like a really great opportunity. I'll never forget what Keith said, "It seems like such a lonely life". Its amazing how profound the words of a lone sandwich maker could be. I don't like to use the word lonley because it seems so pathetic but what i do know is that its really nice to be back in the company of people i know. Why have substitute friends when you can have the real thing?
Anyway, i'm now in a position to be part of a routine. hmm, i guess i'll have to see how that will go...
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
What goes up, must come down.
There are two types of flight attendants- those who ARE flight attendants and those who WORK AS flight attendants. I was the latter. That doesn't mean that i was any worse at my job than those who WERE IT (i was pretty good actually if i do say so myself) or even that i didn't enjoy what i did (there were aspects that i really did like)- it just means that i was employed in a profession that was holding me back rather than pushing me forward. It was a love it or hate it kind of job i always said and i always thought that i hated it. I'm not sure that that was the case though now in retrospect. For some reason things always seem not as bad when you're remembering them later on. Part of me is going to really miss it- walking through the airport for the last time was definatly bittersweet. But, life goes on and so will i (man, i love cheesy sayings!)
Everyone keeps asking me now though, "what are you going to do now?" I hate that question! I got it alot right before i graduated college (people tend to worry about you when you don't major in anything useful) but i figured something out (granted it didn't pan out obviously but it was something, and i definatly don't regret it by any means.) Only now i'm in that position again and unfortunatly, "ablility to serve coffee in turbulence" isn't a marketable skill. I will figure SOMETHING out though....i always do.
There are two types of flight attendants- those who ARE flight attendants and those who WORK AS flight attendants. I was the latter. That doesn't mean that i was any worse at my job than those who WERE IT (i was pretty good actually if i do say so myself) or even that i didn't enjoy what i did (there were aspects that i really did like)- it just means that i was employed in a profession that was holding me back rather than pushing me forward. It was a love it or hate it kind of job i always said and i always thought that i hated it. I'm not sure that that was the case though now in retrospect. For some reason things always seem not as bad when you're remembering them later on. Part of me is going to really miss it- walking through the airport for the last time was definatly bittersweet. But, life goes on and so will i (man, i love cheesy sayings!)
Everyone keeps asking me now though, "what are you going to do now?" I hate that question! I got it alot right before i graduated college (people tend to worry about you when you don't major in anything useful) but i figured something out (granted it didn't pan out obviously but it was something, and i definatly don't regret it by any means.) Only now i'm in that position again and unfortunatly, "ablility to serve coffee in turbulence" isn't a marketable skill. I will figure SOMETHING out though....i always do.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Krakosia!
Life always seems to have a way of catching up to you. My set up of living in an apartment rent free seemed too good to be true- that's because it was. I ran into the landlady (an Austrian or Hungarian or something lady) who said she'd send her uncle up to talk to me (he was the guy who actually runs the place). I felt like Jodie Foster in "Panic Room" (except that technically I was the intruder.) I couldn't breathe as i heard the knock on the door and then the key in the lock. I sat as still and quiet as i could inside the room, hoping that he'd just go away and then what felt like forever, he finally did- for some reason he couldn't get the lock open! I was lucky, too lucky, and i'm not a usually lucky person. The next day i left and i left the keys there too. Only now i'm like Tom Hanks in "the Terminal", living at the airport. The advantage i have over his character though is that i have access to a crew lounge. There's a TV and a bunch of recliners and stuff so its not that bad. Another advantage is that you make friends that way, unfortunatly some seem to think that you are a prostitute...
On any given night four or five people generally sleep there (FAs and pilots). Sat night i stayed up watching SNL with this captain named Dan. He was real nice and like me, on reserve without a crashpad. This guy was getting flown even less than me, though because Sun night i got an overnight and he didn't. Well Mon night i was back and he was still there. He said he was going to go get a hotel room that night though and he asked me if i wanted to come with. I am so damn naieve! I was fully prepared to pay half for our room that i specifically requested have two double beds but he said don't worry about it..hmm. Well everything was fine- we were watching TV from our respective beds when he makes some lame reference to being cold and comes and climbs in my bed! It wouldn't have been so bad just cuddling or whatever but this guy is 43! My dad is only like 46, that is so gross! Plus i have a hangup about age anyway. I mean why is it that men tend to go for younger women anyway? I get aggravated with my guy friends who are 22 and 23 who go after 18 year olds, what would possess this man to try and hook up with a girl 20 years younger? Dan got what was coming to him, though. We didn't go to sleep until like 2:30, at 4:30 crew scheduling finally called him and gave him a trip. He payed all this money for a hotel room he got to sleep in for two hours and not even get any action! Hmm...i guess i'm not a very good prostitute.
I do need to find a new job, though. I have six more days of being an air waitress! I think i'll miss some of the people i work with, things about Chicago, most of what goes into the actual flying part of my job. I'll be so happy to be through with this rediculous schedule though and the BS i have to deal with thanks to my screw-you company.
Hmm...i can feel a chapter coming to an end...
Life always seems to have a way of catching up to you. My set up of living in an apartment rent free seemed too good to be true- that's because it was. I ran into the landlady (an Austrian or Hungarian or something lady) who said she'd send her uncle up to talk to me (he was the guy who actually runs the place). I felt like Jodie Foster in "Panic Room" (except that technically I was the intruder.) I couldn't breathe as i heard the knock on the door and then the key in the lock. I sat as still and quiet as i could inside the room, hoping that he'd just go away and then what felt like forever, he finally did- for some reason he couldn't get the lock open! I was lucky, too lucky, and i'm not a usually lucky person. The next day i left and i left the keys there too. Only now i'm like Tom Hanks in "the Terminal", living at the airport. The advantage i have over his character though is that i have access to a crew lounge. There's a TV and a bunch of recliners and stuff so its not that bad. Another advantage is that you make friends that way, unfortunatly some seem to think that you are a prostitute...
On any given night four or five people generally sleep there (FAs and pilots). Sat night i stayed up watching SNL with this captain named Dan. He was real nice and like me, on reserve without a crashpad. This guy was getting flown even less than me, though because Sun night i got an overnight and he didn't. Well Mon night i was back and he was still there. He said he was going to go get a hotel room that night though and he asked me if i wanted to come with. I am so damn naieve! I was fully prepared to pay half for our room that i specifically requested have two double beds but he said don't worry about it..hmm. Well everything was fine- we were watching TV from our respective beds when he makes some lame reference to being cold and comes and climbs in my bed! It wouldn't have been so bad just cuddling or whatever but this guy is 43! My dad is only like 46, that is so gross! Plus i have a hangup about age anyway. I mean why is it that men tend to go for younger women anyway? I get aggravated with my guy friends who are 22 and 23 who go after 18 year olds, what would possess this man to try and hook up with a girl 20 years younger? Dan got what was coming to him, though. We didn't go to sleep until like 2:30, at 4:30 crew scheduling finally called him and gave him a trip. He payed all this money for a hotel room he got to sleep in for two hours and not even get any action! Hmm...i guess i'm not a very good prostitute.
I do need to find a new job, though. I have six more days of being an air waitress! I think i'll miss some of the people i work with, things about Chicago, most of what goes into the actual flying part of my job. I'll be so happy to be through with this rediculous schedule though and the BS i have to deal with thanks to my screw-you company.
Hmm...i can feel a chapter coming to an end...
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
T.V.'s Guide
So there are lots of shows on TV obviously but here are my recomendations for this season:
LAX- probably only because its set in a busy airport and so i can relate, but there's always something exciting about airline drama.
Desperate Housewives- another guilty pleasure of a drama but anything that mixes "Melrose Place" with "The Stepford Wives" has to be good right?
Clubhouse- its got the kid that was in "Peter Pan" and a girl from "Days of our Lives" plus Dean Cain and Christopher Llyod. Its just such a fun show!
other shows i like aren't new this season but they still come on!
Scrubs- it actually comes on during Clubhouse (Tuesday nights) so that's disappointing but its definatly the smartest written comedy on TV in my opinion.
Less Than Perfect- its one of those cheesy TGIF comedies but the lead character reminds me of myself so i like it.
The Family Guy- another very well written comedy. Apparently its been on for a few seasons now but i just discovered it recently and i am hooked- i've never been one very into anamated adult shows but i love this one!
Joan of Arcadia- its kind of in the Clubhouse vein, the type of show 'the whole family can watch together' but i like it anyway...
The Surreal Life- okay so this one is hardly quality television. Its a reality show where they take a bunch of washed up celebrities and put them in a house together. The current season has "Joey" from "Full House", Flavor Flav, Jordan Knight from "New Kids on the Block", Chario, and some other people...its so stupid but its funny.
Anyway, that's what i'm watching these days. My summer reading list, incidently, has been lessened conciderably but i didn't finish it. I read alot of the chick lit because it was such easy reading- the Bridget Jones' Diary books were good, as well as the Jane Green stuff, and now i'm into the Confessions of a Shopaholic series. Its all British drivel that's kinda the same plot- young single career driven woman seeks comfort in circle of friends as she seeks to find mr right (whom she'll inevitably find by the end of the book.)
I did read things of substance though that i'd definatly recomend. "Catch 22" took forever to read but it was worth it. And "Wicked" was much more profound than i had expected from it and at the same time fun to read.
As you can see, i have been having alot of free time on my hands (my jobs involves alot of hurrying up and then waiting) but i like escapist stuff like tv and novels anyway- even when i am busy i try to make time occasionally.
But anyway...
So there are lots of shows on TV obviously but here are my recomendations for this season:
LAX- probably only because its set in a busy airport and so i can relate, but there's always something exciting about airline drama.
Desperate Housewives- another guilty pleasure of a drama but anything that mixes "Melrose Place" with "The Stepford Wives" has to be good right?
Clubhouse- its got the kid that was in "Peter Pan" and a girl from "Days of our Lives" plus Dean Cain and Christopher Llyod. Its just such a fun show!
other shows i like aren't new this season but they still come on!
Scrubs- it actually comes on during Clubhouse (Tuesday nights) so that's disappointing but its definatly the smartest written comedy on TV in my opinion.
Less Than Perfect- its one of those cheesy TGIF comedies but the lead character reminds me of myself so i like it.
The Family Guy- another very well written comedy. Apparently its been on for a few seasons now but i just discovered it recently and i am hooked- i've never been one very into anamated adult shows but i love this one!
Joan of Arcadia- its kind of in the Clubhouse vein, the type of show 'the whole family can watch together' but i like it anyway...
The Surreal Life- okay so this one is hardly quality television. Its a reality show where they take a bunch of washed up celebrities and put them in a house together. The current season has "Joey" from "Full House", Flavor Flav, Jordan Knight from "New Kids on the Block", Chario, and some other people...its so stupid but its funny.
Anyway, that's what i'm watching these days. My summer reading list, incidently, has been lessened conciderably but i didn't finish it. I read alot of the chick lit because it was such easy reading- the Bridget Jones' Diary books were good, as well as the Jane Green stuff, and now i'm into the Confessions of a Shopaholic series. Its all British drivel that's kinda the same plot- young single career driven woman seeks comfort in circle of friends as she seeks to find mr right (whom she'll inevitably find by the end of the book.)
I did read things of substance though that i'd definatly recomend. "Catch 22" took forever to read but it was worth it. And "Wicked" was much more profound than i had expected from it and at the same time fun to read.
As you can see, i have been having alot of free time on my hands (my jobs involves alot of hurrying up and then waiting) but i like escapist stuff like tv and novels anyway- even when i am busy i try to make time occasionally.
But anyway...
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
The last two weeks have felt like two years!
So the past fourteen days have gone as follows: 6 days work, 4 days in Paris, 4 days work.
Now i'm off today and tomorrow then back to it.
They gave me reserve (AGAIN) for October. I'm quitting at the end of Oct- i can't put myself through this anymore.
On the plus side, i did get to go to Europe last week. For the most part, Paris was really amazing. I left last Monday and arrived at De Gaulle (huge ass airport incidently) Tuesday morning. I somehow found this shuttle bus that takes you to the Champs Elyssee and i walked over the the Arc de Triomphe. Its centerd in the middle of a killer traffic circle (think National Lampoon's European Vacation) and you have to go underground to get into the Arc. To get to the top of the Arc you have to climb 284 stairs up this very windy spiral staircase (i didn't count- there was a sign). You have to be freaking Rocky Balboa to see the view up there. Its worth it though. It is absolutly breathtaking- you can see the entire city practically. After the Arc if found my way to the icon to end all icons- the Eiffel Tower. For an overexposed falic symbol, it has a definate majestic quality to it. Its like an eclipse or something, once its in sight you just can't take your eyes off it (luckily unlike an eclipse, it doesn't hurt your eyes.) I spent the rest of Tuesday just walking around aimlessly admiring the sights. I was exhausted though. I had woken up in Syracuse Monday morn at like 4 am and worked five flights then rushed around for a couple of hours before the flight and couldn't do anything more than rest my eyes on the eight hour flight there so come Tues evening (Paris time, which is seven hours later than Chicago time) i had been up for like two days and needed to sleep. I found this little hotel not terribly far from the Tower for like 77 Euros (1 euro is approx $1.30) andjust crashed. Wednesday i took the Metro for the first time. I think its funny how when i first got to Chicago i thought that was complicated. New York is much worse and Paris is even worse then that (if not for any other reason though that everything is in French.) Miraculously though i made it to the Louvre. The structure of the place is incredible but i wasn't too impressed with the art. I'm not an art person. I realized this a few months ago when i went to an art gallery in New Orleans but the Louvre, its just one of those awe inspiring places you're supposed to go to so i went. I saw the Mona Lisa- she looks exactly the same as in any reproduction of it you've ever seen. I did get some great pictures of stuff though. After the museum (before it got too late) i ventured out for a place that i was going to stay for the night. I had heard about youth hostiles but didn't know much about them. They're really good deals though. They're geared for people 18-25 but some don't have age limits. The one i found was within walking distance of the Louvre and as i found out later, many other things. It was 25 euros a night and i met alot of people. Its basically like a big dorm and the room i was in had four bunk beds. The girl in the bed above me was from Argentina, the girl across the room was from the Netherlands and then there was another girl from Seattle. They all turned out to be really cool.
Also on Wednesday i did Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame. Notre Dame's staircase has over 400 stairs. It is like the world's worst place to be drunk. All i kept thinking the whole way up was this one night my friend Candace and i were drunk at Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans and were trying to go upstairs to the bathroom and how it took us like ten minutes to go up twenty stairs. The view up there is even better than at the Arc though. It was so cool just seeing all the gargoyles and stuff too. Paris is the kind of city that you can just sit around basking in the ambiance for a while and so after my hike that's exactly what i did- sit on a bench eating crepes enjoying the weather. Well there was this guy standing several feet away who caught my eye. Next thing i knew he came over and we got to talking. His english was a little better than my french and so we were able to communicate a little. We ended up taking a walk which was really nice. Its such a romantic city that the fantasy of strolling along hand in hand with a cute stranger overshadowed any sense of reality that might pop into my head. I don't know if all French guys are this forward or if it was just this one particular guy but not ten minutes after we met, he was holding my hand and trying to kiss me and stuff. I guess he either thought American tourists are really easy or just plain stupid. In my case i think its the second option. Normally i wouldn't just make out with some dude i'd known for all of ten seconds but i got to thinking, when would i have the chance to French kiss a French guy in France? So i did and it was...horrible! I'm thinking this must be the exception and not the rule because these people invented the kiss for goodness sake! Figures i'd meet the one man in all of Paris who sucks at kissing.
Thursday i went to see Musee d'Orsay. Its slightly more modern than the Louvre- more impressionistic type stuff. Problem is there's some kind of temporary exhibit going on in Japan right now so alot of the good stuff is on loaner there. I went back to the hostile early that afternoon to find that my cell phone had been stolen out of my backpack! I was so pissed, at that moment all i wanted was to get out of that stupid country. But i put on my mp3 player (which they did not steal incidently for some reason) and out of 550 songs, the song that came up was "oh blah dee oh blah dah, life goes on" and so i marched out there and walked around aimlessless some more, soaking in Paris. That night my roomates came back and invited me to dinner. There was a guy and two girls from Seattle (which i totally want to go to now) and a girl from Argentina and me that all went. We had a ball. We went to this French restaurant ( i ordered Les Poisson because curtosy of "the Little Mermaid" i knew what that meant.) It was really nice to have people to hang out with. Not that i mind venturing off alone- its sort of liberating, but when you can be with others that's cool too. And it was nice to be able to speak English as well. Its amazing how your own language sticks out. You'll be in a crowded room of people dribbling on in French and somewhere across the room will be the soft murmur of the english language and you'll pick it up like radar. You come to really appreciate your own language.
Friday morning two of the Seattle people went with me to find the train that takes you to the airport. We ended up in this underground subdivision. There was a movie theatre, swimming pool, mall, train station...it was insane! I don't know if insane would be the word to describe Paris in general but it was really something. Coke is like four euros, wine is only like three; traffic seems to be completely sparatic- some roads don't have lines dividing lanes and even the ones that do are very narrow; most public toliets don't have seats on them, you just squat over a porcelien hole; McDonalds has Croque McMos (which are Croque Monsieurs- grilled ham and cheese sandwiches....although, in Maine when i was there, they have lobster rolls); people smoke everywhere it seems; and waitors don't have to be nice to you because their tip is already included.
As many places i've seen....nice place to visit, but i wouldn't want to live there.
So the past fourteen days have gone as follows: 6 days work, 4 days in Paris, 4 days work.
Now i'm off today and tomorrow then back to it.
They gave me reserve (AGAIN) for October. I'm quitting at the end of Oct- i can't put myself through this anymore.
On the plus side, i did get to go to Europe last week. For the most part, Paris was really amazing. I left last Monday and arrived at De Gaulle (huge ass airport incidently) Tuesday morning. I somehow found this shuttle bus that takes you to the Champs Elyssee and i walked over the the Arc de Triomphe. Its centerd in the middle of a killer traffic circle (think National Lampoon's European Vacation) and you have to go underground to get into the Arc. To get to the top of the Arc you have to climb 284 stairs up this very windy spiral staircase (i didn't count- there was a sign). You have to be freaking Rocky Balboa to see the view up there. Its worth it though. It is absolutly breathtaking- you can see the entire city practically. After the Arc if found my way to the icon to end all icons- the Eiffel Tower. For an overexposed falic symbol, it has a definate majestic quality to it. Its like an eclipse or something, once its in sight you just can't take your eyes off it (luckily unlike an eclipse, it doesn't hurt your eyes.) I spent the rest of Tuesday just walking around aimlessly admiring the sights. I was exhausted though. I had woken up in Syracuse Monday morn at like 4 am and worked five flights then rushed around for a couple of hours before the flight and couldn't do anything more than rest my eyes on the eight hour flight there so come Tues evening (Paris time, which is seven hours later than Chicago time) i had been up for like two days and needed to sleep. I found this little hotel not terribly far from the Tower for like 77 Euros (1 euro is approx $1.30) andjust crashed. Wednesday i took the Metro for the first time. I think its funny how when i first got to Chicago i thought that was complicated. New York is much worse and Paris is even worse then that (if not for any other reason though that everything is in French.) Miraculously though i made it to the Louvre. The structure of the place is incredible but i wasn't too impressed with the art. I'm not an art person. I realized this a few months ago when i went to an art gallery in New Orleans but the Louvre, its just one of those awe inspiring places you're supposed to go to so i went. I saw the Mona Lisa- she looks exactly the same as in any reproduction of it you've ever seen. I did get some great pictures of stuff though. After the museum (before it got too late) i ventured out for a place that i was going to stay for the night. I had heard about youth hostiles but didn't know much about them. They're really good deals though. They're geared for people 18-25 but some don't have age limits. The one i found was within walking distance of the Louvre and as i found out later, many other things. It was 25 euros a night and i met alot of people. Its basically like a big dorm and the room i was in had four bunk beds. The girl in the bed above me was from Argentina, the girl across the room was from the Netherlands and then there was another girl from Seattle. They all turned out to be really cool.
Also on Wednesday i did Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame. Notre Dame's staircase has over 400 stairs. It is like the world's worst place to be drunk. All i kept thinking the whole way up was this one night my friend Candace and i were drunk at Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans and were trying to go upstairs to the bathroom and how it took us like ten minutes to go up twenty stairs. The view up there is even better than at the Arc though. It was so cool just seeing all the gargoyles and stuff too. Paris is the kind of city that you can just sit around basking in the ambiance for a while and so after my hike that's exactly what i did- sit on a bench eating crepes enjoying the weather. Well there was this guy standing several feet away who caught my eye. Next thing i knew he came over and we got to talking. His english was a little better than my french and so we were able to communicate a little. We ended up taking a walk which was really nice. Its such a romantic city that the fantasy of strolling along hand in hand with a cute stranger overshadowed any sense of reality that might pop into my head. I don't know if all French guys are this forward or if it was just this one particular guy but not ten minutes after we met, he was holding my hand and trying to kiss me and stuff. I guess he either thought American tourists are really easy or just plain stupid. In my case i think its the second option. Normally i wouldn't just make out with some dude i'd known for all of ten seconds but i got to thinking, when would i have the chance to French kiss a French guy in France? So i did and it was...horrible! I'm thinking this must be the exception and not the rule because these people invented the kiss for goodness sake! Figures i'd meet the one man in all of Paris who sucks at kissing.
Thursday i went to see Musee d'Orsay. Its slightly more modern than the Louvre- more impressionistic type stuff. Problem is there's some kind of temporary exhibit going on in Japan right now so alot of the good stuff is on loaner there. I went back to the hostile early that afternoon to find that my cell phone had been stolen out of my backpack! I was so pissed, at that moment all i wanted was to get out of that stupid country. But i put on my mp3 player (which they did not steal incidently for some reason) and out of 550 songs, the song that came up was "oh blah dee oh blah dah, life goes on" and so i marched out there and walked around aimlessless some more, soaking in Paris. That night my roomates came back and invited me to dinner. There was a guy and two girls from Seattle (which i totally want to go to now) and a girl from Argentina and me that all went. We had a ball. We went to this French restaurant ( i ordered Les Poisson because curtosy of "the Little Mermaid" i knew what that meant.) It was really nice to have people to hang out with. Not that i mind venturing off alone- its sort of liberating, but when you can be with others that's cool too. And it was nice to be able to speak English as well. Its amazing how your own language sticks out. You'll be in a crowded room of people dribbling on in French and somewhere across the room will be the soft murmur of the english language and you'll pick it up like radar. You come to really appreciate your own language.
Friday morning two of the Seattle people went with me to find the train that takes you to the airport. We ended up in this underground subdivision. There was a movie theatre, swimming pool, mall, train station...it was insane! I don't know if insane would be the word to describe Paris in general but it was really something. Coke is like four euros, wine is only like three; traffic seems to be completely sparatic- some roads don't have lines dividing lanes and even the ones that do are very narrow; most public toliets don't have seats on them, you just squat over a porcelien hole; McDonalds has Croque McMos (which are Croque Monsieurs- grilled ham and cheese sandwiches....although, in Maine when i was there, they have lobster rolls); people smoke everywhere it seems; and waitors don't have to be nice to you because their tip is already included.
As many places i've seen....nice place to visit, but i wouldn't want to live there.
Monday, September 06, 2004
C2...a gateway drug??
So I think that that low carb drink, C2 is like the marijuana of soft drinks. Perfectly adjusted coke drinkers will start on C2 and next thing you know....wham, diet coke all the way. Its very sad really...
Anyway, i got to try on my bridesmaid dress already...and in typical wedding fashion, its pink. Why is it that brides will insist upon dressing up supposedly their best friends, in outfits that invevitably make them look like the Pepto Fairy??
Ug, so my parents are stuck in Atlanta right now. They've recently discovered (unfortunately for them, two months before i'm quitting) that they can fly for dirt cheap. I have an aunt out in Atlanta and after having to buy a ticket for my sister (she had never flown before) they headed out there Sat morning. They got there ok but thing about flying standby is that you can get bumped. Labor Day is a pretty busy travel day so they couldn't get from Atlanta to Dallas (which is where they had to go through to get back to New Orleans) so they flew to St Louis. Well one of them could get on but the other couldn't. So right now my mom and sister (who had a paid ticket) are flying from St Louis to N.O. My dad though is possibly flying up to Chicago to fly back down to New Orleans. Its so retarded. But American Airlines ( i don't know about other airlines) only goes from base to outstation. St Louis, Dallas, Chicago, etc are bases so you have to go through one of those places to get any place else. Well at least now my dad can say he went to Chicago (even if it is over a week late and its not for a football game.)
I, personally, am so tired of Chicago. O'Hare is really boring first of all. Its the third largest airport in the country but the way its set up, it doesn't feel like. The United terminal is kinda cool, but the American terminal sucks. The airport that's cool is Pittsburgh. This last sequence i was on was a four day trip and then a two day trip. I had overnighted in Pittsburgh (it looks like a mall, there's just all kinds of stores and escalators and stuff...) and you have to take a train to get from the ticket counter to the terminal area (like in Orlando.) The next night i was in Nashville. That was cool though because the FO had a friend with a car who lived there so they three of us went driving around downtown. We got to see the Parthenon (Nashville has the only replica of the Parthenon- it was interesting) and then we went to Opryland. I'm not into country music or anything but its a nice area. There's a big mall and stuff. There's a store called Past and Presents that i've never seen in Louisiana but they have some other places. That is my favorite store. Its got all kinds of vintage movie/tv memorabilia. There's all kinds of other stores too that have all these decorations i want. I have to keep reminding myself that i don't live anywhere and therefore can't decorate anything. Well i can decorate my suitcase, but stickers and ribbons only go so far.
Actually i kind of have my own apartment now. I am a horrible person. I am a trespasser. We had to move out of the orphanage and i couldn't find a new crashpad so...Llyod (my friend from training who i lived with in May and June) quit (he moved back to Hawaii) and i still have a key to his place so i've been kind of living there the last few days. I really like it. Only problems are a)he doesn't know i'm there (which aside from being incredibly disrepsectful also might be considered breaking and entering) and b) i don't think he paid his rent for september much less utility bills so i'm thinking any day now the power will be shut off and the locks changed. I would pay the rent myself but its $900 and i don't have that kind of money. I need to try to just keep getting layovers. The only other two i had this week were Louisville and Cleveland and they were both boring. One of the captains that i flew with was from New Orleans though and went to my high school (well i went to his high school- he graduated in 1975). It was funny though because we had the same drivers ed teacher. Kinda scary to know that Mr Handly has been at De La Salle that long.
Saturday was what's called a "seven day conflict" for me. I had been scheduled too many days on in a row so i had to have that day off. I was gonna go see a show downtown but i had lost my wallet (i've since found it) so ended up hanging out at "my" imaginary apartment watching "the surreal life". That, incidently, is my new favorite show (well besides "Scrubs"...oh, and the "king of queens" for some reason.) "The surreal life" is absolutely retarded. Even among reality shows, its bad but that's why i like it, its meant to be stupid. It comes on VH1 and there are three different seasons apparently. They put six or seven random washed up celebrities in a house and they "live". The one i was watching was Ron Jeremy, Tammy Faye Baker, Vanilla Ice, this chick from one of the "Real World"s, a Baywatch girl, and Eric Estrada from Chips. It is phenomenal (in a horrible, stupid way.)
Yesterday i had ready reserve at the airport. My shift was from 5:30 am til 1:30 pm. They didn't even use me though so i sat around the crew room all day (til almost 3:30 actually because i just flew home afterwards.) Its a very interesting dynamic that occurs in the crew rooms at the airport. There's this episode of "Friends" where Joey goes to work with Ross and sees in the break room that the doctors and the tour guides, etc don't associate together. That's kind of how it is with us. Pilots and Flight Attendants are kind of separate but then gate agents are in a separate room, and rampers/caterer/etc are in completely different areas downstairs. Its not a hiarchy exactly but it is very segregated. Maybe someday a Martin Luther King type will come in and change all that..."I have a dream, that pilots will sit down with mechanics in a lunch room and peace will be in the world..."
So, now i'm back home again. I've been going out what seems like a lot anyway, lately. Last weekend i drove up to Baton Rouge with a few friends of mine to meet up with a couple other people. It would have been fine except a)we were supposed to be going to see the Molly Ringwalds but we couldn't get tickets and b)i made the infamous mistake of trying to mix friends. I actually have this really great group of friends that i've known for practically my entire life (including the girl who's wedding i'm going to be in.) Every time i've tried to introduce some of those friends to people i know from college and post college, it always turns badly. That's exactly what happened with Kristin. Kristin is my oldest friend in the world (she's the one i go see Tom Cruise movies with). Unfortunately our love for tom cruise movies is one of the few things we really have in common. I convinced her to go to BR and she was miserable the whole time so we ended up driving back like an hour or two after we got there. I was pissed. Last night was much better. I woke up at 4 am yesterday morning (to sit reserve for 5:30) but after being up all day went down to the Quarter with Mickey and his friend Daniel (who i'm friends with too.) It was Southern Decadence weekend though (something that i don't know how it could have escaped my mind)- for anyone reading this who isn't from new orelans and/or isn't homosexual, Decadence is a big gay pride festival held on Bourbon Street. It was kinda crazy down there but we went down anyway. It turned out pretty cool (i'm usually against Bourbon anyway though just because its so touristy and just smells like beer and pee all the time). We went to Pat O'Briens and drank hurricanes. Boy did we drink hurricanes. And dance...ah, did i dance...and sing. There's a piano bar in there and my friend Daniel and i hung out in there most of the night dancing and singing and drinking. I went to bed at like 5am (having then been up for 25 hours which doesn't sound like that big a deal but...i was exhausted.) Then i couldn't even sleep in this morning because my parents kept calling from Atlanta telling me they were getting bumped off the flights- what did they expect me to do about it??
Whatever, its all good....i tried teaching my sister how to drive recently. She's 14 and there's no way my parents are ever going to teach her so we took a cruise around a parking lot. Next lesson- using the gas pedal.
And, last but not least.....I am going to Paris next week!! I've got this stupid passport i had to get but i've yet to be able to use it- here is my chance. Laissez les bonne temps roulez!
So I think that that low carb drink, C2 is like the marijuana of soft drinks. Perfectly adjusted coke drinkers will start on C2 and next thing you know....wham, diet coke all the way. Its very sad really...
Anyway, i got to try on my bridesmaid dress already...and in typical wedding fashion, its pink. Why is it that brides will insist upon dressing up supposedly their best friends, in outfits that invevitably make them look like the Pepto Fairy??
Ug, so my parents are stuck in Atlanta right now. They've recently discovered (unfortunately for them, two months before i'm quitting) that they can fly for dirt cheap. I have an aunt out in Atlanta and after having to buy a ticket for my sister (she had never flown before) they headed out there Sat morning. They got there ok but thing about flying standby is that you can get bumped. Labor Day is a pretty busy travel day so they couldn't get from Atlanta to Dallas (which is where they had to go through to get back to New Orleans) so they flew to St Louis. Well one of them could get on but the other couldn't. So right now my mom and sister (who had a paid ticket) are flying from St Louis to N.O. My dad though is possibly flying up to Chicago to fly back down to New Orleans. Its so retarded. But American Airlines ( i don't know about other airlines) only goes from base to outstation. St Louis, Dallas, Chicago, etc are bases so you have to go through one of those places to get any place else. Well at least now my dad can say he went to Chicago (even if it is over a week late and its not for a football game.)
I, personally, am so tired of Chicago. O'Hare is really boring first of all. Its the third largest airport in the country but the way its set up, it doesn't feel like. The United terminal is kinda cool, but the American terminal sucks. The airport that's cool is Pittsburgh. This last sequence i was on was a four day trip and then a two day trip. I had overnighted in Pittsburgh (it looks like a mall, there's just all kinds of stores and escalators and stuff...) and you have to take a train to get from the ticket counter to the terminal area (like in Orlando.) The next night i was in Nashville. That was cool though because the FO had a friend with a car who lived there so they three of us went driving around downtown. We got to see the Parthenon (Nashville has the only replica of the Parthenon- it was interesting) and then we went to Opryland. I'm not into country music or anything but its a nice area. There's a big mall and stuff. There's a store called Past and Presents that i've never seen in Louisiana but they have some other places. That is my favorite store. Its got all kinds of vintage movie/tv memorabilia. There's all kinds of other stores too that have all these decorations i want. I have to keep reminding myself that i don't live anywhere and therefore can't decorate anything. Well i can decorate my suitcase, but stickers and ribbons only go so far.
Actually i kind of have my own apartment now. I am a horrible person. I am a trespasser. We had to move out of the orphanage and i couldn't find a new crashpad so...Llyod (my friend from training who i lived with in May and June) quit (he moved back to Hawaii) and i still have a key to his place so i've been kind of living there the last few days. I really like it. Only problems are a)he doesn't know i'm there (which aside from being incredibly disrepsectful also might be considered breaking and entering) and b) i don't think he paid his rent for september much less utility bills so i'm thinking any day now the power will be shut off and the locks changed. I would pay the rent myself but its $900 and i don't have that kind of money. I need to try to just keep getting layovers. The only other two i had this week were Louisville and Cleveland and they were both boring. One of the captains that i flew with was from New Orleans though and went to my high school (well i went to his high school- he graduated in 1975). It was funny though because we had the same drivers ed teacher. Kinda scary to know that Mr Handly has been at De La Salle that long.
Saturday was what's called a "seven day conflict" for me. I had been scheduled too many days on in a row so i had to have that day off. I was gonna go see a show downtown but i had lost my wallet (i've since found it) so ended up hanging out at "my" imaginary apartment watching "the surreal life". That, incidently, is my new favorite show (well besides "Scrubs"...oh, and the "king of queens" for some reason.) "The surreal life" is absolutely retarded. Even among reality shows, its bad but that's why i like it, its meant to be stupid. It comes on VH1 and there are three different seasons apparently. They put six or seven random washed up celebrities in a house and they "live". The one i was watching was Ron Jeremy, Tammy Faye Baker, Vanilla Ice, this chick from one of the "Real World"s, a Baywatch girl, and Eric Estrada from Chips. It is phenomenal (in a horrible, stupid way.)
Yesterday i had ready reserve at the airport. My shift was from 5:30 am til 1:30 pm. They didn't even use me though so i sat around the crew room all day (til almost 3:30 actually because i just flew home afterwards.) Its a very interesting dynamic that occurs in the crew rooms at the airport. There's this episode of "Friends" where Joey goes to work with Ross and sees in the break room that the doctors and the tour guides, etc don't associate together. That's kind of how it is with us. Pilots and Flight Attendants are kind of separate but then gate agents are in a separate room, and rampers/caterer/etc are in completely different areas downstairs. Its not a hiarchy exactly but it is very segregated. Maybe someday a Martin Luther King type will come in and change all that..."I have a dream, that pilots will sit down with mechanics in a lunch room and peace will be in the world..."
So, now i'm back home again. I've been going out what seems like a lot anyway, lately. Last weekend i drove up to Baton Rouge with a few friends of mine to meet up with a couple other people. It would have been fine except a)we were supposed to be going to see the Molly Ringwalds but we couldn't get tickets and b)i made the infamous mistake of trying to mix friends. I actually have this really great group of friends that i've known for practically my entire life (including the girl who's wedding i'm going to be in.) Every time i've tried to introduce some of those friends to people i know from college and post college, it always turns badly. That's exactly what happened with Kristin. Kristin is my oldest friend in the world (she's the one i go see Tom Cruise movies with). Unfortunately our love for tom cruise movies is one of the few things we really have in common. I convinced her to go to BR and she was miserable the whole time so we ended up driving back like an hour or two after we got there. I was pissed. Last night was much better. I woke up at 4 am yesterday morning (to sit reserve for 5:30) but after being up all day went down to the Quarter with Mickey and his friend Daniel (who i'm friends with too.) It was Southern Decadence weekend though (something that i don't know how it could have escaped my mind)- for anyone reading this who isn't from new orelans and/or isn't homosexual, Decadence is a big gay pride festival held on Bourbon Street. It was kinda crazy down there but we went down anyway. It turned out pretty cool (i'm usually against Bourbon anyway though just because its so touristy and just smells like beer and pee all the time). We went to Pat O'Briens and drank hurricanes. Boy did we drink hurricanes. And dance...ah, did i dance...and sing. There's a piano bar in there and my friend Daniel and i hung out in there most of the night dancing and singing and drinking. I went to bed at like 5am (having then been up for 25 hours which doesn't sound like that big a deal but...i was exhausted.) Then i couldn't even sleep in this morning because my parents kept calling from Atlanta telling me they were getting bumped off the flights- what did they expect me to do about it??
Whatever, its all good....i tried teaching my sister how to drive recently. She's 14 and there's no way my parents are ever going to teach her so we took a cruise around a parking lot. Next lesson- using the gas pedal.
And, last but not least.....I am going to Paris next week!! I've got this stupid passport i had to get but i've yet to be able to use it- here is my chance. Laissez les bonne temps roulez!
Friday, August 27, 2004
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride...
So there's this family that lives across the street from my parent's house. A mom, dad, and their two kids. The boy is my age and the girl is three years younger. I have known these people practically my whole life and when we were all growing up, i was almost like a member of their family being always over there and stuff. A couple of years ago things changed though. This was a family with no real religion in their life and one day some people knocked on their door and offered them one. They are now full fledged Jehovah's Witnesses. At first we (me and a few of our other friends from the neighborhood) were very concerned that they were joining what seemed to be like some kind of cult. They stopped celebrating holidays, started having bible studies at their house once a week, and because the kids still lived under their roof (even though they were over age) had to have supervised visits with friends (particurily friends like me who were not in "the truth" as the call it.) None of the rest of my friends from the neighborhood even bother with them anymore but for some reason i was never able to cut them out of my life completely. In the last two years, i haven't been nearly as close with them as i had been in the past but at least we've stayed in touch. And they've calmed down some. Its not as new, so while they're still pretty strict about alot of things that i think are pretty dumb, they don't make as many idle attempts to convert me anymore at least. Well the girl, Kim, is this cute little blonde who found the transition into her new church much easier with the help of a cute boy named Ryan that she met. They were never allowed un-chaperoned dates or anything but somehow still managed to convince themselves they are now in love and want to be married. He proposed (and let me say, its a pretty damn nice rock) and they are getting married in April. The other day Kim asked me if i'd be her maid of honor. Part of it feels very natural. This is still the same girl who almost ten years ago now used to stuff her bra because me and some of the other girls we hung out with were older and started to develop and she felt left out. I helped her plan her sweet sixteen because four years ago, that's what she wanted more than anything (some big birthday blowout.) And now i'm going to be in her wedding. She's not the same girl though. I still think she's in a cult (sorry if any of you are Jehovah's Witnesses or know ones and are offended by it....but i'm sorry, its scary alot of it.) I'm going to be in the wedding though. They're getting married outside of the reception hall (if it were in church i wouldn't be allowed to.) And i haven't met any of the other bridesmaids because they're girls from church but hopefully they won't be freaks. I've never been a bridesmaid before though (i was a flower girl a few times- for an uncle and two cousins) but don't even know what i'm supposed to do. I mean what's expected of me? I guess i just sorta tag along.
Anyway....the last sequence i was on for work absoulutly sucked. I was on the CRJ (the plane i hate) and the other FA was way senior and thought he was perfect and could do no wrong. Plus the pilots sucked ...ug, just not a good situation. It was cool when i got home though. I had my four days off (which are going by very quickly might i add.) I went and saw the BEST movie yesterday- "Garden State". I don't think its playing at the big multi plexes (like the Palace or somewhere) but alot of the more artsy theatres have it. Zach Braff (from Scrubs) wrote, directed, and starred in it and it was phenomanal. Its been a while since i saw a movie i liked that much.
Only other thing really that i can think of is....i might have been discovered on a plane! Ok so i'm sure i'm exaggerating but last week i was flying to Albany and i was doing my safety demo (the thing with the seatbelts and oxygen masks) how i usually do it (lip syncing and whatever) and this guy sitting in the front row has on a shirt that says 'masque theatre' on it. We get to talking and he ends up giving me monologue suggestions for future auditions and his buisness card. He said to give him a call. I would have felt funny calling him up but i did check out the website for the theatre that was on the card. The theatre is nothing to be too excited about i don't think but i am going to send him a proper headshot and resume at least. So...i dunno.
And i think i'm gonna just stop believing in jinxing. I do believe in fate but i think everything is jinxed and if that's the case, then nothing is (if that makes sense.) Like my dad isn't going to Chicago with me today for the Saints/Bears game tonite but that's because he makes a bunch of excuses for things (not because we're cursed.)
So there's this family that lives across the street from my parent's house. A mom, dad, and their two kids. The boy is my age and the girl is three years younger. I have known these people practically my whole life and when we were all growing up, i was almost like a member of their family being always over there and stuff. A couple of years ago things changed though. This was a family with no real religion in their life and one day some people knocked on their door and offered them one. They are now full fledged Jehovah's Witnesses. At first we (me and a few of our other friends from the neighborhood) were very concerned that they were joining what seemed to be like some kind of cult. They stopped celebrating holidays, started having bible studies at their house once a week, and because the kids still lived under their roof (even though they were over age) had to have supervised visits with friends (particurily friends like me who were not in "the truth" as the call it.) None of the rest of my friends from the neighborhood even bother with them anymore but for some reason i was never able to cut them out of my life completely. In the last two years, i haven't been nearly as close with them as i had been in the past but at least we've stayed in touch. And they've calmed down some. Its not as new, so while they're still pretty strict about alot of things that i think are pretty dumb, they don't make as many idle attempts to convert me anymore at least. Well the girl, Kim, is this cute little blonde who found the transition into her new church much easier with the help of a cute boy named Ryan that she met. They were never allowed un-chaperoned dates or anything but somehow still managed to convince themselves they are now in love and want to be married. He proposed (and let me say, its a pretty damn nice rock) and they are getting married in April. The other day Kim asked me if i'd be her maid of honor. Part of it feels very natural. This is still the same girl who almost ten years ago now used to stuff her bra because me and some of the other girls we hung out with were older and started to develop and she felt left out. I helped her plan her sweet sixteen because four years ago, that's what she wanted more than anything (some big birthday blowout.) And now i'm going to be in her wedding. She's not the same girl though. I still think she's in a cult (sorry if any of you are Jehovah's Witnesses or know ones and are offended by it....but i'm sorry, its scary alot of it.) I'm going to be in the wedding though. They're getting married outside of the reception hall (if it were in church i wouldn't be allowed to.) And i haven't met any of the other bridesmaids because they're girls from church but hopefully they won't be freaks. I've never been a bridesmaid before though (i was a flower girl a few times- for an uncle and two cousins) but don't even know what i'm supposed to do. I mean what's expected of me? I guess i just sorta tag along.
Anyway....the last sequence i was on for work absoulutly sucked. I was on the CRJ (the plane i hate) and the other FA was way senior and thought he was perfect and could do no wrong. Plus the pilots sucked ...ug, just not a good situation. It was cool when i got home though. I had my four days off (which are going by very quickly might i add.) I went and saw the BEST movie yesterday- "Garden State". I don't think its playing at the big multi plexes (like the Palace or somewhere) but alot of the more artsy theatres have it. Zach Braff (from Scrubs) wrote, directed, and starred in it and it was phenomanal. Its been a while since i saw a movie i liked that much.
Only other thing really that i can think of is....i might have been discovered on a plane! Ok so i'm sure i'm exaggerating but last week i was flying to Albany and i was doing my safety demo (the thing with the seatbelts and oxygen masks) how i usually do it (lip syncing and whatever) and this guy sitting in the front row has on a shirt that says 'masque theatre' on it. We get to talking and he ends up giving me monologue suggestions for future auditions and his buisness card. He said to give him a call. I would have felt funny calling him up but i did check out the website for the theatre that was on the card. The theatre is nothing to be too excited about i don't think but i am going to send him a proper headshot and resume at least. So...i dunno.
And i think i'm gonna just stop believing in jinxing. I do believe in fate but i think everything is jinxed and if that's the case, then nothing is (if that makes sense.) Like my dad isn't going to Chicago with me today for the Saints/Bears game tonite but that's because he makes a bunch of excuses for things (not because we're cursed.)
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Screw Scheduling!
So it had been a while since i had had a four day sequence. I went back to work on Saturday and after doing a Buffalo turn, layed over in Indianapolis. The FO that i flew with was pretty cool and so we hung out and stuff. He left though after we got back to Chicago Sun morn and so the captain, a new first officer, and i went to Montreal. That was the closest i've ever been to leaving the country. We weren't allowed off the plane even though (because then we would have had to go through Customs.) I did get a chance to practice my French, though. I had taken French in high school and in college but didn't really learn that much. I couldn't figure out how to say cran apple juice in French so i just kept offering l'orange jus or la coca. Sunday night i changed crews again and went to Newburg-Stewart, NY with an eccentric captain (many of them are i'm finding) and this FO who looked exactly like Guy Peirce (from "Momento".) We didn't hang out at all though because we weren't there but like 9 hours or so. On Monday, i went with them back to Chicago and then on a turn (i don't even remember where now) and then...that's when i got pissed. The crew i was with was about to go on another overnight and for no apparent reason the jerks at crew scheduling pulled me off and re-assigned me to do a Springfield turn. By the time i got back, i couldn't go on an overnight so i got stuck going back to the orphanage. Then yesterday....they called me in for a Dubuque (Iowa) turn. Its only a 30 minute flight and i was scheduled to get back to Chicago at 6:00. There was a 6:25 flight to New Orleans (i was off today and tomorrow so i was gonna try and go home then) and i would have done it too...the captain i was with then was trying to commute somewhere too so we had this plan to get back early. Well we made it to Dubuque early but then we got a ground delay and couldn't leave. We sat on the runway for like an hour and a half. I only had 16 passengers. I was so pissed. I had gotten stuck at the orpahanage again. I ended up flying home first thing this morning. Several of my friends have quit recently (or are about to quit) but i am determined to stick it out two more months (i've made it this far.)
On the plus side...i got a parking permit for the New Orleans airport. I had been told that they weren't giving them to crew members anymore but when i went to the third floor today, i got issued one. See until now, either my dad would pick me up or i'd have to ask a friend or get a cab- now i can just leave my car in the parking lot when i'm gone. I just wish i would have seen about it myself sooner.
Also on a plus side kind of note for me, i talked to my friend Brian Sterling (from college) and he's going to a regional audition in February that i think i'm going to go with him to. Its called Midwest and its in Missouri i think. You audition for a bunch of different theatre companies in hopes of getting summer work. As much as i'm hating this living out of a suitcase thing, i wouldn't mind it if it was for like a touring group...so, we'll see...
So it had been a while since i had had a four day sequence. I went back to work on Saturday and after doing a Buffalo turn, layed over in Indianapolis. The FO that i flew with was pretty cool and so we hung out and stuff. He left though after we got back to Chicago Sun morn and so the captain, a new first officer, and i went to Montreal. That was the closest i've ever been to leaving the country. We weren't allowed off the plane even though (because then we would have had to go through Customs.) I did get a chance to practice my French, though. I had taken French in high school and in college but didn't really learn that much. I couldn't figure out how to say cran apple juice in French so i just kept offering l'orange jus or la coca. Sunday night i changed crews again and went to Newburg-Stewart, NY with an eccentric captain (many of them are i'm finding) and this FO who looked exactly like Guy Peirce (from "Momento".) We didn't hang out at all though because we weren't there but like 9 hours or so. On Monday, i went with them back to Chicago and then on a turn (i don't even remember where now) and then...that's when i got pissed. The crew i was with was about to go on another overnight and for no apparent reason the jerks at crew scheduling pulled me off and re-assigned me to do a Springfield turn. By the time i got back, i couldn't go on an overnight so i got stuck going back to the orphanage. Then yesterday....they called me in for a Dubuque (Iowa) turn. Its only a 30 minute flight and i was scheduled to get back to Chicago at 6:00. There was a 6:25 flight to New Orleans (i was off today and tomorrow so i was gonna try and go home then) and i would have done it too...the captain i was with then was trying to commute somewhere too so we had this plan to get back early. Well we made it to Dubuque early but then we got a ground delay and couldn't leave. We sat on the runway for like an hour and a half. I only had 16 passengers. I was so pissed. I had gotten stuck at the orpahanage again. I ended up flying home first thing this morning. Several of my friends have quit recently (or are about to quit) but i am determined to stick it out two more months (i've made it this far.)
On the plus side...i got a parking permit for the New Orleans airport. I had been told that they weren't giving them to crew members anymore but when i went to the third floor today, i got issued one. See until now, either my dad would pick me up or i'd have to ask a friend or get a cab- now i can just leave my car in the parking lot when i'm gone. I just wish i would have seen about it myself sooner.
Also on a plus side kind of note for me, i talked to my friend Brian Sterling (from college) and he's going to a regional audition in February that i think i'm going to go with him to. Its called Midwest and its in Missouri i think. You audition for a bunch of different theatre companies in hopes of getting summer work. As much as i'm hating this living out of a suitcase thing, i wouldn't mind it if it was for like a touring group...so, we'll see...
Friday, August 13, 2004
A Catch 22.
You can't get a job without experience. But you can't get experience without a job. So i finally heard back from that lady at ATL. She said she decided to go with someone with more professional theatre experience (a former intern at that particular theatre actually.) Its understandable and all but it still sucks.
Anyway i finally finished reading "Catch 22". I'm not nearly as far along as i should be on the summer reading list i made for myself. I just only seem to have spurts at a time to read and if i put a book down mid chapter i tend to lose my train of thought next time i pick it up. It was an interesting novel though. It was sort of slow moving and had way too many characters but the dialogue was amazing. I've rented the movie and watched half of it the other night (hmm, i should finish it...) Alan Alda plays the lead character and so far he's phenomanal. I think this book/movie should be turned into a musical. There are certain scenes that i remember reading that i imediatly envisioned characters breaking out into song. I would enjoy seeing a production if someone were to do that. The unrealistically ambitious part of me wanted to undertake that project myself. And i would...only i don't know the first thing about writing music and that seemed to be a problem.
In other news, i did finally go back to work. I figured after over a week i could no longer prolong the inevitable. I flew back up on Monday, sat ready reserve at the airport for a few hours (they didn't use me though so i just sat in the crew lounge and watched monday night football with a couple of pilots.) And then Tuesday night i flew a trip to Grand Rapides, MI. The guys i flew with were insane. Its hard to explain really, but it was like there was this huge inside joke that i wasn't on the inside of. They said they were just really tired and delerious. It never ceases to amaze me how these pilots can fly perfectly fine when they can't even form complete sentences. The overnight was really short but aside from the Wyndham in Harrisburg, PA, the Hilton in Grand Rapides has the best hotel beds ever! (just a little FYI in case anyone were to ever happen to find themselves in Michigan for some reason.)
I think i'm becoming a full fledged commuter this month. If you work for the airline you are either a resident in the city you are based or else you are a commuter. I'd say 70% of pilots/flight attendants don't actually live where they work. In previous months i hadn't been going home much but lately i've been flying home whenever i have a couple of days off.
I flew home on Wednesday and was very excited to have a package from Dell waiting for me.
I had been wanting an MP3 player and was going to get the IPod but i found that Dell has a Digital DJ jukebox and it is $100 less and holds 4000 more songs (the one i got cost $200 which you only have to pay a mimum of $7 a month and it holds 7000 songs!) Its kind of confusing to figure out how to upload the songs but i think i'm starting to get the hang of it. I can put any song that i download off the internet (i have winmx which i find doesn't give you as many viruses as kaaza) and i can put all of my cds on there. The actual device is about the size of a walkman and there's no tapes or cds or anything to insert. It is so cool. Especially for me traveling all the time, i can put my entire music collection on this one thing. So...if you're into electronics and can figure out how to work things without getting too frustrated, then i totally recomend! (i feel like Becca, promoting things.)
So, yesterday i got to go up to Natchitoches. I so miss that place its sad. Since i graduated in December, i went up there in February for Circle K's Midevial Ball then i went in May (i had a couple of days off so i flew into Shreveport at the last minute just to surprise a couple of friends and visit.) It seems like i go every three months because then i went up again yesterday with my friend Mickey who had to go up to get his lease signed on his new place. We only stayed less than 24 hours but at least i got to see a few people. There's a chinese restaurant called Chef Wok and they have the best sweet tea ever and then right across the street is this daquris shop where they have this drink called a Starburst...absoulutely phenomenal. Its crazy how those are the first things you think to do when you get to a place like that (well besides go to Wal Mart, that place is just like a social icon or something.) Most of the people i knew have graduated but my friend Angela is still in her last semester (she got her very own trailor out in the boonies...its cute though!) and then my friend Robin is gonna be teaching GED canidates in Natchitoches parish so she's up there. I think it will be sad when everyone is gone from there that i know.
Somehow just a couple of beverages doesn't seem like good enough reason for a four hour trip.
But anyway...back off to the windy city in the morning. It was in the 50s when i was last there. Every time i pack my suitcase to go back up i have to bring an array of clothes because you never know what the tempature will be. Gotta make sure you're prepared. On the other hand, you don't want to overpack...hmmm, could that be a catch 22??
You can't get a job without experience. But you can't get experience without a job. So i finally heard back from that lady at ATL. She said she decided to go with someone with more professional theatre experience (a former intern at that particular theatre actually.) Its understandable and all but it still sucks.
Anyway i finally finished reading "Catch 22". I'm not nearly as far along as i should be on the summer reading list i made for myself. I just only seem to have spurts at a time to read and if i put a book down mid chapter i tend to lose my train of thought next time i pick it up. It was an interesting novel though. It was sort of slow moving and had way too many characters but the dialogue was amazing. I've rented the movie and watched half of it the other night (hmm, i should finish it...) Alan Alda plays the lead character and so far he's phenomanal. I think this book/movie should be turned into a musical. There are certain scenes that i remember reading that i imediatly envisioned characters breaking out into song. I would enjoy seeing a production if someone were to do that. The unrealistically ambitious part of me wanted to undertake that project myself. And i would...only i don't know the first thing about writing music and that seemed to be a problem.
In other news, i did finally go back to work. I figured after over a week i could no longer prolong the inevitable. I flew back up on Monday, sat ready reserve at the airport for a few hours (they didn't use me though so i just sat in the crew lounge and watched monday night football with a couple of pilots.) And then Tuesday night i flew a trip to Grand Rapides, MI. The guys i flew with were insane. Its hard to explain really, but it was like there was this huge inside joke that i wasn't on the inside of. They said they were just really tired and delerious. It never ceases to amaze me how these pilots can fly perfectly fine when they can't even form complete sentences. The overnight was really short but aside from the Wyndham in Harrisburg, PA, the Hilton in Grand Rapides has the best hotel beds ever! (just a little FYI in case anyone were to ever happen to find themselves in Michigan for some reason.)
I think i'm becoming a full fledged commuter this month. If you work for the airline you are either a resident in the city you are based or else you are a commuter. I'd say 70% of pilots/flight attendants don't actually live where they work. In previous months i hadn't been going home much but lately i've been flying home whenever i have a couple of days off.
I flew home on Wednesday and was very excited to have a package from Dell waiting for me.
I had been wanting an MP3 player and was going to get the IPod but i found that Dell has a Digital DJ jukebox and it is $100 less and holds 4000 more songs (the one i got cost $200 which you only have to pay a mimum of $7 a month and it holds 7000 songs!) Its kind of confusing to figure out how to upload the songs but i think i'm starting to get the hang of it. I can put any song that i download off the internet (i have winmx which i find doesn't give you as many viruses as kaaza) and i can put all of my cds on there. The actual device is about the size of a walkman and there's no tapes or cds or anything to insert. It is so cool. Especially for me traveling all the time, i can put my entire music collection on this one thing. So...if you're into electronics and can figure out how to work things without getting too frustrated, then i totally recomend! (i feel like Becca, promoting things.)
So, yesterday i got to go up to Natchitoches. I so miss that place its sad. Since i graduated in December, i went up there in February for Circle K's Midevial Ball then i went in May (i had a couple of days off so i flew into Shreveport at the last minute just to surprise a couple of friends and visit.) It seems like i go every three months because then i went up again yesterday with my friend Mickey who had to go up to get his lease signed on his new place. We only stayed less than 24 hours but at least i got to see a few people. There's a chinese restaurant called Chef Wok and they have the best sweet tea ever and then right across the street is this daquris shop where they have this drink called a Starburst...absoulutely phenomenal. Its crazy how those are the first things you think to do when you get to a place like that (well besides go to Wal Mart, that place is just like a social icon or something.) Most of the people i knew have graduated but my friend Angela is still in her last semester (she got her very own trailor out in the boonies...its cute though!) and then my friend Robin is gonna be teaching GED canidates in Natchitoches parish so she's up there. I think it will be sad when everyone is gone from there that i know.
Somehow just a couple of beverages doesn't seem like good enough reason for a four hour trip.
But anyway...back off to the windy city in the morning. It was in the 50s when i was last there. Every time i pack my suitcase to go back up i have to bring an array of clothes because you never know what the tempature will be. Gotta make sure you're prepared. On the other hand, you don't want to overpack...hmmm, could that be a catch 22??
Sunday, August 08, 2004
$85 for a note!
So i finally got around to going to a doctor (i just looked one up in the phone book) and they charged me that absurd amount just to see the guy for five minutes and for him to scribble, "may not fly until 8/9/04." Oh well, bought me some time off work.
On this time off i went and saw "Collateral" with my friend Kristin (my oldest friend in the world- she and I go see all of Tom Cruises' movies together.) It was definatly different from most other of his movies (especially the end) but it was entertaining. There were some holes in the plot and the cinematography seemed a bit off but otherwise i think i'd give it a thumbs up.
Anyway last night i went out with four other friends of mine. We went to dinner and to a club and drove around alot. It started out really cool- it was me, two other girls and two guys...then something happened. I became the fifth wheel. Hanging out with just a couple isn't always so bad. At least when you start as the third wheel, you're prepared for it. Fifth wheel sometimes comes out of nowhere. Neither of those couples were or are dating but it was just sorta one of those situations where pairing off occured and as usual i was the odd man out. Now i'm not complaining, its cool for all them and all. It just sucks that those are MY friends and i end up the one left out. Ok so maybe i am complaining....sorry. i just honestly don't know how i keep getting myself into situations like that. Its fine though.
On more positive notes....my dad might be coming up to Chicago to visit. My dad is one of the city's last true die hard Saints fans. He's had season tickets since the Saints started back in the 70s and in that time can count on one hand the number of home games he's ever missed. Well the Saints are playing the Bears in a preseason game at the end of the month. My parents have the same flight benifits as i do and thus far have yet to take advantage of that. It would be cool to go to the game. Now that i've typed it though it probably won't happen. I'm not generally superstitious but i do believe in jinxing. I didn't get that house manager job in Kentucky that i was all excited about and i've convinced myself that the only reason is that i talked about it too much. I hope the same thing doesn't happen with my dad. But there i go being all negative again. I'm going to work on that. I can be very sarcastic sometimes and that's ok so long as i'm not detrementally negative. Um...happy thoughts...happy thoughts...I got my name tag for work. For some reason they take forever to come in usually. So now instead of people being all, "excuse me, ma'am" they can be "excuse me, Taryn"...ok yeah, that was lame. Oh well...i don't think anyone reads this thing anymore anyway so whatever...
So i finally got around to going to a doctor (i just looked one up in the phone book) and they charged me that absurd amount just to see the guy for five minutes and for him to scribble, "may not fly until 8/9/04." Oh well, bought me some time off work.
On this time off i went and saw "Collateral" with my friend Kristin (my oldest friend in the world- she and I go see all of Tom Cruises' movies together.) It was definatly different from most other of his movies (especially the end) but it was entertaining. There were some holes in the plot and the cinematography seemed a bit off but otherwise i think i'd give it a thumbs up.
Anyway last night i went out with four other friends of mine. We went to dinner and to a club and drove around alot. It started out really cool- it was me, two other girls and two guys...then something happened. I became the fifth wheel. Hanging out with just a couple isn't always so bad. At least when you start as the third wheel, you're prepared for it. Fifth wheel sometimes comes out of nowhere. Neither of those couples were or are dating but it was just sorta one of those situations where pairing off occured and as usual i was the odd man out. Now i'm not complaining, its cool for all them and all. It just sucks that those are MY friends and i end up the one left out. Ok so maybe i am complaining....sorry. i just honestly don't know how i keep getting myself into situations like that. Its fine though.
On more positive notes....my dad might be coming up to Chicago to visit. My dad is one of the city's last true die hard Saints fans. He's had season tickets since the Saints started back in the 70s and in that time can count on one hand the number of home games he's ever missed. Well the Saints are playing the Bears in a preseason game at the end of the month. My parents have the same flight benifits as i do and thus far have yet to take advantage of that. It would be cool to go to the game. Now that i've typed it though it probably won't happen. I'm not generally superstitious but i do believe in jinxing. I didn't get that house manager job in Kentucky that i was all excited about and i've convinced myself that the only reason is that i talked about it too much. I hope the same thing doesn't happen with my dad. But there i go being all negative again. I'm going to work on that. I can be very sarcastic sometimes and that's ok so long as i'm not detrementally negative. Um...happy thoughts...happy thoughts...I got my name tag for work. For some reason they take forever to come in usually. So now instead of people being all, "excuse me, ma'am" they can be "excuse me, Taryn"...ok yeah, that was lame. Oh well...i don't think anyone reads this thing anymore anyway so whatever...
Monday, August 02, 2004
A Terminal Illness.
No, I’m not dying but I do think I’m allergic to this airport.
So last Sunday (a week from yesterday) I finally made it out to Houston to visit some friends of mine from college. It was cool except that two of my friends have new boyfriends and so I had to deal with the annoying coupledom. Some couples are actually pretty cool to hang out with…most aren’t (especially new couples.) I’ve come to the conclusion that I never want to be part of a couple. I’d probably end up part of one of those annoying couples that I hate and I have enough on my plate without having to deal with self-loathing.
Anyway it was good to see my friends and stuff. We were supposed to go jet skiing but we ended up pretty much just bumming around. Sleep is usually good. Some people really don’t need sleep, they can get by with five or six hours a night and be fine. I, on the other hand, require at least eight or nine. The past few weeks I hadn’t been getting that so when I managed three nights in a row with proper rest, it caught up to me. The last time I was sick was in December (right through Christmas actually.) I had been so busy getting everything ready for graduation, etc that I went for at least three weeks barely resting. As soon as I’d gone home, though, and started sleeping again is when I got sick. Same thing this time. I was fine until Wednesday afternoon on the flight back up to Chicago (which is why I think its just as much allergy to the airport as it is inadequate rest.) On that flight and the subsequent flights that I would end up working Thursday and Friday morning, I thought my ears were going to explode during the descent. Everything would be all fine and dandy until the last twenty minutes out and then I could feel the ear drums rattling. A healthy person simply has to swallow or yawn or whatever to get their ears to pop, but a sick person has no remedy except to pray that their ear drums don’t actually rupture (thing number 762 that sucks about my job- flight attendants are at very high risk for hearing loss due to perforating of the ear drum.) I wound up having to skip those last couple of days of my line (and the FO and I had plans to go out one last time.) We have an infirmary at the airport for American/American Eagle employees and they use this little hot glue gun looking thing to stick in your ear to test for blockage. I was grounded. I then proceeded to spend three whole days at the orphanage, which has gotten worse since on of the ladies that I didn’t like from my training class has moved in. On the plus side, today they released me to at least fly home (under the stipulation that I see a doctor once I get there….anybody know an ear, nose, and throat specialist?? Problem is that I don’t have insurance. I missed the cut off date to sign up for it with the airline and can’t sign up til October…oh well, whatever.) Guess it really is the Hard Knock Life for me.
Although if I’m going to stick with this cheesy theme, I guess the sun is bound to come out Tomorrow right??
No, I’m not dying but I do think I’m allergic to this airport.
So last Sunday (a week from yesterday) I finally made it out to Houston to visit some friends of mine from college. It was cool except that two of my friends have new boyfriends and so I had to deal with the annoying coupledom. Some couples are actually pretty cool to hang out with…most aren’t (especially new couples.) I’ve come to the conclusion that I never want to be part of a couple. I’d probably end up part of one of those annoying couples that I hate and I have enough on my plate without having to deal with self-loathing.
Anyway it was good to see my friends and stuff. We were supposed to go jet skiing but we ended up pretty much just bumming around. Sleep is usually good. Some people really don’t need sleep, they can get by with five or six hours a night and be fine. I, on the other hand, require at least eight or nine. The past few weeks I hadn’t been getting that so when I managed three nights in a row with proper rest, it caught up to me. The last time I was sick was in December (right through Christmas actually.) I had been so busy getting everything ready for graduation, etc that I went for at least three weeks barely resting. As soon as I’d gone home, though, and started sleeping again is when I got sick. Same thing this time. I was fine until Wednesday afternoon on the flight back up to Chicago (which is why I think its just as much allergy to the airport as it is inadequate rest.) On that flight and the subsequent flights that I would end up working Thursday and Friday morning, I thought my ears were going to explode during the descent. Everything would be all fine and dandy until the last twenty minutes out and then I could feel the ear drums rattling. A healthy person simply has to swallow or yawn or whatever to get their ears to pop, but a sick person has no remedy except to pray that their ear drums don’t actually rupture (thing number 762 that sucks about my job- flight attendants are at very high risk for hearing loss due to perforating of the ear drum.) I wound up having to skip those last couple of days of my line (and the FO and I had plans to go out one last time.) We have an infirmary at the airport for American/American Eagle employees and they use this little hot glue gun looking thing to stick in your ear to test for blockage. I was grounded. I then proceeded to spend three whole days at the orphanage, which has gotten worse since on of the ladies that I didn’t like from my training class has moved in. On the plus side, today they released me to at least fly home (under the stipulation that I see a doctor once I get there….anybody know an ear, nose, and throat specialist?? Problem is that I don’t have insurance. I missed the cut off date to sign up for it with the airline and can’t sign up til October…oh well, whatever.) Guess it really is the Hard Knock Life for me.
Although if I’m going to stick with this cheesy theme, I guess the sun is bound to come out Tomorrow right??
Thursday, July 22, 2004
What goes up, must come down.
So Norfolk, VA turned out to be a pretty cool place. Last week the FO and I went out and we had a ball!
We walked over to their Riverfront area and hit up this place called Jillian’s. It’s a restaurant/bar/arcade and its really nice. We drank and ate and drank and played games and drank some more. There’s this game called Hyper Bowl and its like a virtual reality bowling thingie. Its weird, especially when you’re a little tipsy. After a while at Jillian’s we went to this comedy club they had downstairs. It was three different stand up comedians (one of them was even supposedly on last season’s “Last Comic Standing”- guess he couldn’t stand up.) They were funny though- again, especially when you’re kinda drunk. After that we had the audacity to go back to the hotel bar. We sang karaoke- hella fun when you’re drunk. I had had several different drink concoctions and was defiantly feeling it but wasn’t that bad off. My fateful pilot on the other hand, was smashed. Boy did we have an interesting flight out the next morning.
Tonite we’re in Norfolk again. Tomorrow won’t be too bad though because all we did was go to the movies tonite. This time the captain came with and we saw “Anchorman”. It was stupid as hell but really funny.
On my days off this week I had gone home. I was going to go to Houston to visit my friend Stephanie but I couldn’t get on a flight so I’m going to go there next week. Home was…home. My cousin Jeff was in town from Dallas (his dad is the one who got me the job with the airline). I hadn’t seen him in like five years or so. He’s defiantly changed. He had gone one night with my sister and I to a movie (“White Chicks”- its not gonna win and cinematic awards or anything but it was pretty funny) and then the next night with a group of friends of mine to regular bowling (still more fun than the fake kind), to play pool and to Morning Call. Very fun- and I didn’t have any alcohol this time. Anyway Jeff is defiantly different than most of the people I hang out with but it was still good to see him I think. He wants to me to come to Dallas sometime again to meet all his friends- hmm, I don’t know if I can do that much Texas though.
Anyway, just when things were starting to look up for me, the wretched news breaks…for the month of August I have been ‘awarded’ (that’s actually how they put it) Reserve flying. I thought I was done with all that dehumanizing crap. But apparently they cut a bunch of lines or something and now my seniority can’t hold a real line. I talked to a few other people from my flight class and they all have reserve lines too. It sucks SO much. Not that I had a good line this month but at least it was a line. Now I have to go back to that indentured servitude. Ug, damn physics.
So Norfolk, VA turned out to be a pretty cool place. Last week the FO and I went out and we had a ball!
We walked over to their Riverfront area and hit up this place called Jillian’s. It’s a restaurant/bar/arcade and its really nice. We drank and ate and drank and played games and drank some more. There’s this game called Hyper Bowl and its like a virtual reality bowling thingie. Its weird, especially when you’re a little tipsy. After a while at Jillian’s we went to this comedy club they had downstairs. It was three different stand up comedians (one of them was even supposedly on last season’s “Last Comic Standing”- guess he couldn’t stand up.) They were funny though- again, especially when you’re kinda drunk. After that we had the audacity to go back to the hotel bar. We sang karaoke- hella fun when you’re drunk. I had had several different drink concoctions and was defiantly feeling it but wasn’t that bad off. My fateful pilot on the other hand, was smashed. Boy did we have an interesting flight out the next morning.
Tonite we’re in Norfolk again. Tomorrow won’t be too bad though because all we did was go to the movies tonite. This time the captain came with and we saw “Anchorman”. It was stupid as hell but really funny.
On my days off this week I had gone home. I was going to go to Houston to visit my friend Stephanie but I couldn’t get on a flight so I’m going to go there next week. Home was…home. My cousin Jeff was in town from Dallas (his dad is the one who got me the job with the airline). I hadn’t seen him in like five years or so. He’s defiantly changed. He had gone one night with my sister and I to a movie (“White Chicks”- its not gonna win and cinematic awards or anything but it was pretty funny) and then the next night with a group of friends of mine to regular bowling (still more fun than the fake kind), to play pool and to Morning Call. Very fun- and I didn’t have any alcohol this time. Anyway Jeff is defiantly different than most of the people I hang out with but it was still good to see him I think. He wants to me to come to Dallas sometime again to meet all his friends- hmm, I don’t know if I can do that much Texas though.
Anyway, just when things were starting to look up for me, the wretched news breaks…for the month of August I have been ‘awarded’ (that’s actually how they put it) Reserve flying. I thought I was done with all that dehumanizing crap. But apparently they cut a bunch of lines or something and now my seniority can’t hold a real line. I talked to a few other people from my flight class and they all have reserve lines too. It sucks SO much. Not that I had a good line this month but at least it was a line. Now I have to go back to that indentured servitude. Ug, damn physics.
Monday, July 19, 2004
Taryn’s Top 20 Pet Peeves
1. Couples making out in airports (for ME to say its too melodramatic, it must be bad.)
2. Automatic bathrooms (i.e. toilets that flush while you’re still sitting, sinks that cut the water off before you’re through, etc. How lazy is the human race if we’ve resorted to this?)
3. Automatic walkways (is it just me, or is it a little freaky to be walking and having the sidewalk under you moving as well?)
4. Mayo on pre-made sandwiches (what if you don’t like mayo? Why can’t they just make them all plain and have packets for those who choose to add it?)
5. Movies that digress greatly from the books they’re based on (sometimes the movie is so different you wouldn’t even know it was based on a novel except for the title.)
6. Low carb diets (who the hell eats a hamburger without the bun??)
7. Mail in rebates (why can’t they just deduct the price right then when you buy it instead of making you go through the trouble of mailing something in and then them having to mail something back to you?)
8. Merging in traffic (I have a perfectly good lane, why does it have to be taken away from me?)
9. Reality TV (not only does it take jobs from actors, most of them are so retarded and besides isn’t ‘reality tv’ an oxy moron- what you see on tv isn’t real!)
10. Water with lemon (if you want water, order water. If you want lemonade, order lemonade.)
11. Louis Vitton (those purses are really ugly and yet they’re SO fashionable)
12. Using north, south, east, and west when giving directions (seeing as how the average person doesn’t carry around a compass with them all the time, how do you know which way is north, etc? Why can’t you just say ‘make a left’ or whatever?)
13. Things that cost $2.99, etc (why can’t they just say $3??)
14. Stating the obvious with things like, “gee, I hate terrorists” or “man, I really hate it when I get stung by bees” (as opposed to what? No body actually likes those things!).
15. Automated phone menus (press one to hear your balance, press two to hear our latest offers….press 2,610 if your phone is about to blow up and you need immediate assistance…)
16. Chain Letters (sometimes you’ll get perfectly nice forwarded emails but if they have some kind of chain attachment, I automatically delete them.)
17. Self Help Books (how can “self” help be written by somebody else??)
18. Movies with subtitles and books on tape (if I want to read, I’ll read a book. If I want to listen to a story, I’ll watch a movie!)
19. Kids on Leashes and animals with clothes on (again, people don’t seem to get what goes with what)
20. Certain fashion items/statements (i.e. Belts- are your pants in danger of falling off? Panty hose- what is the point even? And high heels with blue jeans- the point of dressing casual is so that you don’t have to wear uncomfortable shoes)
1. Couples making out in airports (for ME to say its too melodramatic, it must be bad.)
2. Automatic bathrooms (i.e. toilets that flush while you’re still sitting, sinks that cut the water off before you’re through, etc. How lazy is the human race if we’ve resorted to this?)
3. Automatic walkways (is it just me, or is it a little freaky to be walking and having the sidewalk under you moving as well?)
4. Mayo on pre-made sandwiches (what if you don’t like mayo? Why can’t they just make them all plain and have packets for those who choose to add it?)
5. Movies that digress greatly from the books they’re based on (sometimes the movie is so different you wouldn’t even know it was based on a novel except for the title.)
6. Low carb diets (who the hell eats a hamburger without the bun??)
7. Mail in rebates (why can’t they just deduct the price right then when you buy it instead of making you go through the trouble of mailing something in and then them having to mail something back to you?)
8. Merging in traffic (I have a perfectly good lane, why does it have to be taken away from me?)
9. Reality TV (not only does it take jobs from actors, most of them are so retarded and besides isn’t ‘reality tv’ an oxy moron- what you see on tv isn’t real!)
10. Water with lemon (if you want water, order water. If you want lemonade, order lemonade.)
11. Louis Vitton (those purses are really ugly and yet they’re SO fashionable)
12. Using north, south, east, and west when giving directions (seeing as how the average person doesn’t carry around a compass with them all the time, how do you know which way is north, etc? Why can’t you just say ‘make a left’ or whatever?)
13. Things that cost $2.99, etc (why can’t they just say $3??)
14. Stating the obvious with things like, “gee, I hate terrorists” or “man, I really hate it when I get stung by bees” (as opposed to what? No body actually likes those things!).
15. Automated phone menus (press one to hear your balance, press two to hear our latest offers….press 2,610 if your phone is about to blow up and you need immediate assistance…)
16. Chain Letters (sometimes you’ll get perfectly nice forwarded emails but if they have some kind of chain attachment, I automatically delete them.)
17. Self Help Books (how can “self” help be written by somebody else??)
18. Movies with subtitles and books on tape (if I want to read, I’ll read a book. If I want to listen to a story, I’ll watch a movie!)
19. Kids on Leashes and animals with clothes on (again, people don’t seem to get what goes with what)
20. Certain fashion items/statements (i.e. Belts- are your pants in danger of falling off? Panty hose- what is the point even? And high heels with blue jeans- the point of dressing casual is so that you don’t have to wear uncomfortable shoes)
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Decisions, decisions.
So i interviewed for the front of house position at ATL on Monday. It went pretty well. She still has to interview several other people so i won't know for a few weeks whether or not i have the job. Its so weird though. On one hand, i would LOVE to have the opportunity to do anything to just get back into the theatre and i do sort of like the Louisville area but on the other hand...
I still don't love my job as a flight attendant and I don't think i ever will (how could anyone love being an air waitress??) but it is getting better. I only work four days a week this month and some of those days i don't even do all that much. Right now for instance, i'm in Norfolk, VA. Its an okay place- we'll be here again a few more times this month.
Its really not the world's worst job and i do love the flight benifits- there are still SO many places that i want to travel to that if i quit being a flight attendant, i won't have the opportunity to do.
I went to San Antonio on Tuesday. My best friend had an interview for a grad school there. I still hate Texas. The Alamo is completely overrated and their Riverwalk area is nice but i like New Orleans' and Chicago's better. My friend is in the same predicament i'm in- even though technically, neither of us have even been offered positions. Its a strange prospect: moving away to a place where you don't really know anybody for probably a six hour radius.
When i took the job i have now it wasn't as finite as moving to Kentucky would be. I work for an airline- i can go home or wherever whenever i want. If i move to Louisville i can't do that. Its like a 12 hour drive and i won't be able to afford to fly- i'm stuck. I dunno, its very exciting but its also very scary. I guess i'm not really sure what's going to happen. I suppose i'll figure it out, though...
So i interviewed for the front of house position at ATL on Monday. It went pretty well. She still has to interview several other people so i won't know for a few weeks whether or not i have the job. Its so weird though. On one hand, i would LOVE to have the opportunity to do anything to just get back into the theatre and i do sort of like the Louisville area but on the other hand...
I still don't love my job as a flight attendant and I don't think i ever will (how could anyone love being an air waitress??) but it is getting better. I only work four days a week this month and some of those days i don't even do all that much. Right now for instance, i'm in Norfolk, VA. Its an okay place- we'll be here again a few more times this month.
Its really not the world's worst job and i do love the flight benifits- there are still SO many places that i want to travel to that if i quit being a flight attendant, i won't have the opportunity to do.
I went to San Antonio on Tuesday. My best friend had an interview for a grad school there. I still hate Texas. The Alamo is completely overrated and their Riverwalk area is nice but i like New Orleans' and Chicago's better. My friend is in the same predicament i'm in- even though technically, neither of us have even been offered positions. Its a strange prospect: moving away to a place where you don't really know anybody for probably a six hour radius.
When i took the job i have now it wasn't as finite as moving to Kentucky would be. I work for an airline- i can go home or wherever whenever i want. If i move to Louisville i can't do that. Its like a 12 hour drive and i won't be able to afford to fly- i'm stuck. I dunno, its very exciting but its also very scary. I guess i'm not really sure what's going to happen. I suppose i'll figure it out, though...
Saturday, July 10, 2004
The cost of culture.
So i went to the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans recently. It was $15 to get in! And it wasn't even that great. The museum that i went to when i was in New York was like $10 i think, movies in Chicago are $9.50, Broadway musicals (in the orchastra, if you pay full price) are $100...its insane. Good theatre anywhere still costs alot (even if not a hundred bucks), and i don't know how much i like museums and stuff. The one in New Orleans (in City Park- that i went to for the first time in probably ten years at least about two months ago) is just like a big maze with some old paintings and sculptures lining the hallways. I had gone to the JFK museum when i was in flight attendant training in Dallas. Its ok, but i wasn't that impressed. The one place that didn't cost some ridiculous amount is in Chicago. The Lincoln Park Zoo is free. And its a pretty good zoo, too. I just get bored easy. I think i'm still too immature or dare i say for a liberal arts graduate, uncultured. I can't spend a whole day walking around looking at stuff, be it art or animals.
Anyway, i'm currently in Toledo, OH. Just a little random useless bit of trivia: the expression "holy toledo" actually refers to Toledo, Spain which in the 11th century was a hugely Christian city. Anyway the last few overnights i've had have been SO boring. One of my roomates was off to Brussels for her first flight today...mine was to Fort Wayne (indiana). Again with my attention span though, i'm not sure i could work International flights. I get restless when my flights are over two hours, i can't imagine twelve.
On the plus side and at the risk of jinxing it i guess, i have a job interview. Last January my friend Stephanie and i took a road trip up to Kentucky to visit these guys that she knew. While we were there we dropped off resumes with different theatre companies up there. I had dropped off both performance and Front of House resumes. Well probably a month and a half after we'd left, the woman in charge of the Box Office at ATL (actor's theatre of Louisville) called me back and said that there might be a job opening next season, to give her a call in a few months. The other night i had a layover in Louisville so i decided to call her up. She is still interested in meeting with me so i'm flying down there on my day off on Monday. She seems very nice and is even picking me up from the airport and everything herself. I don't know...i don't have any details yet obviously, but from what i know the pay sucks and there probably aren't any benifits or anything plus my ultimate goal is not to be a house manager, least of all in Kentucky BUT at least its theatre. And i really miss the theatre. So...cross fingers for me!
So i went to the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans recently. It was $15 to get in! And it wasn't even that great. The museum that i went to when i was in New York was like $10 i think, movies in Chicago are $9.50, Broadway musicals (in the orchastra, if you pay full price) are $100...its insane. Good theatre anywhere still costs alot (even if not a hundred bucks), and i don't know how much i like museums and stuff. The one in New Orleans (in City Park- that i went to for the first time in probably ten years at least about two months ago) is just like a big maze with some old paintings and sculptures lining the hallways. I had gone to the JFK museum when i was in flight attendant training in Dallas. Its ok, but i wasn't that impressed. The one place that didn't cost some ridiculous amount is in Chicago. The Lincoln Park Zoo is free. And its a pretty good zoo, too. I just get bored easy. I think i'm still too immature or dare i say for a liberal arts graduate, uncultured. I can't spend a whole day walking around looking at stuff, be it art or animals.
Anyway, i'm currently in Toledo, OH. Just a little random useless bit of trivia: the expression "holy toledo" actually refers to Toledo, Spain which in the 11th century was a hugely Christian city. Anyway the last few overnights i've had have been SO boring. One of my roomates was off to Brussels for her first flight today...mine was to Fort Wayne (indiana). Again with my attention span though, i'm not sure i could work International flights. I get restless when my flights are over two hours, i can't imagine twelve.
On the plus side and at the risk of jinxing it i guess, i have a job interview. Last January my friend Stephanie and i took a road trip up to Kentucky to visit these guys that she knew. While we were there we dropped off resumes with different theatre companies up there. I had dropped off both performance and Front of House resumes. Well probably a month and a half after we'd left, the woman in charge of the Box Office at ATL (actor's theatre of Louisville) called me back and said that there might be a job opening next season, to give her a call in a few months. The other night i had a layover in Louisville so i decided to call her up. She is still interested in meeting with me so i'm flying down there on my day off on Monday. She seems very nice and is even picking me up from the airport and everything herself. I don't know...i don't have any details yet obviously, but from what i know the pay sucks and there probably aren't any benifits or anything plus my ultimate goal is not to be a house manager, least of all in Kentucky BUT at least its theatre. And i really miss the theatre. So...cross fingers for me!
Sunday, July 04, 2004
Crash and Burn.
So i moved into another crash pad. I got the feeling i was starting to overstay my welcome with my friend. He kept insisting that he didn't mind my staying there, but since he wouldn't accept rent at first, i felt like a mooch (because i was) and i could tell he really wanted his own place anyway. So now i'm living at the Raddisson with 13 other flight attendants (ten of which are with United.) The few that i met Friday night when i was there seemed real nice- i'm the youngest one in there, though, the others are all either late twenties or some are in their fifties. Its a suite and the way they have it set up, it looks like an orphanage- just a bunch of cots spread around the room. But for two or three nights a week, i guess it will do.
Presently, on this lovely 4th of July (Happy Fourth of July, by the way, to anyone reading this) i am stuck at the Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Atlanta. This layover was actually scheduled for 23 hours, which is crazy...most of our layovers, we're lucky if we get half that. It ended up being around 20, though, because we got stuck in Des Moins for like three hours yesterday. The captain i'm flying with this month is real nice. Its a female and she's probably only maybe 30. We seem to get a new first officer every other flight though for some reason. For the Des Moins turn we actually had an all female crew. That was the first time it had happened to me. Its so funny passengers' reactions to that. A few were actually uncomfortable to realize that both pilots were ladies. So much for women's lib...
Anyway Kim (the captain) is being reclusive today and the FO doesn't seem very interesting so i'm stuck here in this room alone. I would go venture out, but this neighborhood seems kind of sketchy. Out my window, there's a little country graveyard. Across the street from the main portion of the hotel is a ghetto KFC hangout. Maybe i should go try and make friends with them...maybe not.
So there's actually this website called www.cyberfireworks.com and you can create your own firework show- its kinda cute. It doesnt compare to real ones obviously but if its the best you can get then its the best you can get.
So i moved into another crash pad. I got the feeling i was starting to overstay my welcome with my friend. He kept insisting that he didn't mind my staying there, but since he wouldn't accept rent at first, i felt like a mooch (because i was) and i could tell he really wanted his own place anyway. So now i'm living at the Raddisson with 13 other flight attendants (ten of which are with United.) The few that i met Friday night when i was there seemed real nice- i'm the youngest one in there, though, the others are all either late twenties or some are in their fifties. Its a suite and the way they have it set up, it looks like an orphanage- just a bunch of cots spread around the room. But for two or three nights a week, i guess it will do.
Presently, on this lovely 4th of July (Happy Fourth of July, by the way, to anyone reading this) i am stuck at the Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Atlanta. This layover was actually scheduled for 23 hours, which is crazy...most of our layovers, we're lucky if we get half that. It ended up being around 20, though, because we got stuck in Des Moins for like three hours yesterday. The captain i'm flying with this month is real nice. Its a female and she's probably only maybe 30. We seem to get a new first officer every other flight though for some reason. For the Des Moins turn we actually had an all female crew. That was the first time it had happened to me. Its so funny passengers' reactions to that. A few were actually uncomfortable to realize that both pilots were ladies. So much for women's lib...
Anyway Kim (the captain) is being reclusive today and the FO doesn't seem very interesting so i'm stuck here in this room alone. I would go venture out, but this neighborhood seems kind of sketchy. Out my window, there's a little country graveyard. Across the street from the main portion of the hotel is a ghetto KFC hangout. Maybe i should go try and make friends with them...maybe not.
So there's actually this website called www.cyberfireworks.com and you can create your own firework show- its kinda cute. It doesnt compare to real ones obviously but if its the best you can get then its the best you can get.
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