Lakeshow in San Antonio!

Ok, I know this is looooong overdue and I am way late in writing this post....but I had to share. =) So about a week after last time I wrote, one Monday night I was assigned a trip with a San Antonio overnight on Tuesday, and I thought, aren't the Lakers playing the Spurs Tuesday night? I checked online....game at 8pm. We were scheduled to get in at 6:30. Perfect. Checked on eBay, and there were tickets available....Nosebleed section, but still! I told Dad he was finally going to come with me on one of my trips. We did it!
Bought tickets, got him on the flights, had a hotel paid for, and had a blast!! I finally got to experience a an NBA playoff game, and fortunately the Lakers beat the Spurs that night! The energy in the arena was intense!

Learning about Love

I started a Bible Study a few months ago about the Fruits of the Spirit....In the last month and a half, I have been studying about love....What it is and what God requires from us.

It has only been about two months that Kevin and I have been hanging out, but feels like forever because of all the ups and downs we have been through. It has been so difficult....and I have often felt that I am not strong enough to stick with him through everything. We had a conversation last night about the rollercoaster we have been on, and started talking about love. Kevin said that when he thinks of love, he thinks of John 3:16, and quoted it to me, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son...." Amazing love, to sacrifice your only son....I definitely have never been able to comprehend it. He asked me if I knew what love meant. I shared with him some of what I've been studying. I told him that through the hard times, the times he has hurt me, I have cried out to God and asked what He wanted from me. Although people have argued with me when I have shared this with them, I have strongly felt God telling me to love Kevin. That is definitely not something I could do in my own strength....Agape love is something only God is capable of. Kevin told me what he felt from me, the love, goodness, and peace he feels when he is around me. I told him that is not me, but it is God. His response was that God has used me to show him His love, among other things.

This is taken from my Bible Study (Living Beyond Yourself, by Beth Moore) this week:
Agape is divine love. Its only origin is the heart of God. Agape is the love of God expressed through us to others. Actually it is a response more than a feeling. This is the way it works:
- We confront a situation in which God requires us to agape another person
- We admit to Him that we lack agape for this person
- We consider how God would personally respond to this person according to the Scriptures
- We act in obedience and respond as He would
The short- or long-term joy of obedience and the guaranteed effects of His choosing cause a chain reaction of feeling far greater than any fleshly love we could muster. He tenders our hearts toward the person. The relationship perseveres. Ultimately we are blessed to have been the vessel through which a holy God expressed His great love to one of His children. Nothing else is like God pouring agape through you.

Is this how God has used me in Kevin's life? Was this part of His purpose for having us meet? I don't know....Kevin always tells me that he believes God brought me into his life because He knew he needed me and needed my encouragement. He has been through more than I will ever be able to understand....Our lives are quite different. Could God use me in his life? Sure. But I am far from perfect....I have made mistakes....I have not always been a good example. Thank God for His grace, right?

I don't remember ever experiencing as much pain as I have felt this week....the result of more than I can share here....Only God knows what the future holds....and He is good. All the time.

Confusion all around

Kevin and I had what is becoming our weekly time to hang out....We talked about a lot of things....Apparently I have him very confused as well. One day at a time, right?

First date, Hollywood, second date, San Francisco!

Dating is a new thing to me. I didn't do it in high school (just one boyfriend....for two years). I didn't do it in college. I certainly didn't do it while I was teaching in PNG! =) This was not by choice; no one expressed an interest in me. Then I became a Flight Attendant....Oh the mystery, glamor, and flattering polyester with its magic love dust! All of a sudden the numbers came....I wouldn't give out mine, so they gave me theirs. I'm naturally friendly....does friendly = flirty? I think my friendliness is sometimes taken the wrong way. Oh well. That's the way I am. I drink decaf coffee and get asked all the time if I've had a little too much caffeine! Funny huh?

So....naturally, when guys started to show an interest in me this past year, I've been flattered. None of them have been quite right though....One thought we were soulmates after we'd been talking for about three weeks and kinda....no REALLY....freaked me out. Many were looking for something I wasn't going to give them. Then there were those who were good guys, but for one reason or another, things just didn't work out. Part of me wants to give up completely, and part of me wants to try another one....What if....? Always the what ifs.

Allow me to process for a minute. This most recent one caught my eye back in October. I was flying a local, and working my last leg from LAX to Tucson. A gate agent came onto my plane (which they rarely do), and said, "We were just wondering if you have a boyfriend...." We? I looked past him to four ramp agents on the tarmac. One of them was the guy who had caught my eye. He was standing there with both arms up, crossing his fingers. I thought it was hilarious. I answered no to the gate agent, who then proceeded to look at my left ring finger....I played along, held up my hand and pointed to my finger for the rampers to see, while I shook my head. The cutie crossing his fingers started jumping up and down. The gate agent said, "We were wondering if we could have your number so we can take you out" to which I responded, "We?
Do I get to go out with all of you, or do I get to pick?"

I didn't see that guy who had caught my eye again until March. Kevin came and chatted with me after I'd loaded my plane from LAX to Palm Springs one night. I wasn't sure if he was the finger-crosser, and asked if I'd seen him before. He said he didn't think so. He gave me his number, and I sent him a text a little later on. We texted for a bit and he eventually called me up. During one of our phone conversations, I mentioned the October scenario and asked if that was him....He goes, "That was you!!?!" and we had a good laugh about it. =)

The following week I finished a two-day trip, and had to sit ready reserve at the airport when I got back (where I have to be on the plane in 20 mins if I'm called). I had jokingly said to Kevin that he should come and hang out with me, since he had the day off and could get through security. He ended up coming over to the airport just a bit before I was off duty. I thought we'd hang out for an hour or two, but we ended up hanging out for the rest of the day. First we went to the Grove in Hollywood. We grabbed something to eat, walked around, window shopped, and had a drink. Then we went to Griffith Park and looked around....The entire time we had lots of fun and some really good conversation. We ended the evening sitting in Kevin's car watching the planes land at LAX and talking. It was great!

Kevin called me to make sure I got home ok that night....by the time I got home it was after 1am. He also called me the next day. And the next. And the next....several times....=) In our conversation that first afternoon/evening we hung out, we talked a little bit about previous relationships. I told him about my recent experience....that guys don't want to hang out with me a second time because they realize that I'm not easy....that guys say we'll go out again, but don't follow through....that they usually just blow me off. So Kevin was different from the start, in that he hung out with me for so long, had some good conversation with me, and actually called me afterwards....several times! Oh, he also paid for everything....actually took me out! Just a few things that you'd think should happen, but it doesn't always work out that way.

Since we work for the same airline, we both have flight benefits....So we decided to take a trip to San Francisco. I was on call Wednesday, and off Thursday and Friday. Kevin was off Wednesday and Thursday. So after I didn't get called Wednesday, we went to LAX to get on a flight to SFO. Everything looked great, until we got there and found out our flight was canceled. We listed ourselves on a different flight, but when we got to the gate we found out that we were numbers 69 and 70 on the standby list. Next option, Oakland. There was room for one of us, and we didn't want to split, so the gate agents rolled us over to San Jose. After hanging out at the airport for a bit, we got on!
From San Jose, we had to get a pricey shuttle to our hotel near SFO....Then grabbed some dinner.
The next morning we got up, went to breakfast, then made our way to downtown San Francisco! We walked around a bit, took in the culture and fun San Fran has to offer, then stopped for some DELICIOUS clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls.


We walked around and hung out in the city for a few hours. Kevin bought us matching bracelets so we could remember our trip....awwww....;-)

Then we had to get back to the airport to try to catch our flight, which we did, with no problems this time. =)
What's next? I have no idea. I have made a good friend who is a lot of fun to hang out with and makes a great travel buddy. He is different. We talk a lot. We have good conversation. He is not afraid to hold my hand or even kiss me in public....something new and different for me!! He is not afraid to be completely stupid and silly in public! He calls....until his phone got wet and died right before our flight back to LAX. =/ He has me completely confused....!

Done processing for now....until next time.... =)

Life on Reserve, Part 2....Why Dad gets confused....

A day on reserve....

Wake up. Check your phone. (Make sure you haven't missed a call from Crew Support.) Check your email....

messages, eTrip (see if they scheduled you anything without calling you about it yet), MySpace, Facebook, etc. Check your phone. Take a shower. Get dressed. Get something to eat. Check your phone. Go to sleep. The next day you may change it up by eating before you take a shower and get dressed. Or you might not even bother getting dressed....

On a day off, you put on your uniform and travel.... =)
And that, is life on reserve. This is what we live for!!! ;-)

Which one of us is working?

My Job(s.....)

Life on Reserve

The airlines, like any industry, has its own terms and lingo. In case I haven't explained it before, let me give a quick refresher course....

• Flight Attendant: (note: we are no longer referred to as a stewardess or steward) =) an individual qualified to perform safety duties and deliver customer service in the aircraft cabin....gets to wear polyester to enhance his/her appearance (another note: our primary purpose is to be there for the passengers' safety....and then it's all about "Coffee, tea, or me?")

• deadhead: transportation of a crewmember (flight attendants or pilots) from one point to another to cover a trip/return to base

• reserve: schedule is built by the company with days a flight attendant will be on reserve (on call) and available for duty, and days off (this is me!)....I'm on call from 5am to 5pm. Depending on the airline and how senior your base is, you could be on reserve anywhere from a few months to more than 10 years. It's like being a substitute flight attendant. The answer to the question on everyone's mind....YES, we are paid a guaranteed number of hours each month, regardless of how much we fly.
  

• line holder: schedule is built by the company comprised of trips for the given month, as days off (this is what we all want to be) =)....it will happen eventually!

• turn: a round trip, i.e. LAX-DFW-LAX

One more note on how the pay works. We are paid for flight time only - door close to door open (this is called block-to-block). For example, we could be on duty for 11 hours in a day, but only have 7 hours of flight time....those 7 hours is what we're paid. We do get per diem as well, a certain amount for every hour we're away from our base (or domicile), and that helps with the lattes and lunches. =) So being on reserve can work ok, even if you're not called to fly, but having a line is much better, because you can work more hours, and get way more per diem....it definitely adds up!

Being based out of LAX, I have only flown locals so far. (A local is a trip that starts and ends at your domicile in the same day....no overnights in other cities.) Last Thursday I flew a local with a Denver crew on our CRJ 700. LA-Salt Lake City-Denver-deadhead back to LA. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, as one of my students used to say! I got to the airport early, so decided to grab some tea from Starbucks....as I'm walking down there, a man stops to ask me how to get to Continental....as I'm talking to him, an attractive young gentleman wearing that amazing polyester walks by me and throws his hand in the air in a sexy wave....it is none other than Jason Parks. He was doing a Dallas (DFW) turn (were you paying attention when I told you what a turn was??). I invited him to join me at Starbucks, which he did, and then we both went on our way into the friendly skies.

I decided to take the train to the airport, because they had scheduled my trip ahead of time, and I could plan on when I was going to leave and give myself plenty of time to get there, saving myself some gas money! In the afternoon when I got back to LAX, I went outside to catch the shuttle to the train. It was pretty full....when I got off the shuttle, Jason got off as well! Well, that made my day, seeing him twice! And it was extra nice to have someone to hang out with on the train, instead of having a guy who doesn't speak English sit next to me, tell me I'm beautiful, and ask if we can exchange numbers!

I came home and let my dad know I would be off the next two days....sometimes he gets confused about when I'm on reserve and when I'm off....I'll tell you why in my next post....stay tuned for "Life on Reserve, Part 2"!