Life in the Troposphere

I'm in Detroit. I am considering a temporary transfer of the moniker 'Pinnacle of Civilization' from Cape Girardeau as a fitting bestowal...the view from my fifth-floor hotel room included an empty parking lot, a trailer without a big rig, and an airport extended-stay parking lot. Oh, and a large television dish antenna. The airport is decidedly like a trailer park, according to a fellow crew member. It seems to have been constructed piecemeal by a number of 5-year-old architects; the result is a different interior design every 100-200 feet, including various window shapes/sizes, corridor widths, and carpet color. It is actually depressing.

On a lighter note, my hotel room did have a large, wall-hung flat screen TV, microwave, and cold refrigerator! Unfortunately, I was immediately adjacent to the elevators and there was extremely loud construction on a lower floor. I still slept until noon (after getting to bed at 2 a.m. local). My life now exists in two time zones: Central and local. My watch and schedule are the former, my cell phone and bedside clock, the latter. It is not uncommon for me to ask the hotel shuttle driver, “What time zone are we in now?” A classmate of mine has twice gotten up two hours earlier than necessary due to the schedule/local difference, which is less than exciting due to her 5 a.m. check-in times.

I spent some time in the cockpit on longer, lighter flights. Pictured at right are the first officer (in silhouette) and the captain (who got a surprising flash in the eye) demonstrating for me the heads-up feature of the plane. After that 10,000 feet announcement (after which you are able to use your electronic devices), these guys pretty much just enjoy the view, talk to one another, and listen to tunes or other pilots/air traffic controllers on their headsets.

Tidbits: I get discounts, ranging from 10% to 50%, on airport and hotel food. The markup in these particular places, however, is usually 40-70% of the real-world cost of the items. Ah, the price of being a traveling prisoner. The Boeing 737, fully loaded and at a high altitude (such as Denver or Las Vegas) travels up to 180 mph on the ground immediately before takeoff. According to the pilot with whom I discussed these details, even if one engine failed during takeoff, the plane would still be functional enough to fly. Also, a bird accidentally ingested by the engine would not be a problem; in fact, he told me of a gruesome unplanned ground incident involving a much larger mammal that was 'taken care of' by the engine without the pilots even knowing. Eeek, but it puts me more at ease. I have come to very much enjoy the Kashi brand, especially the oatmeal, granola bars, and protein bars. My recent cookies and cream protein bar included these obviously healthy ingredients: pear juice concentrate and chicory root fiber. What's not to love?


You can see that I do not exceed the weight limit of the overhead bin. This is me awaiting boarding on the last flight of my last trip, a 2.5 hour flight to Baltimore from Ft. Lauderdale with a grand total of 14 passengers. The other female flight attendant and I were in opposite bins, while our male crew member directed boarding passengers to put their bags into our bins. Hilarity ensued. I get paid to do this, people.