Living the Dream...Long duty days. Long Ground Times and Hotels

"Living The Dream"- (liv-ing thuh Dr-ee-m) Phrase. In commercial aviation, ironically used between pilots and flight attendants when referring to the conditions in which they work. (example- I was at work for 13.5 hours and sat around the terminal for a total of 6.5 hours. Living the Dream)

True example.  A friend needed time off to pack & move into her new house, so I dropped my 2-day trip and picked her 3-day trip up to help her out. Apparently I should have looked at the trip more closely:

Day 1: Report at 6:30am (wake up at 5am) Fly an hour flight. Sit around the South HUB for 3hours 39minutes. Fly a round trip that is about 80mins each way. Sit around the SouthHUB for 2hours 53minutes. Fly an hour flight to my overnight. Duty off around 7:30pm

Yes. That's right. The best part is: Our Collective Bargaining Agreement (aka Union Contract) provides that we only get paid for flight hours- time the door closes & the brake is released until the time the door opens and brake sets. Our sit time- is unpaid. (Don't worry our Union is negotiating for something better this time around.)

I digress. I think I know why it's called "Living the Dream"...You're awake. But you are so tired it feels like you are dreaming. Things are so outrageous that surely you have to be dreaming that this is happening.  Perhaps back in the Glory Days, when it was glamorous to be a flight attendant and pilot perhaps things were so amazing that the phrase was used to describe the feeling when a crew member was at work, living the glamorous lives....Living the Dream.  My how times have changed.

Don't get me wrong.  I was rewarded for my tiring day by the Sheraton along an Eastern Coastal city's waterfront. The weather was beautiful. Refreshing compared to the blazing heat of my southeastern, inland humidity. Despite my exhaustion, I decided to go have dinner with the reserve Flight Attendant I was flying with.  The plan was to quickly change and go....

I opened the door to my hotel room...and the room was clearly in middle of its cleaning. Called the front desk & told them I'd just put my things in my co-workers room while we ate dinner to allow them time to figure it out. No big deal....

While changing in my other FA's room we hear a knock on the door. Apparently we were both given the wrong rooms and he had new keys for us. So we both went to our new rooms....and as luck would have it. I was given the wrong 2nd room. The housekeeping lady was there with her clipboard and was confused why they gave me that room. Again. No biggie. I'll just tell them on my way out to eat.

It was a minor disturbance.  I politely requested a free breakfast for both of us for the inconvenience and the staff was happy to do so and apologized all over themselves.  We enjoyed a classy meal outside along the water at Hooters.  Actually we were impressed with our waitress.  She was really great at her job...but her talents would be better spent in fine dining.  Or she should be a flight attendant because her customer service skills were top notch.

Today I enjoyed my breakfast....It's been awhile since I've been here but the cute restaurant manager was still working here and once he saw my "Our Appologies" certificate on the table he took care of me. Their breakfast spread is quite amazing. Cereal. Fruit. Eggs. Bacon. Carbs. Muffins. French Toast. Yumm.  Perhaps a run along the waterfront and a little relaxing by the pool before my workday starts.

It's days like yesterday that make me hate my job. It's being able to relax in a hotel like this that makes me love it....so maybe I really am "Living the Dream" and sometimes those dreams are just bad dreams.