1) I got my hair cut yesterday. Nothing special, just your basic trim. I even had respectfully declined when the stylist asked if I wanted her to blow try it, in order to save a couple bucks. The price of this bad boy...FORTY EIGHT DOLLARS. Holy flipping expensive. To top it off, she cut it too short!
2) I'm really digging this new band called The XX. Check them out.
3) I checked my new apartment yesterday, and I LOVE it! I'm living with a girl that I'm going through training with. Her aunt and uncle own the condo and are renting it to us at a very affordable price. They're even letting me pick the wall color for my bedroom! It's in a really nice area that is about 25 minutes from the airport and ten minutes from the ocean. It has a huge balcony, and high ceilings! If this isn't reason enough to come visit me, then I don't know what is!
4) I played the piano (well keyboard, to be exact) for the first time yesterday since September. My friend even had a United Methodist Hymnal that I was playing out of. I played and my friend sang the lyrics in German. I smell a label in the making.
5) I failed my first test of training this past week, but thankfully was able to pass on my second attempt. Of all things to fail, it was the skill check on fire fighting.
6) I had to move hotel rooms yesterday. There was mildew in the room, and the smell was foul. The best way I can describe the smell would be a combination of a fart and sweaty football pads. Yum.
7) This week in training we had to practice our evacuation techniques. As rediculous as it sounds I was terrified of going down the huge blow up slide that comes out an airplane door in an emergency. Something about going down a slide and at the bottom seeing the white of your thumb bone, kinda puts a dark cloud over every other slide experience for the rest of your life!
8) Hummus, tastes good, good for you.
9) I am NOT a person who enjoys cold temperatures. This week my class had to practice our survival skills in the water. Even though it was sunny and 70 out, it was still too cold for this girl to be in the water. We had to practice climbing from the water into a life raft and erect a canopy, all while it was "raining" (aka our instructors were spraying us with hoses). Burrrrr
10) So far, so good as far as training is going. I've passed all of my tests, thus far. Tomorrow is our final exam, so the remainder of my day will be spent in study mode. I also get my uniform tomorrow. Yay!!! As long as I pass tomorrow, I will pretty much be in the clear as far as training goes. Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday I will be working a flight, and an instructor will be with me to make sure I'm doing all my tasks properly. Friday, God willing, I will graduate!!! Then, I have four days off which I plan to spend laying out in South Beach and snorkling in the Keys!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Affects of My Effect
I'm still reporting live from Fort Lauderdale this week, which does in fact mean that I'm still in training. Flight Attendant training is like nothing I've ever experienced before. I seriously feel like I'm on a reality show. We all live together, and basically spend every minute of the day together. There is extreme pressure to do well , the slightest mistake on an exam could mean game over. There's drama, and there is a little bit of competitiveness stirred in there, as well. I should actually contact ABC right away!
Last week was REALLY tough. We had an exam every single day! I thankfully passed all of them, and lived to tell about it. Keep in mind passing is considered a 90% or higher. The C's get degrees logic does not apply here! Unfortunitly, our group of 16 shrunk down to 15 this week.
The upside of this very drab week of studying was yesterday when I went on a familiarization flight to New York City. I have actually never been to New York, so I was pretty pumped about it. I was really able to take in and enjoy the rich culture, the diversity of the city, and the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. Ok, ok in reality i was on the ground for all of 30 minutes and never actually left the plane. For all I know, we actually could have been in Chicago! Thirty minutes was just long enough for me to see gray sky, piles of dirty snow, and people walking around in parkas. I was more than ok with being shipped promptly back to 75 degrees, sunshine, and palm trees!
The flight attendants went out of their way to be kind and helpful to us newbies. There were three of us trainees on the flight, and we helped with the boarding and deplaning process, assisted with the snack and beverage service, and then were able to hang out in the gallies during the majority of the flight. It was really cool to be able to actually see everything we have been learning in class played out.
Another really cool part about this week was having a Federal Air Marshall talk to our class. It was really really interesting to learn about what they do, and how much 9/11 has not only affected aviation, but also the world. He also informed our class of TSA's new motto now that they have begun using full body scanners...You can't see London, you can't see France, until we see your underpants. Out of his entire talk, that was the one line I walked away remembering. My maturity level amazes me.
Side note: What the bleep is the difference between AFFECTED and EFFECTED???? Everytime I go to write the stupid word I have to google what the difference is. To be honest, even after reading the explanation of the two words, I usually just end up guessing. Why are we making this complicated people?! Let's abolish the word affected. Who's with me???
A little shout out to all my friends headed back to school this week! You're all smart little cookies! Stay positived, enjoy where you are, and it will be May before you know it!
Have an awesome week everyone!
Last week was REALLY tough. We had an exam every single day! I thankfully passed all of them, and lived to tell about it. Keep in mind passing is considered a 90% or higher. The C's get degrees logic does not apply here! Unfortunitly, our group of 16 shrunk down to 15 this week.
The upside of this very drab week of studying was yesterday when I went on a familiarization flight to New York City. I have actually never been to New York, so I was pretty pumped about it. I was really able to take in and enjoy the rich culture, the diversity of the city, and the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. Ok, ok in reality i was on the ground for all of 30 minutes and never actually left the plane. For all I know, we actually could have been in Chicago! Thirty minutes was just long enough for me to see gray sky, piles of dirty snow, and people walking around in parkas. I was more than ok with being shipped promptly back to 75 degrees, sunshine, and palm trees!
The flight attendants went out of their way to be kind and helpful to us newbies. There were three of us trainees on the flight, and we helped with the boarding and deplaning process, assisted with the snack and beverage service, and then were able to hang out in the gallies during the majority of the flight. It was really cool to be able to actually see everything we have been learning in class played out.
Another really cool part about this week was having a Federal Air Marshall talk to our class. It was really really interesting to learn about what they do, and how much 9/11 has not only affected aviation, but also the world. He also informed our class of TSA's new motto now that they have begun using full body scanners...You can't see London, you can't see France, until we see your underpants. Out of his entire talk, that was the one line I walked away remembering. My maturity level amazes me.
Side note: What the bleep is the difference between AFFECTED and EFFECTED???? Everytime I go to write the stupid word I have to google what the difference is. To be honest, even after reading the explanation of the two words, I usually just end up guessing. Why are we making this complicated people?! Let's abolish the word affected. Who's with me???
A little shout out to all my friends headed back to school this week! You're all smart little cookies! Stay positived, enjoy where you are, and it will be May before you know it!
Have an awesome week everyone!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
New Year's Challenge
Well, it's official! I made successfully made it through week one of Flight Attendant Training! I am sure that to most people being a flight attendant sounds like a cake walk. You welcome people onto the plane, hand out a bag of peanuts or two, and then sit there and look pretty. However, as I am learning, there's a lot more to it...a WHOLE lot more. In week one alone I had three tests, and, no joke, spent three hours every night studying. I know what you're thinking. What happened to the girl who used to use the overhead projector light in trigonometry class to make shadow puppets? And just last year, the girl who began studying just one hour before finals??? The answer to your question is, I DON'T KNOW, and it scares me!
So far I have been doing really well on all my tests, I've scored a %100. I've almost had to double check the name on the top of the tests because usually %100 and Kelsey Schutz don't coincide!
This past week we had an airport night, where my entire class went to the airport with our instructors and learned stuff about the aircraft. Walking out onto the ramp felt very surreal! I got to set inside the cockpit and even put on the pilot's oxygen mask! We learned about where all the safety equipment is stored and how to operate it. We stayed at the airport until 2:30 A.M. so I was beyond exhausted at the end of the night, but it was so fun!
My only other non flight attendant related newsworthy topic was that I was able to meet up with my friend Landre this week and go out for lunch. She and I worked together at Baby Fold Camp during high school, and have thankfully been able to keep in contact over the years. I hadn't seen her in over 2 years, so it was so great to catch up. I love having the type of friends where you can go forever without talking, but then pick right back up where you left off when you see them. Just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.
I'm writing this blog post my four mile run this morning! It's a gorgeous day in Ft. Lauderdale, and this area seems way more jogger friendly than Orlando. I ran through a park and there were tons of joggers and bikers out. Ahhh exercise!
I really am getting along well with all the other trainees. A couple of girls asked me if I was interested in getting a place together when we're done with training. Call me crazy, but I think I may have just made friends! I'm really not lonely down here because all the other trainees are pretty much in the same boat (studying non stop, living away from their friends and families, etc.). While I most definitely miss all of my friends and family from home, I feel like I've almost gotten used to being away from them and it's just the new norm. However, I've really found myself missing my Disney family this week. I think that throughout these past seven months my group of friends and I became really really close just because we were all each other had. It's going to take some getting used to not seeing each of them everyday :( I could not have asked for a better group of friends in Orlando, and am really amazed that I was able to find an abundance of really awesome, quality people that I consider my close close friends. Love you, my Disney friends! Thanks for the memories!
With this being the new year, I have a challenge for everyone. Think about your own level of happiness. Are you happy and content with where you are in your life? Do you wake up excited for each day? If you do, that is awesome! Be thankful for that! If not, what are you personally going to do to change your life? I think the number one lesson I learned in 2010 (which was by the way an awesome year for me)was that if you're not personally happy, only YOU can do something to change that. Whether you're discontent with your relationship with God, another person, your physical body, your job, where you live...ultimately it's up to you to decide to let your life continue to travel down a path that you're not excited about, or to make a conscious decision to change. Life is short folks, make it count!
Love each and everyone of you!
So far I have been doing really well on all my tests, I've scored a %100. I've almost had to double check the name on the top of the tests because usually %100 and Kelsey Schutz don't coincide!
This past week we had an airport night, where my entire class went to the airport with our instructors and learned stuff about the aircraft. Walking out onto the ramp felt very surreal! I got to set inside the cockpit and even put on the pilot's oxygen mask! We learned about where all the safety equipment is stored and how to operate it. We stayed at the airport until 2:30 A.M. so I was beyond exhausted at the end of the night, but it was so fun!
My only other non flight attendant related newsworthy topic was that I was able to meet up with my friend Landre this week and go out for lunch. She and I worked together at Baby Fold Camp during high school, and have thankfully been able to keep in contact over the years. I hadn't seen her in over 2 years, so it was so great to catch up. I love having the type of friends where you can go forever without talking, but then pick right back up where you left off when you see them. Just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.
I'm writing this blog post my four mile run this morning! It's a gorgeous day in Ft. Lauderdale, and this area seems way more jogger friendly than Orlando. I ran through a park and there were tons of joggers and bikers out. Ahhh exercise!
I really am getting along well with all the other trainees. A couple of girls asked me if I was interested in getting a place together when we're done with training. Call me crazy, but I think I may have just made friends! I'm really not lonely down here because all the other trainees are pretty much in the same boat (studying non stop, living away from their friends and families, etc.). While I most definitely miss all of my friends and family from home, I feel like I've almost gotten used to being away from them and it's just the new norm. However, I've really found myself missing my Disney family this week. I think that throughout these past seven months my group of friends and I became really really close just because we were all each other had. It's going to take some getting used to not seeing each of them everyday :( I could not have asked for a better group of friends in Orlando, and am really amazed that I was able to find an abundance of really awesome, quality people that I consider my close close friends. Love you, my Disney friends! Thanks for the memories!
With this being the new year, I have a challenge for everyone. Think about your own level of happiness. Are you happy and content with where you are in your life? Do you wake up excited for each day? If you do, that is awesome! Be thankful for that! If not, what are you personally going to do to change your life? I think the number one lesson I learned in 2010 (which was by the way an awesome year for me)was that if you're not personally happy, only YOU can do something to change that. Whether you're discontent with your relationship with God, another person, your physical body, your job, where you live...ultimately it's up to you to decide to let your life continue to travel down a path that you're not excited about, or to make a conscious decision to change. Life is short folks, make it count!
Love each and everyone of you!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Day One Done And Done
Thank you so much for all the calls and texts today! It meant so much to me knowing that all my friends and family were thinking about me!
This morning started out with the alarm going off at 4:50, ouch! I was dressed and downstairs for free breakfast by 6:30 A.M. The airline has a van that picks us up and drives us to the training center. I've spent two weeks studying hard core for today's test and was super nervous all day. I def thought I was going to throw up when I first arrived.
There are 16 of us in the training class, and we have two instructors. We started off our morning by introducing ourselves, then we ate donuts that the instructors brought in for us and visited. Then we filled out a bunch of paperwork, and went over some basic info (the layout of the various planes, guidelines, etc.). Then we had lunch, note to self, the cafeteria is actually two vending machines, bring lunch tomorrow. After lunch we took notes on various airlinish stuff, went over airline terminology, city codes, and military time. Then we got fitted for uniforms (black dresses and black skirts with red or white long sleeve button down). After that our instructors checked to make sure our suitcases, shoes, purse, and flashlight were within regulation. Then we took the test. I was WAY nervous, but I was actually very prepared and felt pretty confident while taking it. We were all instructed to place our tests in a basket in the front of the room when we completed it and then wait in the cafeteria until they had graded all of the test. Nerve racking fo sho! After about 10 minutes our instructors brought us back into the classroom, I flipped over my test and I got a 100%! I was beyond excited!!!!!
The only bad news of the day was that I found out I have class on Saturday, which means no half marathon :( I'm pretty bummed about it, but am reminded of a classic Gaily story... God instructs a man to move a huge boulder. The man pushes and pushes, and tries and tries, but in the end he is unable to move the rock. The man reports back and says God, you knew I wouldn't be able to move the rock, why did you ask me to do that? God replies, "I knew you would never be able to move the boulder, but I knew that the process of trying would make you stronger." So much like the man, who in the end was unable to move the rock, I feel like the process of training has made me way stronger, not only physically, but mentally as well. I'm proud of myself for training, and know that had I ran the race I would have been able to do it successfully.... It's about the journey, not the destination anyways.
My hotel is nice. I have a big room, and the bed is amazingly comfortable! I have a roommate who is from California. We actually ended up spending the evening helping each other study, which was really nice!
This week I have class Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday night into Friday morning (we're going to the airport to do stuff on the plane) Friday I am off, Saturday we have class, and Sunday we are off. Next weekend we won't have class, but we will all be flying somewhere individually to observe. Very excited about that!
I have about 3 hours of homework tonight, so gotta get hoppin on that. I love you all, and thanks again for the words of encouragement!!!!!
This morning started out with the alarm going off at 4:50, ouch! I was dressed and downstairs for free breakfast by 6:30 A.M. The airline has a van that picks us up and drives us to the training center. I've spent two weeks studying hard core for today's test and was super nervous all day. I def thought I was going to throw up when I first arrived.
There are 16 of us in the training class, and we have two instructors. We started off our morning by introducing ourselves, then we ate donuts that the instructors brought in for us and visited. Then we filled out a bunch of paperwork, and went over some basic info (the layout of the various planes, guidelines, etc.). Then we had lunch, note to self, the cafeteria is actually two vending machines, bring lunch tomorrow. After lunch we took notes on various airlinish stuff, went over airline terminology, city codes, and military time. Then we got fitted for uniforms (black dresses and black skirts with red or white long sleeve button down). After that our instructors checked to make sure our suitcases, shoes, purse, and flashlight were within regulation. Then we took the test. I was WAY nervous, but I was actually very prepared and felt pretty confident while taking it. We were all instructed to place our tests in a basket in the front of the room when we completed it and then wait in the cafeteria until they had graded all of the test. Nerve racking fo sho! After about 10 minutes our instructors brought us back into the classroom, I flipped over my test and I got a 100%! I was beyond excited!!!!!
The only bad news of the day was that I found out I have class on Saturday, which means no half marathon :( I'm pretty bummed about it, but am reminded of a classic Gaily story... God instructs a man to move a huge boulder. The man pushes and pushes, and tries and tries, but in the end he is unable to move the rock. The man reports back and says God, you knew I wouldn't be able to move the rock, why did you ask me to do that? God replies, "I knew you would never be able to move the boulder, but I knew that the process of trying would make you stronger." So much like the man, who in the end was unable to move the rock, I feel like the process of training has made me way stronger, not only physically, but mentally as well. I'm proud of myself for training, and know that had I ran the race I would have been able to do it successfully.... It's about the journey, not the destination anyways.
My hotel is nice. I have a big room, and the bed is amazingly comfortable! I have a roommate who is from California. We actually ended up spending the evening helping each other study, which was really nice!
This week I have class Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday night into Friday morning (we're going to the airport to do stuff on the plane) Friday I am off, Saturday we have class, and Sunday we are off. Next weekend we won't have class, but we will all be flying somewhere individually to observe. Very excited about that!
I have about 3 hours of homework tonight, so gotta get hoppin on that. I love you all, and thanks again for the words of encouragement!!!!!
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