So to answer your burning question of what has Kelesy been up to since she last blogged...I've pretty much been dealing with the aftermath of my car accident. The day after my last post my friend Liz moved to Orlando to do the Disney College Program. She had driven all the way from Chicago to Orlando solo, so I really wanted to be in Orlando to welcome her to the great state of Florida. It had been storming that day, as it has seriously been doing EVERYDAY since then, so I decided that since there might be flight delays, it'd be quicker to drive. Fast foreword to 5:30 P.M. that evening. It had just finished raining, but the roads were still slick, I'm driving about 60 MPH in the far left lane on I95.Mr. McRedtruck to my right, who is going about 45 MPH decided it'd be a good idea to not turn on his blinker, nor check his mirrors, and pulls into my lane. The silver bullet, AKA my 2008 Corolla, smashes into the back of his truck, bounces off, and slams into the concrete divider.
Fortunately for me this was the 1st accident I've ever been in and honestly for it being a really sucky situation, the whole post wreck process went very smoothly. My friend Michelle was my angel that day by not only driving to West Palm to pick me up, but also buying me peanut butter cup ice cream, taco bell, and calling the insurance companies for me I was still very shook up. the officer on scene was also very kind and took the time to speak with both of us in order to get the complete story. In the end I walked with only a few bruises, the other driver was found at fault and I have a rental car for the time being.
Since I was in a pretty bum mood about the whole wreck situation, Lita drove down the weekend following the accident to cheer me up. Have I ever mentioned what good friends I have?! We spent the weekend watching How I Met Your Mother, IKEAing, cooking, and topped it all off with a good 'ol fashioned Rascal Flats Concert.
Within a week of the accident my bruising from the seat belt had faded enough that it only looked like I had a small hicky on my neck...awesome. Any who, I finally felt good enough to go back to work. My mom was raised with her Grandma Strand telling her that, when you don't feel normal, do something normal. So with all the craziness that the accident brought, it was actually kinda nice to return to the normalcy of work.
After a few days of work, it was time for more fun. This time my friend Eric came to spend a few days soaking up the Florida rays on the beach. As I previously mentioned, it's been raining non-stop here, so we had to go to plan B: drinking pina coladas next to the beach. Equally as fun! Although the sun never really came out, the crabs did and we had fun walking on the beach and finding them. We also saw the movie Our Idiot Brother. If you have plans to see this movie, I have some words of wisdom.... DON’T! Seriously, horrible movie!
The BEST news I have to report is that I'm officially an aunt cubed! Joseph Benjamin Six was born on August 27th at 9:00 PM to my sister Genny and her husband ben. I was very excited to see pictures of him, but it really tugged at the ol heartstrings when I heard him cry on the phone. I cannot wait to come home and meet him.
Speaking of home, it's been four and a half months since I've last been there and I'm very ready for a visit. If all goes as planned, I will be there September 10th through the nineteenth. Get excited!!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Not Old, Just Older
Greetings friends and fam! I'm currently writing this blog fat and happy from my hotel room in Boston on a very rainy and blah Monday. My flight was delayed getting into Boston last night so we rolled into our hotel at around 3 A.M. This was really no problem for me as my natural sleep pattern does not allow me to even feel tired til right around 4 A.M.! Lovely, right? So I took the liberty of sleeping in until the crack of noon today. Because I'm trying, half heartedly, to train for this half marathon I drug my arse down to the gym and ran four miles....very slowly, but none the less I did them. After my run, I felt like I deserved some hearty food. I've really been craving some good seafood lately and, despite the monsoon outside, was determined to find some today. Thankfully another flight attendant was feeling adventurous as well, and we took the train downtown and ate the BEST seafood I've ever had in my life! We ate at Legal Seafood right by the water. I had grilled scallops and shrimp that were caught this morning, and an awesome crab cake. Well worth getting poured on! Mmmmmm!
Last week in between two of my trips, being the amazing friend I am, I offered to help Lita move into a her new apartment in Orlando. She was moving out of a furnished apartment and was in need of some furniture. Luckily, a friend of hers from Boca was getting rid of a nice couch and loveseat, and told Lita she was welcome to them. The only catch was that Lita would have to haul them from Boca to Orlando. So last Sunday I picked Lita up from the airport, and her, me, a Budget moving truck and two couches putted down the road for three and a half hours. Despite almost soiling myself from a few of her lane changes, it was actually a pretty entertaining way to spend the afternoon. We're thinking of taking her cross country soon!
This past weekend I had a few days off, so my roommate, Stephanie, and I decided to fly up to visit my friend Neil at Ohio State University. I'm not positive, but I think I have driven through Ohio on my way to Virginia before, but have never actually gone on a trip where my destination was Ohio. Because Columbus is a fairly small city, there were no non stop flights from Fort Lauderdale to Columbus, so we had to connect in Atlanta. Flying standby definitely puts a different spin on traveling. We missed two flights going from Atlanta to Columbus (because they were oversold, not because we drank too much at the airport bar). A lot of the flights to Columbus were looking full, so at one point we looked at the flight schedules and were contemplating where else we could fly for the weekend, a fun perk of having free flights to anywhere in the US! Finally we made it on a flight to Columbus, on an airplane the size of a mini van. My seat was seriously locked in an acute angle! It was free, I'm not complaining!
Once we got to Ohio, Neil was there to pick us up and it was so good to see him! After napping during the afternoon, Steph and I got all dolled up in our college going out attire (short dress, stilettos, teased hair, Coach clutch, a bottle of Svedka in one hand, fruit punch in the other) and headed to the Frat house down the street. Most of the time in life I continue on in my day today activities without really stopping to reflect. It just feels normal that I don't live at home anymore, I have a job, I travel, etc. But there are moments where I feel like life throws me one big reality check. The reality check I got from this weekend: I am no longer in college! Now I am no way under the impression that I am old, I am a mere pup in the whole circle of life right now, but I am definitely over the college phase of my life! As I sat in the frat house filled with 21 years old, I had an overwhelming urge to ask for the music to be turned down so I could have a conversation without screaming. After we left the frat house, we headed to Ohio State's equivalent to WIU's Forum. While everyone else seemed to be enjoying the grinding game, Stephanie and I wondered from room to room searching for a bar that had stools we could sit on. And then there was the next morning... we weren't feeling so well. In fact, we ended up taking the 7:00 P.M. flight home because that was the first time all day we felt like we could compose ourselves on an airplane without tossing our cookies. So in closing, best wishes you Leathernecks, Buckeyes, Salukies, Cougars and Hawkeyes as you return for yet another year of the college life this week. I think I'm gonna sit this one out :)
Last week in between two of my trips, being the amazing friend I am, I offered to help Lita move into a her new apartment in Orlando. She was moving out of a furnished apartment and was in need of some furniture. Luckily, a friend of hers from Boca was getting rid of a nice couch and loveseat, and told Lita she was welcome to them. The only catch was that Lita would have to haul them from Boca to Orlando. So last Sunday I picked Lita up from the airport, and her, me, a Budget moving truck and two couches putted down the road for three and a half hours. Despite almost soiling myself from a few of her lane changes, it was actually a pretty entertaining way to spend the afternoon. We're thinking of taking her cross country soon!
This past weekend I had a few days off, so my roommate, Stephanie, and I decided to fly up to visit my friend Neil at Ohio State University. I'm not positive, but I think I have driven through Ohio on my way to Virginia before, but have never actually gone on a trip where my destination was Ohio. Because Columbus is a fairly small city, there were no non stop flights from Fort Lauderdale to Columbus, so we had to connect in Atlanta. Flying standby definitely puts a different spin on traveling. We missed two flights going from Atlanta to Columbus (because they were oversold, not because we drank too much at the airport bar). A lot of the flights to Columbus were looking full, so at one point we looked at the flight schedules and were contemplating where else we could fly for the weekend, a fun perk of having free flights to anywhere in the US! Finally we made it on a flight to Columbus, on an airplane the size of a mini van. My seat was seriously locked in an acute angle! It was free, I'm not complaining!
Once we got to Ohio, Neil was there to pick us up and it was so good to see him! After napping during the afternoon, Steph and I got all dolled up in our college going out attire (short dress, stilettos, teased hair, Coach clutch, a bottle of Svedka in one hand, fruit punch in the other) and headed to the Frat house down the street. Most of the time in life I continue on in my day today activities without really stopping to reflect. It just feels normal that I don't live at home anymore, I have a job, I travel, etc. But there are moments where I feel like life throws me one big reality check. The reality check I got from this weekend: I am no longer in college! Now I am no way under the impression that I am old, I am a mere pup in the whole circle of life right now, but I am definitely over the college phase of my life! As I sat in the frat house filled with 21 years old, I had an overwhelming urge to ask for the music to be turned down so I could have a conversation without screaming. After we left the frat house, we headed to Ohio State's equivalent to WIU's Forum. While everyone else seemed to be enjoying the grinding game, Stephanie and I wondered from room to room searching for a bar that had stools we could sit on. And then there was the next morning... we weren't feeling so well. In fact, we ended up taking the 7:00 P.M. flight home because that was the first time all day we felt like we could compose ourselves on an airplane without tossing our cookies. So in closing, best wishes you Leathernecks, Buckeyes, Salukies, Cougars and Hawkeyes as you return for yet another year of the college life this week. I think I'm gonna sit this one out :)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
NYC to LA
I started off my week with a two day trip, laying over in New York. I do love New York layovers because there is so much to do in the city, however the hotel we stay in is slightly sketchy. Not only is it in a creepy location (right by a rundown subway stop in Queens), it's also spiritually creepy. According to some of my fellow flight attendants the hotel is haunted. I'm not exactly a ghost expert, and am not even sure if I by into the whole ghost thing. My best good friend Jenny swears there are three things on this Earth that you just don't mess with: spiders, tornadoes, and ghosts. I've taken her words of wisdom to heart, and call me a baby, but try my hardest to avoid New York layovers. Since I didn't know anyone else on the trip, I knew I would be forced to spend the night in my hotel room alone. So I did what anyone in my situation would do; I went out with my crew, drank a few vodka pineapples, walked back to my hotel room at 4:00 A.M., and slept soundly in my bed.... curled up next to my Bible!
Tuesday evening I left for a two day trip to Los Angeles. This was actually my first time being on a layover in L.A. and I LOVED it! During my April visit to L.A. my friends and I did a lot of touristy stuff, but never actually made it to the ocean, so yesterday was my first time seeing the Pacific! The water was WAY colder than the water in south Florida, but the Pacific beaches were much wider and prettier! The waves in the Pacific were also much bigger! One of the flight attendants I was with is very familiar with the area, and offered to show me around for the day. We ended up walking about two miles from our hotel to the ocean and renting bikes. There is an awesome bike path that runs the entire way from Manhattan Beach (where we started) and Santa Monica Pier. We biked all the way to Santa Monica and back, which was a 26 mile round trip! AKA I biked a marathon yesterday! I was totally in my happy place the entire time! We rode through Venice Beach, which was very hippy ish, but none the less pretty cool. We also saw Muscle Beach, where there is literally an outdoor gym for people to work out on the beach. It basically seemed like a playground for meat heads, but hey, to each there own. The culture in California is so much different than Florida. It's much more environmentally conscience, and overall just more chill and relaxed. The temperature in L.A. is also much more milder than South Florida, so me being the really intelligent person I am, didn't factor in the whole the sun is still out, I may need sunscreen thing. Walking through the airport was a wee bit embarrassing last night as people were literally turning there heads to stare at me. Upon walking onto the aircraft the captain, being ever so tactful, greeted me with a, "What the hell happened to you?!" Needless to say, I'm trying to only partake in inside activities today that require me to show no emotion, as it is PAINFUL to move my face!
On a different note, I've been reading the book My Year With Eleanor. Basically, this book is about the author's year of trying to live a year based on Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, "Do one thing everyday that scares you." I would only give the book an ok rating, however I have learned a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt. What a cool lady!
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear, for newer and richer experiences." -Eleanor Roosevelt
Tuesday evening I left for a two day trip to Los Angeles. This was actually my first time being on a layover in L.A. and I LOVED it! During my April visit to L.A. my friends and I did a lot of touristy stuff, but never actually made it to the ocean, so yesterday was my first time seeing the Pacific! The water was WAY colder than the water in south Florida, but the Pacific beaches were much wider and prettier! The waves in the Pacific were also much bigger! One of the flight attendants I was with is very familiar with the area, and offered to show me around for the day. We ended up walking about two miles from our hotel to the ocean and renting bikes. There is an awesome bike path that runs the entire way from Manhattan Beach (where we started) and Santa Monica Pier. We biked all the way to Santa Monica and back, which was a 26 mile round trip! AKA I biked a marathon yesterday! I was totally in my happy place the entire time! We rode through Venice Beach, which was very hippy ish, but none the less pretty cool. We also saw Muscle Beach, where there is literally an outdoor gym for people to work out on the beach. It basically seemed like a playground for meat heads, but hey, to each there own. The culture in California is so much different than Florida. It's much more environmentally conscience, and overall just more chill and relaxed. The temperature in L.A. is also much more milder than South Florida, so me being the really intelligent person I am, didn't factor in the whole the sun is still out, I may need sunscreen thing. Walking through the airport was a wee bit embarrassing last night as people were literally turning there heads to stare at me. Upon walking onto the aircraft the captain, being ever so tactful, greeted me with a, "What the hell happened to you?!" Needless to say, I'm trying to only partake in inside activities today that require me to show no emotion, as it is PAINFUL to move my face!
On a different note, I've been reading the book My Year With Eleanor. Basically, this book is about the author's year of trying to live a year based on Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, "Do one thing everyday that scares you." I would only give the book an ok rating, however I have learned a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt. What a cool lady!
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear, for newer and richer experiences." -Eleanor Roosevelt
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sum sum summa time
So this month I have been working pretty much all red eye flights. I actually don't mind the schedule since I am a true night owl at heart. One of the only downfalls to this month's schedule is that I have very few overnight trips. However, I managed to make up for it by having a great time on my one layover of the month in Boston.
I'm on line with my friend Maria this month, which makes trips 100 times more fun then getting stuck with a senior flight attendant who routinely eats a bitter sandwich for breakfast every morning, and probably should have retired about five years ago. Last week we spent a full 30 hours in Boston, which is such an awesome city with tons of things to do and see. We started our morning by hopping on the subway and heading down to the Quincy Market. For being a born and raised country girl, I'm quite proud of myself for learning how to maneuver around on the subway in so many different cities! There were so many food choices there, it was hard to pick just one place to eat. Sticking to my true classy form, I took Maria to Dick's Last Resort...the restaurant where you pay to be insulted and eat mediocre food. There is actually a Dick's Last Resort in Chicago that I have already been to several times, but I'm always highly entertained by this restaurant and continue to come back. The restaurant is famous for making dunce caps out of white paper and writing insults on them. As we sat down I was reading the hats of some of the other patrons and was amused by one little girl's hat that read "I eat my boogers." I also enjoyed another women's hat that read, "Yes, this is a padded bra." I wasn't quite as amused though when our waiter came to our table and awarded me a hat that read, "I'm not as hott as I think I am." Rude. We then spent the afternoon watching some really talented (and some really strange) street performers. The weather in Boston was fabulous, and it was a nice change to be outside for an entire afternoon without feeling like I just took a shower, fully clothed.
Because my family does things slightly unorthodox at times, my brother Chad and sister in law Stacy ended up buying a car last week in a town that is just about 20 minutes away from me. In order to pick the car up, Stacy flew down to Fort Lauderdale and was able to spend a couple of days with me before driving the car back to Illinois. I still had to work during the nights, so I think we actually only spent a grand total of about 12 waking hours together. I was still pretty impressed we were able to cram in a day at the beach, lunch at Rattlesnake Jake's (once again, do I know how to pick a classy joint or what?), and of course frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf. I also made her earn her keep by taking out our trash, airing up my bike tires, and fixing my computer. It was a very short impromptu visit, but I always love getting to spend time with my family!
I usually try to pick up during my days off if I know I'm just going to spend my days being lazy at home, but this past week I decided to take a little staycation for three days. It was so nice to sleep, clean my apartment, lay out, and hang out with friends. Ahhh, I'm relaxed just remembering those three days!
Love to you all!
I'm on line with my friend Maria this month, which makes trips 100 times more fun then getting stuck with a senior flight attendant who routinely eats a bitter sandwich for breakfast every morning, and probably should have retired about five years ago. Last week we spent a full 30 hours in Boston, which is such an awesome city with tons of things to do and see. We started our morning by hopping on the subway and heading down to the Quincy Market. For being a born and raised country girl, I'm quite proud of myself for learning how to maneuver around on the subway in so many different cities! There were so many food choices there, it was hard to pick just one place to eat. Sticking to my true classy form, I took Maria to Dick's Last Resort...the restaurant where you pay to be insulted and eat mediocre food. There is actually a Dick's Last Resort in Chicago that I have already been to several times, but I'm always highly entertained by this restaurant and continue to come back. The restaurant is famous for making dunce caps out of white paper and writing insults on them. As we sat down I was reading the hats of some of the other patrons and was amused by one little girl's hat that read "I eat my boogers." I also enjoyed another women's hat that read, "Yes, this is a padded bra." I wasn't quite as amused though when our waiter came to our table and awarded me a hat that read, "I'm not as hott as I think I am." Rude. We then spent the afternoon watching some really talented (and some really strange) street performers. The weather in Boston was fabulous, and it was a nice change to be outside for an entire afternoon without feeling like I just took a shower, fully clothed.
Because my family does things slightly unorthodox at times, my brother Chad and sister in law Stacy ended up buying a car last week in a town that is just about 20 minutes away from me. In order to pick the car up, Stacy flew down to Fort Lauderdale and was able to spend a couple of days with me before driving the car back to Illinois. I still had to work during the nights, so I think we actually only spent a grand total of about 12 waking hours together. I was still pretty impressed we were able to cram in a day at the beach, lunch at Rattlesnake Jake's (once again, do I know how to pick a classy joint or what?), and of course frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf. I also made her earn her keep by taking out our trash, airing up my bike tires, and fixing my computer. It was a very short impromptu visit, but I always love getting to spend time with my family!
I usually try to pick up during my days off if I know I'm just going to spend my days being lazy at home, but this past week I decided to take a little staycation for three days. It was so nice to sleep, clean my apartment, lay out, and hang out with friends. Ahhh, I'm relaxed just remembering those three days!
Love to you all!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Ten Thoughts
1-Time goes by so freaking quickly. I just got my bid packet for the month of August...AUGUST! How crazy is that?! Ya wanna know when time didn't fly by? Second grade! I remember staring at the clock during spelling time and thinking at times the clock had actually gone backwards. I'd like a happy medium.
2-My trip to Alaska was AWESOME! It was gorgeous there, and I was able to see a glacier, a Moose, and lots and lots of mountains. I think I had my sweatpants and beanie off for maybe 20 minutes of the entire trip, so to say I was cold there would be a major understatement. The best part of the entire trip was getting to spend time with my cousin Lindsey. It's creepy how much we are alike.
3-After training for a half marathon last year, and being really disappointed that I wasn't able to run in it due to a scheduling conflict with work, I've decided to give the whole half marathon thing another shot. If all goes as planned I'll be running in the Miami Rock n Roll Half Marathon on December 11. I start my training on August 1st. Wish me luck!
4-Crystal Light Strawberry Kiwi packets, delicious!
5-Last week my nieces Lana and Bridget, and my cousin Ashley flew down to spend a few days with me in Florida. They are some of my very favorite people and I had a blast with them! While we were in Boca we hung out at the pool and the beach, rented funny movies, ate way too much ice cream, and went to Boomers, where we rock climbed, rode go-carts and bumper boats, and played arcade games. Over the weekend we went to Orlando and hung out at Disney for a few days. I was really impressed with how well the two little girls did with being away from home for five days, being as young as they are.
6-I'm going to try to ground myself for the month of August. I obviously LOVE traveling, but I'm ready for some time at home during my days off. I'm hoping to get back to Illinois for a visit in September. However, there is a certain baby that is due in August, and I'm not actually sure how long I'll be able to stay away once I start seeing pictures.
7-I've been primarily working red eye flights this month, and as horrible as that sounds to some people, I've actually really enjoyed it thus far. I have no problem staying awake all night, the passengers sleep the entire time (therefore, they aren't ringing their call bell and bothering me), and I don't have to deal with traffic on my to and from the airport. I think it's a win win situation.
8-I am now the proud owner of an iPhone. I've actually been against the whole smart phone craze for quite some time, because frankly I don't really think they're necessary. However, I have to admit that I love it and it's made my life 10,000 times easier. I no longer have to carry my laptop with me on trips, nor call my family and friends to google things like flight times, train schedules, directions back to my hotel, etc. I think they all appreciate me having the phone too.
9-During the summer it rains a lot in Florida. Like seriously everyday at 3:00 in the afternoon it pours for about an hour, and then it's sunny again. Weird.
10-A lot of my friends have recently gotten real people jobs. Like they work at insurance agencies, loan offices, marketing companies, probation departments, schools...it's weird. With that being said, I'm very proud of how accomplished all of them are. A lil shout out to Allison, who had her first day of work today! I think I did well in the whole picking out friends department, if I do say so myself :)
2-My trip to Alaska was AWESOME! It was gorgeous there, and I was able to see a glacier, a Moose, and lots and lots of mountains. I think I had my sweatpants and beanie off for maybe 20 minutes of the entire trip, so to say I was cold there would be a major understatement. The best part of the entire trip was getting to spend time with my cousin Lindsey. It's creepy how much we are alike.
3-After training for a half marathon last year, and being really disappointed that I wasn't able to run in it due to a scheduling conflict with work, I've decided to give the whole half marathon thing another shot. If all goes as planned I'll be running in the Miami Rock n Roll Half Marathon on December 11. I start my training on August 1st. Wish me luck!
4-Crystal Light Strawberry Kiwi packets, delicious!
5-Last week my nieces Lana and Bridget, and my cousin Ashley flew down to spend a few days with me in Florida. They are some of my very favorite people and I had a blast with them! While we were in Boca we hung out at the pool and the beach, rented funny movies, ate way too much ice cream, and went to Boomers, where we rock climbed, rode go-carts and bumper boats, and played arcade games. Over the weekend we went to Orlando and hung out at Disney for a few days. I was really impressed with how well the two little girls did with being away from home for five days, being as young as they are.
6-I'm going to try to ground myself for the month of August. I obviously LOVE traveling, but I'm ready for some time at home during my days off. I'm hoping to get back to Illinois for a visit in September. However, there is a certain baby that is due in August, and I'm not actually sure how long I'll be able to stay away once I start seeing pictures.
7-I've been primarily working red eye flights this month, and as horrible as that sounds to some people, I've actually really enjoyed it thus far. I have no problem staying awake all night, the passengers sleep the entire time (therefore, they aren't ringing their call bell and bothering me), and I don't have to deal with traffic on my to and from the airport. I think it's a win win situation.
8-I am now the proud owner of an iPhone. I've actually been against the whole smart phone craze for quite some time, because frankly I don't really think they're necessary. However, I have to admit that I love it and it's made my life 10,000 times easier. I no longer have to carry my laptop with me on trips, nor call my family and friends to google things like flight times, train schedules, directions back to my hotel, etc. I think they all appreciate me having the phone too.
9-During the summer it rains a lot in Florida. Like seriously everyday at 3:00 in the afternoon it pours for about an hour, and then it's sunny again. Weird.
10-A lot of my friends have recently gotten real people jobs. Like they work at insurance agencies, loan offices, marketing companies, probation departments, schools...it's weird. With that being said, I'm very proud of how accomplished all of them are. A lil shout out to Allison, who had her first day of work today! I think I did well in the whole picking out friends department, if I do say so myself :)
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Good Life
Since I'm aware I've severely neglected my blog these past couple of weeks, I decided I should take advantage of my some free time to scribble something down while I'm laying on the beach. The only problem with writing on the beach, well besides my hand being too greasy from sun tan lotion to grip the pen I'm writing with, is that my mind is complete mush. I'm 100% relaxed with nothing on my mind. So forgive me if this post is lacking the comic relief it's usually laced with. Like Forest Gump's dad, my creative juices are on vacation!
So to answer your burning question of, "What in the world has Kelsey been up to these past couple of weeks?" I can respond to that with one simple word, WORKING! Thankfully for me my work is always mixed with a lot of play.
I've been very fortunate this month and have gotten to fly with really great crew members. During the past two trips I was able to fly with friends of mine that I went through initial training with. The first trip I flew with my friend Lia and we had overnights in Myrtle beach, South Carolina, San Juan, and Orlando. I love the Carolinas! My family used to vacation in Nags Head, North Carolina and that is when I first fell in love with that area. It just feels so beachy and quaint there! I literally feel like I'm living in a real life Nicolas Sparks book! My friend and I went out for a nice dinner there and the next morning I went for a run on the beach, one of my very favorite things to do!
We only had about 12 hours in San Juan, but I still made time to go lay out by the gorgeous pool at the resort where we were staying. The company I work for has contracts with different hotels in each city we layover, so we usually always stay at the same hotels. Because I obviously have a lil bit of a stalker, President Obama just so happened to be in San Juan at the exact same time I was. Coincidence, I think not! This was actually a pretty cool thing as this was the first time an acting president had visited Puerto Rico since President Kennedy in 1961. Several major roads (as well as the airport) were shut down for a couple hours while the president was in town. As a result of this, my crew and I were relocated to a hotel that was closer to the airport. The new hotel was actually a resort, and I loved it for the mere fact that we were greeted with complimentary coconut ice cream upon our arrival. All of the locals were elated that Obama was in town, and nearly all of them were wearing some form of Obama memorabilia.
After asking my cab driver his thoughts on Obama's visit he informed me that he wasn't sure why the president had decided to visit the island, but Obama had his vote! In fact, he had all three of them as he held a drivers licence in Puerto Rico, Florida, and New York. Hmmmmm
The next night I stayed in Orlando. This layover could not have come at anymore of a perfect time for my friends Lita and Sari as their air conditioner had just bit the dust. Something about it being 90+ degrees outside didn't exactly make them excited about sleeping in their upstairs apartment. I always love seeing friends on layovers, so I was more than happy for them to bunk up with me for the night. We spent our exciting night watching CNN and eating Papa John's. What can I say, we know how to party!
I returned home just long enough to do a few loads of laundry, grocery shop, bike ride to the beach, hang out with some friends, pack my suitcase, and hit the runway again! My friend Dan is actually still on reserve and didn't even know he would be on the same trip with me until the day we were leaving. The first night of our trip we layed over in Washington DC. I love having lay overs in this city as there is a ton of stuff to see and do. As soon as we got into our hotel, we hopped on the subway and headed down the Pentagon Memorial. The memorial was really neat and reminded me a lot of the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. At the memorial there is a bench for each person who lost their life on 9/11 at the Pentagon site. It was set up in chronological order so that the oldest person's bench is the first one in the memorial and the youngest person to loose their life is the last. Growing up my family and I always visited national monuments, and I always appreciated them, but usually they were for things, like World War II or the Battle of Shiloh, that I obviously had no emotional ties to. It's just very bizarre seeing tributes to 9/11, as I remember that day very clearly. After viewing the memorial, we continued our touristy activities and visited the capitol as well as the White House. I'm pretty sure Obama was at the White House the same time I was. See what I mean about him following me?
We spent the next two night of our trip in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I had a severe moment of weakness and went shopping. I'll be regretting that in about three weeks when the ol Discover Card bill roles in. Atlantic City has a really cool boardwalk right by the beach that Dan and I went strolling on one evening. Apparently I had some good Karma coming my way because as I walked into one of the many fudge shops along the boardwalk the owner informed me they were closing for the evening and was wondering if I wanted to take all the leftover samples home...FO FREE! If Heaven tastes anything like Rocky Road Fudge, then shoot me now!
I had half heartedly mentioned to Lita on the last day of my trip that I was off for the next two days if she wanted to come visit. I was very surprised when she text me back and said she's be there in the morning. Apparently you don't have to twist this girl's arm to get her to spend two days on the beach. One of my favorite parts of living in South Florida, is that when I have the time to completely relax, it really does feel like a vacation. Lita, Sari, my roommate Stephanie, and I had a great three days eating, drinking, sleeping, and catching some rays!
Have you all heard OneRepublic's new song, Good Life? It pretty much sums things up for this girl! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQOvvV45w
Love and miss you all mucho grande!!!
So to answer your burning question of, "What in the world has Kelsey been up to these past couple of weeks?" I can respond to that with one simple word, WORKING! Thankfully for me my work is always mixed with a lot of play.
I've been very fortunate this month and have gotten to fly with really great crew members. During the past two trips I was able to fly with friends of mine that I went through initial training with. The first trip I flew with my friend Lia and we had overnights in Myrtle beach, South Carolina, San Juan, and Orlando. I love the Carolinas! My family used to vacation in Nags Head, North Carolina and that is when I first fell in love with that area. It just feels so beachy and quaint there! I literally feel like I'm living in a real life Nicolas Sparks book! My friend and I went out for a nice dinner there and the next morning I went for a run on the beach, one of my very favorite things to do!
We only had about 12 hours in San Juan, but I still made time to go lay out by the gorgeous pool at the resort where we were staying. The company I work for has contracts with different hotels in each city we layover, so we usually always stay at the same hotels. Because I obviously have a lil bit of a stalker, President Obama just so happened to be in San Juan at the exact same time I was. Coincidence, I think not! This was actually a pretty cool thing as this was the first time an acting president had visited Puerto Rico since President Kennedy in 1961. Several major roads (as well as the airport) were shut down for a couple hours while the president was in town. As a result of this, my crew and I were relocated to a hotel that was closer to the airport. The new hotel was actually a resort, and I loved it for the mere fact that we were greeted with complimentary coconut ice cream upon our arrival. All of the locals were elated that Obama was in town, and nearly all of them were wearing some form of Obama memorabilia.
After asking my cab driver his thoughts on Obama's visit he informed me that he wasn't sure why the president had decided to visit the island, but Obama had his vote! In fact, he had all three of them as he held a drivers licence in Puerto Rico, Florida, and New York. Hmmmmm
The next night I stayed in Orlando. This layover could not have come at anymore of a perfect time for my friends Lita and Sari as their air conditioner had just bit the dust. Something about it being 90+ degrees outside didn't exactly make them excited about sleeping in their upstairs apartment. I always love seeing friends on layovers, so I was more than happy for them to bunk up with me for the night. We spent our exciting night watching CNN and eating Papa John's. What can I say, we know how to party!
I returned home just long enough to do a few loads of laundry, grocery shop, bike ride to the beach, hang out with some friends, pack my suitcase, and hit the runway again! My friend Dan is actually still on reserve and didn't even know he would be on the same trip with me until the day we were leaving. The first night of our trip we layed over in Washington DC. I love having lay overs in this city as there is a ton of stuff to see and do. As soon as we got into our hotel, we hopped on the subway and headed down the Pentagon Memorial. The memorial was really neat and reminded me a lot of the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. At the memorial there is a bench for each person who lost their life on 9/11 at the Pentagon site. It was set up in chronological order so that the oldest person's bench is the first one in the memorial and the youngest person to loose their life is the last. Growing up my family and I always visited national monuments, and I always appreciated them, but usually they were for things, like World War II or the Battle of Shiloh, that I obviously had no emotional ties to. It's just very bizarre seeing tributes to 9/11, as I remember that day very clearly. After viewing the memorial, we continued our touristy activities and visited the capitol as well as the White House. I'm pretty sure Obama was at the White House the same time I was. See what I mean about him following me?
We spent the next two night of our trip in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I had a severe moment of weakness and went shopping. I'll be regretting that in about three weeks when the ol Discover Card bill roles in. Atlantic City has a really cool boardwalk right by the beach that Dan and I went strolling on one evening. Apparently I had some good Karma coming my way because as I walked into one of the many fudge shops along the boardwalk the owner informed me they were closing for the evening and was wondering if I wanted to take all the leftover samples home...FO FREE! If Heaven tastes anything like Rocky Road Fudge, then shoot me now!
I had half heartedly mentioned to Lita on the last day of my trip that I was off for the next two days if she wanted to come visit. I was very surprised when she text me back and said she's be there in the morning. Apparently you don't have to twist this girl's arm to get her to spend two days on the beach. One of my favorite parts of living in South Florida, is that when I have the time to completely relax, it really does feel like a vacation. Lita, Sari, my roommate Stephanie, and I had a great three days eating, drinking, sleeping, and catching some rays!
Have you all heard OneRepublic's new song, Good Life? It pretty much sums things up for this girl! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQOvvV45w
Love and miss you all mucho grande!!!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Happy One Year Anniversary To Me
This past week I celebrated my one year anniversary of living in Florida. It's crazy to think that it's been one full year since Kristen and I loaded up the Corolla, and made the long drive all the way down to Orlando. It's been an awesome and exciting year, filled with lots of changes! One year in and I have apsolutly no regrets about making my move!
This past week was super fun, but left me very sleep deprived! I am loving knowing my work schedule in advance, it's so much easier to make plans when I at least know in general what I am doing from day to day. Saturday morning I flew from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and ended up in Orlando. I spent my afternoon napping by the pool, and then my friend Kane picked me up for dinner that evening. After dinner, we ended up going to a country line dancing bar called Aligator Ally. Aligator Ally turned out to be a plywood palace that makes the Hunter's Horn (a Greene County establishment) look like a classy joint. The inside of Aligator Ally was complete with a mechanical bull as well as a DJ booth set up in the back of a Ford pick up truck. All of the patrons definitely seemed to be frequent flyers at Alligator Ally as they seriously had a line dance to every song that was played! There was even a cowboys only dance, which involved an interesting game where the men would throw their cowboy hats on the ground and try to get the hat back on their head while doing a handstand. This must be some type of a mating call ritual that they do in the south??? Although we were the only three sober people in the place, and that my friends Kane and Khadz were the only non white guys in the building, the night is still a success in my book!
The next day I had an easy one leg flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I had never had a layover there before, so I was super excited to explore Old San Juan. Thankfully one of the other flight attendants I was on the trip with was from Puerto Rico and was kind enough to serve as my tour guide. We first went to a local coffee shop and had a great latte made from beans grown locally. Then we met up with one of her friends, Franklin, who just so happens to be a salsa instructor, and went dancing at a club called Latin Roots. Now I may be able to tap dance with the best of em, but salsa dancing is not exactly this midwesterners forte. Franklin was very talented in the dancing department, so talented in fact he was able to make me look like a not half bad salsa dancer. One of the live band members even commented that I wasn't bad for a gringo!
The next day I flew back to Fort Lauderdale and then on to New York. My friend Lita was already in New York visiting family and friends, and my friend Christina, who I met while working at Disney, was awesome enough to take off of work and meet us for an afternoon in the city. This was actually my first time ever in New York City, and I had a flipping blast! First of all it was wonderful for the three of us to all be back together again. To me, I consider someone a good friend when we can go months without seeing one another, but then pick up right where we left off. I feel beyond blessed to have many of those close friends in my life, and Lita and Christina are definitely two of them! The girls were already downtown, so I had to take the subway all by myself. After traveling all over the U.S., I am 100% sure that midwesterners are the friendliest people in the country. Even in Chicago, the people are just friendly. New Yorkers, however, not so friendly! It was like pulling teethe just to get someone to answer me when I asked if I was on the train that went to Times Square. Anywho, I finally figured it out and met up with the girls. We spent the day exploring the Time's Square area. We window shopped in the Diamond Distract, I, of course, would have bought something, but I just didn't really see anything I liked.... We then ended the day the way every day should end, with Sushi!
The next morning I flew back to Fort Lauderdale, and Lita actually flew with me. She was warned (threatened) to be on her best behavior. Thankfully she did as she was told and I had no outbreaks of laughter while doing the safety demo. I then continued on my travels for the day and flew to Cancun and then finally back to Fort Lauderdale where I ended my four day trip. I was home for a grand total of 12 hours before I headed back to the airport for a two day trip.
During my two day trip I flew from Fort Lauderdale, to New York, Myrtle Beach, and then ended my day in Chicago. My friend Eric picked me up at the airport and after scarfing down a delicious Chile's salad, we biked on Lake Shore Drive and spent the afternoon at North Avenue Beach. For the record, Chicago was WAY hotter than Ft. Lauderdale. Holy crike, being outside Wednesday was like sticking my head in an oven! After biking back to Eric's apartment, I headed over to by best good friend Allison's new apartment. I was pretty worn out from my crazy week, so it was so nice just to get to hangout with her and have life chats. Our relationship has definitely evolved from our good ol college days as it was a Wednesday night and both of us were yawning uncontrollably by 9:00 P.M.
I made it home yesterday morning, and was elated to spend the day in my bed! I seriously have been running on four hours of sleep or less each night and it has taken it's toll on my body! I slept for six hours during the day, and then was able to sleep nine hours last night. This is one tired girl!!!!
To celebrate one year of Florida living, I decided to treat myself to a little you-did-it gift to myself in the form of a new bike! I just got it this afternoon so I haven't even taken it out for a test drive yet, but I'm stoked about it! I love bike riding and besides my keyboard, it is the second object I have most missed since living in Florida. She's a blue and white Schwinn, and after doing a little research it seemed like the best bang for my buck. I'm so excited to for my many bike riding adventures!
And now for the low light portion of my week. All of my girlfriends from home are currently on vacation in Lake of The Ozarks, most likely laying on noodles in the lake as I type :( Thankfully they haven't completely forgotten about me, as I've been receiving some entertaining phone calls. My brother, Brock, has also been really sick this past week, and ended up having his appendix removed. He is still in a lot of pain and was readmited into the hospital again today. My parent's used a natural conseques approach while raising us four kids. I respect them so much for that and think it has taught me so much more about life than I would have learned from simply being spanked or punished. I love living in Florida! However, a natural consequence of living 20+ hours from home is that I do miss out on things, and sometimes it's a little rough. Now I'm playing the world's smallest violin for the world's saddest story. Ok, ok in all reality life is good, I have no complaints :)
"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." Arthur Rubinstein
This past week was super fun, but left me very sleep deprived! I am loving knowing my work schedule in advance, it's so much easier to make plans when I at least know in general what I am doing from day to day. Saturday morning I flew from Fort Lauderdale to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and ended up in Orlando. I spent my afternoon napping by the pool, and then my friend Kane picked me up for dinner that evening. After dinner, we ended up going to a country line dancing bar called Aligator Ally. Aligator Ally turned out to be a plywood palace that makes the Hunter's Horn (a Greene County establishment) look like a classy joint. The inside of Aligator Ally was complete with a mechanical bull as well as a DJ booth set up in the back of a Ford pick up truck. All of the patrons definitely seemed to be frequent flyers at Alligator Ally as they seriously had a line dance to every song that was played! There was even a cowboys only dance, which involved an interesting game where the men would throw their cowboy hats on the ground and try to get the hat back on their head while doing a handstand. This must be some type of a mating call ritual that they do in the south??? Although we were the only three sober people in the place, and that my friends Kane and Khadz were the only non white guys in the building, the night is still a success in my book!
The next day I had an easy one leg flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I had never had a layover there before, so I was super excited to explore Old San Juan. Thankfully one of the other flight attendants I was on the trip with was from Puerto Rico and was kind enough to serve as my tour guide. We first went to a local coffee shop and had a great latte made from beans grown locally. Then we met up with one of her friends, Franklin, who just so happens to be a salsa instructor, and went dancing at a club called Latin Roots. Now I may be able to tap dance with the best of em, but salsa dancing is not exactly this midwesterners forte. Franklin was very talented in the dancing department, so talented in fact he was able to make me look like a not half bad salsa dancer. One of the live band members even commented that I wasn't bad for a gringo!
The next day I flew back to Fort Lauderdale and then on to New York. My friend Lita was already in New York visiting family and friends, and my friend Christina, who I met while working at Disney, was awesome enough to take off of work and meet us for an afternoon in the city. This was actually my first time ever in New York City, and I had a flipping blast! First of all it was wonderful for the three of us to all be back together again. To me, I consider someone a good friend when we can go months without seeing one another, but then pick up right where we left off. I feel beyond blessed to have many of those close friends in my life, and Lita and Christina are definitely two of them! The girls were already downtown, so I had to take the subway all by myself. After traveling all over the U.S., I am 100% sure that midwesterners are the friendliest people in the country. Even in Chicago, the people are just friendly. New Yorkers, however, not so friendly! It was like pulling teethe just to get someone to answer me when I asked if I was on the train that went to Times Square. Anywho, I finally figured it out and met up with the girls. We spent the day exploring the Time's Square area. We window shopped in the Diamond Distract, I, of course, would have bought something, but I just didn't really see anything I liked.... We then ended the day the way every day should end, with Sushi!
The next morning I flew back to Fort Lauderdale, and Lita actually flew with me. She was warned (threatened) to be on her best behavior. Thankfully she did as she was told and I had no outbreaks of laughter while doing the safety demo. I then continued on my travels for the day and flew to Cancun and then finally back to Fort Lauderdale where I ended my four day trip. I was home for a grand total of 12 hours before I headed back to the airport for a two day trip.
During my two day trip I flew from Fort Lauderdale, to New York, Myrtle Beach, and then ended my day in Chicago. My friend Eric picked me up at the airport and after scarfing down a delicious Chile's salad, we biked on Lake Shore Drive and spent the afternoon at North Avenue Beach. For the record, Chicago was WAY hotter than Ft. Lauderdale. Holy crike, being outside Wednesday was like sticking my head in an oven! After biking back to Eric's apartment, I headed over to by best good friend Allison's new apartment. I was pretty worn out from my crazy week, so it was so nice just to get to hangout with her and have life chats. Our relationship has definitely evolved from our good ol college days as it was a Wednesday night and both of us were yawning uncontrollably by 9:00 P.M.
I made it home yesterday morning, and was elated to spend the day in my bed! I seriously have been running on four hours of sleep or less each night and it has taken it's toll on my body! I slept for six hours during the day, and then was able to sleep nine hours last night. This is one tired girl!!!!
To celebrate one year of Florida living, I decided to treat myself to a little you-did-it gift to myself in the form of a new bike! I just got it this afternoon so I haven't even taken it out for a test drive yet, but I'm stoked about it! I love bike riding and besides my keyboard, it is the second object I have most missed since living in Florida. She's a blue and white Schwinn, and after doing a little research it seemed like the best bang for my buck. I'm so excited to for my many bike riding adventures!
And now for the low light portion of my week. All of my girlfriends from home are currently on vacation in Lake of The Ozarks, most likely laying on noodles in the lake as I type :( Thankfully they haven't completely forgotten about me, as I've been receiving some entertaining phone calls. My brother, Brock, has also been really sick this past week, and ended up having his appendix removed. He is still in a lot of pain and was readmited into the hospital again today. My parent's used a natural conseques approach while raising us four kids. I respect them so much for that and think it has taught me so much more about life than I would have learned from simply being spanked or punished. I love living in Florida! However, a natural consequence of living 20+ hours from home is that I do miss out on things, and sometimes it's a little rough. Now I'm playing the world's smallest violin for the world's saddest story. Ok, ok in all reality life is good, I have no complaints :)
"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." Arthur Rubinstein
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