My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
Not every view from my office is spectacular. Some views are on the boring side; a dull gray. But we have miles and miles of gray with a bump thrown in here and there, for good measure. Should be back in Columbus tomorrow just in time for the snow. 🙁
The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer. – Gordon Parks
The Ringling Museum of Art, built by John Ringling, housed his personal collection of masterpieces and features paintings and sculptures by the great Old Masters. It is located in Sarasota, Florida and is only a hop-skip and a jump from our hotel. this image is taken along the side of the court yard where statues line the hallways. If you ever get a chance to see this, I recommend it. If you’re there on Mondays, it’s free admission. If you’re into good images of architecture then I also recommend heading over to Chris Klug’s blog and check out his images from his trip to Portugal. Awesome!
The last two mornings the temperature was in the single digits when I begrudgingly crawled out of my warm bed. This morning it’s 23 degrees, feels like a heat wave. So, laundry is going, the latte is made and the pumpkin/walnut scones are made. It’s gonna be a good day! Hope you have a good one also!
I don’t like the cold. I don’t like to be out in it. It amazes me those who can work in it. I watch those rampers at the airport in all sorts of weather conditions and feel they do not make enough money. Anyway, it’s snowing again still and cold. It seems I don’t function well when it’s cold, mentally and physically. Enough complaining.
I bought a new lens, the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. I’ve been looking at it for some time now. The small size and weight along with some good reviews are what attracted me to it. I took it out today, in the cold and snow, to Blendon Woods park just to get a feel of it and see how it performed. Man it was cold so back to the apartment and warm up with a latte. I’ll keep ya posted.
In a conversation with a fellow flight attendant, Rhonda, she told me how much she enjoys her work. And, it shows through her works ethics, how she interacts with passengers and, most importantly, she is someone I want beside me if the stuff ever hits the fan. Working as a flight attendant fits her. It offers her something that tugs at her heart and keeps her coming to work. I can relate to all of that as a photographer. I’ve often asked myself why I spend time seeing the world through a cameras viewfinder then post processing those images. To some that’s a waste of time, yet to a photographer something tugs at our hearts and holds us as willing captive tin it’s grip.
I’ve been at this flight attendant work for almost 4 years. I seldom share why I show up at the gate at 4:45 in the morning when it’s 20 degrees outside and then present a safety demonstration to passengers who would rather I shut-up and let them sleep. (Now that’s grumpy, Earl!) Well, I do it because of the people. It doesn’t matter their age, gender, color, culture, status or if their grumpy. They are people wanting to safely get from here to there and placing their trust in us. So, I show up.
Another reason I do it is because of the views. As my conversation with Rhonda continued along I heard myself tell her how I moved from working in a cubicle to working in a tubicle. And, oh how that view changed dramatically. n all honesty the cubicle had no view while flying has breathtaking views that change constantly. I don’t always get a chance to check out the views but every once in a while I can take a quick peek out the window and let out a long “Aaahhh” along with those passengers (who are awake). The above image is an example and was taken with my iphone. So, the views are another reason I show up.
I want to make sure you understand that I do not do this work for the money. I repeat I do not do this work for the money. The simple reason for that is because there isn’t any to be made. But, I show up anyway because of the above reasons and few others that I won’t bore you with now.
This post is not about photography. It’s about sharing my work as a flight attendant, the one that pays my bills.
Flying in bad weather can make for a physically exhausting day and I’m not talking about the continuous flapping of my arms. During turbulence, mild or severe, flight attendants will always be bodily tired. First, our work requires long hours of standing as we seldom have time to sit, too many passengers feeling needy. And, if you were to ever sit in a flight attendants jumpseat you would understand why we stand, our seats are straight backed and no padding. But more importantly, when we do stand we never stand in a relaxed stance like you would on a street corner. There is always some muscle working hard to keep our balance whether we are standing in the galley or fighting for balance with a coke in one hand and scalding hot coffee in the other.
Sunday was a rough day for flying with lots of turbulence due to the massive weather system moving across the states. On turbulent days it always feels good to be touching down after an hour and half flight, whether the pilots landed softly or smacked us hard. After settling into my hotel room last night, I ran myself a hot tub of water and soaked. Felt good. My body needed it. By the time you read this I will be back in the air flapping my arms wildly somewhere along the east coast and struggling to keep my balance. Hope everyone has a good week. And, please don’t ask for eight sugars to go in that six ounce cup of coffee. You don’t need that much sugar, you’ll permanently stick to the ceiling. 🙂
PS: If you read this far thanks for the patience in hearing me out. Oh, and can you believe it’s less than two weeks till Christmas?