My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
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?
I went to Old Town Gahanna a couple of nights ago, when it was too darn cold to be there. My simple self-assignment was to look for Christmas images. I was a bit disappointed as there didn’t seem to be as many lights or decorations in Old Gahanna as last year. It seemed blasé. As I walked through the square I kept wondering where the spirit of Christmas was. Each year they erect a large Christmas tree and was one of the reasons I headed down there. As I walked towards the back of the square, along the rivers edge, I discovered they had installed a small skating rink for the kids. Sadly, it was closed, so a note to self is to come back another time and hopefully find a few skaters and iamges. And, guess what, I had another egg nog latte to warm up with when I got home. If I’m not careful, I may put on 50 pounds this year during the holidays. 🙂 And, I did find the tree. They placed in a different area so here it is.
Yesterdays offering was mostly dull gray skies interspersed with teasing moments of warm sunshine. With the still frigid temperatures there was no motivation to venture outside for any extended period of time, and I could hear the voice of reasoning whispered suggestions of making my way to one of the local coffee house. Once inside I found myself willingly being swallowed by a tattered and worn brown leather chair located in one corner. I gently placed my cup of hot chocolate, heaped with whip cream, on the table beside me. It was now reading time so I curled up with my e-book, confirming that life is good on this gray afternoon.
If you notice the hats are all on the smaller cactus and it’s pretty easy to figure out why. Not sure i’d want to climb up beside the saguaro and put a hat on top. When I ponder it for while, I’m not sure I would attempt to put any hats on any cactus. A Christmas tree seems far safer. Poor “tall” saguaro!
The temperature was 12 degrees this morning at 6:00 am. Light snow has been falling since yesterday. It’s not a day to be out and about even it it did get up to 25 degrees. My plan for the day was to put a roast in the crock pot, then take over the couch in a prone position and do some enjoyable reading. To accompany the roast on my plate, I added steamed asparagus with a slab of butter and baked potato (with two three slabs butter) and a tossed salad. Made for a good day. After finishing dishes I made an Egg Nog latte. I then parked myself in the easy chair and dreamed of my Christmas wish list. Have you made your list?
Follow your heart and your dreams will come true.
We had an early show time yesterday morning, 4:45 am (O-dark-thirty). This is not the best time for flight attendants to face grumpy passengers. It must be done tactfully and gracefully or all hell can break lose. We kept the lights down low and let them sleep. The sounds of a few snorts here and there confirms they are sleeping, danger is averted. And, believe it or not, we have another early show time today at 4:55 am. And people think this is a glamorous job.
Anyway, as I mentioned in yesterdays post the snow was on it’s way into the Ohio Valley while we were heading south. Charlotte was the first stop, arriving there before most of you were out of bed, maybe a few of you were even snoring. We then flew down to Key West, sat there for an hour and half before making our way back to Charlotte. Man was that hard to do. It was cruel, I tell ya.
The skies down there were clear and bright. Temperature were edging up to 70 degrees and it was only 10:30 in the morning. I walked around the aircraft in an effort to stretch my legs and just enjoy the warmth. That’s where this image was taken. It is the tail of the aircraft aligned with the tip of wing against that blue sky. I’m now in my cozy hotel room in Baltimore, shoes are off, the bed looks inviting and I’m glad to have gotten out of Columbus just in time.