It's Go-Home Day! Unfortunately, as we were on the approach to runway 6L, I witnessed the flight I wanted to catch - Waterski 3312 - take runway 6R for departure. My next attempt is the 8:45 pm flight, which leaves me with several hours to kill. I thought briefly about using this time wisely by calling the Crowne Plaza to come pick me up and getting a room so I could go for a run and take a shower lest I have to sit in the jumpseat. However, as I walked by Dunkin' Donuts I noticed there wasn't a line - and the coffee was calling my name! I figured I'd save the $$ for the crappy schedule I'm sure to get in October.
Seriously, it's like the people of Crew Planning get together every month for a delicious dinner, probably catered by some big name and then billed to the Company. I picture a ritual in which they hold hands, pray, recite the Company's Mission Statements with their hearts in their throats and a eyes welling up with tears of pride. They break the bread and share the wine. After the feast, they pick their teeth, put on our dreadful boarding music, pass around the bong, and try to one-up each other on how to make each base more miserable than they were the last month. Especially the bases that are composed of crewmembers who have been displaced from a base where they were really happy. They'll sit in a circle and let the creative juices flow. Someone takes a hit, "ffffffft........ cough cough.... all right.... How 'bout this?" EXHALE....... "Let's give them a 0225 show on a Sunday (because everyone knows it's next to impossible to commute on a Saturday), make them fly 7 legs, include a 4:55 minute sit somewhere that doesn't have a crew room, follow that with a reduced-rest overnight with one leg the next day, and top it off with a 36 hour overnight somewhere in a cow pasture so there's nothing to do, and THEN, we end the trip too late for them to catch a flight home!!"
This elicits a round of applause and clinking of shotglasses filled with top-shelf tequila as they continue their brainstorm of trip-pairing misery. After their work is done, they play Naked Twister and send the one no one can stand to go get twinkies from the convenience store. The first person to fall asleep awakens to find a video of himself on YouTube getting duct taped to the couch. His friends fart bare-assed in his face as he wets his pants because someone put his hand in a bowl of warm water. As dawn breaks the next day, they wipe their sleepy eyes, brew coffee as they shake off their buzz, exchange hugs, and watch the facebook news feed in breathless anticipation for the hilarious reactions of the pilots as they see what's in store for them.
I'm sorry, this month's bid is still fresh in my mind. Just when you think the trips can't get any worse, they do.
This will all be worth it one day. I really do believe that. One day, I won't be living paycheck to paycheck. One day, I'll be doing the long-haul stuff. One day, I will make this dream work. One day.
But for now, I find happiness in the opportunity to work with the best people in the world. I like that every traveler I encounter has a story. I find happiness in little things that no other job in the world would offer me.
I watched the sunrise this morning through ever-changing pastels, the night sky going from black to blue just before the first rays of sunlight break through the pink, purple, and orange clouds..... sipping my coffee and enjoying a completely smooth ride as even ATC is quiet..... that makes "paying your dues" not so bad.
Crew Planning..... bring it on. I choose to be happy.
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