ALL CLEAR!

Hello! Welcome to my new blog, Five Cabin Checks. :-) First things first...

In the world of being a flight attendant, this means:
1. Making sure all seatbelts are fastened.
2. No smoking.
3. All carry-on luggage is properly stowed.
4. Seatbacks are upright and locked.
5. Tray tables are stowed.

However, for purposes of creating an interesting blog that my friends and family (and some other interested blog readers) are going to want to come visit on a regular basis... All of my 'Five Cabin Checks' entries will cover five funny stories, five observations of the seemingly CRAZY airline industry, five fun layovers overseas, five thoughts on life, etc... that will make you want to come back at least five times or more.

For privacy purposes, I'm not choosing to reveal the company that I am (training to) work for. All you need to know is that it is a charter airline... companies and tour operators hire [them] to charter planes for business, personal, travel, and in some cases, government-related trips... and with the unfortunate recent decline of the airline industry as a whole, this thriving company is particularly BOOMING with contracts waiting to be signed; assuming there are enough flight attendants and pilots to staff their multiple Boeing 737, 757, 767, and MD-80 planes.

That's where we come in. I am currently in a training class of 20 individuals, the fifth class to graduate in 2008. We are on the last leg, of our 'race', so to say, but also quite possibly the toughest. We started on July 10th and are receiving our WINGS on August 1st. Rumor has it that there is another class beginning this Friday when we are due to graduate, but honestly, I've been so pre-occupied in memorizing my entire FAM (Flight Attendant Manual) and trying to catch cat naps whenever I can that I have NO idea what is going on outside the world of FAA rules and regulations. I JUST realized today that the month of July is pretty much over and done with. We only have 3 days left of classroom work, competency checks, quizzes, and exams... but we also have an entire plane to learn from the inside out, a final exam to study for, and most importantly, a graduation ceremony to practice smiling for. Although it seems close, it is still SO far away...

I must explain the title 'ALL CLEAR' before I put an end to my first entry. (Because I MAY be referring to it quite often as it has somewhat branded me as a goofball amongst my fellow trainees.) On the very first day of class... when there were 23 of us (Yes, some people HAVE dropped out...), we were challenged to our FIRST quiz, covering all of our 'Home Study' material including abbreviations that previously meant absolutely nothing to me. Tell me... What do these mean to you? Take a guess, I dare you.

1. FAR
2. ATC
3. PSU
4. PIC
5. A/C

Let me tell you. They didn't mean nearly as much to me the first day of training as they do now. Especially the last one. By the time I got to A/C... I was thinking, "Air conditioning? All clear? What the hell?" So I put "All Clear." Sounded good, right? NO. It actually meant "Aircraft." You know, those 'metal tubes' flying through the air at 30,000 feet that take you anywhere in the world you need to go and have intrigued me since I was a little girl? That transport people to and from point A to point B... vacations, honeymoons, business deals, to families, to loved ones... things that I now want to know from the inside out... that is ultimately going to take me from one end of this world to the other, and most importantly, always back home again? When I walked out of that first quiz I immediately blurted out... "WHAT WAS A/C??" Everyone confidently told me, "AIRCRAFT!" I shamefully told them the ridiculous answer I came up with. All I could do was laugh, cup my hand by my mouth, and yell... "All CLEAR!" Everyone laughed along with me, and all I could think was, "God, I hope I make it through this." Well, here I am... 16 exhausting, yet ABSOLUTELY EXCITING classroom days later with only 3 left to go... and you BETTER believe "ALL CLEAR" will be shouted from the ROOFTOPS the day that my instructor pins those wings on my chest.

This is only the beginning of NEW FRIENDS, new destinations, and new life experiences. And I want to record IT ALL.

Cheers!