Everyone deserves a day off: Ours just happened to be in Thailand!!

Good morning, Pattaya!!!


This was the BEAUTIFUL view from my balcony in Thailand.

Luckily the hotel's A/C was on full blast 24/7 while we were there, because it was about 90 degrees and HUMID every single day!! It was funny... the first thing I wanted to do every morning was step outside onto the balcony and see what was going on at the beach and by the pool. I also would want to take pictures, but after keeping my camera indoors all night in the "arctic tundra" which was my room... I had to wait a couple minutes for the lens to de-fog!

Isn't this view unreal?? To the left was a downtown area with loud music and lights on until the wee hours of the morning... and the area where we stayed was much more laid-back, yet still had activities going on throughout the afternoon. (Perfect, in my opinion.)

Rumor had it there were also speedboat rides you could take from the hotel's beach property to the downtown area for around $25 per person... but with a 5-star hotel, delicious restaurant and bar food, poolside cocktails, fun water sports and contests in the pool area, and staff waiting on us non-stop, why would we want to go anywhere else??

Starting our day with a little tour of the hotel grounds... Stefanie, Me, and our other great friend and crew member Jill Litton. Us girls had such a great time together! Can't believe this is our "job"!

And, of course... traveling with Philippe is ALWAYS fun for me, too!! :-)

Heading down to the Hotel's beach property in the daytime... the tide sure was lower than the night before, but it was so nice to see what it looked like in daylight!!

Starting our "day off" on the right foot, I must say...

Cheers!

-Lisa :-)

Our first night in Pattaya, Thailand!!

WOW!!!!

As we checked into the hotel in Pattaya, we suddenly forgot about the LONG day of commercialing we had just gone through to get to the opposite end of the world!!!

After we got all settled into our rooms, we all met downstairs to take a walk around the hotel property. The beach was just STEPS away, and it was so beautiful at night!!

Stefanie, me, & Philippe REALLY love it here!!! And we ALSO love the fact that we have a 60 hour layover before we have to work a flight to Dubai. Couldn't have gotten luckier with this trip!!! :-)

Cheers!!

-Lisa :-)

My First "Around the World" Trip!!

Hello all!!!

There are a couple different ways that a flight attendant such as myself can be "placed" on a trip. You can either be sitting on Reserve and be "ready to fly" at any time they may need you, or you can ALSO bid for what we call "Open Time". Open time trips are usually last-minute in nature, and its a great way for flight attendants on their off days to pick up extra hours if they'd like.

Well last Friday, I was sitting at home 'minding my own business', when I received an email asking for 5 flight attendants to take an open trip that had just come up... TO THAILAND AND DUBAI!!!!! Wow!!! I immediately responded to the email and luckily, was awarded the trip later that afternoon that was departing on Sunday morning. I had a day and a half to scramble together some stuff... although warm weather clothes are ALWAYS easier to pack, so it wasn't THAT difficult... and I was on my way West commercialing with my crew all the way from Chicago to Seoul, Korea!!!

Philippe and I BOTH got the trip, so we commercialed out of Chicago O'Hare together. How nice!! :-)

Korean Air is now my new favorite airline. They had little "Comfort Packs" waiting for us on our seats of the SUPER CLEAN 747 we flew on. Inside the zippered pouch was an eye mask, a pair of comfortable socks (which was PERFECT for me... I was wearing heels that I was dying to take off!), a tiny toothbrush and even tinier tube of toothpaste, and a lanyard to hang the bag around your neck, if you'd like. (I didn't... didn't go with the outfit. HAHAHAHA!)

Lunch is served!!! Philippe, myself, and our dear friend Miss Stefanie Glidden were fortunate enough to share a row for the 14 hour flight!!! Helps to be near people you both KNOW and LIKE on long flights like these!!! We also each had our own personal television screen with TONS of movies available. Thats what I did the ENTIRE flight! I watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic", "Bride Wars", "Marley & Me", "Revolutionary Road", and a couple episodes of "Friends". I didn't WANT to sleep with all that entertainment!!! :-)

This is the 747 that we came into Seoul, South Korea on. My first time on a Boeing 747 and it was a BEAUTY!!!! Loved it!!!!

CHEERS!!!!!

ALOHA!!! Hilo, Hawaii trip, May 2009

MY FIRST HAWAII TRIP!!!!

I was SO excited when I saw this trip pop up on my schedule!! We don't usually fly to Hawaii, but it was a 'special mission' of sorts that Ryan was fortunate enough to do for the Department of Justice.

Good morning, Hilo!!! This is the view I had from my balcony at 6:30am at the hotel in Hilo, Hawaii.

When you walked out of the hotel lobby, the first thing you saw was a beautiful view of the Hilo Bay.

Soaking up the sun while we could! One of my favorite co-workers, Debbie Reeder loves the SUN even more than I do!!! She was out at the pool at 7am that morning in Hilo. We were only there for a mere 16 hours, but we made the most of it!!! :-)

This was one of the best and healthiest-tasting sandwiches I've ever had in my life!!! Made by a local on the island... thick wheat bread, turkey, tomatoes, sprouts, and cucumbers. I could make it myself at home... but it won't ever taste as good as it did in Hawaii!!! :-)

Not many people will ever be able to travel to Hawaii for "work"... let alone have an amazing overnight there and have it paid for by the company! We LOVE Hawaii... and we LOVE our jobs. :-)

From the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific... I'm still loving my job, now more than ever!!!

Our awesome crew we had: From top left: Lindsay Mitchell (Lead Flight Attendant), Shelley Holt, Stefanie Glidden. From bottom left: Debbie Reeder, Raashi Weaver, Chaniesa Peal, Me

Lindsay is such a fantastic lead! She is so even-tempered and super cool when things go "pear-shaped". A great lead F/A is determined by how they react in unexpected situations. She always keeps her cool!

CHEERS to Hawaii!!!!

-LiSA :-)

Boeing 767 Jet Pictures

Hello everyone!!

I've been wanting to pose in the 767 jet engine ever since I started, and finally when the engines cooled I had my chance. :-)

CHEERS!

-Lisa :-)

Grocery shopping in Leipzig, Germany!

Welcome to Kaufland!!! The biggest grocery store in Leipzig... conveniently located just steps away from our hotel.

Carts are only 1 euro to rent... with 4 moving wheels, and you even get the euro back when you return the cart (a la Aldi at home!) :-)

Don't forget your wine...

... Or your kitty treats. :-)

Looking for produce and more grocery items? Take the escalator upstairs and begin your shopping spree!

All kinds of bread... rolls, loaves, sourdough, wheat.. you name it, they have it!

And some lunchmeat to go with that bread, perhaps?

Jar of sweet pickles (Gewurz-gherkins) to snack on, or to put on sandwiches...

... And finally, head back down to the registers to pay for it all. (Don't worry, the wheels on the 4-wheel carts lock on the escalator... no runaway cart accidents HERE!!!)


Ahh... nothing like a stocked fridge to get you through these long Germany layovers. What a way to save a couple bucks on our trips! Brilliant! :-)

Cheers!!

-Lisa :-)

Bucharest, Romania

Our layover in Bucharest was short and sweet... but we had a beautiful view from a downtown hotel and a Benihana in the lobby, so we made the most of it! ;-)

Cortney tried sushi for the first time in her life... needless to say, she won't be having it again any time soon! :-)

Crew picture from left: Me, Ray, and Tammy. Bottom: Cortney, Jill, and Henry. So much fun!

CHEERS!

-Lisa :-)