From: Dusty I asked my co-worker to snap a pic of me on our smaller aircraft, the Embraer E190 before the passengers came on. Someone commented that it looked like we were flying to Heaven because of the way the picture looked. hahaha. It does look a bit white lightish and hazy. haha.
Hope all is well with everyone!
David
So, how was your first REAL trip? Meet any crazy customers?
From: Dusty
Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2008 12:51 amYes, two tonight that were fighting. Two dudes were hitting each other from the FLL flight to JFK. Both me and the F3 went over to see what was up. They were friends getting into some disagreement. They settled down for a few minutes, but started back and I wasn't having any of it, so I walked back up with my F3 and told the guy I was giving him his one and only warning and that was to behave or I'd move one of them to the back of the plane. haha. It was crazy but I handled it well.
Other than that- flying is FUN. I can't believe I'm doing this! LOL. You should do it too!!!!!!!!
What's new with you?
Dusty
From: Dusty
From: DustyI did it!! I've passed my tests and my final and now I'm officially a real Flight Attendant!! woo hoo!! haha. I can't believe it- no, really- I can't believe it. haha. I still don't think that I'm a F/A or that I'll be working on a plane and living in JFK. haha.
I got information on my first IOE flight (a graded flight) today!! I'm flying from JFK to LAS and back! The good thing is that I'll be doing it with my soon-to-be-roommate, Aaron. I don't know how that happened, but it's cool that I'll have a familiar face on my flight. That starts on the 4th of Feb. I think it's cool because I've never been to LAS before and well, there ya go- I get to be in LAS, even if it's for a 20 min turn-around. haha. Too funny!
Our February scheduling should be coming out in a day (maybe tonight) - I have no control over that since we weren't allowed to bid. But by Friday, the March schedules should be up where I can bid for my days off. I think I'll go for Tues and Wed each week (we get 12 days off- the other day I'll let Crew Services pick). We'll see how it goes!
Hope all is well!!
Dusty
Well, I have successfully passed all my exams with flying colors! My test today I got a 98 and my CPR drill went without incident. Yay! Now the only thing left is our oral final exam on Tuesday then it's all in the clear for graduation on Wednesday at Noon!!!!!!!!I got my name badge today! haha.
Oh and I have a crash pad in NY already lined up. It looks good from the pics that I've seen and I'll be with a bunch of us newbie jetBlue peeps. About 8 of us are all crashing at one place so it will be nice and kind of like family. It is a new property and there is ample parking spaces (on street) and I wouldn't have to move my car around for street cleaning if I were to drive it up - not sure what I'll do with my car other than possibly leave it at IAD for when I come home, though I can only get free parking at one airport. haha. Hmmm.
Hope all is well-
Dusty
Things in jetBlue land are still great. After the big emergency equipment test snafu where most of the class failed, we had our retake on Monday. The test before that I made a 97 and the last test we had I made a 90.
Today we had our evacuation drill tests and I was lucky enough (being sarcastic here) to have been given the Embraer simulator for my demo and an unplanned water ditching. The sarcasm - because water ditchings have more command words to yell plus you have to put on your life vest and do some additional things to the slides. (In the simulator, you have to 'pretend' with the slides as they don't activate them for this drill.) On these drills you would have been given either a ditching or a unplanned land evacuation (crash) with an added bonus like a pregnant lady at the slide or the slide was too steep, etc. You had to be on top of your game to call out the correct command.
Anyway, mine started off a bit rocky- I was in the back of the E190 (FA#2) and it was my second time doing a water ditching. I started off my evacuation ok- the commands were coming out good (not tongue tied). I had a bit of a time getting my life vest on as well as placing my hands on the aft handle in order to open the entry door... and I also forgot to inflate the pretend 'slide' too. hahaha. But by the time I got to the service door I knew it wasn't going well and I gave up and called it quits so I could do it over. I did it over and passed. Nothing major - many people got it on their 2nd try.
Now we have just 2 tests left and we're done! It's hard to believe that next Wednesday I'll be getting my wings. Wow. A new hire class started yesterday - about 90 new Inflight Crewmembers! Woo-hoo! 2nd class for 2008 and now my senority has been upped a bit! haha.
Lots of hugs and love,
Dusty
Thanks for the positive thoughts- it worked.... I got an 88. Low, but thankfully passing. BUT the test was a bit screwy since many of us weren't sure exactly how and what to study. The learning course we took about the equipment was taught in a different way than the study guide and to add to it- we had to know both planes. Would you believe that about 30 people failed the test today? That's INSANE. One of my friends from class was among those failed and I was worried that he wouldn't pull through on the retake (cause you have to have 100% on the 2nd try). But luckily the instructors decided that there was a problem with the exam and decided to make it invalid for all and we'll be tested again on it next week. Whew. My friend is saved. But it also goes to show that we need to study more because it's not the easy stuff like last week that we're learning about.
Today we got our badges! LOL. Check it out! I'm finally 'CREW'!!!!!! What do you think?
Love ya,
Dusty "jetBlue Crew"
Well, our base assignments came out today and JFK is my home base! Woo Hoo! There weren't a lot of slots open for that- maybe 15 of us got it and we're the oldest, so that's good to know where I rank in seniority with this class. The rest got BOS as their base. BOS would have been another excellent choice- maybe even better since it is expanding more and there is more need for reserves there, which would push up seniority and status quicker. But whatever, I don't mind. If I fly over 100 hours a month, so be it- I'll be making money. LOL.
It's a bit scary- I have my emergency equipment test tomorrow on both aircraft. I can kind of wrap my brain around it, but when I look at the 'pickle' (drawing of the plane) I get all nervous that I won't know where the equipment is located. haha. But no worries- I know I'll be fine. :-) Did I tell you this school teacher in my class said that she used to tell her class that they need to be like the little train that could and always say "I know I can" rather than "I can't"? I told her that was perfect advice because when you think you can't do something, you end up believing it and you won't pass, but if you remain confident and positive, you'll feel better about studying. At least that's the way I feel here. I try to remain positive and when I start to feel negative, I counter act.
Today I went down the escape slides of the A320 and the E190! It was fun! haha.
I see that a BA 777 ran off the runway at Heathrow!! Scary, but it just goes to show that Safety is first and that what we're learning now in class is HUGE for what we're doing in this job.
What's new with you?
Dusty
P.S. Tomorrow is the test and a pool drill where we have to get into a raft! LOL
From: Dusty
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 5:50 pmYea, no base in IAD- I knew that but I thought on their map it looked like there was one. LOL. I put down JFK as my choice and will probably commute to work using a Crash Pad for a short while until I figure out how that goes, etc. I had seriously thought about FLL as a place to move to- how cool would it be with the beach? But there aren't enough reserve flights in and out of FLL, so the money isn't that good. JFK really is where it's at and by Sept they'll have their new gate opened up. We'll see. I have no house so it's easy for me to do whatever. LOL. But NY living? Ummmm dunno.
I'm proud of myself too and I remain positive on these tests. At first when we go over the lecture in class I get overwhelmed because it looks difficult and I size it up by the amount of pages, etc, but when I read it - it's simple. But now with the evac drills, that will be a bit challenging. I can do it- it's just the whole- I have to act it out in front of people. haha.
Dusty
Today I made a 95 on my Airbus A320 test. boooo. I wanted a higher score, but whatever, it's higher than an 80, which is our bottom line score. I missed 3 questions and noticed that one was because I didn't 'read' it as good as I thought. But now I know. haha.
Looks like the fun is over and we'll be getting into heavier things. We went over the Safety side of the job today. Eeeek. It's tough! It's really not all about serving drinks as much as it is always watching out for who can be your 'able bodied person' to help you out in the event of an emergency landing, whether it be on land or water. There is a TON of procedures to learn about all these things! It's crazy, but then again I knew it was all about Safety and we all know it's nothing more than a tube of metal flying at 500 mph! haha. I'll get through it!
Hope all is well!
Dusty
Well, I made a 98 on my second test! I missed one question. Whew! Tomorrow I have a test on the Airbus A320. It's got a bit more stuff, but I think I can handle it. haha.
Still excited,
Dusty
Well, I did it! I made my first 100 on my city code, 24-hour clock and Flight Attendant Manual test! Whew! haha. One down and about 7 more to go, plus drills, all in 2 weeks time.
Another cool thing for me today was that I also got to close, arm, disarm and open the rear entry door of a mock Embrarer 190! Too cool. Oh, and not to mention I got to walk around the mock plane and get my feel for it and check out the lights, the storage carts, boxes, etc. It was fun! I'll have my test on the E190 on Monday and then the Airbus 320 on Tuesday I guess. Whew. A lot of stuff. Anyway-still having fun here at JetBlue University! haha.
Hope all is well-
Dusty
Well, yes and no. I'm officially a JetBlue Crewmember on their payroll. I finally got my documents and flight info for my trip tomorrow to MCO!!!!! (That's the airline city code for Orlando, Florida.- Cheryl Ann) I'm nervous as hell. And yes, I am trying to think positive. But still the studying and testing. AAAAHHH!
Orientation lasts 2 days and we'll be in class 6 days a week for 4 weeks from 0800 to 1800 (or there abouts). I have my laptop, (yes, I bought a laptop!) and will try to keep in touch when I can. I'll also bring my camera to take pictures.
Well, wish me the best of luck so that I can earn my wings!! haha. That sounds sooo funny! Now I'll need a catchy closing for the airline industry. Hmmm..
Love ya!
Dusty
He's applied to jetBlue for a flight attendant position. He's been accepted on a conditional basis, and is scheduled to begin training January 9 in Ft. Lauderdale.
