Graduated FA School + Hollywood

I'm sitting here on an early Saturday afternoon as travelers pass me in the DFW Airport. It's my second day as an official FA (Flight Attendant) but I've been traveling as an FA for almost a week now.

This morning called for a 4am wake up call in order to make my 6am flight. I stayed in a hotel in North Carolina and crashed on the bed at 7pm the night before. This job requires odd sleeping hours, as I'm finding out.

 Graduation!

One thing I needed to consider is the amount of money I would need to get started. I started FA ground school in early August and have spent $1500 easy in the past month on FA supplies, uniforms, food and taxi/rental transportation. Not to mention that I still had to pay my bills even though I had no income for the month of August.

I was very hopeful to start making income for September, but as a newbie it's very difficult.  Since I'm the fresh employee who is at the bottom of the totem pole, there is no assigned schedule for me yet. Which means that I have to be near the airport on-call, from 4am to 4pm everyday and wait for the airline to call me with a day-of schedule. Thankfully I was assigned an overnight trip yesterday, which means I'm slowly gaining a schedule.

I spend many evenings at different hotels every week. Time to take advantage of the pool.

The good news is that I will have line (known as a set schedule) in a couple of months, which means I won't have to sit around on reserve (known as being on-call).

Since I'm reserve today, I've decided to stay at the airport to avoid the risk and hassle of having to come back to the airport. I don't get paid while sitting on-call, and it's also required by my job to do so. Bummer! The perks of being on-call, include the chance of picking up a trip and also being able to take advantage of DFW super fast WiFi.  I can enjoy YouTube videos and FaceTime my friends while I'm on-call.

Although being a newbie isn't the best, there are some great perks to the job! I do get to travel where I want on my days off (within reason) at no cost.  When I have the opportunity, I plan to fly home.

Some other perks include layovers in exciting cities. From last Monday to Wednesday, I went to LAX and had the chance to explore Hollywood. I had Tuesday off and was a studio audience member for "The Price is Right." I didn't win anything, but the girl next to me had the opportunity to go on stage and won a new car!!

 A cute family with matching outfits who went on The Price is Right. 

 In front of CBS Studios.

 The Grove in Los Angeles

 Hollywood Drive 

Sunset Blvd. Sunset.

Flight Training + New Hair

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Flight Attendant School has been keeping me busy and I have been enjoying it. It's already been three weeks since I arrived and will finish training on Monday! After training, I will be scheduled to take what's called my IOE. It's basically where I will be on a real plane with real passengers and have an instructor who will grade me on everything I know as a Flight Attendant. I don't know when I will be taking my IOE, but I'm assuming in a couple of weeks. Keep me in your prayers.

They keep us hanging by our feet in Flight Attendant school, because my classmates and I still don't know where our base will be after training. I'm hoping that I'll be based out of Dallas or Houston, Texas. We will find out tomorrow.

Scottsdale Fashion Square

We had last weekend off, so I headed to Scottsdale Fashion Square with some of my classmates and we had a good ole time. One of the best malls ever. I didn't buy anything because money is tight. I'm not getting paid while I attend FA school, so I have to stay on a tight budget.

Early on during training, I decided it was time for a haircut and color, so I took advantage of our time of on Saturday and made an appt. to get my hair done in Scottsdale. My hair was past my shoulders and decided it was time for a minor change. I got maybe three inches off, as it now sits a inch below the chin and graduates nicely in the back. I was in shock with how short it was at first, but I now love it! It's perfect for the career I'm going into. The guy who did my hair was awesome! He was so nice and talented. I found him on Yelp.

End Result

We went on a field trip to corporate on Tuesday and had lunch with the Chairman of the airline company. I was very impressed with how nice corporate was laid out. They are very organized and they had the most amazing view from their office. Everyone was super friendly and nice. I enjoyed the tour and look forward to working for this airline company. Only a few more days until we finish. Time to head to class.

One of the scenic views from corporate.

Big Life Changes + Training To Be A Flight Attendant

Hello Guys!

Sorry for the lack of updates! Some big changes have been happening in my life and I think it's time I finally share what has been going on.

First, you should know that I'm currently attending Flight Attendant school in Phoenix, Arizona to become a Flight Attendant for a regional airline. The interview process took over two months, but ultimately I had to make a final decision within the week from when I was offered the job.

Because it was such a quick decision, I didn't have time to tell everyone that I was leaving to train for a new job. I posted the news on Facebook the day before I left and word got back to my extended family, who then called me asking me what was going on. (To my family: Sorry you found out from 

a mutual family member via Facebook. Oops!)

I flew out Wednesday, August 5th and was slightly terrified at the idea of beginning a new life. I have always lived at home, as this is completely new for me. So many thoughts rushed through my mind as I said goodbye to my parents and was checking in at the ticket counter.

The thought of going somewhere for an extended period of time and not coming back home scared every little thing inside of me. It was the weirdest feeling, but I made myself move forward. It wasn't easy, as I had to distract myself on the plane with Disney movies. Thankfully, the 80 year-old farmer who sat next to me on the plane put me at ease with his interesting stories and even offered to buy me lunch because I gave him my window seat.

I arrived in Phoenix that afternoon and went to the hotel. After I walked into my hotel room, I laid on the bed, having deep thoughts thinking, "Wow, I'm really here. You can do this!" Somewhat stressed, I went downstairs and ask hotel transportation to take me to Target so I could get my mind off everything that was going on.

I met my roommate that evening and felt at ease because she is so welcoming. After that evening, I was feeling normal and ended up adjusting well. Every little fear inside me was gone, and since then, things have been great.

We started classes on August 7th, two days after arrival. It was nice that the company gave us a day to adjust to our surroundings before diving right in.

A nice pool and hot tub to enjoy at the hotel.

Phoenix Sunset

I've met so many people from class and everyone who I've met has their own interesting personality. It's been a good experience so far, and I'm glad that I decided to move forward with this opportunity. I will keep everyone updated this week on all the happenings. Enjoy your weekend.

Sarah Ashley