An excerpt of chapter 9 (first - of many - drafts)….
We had no idea who called code enforcement but whoever it was had complained about us illegally renting rooms, tying up street parking, and causing general neighborhood shoddiness and potential house price decline. Basically someone thought we were a public nuisance and wanted us out. Boris, the homeowner and my landlord, informed the two men in suits standing on our doorstep that we were not renters, but family. And that is how I became the wife of Boris, an overweight, sweaty, Bulgarian cab driver. Lucky me. Boris then pointed to Jane and said, “My sister.” Jane eyes bugged out of her head. Then she forced a smile and nodded. My other roommates were on trips, but unbeknownst to them we’d become cousins. The two men didn’t blink an eye. Still, they wanted to see the place, so Boris gave them a quick tour of the house and like that they were on gone. I couldn’t believe it. I’d only been living in the house for two days.
Boris bought the two-story foreclosure in Forest Hills, a prestigious section of Queens, for $200,000 ten years before I moved in. At least that’s the story I heard. The home had five bedrooms and each went for $200 a month, two of which were illegally constructed. At some point my bedroom had been the other half of the living room and Jane slept in what had once been a sunroom. There were three more bedrooms upstairs on the second floor and two commuters shared the attic, which wasn’t half bad for $75 a person. My second crash pad in three months, I wound up living there for a couple of years and not once did Boris raise the rent. This was good and bad. Good because my quality of life was actually quite nice for a first year flight attendant making very little pay. Bad because my quality of life was so nice I did not dare give it up to move into the city, not when I’d have to share an expensive but tiny one-bedroom apartment with a ton of other flight attendants, especially since I spent so much of my time away from home! It’s because of this vagabond lifestyle that people with regular jobs seek out flight attendants for roommates. We’re never home, yet we’re still expected to pay half the rent. No thank you. So while I dreamed of living in Manhattan at some point in my life, bridge and tunnel I remained.
Boris lived in the basement. None of us had ever seen the inside of the apartment he called home, nor did we want to. We were too afraid of what we might find – a dead body, a blow up doll, a closet full of women’s clothing, or even worse, our clothing, we just didn’t know. It was bad enough taking the short flight of steps that led down to his door where he’d hung a wooden box for us to drop off the rent without having to worry about him walking out at the exact same time allowing an accidental glimpse of whatever lurked inside! We had no explanation for our fears other than Boris did things a little differently. He used kerosene to remove the linoleum floor. He kept a carton of eggs and a block of cheese on a concrete wall under the green and white striped awning that hung above his door. He wore the same blue sweat pants that bunched up around his gigantic calves with thin white socks and brown leather lace up shoes that had seen better days. And he’d hole up in the basement avoiding us at all costs. We always knew he was there because the dog would disappear. We even knew when he was on his way home from the city because Monica, the psychic dog, would bark nonstop twenty minutes before his yellow cab would pull into the drive.
The best seats, the worst flights, and meeting your spouse in the sky! Travel writer AnneLise Sorensen of NBC New York Backyard Travels explores that and more with Heather Poole, longtime flight attendant, author of the upcoming book ”Life at 30,000 Feet.” (scheduled to be released by Harper Collins summer 2011)
Recently someone asked me what the real reason was for no cell phones in flight. My reply, “Does it matter? You still have to turn it off and put it away.”
There are three things flight attendants should not discuss with passengers. They are religion, politics, and the reason why cell phone use is not permitted in flight. This is because everyone has their own opinion and people feel strongly about what they believe to be true. It’s not easy for some to agree to disagree and be done with it. The last thing we need in flight is a passenger who wants to argue. Trust me, we get enough of those without engaging in controversial conversations.
When it comes to why cell phones aren’t allowed on airplanes, a lot of passengers have come up with conspiracy theories. These grand theories all revolve around money. Call me crazy, but if the airlines could make a buck off of cell phone use in flight like they do with wi-fi, don’t you think they would have figured out how by now? And regardless of what I say, these same suspicious passengers are still going to do what they want to do – until I ask them to turn it off!
In 2006 Scientific American published a report that stated an average of four calls were made per flight. With so many people unable to “turn it off” literally, can you imagine what that number would be today! On a flight from Dallas to Oklahoma City I had remind sixteen passengers – sixteen! – not once, not twice, but three times to turn off and stow their electronic devices after we had backed away from the gate. And those were only the passengers I had caught red handed. These days passengers are pretty sneaky with their electronic devices. It’s impossible to check under every thigh and inside passengers pockets to make sure passengers are complying with only a few minutes left before take-off.
“When I forget to turn off my phone by accident, I notice the plane still finds the airport,” said one reader.
The Plaza Hotel, a designated National Historic Landmark, opened in 1907 and was designed by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh. With an abundance of social history, this Grand Dame of hotels has intrigued as well as entertained and hosted famous guests from F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor and Frank Lloyd Wright. Rich in history and known for its architectural design, this hotel has been at the top of my list of hotels to visit for many years. After reading positive (and just as many negative) tripadvisor reviews, I decided to see for myself just what this hotel was all about.
At a moments notice and on a whim, I booked a room using Expedia.com for a deeply discounted night at the legendary hotel. From the moment I stepped out of the cab, my bags were whisked away by a uniformed staff member and taken to the reception desk. Check-in was so easy and quick, I felt as if they had been awaiting my arrival. A thick white folder embossed with the hotel logo, held business cards, hotel information and welcome letter, a nice start to my luxurious twenty-four hour stay. With the check-in process complete, I was escorted to the elevator by a hotel associate dressed in black and wearing white gloves. Within the hotel and on the walk to my room, I noticed the classic elegance of artwork on the walls and beautiful chandeliers gracing the ceilings.
(FYI: There’s still time to CLICK, comment & win a ”red hot” traveler’s kit!)
Earlier this week I wrote about melatonin and how it helps cure jet lag. Tart cherries are a natural form of melatonin. This got me thinking about recipes containing cherries. I’m a terrible cook. I have zero creativity in the kitchen. So I decided to contact an expert for help. Who better to ask than Robyn, an international flight attendant with a passion for health and raw food and the author of the fantastic blog Girl on Raw? Two days later Robyn emailed me her latest creation – a cherry coco smoothie recipe. (Thanks Robyn!)
Here’s a short video I made of our trip to Brugge yesterday. It was a gorgeous little city and I recommend anyone laying over in Brussels to go. It’s just a one hour train ride from Brussels Central Station. – Kevin Cox
Flight attendants, pilots, and frequent fliers often suffer from jet lag. I know I do. What you probably already know is jet lag can be cured by taking melatonin. What you may not know is tart cherries contain a significant amount of melatonin. That’s right, those little red balls of deliciousness don’t just taste good, they can actually help you get a good night’s sleep naturally! And that’s not all. Cherries have also been credited with soothing arthritis, slowing the aging process, and helping depression. They even contain queritrin, a potent anticancer agent.
WAIT! Before you run off to buy this miracle fruit, leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win a “red hot” traveler’s kit! On Monday, July 19, 2010, I’ll announce the lucky winner.
The traveler’s kit includes…
1. Dried cherries
2. A Kashmere red pillow case-socks-shawl travel set
3. A Tory Burch Cosmetic Case
4. Cherry Marketing Institute tote bag
According to the Cherry Marketing Institute: Cherries, a super fruit known for their powerful antioxidant and phytonutrient profile, are one of the few known, researched food sources of melatonin, a potent antioxidant produced naturally by the body to help regulate biorhythm and natural sleep patterns.
Recent research conducted by Russel J. Reiter, Ph.D, a nutrition researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center and one of the world’s leading authorities on melatonin, found that a handful of cherries contain more melatonin than what is normally found in the blood, helping your body get in sync with the new time zone while you travel. And cherries are believed to be one of the most concentrated sources of melatonin – bananas, corn and oats supply melatonin but in considerably smaller amounts.
Research suggests melatonin works best when consumed one hour prior to your desired sleep time on the plane and for three or more consecutive evenings after your arrival, depending on the number of time zones crossed. Cherries are available year-round as dried and frozen cherries, and cherry juice, so they’re easy to incorporate into your daily diet and travel agenda. Specifically, dried cherries are a convenient , portable and tasty way to get a melatonin boost on the plane.
UPDATE: Congratulations Alicia Collins, you’re the winner!
DeAnnSmithkc: I was very very lucky. I flew Northwest with my dress (bought in Ark, flew home to KC) & dress got a whole row to itself.
hdavis: I carried my wedding dress on all the way to Fiji from Ohio. Almost left it in a bar at LAX, but I digress…
Heather_Poole: Attention brides, do not leave the dress in a bar at LAX, like hdavis ALMOST did. Might be a good idea to skip the bar just this once.
JennaSchnuer: Wear the dress to the bar/on the plane
gray_hardy: You may get free drinks that way, too! (wearing wedding dress to air-bar)
Heather_Poole: I hereby declare today wear your wedding dress to a bar/on the plane day! (Free drinks for everyone!!)
muftopmommy: Ever try to tinkle in a wedding dress? I’d rather buy everyone drinks!
Heather_Poole: Brings us back to less is more – no more poofy dresses!
Everywhereist: Can I gush about my wedding dress? So easy to pack – it was supposed to be wrinkly! (Photo posted on flickr group Traveling Brides)
Heather_Poole: Beautiful. Now you’ve got me thinking. Let’s start a flickr photo group and share our photos!
So that’s what I did. I have yet to add my own photo, but I will soon.
THE RULES:
1 . Go to Traveling Brides and post a photo of your wedding dress
3. Tell us exactly how the dress traveled to your wedding
4. Share your wedding dress travel tips
5. Feel free to link back to your own blog
Does anyone know what year relatives could start working for the same airline? 8 hours ago
Not sure which was weirder - speaking to celebrities 4 the first time in first class or working w/my mother in business class. (Chapter 10) 11 hours ago
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