Optimistic Pessimism.
Welcome all to my site. This is a place where you can see the stuff that I do on occasion. I want to document what goes on in my life an share my experiences with all of my friends.
Welcome all to my site. This is a place where you can see the stuff that I do on occasion. I want to document what goes on in my life an share my experiences with all of my friends.
[hartfield-jackson international airport, atlanta, ga]
Popeyes
I've always seen Popeyes restaurants, but today was the first time I actually had anything from there. at firs tI thought it was just fried chicken like KFC or Churches. but it is actually a cajun fast food place. i had the 3 strips with fries meal plus a side of popcorn shrimp. ant is was sure a lot of shrimp. I wish there were more cajun style places in California. I thought my meal also came with a side, but apparently not. they have cajun rice, red beans and rice, peppers, and other regular sides that you would find at KFC or something. The prices were pretty decent here in the airport. I wonder how much it is outside of the airport.
posted at 3:21 PM by Super Ben
Sunday, February 22, 2004
[best western airport east, atlanta, ga]
Stuck in
After 45 minutes of sleep
posted at 8:19 PM by Super Ben
Saturday, February 21, 2004
[home, lathrop, ca]
Bargaining Bum
Today my sister and I went to SF after long detour of taking my mom to Union City. Instead of picking up my sister from Berkeley and going straight o SF, I drove towards the bay, then up north to Berkeley, then double backed south to the south bay and across the bay north to SF. We go to Japantown at 7:30 instead of the 6:00 we were aiming for. After that we headed to the Sony Metreon to go get a case for my camera. As we made our way out from a little shopping, we headed towards Union Square to the tourist shops. I was looking for a cheap lens to my camera. It was pretty late so everything was closed. On the way back we encountered a bum asking for a dollar. I used my excuse that I am just a student. Then he started bargaining down to 50 cents, then a quarter, then dime, and finally nickel. I pointed to the ground and was like, "Dude, there's a penny on the ground." and took off. Homeless people are pretty bold.
posted at 11:19 PM by Super Ben
Thursday, February 19, 2004
[doubletree, modesto, ca]
First Real Spill
Today I had my first real spill on a passenger. I've spilled like drops on people before, but today it actually splashed on the way down. I overfilled a cup but didn't know till I started carrying it. The bubbles in Diet coke don't want to go down right away in the pressurized cabin. Actually I think it is the artificial sweetener in Diet sodas that cause that. Anyways I usually let the bubbles go over the top in Diet Coke so that when they go down, the glass looks full and that I didn't cheat them out of a sip of soda. In this case there was too much and as I handed it to the passenger, the Diet Coke spilled onto his legs and onto his wife's jacket. Her jacket was white, but it was waterproof. Good thing, too. But the husband was wearing jeans. Oops for him. The funny thing was right across from them was our former Fresno Chief Flight attendant. She told me that she didn't notice when it happened, but that i would definitely remember my first spill.
posted at 10:18 PM by Super Ben
Monday, February 16, 2004
[100 miles from bismarck, nd on descent]
I just remembered that this morning I was called a Ma'am by the girl at the hotel. I had called down to the front desk to confirm what time we were leaving and the desk girl was like "Yes, Ma'am." WTF?The captain thought we had an earlier show time of 7:55, but our actual show time was 8:55. I noticed it a tad late at around midnight, but got ready just incase the time he said was correct. I called down to the desk and asked her what time we were leaving and wanted to see if the captain was down there already. I spoke with him and he stood corrected. i got to spend one more hour in the room while they had their breakfast. Sometimes the other crew members have to check their captains.
But anyways I'm up here in my jumpseat and I see a lot of head poking out into the aisle and wondering what I am typing up here on the computer. I'm giving them this look of "Wouldn't you like to know!" haha
posted at 8:55 PM by Super Ben
[28,000 feet, between palm springs, ca and denver, co]
hot under the collar in the winter
This morning we started out in Fargo where it was so freaking cold that the snow was blowing across the ground. This California boy has never been in weather so cold. Last night it was like -15°C. So freaking cold. The plane was colder than a fridge this morning, but it sure was clean. I like the jet center service up in Fargo. They really take care of the aircraft. Even all of the magazines in the seatback pockets were cleaned out. The lav was spotless. I wish it was like that on every over night and the planes get fully cleaned. but anyways, we got to Denver where it wasn't so cold, but still cold. And the flight after that was a Palm Springs round trip. We get there and the sun is shining, palm trees all around, it was great there. I just wish I didn't have an undershirt on. I wasn't that hot but i was on the verge of starting to sweat. The weather as perfect there. but after that would have to be back in denver anyways and then to Bismarck tonight where I would imagine it would be as cold as last night.
posted at 5:05 PM by Super Ben
Sunday, February 15, 2004
[35,000 feet between billings, mo and denver, co]
Bragging Captain
the other day we were delayed on the ground in SF and the captain came on the PA to recognize one of his crew members. i thought he was gonna say something about the First Officer, who happened to be on his IOE (Initial Operating Experience) in this particular aircraft (the EMB-120 Brasilia). But no, he started going off about me and how I have done so many things and that I am only 23. Then he mentioned that I was single. we happened to have several hotties on that flight. I ended up getting 2 numbers in a discreet fashion. One handed me a napkin. I though she was throwing it away, but she had placed it in my hand. The other girl left me a note in my pocket as she made her way off the plane. Man I love this job!
posted at 5:15 PM by Super Ben
Thursday, February 12, 2004
[four points sheraton, bakersfield, ca]
Through the Walls
While overnighting in Bakersfield, I was put into a room that had a connecting door. At about 10:00pm I heard a girl talking on the other side. At first I thought she was talking to someone else in the room, but I eventually figured out she was on the phone. From what i heard, it seemed that her boyfriend wasn't content with her in bed. He was pissed off that she couldn't have an orgasm. I got this when she was trying to explain to him that the orgasm isn't important. It was maybe 20% of it. She was more into the intimacy of the action. She s=also explained to him that she couldn't control it if she can't do it. I learned form her that more than half of women don't have one until the prime age of 40 or so. She then argued with him for a couple minutes over the fact that she can't and it's not her fault if her body didn't want to. She said that she loved him and that he's the one she wants to marry. What great material I come upon when I am being nosy!
posted at 12:13 AM by Super Ben
Saturday, February 07, 2004
[35,000 feet, between Salt Lake City and Denver]
Drunk in Montana
Last night my crew and I went out for drinks in Missoula, Montana. we started out at this place called The Rhino. The girl at the Holiday Inn suggested it to us. that place was OK, but there was not much happening there. There were some girls, but most of them left. But while there, we were kind of harassed by a fat ass Native American chick. She then went on to say that I looked like her ex boyfriend. The captain was guessing it was something like that. She was also trying to get one of us to buy her a drink. I tried to pawn her of on the next guy but it didn't work. When she asked for our names, she was like, "What the fuck kinda name is Benedict?!" And then she asked where you from. i replied that I was Filipino. She was like, "What the fuck is that?" I had to educate her uneducated ass and then we got the hell out of there. We then made our way down the street to Reds. That was the happening place with people that are closer to my age. We should have gone there first. There were a lot of hot girls there and we were able to strike up conversations easily. Everyone thought the bar closed at 2:00am but they started kicking out everyone at 1:45am. How are they gonna sell beer up until that time and then kick you out? Damn! We then grabbed something to eat then headed abck to the hotel where I passed out at 2:15am. At first we thought it was gonna be a boring 18 hour overnight, but it turned out to be OK with a few exceptions.
posted at 4:50 PM by Super Ben
Sunday, February 01, 2004
[17,000 feet, between CIC and SFO, ca]
Everything and Nothing
My blogs are now gonna be at what time I wrote them and not the time they are posted. I can't believe it is February now, and the year of 2004. My, how time does fly! I'm still trying to get over the loss of my digital camera. But for some reason, I almost don't care about it. I'm already shopping for a new one. I think the lack of feeling stems from another emotion problem I am having right now. Well whatever! Last night even before he knew how I felt about my loss gave me a little advice on how to think about this situation. Instead of me having lost some money on an object I owned, I should think about the price I paid as being the price for the use of the camera instead of the price of owning it. one shouldn't attach themselves to material posessions. I think I have learned that lesson in the past already. But not quite fully. There are still 'wants' in my mind that stand stronger than some needs.
posted at 6:49 PM by Super Ben
Saturday, January 31, 2004
[holiday inn, chico, ca]
end of life!
i lost my digital camera!!!! damn. it hella sucks. It could have been lost in a several different places. I was on the same aircraft all day so it could be in aircraft 295, or in the crew lounge in SFO, or in the hotel room that I stayed in last night. Its one thing if I honestly lost it, but another thing if someone stole it from me. In the crew lounge, some people were admiring my technology. The camera is an easy thing to pull out of my bag and take. And I was away from it for a while when I went to the international terminal to go get dinner. I just got off the phone with the hotel. They told me that they didn't find anything in my room. I hope it was kicked under the bed or something. Last night as I was leaving the aircraft, I opened up my bag for some reason. Maybe it fell out. I don't know but I hope I can get it back. Everyone knows that I love to take pictures. yeah, it had gotten me in trouble, but for the most part it has brought me happiness.
posted at 11:46 PM by Super Ben
Friday, January 30, 2004
Techno Geeks
the captain i am flying with today and tomorrow is a total techno geek like me. i was surprised. when we landed in SF early today and headed to Jamba Juice in the main terminal, it was all computer talk. we lost our FO. it's cool on my end how we can relate that way, but also if i was watching myself, i would think that i was so geeky.
oh well.
Jamba Juicin' Makes the Stomach a Movin
earlier today I had a whole lot of Jamba Juice. It's been a while since I have had any and it sure tasted good. But that was until things started moving around in my stomach. I didn't eat anything solid during the course of that day so it was the only thing in my stomach which meant it was going to go through really fast. I was really glad about having long breaks every other leg.. But I still do love Jamba Juice.
posted at 11:34 PM by Super Ben
Thursday, January 29, 2004
[home, lathrop, ca]
The Da Vinci Code
After carrying this book around for so long, I am finally finished with it. I'm lad i actually waited to read it. There were certain parts of the book where places in London were described beautifully. The amazing thing is that I was exactly in those places a couple days before. Maybe it was meant for me to wait to read this book. Having been in those places added an extra dimension to the story. this is totally why I am dedicating myself to world travel this year.
posted at 8:45 PM by Super Ben
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
[home, lathrop, ca]
get out of my head
don't you hate it when there's something that keeps running your head. It's almost enough to make one insane. I don't know what I am gonna do. This one is actually a good one. i'm kind of excited about it. I want to do something, but I really can't. Arghhhhh! Hopefully things work out.
posted at 7:44 PM by Super Ben
Monday, January 26, 2004
[brandalynn's apt, fresno, ca]
trying to help out a friend
I finished my 4 day trip today and checked my email. I saw that Brandalynn needed her for tomorrow. So I called her up and left her a voicemail. I then went and got some gas and then went to McDonald's for a bite to eat. She called me back as I was in the middle of stuffing my face in the McD's parking lot. So we tried calling crew scheduling and trying to work it out. because she is a reserve and I am a lineholder, we had to wait for them to sort it out. Se went came back to her place. In the end Crew Support wouldn't let me do it because the Manager on Duty said ti was illegal. Why? i was totally willing to do it. But whatever... so anyways Brandalynn won't let me go home and is having me stay until the morning.
posted at 9:43 PM by Super Ben
Friday, January 23, 2004
[holiday inn, fresno, ca]
Didn't Miss Work
Had i been on my original flights, I would have missed my checkin time today. The original SFO-FAT flight I was on never made it in because of the fog. That was the asme airplane my crew and I were supposed to take outbound to SFO. Because the plane never made it in, our first day was cancelled and I was left stranded in fresno because I had a very early show time. I didn't want to drive back home in the dark. I had a hard enough time coming here. So i went out and saw a movie and decided not to sleep in my car. I went to the Holiday Inn and got a room. $$$
posted at 11:42 PM by Super Ben
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Expensive Ass Food
Hiroki and I decided to grab a bite to eat at Heathrow. We were going to do Burger King, but decided to get pizza from Sbarro instead. We saw that pepperoni pizza was ?2.79 a slice and bottle of Fanta soda were ?1.50. Our total came out to ?8.38. once we sat down and were eating, we figured that this meal's cost was almost $16.00! Crazy. It looked cheap, but actually wasn't. england sure is an expensive place to go to.
First Class
First Class is very spacious. Right now we are seated in the nose cone of this 747. I am in row 4. The seat go all the way down and I can lay flat if I want. Everything is automatic as well. You get what you want at the push of a button. Eating off of plates and drinking out of glasses feels so great too. I don't ever want to go back to coach on an international flight again.
One Day Early
I am back one day early. I check the flights the other night and the loads for the LHR-SFO flight were getting pretty full and I didn't want to risk not getting home in time for work so I listed myself for a flight that was leaving in 12 hours. I couldn't sleep as well and just wanted to keep my body back on american time before I got adjusted to european time.
posted at 10:38 PM by Super Ben
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
[hiroki's flat, kennington, london, england]
Pints at the Pub
When I was online and my friends found out I was in London and about to go to a pub, they all said, "Drink a pint for me!" So I obliged them and did so. But unlike hiroki, I am able to hold my alcohol. joanna on the other hand is also a pretty strong drinker. We we to a pub called the Prince of Wales. It was pretty cool in there. There were 2 dogs running around and a bunch of cool people in there. Our table was pretty funny. we had a British boy, an Australian girl, a Japanese boy, and me the American. Most peopl though that was pretty entertaining.
Warm Beer
Unlike America, beer is not served ice cold here. The glasses aren't even cold. Some of them are still hot form the dishwasher. You would have to specially ask for a cold glass. But the beers are good, besides the fact that they are warm. And it was strange to see Coors and Bud as import beers.
posted at 11:37 PM by Super Ben
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
[horiki's flat, kennington, london, england]
Super Ben in London
Wow. I actually made it here. I couldn't go to Japan so I came here instead. The weather is a little off beat, but it's no cold. I got to see Hiroki again. i haven't seen him for about a year and a half. I was trying to fly out of Los Angeles connecting through Chicago, but there were 3 canceled Chicago flights earlier that morning so I just decided to fly from LA to SF and catch a flight straight out of there. My original plan was to sit in coach form LA to ORD and then Business or First from ORD to LHR just so I could save a little money. But as we are in the ailine business, we know that we have to be flexible with our plans.
My "Mom"
While trying to take a shortcut through SFO airport I was trying to catch the international shuttle from the domestic united terminal. I wanted to save myself some time I didn't want to have to go through security again with all of the stuff I have. While waiting in line, there were a couple other flight attendant there. They told me that they were working the flight to London. One of them was the purser (head FA). So after a long wait, we finally get to the international terminal. I was walking to the same gate and parted with them as we go there. i told them that I would see them onboard. The gate agents thought that one of them was my mother. I was like, "Yes, we really do look alike." Both of the ladies were older white women. They still looked pretty good, but one of them could have been old enough to be my grandmother.
Business Class
As i boarded, a flight attendant offered to take my coat. She also asked me if I wanted juice or water. I saw that the others were drinking champagne and wanted to muse her and say I wanted champagne so that she wouldn't treat me like a child for the rest of the flight. So anyways Business class is pretty cool. The 777 is really big, but i was hoping that I could get into first class. Hopefully on the way back. But here I was still able to get my Filet Mignon and my wine, so I was pretty happy.
posted at 8:36 PM by Super Ben
Saturday, January 17, 2004
[red lion hotel, redding, ca]
What the hell?
Check out this email I got today:
Posting pictures on a public website of [action omitted for protection] was not a good idea. A link to that photo has already made it to the [organization omitted] forum. I hope you realize this print could cause both those pilots to be violated by the [organization omitted] and fired from [organization omitted]. Please consider carefully the possible repercussions your photos could lead to. Nice site otherwise. What kind of camera do you use?
First of all, I did take my site down already along with that picture. i've already received several emails like this. But hwo does one go into asking me what kind of camera I use? That's hilarious. And with those emails that are coming in, I've only seen one or two with real names. C'mon. You guys know who I am, let me know who you are. i've already chatted with some of those that had problems and those involved. We've made a mends over this situation.
posted at 11:18 PM by Super Ben
Friday, January 16, 2004
[red lion hotel, redding, ca]
OOpps
It looks like my picture taking hobby has gotten me into a little trouble. news of my pictures have made it to an online pilots forum. One of the ones I took was a little too troubling for some. So out of sheer respect I will take down that picture along with the rest of my site until the business dies down. Man. I just wanted to show people a glimps of wha tI see everyday, but apparently that is a little too much for some.
posted at 11:13 PM by Super Ben
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
[home, lathrop, ca]
Hawaiian Accent
I picked up this local today out of Sacramento on one of my days off. I don't know. I just really like working recently. But anyways, I see quite a few people when I do the jet trips, and usually they are full in the NorCal system. But on 2 flights today, people have asked me on the way out if I was from Hawaii. They told me thaI I spoke like a native Hawaiian. I've even had broda's asking me in pidgin English where I was from. I had to disapoint them by telling them I was a mainlander. Do I really sound Hawaiian?
posted at 11:46 PM by Super Ben
Saturday, January 10, 2004
[red lion hotel, redding, ca]
Kneed my help?
At night we're supposed to have the lights turned off. So while I was doing my beverage service, I hit the knee of some man whose knee was way out in the aisle. He had told me that he had jsut gotten surgery on it from having it crushed by a tree. I felt so bad for the rest of the flight, but he knew I didn't intentionally do it. After that, everytime I came near, he tucked his knee in to avoid me. Kneed my help, sir?
Broke da plane
My jumpseat actually broke. It wouldn't retract up because some sppring broke. I think it is actually a grounding item because one of the exits would be obstructed. I don't think it should be too bad unless the airplane is full in the morning and one passenger has to get bumped off.
posted at 5:33 AM by Super Ben
Friday, January 09, 2004
[red lion inn, eureka, ca]
Surfing and Talking in the Sky
Tonight I had no passengers going out of Fresno because the 4 of them I was supposed to have were moved up to an earlier flight. So I sat in the back until it was time to take off and I called up a friend to see how long I could sustain a connection to him while taking off in the airplane. I then got the idea of surfing the plane up into the sky so I got up right as we got to the main runway. I had to lean so far forward and concentrate on the phone call. My friend on the phone was laughing so hard and told me he would do the exact same thing in my position. I think he actually has done that when he had empty flights. It's pretty fun. I lost contact with him on the way up, but I looked down at my phone and saw that I had 3 out of 4 bars on my reception. I tried to call him back, but that fool was busy. I think I might bet into trouble if someone finds out I did that.
posted at 10:18 PM by Super Ben
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
[home, lathrop, ca]
PayDay=eBay
I got a little eBay happy earlier today. I did a couple of "Buy It Nows" then saw auctions where it looked like i could get the same things cheaper. I got a couple of old toys, some airplanes, and some other stuff. I love paydya and I love ebay. Now I'm wondering if Iw ill heave enough to get me through the next 2 weeks.
posted at 5:10 PM by Super Ben
Monday, January 05, 2004
[wyndham emerald plaza, san diego, ca]
Getting Sick again
Just when I got over the flu, another sickness seems to have come my way. I believe that I have just caught a cold. I did learn my lesson with catching the flu. since then I have used latex gloves, anti-bacterial hand wash, and hand wipes like crazy. But apparently my fight didn't work and I have this cold.
Airline
There's a new reality show that debuted tonight on A&E. It's a show called Airline, which stars Southwest Airlines. It's pretty funny and shows the reality of what we go through in the airline business. I forsee this show as becoming really popular and giving the A&E network a boost in their ratings.
posted at 11:55 PM by Super Ben
Sunday, January 04, 2004
[in my car, airport employee parking lot, fresno, ca]
hanging out with flight attendants
I ended work a little early today and figured that it would be a waste of time to drive home and back here with only 14 hours between shifts so I stayed in Fresno. I called another flight attendant to see what she was doing. She invited me out to hang out with more flight attendants and to have dinner at another flight attendant's place. It took hella long to get dinner ready. We went to the store to go get some food. Then it took hella long to get everything cooked. It was about 10:00pm when we were ready to eat. By that time I was ready to sleep cause I have a 4:48am show time in the morning. Good thing I took a nap earlier.
Sleeping in the Car (comfortable this time)
I will be sleeping in my car in a bit, but I did have a preview earlier when I took a nap. I was pretty comfortable. I usually sleep with my head in the trunk and the rest of my body in the car. But I tried sleeping in the back seat (as cramped as it is), and it was rather comfortable. I was pretty warm also. It was pretty darn cold outside. I have a sleeping bag, 3 blankets, and tond of pillows. I jsut need to sleep for the next 5 hours and I will be all set.
posted at 11:40 PM by Super Ben
Saturday, January 03, 2004
[Sheraton, bakersfield, ca]
Easy Day
Today I deadheaded twice and worked two easy flights. To deadhead is to just sit on a flight and get transported to another destination for work purposes. So my crew and I started out in Fresno, deadheaded to San Francisco, then took another deadhead flight to Monterey. we sat there for a while because the other airplane was a little late coming in. But when we eventually did get out, I had just a few outbound passengers which made the flight easy for me. We then sat in LA for 2 hours and then here to Bakersfield. What an easy day!
posted at 10:34 PM by Super Ben
Thursday, January 01, 2004
[pat's apt, burbank, ca]
A plane start
Pat and I started off the new year hanging out at LAX right at Runway 24R. We sat right under the approach at a park near an In n Out. we were trying to find ways to have some fun without spending money. We also headed to the Santa Monica Pier where we just walked around and people-watched. Then we hit the Third Street Promenade and the Apple Store. I think the only thing we spent money on was Boba's. Pat hasn't had so much Boba in such a short time. We got tired and went back to the apartment first before going back out to the runway for some night airplane watching. We grabbed a little In-N-Out as well. Then we headed off to Winnie's place (Pat's Sister).
posted at 4:25 PM by Super Ben
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
[pat's apt, burbank, ca]
Drunken Debauchery
After a long almost 4 hour drive to LA, Pat and I get some Boba's and Burger King before heading out to Huong and Marie's New Years Party. I wanted to fly down, but decided to drive down with Pat. According to Huong's message, we were to prepare for a night of drunken debauchery. We're just about to step out so, later....
posted at 7:23 PM by Super Ben
Thursday, December 25, 2003
[fairmount hotel, winnipeg, manitoba, ca]
Christmas Burger
Here I am enjoying my christmas hamburger here in Winnipeg. I wanted to go to this steak place behind the hotel, but they were closed for the holiday. One can get Filet Mignon there for $12 Canadian. That's like $9 US out the door. You can go wrong with that. But since I couldn't go, I just went ahead with room service. I guess it's a Canadian thing, but instead of ketchup, they add gravy as a condiment to their french fries.
posted at 11:19 PM by Super Ben
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