My first day

back to work and it was heaven. How many people can actually say that and genuinely mean it? I'm sure there are a few souls that can honestly say that. My start time is 1830 to 2330 and will be like that for the next two weeks until the end of January. Because I am vacation relief, Myself and three other co-workers will be required to bid every month for our shifts. Since I am Number one, the odds are one hundred percent that I will get what I want unless I forget to bid. My shift involves ordering meals for our flights that fly from San Francisco to Newark, New Jersey, billing, security checks and a host of detailed paperwork. As soon as I checked in for my shift, I was immediately overwhelmed by my co-workers and friends who have missed my being there. After almost forty five minutes of catching up with everyone at the ticket counter, I walked to baggage service and said my hello's there and continued onto the gate area only to repeat the same reaction when I checked in. It is delightful to know how much my friends miss my spirit and personality, as one supervisor words it.
There were only two flights tonight, none of which I will be working due to a briefing that I had to attend. It basically was an effortless and untroublesome night considering that most nights tend to have some type of issues, ie: weather, mechanical, diversions and security. This is one of those nights that I dream of and only get a few times a month. I picked up my next three days off thanks to another co-worker who gave me her hours to boost my paycheck which I look forward to mostly, to compensate for the sick pay I received these past few months off from work. It is wonderful to be back. Ask me again by the end of the month, I may have changed my mind.

Hurricane force winds

have descended upon my little town of Daly City. I woke up to the muffled sounds of a chainsaw, heavy pelting rain and the howling gusty winds as my electricity flickered valiantly during the onslaught of mother nature's fury on this bleary grey morning. Watching the winds pummel my pear and lemon trees as it whipped around the leafless branches. My RA office called me to let me know that my final revised re-certification form to admit me back to work will be faxed within 10 minutes. I have a doctors appointment to find out the status of my pelvic examination and a mystery shop at an oil changers shop. Venturing out today was going to be a treacherous adventure.
Leaving my home was like nothing I had ever seen before. Hundreds upon hundreds of leaves, pine needles and other greenery were spewed all over the street and sidewalks. Empty garbage cans were rolling and crashing into the unknown. What used to sound like a small trickle coming from the water drain for the runoff now sounded like thundering waterfalls with an endless amount of energy. Darkened street lights and bent stop signs were remnants of this morning. Intersections was a cat and mouse game, drivers flagrently disobeying the law and utter chaos ensued when drivers would speed up and hydroplane causing a massive wall of water on an unsuspecting and often startled pedestrian. Upon arriving at my doctors office, I noticed that the parking lot was void of cars, people and activity. A closer look at the sign on the door read, "Building closed". There was no electricity in the building, no sign of life. My brother called me to let me know that there was no power in San Bruno, which was my next destination for the oil change shop. That is now cancelled and I decided to drive to the airport to pick up my revised copy of the faxed doctors report.
It was chaotic at the airport. Passenger flights were anywhere from 2-6 hour delayed because of the weather. My co-workers were very busy and my morning supervisor was stressed out from her day. I was so glad to not start back so soon. With my copy of the report in hand, I left quietly and continued home. Devastation from the storm was evident by all of the damaged trees and store closures due to lack of electricity. Accidents were few and rain was plenty, I was very glad to be home.

Eligible for social security

It's good to know that I can claim social security should I become completely disabled and not work at my current employment. My disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, is covered under their umbrella of eligibility. My doctor is going to release me back to work on January 13th, 2008 and if all goes well, I'll be able to pick up much needed ours to pay most of my bills that will come due. It's not easy staying home from a disability after being able to work since I was 18 years old. I went to a Junior College for one semester and that's all I needed to find out that College wasn't for me. While I was there, I took up your general education subjects, accounting, typing, recreation, writing, P.E. and made the woman's softball team. I didn't have a direction or goal until I took up a "recreation class" under the guidance of Tony Ruiz. He was a short bearded man with a passion for recreation and the arts. From there, I went to work for Daly City Recreation Department as a playground team leader for the city of Colma. I received my own playground with an awesome group of kids. Summer time was best because of the field trips that I would go on and supervise. Later, I would monitor Tennis Courts and then graduated to monitoring and supervising the War Memorial Gym. I had the keys to the city, literally.
After my two girls were born about five years later, I worked as a Bus driver in those yellow buses for San Mateo for about a year. A hula brother of mine approached me and recruited me to drive for a travel agency where he worked in accounting. I would drive a little GEO around San Francisco and the East Bay and deliver airline tickets to Departments such as the Postal Inspectors, Department of Energy, Department of Justice and a Science Lab. Two years later, I was let go because of the economy's downturn. At this time, I was a steers woman of a premier team of Outrigger Canoe paddlers and winning regattas every chance we got and I danced for a hula troupe in San Francisco and we were untouchable in competition and exhibitions. Soon that had to slow down because my children were getting older as well as my parents and I needed to stay home more. I interned and eventually went to work for an airline, Mark Air which is now defunct and my friend and supervisor, Alan, called and asked me to work as team lead in his reservation department for another start up carrier, Sierra Expressway over in Oakland. They flew to Sacramento and other hubs operated by United Express. A year later they dissolved. A few months down the road, I answered an ad in the paper for a major airline at the San Francisco International Airport. It was an open call and on the first day 300 people showed up at the 1st session! I'm not sure of how many people they were looking for but a few days later, I went for an interview and and got the job. It's been a little over 11 years now with the same company and am very happy being here. I love my coworkers and the travel benefits are unbeatable. I look forward to going back to work and seeing everyone. This time off has been a breath of fresh, much needed, air.