11 years

It's been eleven years since that fateful day in New York.  I had just gotten married the July before and we took a Manhattan island cruise the day after the wedding.  I have a ton of pictures with the twin towers in the back ground.  I had no idea the significance of the towers then. 

It's still mind-blowing the number of souls who perished that day.  People from all over the world making a living, or trying to.  I'm reminded that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.  Cherish everyday. 

Many changes have happened and are going to happen.  First, the kids went back to school last week.  They love it.  My daughter is a 5th grader and at her school it means she is a middle schooler.  Of course, she is feeling all grown up.  My son is a 3rd grader and really likes his teacher. 

The company I work for is going away.  It means another company is taking over and we are getting the short end of the stick.  No more buddy passes, no ZED fares.  Yuck.  And the pay goes down but they will pay $1 more per hour if you work the counter.  So, I'll actually be making a little more money per hour.  And if I stay my classification, it means my travel will be limited.  The supervisor had a meeting a couple of weeks ago and told us this information with glee.  He can't stand me.  There is another flex employee who travels a ton and he can't stand that guy, either.  At first, it sounded like it would be 30 flight days per year per employee.  Which means that for my whole family we would only be able to do 15 round trips a year for all of us.  I have asked more questions and it sounds like it's 30 flight days per year per eligible traveler.  I think we could live with this and it wouldn't impact me as much.  Take that, supervisor!  I still need to see it in writing before I get too excited, though.

So, it's Labor Day weekend and I'm stuck at home because I work Sundays and Mondays.  My husband and kids flew to Portland, Maine for the weekend and will hopefully be home tomorrow (the joys of standby travel).  The kids are going to see their 99 year old great Grandmother (Nana).  Lucky kids to have a great grandmother! 

Well, that's it for now. 

busy

 I know I only 3 days a week, but I can't believe how busy I am nowadays.  And I'm sad that the summer is almost over.  My job is really stressful now because the company I work for recently won the United contract.  We now do all three airlines at our little airport.  Of course, we don't have enough personnel to do the job.  And to make things worse, we found out that the fly-by-night company I work for is closing shop the end of this year.  So, I'll work for a different company at the end of the year.  I really don't care as long as I still have my flight benefits.  I hope I get a different station manager, however.  I've never had a worse boss in my life.  Retaliation gets old after a while (never mind, it's illegal.).

I finally got to go away to training.  Pete and the kids went to the Pacific Northwest for a few days and then the kids went to Arkansas to stay with my family for about 10 days.  The kids had a blast and said they liked going down there without us.  Maybe we can do it next summer? 

The famous "Bean" in Chicago.  We did get to go to the city regularly while I was away at training.  It sort of looks like a sombrero.  He he.

It's Lilly's birthday today.  She is 4.  She still has her quarks.  And she drives me crazy but she is a sweet dog.  Pete loves her, for sure.  She's the "best hunting dog ever."

Anyway, nothing else right now.