Day in the life... of training

I leave the door and have to remember to take out my nose ring, have my badge on and other things that will put me up to code (panty hose, makeup, hair back..)

Then I get to practice disaster preparedness for about 10-12 hours a day

raft!

The hotel food is getting (always was) pretty miserable.  The most nutritious meal of the day comes from the food truck at lunch.  My friend Nikki and I show off our green.

Week 2 was seriously rough.  We lost a bunch of really cool people and I had a couple of really bad days personally.  By the time Saturday came around, I was dying to blow off some steam and get some real food and beer.

where have you been, my lovely?

It was a super fun night.   It was nice to get to know some of my classmates better outside the training center and the hotel.

With the help of some social lubricant, of course

View from the Top!! (subtle flight attendant reference)  

I found this rooftop bar which I dragged my friends too.  It was nice and reminded me a little of the beer gardens in Japan.

This is what I feel like in this terrible, terrible, terrible state.  Why would anyone want to live in the desert?  why!?!  My skin is so dry.  Everything is bleeding.  I look like I fell off a bike-- my skin is so dry that I have like a red scrapy looking rash.  Nothing helps.  I need to be dipped back into the humidity of Florida.  I have never hated a location as much as I hate Phoenix.  

...and back to disaster training!  Here my friend wears the PBE (protective breathing equipment)

Also, a large portion of the class is still sick.  The teacher brought in masks for us to wear.  The challenges to this program are endless.

 

I feel so relieved now that we are over "the hump" of week 2 and the three tests in a row at the beginning of week 3.  Now we are on a roll.  At night, students gather in the hotel lobby to study and practice "choreography" like the safety demo above, which we have to perform perfectly (no worries, I did)

Me, earlier this week practicing my shouts at the passengers

 to jump out of the plane onto the slide in the event of an evacuation.  I get tested on this tomorrow... wish me luck!

 

We did CPR too.... nailed it!

about to do something in the equipment room today

Oh yeah, we went over O2 systems, including the pilots' mask (above)

Thankfully, I realized that my friend from grad school, Leah, became a prof at ASU, which is in Phoenix!  

She picked me up and took me to a delicious restaurant (with these cool murals)

and a millions different Tequilas to choose from.  ha ha ha

It was so, so nice to get out and away from the hotel and training and ride in a car and talk to someone NOT involved with USAirways.  Phew, I really needed that. Really looking forward to some more R&R this weekend.

In other news....  I've become sort of the class comedian and quite popular!  Just by being my weird-ass hyper self  If we ever get our base city assignments, it won't be hard to find some roommates.  Also, it is rumored that a couple of dudes have crushes on me.  I guess they are not all gay after all.  I'm really not used to this level of attention.  Must.run.back.to.Florida!

Oh would you look at that, it is already 11pm, I cannot believe I am not sleeping, argh!