Updates and All That Jazz

I purchased jinimcclelland.com and another domain for pop culture blogging. Stay tuned for that. I'll update soon. Promise.

What's up, Buttercups?

I know. I know. It's been over a year since I've blogged. Shame on me. Things have been insanely busy and well, I'm a procrastinator. 

Let's see, what's happened since last March?

I got a great job with an international development NPO in Cambridge, S3IDF. I like the work we do and the people with whom I work. It's a great set up all around. I'm the Administrative Coordinator so I do the bookkeeping, office "stuff" and manage the social media strategy. Not too shabby. Our offices are out of the Executive Director's carriage house so we're in a lovely residential area of Cambridge. It's gorgeous.

Hastings Square - Lunches outside are lovely.

We moved all of our Florida stuff up here last April. Most of the living room is finished but that guest room is still unpacked and filled to the gills with boxes. I need to get moving with that. My anxiety tends to take over and prevent me from doing it but it really needs to get finished. Really. 

Finally got a couch...and hung the mirror

Guestroom that is full. Help?

We went to our annual McClelland Beach Weekend last July. A good time was had by all, as always: Drinks, food, sun, beach, relaxation!

Longboat Key July/August 2014 Sunset

We had the worst winter in forever up here in 2015. It was crazy how much snow we got. I think it was over 108". I worked remotely A LOT.  We are very ready for GW2015 in August. We're going for a week this year. Sun and Fun!

Not even the brunt of it.

Dan and I both got "new to us" vehicles this year. It's not "necessary" to have cars up here but it's sure helpful.

Hans McClelland-Redmond

River Song McClelland-Redmond

I ran my first 5K in March. Yeah, whatever the loosest definition of "run" is, that's what I did. It was fun, though. I'm going to do another in early June so we'll see how that goes. I just want to beat my time from March.

Before and After: Craicfest 2015 5K

The end of October brought sad times for the family as our beloved Matriarch, Momma Lee passed away a week shy of her 93rd Birthday. She had lived an incredible life full of love, family, friends and adventure. I miss her daily.

LVL Birthday Celebration

Dan and I spent Thanksgiving here in Boston. I cooked for us as well as a few "strays" that didn't go to their respective families. It was a fun time. Then for Christmas, we drove to Ohio to spend it with his family. Family road trips with Prince are the best!

Brooklynn and Bailee continue to be the cutest grand babies in the ever! Judge for yourself:

Sisterly love

A couple months back, Shawna and I participated in the NOH8 photo shoot here in Boston. We had a great time getting our makeup done and posing for Adam and Jeff. We can't wait to get the professional pictures done. 

NOH8 - Equality Now!

Not to bury the lead but this happened on April 25, 2015:

Mawwaige!

We had an intimate wedding in the Boston Public Garden with 17 of our Boston friends and a couple surprise Florida visitors (Mom, Dad, Leigh, Courtney, Lisa). It was a lovely wedding officiated by my friend, Bob. After, we walked to McCormick & Schmick's for a wonderful dinner and some delicious wedding cake from Flour. Announcements will be mailed soon with more pictures.

I'm sure there is a TON I'm missing but that's what happens when your blogger is a procrastinator and busy.

Much Love,

Jini

Beware the Ides of March

Oh yeah, I brought the Shakespeare. 

Masterpieces!

Daniel and I had another "Paint Nite" Date Night. This time we tried a pub in Dorchester called, "Banshee." It was great. I love this concept: novices and whatever talent level, step by step, finished products to keep. We always enjoy ourselves. We go early to eat then we paint and drink and ... fun! 

FYI: they do this all over the country and there is almost always a Groupon for it so... for about $50 you can participate (supplies and the class). You just have to purchase food & bevies. This is my 3rd time. I highly recommend it.

So cute!

Welcome to planet Earth, Bailee Mae Bedell. 7lbs, 21 3/4 long. Born 9:35, March 14, 2014. She's healthy and mommy is, too. Thankfully, everything turned out wonderfully after a very rough pregnancy for Rachael. She and Tyler sure do make beautiful babies!

jetBlue Crew!

I am really loving that all of us jetBlue peeps keep in touch. There are only about 5 out of 12 that still work there. Last week Deb was in from Rochester again so some of us met up at Yankee Lobster at the Seaport for lunch. We had a great time. As always. I met Kate at Logan after her Sunday shift and we ate at Legal Seafod CBar. I'm going to apply for a job there as they're hiring. It gets me back into food service/bartending, maybe.

Selfie that killed Twitter!

I was on the road with Daniel again a couple of weeks ago. I always enjoy that. If his rig had a bathroom, I'd go more often. LOL. His tv works well so I got to watch The Oscars while he unloaded at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in NC. I text with Aunt Leigh most of the night. That made it more fun...like I wasn't watching by myself. 

It's weird but I literally hadn't seen ANY of the nominated movies in any category...with the exception of, "Gravity" (watched on the plane home from Florida) and "Star Trek: Into Darkness."

Needs a name!

Daniel got a "new" car. It's pretty nice. There is some work that needs to be done to it but it's functional and way more modern than my little car. LOL. His boss teases that it won't be long until I steal the Jeep. Maybe. *insert evil laugh here*

I'm headed to Florida again in April for a couple of weeks. Going to help out mom and dad with some stuff. I'm also using the time to purge and pack the apartment. Now that the house is sold (YAY!), we can move our stuff up here and finally have a "home." I'm tired of sitting on the floor and not having chairs and a kitchen table, etc... Plus? I really miss my books.

I am so a product of my upbringing. I'm obsessed with HGTV...watching Property Brothers (YUM) and Love It Or List It. It's cool getting ideas for quick fixes that are non-permanent (apartment living!!!). I've found some things for my "want" list for this place. We signed a new lease the other day. We're very happy here and I want to stay awhile. I'm about to get this place ready to be livable!

Feel free to comment on the following ideas...

Ikea

We have a huge kitchen but practically zero counter or cabinet space. I think if I can put 2 of these Ikea tables back to back, it will make a nice storage and island space for us. Seriously, my kitchen is pretty huge. 

Shoe storage

We have decent closet space but it's not really conducive to holding all my shoes. NO, I do NOT need to purge! LOL. Anyway, there is a corner between my bedroom door and the closet that will hold something like the above, without being crowded or "too much." I could actually put curtains on it so it's not must me looking at shoes all the time...if I wanted to. That's an easy fix.

When you come in the front door, there is a small wall that lends itself to a mirror and small foyer table. I have the perfect mirror that'll come up here in the UHaul. I need a skinny foyer table, though. I'm thinking the above is a decent representation of what I need. 

Love Seat

The wall where the couch needs to go (the fireplace/entertainment center is on the opposite wall), is near the entrance. To have side tables and room to enter the living room, we're going to have to do a love seat that's less than 72". I'm okay with that. We like something like the above as it's clean lines and not too bulky. 

Anyway, some of these ideas ... and others are on my Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/jinimcclelland). Check them out. Recipes, too. I've organized it all by category of food. LOL.

Speaking of recipes...I think I've found a more affordable way to go to Le Cordon Bleu... instead of enrolling and spending $30,000+ on attending full classes, they offer 5 day workshops. The main 3 are about $1,900 each. That's a good base and it's a certificate, etc... When things settle down a bit, I'm going to research further and see about attending. They offer other workshops that are less than 5 days, too...and you can pick and choose. 

I think that's about it from up here. I'm not actively job hunting until I'm back from Florida. 

Much love,

Jini

 

  

2014?! What?!

Wow. It's 2014. How did THAT happen? Sorry it's been so long since I've checked in. I've been busy and sick and busy again. No excuses. 

Recapping:

Thanksgiving was good. I worked at Logan that day then came home and cooked for Daniel, Stephen, Natalie and Waylon. It was a nice relaxing time. I didn't do a huge turkey...just turkey breasts and some casseroles. I'd say about an 8 on a scale of 10. LOL

No counter space? I make do!

As an early holiday (both) gift, Daniel got us our electric fireplace. I love it! It's great for heat, ambiance and as our entertainment center. As with all things, he did a great job picking it out himself. Mad props to our neighbor for helping us get it up the stairs to the 3rd floor. That is not fun. FYI: when we move our stuff up? We are very much hiring people to unload and carry it upstairs. VERY MUCH. 

See how nice it is?

Prince is still loving being with me at the house. He is my cuddle buddy. He's going to be 12 in April and it's starting to show. He's still energetic like always but his eye sight is getting worse. He face planted into the side of the bed when jumping up the other week. He was lethargic for a day after. Poor Boo. He got extra hugs and cuddles from his mommy that week. 

I promise this is not photo shopped. My happy baby!

A few of us jetBlue University attendees got together in early December for dinner in Boston. Debbie was in from Rochester so she got the day tour with Karen, John, CJ and Mary Ellen. I met them all at The Hub with Kate. It was really foggy out that night so we didn't get the full effect of the view from up there. We had a drink or two and enjoyed the company. After, we went to the North End and had a nice dinner together followed by canoli at Mike's. Very cool to do some Boston exploring. 

You can see the fog from this pic. Crazy.

Christmas was just as great as Thanksgiving. Daniel and I celebrated on Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve, though. We had an Eve Eve dinner at Boston Chops. OMG, so good. Not as swanky or expensive as your Shula's or Capital Grille or Ruth's Chris but oh so delish. We opened gifts to each other Christmas Eve and we spent the day together just relaxing in front of the tree and fire place. Perfect! 

 

One of my gifts...we played for a few hours! Good times.

I had to work Christmas Day but was home by 2pm and cooked a big dinner for the both of us.  On a scale of 1 - 10 it was a 9.5. Yeah...that Russian Judge lowered my score! LOL

MMM

Most all of my Christmas stuff is still in Florida. I was actually finally in the mood to decorate so it was sad to not have it up here with me. However, we're making new memories to go with the older ones. We got a pre-lit tree and I purchased some simple ornaments and it turned out great. I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out. 

Oh, Christmas Tree...

Around New Years, I started getting sick. It was some kind of viral thing and my doctor wanted me to stay home in bed. Unfortunately, I was still in my 90 day probationary period with jetBlue so I was "separated." This was highly disappointing. I had put so much work into my training and frankly, it's shocking that they would spend so much money on that training/investment in a crew member just to let them go like that. Oh well, it is what it is. I can reapply for any position in 6 months so if something comes up, I'll consider that. I sent back my badges and paperwork so I should be okay for that process.

I basically was in bed for over 2 weeks. I just couldn't shake it: tired, no energy...then I got vertigo. Weird. I'm still a bit tired all the time but so much better.

After I "got over" that stuff, I went on the road with Daniel for a week. I always love doing that. It's so peaceful and nice to just chill with him. He's very good at what he does and loves being out there. I get to take pictures and meet all his friends at the places he frequents every week.  

Bay Bridge view: Gorgeous.

When we got back, Daniel and I went to The Capital Grille for my Birthday Dinner. Last year we went with Leigh and Courtney. This year for Christmas, they and Dad & Janet sent us gift certificates so we decided to make it my birthday tradition. OMG, I love that place. We had a great time, of course. Along with the amazing food, it's always an "experience.' Love it!

Just the right size to share.

It's funny: every year I try to plan something fun for my birthday with friends and I invite tons of people...not a lot show up most of the time. Not complaining at all. People have lives that don't center around me. (I know! What in the heck?!)  This year I had a lot smaller group from which to chose and I'll be darned if most of them didn't show up. There is this Tex Mex place at Fanuiel Hall called, Zuma. They have great food and delish house margaritas. It is so reasonable...even for Boston. (**) Anyway, my Red Cross girls came as well as Brian (also Red Cross but not one of my girls, obvs) and my friend Tony from NY. We had a great time talking and eating and yes, drinking those margs.

[**I scale Boston prices so as not to have a heart attack when paying dining/drinking bills. Like, if I find a good beer (not Bud, etc...) for $5-8, that is cheap and I'm happy. If I find a cocktail that is $8-12 then that, too is cheap and I'm happy.]

My ARC Peeps: Alex, Sara, Ashley, Kelly & Shawna

This year has been more "snowy" than last year. Plus: I have a car now so it's a pain in ways that walking to the bus/train wasn't. Did you know your door locks freeze? What? I now carry de-icer and a butane lighter in my purse. Crazy. It's gorgeous until you have to park or drive in it. LOL

View of my back yard from my bedroom window.

The food processor mom gave me died a horrible yet quiet death. Daniel got me a Ninja to replace it. It's a blender, too. Let me tell you how happy this gift (no occasion) makes me: VERY VERY VERY VERY!

SO COOL!

Right now I'm in (not so very at the moment) sunny Sarasota, Florida. What a nice break from the 10 degrees and snow up in Boston. I'm staying with Cousin Matthew this week and having a great time being the Nanny! Poor thing is on crutches after his 2nd knee injury. Anyway, we're watching The Winter Olympics and doing homework (ahem) and eating the dinners I make. I love this stuff...temporarily. LOL He's a good kid and we're enjoying hanging out. We're both totes jelly of our parents' Vegas trip. Those peeps deserve it, though and we're loving seeing all the pictures and can't wait to hear the "stories."  

Saturday, I'll be in Dade City for a week. Ava comes in that day, too and it'll be great to see her. I haven't seen her since the night before she left for South Korea in August 2012. I plan on seeing some friends and family and hopefully digging through some of the stuff in my apartment to get ready to move it up later in the year. 

I think that's about it for the "what's Jini been up to" portion of the blog. Now...commentary:

The Biggest Loser Finale Controversy:
It's no secret I love this show. However, this year's finale was disturbing in many ways. I know it's a competition. When you're down to the final 3, it's all about winning the $250,000 grand prize. I'm sure that's crazy motivation and would make some people go insane. Usually, the winner (and top 3) look really good. It takes losing about 50% of your original weight to win this. Some past winners have done a bit much to win but are generally healthy (ish) looking. Plus, they usually level out as soon as they weigh in.  
This year? OMG, overkill. The gentlemen were borderline too thin but didn't look "unhealthy." Rachael, the winner? She lost over 60% of her original weight and looked like she was about to star in a biopic about Karen Carpenter. She was SO thin...and looked completely unhealthy. Completely. I can't think about her arms without a shudder. 
I'm not a doctor and I'm not on her journey or whatever but that was way too much. I think maybe she got caught up in "the game" part of the show ($250,00 is a lot) and it just got away from her. I hope that now the show is over she can level out to a more even weight.  
The biggest disappointment for me is the cop-out by the show and some of the trainers. The Producers said that she had supervision/check ins from the medical people. That can't be right. If she looked that bad on tv, can you imagine what she looks like in real life?
Bob and Jillian wrote a joint statement saying they weren't her trainers and didn't feel comfortable commenting. I call BS b/c after they went to "singles" (no teams, individual competition), it was a training free for all. They had contact with her. AARGH. It's so unlike Jillian to keep quiet about these things. Anyway, their faces tell it all...it was the stereotypical slow clap and Jillian saying, "Oh My God" a few times. They were not at all happy with her new look.

TV:
Being stuck in bed for over 2 weeks, I caught up on some tv shows that had been highly recommended as well as keeping up with some "current" stuff. 

1. Top of the Lake: this is a Jane Campion (The Piano, among others) thing so you know it's going to be weird. Oh yes, it was. Somehow I really liked it, though. Elizabeth Moss was fantastic and deserves all the accolades she's getting for it. It's only 7 "episodes" so if you've got the time, watch it.

2. Orphan Black: this show is amazing. It's a BBC production so the season is only like 10 episodes. Tatiana Maslany? Crazy talented. She's one actress playing no less than 5 characters. You can immediately tell who she is by her mannerisms. She's so great. I love SciFi and action so this was right up my alley. I can't wait for Season 2. I think that starts in April. Thanks to Kyle Anderson (nerdist.com) for the personal recommendation.

3. Sherlock: Stephen Moffatt is good when he's good and still decent when he's not on his game. This "season" of 3 was a tad better than decent, overall. I think I was so starved for the show that I forgave the first 2 episodes for it's faults. Still, by normal standards they were better than average. The 3rd episode really delivered, though. Man, I adore Cummerbach and Freeman together. I thought I'd dislike adding Mary into the mix but somehow it works really well. Don't get me started on how much I love having Mycroft around more! I'm excited for Season 4 but so sad we'll probably have to wait well over a year for it.  I guess that's what happens when your show runner has multiple popular on air projects and your two stars are HUGE movie stars right now (Star Trek and The Hobbit to name just 2).

4. Downton Abbey: SO GOOD!!! Just...awesome all around. I miss Matthew but it seems that Mary is coping. It's starting to get a more Gosford Park feel than it has in the past. Time will tell if that's good or bad. In general I'm still engaged by it all so... we'll see!

5. Justified: there are no words...which stinks since this is a blog. LOL. Seriously, though. The new/old baddies are great. The guest stars are great. Timothy Olyphant continues to nail Raylon as a flawed person. Walton Goggins is so underrated as Boyd Crowder. What a great team those two actors make...layers and layers of history with the characters. 

6. How I Met Your Mother: FINALLY we meet the mother! And? She's amazing! I know this final season takes place all in one (wedding) weekend but it's moving so fast. The best episode yet was where it was what she was doing these past years. What a great throw back to all the hints and clues that we've been given. Really well written and yes, acted. I can't wait for it to be over so I'll have all the pieces. I will miss the show, though.

7. The Big Bang Theory: Um, the Shamy Kiss was epic. Jim and Mayim just killed in that scene. I'm one of the people who (after so many seasons) no longer thinks of Sheldon as quirky. He's down right mean on purpose most of the time. However, this scene was perfectly staged and written and acted. Go Shamy!

8. Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Special was very good. I loved the interaction by 10/11: Tenant/Smith. They played well off of each other. This War Doctor thing is weird but it worked. The Christmas Special was pretty decent, too. I liked 11's send off and the regeneration cannon cheat worked for me. I'm very excited to see Capaldi step in and throw his hat in this. 

9. Sons of Anarchy: OMG, can we discuss how cray Gemma is? That was just...insane. I can't wait to see how Sutter wraps all of this up next year. I think it's the last year. I think. I mean, it's Hamlet so everyone is going to die, yeah? Has to be the way it ends. Maybe Abel and Thomas can be adopted by some outside of Charming people. One can hope.
Speaking of the genius of Kurt Sutter:
He tweeted a picture of his dog with one word (yes, maybe?) so I replied with a picture of Prince and said, "Indeed." Mr. Sutter is now following me. OMG, Squee! LOL. So, thank you, Prince Redmond!

Prince:  I got a mommy for daddy and now a celeb tweet follower for Mommy!

 

Movies:

I have been slacking. I haven't seen but 1 of any of the Oscar nominated flicks...Star Trek: Into Darkness has a special effects nomination.

1. LEGO Movie: Saw this with Matthew. It is HILARIOUS. Go see it now. With or without your kids. So great. 

2. Despicable Me 2: I finally saw this and it was good. Not as good as the first one (duh) but it was pretty good. I continue to adore Agnes and her unicorn.

See? That's it. I'm a slacker!

Alright, this is a novella right now. No need to get into novel territory. I will update more frequently.

Be well, 
Much love,
Jini 

November 2013

One of the silly things I enjoy is trying to figure out the celebrity voice overs in commercials. Why, hello, Susan Sarrandon and Keifer Sutherland and Martin Sheen.

Fall TV:

I'm still enjoying Scandal way more than I should. However, the weakest link has always been the same. The Voice is decent but I'm not as into it as I have been previous years. I tried The Trophy Wife because of Bradley Whitford and Marcia Gay Harden but I gave up on the 3rd episode. It was trying too hard. The Blacklist and Marvel's Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D are really good. Try them. I watched Sleepy Hollow's first episode and it finally "got me" the last 5 minutes. I'm not caught up at all but I'll continue. Once Upon a Time is still good and I started Once Upon A Time in Wonderland. It was okay. I'll give it a few before I give up or not....and as I finish this blog, I've given up. It's stupid and poorly acted.

I continue to love the Create Channel. Tons of cooking shows from classic Julia Child (Julia and Jacques) to Simply Ming and Nick Stalino. Learning a lot.

Work:

First day in uniform!

My first shift bid ending up being 5am-1:30pm, Wed - Sun. I lucked out. Although, I'm up at 3am to get there on time which means bed time by 7-8pm. If you swipe your garage entry by 30 minutes prior to your shift, you're not late. There is a draw bridge at the Chelsea garage where we park...it goes up and you wait like 20 minutes. The T doesn't run that early so I have to drive. The next bid is December 4th. I'm hoping that I have just enough seniority to at least keep the 5am shift instead of getting the 330am-12pm shift. I'd have to be up by 1:30 to make that one.

OJT - got to hang with a plane!

OJT went well. I've had 2 weeks of working the ticket counter. It's interesting to say the least. I love using my people skills. I can turn around a terse and negative customer pretty easily. The stuff you have to remember is insane. I think I'm doing okay. Everyone is very helpful. I messed up big time one day and everyone scrambled to fix it (International Flight stuff). The supervisors pulled me aside to talk to me about it but that was just an informational thing, thankfully.

Got to dress up for Halloween!

I started gate training this past week. That was interesting...stressful to get the planes out on time. Again: A lot to remember. I think it will be fun, though. I have gate mentoring next week and should get jetbridge certified then. Driving that thing is nutso!

My friend John and his fiance', Victor got married yesterday! I saw some pictures and they looked very happy. jetBlue was cool and let him switch around his training so he could have off 2 days.

Fun Stuff:

Since jetBlue is the Official Airline of the Boston Red Sox, we had the trophy here for us to see. We raised the championship banner and had some Sox players and the mascott in our terminal. I missed it because I was working at the gate but...I have a picture of myself with 2 of the past trophies from last year so I'm good.

Not only do we have a Red Sox Plane (painted with the Sox on the tail), we have Blue Bravest: the tribute to the FDNY. It was here Friday and I took a picture...then the move team brought it to my gate and the MCO flight got on it! I got to drive the jetbridge up to it and be on it. Very cool.

Blue Bravest

Me with Blue Bravest!

I'm starting to plan Thanksgiving dinner. I'm off that Monday and Tuesday but have to work the actual day (double time). Daniel will be home around the same time as I will that day. It'll be relaxing. I'll prep beforehand and finish cooking when I get home. I'm not doing a full turkey. That's a waste for just the two of us. I'll do my brick baked turkey breasts (skin on so I can stuff them with spices)...and Leigh's stuffing...and maybe a casserole or two. Leftovers!!! Daniel loves that. He takes it all on the road with him and it keeps his food choices open. Eating the same truck stop and fast food every day gets tiring. 

We're starting to plan for Christmas, too. It'll be just us up here. I'm not going to attempt to fly yet since I'm on my 90 day initial probation at work. Hopefully it'll snow and I'll have my first ever White Christmas! We're getting a couch and an electric fireplace so that'll be nice. We're getting kind of tired of living like college kids with no furniture. I'm thinking of a trip to FL at the end of January...packing up some of my stuff and visiting a bit. 

That's about it from Boston (Roxbury). Everyone have a great holiday. Much love!

 

Jini

Even More New Adventures!

Hey, everyone. Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been crazy busy...in a good way.

As you know, I interviewed with jetBlue and I got the job. It's "Airport Operations" which is customer service: ticket counter, baggage claim, working the gate, etc... It was a part time position but they offered us full time so...FULL TIME for me! 

The whole process has been insane. 
Online application. 
Recorded phone interview (recording answers to questions they show you online). 
Quick phone interview with a person. 
FOUR HOUR group presentation and interview. Crazy fun and informative. I met a couple of awesome future co-workers there.

It was intense. Very. This company is crazy awesome, btw.  They get over 100,000 applications this year and hire about 3,000.

jetBlue University is in Orlando and we were all flown down for 2 weeks of training. This is their campus in Orlando. It's specifically for training their crew members. The inflight and pilots have flight simulators (real planes) and one is over a pool so they can practice water evacuations. So cool. They are about to break ground on a hotel next door so they can lodge crew members instead of shuttle bussing to and from local hotels.

jetBlue University - Orlando Florda

When I got into Orlando, we checked into the hotel and then Jessica and Lisa picked me up to take me to Dade City. I had dinner with Mom & Dad and Lisa & Billy at Koko's (I know you're shocked). I brought Dad's Expedition back with me so I could have a vehicle to use. Very awesome perk.

Ashley making Bananas Foster for Dad

The first day and a half was "orientation." Senior leadership was there from the CEO to the CFO to VPs of Marketing and other high level positions. There were 133 of us: Airport Operations, Ground Operations, Reservations and Pilots. We got the history of jetBlue. We got benefit information (flying, health, investment). We got access to everyone and everything. All the employees stood around the room and one by one introduced themselves to us. Then WE had to stand up and introduce ourselves. That was interesting for me but in line with my new, "stepping outside my comfort zone" mantra. I did it and did it with confidence and humor. After one session there were pilots talking to the CEO so I got behind them and stood in line to speak with him. He is very approachable and he remembers everyone. I mentioned Uncle Mick being a pilot and he was like, "Torsten?" LOL. Very cool.

Hangin w/Dave. No big!

Day 2 - 11 was intense classroom lecture and hands on practical learning of general information needed for our jobs. We learned about the computer program and how to book, change reservations and all the rules associated with that. Ten tests. Crazy stress but oh so worth it.

Since I have so many friends and family in Central Florida, I was able to fit in dinners and evenings with Kevin and Brian and Cousin Kristi Anderson and Uncle Walt & Aunt Cathy and Marcus and Lauren. It was a full two weeks, definitely.

Deb & CJ

Kate

Karen, John and me

Karen and Me

Kate, Karen, Deb & CJ

I even got to see Aunt Leigh, Uncle Courtney and Uncle Scott down at Tinker Field. Sean was playing a lacrosse tournament so I got to see them all for about an hour or so. So, where the heck has lacrosse been all of my life? Fast, violent and fun. Love it.

STS in action

Scott & Sean post-game

All in all it was a great experience. I had a blast and am very happy to be back in Boston and starting on the job training tomorrow. My first 4 days' schedule is 2pm-11:30pm and I'm cool with that. We bid for our next schedule tomorrow. Since everything is based on seniority, I'm sure we (BabyBlues) will get the 3:30am-11am shifts or the late one that ends at 1:30am. Never fear, in less than 2 weeks, another group of BabyBlues come in and we'll have seniority...then another class 2 weeks after that. Woot!

There are tons more pictures but they're mostly of food. I definitely had a food fest down there. 

In other news, Daniel and I have decided to do a destination wedding over New Years 2015. We're thinking Aruba or St. Lucia. With my flight perks, it's super cheap to fly down. I have a travel agent looking into inclusive resorts for us. Most include a wedding package if you stay 6-10 days. No worries there. You have to be there 3-4 days before for paperwork so we'd vacay a bit, get married then stay for the honeymoon a few days. 

We'll have a party state side in the spring 2015 to show pictures and celebrate with family & friends. Mom said we could have it at her house so that's good. 

That's about it for now. It's all jetBlue all the time for me at the moment. I'll keep you posted on what's going on!

Airport Sim Room

Dexter's Thornton Park - LOVE IT

Graduation Day with Miny, our instructor!

Diploma and Airplane Cookee

Everyone be good to one another.

Much Love,

Jini