alwaysinairplanemode

[alwaysinairplanemode]

i’m realizing that i have so much time. i have time to grow my hair long. i have time to cut it all off and then to grow it back again. i have time to discover new hobbies and give up on things that no longer serve me. i have time to grow and change and travel and change my opinions and live differently than how i am now. i have so much time. take a deep breath and slow down

[alwaysinairplanemode]

[alwaysinairplanemode]

A line from my recent post about Ladies Skate Night in @rocgirlgang... Link in bio, and next LSN on Monday so freaking be there ladies!! Shout-out always to @flourpailkids for starting it and @kt_epner for inviting me... . . . #ladiesskatenight #girlgang #skateboarding #rochester https://www.instagram.com/p/BmiwjQ_H1zB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17mqfxzgcswup

[alwaysinairplanemode]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Emilie (@dawsondesigned)

Full #sparklemotion for a very special wedding this weekend! Catching the sunset in my Rubik's Cute resin and brass set. . . . 📷@brianabeth10 #2sparklemotion #handmadejewelry #etsyseller #jewelrydesigner #etsysellersofinstagram #handmade #localartist #resinjewelry #resinart #resin #epoxyresin #glitter (at Medina, New York)

[alwaysinairplanemode]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Emilie (@dawsondesigned)

The weather in Roc is so nice I took my paint outside today! Song is "Without You" by @lapaluxmusic. . . #dirtypour #acrylicpour #fluidart #abstract #localartist #etsysellersofinstagram #etsyshop #etsyseller #handmade #artistsoninstagram #sparklemotion #2sparklemotion

[alwaysinairplanemode]

Don't worry I still love glitter! But I'm loving bringing new life to these dried beauties too... Working on new designs, inspired by the creativity in the two classes I taught this weekend! DM me if you're in Rochester and looking for a creative class/party... #rocny #sparklemotion #2sparklemotion #resin #resinart #resinjewelry #resincasting #resinflowers #lilac #handmade #handmadejewelry #epoxyresin #etsyshop #etsyseller #etsysellersofinstagram (at Rochester, New York)

[alwaysinairplanemode]

V important puppy post from this weekends 17th annual #dachshundparade. Don't have my own anymore but I borrowed a friend's and they accepted me with open paws! #dachshundsofinstagram #dachshund #puppyparade #puppies (at Rochester, New York)

[alwaysinairplanemode]

being an adult is just… calling people that’s literally it… just calling people you don’t want to call about problems you don’t want to have to be solving.. it’s disgusting

[alwaysinairplanemode]

No More

No more last minute flights to faraway destinations.

No more unexpected first class upgrades, or special lines at TSA.

No more showing kids the flight deck and watching their faces light up when they sit in the captain’s chair.

No more long overnights with fun co workers, and having an extra long layover to explore a new city on the company’s dime...

No more breaking nails on the galley clips.

No more credit card debt mounting because I’m not getting compensated a living wage. 

No more sleeping in a not fully reclinable recliner in the crew room because a hotel is too expensive and I’m stuck for the night….

No more free flights to Hawaii,

no more stress of standby,

no more making people smile with PA jokes,

no more tipsy businessmen assuming I’m included in the complementary service…

No more watching the city lights dazzle as we descend on my last leg home.

As much as I’ve gained in almost three years as a flight attendant, I’ve traded for pieces of my sanity, health, trust and motivation.

Most of the people I tell about switching to a 9-5 life marvel at how I could desert the glamour of jet setting. The truth is the shine of it was tarnished already every time I got stranded, or delayed for hours on end or had to go up against an entitled passenger’s bad attitude.

Or when I saw how necessary my union was because my company cared more about completed flights than my health or quality of life. Or every time I was so overwhelmed with the simple act of getting home that I was sobbing in a boarding area, I felt defeated rather than empowered and glamorous or free.

When I started this job I needed it. I had little buds of growth but no real roots, I could go anywhere or do anything so I took a chance and became a flight attendant. I let them put me in a city so I didn’t have to choose where to go, and that’s how I learned what’s not to love about Dayton, OH.

For the love of everything, no more Ohio…

Then I was in Charlotte, then DC then I finally decided I couldn’t make a new home if I was never there. So i went to my first home, back to Rochester, and everything started falling in place.

No more wondering if I was where I was supposed to be.

No more wondering who my people were.

No more wishing I didn’t feel so damn alone.

I can’t look at everything properly yet, I’m still too close. But I plan to revisit it. I plan to tell my story in great detail so that people who hear about what airline life as a crewmember is like might get as angry as me sobbing in the terminal having no one to rely on, and realizing sometimes in this corporate cog I can get mangled by the teeth.

I’m forever glad I did it.

I saw 9 countries, ran half marathons in 5 states, moved 7 times. I saw countless friends in unique places around the world. I experienced what I thought was love but what turned out to be lessons. I broke a bone in two places, and it healed with enough care and rest...now I barely remember how much it hurt…

I have so many things I’m looking forward to.

No more kissing goodbye for a week or more,

No more abiding by archaic appearance standards.

No more repeating “cookies or pretzels” until my vocal chords bleed and the whole cabin is covered in diet coke.

And no more wondering if I’ve stayed so long that I’m not capable of doing anything else…

For now my feet will be on the ground. When I fly, it’ll be like the rest of the masses, and when I leave work at the end of the day I’ll drive a few minutes and be home. And the smile on my face will be honest and not for anyone else but myself.

[alwaysinairplanemode]

Throwback to plants not covered in ice #heliconia #hawaii #plantsofinstagram (at Palolo, Hawaii)

[alwaysinairplanemode]

As I go through some transitions I'm getting nostalgic for spontaneous moments like this captured by new friends in strange places. . . @kishanchadalawada @lolita_doris #wichita #wichitawitches #foraweekend #boutayearago #kansas #flightattendantlife

[alwaysinairplanemode]

You Better Belize it

Me and my number one road dawg Dev headed to Belize for 4 days and saw (almost) everything this smaller Central American country had to offer! 

Night 1: We stayed in Belize City our first night, a city that's as large as Miami International Airport and has a populations of roughly 60,000 people, or as much as Miami airport holds in probably any 30 minute block throughout the day. The city is mostly native except for the areas obviously designed for tourists to spend money off the cruise ships. These juxtapositions always bum me out when I travel, not because of the people who live there, because they no doubt rely on the tourism industry at this point, but for the people who step off the boat for an hour to drink at an overpriced bar and don’t get to interact with locals for reasons other than service or money. 

Night 2-3: We rented a car and drove into the mountains to stay at the T.R.E.E.S. Nature Center in the rainforest. We found the spot through AirBnB but every other person staying there was doing so as a volunteer or intern for the center. It was cool to hang out with them and learn from. We all waited out the storms together and cooked at night, and got to learn as much about the Belizean wildlife as the Canadian because all six out of seven of the people we met happened to be from there. We even got to play Canadian Cards Against Humanity which was very entertaining (the Rob Ford card played right wins any round).

We explored the jungle as much as we could with the rain, but we mostly reveled in the beauty of the valley and the center. Chickens and cats roamed the grounds and we learned how to get coconut water out with a machete! Very exciting, and very delicious with some local Traveler’s Rum poured in.

Night 4: For our next trick we’ll reveal an entirely new ecosystem of Belize!

We left behind the jungle and made sure we had time to see at least one Mayan temple before we had to return the car. We saw Altun Ha, which was massive and serene and not overrun with tourists. We got to climb on top and we tried some of the fruit falling from the trees nearby. We raced back to the airport to avoid getting that next day charge on the car, when the man at the Budget counter learned we were planning on going to the water taxis and the cayes (pronounced keys) and not flying out right away he offered to drive us to them! Next thing we knew we were back in our little SUV heading for the ports and hearing about our driver’s current wife and previous three wives. By the end of the 15 minute drive we were already accepted as wives five and six, so it’s nice to know our romantic options don’t adhere to domestic borders.

From the port we had an hour long, mostly dry, boat ride to Caye Caulker. We made no plans of where to stay there and there were drivers waiting at the port to take us to whatever hostel was cheap and open. We found one quickly that had free rum drinks for an hour, small kittens milling about the lobby and two wide bodied canoes out back. Finally the rain had let up for a bit so we ditched our luggage and headed out on the boats to be a part of a Caribbean sunset!

It was all magical and idyllic till we decided to jump IN the bathwater warm sea. The wide body of the canoe made it difficult to get in without filling it with water and every swim lesson and summer camp came into play as I trod water with Dev’s iphone and our clothing over my head. Luckily our struggle didn’t go unnoticed and a nice sailor took his dinghy out to rescue us. We were in our hostel with fresh clothes on in no time and definitely in need of that happy hour to get underway! We’d heard rumblings of a full moon party that night (even though the moon had a few days to grow) and set off in search of dinner and fun. We found some of the best lobster I’ve ever had, at the price of like $12. Then we took another water taxi across the split in the island to dance in the sand with the other travelers. By the end of the night we’d made new friends, dove into the ocean to jump on a water trampoline and otherwise celebrated the moon like she deserves.

Day 5: I head to the water taxi with sunglasses and some advil as I head back to Belize City and the airport. Dev stayed one more night and was able to save a favorite hat of mine I almost abandoned at the Budget car rental place. 

Belize was so much different than I expected and ultimately so much better. The people were so ready to engage and talk and share with us. The trip was the perfect balance of frivolity and structure, with moonlit conversations in the hammock as well as moonlit debauchery on the beach. 

We got to climb on mahogany trees and swim in the freshly flooded waters, and the people of Belize love hot sauce as much as me because it is PROLIFIC. RIP to the bottles Dev and I both had taken at security... 

[alwaysinairplanemode]

When I’m not flying I might be skating or running or making these sparkly things. Check out some jewelry I’ve been making on Etsy!

[alwaysinairplanemode]

All about the balance 🖤💛 📷 bossily requested from: @clurclarclay . . . #alwaysinairplanemode #flightattendantlife #nonrevadventures #hawaii #honolulu (at Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art)

[alwaysinairplanemode]

Haven't posted a window pic in awhile, sometimes I forget this isn't everyone's view on the ride home... #alwaysinairplanemode #travel #aviation #blackandwhite #flightattendantlife (at Rochester, New York)

[alwaysinairplanemode]

Proud to be a @serealgirls, and always down to jump in a freezing cold bathtub to fulfill one of @deveneywilliams Thats So Raven style photo visions!!! #dwproductions #creativeportraits #alwaysinairplanemode @kelloggsus

[alwaysinairplanemode]

I never like to plan much when I travel that way I can end up in places like this, a Korean Buddhist temple in the hills of Palolo after a 4 hour hike. Not pictured: the gorgeous lilies, peonies and orchids we got to pick of memorial bouquets left by the roadside. All the flower pictures in my camera roll contribute strong evidence that I am becoming my mother. . . . #travel #honolulu #palolo #oahu #temples #alwaysinairplanemode #flightattendantlife #nonrevadventures (at Palolo, Hawaii)