Somehow it donned on me today that it had been a hot minute since I wrote a blog post. Then I looked to see how long it had been and it has been over a month! I am so upset with myself for letting this go so long. Here's a quick little recap about what I've been up to since February 12th.
February 13th I went to my first NBA game at the American Airlines center to see the Mavs play! I haven't been able to go back but I would in a heartbeat, I do love attending any sporting event.
Valentine's Day is kind of a big deal at Southwest (being the LUV airline and all ;)) and we were able to attend the Heroes of the Heart award ceremony. This award goes to a department that doesn't directly interact with external customers but has gone the extra mile in their work over the last year. It was very cool to get to be there. Then that night a group of us that are all single (and some that have significant others far away) went out for dinner and drinks for Valentine's.
That next morning I flew home to Kansas City, my parents found a new car for me and I had to go home to get it tagged and to bring it back to Dallas. My dad picked me up from the airport (after I almost slept through my 6 a.m. flight, oops!) and we got to catch up and have breakfast together. Then he dropped me off at my mom's so that I could take car of my car responsibilities - did I mention that a week after my wreck my mom had rotator cuff surgery? That made dealing with insurance companies that much more complicated. Thank God for my stepdad Mike and his patience, he stepped in a took care of everything and I could not be more grateful.
I got my car taken care of, and was able to swing by and see my sister Anne, catch up with her while she cut my hair. Then right before I was about to hit the road to Pittsburg to see my friends my brother Jake stopped by the house and I was able to see him too! It was so great to see so much family even though I was only in town for a few hours.
I decided to head to Pittsburg on Friday and spend the rest of the weekend with my friends because it would cut two hours off my drive time on Sunday and I hadn't seen most of them for two months and I missed them like crazy! Seeing everyone was so good, I had a really hard time leaving Sunday but I just had to remember the bigger picture - easier said than done.
The drive back to Dallas was long and not so fun when you're all alone, but I made it back in one piece!
The next weekend I traveled with Elly and Heather, we were determined to make it to the beach. We decided to try and fly into Orlando and drive about 45 minutes to Cocoa Beach. Flights were getting worse as the day went on but the nonrev gods were with us and we made it! We got to Orlando around 11 p.m. - hadn't made any hotel or rental car arrangements since we weren't sure we were even going to get there - and looked at each other like "now what?" Then walked up one of the flight attendants from the flight we just got off. As we were frantically looking at our phones to try and find hotels he said "You guys need some help?" and we graciously accepted any and all advice he had to give. He ended up helping us find the crew hotel and get the Southwest employee rate AND he informed us that he was also headed to Cocoa Beach the next day and could give us a ride so we didn't need to worry about renting a car. He was seriously our travel guardian angel. We hit up the beach with him and his friends Saturday and then headed back to Dallas on Sunday. We couldn't have planned the weekend any better.
Still craving more time on the beach Elly and I headed to San Diego the following weekend with Carrie, Conner and Corey. We caught the early flight Saturday morning and immediately after landing found a little brunch spot with bottomless mimosas - I was in heaven. After getting our money's worth of mimosas it was time to head to the beach. We went to Pacific Beach which was full of what seemed to be locals. It was a gorgeous day and the beach was equally as beautiful. Some how all of us were exhausted and what was meant to be a nap/rest time before going out turned in to just going to bed. We were up and at 'em early the next morning to catch our flight back. On the flight back we got to fly on one of Southwest's new 737-800 aircraft, I have a new liking for planes after being on them so much the last couple of months. The 800 is so pretty! If you have a chance to fly on one, you will immediately know what I'm talking about.
Monday, March 4th was Southwest's Message to the Field. Message to the Field is basically their "State of the Union" if you will, to reflect on the last year and get excited about what is in the year to come. In true Southwest fashion there was a giant tailgate prior to the event to get everyone pumped up to hear the Message. I thought it was awesome to get to be here for - we got to hear CEO, President and Chairman of the Board, Gary Kelly, speak about where Southwest has come from and where they are going. As if I didn't already want to keep working for this company enough as it is, after getting to hear the Message, I want to stay even more.
Being the second week in March and Spring Breaks starting it became harder for us to get places, since we travel on standby. Somehow Elly, Heather and I found a way to make it to Austin for the start of SXSW, well for the day on Saturday at least. We hopped on a 9:45 a.m. flight there, toured our way around 6th street and caught a 6:50 p.m. flight back to Dallas. It was a very short and sweet trip but it was a blast! I even got to run in to a friend, Ivan, from school who happened to be there for the weekend.
After last weekend being a traveling nightmare it was decided that we would all do St. Patty's weekend in Dallas. Friday I tagged along with Elly and some of her friends from college to go watch the KU vs. TCU baseball game in Ft. Worth, I realized I hadn't been to a baseball game since my internship with the T-Bones and that I actually missed it!
Saturday was the big St. Patty's parade on Greenville in Dallas. We all met at Erin and Elly's apartment, since it was walking distance to the rest of the day's festivities, and for lack of a better explanation acted like we were in college again. It was a great day.
Now that I am all caught up, I plan on not letting that happen again!
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