being a flight attendant totally messes with your mind

I woke up just a little while ago (yes, I realize it’s nearly three in the afternoon and no, I don’t care) and looked at my schedule.  It said:

  DTE STAT    ROT/POS     RPRT RLSD   CRED
  --- ----    -------     ---- ----   ----
  06T ISBJ @              2030 2359    145

ISBJ means “International Standby, Airport” which means I essentially get paid to sit at the aiport and hope some old lady going to tel aviv breaks a hip.  Because then I could go in her place!  Voodoo dolls are not allowed in the flight attendant lounge, though.  Damnit.

After looking at my schedule and then looking at the clock, I determined I hade a few hours to sit back, relax, level my necromancer, eat some chicken…etc.  I don’t have to leave for the airport until 7:20, so we’re all good.

Then I go look at Open Time, which is just a random jumbling of numbers on the airline crew website that is VERY IMPORTANT to us new hire flight attendants with On-Call Days!  I wanted to see what I was LIKELY to get called for, and if there was something better I should be preferencing.  I saw a nice 48 hour layover in COLD Kiev, Ukraine.  I thought I might ask for a move-up – instead of sitting at the airport waiting to go somewhere, they could make someone ELSE sit there and I could go to the Ukraine.

I enter all the pertinant information on the proper screen and click ‘OK’.  My least favourite thing happens:  Flashing Red Bar Across the Screen.  This means I, somehow, fucked up.  It doesn’t always tell you HOW you fucked up, but you better fix it.

I read the status message at the bottom of the screen and for once, it was relevant: INVALID TRIP DATE.

Whut?

Oh.

My days on call don’t start until the 6th.  I don’t have to be at the airport until TOMORROW.

Dur.

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