Air travel has changed so much since it began and as I was at an airport recently, I had a lot to think about.

What should we talk about first, attitude or mode of dress? Both have pluses and minuses.

Let’s talk attitude, (why do I have a certain song running through my mind?). They wouldn’t make TV reality shows, movies about airline travel if there weren’t any truth in it. Now, the attitude comes from both sides, employees and travelers, for some reason, the one group doesn’t seem to take the other into consideration, I’m sure not completely true all the time, just feels like it, doesn’t it?

For those of you who travel a lot, you’ve seen all kinds of attitudes at the airport, both good and bad. As I have always said, if you don’t like your job, get another one, if the one you have is the only one you could get, then have a better attitude and deal with it. It’s not my fault that you don’t like your job. I try to be pleasant to everyone I meet and sometimes it’s a tough one.

I know you’re stressed out if your flight is late, is it the desk agents fault? I don’t think so, Mother Nature is more likely to blame than the person who you are yelling at. Don’t forget that if you’re late, everyone on your flight is late as well, everyone has families to go to or places to be, chill out. Oh yeah, it doesn’t matter how high up in your frequent flyer program you are, the plane won’t get there any faster.

On the flip side, if you work for the airline, you need to have a little more sympathy for those traveling with you, you are the face of the airline and yes, you should be treated with respect, the same you want. You don’t know what kind if day that person has been having, what they are going through. You’re no better than they are and vise versa. Maybe the passengers are nervous, flying for the first time, think they want your attitude? Smile as best as you can and make them feel like they are guests in your home, a cramped, no leg room, teeny seat, tiny snacks, but your home none the less. Think your first one bedroom shoebox apartment!

In conclusion, please and thank you go a long way.

Moving on…let’s talk about dressing (all of a sudden it sounds like I’m talking about food!) One of my favorite movies, “View From The Top” stars Gwenyth Paltrow as a flight attendant for Royalty Air, it’s a great movie and shows everything from their point of view. There is a scene where Candice Bergan, who is a famous flight attendant, in that world, who talks about when people used to dress to travel. If you look at any old footage or movies, you would see men and women dressed to the nines to travel, suits, skirts, dresses, heels, pearls, hats, gloves, very formal.

Today, it’s another story, the only time you see people dressing for a flight is when they have a business meeting to go to. Ok, now that was a huge assumption, but when you fly, do you dress in a suit? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in jeans? I know I am! I have worn a skirt once or twice to travel and it was nice, but normally, I wear jeans.

The other thing that’s tough, you never know if the flight is going to be warm, even if you have an air control, what if it’s not working. Then sitting next to the window gets very cold, so we seem to dress for the weather and in the winter it’s tough, once you get to the airport you’re sweating! I was in Chicago recently and it was -8, so I dressed for being outside, thermal top, sweater, knee high socks, overcoat, gloves, the whole package. I get to the airport and it is warm! So here I am in too many layers, which we have to carry through the airport, especially if you’re not checking a bag, just more to schlep around. So, you might wear short sleeves, you’re comfortable in the airport, freezing on the plane and outside, help!

I think it’s ok to not dress to the nines, but what about putting some thought into what you’re wearing. I’m all about being comfortable, but actual clothes might be nice, let me explain. I’m all for comfort when you travel, long skirts, shorts, sweats, running pants. There have been some articles recently about women wearing running or yoga pants to travel, why not? They’re comfortable, cover you up and the majority look like runners, I haven’t chanced it yet, I don’t quite look like a runner. Yoga pants as well, they cover, are comfortable and if you’re on a long flight, we need that.

It’s the shorty shorts and skirts, I don’t need to see certain body parts! Pajamas are another big one, if you’re over the age of 18, come on, well, 21/22, college graduate, I’ll give you that. Little kids are so cute when they wear their pjs, but that’s what they are, little kids! If, and I say if…you’re going to wear pajama bottoms (hopefully that’s all you’re wearing in terms of your jammies) they are in one piece, no holes in all the wrong places or at all, not frayed on the bottom or dragging the floor and looking nasty!

Today I saw something that was a definite first! It was a woman, I’m pretty sure younger than me, hair up in a top knot, wearing an adult’s one piece pajama, not sure if they were footed, she was wearing boots, red and blue striped with a sock monkey on the upper left! I don’t know if it was flannel, just looked fuzzy. In addition to carrying what looked like a fur coat, hopefully it was fake. Was she dressing for the frozen tundra? (I actually found a picture!)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380789566187

Bottom line is, well, I was going to say take some care in your appearance, you were able to afford the ticket, so you could afford to dress, but maybe you couldn’t, someone got the ticket for you. In any case, you should still take some care with your appearance, no one needs to see all your business.

A few weeks ago, I talked about pet names, some human, some fun, some silly. Tonight, I thought it would be fun to talk about what people name their wireless networks.

Do you ever look at the list of available networks in your area when you go somewhere new? Maybe the network connection drops when you’re at home and you have to search for your network to reconnect. This is something I’ve wanted to blog about, but…remember last night’s post [brain spasm].

When I look, some of the names are funny “This is not the router you’re looking for” an obvious Star Wars reference, medulla oblongata, possibly a Waterboy reference, that’s what I was thinking anyway. Some of the names are obvious, like a family name or a business, not as much fun as the silly ones and movie references and then some are just nasty, those I chose not to include. Mine in Atlanta is a shortened version of my name, something people have called me over the years. If you know DCM, you might get an idea of what ours is [not telling].

When you look at the names, do you wonder what type of person created the name? What they might be in to or what they think is funny. This post just reminds me of the old [ha ha] Arseneo Hall late night talk show and his “Things that make you go hmmm”

Here are the more fun ones that I found when I was looking today:

This is not the router you’re looking for
pinkalicious
not yours
medulla oblongata
MACattack
Navy Strong
hen house
Oh Snap!
DEA_van1
Sexybeast

So…what’s your wireless network name?

I wish my brain worked all the time!

Does anyone’s brain actually work all of the time?

You’ve probably heard of pregnancy brain, you can’t remember anything, a friend of mine who’s mom is going through chemo and forgets a lot and asks the same thing over and over calls it chemo brain. And then the funny about having babies is that your brain cells go with them when you give birth.

How about those posts on Facebook, “you know you’re of a certain age when you walk into a room and forget why you walked in there” has that happened to you, yet? I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it at one time or another. Or, when you have a thought and two seconds later you wonder what it is.

I get like that about my blog posts, I have a great idea, think, “oh yeah, that would be great” then turn around and duh…sometimes I remember to write them down, but most of the time, it’s chance.

I’ve had this particular thought a lot, about not remembering what I wanted to blog about, so here I am telling you about it fingers crossed for my Swiss cheese brain the next time!

Do you remember when the movie Twilight first came out and everyone was either “Team Edward or Team Jacob?”

It’s interesting how we put that label on so many things, we take sides on so many things. It was even put to me recently regarding some friends that are getting divorced, since they’re splitting up, it’s assumed that I’m on Team X instead of Team Y, since I was friends with one party before the other.

Do we have to take sides? I guess it all depends on the situation. When I got divorced, it seems that most people went with Team Me, but I never asked anyone to take sides, it just worked out that way, I felt very lucky the people I “got to keep” as they say. It’s tough when you’re splitting up; there were friends that you had prior to becoming a couple, maybe you keep them or maybe they got closer to your now ex and it becomes too uncomfortable to stay friends with them, so you lose that friendship, that’s part of the business of splitting up, messy, but that’s how it is.

I will say, staying neutral is a crap shoot, sometimes you can do it, other times, it gets too complicated. Can you have a true alliance to both? Will they worry that you’ll be reporting back to the other? It can put a lot of pressure on you, that’s for sure!

As I said, it all depends on the situation, I have a friend that I’ve known since middle school who recently split with her husband, I became friends with him a few years ago and when I found out about the split, I tried to stay friend with both, but he didn’t make that possible, so I am definitely Team Her.

And of course, there are times, when you pick a side that you are “rah rah rah Team Your Friend” that you jump on that band wagon and blah/bash/grrr the other team, if it helps your friend, sometimes that’s what you have to do. So as much as it is not a great situation to be in, and unfortunately, they put you in that situation, you just have to make up your own mind, what you are going to do and to that I say, good luck.

Today on FaceBook, a friend of mine, EV, posted something “I can’t decide if people who wear pajamas in public have given up on life or living it to the fullest”. I love it!

I commented that I’m living life to the fullest and her very wise comment back to me? “This could be a good blog topic for you!” I said it would be and another wonderful comeback “Looking forward to reading your prattle on pajamas! ” So, EV, this post’s for you!

The thing I love about this statement is that it is so true, and not just wearing pajamas, but in almost anything, isn’t it “you say tomato, I say tomato?” well, that one doesn’t work as well, but I know you were reading it out loud with the correct pronunciation of each word! How about this ‘The glass is half empty/full” or better yet…”One person’s trash is another person’s treasure” [yes, I know it’s one man’s…but I’m a girl, so it’s person!] That being said, let’s delve into this.

The statement really is true, there are some people who just don’t care anymore, have given up and just walk around in whatever they had on when they went to sleep and got up that morning. Maybe they are having a rough time and can’t seem to get motivated to do more than get up and go. You don’t know what is going on in their lives.

Maybe it’s just being lazy, come on, haven’t you ever gotten up, thrown on some sweats and didn’t feel like getting dressed, but needed to run to the store for something quickly, you knew you’d be in and out? Please, there is not one of you out there who can tell me they have NEVER done that! I know even the classiest people have gone out in sweats, granted, they were expensive, but they were sweats!

Then on the other hand, you have a cute pair of pajama bottoms and/or top that you love and want to go out in. There aren’t a lot of people who do that past the age of 16, ok 18, or after you graduate college, but there are a few, please…we wouldn’t have websites or songs called “The People of Walmart” if they didn’t!  [I am not responsible for your reaction to this video if you haven’t seen it, but you have been forewarned!]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvxNgdFeWqM

I remember in college getting up, rolling out of bed and going to class, lucky enough to put on a coat and maybe brush my teeth, 8am classes are very hard to get motivated for! [and who would have guessed that the person who had trouble getting to an 8am class would get up between 5 and 6am to make it to a job/teach a class! and be bright eyed and bushy tailed!] Those days,Ii would wear what I had on and a lot of times it was a great pair of red flannel pajamas, no embarrassment there!

How about that fabulous slip or nightgown that looks like an evening gown, who’s going to know? Your favorite pair of pajama shorts that you wear to the beach? Tuck those plaid flannel pj bottoms into your boots and away you go, are you telling me that those plaid golfers pants don’t look like formal pj bottoms?

You might find me walking around in my jammies, my current favorites are black with skulls and crossbones and pink hearts and some of the skulls have little pink bows. Yeah, stylin!  And I have a feeling no in surprised by any of these revelations!

So, in answer to the query…Given Up on Life or Living Life to the Fullest…I leave that up to you and what you are feeling day by day. Besides, who are we to judge?

As for me…I am living life to the fullest!