Roster/Pay Day!

I waited patiently, sleeping in as long as I could after getting home around 2AM to check my roster today at 1PM. Upon opening my eyes to the alarm clock my phone buzzed with the retrieval of a text message, the best message I've received so far!
"Good News! You Salary has been deposited today!" (Seriously that is what it says!)
Woo!! Thanks Bank!
In other news, now that I can afford food again, my roster was released for October.

Y'all ready for this?
October 2nd - Duty Rest (Coming back the day pervious from Birmingham, England)
October 3rd - MNL Manila, Philippines Layover 19 Hours
October 4th - Return from MNL
October 5th - Duty Rest
October 6th - Off
October 7th - Off
October 8th - CAI Cairo, Egypt Turnaround
October 9th - Duty Rest
October 10th - CPT Cape Town, South Africa Layover 24 Hours (OMG!)
October 11th - Return from CPT
October 12th - Duty Rest
October 13th - Off
October 14th - HKG Hong Kong Layover 73 Hours (WHOA!)
October 15th - Away
October 16th - Away
October 17th - Away
October 18th - Return from HKG
October 19th - Off
October 20th - Off
October 21st - VIE Vienna, Austria Layover 24 Hours
October 22nd - Return from VIE
October 23rd - Duty Rest
October 24th - IKA Tehran, Iran Turnaround
October 25th - Duty Rest
October 26th - Off
October 27th - Off
October 28th - HYD Hyderabad, India Turnaround
October 29th - Duty Rest
October 30th - Off
October 31st - RUH Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Turnaround

8 Days Off
4 Layovers
4 Turnarounds

Not bad, there wasn't a Seattle or any Russia ones, but 73 Hours in Hong Kong I can do a little damage!
Things are looking up! :)
Wish I had more to say but I am still a little sleepy, so I hope this all makes sense!
Another hilarious quote from me and my goofy sidekick Melly "Let's win that Diamond Ring from the Summer Ball and hawk it to buy groceries at Waitrose." We live a gangster lifestyle apparently.

Leanna xo
P.S Spent a day at The Westin with Shane laying in the lap of luxury in fancy lounge chairs, looking out at the Persian Gulf and swimming in the lazy pool. Felt like a vacation day and I can't way to go again! They even have these weird furry crows that hang around and were so entertaining! They were sugar packet crazed. They were going into this ladies purse and taking out her wallet, drinking coffee, knocking over glasses of water, ripping open sugar and ketchup packets and spreading them all over, they were stealing cloth napkins and pizza box tops! I'm sure the staff hate them to death and shoot at them after all the guests leave and it's dark out but we thought they were the most hilarious little beasts until one of them pooped on my shirt laying in the grass. Jerk. Even after we fed him our leftover pizza crusts!! Never again, we are done.

You've Got Mail!

It took 12 days to arrive! My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is what I feel a-when we're together, brighter than a lucky penny. When your near the rain cloud disappears dear and I feel so fine just to know that you are mine!

Nicole - I knew something from you would arrive first, before anyone else! It was the loveliest card! I miss you the most back!! If you were the winter, I know I'd be the snow, just as long as you were with me when the cold winds blow!
I knew it was mine in the big blue bin before I even saw the name it was addressed to. I saw the bright yellow envelope and smiled immediately knowing it was from you! Greatest day!!
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!

Leanna xo
P.S Yes, my hair is actually that long!

Summer Masquerade Ball!

It has been awhile since I last had some news to share!
Lets backtrack a little bit, when I left you I still had blocked ears and was hoping for the best for my next Moscow layover.
I was defined unfit to fly to Moscow by the doctor so I had to call in sick, and call in sick I did, for the next four days. It took forever for my ears to balance back out to normal again.
I had a flight two nights ago for the first time since my first Moscow layover to Karachi Pakistan. It was an afternoon/evening flight that would have me home by one and in bed before two hopefully!
Everything went as planned, my ears popped and balanced out on climb and again on decent so I was happy as a clam! Back to work for this girl! Finally! And cold free may I add!
In between that time I still was able to go out and have a little fun, I met up with Shane for dinner a few evenings ago at the Cheesecake Factory, sigh cheesecake! He hadn't seen the Dubai Fountains yet so afterwards we stepped out into the hot humid heat to check out the sights and sounds of them. They didn't disappoint, they were incredibly lovely that we ended up staying to see them play through twice!
Such a wonderful night!
Next day headed into HQ to get some errands done, laundry drop off and mailbox check, then had my fingers crossed to get a coveted ticket to the Summer Masquerade Ball that our FACE Card committee is planning. It's dinner and entertainment at the Ritz Carlton Hotel for freeeee!
As luck would have it (for once on my side!) I got the last ticket, literally. So happy! Now I just need a dress and a mask!
Since I was still labeled unfit to fly I had some extra time to do a little hunting for a ball gown.
I ended up finding two dresses that I fell in love with, a pink one and a red one. The pink one was perfect but the length was much to long as it pooled at my feet even in stilettos so off to the tailor I went to find out how big a bill I was in for. It was too big of a bill to fit so I ended up returning the pink dress and opting for the red one then met Shane for a cheesecake late lunch (It's becoming a bad habit with us!) then we went back to his apartment to spend the rest of the evening watching all the hilarious youtube videos we could come up with and ordering pizza. Sweet!
Also found my mask that afternoon as well, so Ball here I come!

Melandi was coming home at 7AM in the morning from a flight and I was coming home at 1AM so we planned to sleep in late and then get up and get ready for the ball yesterday. It worked out perfectly! We had a late breakfast/lunch together and decided how we wanted to do our hair and makeup.
Got ready in record time, both looked stunning and headed out the door to pick up Emma Penny to come with us. Arrived at the ball early for ticket registration and mingled around with our glasses of fancy Moet & Chandon champagne while meeting up with Shelley and some other girlfriends. There was singing and dancing to entertain us until we could enter into the dining room. The Ritz Carlton Hotel was decorated to the nines for our event, there were photographers and stages set up, it was so beautiful!
The entertainment was lovely! They performed Beyonce's Single Ladies before presenting the clear goldfish bowl full of tickets of girls hoping to be the one to win the diamond ring they were giving away! Along with trips to London England and more! It was so much fun!
Especially when we were finally able to hit the stage ourselves and get the dance party started! It was all fun and games until about midnight when everyone had evidently had too much to drink around us and it was time to go home before I couldn't put up with another drink being spilled on my dress or someone stepping on my shoes one more time!
Got home around one and slept today until 2pm, feel like I have finally caught up on all the missed sleep the last month! The rest of today was spent on the couch across from Melandi, gossiping, chatting and laughing over subway dinner and our latest photos! I love days like this with her. She can make any bad day a really good one, I'm happy to have her around! :)
I am going to meet Iryna tomorrow morning at HQ to get my Moscow layover pictures off her camera and onto my laptop so I can finally show you the masterpieces! For now I have photos from me and Melandi's pizza dinner date night last week as well as some fountain photos and lastly the photos from last nights ball!
I love them, I know you will too!

 Me and my goofy sidekick Melandi

 On our way to pick up Emma Penny

 Emma and Shelley

 The Fab Four together again!

 The stage is on the left of the photo and it had a staircase going down each side, it was very royal!

 Giant centrepieces with real flowers surrounding it!

 The Burj Kalifa at night! 

Neither Melandi nor I won a trip to London or the diamond ring so we decided we weren't leaving the party with nothing so we took the flowers from the centrepieces! Hey..everyone else was doing it! They have a happy home on our dining room table now looking lovely!

Funniest part of today was when we were lounging on the couches in the living room and it was the first time in a long time we were doing the same thing at the same time so I said to Melandi "I wish we had a picture of us laying on the couches relaxing for once, like a photographer that could follow us around and take really nice pictures of us all the time." She looked at me like I was taking crazy pills and said "Leanna that is a horrible idea, there will just be thousands of photos of us sitting around eating chocolate!" Then we proceeded to laugh our pants off until we were both crying with laughter at how true that would be! Then not five minuets later Melandi looked at me and said "Lets get Subway, I'm hungry!"

Leanna xo
P.S Payday and Roster Day in T-Minus 4 days! 

Miss me?

Today it has been exactly three months since I left home. June 18th.
Does it feel like I've been gone for less time than three months or more?

Leanna xo

Moscow Melts My Heart

I just returned home from the one city I had accepted I may never visit again after the first time I laid eyes on her a year ago for my 25th Champagne Birthday.
She is exactly as I remember, simply beautiful! It doesn't take much to fall in love with her either. Just have your eyes open.
I spent 26 glorious hours in Moscow, Russia yesterday. I ate all of the native delicacies I could stuff in, in that amount of time and it was not without trouble!
Borscht, Russian Pickles, Beef and Pork Cutlets with mashed potatoes and Goulash, Russian Salt Bread and Raspberry Nestle Iced Tea. Bowls, plates and cups were all happily licked clean!
I saw Red Square at night, 9:45PM to be exact when all the twinkle lights on Gum Department Store are brilliantly lit up and the Kremlin just shines!
However....what's that in the distance?
Pipes, barricades, bricks and scaffolding?
Seriously?
It appears that Lenin's Mausoleum is again closed upon my arrival. Perhaps I will just need to make peace with the fact and accept that I will never have the clear opportunity to see Lenin's Dead Body.
Sigh. Such a disappointment!
The first time my embalmed corpse adventure was overturned was because of the May 9th Victory Day Happenings.
I have one more shot this month. In three days time I am going to see Lenin whether I have to break into the building or NOT!
We were given $90 USD allowance for this trip which translates into $2890.00 Russian Rubles a pretty hefty amount if I do say so myself!
I have about $700 Rubles left which I plan to spend to my hearts content on more delish food and pretty trinkets in three days time!
Happy Note: I found an Arizona Tea with Ginseng and Honey in the glass bottle in a little Russian convenient store! The less I look for it the more it appears! You Russians really have things together, thanks for that one!

Alright, alright here are some photos! More to come from other crew members cameras! (Which are ten times better quality than mine!)

 Table full of Russian Food!!

It was difficult to get everyone to put their spoons and forks down for one clear shot of the food we were that starved! 

 It's all fun and games until there is NYET MORE BORSCHT! :(

 Red Square at Night! That is Gum Department Store all lit up! And down at the end is St. Basils Cathedral!

 Kremlin Walls

 Really killer window displays! 

Well there it is: Lenin's Mausoleum. 

 Beautiful Red Square amongst all the CRAP!

 Loving the bulldozer in the background! Sweet machinery Moscow!

 Another killer window display! One I didn't take a photo of was a lady walking dog mugs, all the mugs were attached to a single leash and the mugs had a different dog on each one. So cute!

 Dudes famous in Moscow for promoting Lipton Tea. What a handsome devil! 

Now for the bad news. I've had this on and off cold the last two weeks and finally it did me in. On the flight back to Dubai my ears totally blocked up and that's usually a very very bad sign, code word for punctured eardrums and the like. I managed to pop one side however the other just wouldn't budge. I was off kilter until landing and couldn't wait to get home and crawl into bed hoping it would work itself out overnight. 

A little better in the morning however was still bound and determined to head to the hospital to have it checked out just incase and since it's friday everything but the hospital is closed, or so I thought!

Dubai is a hilarious place. No where else have I heard of a hospital closing on a friday.

I can't even laugh.

It was an expensive mistake to make, but when the phone line is busy all morning there's nothing left for you to do but put your coat and shoes on and head out the door hoping for the best! 

Ended up phoning my duty manager at the closed and dark hospital to tell them my life story. Kindly they helped me out, said I needed to phone Evita and explain to them whats going on.

Got Evita lady on the phone (there are real people behind the machine voice don't you know!) and she said it was fine for me to go to the hospital tomorrow and get checked out since I have a day off today, but oh, wait a moment, actually you've been put on reserve crew for the day. Surprise! What reserve crew means I haven't quite figured out yet but the just is that I may or may not be called on for duty at any point from 1pm this afternoon until midnight tonight, even 11:49pm I can still be called out. Evita lady explained that if I get called out for a flight and my ears are still blocked and I feel that it is unsafe for me to fly to call her back and tell her so, and she would take care of everything but I would still have to prove it with a doctors note tomorrow from the hospital if it comes to this. And you people out there all KNOW that this is absolutely going to happen. Because..well you know me. And this kind of thing ALWAYS happens to me! 

Anyways, so I am calling Evita every hour on the hour to check if I have any changes and hoping to the heavens I don't get a call. I don't want to have to call in sick at all, whether you are sick for real or not you just don't want a stitch on your record of any kind! Just please leave me alone for three days so I can feel better for my next Moscow flight! :)

Cross your fingers hard for me! 

Nap time..

Leanna xo

P.S Really looking forward to my fancy facial tonight at Dubai Mall! Bring on the pampering! :)

Send Love

The day has come, and no, hell didn't freeze over. It actually took less time than I was originally quoted which I completely adore!
Mailbox Time!

Leanna Marie Achen
CC15019
Service Delivery, Emirates Airline
PO Box 36050
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

I live in Dubai. It's real because I have a real address now. Still doesn't feel like I live thousands of miles away from home..

Birthday Cards, Flower Cards, Love Notes, Puppy Note Paper, The Grinch whatever you can come up with! Send me your love! 

And while your at it send me Cold FX, I can't seem to shake this cold an inch! Every time I get a little hopeful it drags me back in! 

I need to pack for Moscow now and go to bed! However I found a couple more photos to post from Cape Town that Shane took and emailed me! 

 It was a chicken made out of red trash bags. Suitably we named him "Trash Bag Chicken". I loved him because he looks like my Vlad! 

 This was some creepy but cute wombat looking creature on top of Table Mountain that we fed cookies too until we got in trouble for it. Trust us, the cookies aren't that great for him but they are better than the cigarette butts he was chewing on before we showed up.

 He has these weird nubbly toes. When I returned home to show the photos to Melandi she informed me that we are nuts for even going near this thing and that is very dangerous. Oops..

Anyways.. looking forward to my mailbox being stuffed full soon! 

Leanna xo

P.S We liked to joke while in Cape Town how we compared things and cost. Their currency is one of the big five animals in Africa; one on each bill so when we were told a price at the shop "That will be 25 Rand!" We would reply "Is that one elephant and a couple of spring buck?" We talked in animals instead of amounts. It's funner when I do it in person! My allowance was four water buffalo in case you were wondering! 

Cape Town - South Africa

Wow.
Wow.
Wow!
Cape Town is bar none the prettiest place on earth. Every time you turn around is another beautiful view and as you are looking down at the most gorgeous blues of the ocean you think there can't possibly be anything more beautiful than this right here and then you turn around and Ta Da something even MORE incredible! The food is to die for, its all fresh caught straight from the sea, grilled and sashed over to your table to enjoy!
The plan was originally to go cage diving with great white sharks just off the coast however time wasn't permitting as I had to leave for my flight home at 3PM and the tour company wasn't able to get me back until 5pm. Total bummer. Reason 1 why I must return to Cape Town. Reason 2 because they have lush spas and time wasn't permitting for that experience either. So sad.
Made the most of it and had dinner the evening we arrived into the city at Victoria Market WaterFront at this delish place called "Ocean Basket" it really was a basket of food from the ocean! Yummy!
The next day I took in the sights of Table Mountain with the FO (First Officer in Command to the Captain) Shane Bradley from the USA. We had the best time, brunching at the cafe on top of Table Mountain, the Cable Car with the rotating floor and the views views views! Then we headed back to the waterfront for a little shopping before ending the day in a very short hour nap before we had to hop the bus for our flight back home! Pretty sure I ate half my weight in cookies in Cape Town! A glitter shark cookie, Shane had an alligator, then we had a chocolate chip giant cookie and then a stack of peanut butter cookies! Yum!
Arrived into Dubai at 6:30AM after a very long 10 hour flight with passengers that had the most unquenchable thirst I have ever witnessed. I was worried we were going to physically run out of water and other drinks! Each person wanted at least four drinks at a time! I had R3 Door coming home and surprise command of the galley on the way to Cape Town which I received rave reviews on from my crew members all except the SFS again. Oh well, what matters is that I know I did a good job so boo hiss on them!

Here are the photos from Cape Town! Enjoy!

 This was Ocean Basket Restaurant! 

 Cable Car to Table Mountain - If you look straight up to the top of the picture and you see that little black hole of a cave, that is were the cable car took us to.

The closest I got to a shark on this trip, sigh, it had edible glitter on it! Still not as awesome as the real thing, but soon enough! 

In other news, yesterday it was Melandi and Leanna Date Night! We were planning to go shopping at Dubai Mall and meet up with Emma Penny for coffee and sweets and then head out for dinner to this fabulous Russian Restaurant at the Ascot Hotel here in Dubai. Ended up just having pizza at Stone Fire Pizza Kitchen and going to bed early since the Russian place was only offering a buffet meal for 265DHS which was a bummer because we wanted their normal a la carte menu so we could order all the best gems off of it! We will try for it another night! 

Strawberry Milkshake and three mini macaroons! Chocolate, Strawberry and Coconut! 

Pizza Dinner! And...a little goofing around with some hilarious glasses we found! 

Today is Waitrose grocery shopping day, house cleaning, gym and then going to see the new Batman tonight at Mall of Emirates! Can't wait!! :)

Leanna xo

P.S Keep your eyes peeled on the mailboxes..perhaps some treats are heading your way..