Up / Down.

Year Two. Month Six. #PNW.

I keep doing the same thing.

I get excited about work. I take on extra trips. I bid for long overnights, high credit, layovers far, far away from my little Pacific Northwest home.

And then I fly away. And I'm gone for a long time, it feels like.

So I start to get homesick. And actually sick.

I work too much and I end up craving time away from work.

So I take a huge chunk of time off. I get healthy. I cook. I garden. I snuggle my cat and my boyfriend. I go for long drives and beautiful hikes.

And then I start to get antsy. I look at trips I could be picking up.

Phoenix. Calgary. Nashville. Denver.

And I start to think about places I could fly to.

Reykjavik. Paris. Buenos Aires. Johannesburg. Tokyo.

And suddenly I'm planning some crazy, globe-trotting adventure. My passport is ready, my backpack all organized. I'm halfway out the door before I realize something.

I'm broke.

So I spend my whole time in other countries being broke, eating next-to-nothing and anxious to get back to Seattle so I can work long hours and get my checking account back to a healthy state.

I return to my base and I get back to work and then this whole crazy cycle starts again.

Maybe I am not alone in this struggle. I think this job attracts some of the most creative, enthusiastic, and adventurous souls out there. That being said, words such as self-controlled, disciplined and pragmatic don't tend to describe the average flight attendant.

Practical people don't quit their day job to go serve Diet Cokes in the sky for less than minimum wage.

Maybe this is a crazy job. Maybe I've chosen a really impractical, unpredictable, chaotic life path. Maybe this odd cycle of "up / down" will keep on going, and maybe that's okay.

Because maybe I wouldn't truly be happy anywhere else.

Happy Flying!