Sunday, July 20, 2008

Legacy Airlines Offers Selected Passengers the Ultimate Spa Experience!

It seems the only airline stories one hears these days are those of miserable service and higher costs for everything. My personal experience contrasts with those tales of woe. At Legasy, I have pampered and been pampered with Fijian coconut oil skin treatments. Here's how you can live the high life! You need to bring from home: 1 small vial of coconut oil (up to 3 ounces are allowed as carry-on) , and 2 plastic bags (recycled  from the grocery store). When offered an inflight beverage, ask for a packet of sugar and you are ready to begin.
Revel in the envy of your seat partners as you apply the fragrant oil to your palms followed by the sugar packet. Rubbing your hands together creates a wonderful exfoliate scrub and the smell is great for masking stale airplane odors. Place your hands in the plastic bags for 10 min. Follow up by a trip to the lavatory and wash your hands with warm water. Be sure and allow enough time before the fasten seat belt sign is turned on in order to complete the task.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Where Else But in Hobbs?

Earlier in the year, I  took this picture of  NMJC found in lovely Hobbs, New Mexico. There are not many who would call Hobbs a lovely place...even the Hobbs natives. It is a grassland area,  decorated liberally with oil pump jacks.  Often, there is the smell of oil in the air, air that is frequently filled with dust.  My view of Hobbs is admittedly rose colored due to my personal experiences such as one on this very campus. The campus is nicely landscaped and has a perimeter road of exactly one mile, perfect for running.  My friend Marty had just moved to town and we decided to go for a walk with her Chocolate Labrador Retriever, Snickers.  I suggested we go to the NMJC campus.  We walked through the campus admiring the plantings and are approached by security. "Busted!" I mutter to Marty figuring dogs and non students are probably not welcome. "Hi officer!" we say and explain we definitely pick up after the dog and got quite a different response than expected. Officer JJ inquired about us and said he would be happy to give us a tour. He said the dog had to remain outside but the computer center was open to us. The President of the school encouraged citizens to use the facilities since "their tax dollars helped provide them". It is very state of the art and since that time have attended an event at the other college in town "The College of the Southwest".  Marty & I met the President of that school and were equally impressed with the public accessibility and the commitment to higher education afforded the Hobbsans.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

SHOW YOUR MOVIE STAR QUALITY! Your Treehugger Picture Is Past Due!


Meet Derry and Marty Leafe. They are integral members of my green team and we've been working to turn the "Almost oneredpaperclip house" into a green paperclip. Lots of work has been done including recycled insulation,a water saving commode, energy star appliances and oh so much more! An earth day open house was planned but our ecotrain has had a major derailment. Due to forces beyond our control, the green dreamer team may be returning to the OC where it's easier to be green without going into the red. Also, the website, askgreengirl.com is still under contruction. Do not fear or Be very afraid! It will happen and photos of you hugging a tree are needed for the launch of that site. So...support your local greenovators and send your shots. If you do not, Demi will be forced to show up and pull a paparazzi on you!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Hobbs Flashbacks: Amelia Earhart Comes to Town! circa 1928


Amelia Earhart was flying on her famed transcontinental flight and due to the open air cockpit, lost her map as it was blown from it's safety pinned location on the knee of her trousers. Originally headed for Pecos, TX; she lost her bearings and followed a road leading to a cluster of houses built around an oil well. This was the small boom town of Hobbs and she managed to land on Main Street. The people of Hobbs, true to their welcoming nature, took her in and gave her food and shelter. Today, if you mention the town of Hobbs to most pilots, they are familiar with it's location because there is a VOR (VHF Omni-Directional Range) located there, that aids in aircraft radio navigation. Back in the day that Amelia flew, that wasn't available and the area was mile after mile of grassland and provided a much greater challenge with a compass and dead reckoning as her primary tools. Read more about Amelia's experience in Hobbs at: www.hobbshistory.com, an active link is above this post.

If you are visiting Hobbs today, try soaring! Hobbs is a major mecca for soaring enthusiasts and the proud home of the Soaring Society of America! A modern day aviator of the soaring variety, Joann Shaw holds the women's free distance record of 344.4 miles.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Announcing: The Almost ONE RED PAPERCLIP House turned GREEN!


Unless you live under a rock, it's hard to have missed the trend that is sweeping the planet, changing the policies and practices of entire industries. Green is in and it has come to the heart of Hobbs. The house which was purchased on Ebay a couple of years ago and passed over by Kyle MacDonald of www.oneredpaperclip.com is being morphed into a concept house of green ideas and technologies. Call Demi a treehugger if you will but even if you aren't a zealot, it is difficult to argue with the potential. Demi joined the USGBC last year and has been hitting the books . She has assembled a green team and they are making it happen! Extra special kudos to her mentor Jan McAdams of The McAdams Group for her suggestions and contacts. Check her out at www.fundinggreenbuildings.com . Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of Demi's new website Askgreengirl.com which will have videos showing cost effective renovations that are also health protective and environmentally low impact.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Art of Travel


Pictured above is a cockpit view on approach into Las Vegas of Red Rock National Park (photo by FO Wheels Bauder). There are often beautiful sights while inflight but let's get real about other parts of the experience. The conditions that surround us when traveling can be trying at best. In an airplane cabin, the only humidity present is that which comes from bodily respiration. Space is confined and our bodies are subject to forces and pressures that create added stress on even the most healthy. Add to this the fact the environment has so many factors out of our control from weather and mechanical factors to the mix of individuals that invade our personal space.


On a recent flight, I met Bert Snow who is the founder of a business called 10,000 Feet. Learn more at:www.tenthousandfeet.com The slogan on his business card says "Perspective changes everything". Profound, eh?

On the top of a mountain or when immersed in nature's surroundings of all types, we are reminded of what is important in life and that we are mere mortals. As the website mentions, when below you can not see what is above but when above you can see below and when you descend, you can remember what you saw. Those peak experiences we gain while traveling are also why we put ourselves through some of the torture!

Often a passenger myself, I use my mind to affect my experience. When I start feeling claustrophobic while stuck in a center seat, I think cozy. When the temperture is too hot and we are in the sterile cockpit stage of flight, I remember times I have paid for the spa experience of sweating in a Finnish sauna. I'll remark to my seat companions "Too bad they can't crank up the heat so we can have the full spa experience". Our minds are powerful and while we can sometimes change some conditions, when it's not possible, changing our mental outlook can be an effective tool.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Gassy is a part of Legasy


For the past year, I have flown out of the Las Vegas base for Gassy. It is a lower cost (all coach) part of the larger operation of Legacy Airlines. Flight attendants sometimes refer to the passengers  as "gassy people". I have to let you in on a secret. The passengers are no more gassy than some of the flight attendants. I flew with a guy who would pass out water but said he had to go "crop dusting."  So if you didn't have enough to worry about when aloft, add something else to your list.

I only have one trip left in the Gassy operation since I've transferred to the San Francisco domicile. This will enable me to fly International once again and fulfill my dream of actually living in Hobbs! It's a bit of a commute but not that uncommon.

(Update as of June 5, 2011...that gassy flight attendant has since retired and the entire Gassy operation no longer exists. Join me in a deep breath of relief).