Dear piggy,

The CDC cleared your name today stating that there is NO connection between this latest strain of Influenza and contact with swine. It is now being called H1N1 as it was in 1976.

So, the question now is “Who named this flu in the first place?” According to www.haverford.edu, it is due to the fact that scientists believe that the strain is from the recombination of influenza viruses from different sources, such as from a human and from a swine.

They also go on to say,”The influenza virus is relatively unique in its ability to change its H and N molecules, called antigenic shift. For example, the swine flu of 1918 was named H1N1, while a later strain of influenza which was found to have changed its hemagglutinin molecules was named H2N1, and an even later influenza was found to have changed both its surface molecules (double antigenic shift), and was named H2N2″.

You can read the entire story here.

Travel Discount Alert:

Have you used Priceline.com lately?

Just so that you know, I am not affiliated with them at this time. I have thought about it because I have had such good success but I will let you know if that happens.

There IS a trick to it if you really want the best deal since they say you can only try once a day. Now to be honest, I have only used it for hotels and cars and have had two bad experiences. Out of those two, only one was because the front desk person on duty wasn’t being reasonable. The other was just a crappy hotel.

There are two different ways that you can use Priceline.

1. Choose a definite hotel at the price displayed.
2. Bid on the category (2-4 stars) and the max price you will offer.

I use it for the second option. It’s like a game and I have gotten some really good deals.

One particular city that we used to spend a lot of time in, I know exactly what to bid to get the same hotel every time. And, it’s a really good hotel. That one is the Holiday Inn Express in Charleston, WV. Nice, clean rooms, FREE hot buffet breakfast and FREE internet. If you are ever in Charleston, WV, you can select 2 1/2 stars for $42 and this should provide you with the same hotel.

OK, so here’s the idea. Once you are on http://www.priceline.com/, select the city, check-in and check-out dates and how many rooms you need then click on ’search hotels now!’. This will show a list of hotels, where they are and what stars they are rated. Take note of the rating, their cost per night and which ones you prefer. Keep in mind that when you are bidding on a certain price, you are not guaranteed that hotel.

Then, click on the box in the upper right hand ‘Name Your Own Price’. The next screen will ask you which area you want to stay in and then the rating you want. Here’s where it get a little tricky. Do NOT get too hurried at this point. I suggest choosing one area and a star rating of just above what you actually would settle for. (The reason for this is the once every 24 hour rule.) After you choose those two things you will enter your name and a price. I usually enter my initials and 10% less than 1/2 of the lowest hotel room in my star range.

If some hotel accepts it (they have before) woo hoo! If not, no worries. This allows you to have a starting point. If it comes back with no takers, you can add a location OR a different star rating and a new price offer. Then, if still no takers, you can then choose the opposite of what you chose and a little bit higher $ amount. Now, if you have a differnt credit card that you can use, this ups your chances. If not, then be careful because you will have to wait for the next day.

These are not hard fast rules, just something I like to do. I also like Goodwill and spending many hours in the grocery store debating costs. I can’t wait to try this when I go to Italy this summer. I know that you can use it for flights to but as a flight attendant, I don’t really need it.

Cars are the same. Pick the city, the dates and the price. It’s a bit different though that you have to deliver it to the same city. If you need a one way rental, then you need to go right through the cars website. And, as always, check out the websites to make sure that you don’t pay too much when you get a little overzealous about the bidding thing!

If anyone has used Priceline for packages or hotels, I definitely want to know. I would love to go on a cruise. Of course, I have a whole other website for cruises!

I

Hello World!

I made a trip to Goodwill this past Saturday. With a little more time and money it could have been a really good venture. I sure do with that the “buyouts” were 50% off too! Still, I managed to get three skirts, one Ann Taylor, one Silkland and one, well, I can’t remember. I also picked up a pair of shorts, a nice golf shirt and a swim suit for my husband, two movies and the cutest shoes ever!

The total cost: $28.05

Being there with my 6 year old son who picks out more junk than I do, so not priceless. Don’t give that kid a shopping cart!

Hello World!

Last night was the first time in a long time that I worked on the company’s 50 seat Canadair Regional Jet. The funny part is that the passengers complained less about how small the plane was than the passengers on the 700 and 900 series jets. The 900 has first class and they still freak out. If one more person calls is a “puddle jumper” I am going to freak out myself.

I actually really liked it. The big difference is the age of the aircraft and the fact that the 50 seat has only one flight attendant. Yeah, sure the 70 and 90 seat (even though they do not actually have that many seats) are newer and technically nicer, however, it was really kind of a nice change of pace to back to my old friend. I felt a kind of peace and re-connection with my passengers. I love talking to the people and hearing about their day. I liked not being distracted from their needs. Very cool. The poor 50 seat jet gets a bad rap these days but don’t knock it!

The landing surely was a lot smoother. Perhaps it was just the drivers. Um, I mean pilots. The back is as noisy as I remember but not nearly as bad as the time my son and I were behind the engines on a 737 and it made the boy cry it was so loud. This is not a fact that I could dare even point out to the two lovely ladies in the back that acted as if the world was coming to an end because the website claimed a 737 on the LGA to SAV route. Hey ladies, I lost a couple octaves years ago on the Brasilla. Now, that was something to complain about!

Anyway, I love this hotel! If you are ever in Savannah, GA, keep in mind the Staybridge Suites near the airport. Nice, friendly, gorgeous hotel. It is an actual suite with a small living area and a kitchen with an electric two burner stove, full size small refrigerator and all of the cookware right in your room. There’s even a dishwasher. Plus, free breakfast and light dinners during the week. They even have better tv than the bigger hotels! I just looked over in a daze and noticed it’s a priority club hotel so bonus for those of you that can collect points.

I am going to go back to New York City in a little while and then to Charleston, SC. Woo hoo! Hopefully today will be as good as yesterday.

Let there be food, wine, music and dance!

Do any of you ever get headaches?

I used to get them once or twice a month. You know the kind where you can barely keep your eyes open to bright lights. Your head feels like it’s going to explode. Well, now I am getting them a couple times a week!

When I am at home, I can simply lay down and take it easy. When I am on the road, it gets a little trickier. A couple of weeks ago, I actually called in sick. In a different state! Very strange from the ones that I usually get. It came on very quickly and then was gone. Great, right? No such luck! It came and went, came and went. For two days.

I have been doing a lot of research, which I will post on the other blog. For this purpose, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and findings.

It’s hard to be my usual chipper self when I have a virtual knife stabbing me in my right eye and it hurts to smile. I have to find a fine balance between being nice and as still as possible. When I do not need to be in the public’s view, I place a bag of ice on my face, head and neck in brief intervals. I snack constantly in between bouts of nausea and try to stay hydrated. For some reason it feels really good to slowly bite down into a peanut. And, sweets taste the best at this time. I definitely have a sweet tooth, however, I am surprised by how the taste is heightened when I am sick!?

When I can get to my room at the hotel or inbetween flights, it helps to be cool and in a dark place with my eyes shut and as still as I can. I did discover though that laying down for too long can backfire and make it worse. One thing I did find that worked well was taking a hot shower with a bag of ice on my head. I know that sounds strange but the blood is pulsing in my head and I want it somewhere else!

I take with me Imitrex and Sudafed but so far these have not helped. So, what’s a girl to do? For now, I plan to keep up the research and keep a journal. I think I’ll call the chiropractor tommorrow and get a massage. Now, that sounds like a plan!

I tried a few different pages today and didn’t like any of them! Or, at least not the way that they turned out. The ones that I really liked didn’t show the whole page. The last one that I picked, which is on there now, I picked because I liked the middle and that is all that seemed to show up. I do not like the sides on this one though.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a background for this blog? Or a cooking one? Or a health blog? I would like to change all of my blogs.

Thanks,
Christina