It's the most wonderful time...well maybe.

It's that wonderful time of the year where everyone is trying to get someplace to be with the ones we love, and yet it's also the time when I think most tempers get lost. Being in the cockpit, the captain and I get to miss most of it, thankfully. Although most people are very pleasant, there is the occasional bad apple. On a flight to Sun Valley the other day, we had one. This time of year, Sun Valley flights are full of rich people going up to ski. The baggage compartment is always filled to the brim with the 400 pounds of baggage each person brings aboard, and the flights are always full. Well, on the flight before the one to Sun Valley, someone was coming out of the bathroom when we hit a little bit of turbulence. The person grabbed on the the closest thing they could to stabilize themselves, which happened to be the lavatory door, and the weigh of the person on the door knocked the door off its tracks, making it not able to close. When we got to SLC, maintenance came to fix it, but it took longer than anticipated, thus delaying the flight a little. The passengers started to board and one of them was already disgruntled about the late boarding. Then he decided to complain that it was too hot in the airplane, mind you he was wearing a jacket at the time. Anyway, with all the people on board, and all their flippin luggage, it took us a little while to get the numbers right to make sure we could take everyone and their baggage without kicking people or baggage off, thus delaying the flight further. In the end, we got out of the gate only 10 minutes late, which is damn good, given all the crap we had to take care of. That guy still complained to the flight attendant for the rest of flight. Whatever. In 7 days I'll be on the beach in Florida sipping on Caucasians and Coronas!