International Wives....

man, I thought this thread would have some pics and mail-order instructions....
 
Kristie, im trying to get my mom to get on here but she always claims she doesnt have enough time....Ill get her on here once and she'll get hooked...
she can tell you all about the international stuff....After a 10 day around the world, dad comes home and is in a wonderful mood for the following 2 days.... :sarcasm:
 
no no no...nothing like that..but i do still like me a good jack wagner - oh YEA...

just got questions about how to stay in contact.. best schedules etc
 
tell doug to look into cingular and the world wide plan...My dad has cingular but not the world wide plan and it works pretty much all over Europe but its about $3 per minute. If you wanna talk to him while he is in Asia better just check your email....Unless Delta has something for their guys/gals to keep in touch with....Ill get my mom to get on here sometime within the next few weeks, yall could talk for hours.....and trust she CAN talk for hours...
 
well, we already have tmobile which also works overseas..but costs $.99/minute so we're looking for a cheaper alternative.

the conversations need to happen over at jetgirls.net though cuz there's more than just me changing from domestic to international.
 
Kristie said:
well, we already have tmobile which also works overseas..but costs $.99/minute so we're looking for a cheaper alternative.

the conversations need to happen over at jetgirls.net though cuz there's more than just me changing from domestic to international.
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Wireless skytype??

Or are you thinking of moving abroad??
 
moving abroad? as much as we'd like to, can't right now...maybe one day just go live over there for a month or so...but it's just so we can talk on a daily basis.

what's skytype?
 
Well I'm not an international wife, but an international son, so can I answer your questions?

Assuming you say yes, here I go.

Communication: Dad uses T-mobile, 99 cents a minute for short calls. Usually he doesn't call for the 24 hours that he is over there but he has that as an option.

Schedules: He usually bids for 6 or 9 day blocks of work to minimize the commutes. A 6 day and a 9 day is a high time line, and 2 6 days is a low time line. he tries to limit it to 2 commutes for the month.

Housing: He has a crashpad in the Portuguese neighborhood in Elizabeth, NJ, just a few minutes from the parking lot in EWR. Its the upstairs of a ladys house. I've spent the night there a couple of times, so its definitely possible for a wife to stay there if you were traveling with him. It is a true crashpad though, something live 7 beds in a 3 bedroom apt., small kitchen and one bathroom. I would not want to stay there on reserve but as a line holder for a couple of nights a month it works fine.

Transportation: He has a car down there, its good to go around the area to alleviate the boredom that is crashpad life, and to go between the airport and his place. I'm not sure what the public transportation system is like over at JFK

Feel free to copy this over at Jetgirls, I don't have an account over there.
 
can you explain high time and low time? is it what i think it is...high time = more on duty hours?

if the crashpads are similar to a hostel, i have no problem with that for a day.

how does your mom deal with him being gone for that length of time? i would think it wouldn't be that much different than what we're already doing with 4 on 3 off
 
Kristie said:
can you explain high time and low time? is it what i think it is...high time = more on duty hours?
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High time is a higher paying trip (high block time) i.e. FCO, GRU, HNL, ATH etc. Low time would be MAN, BHX, SNN, DUB etc.

if the crashpads are similar to a hostel, i have no problem with that for a day.
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Yeah, his is hostel-ish, its just with a bunch of overweight snoring guys;). But crashpads vary, some have "hot bes" where you don't have an assigned bed. in Dad's everyone has their own bed, and keeps their own linens on their beds. When I was there I just slept on the couch.

how does your mom deal with him being gone for that length of time? i would think it wouldn't be that much different than what we're already doing with 4 on 3 off
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The 18 consecutive days off in a month makes up for it. Most trips will be in multiples of three. I cant see him wanting to commute from PHX for 3 days of work. 6 is just about right. 9 days is a long trip for us. Remember the more days you work in a row means less commuting and more days off in a row.
 
When Bill was intl at TWA he did 3 day European trips out of JFK. He'd call a bit before he left, and say 'hey', but then he'd be out of contact while actually on his trip. Really, no big deal. I can go 36 hours without talking to him, it's really not that long :)! He'd call when he hit JFK again, and before he'd catch his commuter flight back to ORD.

As for crash pads, if you want to be able to stay there with him now and then, make sure he asks about that before signing up! A lot of crash pads are pretty much against 'guests', because that can lead to people bringing in other commuters, "just for the night", because they got stuck or whatnot. The people who pay to stay there sometimes get ticked off at people staying there who aren't paying too. My crash pad in Kew Gardens was 100% "no guest" policy, no spouses, no kids, no friends and especially no other commuters. If you wanted your spouse in NY with you, you got a hotel room. Plus, it's a crash pad, it's not that nice, and it's probably only got twin beds. You'll get a much better night's sleep if you just go to a hotel that has a airport shuttle. It's worth the extra $.
 
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