It's Over

Our meeting is over. It went exactly as planned. These people crack me up. I did fly to Louisiana yesterday. Louisiana is not a state that you often describe as beautiful. I was looking through the chin bubble at the Cyprus trees in the swamps and actually found it to be aesthetically pleasing. Then I thought about all the alligators that were probably swimming around those Cyprus trees. Then I thought about a Rolls Royce turbine engine flame out. Nothing makes you feel as vulnerable as knowing you could be another creature's after dinner treat with one simple hiccup of a complicated mechanical device. Sorry No Pictures. I haven't been in the picture taking mood lately. Maybe tomorrow.

Blah blah Blah Quack Quack

Tomorrow, me and all the rest of the managers at my company gather for our quarterly leadership conference. One hour into this thing all the eloquent dissertations will be heard as blah blah quack quack because after it it pointed out were the pastries are, all the important things have already been said. Not unlike any other corporate meeting, we will all gather so that a select few may exalt our company president for his absolute brilliance. Others will get the opportunity to say "Dig Me" with an over-animated powerpoint presentation about nothing, while yet others just get another chance to use that fancy new buzz word they heard on television the other day. It won't be complete until Upper Management drags out the sunshine pump and gives us all a rosey outlook on things. So you ask, Where do I fit in...Well it's hard to say but you can bet I can be found not to far from the free donuts and coffee. Heck! Maybe I could join in a little and loose some of this extra twenty pounds I'm carrying around. I don't know if I can stand three days of this wonderfulness. I am supposed to get a reprieve on Thursday because I'm supposed to fly a helicopter to Louisiana for mods. I can only hope!

Counting Blessings.

Yesterday was one of those "what if" days. My wife called from the Doctors office and said "meet me at the office". I met up with my Wife and Son and they were sending him to the hospital for a blood test because his white count was in the 40's. Cristy and I are both fairly versed in medical things and our hearts just sank because a white count that high could be Leukemia. The next two hours were the most tense hours I have ever lived through. We finally got the phone call which showed a much lower white count but indicated that Josh most likely has a bad infection or virus that needs to be treated aggressively. I made a phone call to my mother to let her know the good news and when I ended the call, Hannah, my 3 year old, was singing the old hymn "Count your many Blessings". We have never heard her sing that song before but today we are doing just that. Counting Blessings.

Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because you adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethern that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while make you perfect, stablish, strenghten, settle you. 1 Peter 5:7-10

This *$&&^% is for the Birds!

Here I sit in Pennsylvania. The weather is... vis 1/4 ceiling obscure. We can't take off. I made bold statements in a previous post saying that huge weather delays wouldn't be a problem. I've got to quit making bold statements. I think Pennsylvania must want me here or want to simply make my life miserable. We are too far from Philly to go into town and the little town we are in is pretty dull. GRRRRRRR!

Here Fishy Fishy

I went fishing on New Years Day. I caught this monster large mouth bass. I think this picture completely illustrates the magnitude of the situation. I had a great time.

Test

Hello (picture posting thingy) has not worked in some time. This is just a test.

Bond....James Bond

I'm scheduled for a trip to Pennsylvania next week. I feel a shiver just thinking about it as I remember my unfortunate three night adventure in Pennsylvania back in October. Fortunately we are going in the corporate aircraft, so huge delays due to a little crappie weather will be held to a minimum. I'm going there to engage in some Industrial Espionage under the guise of a vendor audit. Happens all the time. We are growing, and as such we want to outsourcing less so I go look around, ask a few questions and then come home and set up a new shop. It's great fun but I don't get to drive a Jag, fly a jet under a bridge, or even carry a gun.

Sharing my new office

I came back from a meeting the other day and someone had left me a note. Some squirrel wanting to winter in my office. It seems like someone is always picking on me. Around here you will know if you aren't liked because people quit picking on you. If you get a daily ration then you're in good shape.

I'm Back

I made the trip to Louisiana and Texas. I had to take a helicopter from New Iberia to Fort Worth. I was an excellent trip. On the way home from Texas I experienced virga for the second time in my life. NO!... you bunch of Sicko's... I said virga not Viagra. Viagra is for Bob Dole and others who need...you know...help for a very unfortunate disability. Virga, on the other hand, is a weather phenomena that occurs at altitude when it either snows or rains but dissipates before it reaches the ground. Witnessing virga is pretty rare because you have to be at altitude to see it, and conditions have to be just right for it to take place. The first time I saw virga it was in the form of snow. I descended out of it but I could still look up and see that it was snowing above me. This time it was raining below me but the sun was shining on the ground.

An office with a view.

The feds just left. I've just went through a two day inspection of my repair station. I'm beat. Everything went well but It always drains me. I'm flying tomorrow and Thursday in Louisiana and Texas which promises to be a hoot. They are moving my office tomorrow while I'm gone. I'm worried that when I come back the guys will have moved my stuff into the John. I know they will play some sort of horrible trick on me...filling my desk with packing peanuts....40 layers of duct tape around my coffee cup...who knows. Well we will see.

They call me Daddy

Being a Dad is pretty cool.

The Day Known as DARK FRIDAY

Over the Hill, Long in tooth, Too old to cut the mustard, Seasoned, Fartin' Dust, Wise, Blue Hair, Senior Citizen, AARP card Holder, Complains about the government, Wears pants too high, short timer, Drives slow with blinker on, OLD. Today is Dark Friday, the day I turn 33. It really doesn't bother me but I wish I was turning 22 instead. I know there is plenty of fun still ahead but I just don't like getting older. Being a kid was fun.

Now I R 1

I finally got to take the check ride, and I passed. Now if you will draw your attention to the third line of the ratings and limitations block you will see the words ROTORCRAFT - HELICOPTER. I've worked hard, studied hard and last night took the time to simply veg out in my chair.

Weekend Rundown

We had an excellent Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving is Cristy's Shopping Day, which means I get to stay home and be Mr. Mom for a day, which is always a day of discovery for Daddy.

Saturday we went to the Christmas Tree Farm to pick out a tree. We both wanted a "pretty" tree. Cristy wanted a tree that was pretty and/or aesthetically pleasing. I wanted one that was "pretty" close to the truck. She won.

I have had a small redneck relapse. First I made deer jerky from this years bagging. Yum! Then last night I shot a possum on the back porch that was eating what we put out for the cat. This is just one of the joys of living in the country. Cristy really hates possums since she picked up the fallen trash can and one growled at her from inside. I always laugh about that but she still doesn't see the humor in it.

The check ride is softly scheduled for the week of the 6th of December. Maybe It will work out as a good birthday present. That's right the 10th is my special day.... 33...Groan. God I'm getting old.

Grrrrr!

Bad Grrrr! My checkride got postponed again. I'm trying to think happy thoughts but it's really not working. Grrrr! Very Grrrrrr!

Check Ride Blues

No, I didn't Fail. I just haven't taken it yet. There was a minor problem with the scheduling. Now everything has been taken care of, and the ride is scheduled for Friday. I have been studying very diligently for the oral exam and actually I'm quite glad that I got a couple more days to study. So for now un-cross your fingers and then cross them again on Friday.

She would have Smiled

This weekend was the opening of deer season. Deer Season is a bigger holiday for our family than Thanksgiving or Christmas. Those of you who knew my grandmother wouldn't need to read any further to know why she would have been smiling. She loved all the hustle associated with deer season. This year was really no different that the other years. Any kind of food you can imagine was there. We played cards, told deer hunting stories and set out in the old house rubbing our miserably full bellies. I usually take the picture the she always requested one of us to take but didn't get to this year. She always had me take a picture of all the cars and trucks in her driveway. It always made her proud to see all the people that had showed up at her house for a good time and loads of good food. We have a ton of these pictures, all just about the same. The cars change style but the people are mostly the same. Deer season is important to all of us but it really doesn't have much to do with hunting deer. I think I love it just like Granny did.

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

I finished my final three hours of training in the helicopter yesterday. I felt confident by the end of the day that I would do just fine on my check ride. I would have preferred to not do three hours in one day but the aircraft and instructor were available so I had to go for it. We did one maneuver right after another to include all the emergency procedures. I sorta goofed on a stuck pedal procedure but other than that I did pretty well. The instructor demonstrated the procedure with the pedals stuck and brought it in perfectly and then took off again with the pedals stuck. He looked over at me calmly while we are taking off sideways and going through ETL (what a goober) and said OK Aaron try it again. I aced it on the do over. Anyway, I'm taking my check ride on Monday so keep your fingers crossed.

I've been every where man...

That old song seems to be the story of my life lately. On Wednesday I went to Fort Worth to audit a new contractor. Things happened. The day trip turned into an overnighter. The words my wife spoke Wednesday morning rang through me head...
"you better take some clothes". Then I remembered my bold statement. "Naaah...We'll be back FOR SURE". After a brief visit to a couple of stores I had the essentials for an overnight stay. We went to downtown Ft. Worth to the Cattlemens's steak house. The cobble stone streets and old stores would have made some nice pictures but as usual I left my camera in the plane again. The next day we went to New Iberia, LA. We ate some killer crayfish and shrimp for lunch and proceeded home. 50 KNOT headwinds kicked our butts.

Trying something New

Hello picture quality is awful.
Trying something different