Travelin' Light...

SGU by Helo and AT-SAT Test

2009-10-29T14:15:00.007-06:00

What a week.

Yesterday, I took the AT-SAT exam in Salt Lake City. Basically, it's the FAA's Air Traffic Controller entry test. Long story short, it was tough and I'm beating myself up over it at the moment. Oh well, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. It's not like I'm living or dying by this.

Before I left for SLC, Linds called me prior to getting to the St. George airport to ask if I wanted to go on a helicopter ride. After I realized she wasn't kidding, I hauled tail to her school's soccer field. It's Drug-Free week and a local helo pilot was shuttling the St. George Police's canine unit around the local elementary and middle schools as part of the Red Ribbon Week assemblies.

Since Lindsey's school was last on the list for the day, the pilot asked if some of the teachers wanted to go on a quick sight-seeing tour of St. G. I've gotta admit, I think I appreciate the beauty of what we have in our backyard alot more now that I've seen it from a low-altitude hover. I also have to admit that earning a helicopter pilot's license would make me immensely happy man. I've got it all planned out in my head. I get a commercial helo license, Lindsey ta kes a teaching job in Costa Rica, and I fly tours and shuttle passengers to San Jose and Liberia. It's quite the spectacular pipe dream...but, hey...a guy can dream, right?

Click on the pic above for my Flickr photoset... Linds has one or two on her blog.

-----------------------
Current Music: None
Current Location: Hurricane, UT

Feels So Good To Be Feelin' Good Again

2009-06-18T16:00:00.001-06:00

Robert Earl Keen once wrote and recorded a song called "Feelin' Good Again"...a song that, in many ways and many times over, has always inspired a hope in me.

The tune essentially follows a man who has felt lost in life and finds his soul refilled by good times with old friends, a few lucky coincidences, and, in the end, being able to share those soul refilling moments with the woman he loves. While, at the moment, I don't exactly have to "woman I love" to share with, I've had plenty of friends and great times to fill that void this week.

Life has been pretty nutty lately and, for the sake of my sanity, I really needed these last three days to be good to me...and these last three days have really delivered. Since I got back from Costa Rica, I've really been trying to make some life changes. In a lot of ways, I'm doing really well at them...I've lost weight, cut back on many of my vices, and been doing much more physical activity than the norm in recent months...others have been a bit discouraging.

Working on pay proposal presentations and policy revisions for the folks I represent at work has been messy and dividing. In the last three weeks, I've been accused of being "self-serving", of "not being realistic" (when, in actuality, I feel I understand the pitfalls and possibilities better than most), and of "being worse than Hitler". I'm especially proud of that last one. Between the work stuff, not being happy with my current living arrangement, and trying to repair a few past mistakes in order to move forward with my life...I was in dire need of a soul refill. Costa Rica did it for me, but the craziness I've been dealing with zapped that pretty quickly.

It all started with my little brother and his wife having my first real nephew this week (I have a step-neice and two step-nephews, all three of whom I love dearly, as well...but it just feels different when it's your bloodline who is doing the reproducing...haha!). I was planning on going to Shreveport to see the new mom, dad, and kiddo...but my mom made it pretty clear that my presence would be more of a pain in the ass than anything. I know she doesn't do it intentionally, but she does it so well, regardless. So, with three days off and nothing to do...I just started flying. Would you expect anything less?

I headed up to Salt Lake with the intention of catching my friend Kaycee's SLC-Denver flight, then catching lunch with her and Brian at DIA. I ran into Kaycee between flights at SLC and she had just been called up to fly another quick turn out to Cedar Rapids, Iowa...so lunch was off. At random, I remembered that the Colorado Rockies were playing Tampa Bay that night at home...so we decided we'd all go to the game that night.

By 6pm, we (Me, Kaycee, Brian, Chuck, Mo, and Mo's friend Sarah) were at Coors Field. We scored to pretty spectacular seats on the third base line thanks to Chuck and had a great time despite the Rockies having their 11-game winning streak snapped. Plenty of beer, laughs, and fun times all-around. By the end of the night, I was so tired that I passed out on Brian & Chuck's couch within 30 seconds of laying down on it. That's a good day, right there.

I had talked to some other friends in Texas earlier that day that were going to the Rangers/Astros games at The Temple...so I set up to hop a flight home to DFW the morning after the Rockies game and go to one of the Silver Boot Series games. Again, great times with friends, old and new...this time with an extra innings Ranger win to take the Silver Boot from the 'stros!

Amidst all of this, I realized something. Nothing fills my soul like being alone in airports and hanging out in ballparks with great people.

As I type this, I'm on my 4th leg of this completely unplanned journey...headed to Vegas from Dallas. I'm headed there to hang out with Jennifer (and her family), starting an annual tradition of sorts. We did this last year on her yearly family trip to LAS. We'll grab some dinner and do a little some small-time gambling (I AM hoping to recoup my expenses from this trip at the blackjack table. Something tells me I won't, though...probably the fact that I'm a piss-poor blackjack player.). From there, I just shuttle back to SGU.

All in all, a pretty solid three days off....and it really does feel so good to be feelin' good again.

Sent via iPhone

Spectacular Days Off in Texas

2009-04-12T19:51:00.001-06:00

I somehow managed to pull off weekends off for the month of April (OK, so it wasn't that mysterious...for training purposes, scheduling needed to give my Coordinator line to someone else and I was given a dispatch line that was vacated by someone who is filling in on overnights...I'm not complaining). I decided to take advantage of this and head back to Texas. For the first time in a looong time, people I wanted to hang out with didn't have to work.

I flew out of SGU on the early AM flt. to SLC and connected to the first SLC-DFW flt. While waiting to board, I got chat briefly my "sister" TMiller, who just happened to be flying that morning. How I miss her sometimes. She's almost as twisted as I am. ;).

Anyhow, I texted Lacey before I left SGU...telling her to leave work early, pick me up from DFW, and go to the Rangers' afternoon game that was scheduled to start about an hour after my arrival at DFW. I fully expected her to have to work and not be able to go...I just sent them mostly to tease...but, it just happened that she was off. She was at E14 baggage claim for me when I got to Dallas and away we went to Rangers Ballpark.

It was such a beautiful day for a ballgame. The beer was cold, the dogs were fresh, and the right field home run porch was a perfect place to be. The Rangers took the early lead and never let up...the won a solid game. A perfect spring day at the ballpark...

In the 5th or so, the ballpark got hazy and it smelled a bit like firewood. When we left, you could tell that there were wildfires to the west...turns out, these fires were deadly and destructive.

After the game, I had Lace drop me off at a MickeyD's off Cooper and I-20 to meet up with Dearing. She complained about it the entire way... ;). I said adios to Lacey, tossed my stuff in Dearing's Jeep, grabbed a Big Mac to go, And we were off...headed out out to his parents' lakehouse at Lake Granbury to fish.

I was beyond beat down, so I slipped in and out of conciousness between Arlington and the Lake. The smoke and haze seemed to get worse before getting better...but it DID clear up back to beautiful blue skies.

We stopped at a little roadside bait shop on the way out to the lake...a place called Alice's. We walked in to find a...ahem...heavy-set woman with a glorious mullet and moustache that made me envious willing to sell us minnows. We ordered up three dozen (Alice threw in a crawdad for free...what a steal!) paid up and got the he'll outta there before it became a re-enactment of the movie "Deliverence". Between my earring and Dearing's mohawk (he lost an academic-related bet with his students), they were starting to look at us all kinds of funny.

We made it out to the lakehouse and it could not have been anymore perfect. Nice, quiet, comfortable, that musty scent of lake...and a fishing platform/dock right there in the backyard. We set up the iPod speakers outside, plugged on the iPhone connected to Pandora (playing Texas country, of course), poured a couple Jack & Cokes, baited...a few hooks that is...and waited for the fish to bite.

After about an hour, we decided the fish weren't biting...and it was in that moment that I got my first bite. I fought with him; I just knew this was that bass I saw jump only a few minutes earlier. Having not fished in years, I was ready to brag about this one. When I pulled this monster outta the water, my allusions of a trophy piece were shot out of the water...it was a 4-inch perch. I guess my line was a little snagged on the reel-in, so it felt bigger than it was. I took a picture of him anyway. I can't believe he swallowed that humongous minnow whole.

The rest of the evening was much of the same...small fish, good music, good conversation with a bro i don't get to see often, and calmness. Something I've needed for a long while. About nine o'clock or so, the dull headache started to come back. I've been having these headaches and fatigue, off and on, for weeks. They suck...and zap my energy. Also, I barely sleep a full night these days.

With all that, I decided to lie down on the couch for a bit. At two in the morning, Dearing woke me to tell me I could use the bed in the extra bedroom. Glory hallelujah...Mama Dearing has created the most amazing bed...ever. I have not slept so comfortably in God knows when. Despite how restful it was, I still slept for another seven hours...and it was good.

I got up...fished a little more and we packed up. We stopped at Babe's Chicken Dinner house in Granbury on the way out. If you've never been to a Babe's...GO! That was the closest thing to home-cookin' I've had in a while.

Dearing took me to get my rental car and we headed to Three Justins HQ. JB and I rocked out to Guitar Hero: Metallica for a while, got dinner, and I was off to Gainesville.

I pulled in at Shaun's place pretty late thanks to a wrong turn near Fort Worth...and, yes, I did refuse to consult Google maps on the iPhone. I just forged ahead 'til I found my way.

Shaun and I caught up for a bit and then decided to knock out the one thing we had planned on doing while I was in town: checking my credit reports.

I was an irresponsible teenager with a credit card at the beginning of this decade...and, as a result, my credit has sucked for years. With the the help of Shaun's amazing knowledge and experience in these types of financial matters, I've been able to claw my way back up to a pretty decent credit situation. The last time we checked, we were seeing the first real signs of significant improvement...this time, I was hoping to see an even greater amount of improvement. Without sharing too many details of my current credit report, I can say that Shaun's methods and recommendations have worked 100%. My level of improvement in the last 3-6 months has been incredible...and my financial goals are within reach. It's a pretty amazing feeling after the feelings of hopelessness over the years.

I got up Saturday morning and headed over to my parents' house. There were a million cars parked out front and...not having seen my little brother's truck there...I feared someone had died and mom forgot to tell me (I have jokingly stated many times since my move to Utah that mom would do just that if a close relative ever should , God forbid, pass away unexpectedly). When I walked in, the place was filled with women and I realized that it was a baby shower for my sister-in-law. Upon realizing this, I td mom I would come back later and made a b-line to get the hell outta there.

I headed down to Denton for the day...got Rudy's BBQ with Lorenzo, got fitted for the tux I'll be wearing in Sammy's wedding, hung out with Cody for a little bit, and hung out with old tailgating buddies at the 6th(?) Annual GoMeanGreen.com Bowl. It was especially great to see Stebo and meet his Emily...it had been too long.

Got back to Gainesville and hung with my grandparents. Papa and I talked baseball for a while...I fixed a few things on Nanny's computer...and we caught up on things. My Nanny & Papa are great to spend time with...I'm so glad to have such a close relationship with them. I think sometimes I take that for granted...:-/

From there, I went back to Mom and Dad's for a historic evening. We hung out, all evening, all together...and, for the first time in our family's history, we didn't get into any kind of argument. You may laugh, but this is huge progress for my family. Of course, all of us had a beer or two in our systems, but that's neither here nor there. To top it off, a pretty awesome storm rolled in during all of this. I needed that to refuel my gypsy soul...LOL!

I nightcapped the evening by stopping in at Chad's birthday shindig at his amazing apartment above the old KXGM-FM studios on the courthouse square. It was an interesting hodgepodge of folks I haven't seen in years. From there, Shaun and I grabbed late-night Whataburger to complete the "Texas Food Odyssey"...which is, in no particular order:

1.) a Shiner Bock beer
2.) Rudy's or Deiter Bros.' BBQ
3.) Blue Bell Ice Cream
4.) Whataburger

This morning...I got dressed in some business casual, loaded up my "dorky, pilot rollaboard" (as Brandon Murray calls it) into my rented Dodge Charger, and went to Easter lunch with the family. I love our semi-redneck family meals at my aunt & uncle's place. The food rocks: my Uncle Jeff's kickass cheeseburgers and deer chili, Mom's baked beans, Nanny's potato salad...I want a second helping just thinking about it. We don't do "traditional" and I love it.

I said my goodbyes after lunch, headed to DFW, and here I am...typing this blog entry on my phone from the Hell Seat on a DFW-SLC flight. Yes, the Hell Seat on a SkyWest CRJ-900...20D. No window, no recline, right next to the crapper, and a CF34 engine screaming on the other side of the wall. To top it off, the aisle seat is occupied by a very fidgety four year old. But, hey, it's a ride. It just irks me that (after a party of five split their reservation and took that almost guaranteed first class seat), with my seniority on a SkyWest operated flight, I get this seat...but the commuting mainline Delta pilot well below me on the standby list gets the best coach seat in the house...5A. Explain that...oh, I know, it's a mainline station.

All in all, though, it's a small price to pay considering it was one of the best weekends home I've ever had.

A Quick Question About Flying

2009-04-09T10:35:00.001-06:00

Is it ok to booze it up at 0830 when you're flying in first class? I
say, "Yes!".

Sent via iPhone

My Friends Are Ridiculous...or perhaps...Ludacris...

2009-02-09T22:05:00.001-07:00

2009-01-14T23:56:00.000-07:00

So, my buddy Keith tells me all the time that I should write a book with all of the stories that, according to him, are tales of "things that only happen to Dub". The following is one of those stories.

I've been in LAX since last night in preparation for a work meeting today. The meeting was quick and productive, however, it left me with 6 hours to kill before my flight back to SGU.

Seeing the opportunity to complete my required yearly Brasilia jumpseat observation time, I decided to pick a quick roundtrip that would get me there and back with enough time to eat when I got back to LAX. I chose Oxnard, California because it was a really quick trip and because I had never been there before. The gate agents in LAX were excellent and let me go down early to meet with the crew & get my things situated prior to boarding.

When I went down to the ramp, I found a weasily, "shirt & tie" type of man milling around and, without looking at his ID's, knew he was a Fed. I wasn't wrong...and he immediately notified me that I was being bumped from the observer seat. Lovely.

The gate agents caught this and came to the plane to suggest that I do a quick roundtrip to Palm Springs roundtrip. Her exact words were "it comes right back, too!". Lo and behold...it didn't. Well, to be fair...it did come back...2 hours later. Of course, I didn't know this until the First Officer pointed that out as we set the brakes at the gate in PSP.

So, here I was, spending the next 2 hours on my phone while sitting around in the Palm Springs airport.

I boarded the return flight to LAX with at least a small amount of hope that we would make it in early and the SGU flight would be late. Lo and behold, it wasn't. Again, to be fair, the same gate agent set me up on the next flight to Salt Lake City (which was leaving in less than 5 minutes at that point) and called the agent at that gate to make sure to get me on.

So here I sit...in seat 6C on a SkyWest CRJ-700 to SLC...where I will sleep in the crew lounge...and hope to get to work at a somewhat decent hour tomorrow.

Only me...only me.

Down the road....
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

The Crazy Holiday Travels...

2008-12-24T17:17:00.001-07:00

I finally managed to get some semblance of time off for the holidays, as senority starts to allow over the course of time, and decided to try to do a little pseudo-Christmas with the family. I still have to be at work on Christmas morning...so, I bought a ticket on US Airways back to Vegas on the 24th and decided to non-rev/jumpseat to DFW.

Since I'm planning on flying back to LAS on the 24th, I needed to start my trip out of there so my car would be waiting when I got back. My grand plan was to cut work early, make the drive to LAS, and fly to DFW via Denver from there.

Well, as with anything in my life...things didn't quite go to plan. Work was crazy busy thanks to broken airplanes and weather issues...not to mention several sick calls. I originally was trying to cut out by 11am...but, I volunteered to cover a dispatch desk on top of my coordinating duties. Talk about non-stop stress and phonecalls.

One of my friends from work, Jenn, was trying to cut out early, too...but, as with me, the sick calls prevented her from getting out of there and she stuck it out. Because of this, she wasn't able to catch her 9am flight home from St. George to Salt Lake and continuing on to Gunnison/Crested Butte, Colorado. Knowing each other's situation, we decided to ride to Vegas together...then over to Denver. Both of our connecting flights in Denver were later in the evening...so we figured we could just hang in the airport bar 'til it was time for us to catch our flights home.

We hit the road at 1pm Utah time...and, with traffic, construction, parking, security, etc...we made it to the gate at 2:39pm for a 2:59pm flight to Denver. Nice timing, eh? We immediately checked in to request the jumpseat and, for once, we had a great UA gate agent who gave us E-Plus seats together on a Ted A320 with a new regular United Airlines paintjob...with no one in the between. So far, so good. We decided we deserved a Bloody Mary after the day we'd had...so we killed one apiece while making fun of pilots on Channel 9 (a favorite pastime of mine on the LAS-DEN run).

Touched down in Denver...where the temp. was a lovely, comfortable 7 degrees F out there. Sweet Raptor Jesus.. Jenn claims the flight attendants made some kind of announcement on approach to 35L about "in event of impact, please take crash position"...I just think that Bloody went straight to her head.

Pulled in at gate B-16...and had to make the one mile trek to the B-80's gates. Thaaaaat was fun. LOL. But, the payoff was some Fat Tire beers and a pretty excellent sandwich & salad. OK, fine...we had quite a few Fat Tires...LOL. I was supposed to get on a 7pm flight...but it went out full. That gave us 2 more hours of drinking time...and that was awesome.

In the midst of our beer drinking and scattershooting (and me screaming at the Cowboys on the TV)...Jenn got a text message from a colleague that said "just got report that CO 737 crashed on DEN 34R". We both looked at each other like so as to say "What the hell?". We had a great view of the approach end of the 35's and we noticed that all approaching traffic had broken off and the runway lights had been dimmed. At this point, we both knew something was up. We decided to keep quiet about I...until an hour later when the word trickled to that side of the airport. (Turns out, the report was true...a Continental Airlines 737 did a rejected/aborted take off and, somehow, found themselves in a snowy ditch when it was all said and done. The aircraft did catch fire...but, apparently, a full evacuation was completed with mostly minor injuries. Kudos to the crew.)

Jenn and I parted ways after a couple too many beers to head over to our flights. Because of the aircraft incident, the airport was pandemonium with misconnecting passengers, etc. My flight was delayed another hour...allowing for some folks that were trying to get to Austin and OKC to be moved to the DFW flight. Tack on the fact that there was already a pilot requesting the jumpseat (which was beside the point since, after sip number one of that glorious Two Below, I was no longer legally eligible to ride up there). About the time I realized all of this, I got a text from Jenn saying "MY FLIGHT IS CANCELED!!! DAMMIT!!!".

Yup...good times. Seeing that we were stuck...we quickly found a cheap room with 2 beds at a hotel near the airport before all others figured out THEY were stuck. One teeny-weeny problem...Jenn green-tagged* her bag when she boarded her Gunnison flight...and never got it back when it was canceled (* - tag that indicates that this bag is a carry-on that won't fit on a smaller regional jet...the passenger is supposed to get this bag back at the gate when they get to their destination.). We spent the next two hours using every bit of pull, clout, and people we know to find that bag. It didn't surface before we decided to find a hotel shuttle, get checked in, and snag some sleep.

We were both awake by 0600...damn the nature of our normal sleep patterns...so I called and convinced Brian and Chuck to pick us up for breakfast. Flying J truckstop breakfast buffet is actually pretty good...but I hear the coffee is awful...LOL.

Jenn picked up some toothpaste, etc. at the truckstop and we scored ride to the airport from B&C...

Lucky for Jenn, we found her bag almost immediately.when we got to DEN and she managed to score the jumpseat to GUC. I got a seat in the exit row on a 757...should have been 1st class...but the gate agent used my jumpseat priority instead of my non-rev priority...grrr.

All in all...a pretty funny story all around...especially drunken texting by both of us....
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Home...

2008-12-10T15:19:00.001-07:00

There's just something about home that, no matter who's couch I'm crashing on, feels just right. From landing at DFW and crossing the bridge to Terminal E...to the drive up I-35...to taking exit 496 and down California Street...its always a bit heart-warming to visit home, see old friends and family, and enjoy an area you know like the back of your hand.

I got home Sunday night on a Delta/SkyWest flt. from Salt Lake. I picked up a rental from Enterprise (who had the cutest girl working for them...I wanted to take her with me...LOL) and made the trek home to Gainesville. Enroute, I made the traditional stop at the QuikTrip on 121 Business and picked up the usual Sugar-Free Red Bull. I've not made the trek from DFW to G'Ville without that stop...or without that Red Bull. I'm not sure I could make it without.

On the way home, I called Cody and we decided I would stop in and visit (he was at the sheriff's house, and I hadn't seen Cody's parents in a long time either). the sheriff was super excited to see me and we determined that his buddy from one of his tours of Vietnam lives down the road from me. Small world, right?

From there, I went to Shaun's house to crash on his couch. It was too late to bother my parents and I was about to pass out...so that couch was a welsome sight. I don't remember falling asleep. Got up next morning and drove around to make the rounds. I went and saw mom at school, my aunts, Barry & Laura, and numerous others. Part of me loves to stop in here and there just to remind people I'm still alive.

I only got the rental for one day...because the next day was going to be more than triple what I payed the previous day...so I came up with a pretty solid plan to get rid of it and get home. I conned Shaun into going with me...and it turned out to be kinda fun.

We took the car back, caught a shuttle to the Trinity Rail station, then the train to Ft. Worth. From there we caught Amtrak from Ft. Worth to Gainesville. It was actually kinda fun...Amtrak turned out to be a pretty solid, inexpensive option for getting to Gainesville in the future.

Got to see my grandparents after we got back to G'ville...it had been a couple of months since I had seen them. We got caught up on the post-election stuff and everything going on with them and trhe family. Of course, we respectfully disagreed with one another on most of it but we always do.

My plan was to catch Amtrak back to FTW and backtrack the way I came up the day before...but I discovered at the last minute that the Gainesville Depot doesn't have ticketing capabilities and I couldn't even buy a ticket from the conductor...thus screwing the plan. I wound up catching up with Ben Smith (yes, THE Ben Smith) and we grabbed a pretty excellent lunch at Smokehouse in Lindsay. I was a good boy and got a pretty farkin' awesome salad...I was also a really bad boy and had a chopped BBQ beef sandwich & Shiner Bock draft. Oh well, one outta 3 ain't bad, right? I mean, how often do I have an opportunity to get Smokehouse?

We talked at length about Ben's music career and both agreed that we had figured he would be further along than he is. I've been feeling a draw to get back into the Texas music scene...and am thinking perhaps I should lend my promotions talents to getting Ben on track again. He's a solid artist and deserves to be promoted to the point of a good launching point. We shall see.

Ben and I continued our conversation while I caught a ride with him to Denton. Enroute, keeping with the theme of the day ("Go Wherever The Winds Take Me"), Lorenzo texted and I had Ben drop me off on the UNT campus where Lo works.

It was cool to catch up with Lo...even cooler was the added perk of Lo randomly giving me a new pair of Doc's boots that didn't fit him. Score! I love a good freebie. Lo had to get back to work...so, I waited for Cody to get out of his Psych final. We grabbed some beers at Riprock's...then back to his place where we both passed out (and his dog proceeded to eat one of my Justin Boots...little bastard).

I woke up just moments before my phone rang...I was surprised to see it was SJ. We hadn't really had a chance to talk since we went to dinner last week...for a bit there, I was stressing that I had run her off after sending her flowers. Luckily, I guess I hadn't... ;). We talked for a bit...and decided we'd try to get together Wed. night or.next week. Either way...it was great to hear her voice. She's got to be the sweetest girl on the planet...a total keeper...I guess we'll see where it goes. No rushing anything....

I'm hanging out in SLC 'til I hear from her...we might grab dinner or coffee before I head back to St. George. I'm killing time by hanging in the gate for the SLC-Paris flight. Few things in life are more entertaining that watching passengers....especially for international flights. So far, I've seen "Elitist Frenchman" (typically an older man in clothes that you find only in the first 45 pages of GQ and a really douche-y scarf, and speaks loudly in French. This one in particular looks a lot like Fidel Castro), "First-time International Traveler" (also usually older...they check in with the gate agent 47 times prior to scheduled boarding time to ask a million questions that have obvious answers like 'is this the right gate?' and 'do I need my passport out right now?'), and "Backpacker Couple" that appear like they stepped out of a North Face ad. I wasn't banking on "Asian Girl in Catholic Schoolgirl Uniform", but she's here, too.

I could sit in aiports for hours and just document the funny things I see...perhaps I should. TMiller and I have toyed with the idea of a blog about the funny things that happen on our day to day in this business...maybe we should get on that. Anyway...that's enough from me. Gonna go wander for a bit.

Down the road...

I'm flying...so that must mean I'm blogging....

2008-12-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

Decided to try to go home to Dallas last minute...so here I am, seat 2C on my beloved Brozilla, headed to SLC to attempt to catch our brand new CRJ-900 (N822SK) to DFW. Its gonna be tricky since the back is oversold and there are ton of people on the list. Should be interesting. Equally interesting is the fact that this Bro flight comes with a bit of a twist.

The twist is...the flight attendant on this one is...the ex. Mauricea. Yes, Penny Lane. Haven't seen or really talked to her in months...definitely for the best...but even being on the same 30-seat blender is feeling a little awkward. Awkward "hello's", awkward smirk from me while she did her safety demo. She's just as attractive as she was the day we made the trek to Paris...which, as most of the people who read this known turned into a momentous disaster...and, as much as I don't want to (like the overly-emotional little bitch that I am), I can't help but look.

I suppose part of me wonders "what if"...what if we hadn't been so alike in certain ways? What if I had been more assertive and stood my ground instead of taking her shit and coming back like a domestic abuse victim? What if she wasn't batshit insane? Alas, "what if" gets us nowhere...and has no bearing on the fact what happened between us...specifically, the way it ended...was likely the best thing. We would have killed each other...believe me, there are times where I wish I had killed her (kidding, kinda). I'm sure she probably had the knife ready and waiting for the right time to take me out...

Anyway...I'm definitely glad that part of my life is over...but there's always that little part of you that sees an ex-significant other and can't help but have a certain level of care for them still. Or maybe that's just me and my god-forsaken heart of gold.

So, I have no plan for this trip...I have no idea why or where I'm going, either. If I don't make the DFW flight...I dunno if I'm gonna try something else, or just go back to SGU. It would feel like a bit of a waste to get all the way to a hub and turn around. I guess we'll see.

Gonna shut down the Glorious Crackberry to conserve battery...I forgot the charger. Oops.

Down the road....

Another flight...another blog.

2008-11-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

It's a b-e-a-utiful day in Santa Jorge today...and, here I am, leaving it behind for Denver by way of Salt Lake.

Woke up early this morning...packed my overnight backpack, grabbed some breakfast, and ran errands. It feels pretty good to have all the laundry done, a clean room, so on and so forth before doing anything else for once. Put up a curtain last night...making my room even darker. Lovin' it.

After the errands, I had a dentist appointment. (I'm such a weirdo in the fact that I kinda enjoy going to the dentist. I attribute this to the fact that I had a great dentist when I was a little kid and a mother who was pretty hardcore about making us go.) Just a routine cleaning and checkup. On the way there, I stopped at the airport and checked in on the kiosk...so I could haul from the dentist to my 1:10pm flight...and I made sure to tell the hygenist that I needed to get going ASAP. She knocked out the x-rays, cleaning, etc. in record time...even with stops in between for her to ask questions about my job (ok, mainly the flight benefits part). Of course, all said and done...I have this funky waxy flouride treatment on my teeth right now that kinda takes away that fresh, clean feeling you expect when you leave the dentist. Bummer...but, hey, fluoride is good, right? Hygenist Brooke and the good Dr. got me out juuuuust in time to get to the airport, clear security, and catch my flight with time to spare. Awesome. I always complain about the customer service in SGU, but that doesn't go for the health/dental folks...haven't met an un-accomadating Dr./dentist yet.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night...my right calf was tight/pulling/straining/whatever to the point that my foot was immovable.. Hurt like hell. Of course, when that happens in my sleep, I barely remember it the next morning...'til I step out of bed. Holy hell, I early fell over when I stepped onto that leg. I've been walking with a limp and am wearing my cowboy boots for a little extra support. Truth be told, I've been wearing the cowboy boots a lot lately strictly because they're damn comfortable. One of the best, most comfortable Christmas gifts I've ever got...coming up on 5 years.

So, I'm headed to Denver for "Thanksgiving Dinner", so to speak, with my "airline family"...Brian, Chuck, and Kaycee. Shevon is overnighting in DEN, so she might come, too....which would be awesome. ;). I kinda miss her gorgeous smile.

I was originally going to fly out of Vegas, but this flight (SKW7772) was wide open...as is the DEN flight (knock on wood)...so I figure I'll fly through Vegas on the return since it will be in the middle of one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. Thank the deity of your choosing for CASS and the jumpseat...again, knock on wood. With any luck, I will have a little time on the connection to visit with Marie in SLC Ops...she rocks.

Did I mention it's a beautiful day? We're just a little over halfway between SGU and SLC right now...probably just north of Delta...and it's just perfect out there. No snow yet...but such a "clear and a million" kinda day. If SGU was cool like it has been year around...I'd never leave. OK, maybe not...LOL!

Gonna close up and enjoy the view on descent...if I don't post anything before then...I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I much prefer Thanksgiving to Christmas...it is a solid reminder of how our lives aren't as bad as many of us think they are. I know I'm pretty content with mine... ;).

Down the road...

Blackberry?...or iPhone?

2008-11-18T19:53:00.001-07:00

I'm torn. Ever since I got this Blackberry, I've come to understand why they call them "Crackberry". I'm a million times more organized now that I have my life easily in the palm of my hand. I've owned a PDA, even had another "smartphone" before this one...but the ease of use and customization (once you figure it out) is awesome.

That said, I'm a sucker for a new high-tech toy. I've played with iPhones and I like them, but I'm unsure about the touchscreen texting. I'm a text junkie and the Crackberry allows for that.

Long story short, I'm asking you to give me some opinions. Should I go iPhone? Or go with an updated version of my addiction...

Denver...and Portland.

2008-11-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

I managed to snag the absolute last seat out of Salt Lake City over to Denver and got there, on-time, around 11pm on Sunday night.

When we landed, I got a reply to a text I had sent earlier...and in the ensuing conversation, I learned that Tiffany was sitting in the Denver airport. I was almost to the train to baggage claim and went back to say hi. I hadn't seen her in a month and I, based on the month she and I have both had, I figured we both needed a hug. It was great to see her...

Brian picked me up and, since my chunky ass was starving, we went to one of the 3 places that is open that late...Del-Frickin'-Taco. Picked up a fish taco and headed back to Brian and Chuck's place. We hung out for an hour and I passed out on the couch.

We got up eaaaaarly (for an off-day) and were just lazy ass coffe drinkers 'til Kaycee landed from Grand Junction. As soon as she escaped the airport and managed to get changed out of her uniform, we grabbed lunch.

Had Olive Garden...I forgot how much that place requires a nap afterward...and instead we went shopping. Of course, I tried on new jeans and none fit. A pretty good sign that it is time to drop 65 lbs or so... (Hopefully, I can regain the motivation I had before and get back in the gym everyday. I need it, badly, in order to really be happy with myself.)

After shopping, we went back to the apartment and Brian made chicken stir-fry...'twas excellent. We watched "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and I realized why so many have mentioned to me that the main character reminded them of me. Hell, it felt like one of my breakups all over again...and the type of stupidity I'm capable of when a girl is involved. I loved that she realized what she had and he wouldn't take her back. The level to which that warmed my soul, seeing a a chick treat a nice guy like dirt and get hersin the end, was immeasurable. ;)

Speaking of the stupidity that women cause me...I haven't blogged about it, but there has been this girl that has been giving me fits. OK, really, they all give me fits...but this one in particular. We met months ago and have managed to get together a few times since then (she lives in Northern Utah). She's incredibly gorgeous, sweet as can be, seemingly has things together. We seem to "click" when we do talk, she understands where I'm coming from and the crazy life the profession provides...but it's been so long...hell, possibly never...since I've had a semi-normal dating relationship without some kind of almost immediate exclusivity. I'm not complaining about that. It's not even that we're dating seeing that we've barely hung out but here and there...but she's just that kind of girl with whom you really hope things might progress to something awesome.

I guess my complaint is this...I've never played "the game", nor do I plan on starting. Perhaps this is why I'm single...but, if it is, screw it. Yet, when I mention the fact that I like the girl to close friends, they insist on giving me all this stupid advice like "don't make yourself too available" and "let her call you first". I make myself as available as I am...no more, no less. If she calls, she calls...if I have something to say, I say it. On the flip side, I don't want to drive the girl away if she is indeed interested, either. It's an odd position to be in. Whatever happens, happens, I suppose.

So, I'm sitting in 12C on United 369 to PDX. Listening to Townes again...blogging away. Brian got TDY'd to Portland and I've never been to the PacNW at all...so I figured I'd go up there with him, hang around, and then find my way home from there.

The creepy lady in 10D just spent 10 minutes staring at the back of the plane. She looks like the type that likely owns 47 cats.

Watching the E! True Hollywood Story of Heath Ledger...and am loving all the random Australian actresses they're interviewing. MMMmmm, hot Aussie girls.

In my last blog, I mentioned that "Waiting Around To Die" wasn't a good song for my "flight playlist". I take that back...it's a solid song no matter where you listen to it. Absolutely excellent...as are the vast majority of Townes' writing. Such wonderful story telling in all of them. Don't have any Townes in your iTunes playlist? Do it...now. I'll wait. ;)

Headed to Denver...

2008-11-16T20:02:00.001-07:00

Sitting on another Brozilla, this time to Salt Lake. Hoping to catch a flt to Denver to go hang with Brian and Chuck (and, perhaps, my future wife...Kaycee...LOL).

I'm zoned out with a little Metallica blasting in the glorious QC2s (still my best purchase in, perhaps, forever)...sitting on the aisle between the lovely wife of one of our maintenance controllers and some random cute girl (who I've never seen before, but has a SkyWest I'd). Cute as hell...wow. Everyone who knows "what I like" probably has at least an idea of what she probably looks like...

As I sit waiting for my spicy tomato w/ ice, I'm thinking how much these peanuts are really getting old...I miss the Plane Cheesy crackers. These are ridiculous things that only I think of. I'm also thinking that, as much as I love Townes Van Zandt's music, I've really gotta take "Waiting Around To Die" out of my flying playlist. One of the greatest songs of all-time in my opinion, but doesn't play well at 25,000 feet...especially after Metallica.

As always, I have no real plan...and this was, as always, a last minute "throw some crap in a bag and haul up to SGU airport" kinda trip. I haven't seen the boys in months...so that's gonna be cool. From there, I'm thinking of roadtripping back to SGU. Yes, airline boy is gonna drive...

My co-worker, Jenn, is picking up a new car in Grand Junction on Tuesday...so I'm probably gonna fly down to GJT from DEN and roadtrip back with her. 10+ hours in a car with Jenn...that oughta be entertaining. With any luck, we will hit a FedEx truck or something...LOL!

Oh yeah, I forgot...I called about my jury duty last night and found that I don't have to appear. As awesome as that is, I had already reserved a rental car and traded into the earliest shift possible...which I forgot how much I actually like working at 0200.

The early morning dispatchers like to get breakfast at one of the 4 usual options...the hospital cafeteria, Vior's (awesome breakfast burritos), Alvaro's (greasier, slightly unholier, yet equally awesome breakfast burritos), or Mickey D's. Today, we went to he hospital...they do up a pretty good spread and, since I've done pretty well this week as far as eating better, I decided to get "the works". Biscuits and gravy, sausage, scrambled eggs w/ cheese, and a small chicken fried steak. It all looked spectacular...up until I started eating it. I'm sure it was fine, but I realized that I hadn't eaten hospital breakfast since before the overnight stay for my appendectomy. Mid-bite of some biscuits and gravy, I flashed back to sitting up in my hospital bed and trying to choke down the absolutely awful, greenish tinted, chicken broth they served me for lunch that day. I couldn't eat anymore. The eggs were fine, as were the sausage...but I had to toss anything with gravy in the trash. There was something mental about the gravy that associated with that broth. Needless to say, I think it's Vior's burritos from now on when I work that shift...

Time to close up shop...getting close to SLC. Despite telling the story of that nasty broth...I'm hungry. I just realized that I haven't eaten since this morning...with exception of my little package of peanuts I just finished. Might have to forage for food at SLC...wish I had time for Squatter's.

Maybe I will work up a little courage and talk to the girl next to me, too. Riiiiight. Did I mention she's cute as can be?

Descending now...gotta run. More later.

Some Might Say...

2008-11-15T18:18:00.002-07:00

Ever since Richard and Adam picked up the new Guitar Hero: World Tour, I've been somewhat obsessed with Oasis' "Some Might Say". I vaguely remember it from "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?"...but middle school was forever ago, so the memory is a bit fuzzy.

Either way, it's one of those songs that, when you take another look at it, you realize how awesome it is. I share...because I love it...

Back to SGU

2008-11-12T15:33:00.001-07:00

So, our plan to go to Boston kinda fell through. Due to unforseen circumstances, the only way to get home was going to be on the butt-crack of dawn early flights...and we weren't going to get to BOS til late as it was...thus making BOS a less than stellar option.

Instead, we hauled over to Delta an caught flt. 85...BACK TO LAX. The Jew is from Studio City, so it made sense to go there and crash at his parents' house (which I'd like to steal the blueprints for if I ever build a house...loved it).

We landed almost any hour early since, by some miracle of the deity of your choosing, the normal 1 hr+ taxi delays were non-existent. Not bad, considering the President was flying out on Air Force One just a couple hours before.

Since we were early, we caught an earlier FlyAway bus to Van Nuys and were picked up by Adam's 'rents. For the person that told me to behave myself...it should be noted that I was dead asleep within the hour.

Grabbed breakfast/lunch with Adam's dad...whom I really had to resist calling "Mr. Broslovski". Good Mexican joint called Bronco...tasty enchiladas that will likely catch up to me later this evening.

So, here we are, on 580SW on the way back to SGU. We ran into Blair in the terminal...wound up having a few drinks in the airport bar (enough to force me to re-type that statement 3 times to correct spelling errors). Ready to get home, have a beer, run some errands, and clean up my room...finally. Work at 0300...so its early to bed if possible.

Back to my Coke and iPod...

My arse is asleep...and other scattershoots from UAL22.

2008-11-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

We made it onto United 22 to JFK with a few minutes to spare...very few. When we got to the gate, we were told that there was one First Class seat...and, since I'm senior to Adam, I could have that or we could have 2 coach seats together. I opted for the 2 seats together, being the nice guy that I am.

As always (I say always since this is the 2nd time in a week I've declined First to sit with a friend...and the millionth time overall...), I'm halfway across the country and really wishing I had that legroom. At least Adam got the middle seat...hahaha.

Since we were some of the last to board, and partially because of the general public's average drop of 15-45 IQ points the moment they walk into an airport/onto an airplane, there was no overhead bin space with 110 people onboard an aircraft that normally carries 180 people (if a rollaboard does not fit in the bin wheels-first, check it or buy one that does...grrrrr) . I had to cram my backpack under the seat and, despite the "extra legroom" in "Economy Plus", the backpack is keeping me from stretching my right leg. Oh well, free ride, right?

We've been getting rocked for a while...continuous chop for at least the last hour...probably the remnants of the convective crap that gave us fits last night. If I could stretch out, I would so be passed out right now. Wait...we just climbed to FL370 and things are smooth again.

A couple things of note...

• I shelled out $9 for the smoked turkey and swiss club wrap...and, I must say, it was quite excellent. Almost worth the $9. I would have to highly recommend it if you fly United.

• Listening to Channel 9 (because I'm a total airplane geek)...I just heard Southwest 3409 get cleared "direct JDUBB". This excited me to no end. It is somewhere around Indy Center airspace and plan on building some kind of routing that utilizes it.

• The little old lady 3 rows ahead of me just headed to the lav for the 7th time. Kill me before I get that old.

• They are showing the TV show "Monk" right now and, no matter how much I try, Tony Shaloub will always be the cab driver from "Wings" to me. Also, Joely Fisher has really fallen off...she used to be kinda hot. What happened? For some reason, she looks like Kaley Cuoco + 45 years...and, as hot as Kaley is...that just ain't right. ;)

• Here goes the little old lady's husband for the 3rd time this hour. Once again, kill me before I get that old. ;)

• Did I mention my ass is asleep?

I think we are about an hour or so out...looks like they're knocking out one last beverage service...good thing too since I'm frickin' parched.

More later...

Another week...another trip.

2008-11-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Sitting in my usual spot...9A on United Express/SkyWest 5711 from SGU to LAX. It should be noted that we have some pretty awesome crews. My glass of ginger ale hasn't been even half empty the entire flight. I know that shouldn't be something that is notable...but in this day and age of service cutbacks, our inflight folks just do it right. Now if only United hadn't cut snacks out of the service on shorter hops...I'm starving and could go for some peanuts right now.

Last time I blogged, I was headed home from voting in Texas. Most of my candidates won...including President-Elect Obama. Man, it feels cool to know that, in 70 days or so, our nation will be headed in a new direction...one that I feel will put us on the right track again. I do hope the Democrat controlled congress don't go too wild and crazy with power...because, while I lean a little more to the left than I used to, there are some conservative ideals that I'd like to see adopted in the spirit of bipartisanship. Time will tell. All I can say is this: after seeing Barack's first press conference as President-Elect...I know deep down that we chose the right guy. Something about his calm demeanor and ability to even pick on himself that makes it easy to call the guy "my leader" (not to be confused with "dear leader"...LOL).

So, back to the trip. Adam hasn't exactly got the whole "non-rev" thing down...and, domestically at least, I'm a borderline professional at it. So we're headed to LAX right now...then to the east coast. Where better to learn the ropes of getting home under crappy circumstances as a space available standby than the clusterf&#k that is New York-JFK? So it's United to JFK...then maybe JetBlue down to Boston...Delta back to SLC tomorrow. At least that's the tentative plan...you know I love to change those. ;). Hoping to stay in Boston tonight with one of oldest friends in the world from back home...Lenzie. We shall see.

Looks like we're nose-down and on the arrival into LAX...time to close up shop to be ready to haul tail to our JFK gate (we got out of the gate in SGU a bit late thanks the the fueler throwing on a bunch of extra, unnecessary fuel).

Here's to hoping for First or Business class to JFK...I've been trying to get it on the United P.S. Service 757s for a while...to no avail.

And now I wait...

2008-11-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Sitting at gate E84 in SLC hoping they call my name...not banking on it since there were only 8 open seats when I checked earlier.

We had a little excitement on approach into SLC...the gear was down, so we only had about 7 miles to go, when the pilots pushed the throttles up to go around power and pulled the gear up. Apparently, the hotshots at SLC approach didn't get the landing sequence right and they asked us to go around and resequence. Of course, I knew exactly what happened...but the guy next to me was about to freeeeak out. I got a chuckle.

Whoohoo! I got a seat...time to board.

On my way back...

2008-11-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

I'm so pumped after last night. I truly believe, no matter what the conservative Christians might try to tell you, that Obama is the right man for the job at this time in American history. It's time to put away the divisive nature of partisan politics. Let's get behind this president and hope he can steer us in the right direction.

So we left Gainesville a little late for OKC this morning...thus missing any chance at the 0830 to SLC or the 0900 to LAX. Honestly, though...I think this works better. Took the 1108 flt to DEN and met Kaycee for lunch. I hadn't seen her I ages...so it was great to see her always smiling face. We got burritos on concourse B and she had to be on her way. Not before injecting a little positivity into my day...encouraging me to be more assertive in persuing a certain someone.

I wound up catching the 1400 to SLC...which I'm on right now. Rory at the office told me it was heavy snow and low visibility in SLC...and all I wanted to do before leaving was change into some shorts...LOL! We are making a slow descent from FL360...it has been pretty bumpy and there are ominous clouds out ahead. I'm honestly ready for winter...Adam has me interested in learning to snowboard. We shall see.

Our shallow descent just got steeper...judging from what I can see through the clouds, I think we're about 20 minutes from SLC (booyah, captain came on after I typed this to say we are 18 minutes from landing...I rule!). Time to finish my orange juice and close up shop.

Maybe a little more from SLC.

In ATL...

2008-11-04T03:44:00.000-07:00

Made it to Atlanta...this place is nicer than I last saw it.

I had 4 hours to kill, so I wound up getting something to eat with Courtney. She was bored and had nothing better to do...not to mention she's a weirdo like me when it comes to sleeping better on airplanes and enjoying a breakfast at random airports...so, she came with me. And, like a curse that follows me...I was of course, offered first class at the last minute and declined it to sit with her (it seems like anytime I've gone anywhere with Courtney, I wind up getting first and feeling bad about leaving her by herself...so I decline the upgrade). My back hates me for it right now.

Off to find some foodstuffs...I'm praying for first to DFW in hopes of some sleep. I'm such a first/biz class snob these days. Sleeeeeepy...

On my way home to vote...

2008-11-03T19:44:00.000-07:00

As I type this, I'm sitting in seat 8A in a SkyWest Brasilia...enjoying the cool, dry air in the cabin, kicking back a spicy tomato w/ ice, listening to The Killers on the ol' iPod. The pilots just pulled back to cruise power and we're just above the clouds, the moon is reflecting on the clouds like it does on the ocean, and we're starting to pick up a little moderate turbulence.. I have my awesome new Bose QC2's on...so it is a sort of serenity that, anyone that knows me, would consider to be my "happy place".

Flying to Salt Lake...then catching the redeye to Atlanta...the the early morning flight to DFW...then a 1 hour drive to Gainesville. All of this just to vote.

I'm not doing it because I want to say I voted in this historic election...where we are probably going to elect our first black (or, at least half-black) president. It is because I have the right to vote...a right that so few in this world have...and, at least in national and state elections, I want to exercise that right. The long trek is a result of forgetting to take care of my absentee stuff and the fact that, with airline capacity and schedule cuts, the logistics of getting to DFW on any airline but American Airlines is a somewhat daunting task.

So, speaking of voting, I talked to my mom last night about my coming home to vote in the town of my legal residence. She tried to convince me to just not vote rather than vote for "that liberalist"...LOL! Here's my mom...a teacher that hates "No Child Left Behind"...voting for the regime that brought that stinking turd of a program to us. More disturbingly, here was my mom spouting off the GOP talking points...the ones that spread through email like "Obama is a socialist" and "Obama is a secret Muslim". That bothered me a little. I'm not going to ridicule anyone's vote...so long as they get out to the polls...yet, my mom was advocating my skipping the most historic election of my life. Sad. (I love ya, mom...but I'll be there in the morning to cancel your vote).

Picking up some icing and turbulence on descent into SLC. I gotta run for now...time to turn off all electronics and put our seats and tray tables in the upright and locked position.

God Answers All Prayers...

2008-10-31T20:47:00.001-06:00

God Answers All Prayers...it's just that, sometimes, the answer is "no".

Another Boring Day @ The Desk

2008-10-28T14:14:00.000-06:00

So, here I am, just cranked out release #52 on the day...less than an hour to go. The weather is perfect everywhere but in the northeast, so my brain has been on idle all day.

Yesterday was another story. 3 broken airplanes...including one in Canada (which is a huge pain when you have to involve customs pre-clearance, etc.)...kept my head on a swivel all day. Trying to figure out a way to save flights from being canceled in a situation like that causes a tension headache so hardcore.

So, like I said in the last post...I'm posting from my Crackberry (thanks for the replacement, SJ). This little sucker has me wondering if I even want to upgrade to an iPhone. Of course, the more I look, the harder the choice is. Maybe I should hold out for the inevitable 32GB model.

Just some scattershooting...I'm so tired, I've got nothing else.

Down the road...

Crackberry Blogging

2008-10-27T19:36:00.001-06:00

So, I've never really blogged much from the road...but I think that might change now that I have this evil little Crackberry. I'm addicted....
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

MySpace.com - Front to Back: Ben Folds Five Reunion! Live, Sept 18th.

2008-10-23T11:41:00.001-06:00

I still...to this day...LOVE Ben Folds Five.

Ben Folds Five - MySpace Front To Back concert