Hailing from another S. Texas oasis.....

Well yet again in my career I find myself in a hotel within spitting distance of the US/Mexico border. When you're a kid and have dreams of being a pilot, you think of cities like New York, Boston, Paris, Miami....

Well I have been to some of those, but the ones you don't think about are: Toledo, Ypsilanti, Laredo, El Paso, and Saltillo....

I'm not complaining, I just find it very amusing....:)

Anywho...I bought a new digital camera so I plan to be taking some more photos on the road. We shall see what the next two weeks bring.

Adios!

Im baaaaaaaaaaaack!

Well I can't ignore this thing forever! So I'll post a little.

I've been off for a couple weeks now, really haven't done much of anything. I got kinda bored, so I went and did some fill-in work at my old company in the Shorts, I also had to take a checkride in it to stay current. Thaaat was a fun experience. Going from the 727 back to the Shorts is a bit of a shock, but it's funny how I was able to fall into old habits and give the checkairman a decent performance. Then I did some charter trips...one was Nashville-Indianapolis-Kitchener, ON-Detroit. The other was Detroit-Greenvile, SC-Charleston, WV-Toronto, ON-Detroit. It may seem like alot, but the weather was absolutely fantastic, and I had a great F/O. Really a pleasurable couple days of flying.

I got home just in time for Tropical Storm "Fuck My Weekend" to show up in Atlanta. I stepped off a DC-8 on Thursday morning only to be greeted by winds and a heavy downpour. It's now just finally stopped raining. I had plans to play golf with the old man, but we're going to move those a few days so we don't have to go play in the mud.

I go back to the real job on the 17th, which I'm looking foward to. The great part about my job is that even if the rotation ends up being 30 days like last month, they give us plenty of time to recoup. So when I go back, I'll be more than rested and ready.

I opened a magazine the other day that my roomate bought called "Airways". Basically an airline hobby mag. I was flipping through it and found something that brought back some memories. On this page about the glory days of being a pilot, was a picture of a book that I read almost constantly from age 8-12. It was titled "A week in the life of an Airline Pilot". On the cover is a grey-haired Pan Am 747 Captain, wearing hos jacket and white hat. I remember how I used to read this book over and over. It really solidified how much I really wanted to be a pilot. Even if the airline itself is now defunct. So I did a bit of searching, and found a used copy for 6 bucks online! I bought it....should be here any day. I can't wait to give it another read, even if it is a children's book.

Well, thats enough for now...I'll be sure to update more....

Home...

Well I'm finally home, feels so great to sleep in my own bed. Being on the road for 33 days gives you an appreciation for the little things in life that some people take for granted. I don't know how guys with famalies do this. I even think my couch is pissed at me when I get home because I've been gone so long.

Oh well, LIVING THE DREAM!!!

I'm just waiting to wake up from it....

Toledo sweet Toledo...

Never would I have thought that I would be happy to be back in Toledo. But I am so glad to be out of Mexico. It wouldn't have been so bad if I spoke Spanish. Nothing beats trying to order with nothing but hand signals and terrible half-assed highschool Spanish. Instead of ordering a cheeseburger I was probably asking them to milk my grandfather's goat for 50 pesos.

Anyhow, I'm finally going to go sleep on a bed that's not harder than concrete.

G'Night! err... Day!

Houston.....we have internet...

Well, I am posting this from Guadalajara, MX on a 4-day layover. I just now was able to wrangle me up some Internet so I could update this thing and get some world events news in a language other than Spanish. (Which by the way I need to learn) Also I needed my Flightinfo fix as well, it's a nasty addiction.

I've been flying alot lately...this next two weeks my line is to fly Toledo-Salitllo, MX-Guadalajara, MX (Where we layover). Then fly from Guadalajara to Monterrey, MX and then back to Toledo. Do that a couple times a week, mix in some Negro Modelo beer and you have an ineresting couple weeks of flying. I can't wait to get back home though. I have a new apartment to move into and I am looking foward to buying some new furniture. (I threw all my old hand-me-downs out). Plus I just want to veg out a bit with no real goal whatsoever... :) I also need to school the old-man at some golf....I only beat him by a very slim margin last time. Too close for comfort.

Anyhow...I hope this appeases a certain New Boston resident who nags me about updating this thing....It probably won't...because it's not in a blue box and covered in platinum and diamonds. ;)

Good night all...

Reserve Yourself

Well I made it to work....took my nap...only to find out they have changed my line. Now, instead of going to Raleigh-Durham and Ft. Lauderdale, I now get to sit reserve! So here I am...it's 5:50AM and I sit in the crewroom with no assignment. Our company keeps one reserve airplane and crew to cover any extra cargo or broken airplanes until most of the flights depart thier intermediate stops. So I get to sit here hoping to fly until 8:00AM, then I return to the hotel. Only to get to come out and do it again the next night at 8PM! What a wonderful life. But this does beat sitting bored at home. I had pretty much done everything there was to do, so I'm ready to be back. Got to see most of my good friends from work tonight which is always good. My new-hire class had a real good group, alot of real stand-up guys who are easy to get along with. Again, still happy to be where I am. Just another day at the office.

Until next time.....

Back to work....

Well, the severe amount of time off I have had this past month is coming to an end. Tomorrow I get to go to work for 2-weeks. YEA! I really can't complain much, whereas at other jobs I have had, the first day of work meant the chore of commuting... You know the deal, getting all gussied up in the uniform and fending for the jumpseat. Well this place buys me a ticket to work, a perk that I cannot speak highly enough of. It rules so much... Now I show up for my commute in shorts and sandals...no need to look all purdy for the gate agent and crew. I'm a paying passenger! No need to feel guilt for asking for a bit more soda and mabye a second bag of snack mix!

Although I don't have to do the non-revenue passenger thing to get to work, I still use the privledge to get to see me friends on my time off. The couple of times I have had periods of unemployment in aviation, I miss that perk immedately. It is amazing how sometimes I might have taken the fact that I can get almost anywhere for free at anytime for granted. Yes, sometimes it can be a pain in the ass, but it is worth the trouble almost always.

Anyway...the blog updates should be a bit more exciting now that I'm gonna go back to work....I'll take some pictures and entertain you with stories of me taming the 3-holed beast...(more like it taming me)

Seeya!