International Lunch

Today I shared my lunch with co-Pelco people from Singapore, Dubai, France, and the Netherlands. I enjoyed our conversations but also found the subtle customs interesting.

For example both the French persons had a distinct way of using their knifes to hold the lettuce as they poked it with there forks.

The guys from Dubai all laid their fork and knife the same position and direction from their plates.

I guess one of my quirks is admiring the differences in culture...

First Passenger

As a private pilot I took up my first passenger last night in the Cessna 172. Brady was brave enough to fly up with me...of course him being a student pilot problem helped his case.

We flew at night which had the smoothest air I've ever been in. Very nice flight...but we have to keep Brady away from the gas pumps =)

GarageBand Fun!

Today I bought a 61 key MIDI controller and for the first time hooked it up to GarageBand. I was blown away by all the sounds this piece of software could spit out! I recorded a quick clip of a familar tune. All the tracks were sequenced in from the keyboard except for the drum track. It was a preset loop from GarageBand.

Motel California.mp3

Halloween 2005

One of the guys grabbed a shot from halloween...when's the last time you've been to mass, little boy?

Private Checkride: CHECK!

After nearly 2 years of training, 85 hours of flight time logged, 150+ landings, 3 different airplane endorsements (C150, C172, and PA-38), and 2 checkride attempts (first was cancelled due to weather) I finally have my private pilots license!

Now, as soon as my nerves return to normal I can let the novelty soak in

Status: Sick in the stomach

It's amazing what stress can do to you...

Today I was scheduled to take my checkride. I was all pumped up and ready go with my nerves under control. When I got to the airport I called the flight service station to get an update on my flight plan. They reported IFR conditions which basically means a pilot like me who relies on seeing the ground cannot fly.

The next 4 hours was wait and check, wait and check. When conditions finally improved I missed my window to take the test and had to reschedule.

I'm home right now and my stomach is so messed up due to all the anxiety. Amazing how an emotional state can affect your physical state. Last time I experienced that was when I was still married just before the separation & divorce. yuck.

Anyhows, Monday is the next scheduled date for my checkride...looking forward to better weather!