Home again, gone again.

Came home the night before last and am headed out again today. Tomorrow I'm off to London.

My dad is headed into town this coming weekend for NASCAR. I am not sure yet if I'll be home to meet up with him... it all depends on how the transition goes from this month to next, since I will be in New York starting on the 2nd.

Beth and I went skiing at Brian Head yesterday. It's a nice resort with a lot of intermediate terrain... good for an enjoyable day of cruising on the snow. The resort itself is nice and simple... nothing like Tahoe, but that's not a bad thing. The parking at Brian Head is great - ten feet from the snow! And the lift ticket prices are still in the 30s, not the 60s.

Their website was a little misleading about the closeness of the resort to St. George, UT. Unless, of course, you consider 67 miles as close. I guess it's all in perspective. It took about two and a half hours to drive there - and it was a beautiful drive. Between North Las Vegas and Mesquite, there are mini Grand Canyon type revines and gulleys around the highway, some of them very deep. Past Mesquite you drive through the Virgin River Gorge. There the road winds and twists through steep rock cliffs as it follows the river some ten miles through the mountains. It was really neat.

On our way home last night we stopped in Mesquite and ate dinner at the Casa Blanca Hotel and Resort/Spa. Good ol' fashioned, cheap Vegas style buffet... something you can't find on the strip anymore. Last night's special was prime rib for only $9.99. Gotta love it. And, we didn't over do it. Beth and I have thought about driving out to Mesquite in the past because the Casa Blanca offers specials like a two night stay with two spa treatments for $129. Not a bad deal. It would be a nice, inexpensive getaway without going far - it's about an hours drive from Las Vegas.

Guess whose now a pilot? ME!

Yeah, I did it! Such a huge relief aftering having it canceled yesterday and then today, our airplane broke. We had to wait two and a half hours to for a new one. I arrived at the flight school this morning about 7am and got home about 5:30pm. What a day! But it's over, I am officially a pilot and am extremely excited! This world just got a lot smaller.

Beth and I are planning a ski trip to St. George, Utah tomorrow. It's a place we've wanted to go for quite sometime and are finally going. It's about a two and a half hour drive from here. In the future, we can fly there. Tomorrow we're going to scope it all out and then fly there from then on. What a blast!

"Crybabies in the courtroom" by Michelle Malkin.

I agree completely. How STUPID!

Grounded.

As suspected, my FAA checkride was canceled this morning due to weather. However, the weather is nicer today than it has been the last three. I think the decision to cancel was made a little too hastily on the part of the examiner. Here's why: The examiner, my instructor, and I all called for the forecast this morning at 6am. There was a warning out that conditions permitted IFR (instrument flight rules... I only fly using visual flight rules now, VFR) only but that was set to expire at 7am. It wasn't even IFR conditions at six. Now, when I look out the window and see the sun shining, I get a little annoyed. I wasn't even scheduled to fly until 11:30 this morning, when conditions would have improved even more over what they are now. There are some clouds hovering around and near the mountains, but from what I can see from my house, and that's a lot, the conditions would have been fine, and the weather outlook provided by the Flight Service station proved that, too.

So, I get to prolong the agony one more day, with my checkride rescheduled for tomorrow. The delay isn't without some sense of relief though as I get one more day to prep for the whole thing... that I am thankful for.

Happy Valentine's Day! I must say I picked out a really funny Valentine's Day card for Beth. Our favorite cards to buy are Fresh Ink by Hallmark. They aren't sappy and boring like most cards, but fun, simple and lively. There's always a card for the occasion, with just the right amount of thought and humor when needed. The card I got for Beth had two cartoon dogs on the front with the phrase "Dog Romance" at the bottom. The dogs had a bubble over their heads with the following: Boy dog to girl dog, "I want to lick you with the determination and intensity with which I lick myself." Girl dog back to boy dog, "Wow. Those are strong words." Inside, "Love you." I laughed out loud in the store. My mom said it was the perfect card for the two of us. Beth licked, um, liked it a lot.

UPDATE: As I sit here writing this my instructor called and said, "I see blue sky!" I replied, "Yeah, I know. I saw it this morning when we were talking." He had me call for another weather forecast and sure enough, the conditions seemed ok to fly, although it was forecasted for some scattered clouds a thousand feet above the airport starting in the next hour through 3pm. We decided to leave it as rescheduled and do the whole thing tomorrow. I am going to fly with my instructor later today, weather permitting, to go over the suspected route of flight my examiner is going to take me on so I can become more familiar with it and more comfortable.

As forecasted the sun has been tucked away for a few days rest while momma earth waters her little dessert garden. I had two flights scheduled today, one was canceled because the weather has been increasing in intensity as the day goes on. Flying this morning was nice, although wet. Today I had a mock oral exam with the cheif flight instructor. Although I didn't "pass with flying colors," I did as expected in this course of the game. They scare the shit out of you so you go home, study, and then pass the real deal with flying colors. So, that is what I am going to do. I feel I know the information, but spouting it out to someone you don't know is slightly more than intimidating, and it doesn't take much for the 'ol brain to play dumb and run.

Despite my frustration with my performance today, or lack thereof, I am confident. Reveiwing is always a good thing. Tomorrow I have two flights scheduled and another ground session planned with my instructor to go over some final details. Friday, as they say, is D-day. And so the stomach turns... Of course, momma E. will still be watering her desert garden tomorrow, and maybe even Friday, so that could change things.

One of my less than popular moves lately... I have volunteered to staff flights from the U.S. carrying military personel to foreign locations in preparation for war with Iraq.
CRAF, or Civil Reserve Air Fleet, is the U.S. Military's way of getting a bunch of people to a specific area in a short amount of time. Huh? The government enlists the nations airlines to help transport troops all around the world. It could be from Reno to Las Vegas or Las Vegas to Brussels. You never know. This being a time of war, last weekend the government enacted phase I of the CRAF. That involves American. And it could involve me flying anywhere. But before you go and get all hyped up, I won't be flying into Baghdad or Kandahar, rather military bases in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. And even in places like Saudi, I wouldn't be staying but long enough to drop them off, refuel and jam. And although I could be activated at any time, I cannot and will not know the specifics of the assignment until I report for duty and am not permitted to discuss them with anyone, not even other crew members. Sounds scary, huh? I actually look forward to it. The flying actually goes very senior and I may not staff a CRAF flight ever. It seems like an experience that I would enjoy... something adventurous.

Busy week!

I had a lot of flight training this week in preperation for my check ride planned for Friday, February 14th. I am so excited! However, the next week will be even busier in preparation for the oral exam and more flights practicing the required moves.

I am in Boston, having arrived this morning on the redeye flight from Las Vegas. I am headed, once again, to London tonight. I'll be back in Boston Monday afternoon and in Vegas Monday night. Next week, of all weeks, it is supposed to rain in Vegas. Keep in mind it is sunny there some 360 days a year. Ugh! I need good weather. I am anxious to get this part of training over with so I can move on to the next. I also have to, this semester is already underway and I need to get a move on! As they say, it all works out in the end. We just don't know when the end is...

Otherwise, everything seems to status quo. Bethany is feeling much better, although she still has some slight residual pain in her side. Prognosis: excellent. Arrived to a good six+ inches of snow here in Boston. I guess it snowed all day and cleared up late last night/early this morning. It is bright and sunny now, but a crisp 18 degrees F! But I love the snow... I miss it from home.

I am enjoying a nice, but rather blustery evening across the pond, ie, London. Just ate at a resteraunt my mum and I ate at when on holiday here several years ago. Still good. I will be returning to the states tomorrow and back home to Vegas tomorrow night.