Last night was quite the busy night, making March an officially busy month (50+ hours of flight time).
First I got a call to head to ABQ an hour into my shift. I was glad to get this as it would mean, barring any severe delays, that we would be able to hit up Frontier.
As I started preflighting and removing the plugs from the plane I saw something move in the shadows. It was big enough to catch my attention, and it seemed to be heading towards me. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was only about thirty feet away, and it was about the right size and shape for a coyote. I hadn't unlocked the aircraft door yet, and if I ran to my car whatever it was surely could have caught up with me halfway there. In either case, it meant turning my back on whatever was approaching, and I wasn't about to do that, not knowing what it was. So, I pulled my knife and got ready to go a-stabbing.
As it turns out it wasn't necessary. What stepped into the light was just a rez dog, more puppy than dog, who was trying to be submissive to me (head down, tail between it's legs, arched back, sidways skittish walk). That's why I couldn't figure out what it was; when I started making noises/movements at it (when it was still in the shadows), it became cautiously curious, and the movements weren't of an aggressor as I was expecting.
All the size of a coyote, with none of the douche baggery
The rest of the night went well, over to ABQ where chicken tacos on homemade tortillas were had at Frontier. Something I hadn't realized before was that there are thousands of what I believe are cherry blossom trees (Japanese Sakura) in ABQ.
Seriously, the streets are lined with them
I got back from that flight, sat down on the couch, and literally just started to pull on a boot lace when my phone rang; a flight to LRU (since we only take psyche patients to LRU, I knew what was up as soon as the dispatcher said the destination). This was another baby sit job: the patient was sedated. They were given the smallest amount of medication, and apparently they were a light weight. At the destination waking them proved very difficult, with them falling back asleep literally in situ after being awaken. I have now seen the two extremes that I can group all persons into (a standard deviation?). The most tolerant I've seen was a patient in Alamosa who took paralytics and narcs like champ, making Keith Richards look like a little girl.
So ,with LRU turned, I was just putting the plane away when I got a call to head to FLG to recover a crew. The ride over was a bit slow since I was fighting a skeezy headwind and ATC wouldn't let me get up higher. The ride back was sweet though; I used about a quarter of the fuel, and had an awesome tail wind - even broke three hundred knots ground speed (for a stock C90B, that's moving pretty damn fast).
Pic or it didn't happen!
Today the wind has been damn irritating. It was blowing so hard that while I was laying I bed, I could feel the trailer being jostled about. And it's not some little travel trailer, it's a full on single-wide, suitable for all your trailer park needs.
Supposed to have some rain and whatnot moving tonight, so we'll see how it goes.
After what seemed like forever (actually two days) I got a flight.
I was about half way through my shift tonight, thinking it was gonna be flight free day number three. Got a call to go to ABQ. Easy flight, an MI (myocardial infarction) that required no real work other than to get to the airport.
After dropping the usual question arose; "Where you guys wanna go?" Thoroughly expecting Dunkin Donuts, I started heading that direction. We were almost there when the flight nurse noticed cop cars outside the Pita Pit. Come to find out they are open till 3am. And if cops eat there, hell it's bound to be good right?
Actually it was, damn good at that. I got the gyro, and they had it ready pretty quick. At the Pita Pit they take the Subway approach to pitas: after your meat is cooked (giggity), you select what you want in it from the cold station. I got tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, cucumber, double tzatziki, and feta. Then they roll the bread, and what your left with is a pita burrito of sorts. It was freaking fantastic, I'd love to hit it up again. So now the priority is Frontier if it's before 1am, Pita Pit from 1-3am, and DD after 3.
Stacey is in the process of coordinating the pruning of the fruit trees, as well as the building of a fence for the front yard and carport. We (and by that I mean I) are going to put up some four foot, nylon coated field fencing around the rest. Hopefully the tree pruning will be done next Monday, and the fence not too long afterwords.
We can't wait to have fruit off the trees and vegetables out of the garden. It's been a bit different living in a place with actual seasons, where there is a finite window in which to do things like grow vegetables and such (as opposed to living in California, where planting can happen in like early January). I'm finding so far it aids in the appreciation of those activities that can't be done out of season, heart grows fonder and all that I suppose.
Things have gone from hectic to stagnant, and in only twelve hours.
I was busy as hell in Kayenta, and Chinle before that. As of yesterday (when I got to Chinle) I haven't had a flight, nor even so much as a call to check weather. Funny how I went to bed with work being busy, and woke up to work being dead. Oh well, that's aviation I suppose.
Stacey brought me a few things today that I had forgotten at home, as well as some guacamole. She also stopped on the way in and grabbed some Burger King for me. While there, she also grabbed the girls what I thought at first glance were milk shakes.
Apparently they were cupcake shakes. I'd have to say they tasted like a vanilla milkshake with a few handfuls of yellow cake thrown in. This wasn't entirely unexpected, given the name "cupcake shake". However, what I was rather unprepared for was the texture. I completely expected the usual, soft texture of a milkshake that was present, but was caught totally off guard by grainy, cake like texture that comprised the cupcake part of the shake. All in all, I'd have one again. A word to the wise though: the sprinkles are best avoided because, well, honestly they taste like shit. Or so I think they do, never having actually tasted deuce.
Gary cat has been enjoying the outdoors. Every once in a while we show Gary something new; we call this kitty enrichment. It was a joke at first, playing on the enrichment programs at zoos that are tailored towards specific animals (ie elephant enrichment, tiger enrichment, etc). It keeps the animals from getting bored and gives them some sort of stimuli to keep them active. However, it's come to be a bit of a game now, showing Gary something new and watching his reaction to it. It also has a practical use: getting Gary interested in something else for a while so he's not trying to "help" us cook, do laundry, knock things off high shelves, etc. We would do the same thing for Bob, but he has no interest in things like catnip, canned meat sludge, anything outside, so on and so forth.
Stacey showed him that he could climb a tree a couple of weeks ago, and he spends much of his time outside now in the trees. He's learned he can climb the cherry tree to get onto the carport roof. I can only imagine how much fun he'll have once the trees have leaves, not to mention fruit and birdies in them. (I can totally see him lounging in a tree snacking on, and playing with whatever fruit is at paw (as opposed to at hand).
I have almost finished the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand (on Netflix instant watch). I started it last night when I got bored after watching Lost, and will probably finish it within the next few hours, provided I don't get a flight and the wind doesn't blow my internets away, along with my cell signal. It's a good series - I wouldn't call it riveting but it has kept me interested and entertained. However, I'm not entirely sure that two-thousand years ago the word "cock" was used that often. Then again it was Rome. I think it's awesome that Urban Dictionary lists a drinking game called "Jupiter's Cock" based on this series. (note: if you want to check out this series, it's awesome but be forewarned: it's graphic. Very graphic. Like "OMG are they seriously doing/showing that!?" graphic.)
Hopefully tomorrow things will be a bit busier. If not, I have a stack of National Geographics just begging to be read.
Had a busy night last night when the weather cleared.
It didn't take too long
Most of the weather was to the north of K-town, so it luckily wasn't much of an issue. So, weather a non-factor, we took a patient to Cottonwood, AZ, then quick turned over to Farmington to pick up a patient and drop them in Albuquerque. Nothing intense, nothing odd, just two flights that ran us well into early morning with nothing more than a 2 minute piss break between.
So, in ABQ, at 0300, we found ourselves starving, and we hit up the only thing open: our old late night go-to, Dunkin Donuts. Fresh donuts at 3am is truly a sight and smell to behold, especially when you're hungry as hell. I wound up buying a dozen to take home to Stacey and the kids, and an apple fritter and peanut-butter-and-chocolate cream-donut to nom there. (I think I'll call that last one the "stoners delight".)
While in Albuquerque (and eating donuts no less) I learned something wholly disturbing. If you have a weak constitution, you should just skip ahead to the next paragraph now. Apparently, under the right conditions (usually I believe from an obstructed bowl or otherwise/similarly compromised digestive system) it is entirely possible to defecate through your mouth. You read that right: You can shit out of your mouth. I believe it's called fecal vomiting. Every time I think of this now, I can't help but picture a clogged up main line that causes sewage to shoot up from the sink drain, but instead of a sink, it's someone's mouth. There ya go, enjoy that visual. You're welcome.
So, donuts digesting, horrible, horrible medical knowledge obtained, patient dropped, and duty time ticking away, we headed back to Kayenta where it had apparently snowed while we were gone.
This is not how I left my car....
After getting back to Kayenta, I had just enough time to fuel, plug, and tug the plane (wow, that sounds dirty/wrong) before heading back to the crew house to grab what few things I had brought with me and head home for the day.
Arriving at home, I surprised Stacey with the donuts and headed off to bed while they did their thing.
After waking up, I was craving a donut. Sure there would be a few less, but I brought home a dozen, so there should be a few remaining right? There were exactly two, both lemon-jelly-filled. Apparently Stacey had set the box of donuts on the table for breakfast. K decide she had to go potty, and absolutely could not go alone. By the time Stacey returned to the table, RJ had helped himself to at least four.
That asshole, right there
Also while I was asleep, the girls had gone on a hike. While out and about they came across a small pond/large puddle that had something in it. Keira was calling them "Fish".
K's "Fish" (They're a bit hard to see, couldn't get a good pic)
Those "Fish" it turns out are brine shrimp. They found brine shrimp in a puddle, in the middle of no where in Utah. I never knew, nor even considered that Blanding had an indigenous/feral sea monkey population.
I'm now back in Chinle, and will be till the end of the month, plus two days into next month as well. I'm kinda hoping I go to PHX soon, cause I could totally go for some good Mexican food.
It's official, I'm scheduled to go to Hawaii for work.
So far I'm to be in Kauai on the 18th, spend a few days there, then over to Hilo for a week or so. I may be there into May, but I won't know that until we get further into April.
While I'm excited to be going, am I'm also bummed because it looks like Stacey won't be able to come out and spend a few days with me, it'll be another solo trip (I had several when I worked corporate charter).
Spring I think has officially sprung in Blanding. We have several stands of various flowers popping up, as well as what might be a small stand of corn. There's about a million tulip plants coming up, and in a month we should have a bunch of flowers.
One of the many flowers that are coming up.
Gary and Bob are finally getting along, though they still give each other a wide birth when passing.
Gary passing RJ a few days ago - note the tailand razorback
Work has been a bit less busy, just one flight in the last two days and that's been about it. I'm in Kayenta tonight, then Chinle till the end of the month, then alternating between Chinle and Kayenta before days off and Hawaii.
We've hired a bunch of new people (apparently we even have a CFO now), so there will be a bunch of new names to learn, but I doubt I'll meet them more than once a year since they all work up north in the SLC area.
Pretty decent storms moving through the area, the first of many I'm sure. I haven't spent spring in the area yet, but I'm expecting serious thunderstorms in the near future.
Today I got a call about an opportunity I'd been hoping for.
It looks like I might get to fly in Hawaii for a few three weeks, starting in mid-April. I will be finalizing the details int he coming weeks.
I'm kinda bummed though, as I was really hoping Stacey would be able to come out with me. But between the kids and the dog, our wedding anniversary coming up in a couple months, Stacey's birthday after that, and needing to buy a gift for an upcoming wedding, it's going to be pretty tough to coordinate the resources for it all. We'll see what happens, but I think this might be a solo trip. I doubt it will be my last though, and we'll try to make it happen again in the future.
I'm in Kayenta tonight, and for the next two nights as well. I like floating to all the bases, but I think I like Kayenta the best; It's got the best/biggest crew house, the drive to the airport is shorter, and it's only an hour or so home. So far it's slow tonight, but we'll see what happens.
Gary Cat and RJ are getting along, more or less. Gary smacked RJ, so now RJ is afraid to walk past Gary. Bob Cat on the other hand, in a rare move of not being afraid of everything in the world, has no issues with RJ. I think it's because Bob was exposed to RJ at Stacey's parents house a few times in the past, so it's old news. Hopefully Gary will get over it and go back to aggressing animals far larger than himself and getting into everything.
At work I have been flying a lot. Not that I've been complaining, but between flying, commuting, and sleeping, there isn't a lot of time to do much else.
Speaking of work, I had to deal with some drama recently. I planned to go to California for a few days to renew my medical and see some people. I hadn't been back in ten months, so I was looking forward to it. And since I was supposed to be in Chinle the day before my days off started, I decided to coordinate with dispatch to get off early, around 1600. This way I could drive over to Gallup and catch the train - I wouldn't have to drive, I could sleep, and it would cost about the same as gas. So, on March 2nd, I set it up with dispatch to be off early on the 17th.
On the morning of the 17th I called in, and made sure they knew I needed off early, as was set up two weeks prior. They did not. Apparently no one in dispatch talked to anyone else, and this was the first they were hearing about it. So, I got the shaft, and had to work till 1830. Oh well, it's aviation, shit happens, I guess it's just part of the job. Kinda of ironic though, that the "communications center" isn't doing a whole lot of communicating.
So, I got to drive to California. I even passed the train I was supposed to be on somewhere between Winslow and Flagstaff. Ten hours after leaving Chinle, I was at the in-laws house in Fullerton, beating my preplanned, arrival-by-train time by three hours.
After that, thnigs went much better. On the first day I had breakfast with one of my old students at Kimmie's Coffee Cup. Then I went to AFI (my old flight school) to see some people. I had only planned on going for a little while, but wound up staying for around two and a half hours. Then we had to head off to Corona to have dinner with some friends. I was bummed because there was someone I had to bump, as Stacey and I wound up making plans to meet people in two places at the same time. And since Stacey had made her plans first (and children were involved) that got priority. However, next time I'm down (maybe June), the person that got bumped has priority.
After about six hours of sleep, day two started, and I had to run over to Long Beach to renew my medical. I was damned happy when I got done, as for the first time in two years my blood pressure went down instead of up. When the Doctor asked what I did to bring it down I replied, "Got a job."
With my medical, and the main reason for going to California out of the way, it was time to enjoy myself. Next stop: sushi at Chomps. It was fan-frigging-tastic. You don't even know. I believe it to be my mission in life to eat sushi at Chomps every time I'm in SoCal, with a giant Newcastle of course.
After lunch it was time for shopping. I needed new flip flops (mine were 5 years old and worn the hell out). Also needed some new shorts and shirts, so that happened.
Then it was time for dinner with my mom, my sister, and about ten people I didn't know. I think they were my sisters-boyfreind's-family. I can't remember what the place was called, but the food was good, and the margaritas weren't bad - I had four, though didn't really get buzzed. I did get however, a spiffy new camera to stick in my flight bag; a Nikon Coolpix S570. Now I can take decent pictures instead of using my Blackberry (the BB camera is ok as long as you're shooting something less than ten feet away, I'm usually not)
Stacey giving me the look for playing with my new camera
The next night I hung out at my best friends house, since Stacey had already left to head back home with the kids and RJ, her dog.
RJ; Now in Utah!
I finally figured out how much it now takes to get me buzzed shitfaced at sea level, since I've acclimated to living at 5,500ft - I think the official count for the night was twelve Irish car bombs, a shot of Bulleit, and a couple of mixed drinks (I don't know what was in them or really how strong they were)
It was that kind of party (Note: This isn't me)
My last day in California was spent sleeping, then having lunch with a friend at Cortinas in Anaheim. Just as Chomps is my sushi go-to, I think Cortinas is my new Italian go-to/must visit. I left for home around 6, and made it home in ten and a half hours.
Yesterday we got some yard work done, got the leaves raked, and even got most of them burned. Unfortunately, since they had been under snow for about 6 months now, there were a bit damp and somewhat decomposed, making it hard to incinerate them. A bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bottle of lighter fluid later, and most of them were ashes. We just bagged the rest. Next time we'll definitely be burning them before the snow.
Burn dammit!
This afternoon found me in a decent mood. I had finished Assassins Creed two last night and Started with Bio Shock 2. I was a little disappointed that AC2 was finished, but I should still have some decent play time left on it, finding and completed all the side missions/tasks. BS2 is a bit disappointing, seeing as it isn't really a continuation of the storyline from the first one, and there's some other differences that aren't that great. Also, I think this might be geared far more towards online play than single player, so we'll see how that goes.
The best part of the day was just before I left the house, when Stacey told me to grab my camera and quickly, but quietly go upstairs and check out K who was passed out. Apprently she had been getting her babies and herself "pretty for the wedding" (Her exact words when she woke up).
Keira, "pretty for the wedding"
Pretty, indeed. My favorite is blue mono-brow and patchy facial hair.
tl;dr - stuff happened, we went on a trip, we came back.
Starting today I am back on days for the rest of March.
I was on nights just long enough to adjust. So today I am a bit of a zombie, having not fallen asleep till sometime after 0330, and being up at 0900 to check in with dispatch.
Of course, when I got to Chinle last night, one of the first things I did was check the hot water. For whatever reason, it had been reeking of sulfur, so I decided to run the hot water for a while to see if that would help flush it out. It did, but not until the faucet had issued what is probably the nastiest thing I've seen in a while.
Chinle: Now with the water quality of a 3rd world country!
After about an hour it cleared up and the smell subsided. It's ok, for now. We'll see how long that lasts.
Speaking of nasty...I have found, without exception, the nastiest liquor I have ever tasted. Back at Christmas, my grandparents told me to clean out their liquor cabinet and I, being the obedient grandson, did. In the collection of otherwise decent stuff I got (some Sauza Hornitos, Presidente brandy, etc.) was a bottle of Gusano Rojo mezcal.
For those not in the know, or too damned lazy to use wikipedia, mezcal is a parent of tequila, made from the same plant (ie tequila is a form of mezcal made from blue agave), and notable for it's inclusion of a maguey caterpillar (aka tequila worm, mescal worm) in the bottle. The worm is mostly for marketing gimmicks, and actually has no effect on the liquor itself (it's usually pickled in pure ethanol prior to inclusion). Good bottles can fetch $40-50 con gusano.
Pictured: Marketing Gimmick
The bottle is a rather large one, and I was wholly looking forward to tasting it as I've wanted to taste mescal for a while, even though every time I see the worm it makes me think of Poltergeist II. It started a downward spiral when I smelt it. The best way to describe it would be a cross of isopropyl and acetone. The taste is a mix of the aforementioned smells and what I'm assuming piss tastes like. Apparently this is more of a tourist collectible than something that is actually made to be consumed. Internet research shows the same four words repeatedly used to describe it: "not fit for drinking." Pruno would be a step up.
Only glass can contain its evil
I was disappointed to say the least as I was hoping to get a good buzz going to help me go to sleep and make the transition to days easier. Also, I wasted a whole f'ing Diet Pepsi trying to make that shit palatable. The res is dry, and I can't buy liquor in uniform, so I may have to find a way to run to Gallup just to hit up a friggin liquor store.
It started out by taking a flight to Grand Junction. Then I got off early so I got home like an hour earlier than I expected to.
Since I was home early, I had plenty of time to fix the leaking faucet in the back yard. I was a little bummed that I couldn't rebuild the old faucet to keep as a backup, but at least the leak is stopped.
I slept awesome, and since I got home early, I was able to crash a little earlier than normal, so I got some extra sleep.
When I woke up, Stacey had made a fritatta (it was really good) and her cheesecake turned out to be her best one yet, made even better by topping with blackberries.
Just as I was leaving, someone came up to the house to wlcome us to the neighborhood/town. We've been there like 5 months, but things apparently just move a little slower in Blanding (Though not at an apparently retarded pace as they do in Lake Wobegon - +1 internets to you if you get that reference without using a search). They brought a loaf of flax seed bread (looked good), and were able to tell Stacey about some of the plants in our front yard.
We have several stands of tulips that are starting to come up, as well as grass that is starting sprout in the front yard. Stacey was able to get a lot of the leaves picked up (they had been buried under snow for like 5 months), and the front yard looks soooo much better now. We were also able to get measurements so we can start planning the fence int he front yard.
Gary has discovered trees, and has been in and out of our trees and the neighbors trees for the last two days. I'm just waiting for him to start bringing us dead birds as "gifts".
Hopefully I'll get to end this birthday like I started it; flying. We'll see. But if I don't, it's still been a great birthday.
I am currently midway through a week of nights in Kayenta.
Kinda sucks cause it takes me at least a week to adjust to working nights, so only doing the night shift for a week or so is just enough to really f me up. Come Monday I'm back on days in Chinle.
But I only have to be in Chinle for 9 days then I'm on days off. The plan so far is to take the train from Gallup to California to see people and renew my medical. Hard to believe it's been like 9 months since I left. So looking forward to sushi, seeing people, getting stupid with Justin and company, etc.
Not really sure why, but it's been busy lately. I've been doing at least a flight a day where as before I was doing maybe a flight every other day. In February, with a bit of situational irony, I worked the least amount of days (22) and put in the most amount of flight hours for any month so far (60 hours).
At the house in Blanding, we can finally see most of the drive way, some of the front yard, and bits and pieces of the back yard. We have our first flower blooming right outside our front door. I have no idea what would survive in the below-freezing temps at night, but I suppose we'll see. I've asked Stacey to get a picture of it, but as of yet that hasn't happened.
This will be another recap since I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks.
I made it through the 18th to 23rd at work with no really remarkable events. No one died, no one freaked out. The only thing worth even posting was that I had to hold over Flagstaff for 30 minutes waiting for the visibility to come up enough to shoot the ILS. That's it.
Days off were good: Went to Cortez and grabbed some Fat Tire, as well as a few other groceries. I made boeuf bourguignon for the first time - it's F'ing awesome!
Rockband 2 finally arrived: I bought it on Amazon for $99 plus $10 shipping. The Fedex decided to get all retarded on the process and changed the delivery date from the 26th (which was perfect) to the 1st (which was three days later than perfect). After about 10 calls, I was told "It may be delivered on the 1st, but also may be delivered on the 26th." When the driver showed up on the 26th I told her she was 3 days early. She responded with "Oh, I hear that all the time." Gee, I wonder if it's a bit of an issue then?
Gary cat doesn't afraid of anything. A (friendly) pit bull named Sauza decided to come over and say hi to us while we were outside. While we were petting her, Gary decided to come over and check her out. Everything was cool at first, till Sauza tried to sniff Gary. I've never seen Gary so poofy, bottle brush tail and all. Then he charged the dog. He literally charged a pit bull three times, at which point she decided to leave. Gary, although being neutered, has balls the size of grapefruits. Which, when you scale it up, would be like a normal person having balls the size of watermelons. Also, I think they may be made of brass.
On the 27th we had a bbq, our first in the new house. I made the cilantro-garlic pork I made for my last bbq in California. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, we'll see if they attend any others we have. Of course, when someone has a bbq in Blanding, it's pretty much the main event in town lol.
Stacey and I made a new band for RB2. For some reason it didn't pull my info over, only the info for Stacey's character. Stacey also got me hooked on Super Mario Brothers, Wii. We had a bunch of fun playing it, and I think it might be our new, non-PS3 based favorite game.
Speaking of PS3...I could kick Sony right in the nuts. Those ass hats did something, and now PS3's the world over can't connect to the Playstation Network. But it doesn't just mean that you can't play online, oh no. They really f*&%ed things up: most games wont work even in single player, non-networked (offline) mode. Sony is working on fixing it, allegedly.
0430 this morning found me driving to Chinle for work. I'm only here a day, then in K-town for a week, then back to Chinle for a week, etc. I'm tired, I haven't been called, and I think I'm gonna take my second nap of the day.
I'm cynical as hell and like to think of myself as well adjusted. And while euphemisms are all good and well, sometimes you just have to call a turd a turd, no matter how polished it is.
All the size of a coyote, with none of the douche baggery
Seriously, the streets are lined with them
Pic or it didn't happen!
