Busy as hell

Since my last post I have been busy as hell.

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.