What a day

What a day yesterday! We started in ATL, pushed back and a cover promptly fell off a slide pack. Back to the gate for us. Now we were behind. We flew to CHS and back and were late departing and arriving in both places. Next we headed for DEN.

We got to overhead PUB and were put into holding due to a huge thunderstorm overhead DEN. (As a side note we also had the strangest holding pattern ever, holding on the 180 degree radial of the PUB 080/20 nm fix.). We talked to dispatch as fuel was running low and they tried to get us to hold longer for DEN. We didn't take the bait since there was serious weather between COS and DEN and COS was our alternate. We diverted to COS. We finally reached DEN after 2 hours on the ground in COS. So far this trip we have had one divert and one near divert...in 2 days!?!


- "Grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed." Prosper of Aquitaine

Location:COS

Summer Flying (Is a Nightmare)

Day 12 out of 13 of flying today, ugh. Yesterday we went DTW to STL and back, then the calliope music started. We weee headed out to DCA and the (idiot) dispatcher gave me only the minimum fuel load. I called and talked to him about it and he said that there was no holding and no line up going into DCA. Yeah, right. We got over the top of ESL and ended up getting vectored away from DCA while we watched our fuel slowly burn away. I sent a message to the (idiot) dispatcher and he agreed that, if it came down to it, we would have to go to IAD. We came within about 300 to 400 pounds of doing so.

We landed in DCA and ended up waiting for 30 or 40 minutes fir a place to park. Needless to say, the terminal was a madhouse, wholly unsatisfactory to handle a day like this (Thunderstorms going through). There were people all over the place.

We ended up leaving for ATL about and hour late and arriving to the hotel after midnight. Another (yucky) day of summer flying.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'm grateful to have a job in this environment. Just makes for long, difficult days.


- "Grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed." Prosper of Aquitaine

Location:ATL

Lessons from 26 Years of Marriage

I posted this to John Shore's blog, but thought I would preserve it:

Lessons from 26 years of marriage (to an awesome woman – who yesterday went and picked fresh blueberries and made me blueberry pie…yeah, she’s awesome):

1. Great relationships take hard work
2. Great relationships take compromise from both sides
3. The ability to LISTEN and UNDERSTAND the other person is probably the best glue to keep a great relationship great.
4. If your significant other is a nitwit before you get married, they will be a nitwit after you get married. Dump him/her and move on before you screw up your life.
5. The absolute worst person to try and have a great relationship with is a selfish person. Dump him/her BEFORE you get married and move on before you screw up your life.
6. It is VERY possible to turn a horrible relationship into a GREAT relationship, but takes commitment and effort from both people.
7. My wife is AWESOME, SWEET, FUN, and ADORABLE, and occasionally INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

20 June 2010

Sitting in the lobby of a Hyatt in downtown jax on a Sunday morning. We are right along the St. John's river so the view is gorgeous as the morning unfolds. An easy day today; JAX to DTW at noon and then home to my baby! 5 days on the road is about 2 days too long for me, but that is the nature of our trips these days. I'm grateful to have a job and be working.

Reading through Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" and being challenged, which is good. It is easy, as one goes along in life, to fall into a vapid, listless faith that avoids most challenges. I'm guilty of that, I suspect many of us are. Mr. Chan challenges us to what is essentially the normal Christian life, but one that is increasingly radical even to the believing world: a life of faith and sacrifice.



- "Grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed." Prosper of Aquitaine

Location:JAX

2 June 2010

Another day of busy, busy, busy. I went kayaking in the morning, then had lunch with Lambertini. Then I went riding with Kelly. When we returned I left almost immediately for the Tuesday night bike ride with TCBA. That was a LOT of fun. We rode about 25 miles and on the second half were cranking it pretty fast—probably averaged 20 to 21 on the return. Hopefully, I'll get to ride with them more often. One of the fastest guys is just short of his 70th birthday and has a nasty pot belly! Unbelievable.

1 June 2010

A work-o-rama yesterday. Got up and went and cleaned the stables with Cherie. We got to let the horses out, so the cleaning went much more quickly than normal. Shortly after we got home, we went for a bike ride of almost 20 miles on mountain bikes, a good ride. After that it was time to clean the carpets, which lasted until almost 3. Having awoken at 4.30, I was bushed. I headed off to bed for a nap, which I DID complete, sleeping until 5.

Certainly got a lot accomplished yesterday.


- "Grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed." Prosper of Aquitaine

Location:Home

25 May 2010

A day of trying to fix stuff around the house. Most of it with minor to no success. Doh! At least I finished it with a jam session on the drum, which put me in a better mood. Lawn tractor transmission busted; toilet flange busted - due to my own ineptitude; Both of Kelly's closet doors fallen off, Kelly's computer slower than molasses, too bad fixing things doesn't give me any sense of satisfaction!?!


- "Grace is the glory of God, not the merit of him who has been freed." Prosper of Aquitaine

Location:Home