Upcoming events lol- Mid Sept.

Ok, so half the command is in Fallon, Nevada. I am going to days this week, and rumor has it will be staying on days, cuz we are getting a new LPO, bascially a boss, so i can maybe live a somewhat regular sleep schedule?! I dno. But its funny cuz Mich really wanted to go to days, and i heard he was, and got a little upset that i wasnt going too cuz i work really well with him, but then he took me aside and told me that i was also coming to days as well. I was really excited to hear that. So Mon-Fri 630am-330pm. I got 2 doctor appointments this week, so it should make the days go by faster lol. I get to put my paperwork in for my accelerated advancement this week, so i can get that started and hoipefully have no hiccups getting that promotion- which will tremendously help with my private pilots license. We have Physical Fitness test coming up in a month, and theyre doing weigh ins this week i think? If you are over your BMI, you have to go to early morning FEP- which is just working out in the morning before work to get back in shape. Im about 10 pounds over my limit, but i think it will be good, get me outta bed, back in shape, and i HAVE to go to this, so its nto like i can hit snooze, like i usually do. Get me in shape for our test in a month. We have a boat det schedule for the end of October- i heard it could be anywhere from 10 days to 4 weeks. But we all remember what happened to the last boat det right?!?! lol. But i think it would be so cool to go to the boat for a month, i at least want a taste of this hell i hear. bring it on, ya know? downside is that i would have to suspened some of my lessons of my flying lessons, but he understands since its the government, and theres nothing they can do about it, and he used to be navy- so he knows. But im going to try and do like 2 ground lessons and 1 flight lesson every saturday and sunday if i can. that will work out nicely since i cant really do it during the week. But i would love to spend my time flying on the weekends. why not right?! proactive. I would love to get my private pilots license by the end of the year at least. Then i could visit jared, and it would be a whole lot easier, take him for a spin. Visit Dave in LA, take him for a spin, have a fun time. These are all future goals though, they seem realistic in my mind at least. I dno about colorado flying though, cuz it is the mile high state. and flying in mountains is a whole new animal. But yeah, i wouldnt mind using the MGI bill towards my instrument rating, and commercial rating eventually, maybe get outta the navy and start a career as a pilot? i dno, that would be pretty cool. Way in the future though. WAYYYY in the future. step by step, lets get the privot pilots license first lol. But yeah really just focusing on me lately, and learning new stuff for the navy, and extra cirricular activities, kinda faded out with Alyson, and its kinda of long distance. So i guess i just work on whats in front of me, and better myself, and everything else will fall into place? Sounds good to me. Im happy, i got stuff to look forward to every weekend, got my jeep out here, racking up the bills in gas money lol. Buddy of mine was talking about bungee jumping within the next month, wouldnt mind getting on board that train, ive always wanted to do that, scary though. But yeah, one foot in front of the other. Ill try not to wait another month and a half to update this. lol

Fallon det/ First flight

So the next week was going by, and half the command was getting ready to go to Nevada to do some practice exercises, i wasnt invited cuz i was a 21+ trainee, and they didnt want people getting hammered every night there, so they chose the under 21 trainees. Worked 6 days that week. Had to go in on friday (this past friday) for like 3 hours, then i went to fresno to do paper work and meet my flight instructor. Two days before this, i decided to do my 2nd launch with Mich. I was a little nervous still, but it was a lot easier than the first one already. I missed like 2 hand signals, so im slowely improving. I'm also getting a little irritable, cuz im going through the phases of a trainee, they call it, When you get frustrated at the other trainees cuz they hang around and dont do crap, when everyone knows what we have to do, and when to get it done. Kinda gotta like hold their hand. and theyve been here longer than me!!! ahhh, ill get promoted soon enough. So after we launch a jet, the next day we get a review paper from the pilots, on how well they think we did, contstructive criticism, etc. So i was washing a jet and i heard they came in. I was pumped to see how i did. I read the review and got a little down. At the end of the review, it said " will evolve into a mediocre Plane Captain." I felt like it was a slap in the face, and everyone seemed stunned when they read it. Mich even seemed baffled as to what it said cuz he thought i did great. Half hour later, everyone tells me Mich wrote the whole thing, and they had a good laugh about it. I totally believed the whole thing. I never got a review though, they dont write them all the time i guess. So where was i? Friday i go in and meet my flight instructor Matt. PRetty easy going laid back guy. Was in the navy for 4 years, and got pretty high up, but wanted to get out. So we have that in common, and talk a lot about that, and how everything relates to the jets we work on. It worked out great, and im already getting back into the swing of things. I bought two books earlier (the first time i went) so i could start studying and reading the texts books again. very exciting. We scheduled 2 ground lessons and 1 flight lesson for this morning. So i guess were up to speed meow? ACtually no, we're not. Friday when i came in for the 3 hours- only half of our command is here meow, so i will be on days for the next week. there will only be one shift. but my buddy pierce who was in the line shack with me before, who taught me a great deal of stuff as well, had to come launch a jet for us cuz we didnt have enough PC's (one PC for every jet, and we had 5 jets flying to Nevada that day) So he got transferred to the shop, and i havent seen him in a hot minute, so i was excited to see him, and he asked if i wanted to launch for him, i said heck yes. Best launch yet, only missed one thing, and it was a pretty awesome launch. Everything went smooth, i felt more confident, it was great. He invited me to his place with a bunch of other guys for some beer drinking escapades, so i went there friday night, and had a good time with everyone. Great people. So then i got back on saturday and hung out and did nothing all day, then studied for my flight today. Got to fresno round 9am. Ready to go. We Went in and i got a bunch of books, etc. we went over 2 lessons, took two hours, but i knew basically everything he was teaching me, which was nice. Then it was time to fly. I was used to flying the Cessna 172's. Which have 4 seats. Meow im doing the Piper- which is 2 seats. Even smaller. Its a tin can that floats in the air, but it gave me the chills getting back at it again. We walked around the aircraft, did some checklists and were taxiing down the runway. he let me do some stuff, but this was just an intro flight- he let me do some turns and flying. but he did most of it. took off, landed, such a great feeling going up that high, and being able to land in that tin can. Makes me so excited. A little overwhelming with everything that was going on in the cockpit, but im SO ready to learn how to do everything. Im excited. But the awesome thing was that when we took off, we went up to 3500 FT, and had to stay there for a little bit cuz an F18 was flying past as at 4000 feet. So im sitting there in a little Piper, and i see a jet, the type that i work on everyday, go speeding past us. It was amaizng to be up in the air with them. So cool, soo soo cool. Other than that im ready to learn some more, and have a lesson next weekend. next post will be about up coming events.

First launch/ flying lessons

So the next week, first week in september ended up being a huge week for me. hmmm seem to be noticing a pattern. But lets rewind a little bit here. Still on the night shift, having a good time with all of them. making a lot of friends, starting to take control, and still am a hard worker. i got 2 months until (if everything goes right) i get promoted on the spot. Looking forward to that. So now that all those quals are done. time to work on the PC. And the only way to do that was start studying, which im really good at. So i started studying, and my buddy Mich who taught me basically everythign about everything wanted me to launch for him one day. So i got the guts to do it one day. That flight got cancelled. I was so upset- launching is a big step by the way, its like 20 minutes of hand signals to the pilots telling them what to do, etc. I was losing sleep over this stuff, and dreaming of the hand signals. So the next day i knew what i had to do, launch. We had 5 jets going up, and they ALL got cancelled again. I was starting the think it wasnt meant to be. But i didnt give up. 3rd times a charm. Launched the crap outta that jet. I was so nervous i was shaking, my knees are a little bad, and we have to bend down for some of the launch, so i almost lost my balance a couple of times, but i made it through. Forgot like 4 steps, but Mich was right behind me the whole time, so he helped me out, and the pilot new i was new. Said i did very good for my first time, and have huge potential. lets hope. that was nice. So after i got that first launch of my chest, i was excited about life, and i knew it only got easier from there. It felt so good. Such a relief. a lot of fun too. So that made my week, and i decided to lay low for the rest of the week, cuz i felt accomplished. On another note. I have recently been talkint to my parents about takign flying lessons again. I went to daniel webster college my frist year of college, went to become a pilot, got like halfway throught the private pilot program, transferred to UNH, had the best years of my life, tried getting a real job after college, wasnt doing it for me, joined the navy on a whim, got a random rate to work on jet engines. 9 months later im launching and recoerving jets on a naval air base, coming full circle with this whole flying thing. I dno, the more i think about it the more i think that i wasnt meant to sit still, i feel like i constantly need change in my life- good or bad, but i think im addicted to adrenaline rushes, and love the excitement of learning new things. I absolutely love reading, writing, and learning. I hate getting into a routine, and having no excitedment in my life. Always constantly looking for something new. So that friday, night check has it off- i went to the flying club here on base. Just wanted to crunch some numbers with the guy. They are only open MWF 10am-2pm. not great hours. it was a run down shack on the side of the airport, asking 12 grand to get the private pilots license. I thought this would be the end all be all best deal- cuz comon, its on base. They dont even let you use the MGI bill towards it, i thought you could, cuz its a class and a license- nope. ONly on instrument ratings, and commercial pilot license. So i thought to look elsewhere, just for kicks and giggles. Called my dad up told him the price, and that i was still looking. Found a place in fresno 35-45 minutes away charging 8500. I drove my butt up there and talked with the guy. Nice airport, nice building, books everywhere, starter guides, classrooms, professional pilots on duty, etc. Told them my situation, and they even told me that most Lemoore navy guys go to them. So i was so relieved, and immeidalty called my Dad to tell him the news. He was just as excited as i was, and i had a huge smile on my face. Told him I really wanted to do this, and would start a payment plan, etc. Both my parents were on my side, and excited for my new adventure. I asked them what i needed to do, and i just needed to get a third class physical, and get my passport here so i can start. Got the physical the next week, and my parents overnighted my passport. Things were falling together. The place called me back with an instructor that could start that weekend. I was super pumped.

Back ro reality- with a jeep, and Dave?

So, that weekend, i chilled hardcore, organized my life. My closet, took the doors of my jeep. Ready to go back to work on sunday. Excited to see everyone. Ended up being a pretty hard week- yet a very productive week. Finished my basic 4 quals that i needed to get done before I start on my Plane Captain. That felt so good to get out of the way. I nailed it right in the beginning, aced the tests, etc. Just gotta get signed off meow. That next weekend came, had a new book, just wanted to hang out and save money from my road trip again, so i did nothing and had a great time doing. I slept a lottttt that week and weekend. Afraid i was going back into my hibernation stages again, but i couldnt let that happen. So the next week goes by, and i made plans with the one and only - Dave Briski. We had a 4 day weekend that weekend (Labor day weekend) woohoo! time to let my hair down lol. Friday came along, no duty that weekend. Woke up aroudn noon, and headed to LA. 3 hour drive, PSHHHH that was nothing compared to what i had been doing. So i got there, needed to get gas, so i was making a turn, and who drives by with their head out the window screaming my name? Dave. gosh it was so good to see him. I got gas and a thirty rack and went to his place. We hugged, caught up, ready for a great weekend. We started drinking, he made some steak, and vege's. pretty good dave. reminisced on old times. So we started drinking, couple of his friends came over, great great people. Then, typical frick move, got extremely tired and ended up going to sleep on an air mattress. They went out- and i woke up 14 hours later the next day. I was tired? I was a lil upset with myself, but was happy i had another night to redeem myself. So we got some breakfast, and waited for his buddy to come over, then we went to san diego to visit his other buddy. Another long drive, but i was a pssenger this time, which was nice. We get to his buddies place and immediatly go to the beach. Ughh such a nice beach, with huge waves. So much fun to play in. Played a little catch with the football, body surfed, all the fun stuff. Got some KFC and got ready to go out for the night. Daves first friend doesnt drink, so he is always the DD everywhere, which is very conveniant. So we pregamed, and then went out on the town. Went into like 5 bars it seemed like. Saw a buddy from bootcamp which was pretty cool, and just had a really fun night. Went back to the kid in san deigos place and crashed there. Woke up, and went back to daves house. Passed out for a couple hours, and then i drove home on sunday to lemoore to rest up that night, and monday night, which was really nice.

ROAD TRIPPPPPPPPPP

Ahhhhh, the road trip. Wake up early monday morning, bitter sweet. leaving home, but bring ol betsy with me- and paps lol. We head out around 7 i think. Our first stop- Niagra Falls. only a 7 hour drive, how hard could it be?!?! Paps and i switched off like 4 hour intervals the whole time- those were some long intervals. So we made it to Niagra falls just fine- a little cloudy/rainy, but we did what we went to do, see the falls. You need your passport to go on the canadian side meow, so we got a view from America, which i thought was plenty enough. after being there for like an hour, we were on the road again to illinois i believe. I could be totally wrong. but i think we stopped somewhere around there. Didnt seem like we made it very far- at all, according to the map. Got a hotel- military discount is amazingly generous to us. Love hotel beds for some reason, even though theyre probably gross, theyre just so comfy. We traveled like 15 hours the first day? well into 11pm at night. Got up early the next day, got some dunks- while we still could. Then we traveled, and only stopped for gas. the only other major check points we wanted to hit were Jared in Colorado, and Vegas baby, vegas. So we traveled down from illinois and ended up stopping on the boarder of kansas? Gosh im to lazy to check a map, but it sounds right. These places were in the middle of no where. Im talking wind mill farms, huge wind mills. everywhere. seemed something out of a sci-fi movie. We stopped at hooters for dinner, buff chix was alright- good not great. retired early that night-paps was feeling a lil under the weather, and we needed to plan it so we could see jared. bout 8 hours away from him at this second hotel. Next day, wake up early head to colorado, end up meeting up with jared for dinner-530ish(time was on our side, we kept gaining hours as we went along lol) We went out to a nice, very nice, steak place. I got a filet with bleu cheese and bason, and baked potatoe, oh my, im salivating just thinking about it. washed it down with a blue moon and orange wedge. It was truly amazing. Meow jared just drove across country as well, so it was nice to see his new place, which was amazing, and colorado seems like a great place, he seems very happy. all around great move on his part. look forward to hooking up with him again in the future since we're close(r) than we were. Maybe meet in vegas. lol. So after we dropped jared off, and had another 2 hours to go to get to VALE(sp?) that looks right. A little cold in the mountains- high up in elevation, but an absolute beautiful town. A skiers paradise if you will. Reminds me of the movie Out Cold. I would retire there in a heart beat. very rich town. We stayed at a marriot, which was absolutely beautiful. Indoor hot tub and pool. Strutted our stuff down to the hot tub, and relaxed before going to sleep that night. Woke up to a beautiful view, cold crisp air. oh man, amazing. then we were 8, or 10 hours away from vegas. we hit the road, ended up in the humid air of las vegas. felt like we were walking through a sauna, and we had no airconditioning, cuz- well, jeep doesnt have a/c, its a jeep thing. jeep wave. mmmm. Anyway. drove down the vegas strip, and parked at the stratosphere hotel. umm i think it was 30 bucks a night? yes please. got tickets to see david copperfield that night at 9, but it was only like 6 at this time. so i did what anyone else would do in vegas- jumped off the hotel, lol. Its called the skyjump. Its a controlled freefall from 888 feet up i think it is? but i got to the top, and i was extremely scared, ughhh just taking the first step was all i had to do, but it was HARD. totes worth it in the end. Paps was at the bottom calling me crazy. Then i needed an alcoholic beverage to soothe my nerves, cuz they were firing on alls cylinders. Stopped and got a burger at a joint that had spraying mists everywhere. Creative, and cool! def got a vodka sprite lol. Then we headed to David Copperfield. Amazing show, seems like a great guy, and his tricks were unbelievable. He made a car appear on stage out of no where, and a motorcylce. Its rediculous, honestly have no idea how he did it, and i used to be BIG on magic tricks. Nope, no idea. So after the amazing show, we headed back to our hotel room. Paps was ready to hit the hay- about midnight by meow? I was ready to go gamble!! took a whopping 60 bucks out, big spendaaaa. Went down to the roulette table, lol marc. played that for a little, made a lot of friends on the table- free drinks. then i decided to try my luck at blackjack. It was me and this one other dude, i still had no idea when to hit, or stay, so he helped me out a little but, and the cards were HOTTTT. we both were up a crap ton- had like over a hundred bucks in front of me, feeling good. So thats when you start tipping the dealer, and tipping the waitress lol. Needless to say we got a new dealer, and i lost all my money. No fairy tail ended, just the harsh reality. Went back up to the room around 2 am and passed out. Woke up hungover the next day, ready for our last 6 hour leg of the drive to be over with. Paps drove first lol. drove through pretty much nothing, and finally ended up in Lemoore. I never thought i would be excited to be there, but boy was i. Had my jeep. We unpack the whole thing, put the bikini top on, man does it look good. I go check in on the OPS side- showed my Dad the jets. I was explaining everything about them, and i realized i knew a lot more about them than i thought i did, which made me happy. After that we headed to fresno, his flight left at like 6am the next morning, so we got a hotel there. I dropped him off at the airport the next morning, then went back to the hotel and passed out till 11, when i had to check out lol. Road Trip complete. Happy i did it.

Leave Aug 8th-16th

Whoops. Kinda waited a month and a half to enter a new blog post. Better late than never i guess right?!? So I know it might not be as detailed as you want it to be, but my memory has been faded, and i might skip over a couple things, but ill try my best to remember them. My leave started at midnight on the 8th of august. I had all my stuff packed and ready to go home. Anderson let me use her car that morning to park at the airport, because she was becoming a legal citizen in fresno anyway, and would just pick up her car on the way home. So it worked out perfectly. Got settled at the Fresno airport- 3hours early might i add. I was a little excited to get home lol. boarded that flight, landed in LA, boarded that flight- a 5 hour flight home nonstop to boston, where my parents would be picking me up. I sleep for most of the way home, but never stand up once the whole ride. I got a window seat luckily, but i hate bothering people to get up, so i just sucked it up. Got into boston around 8, rents bought me a buff chix calzone, which was off da hookkkkk. Thanks Mom and Dad!!! Funny thing about our conversation, is that when i was telling them about work, etc. I swore (f bomb) right in front of them, so naturally. I never swear in front of my parents, but i guess i have a sailors mouth meow. So i got home around like 930ish? And bowen was texting me, so i thought i would swing up and say hello to him real quick- mind you its a thursday, so he had work the next morning, and a family's dog's aunts wedding, or somthing that he had to go to. He's got the largest extended family i know. So i saw him for a couple hours, then drove back to l town where i passed out in cloud, respectfully. The next day, i woke up, and got some delish jay house with molly, yib, and troy. Great food, and great company to say the least- so nice to see them. It was also plouring cats and dogs, which i loved, and proceeded to walk slowely through. Oh and it was great to be driving the jeep-although i would later on bite my tongue because i had to drive it for 5 days across the US. Friday afternoon Alyson came over, we went to dinner with my rents at the 99, then we went to dennys for some late night breakfast. Which was delish. Went home and passed out. Next morning we wake up and get some dunks, oh man have i missed dunks- and that afternoon, Alyson was back on her way up to Maineski. At this time i decided to drive up to portsmouth again to see marcus ceralius, allen allerson, and andy dufrane. we ended up going to pooplex, and going out to the bars at UNH. Quite a fun time, dont remember much though LOL! woke up the next morning and allen lost his phone for probably like 2 hours. Marc and i sat and enjoyed rest our calves on a nice sofa as allen paced the pooplex. After this- now sunday, already flying by- i was already up in the portsmouth area- bout a half hour from ogunquit. And there was one person i didnt see yet. The giraffe named thomas. went up there a lil hung over, talked with his rents about life and then had a little one on one time with thomas out to lunch. it was fantastic. We ate at the rose cove, and even had time to stop by the rooneys to say hello. I dropped thomas off and went home to pack my things for this cross country trip with papa bear.