The Hat

I am going to Medicine Hat (aka 'the Hat') tomorrow for a few days for work. I will be on call during the night so my days will be free - assuming that I'm not sleeping all day because I got called out at night! I'm planning to explore Medicine Hat and its outskirts since I will have my car this time. I don't really know very much of what is around that area, but I'll look it up on the internet or ask around.

I will probably hang out a bit with some friends/co-workers who live there and I also have a bunch of paperwork to do, so the hotel will be the perfect spot for that! There is also a hot tub and pool in the hotel and I love them so I'm looking forward to going for the weekend.

Automobiles

Ahhhh cars.... They sure are nice to have. I actually don't know what I would do in a city like Calgary without one. I think it would be nearly impossible to get by, especially with my job. They are great....when they work...

Every time I go over a bump of any size the right front end of my car 'crunches'. I don't know what it is, but its not a good noise!!! I'm thinking maybe it is a strut... but what do I know. Anyway, so the other day I called my garage and tried to make an appointment to bring my car in and have this 'whatever' fixed,but they suggested that first I bring it in and just have them do a front end inspection to see what it is and then I can get an estimate and then make another appointment to bring it in for repair. The inspection is free.

Ok, so that's fine I'll bring it in today and have it looked at so then if its very expensive I can arrange for that. So I go in like they told me to (no appointment necessary) and hand over my keys. A few minutes later he comes back to tell me that they can't see anything wrong and that unfortunately they don't have enough time to take it for a test drive... WTF!!! So what on earth was the point of going there at all??? I have to fix it so why did they talk me out of making an appointment in the first place so I can just get the stupid thing fixed!

So I made an appointment for Friday and hopefully I can borrow my brother's car for the day. Ahhhhh cars!

Relief

I wrote the SAMRA exam today! I can't even begin to explain what a relief it is to have that exam finally finished. It was the final written exam that I will ever have to do for Transport Canada and that makes me very happy! It was quite hard I thought and there were about 31 questions (out of 80) that I had bookmarked because I was not one hundred percent certain of the correct answer! That's a lot! Anyway, it seems I am a great guesser because I got 90% on the exam. I was surprised by that because a number of those 31 uncertainties were purely guesses! Anyway, its done and now I can apply for my ATPL (Airline Transport License) finally!

A Sad Tale

Here is a story.

Once upon a time there was this fellow, a nice young man who worked very hard for many years. So hard in fact that rarely did he have time to meet nice young ladies. One day after years of not having any serious relationships he met a lovely young girl who stole his heart. They seemed like a match made in heaven to all who knew them. She brought out the best in him and made him see life in a new way. He learned that work should not consume one's life and that there was much more to be found in love and companionship. With this young lady he had never been so happy, or so it seemed.

Everyone has a past and everyone has experienced tragedy and sadness in their lives. So too had this young woman. The smitten young man believed her to be unable to commit to him because of tragedy still fresh to her. This man was patient and kind and understanding, but it wasn't to be enough.

One season, the young man prepared for the return visit of his lady by placing roses and presents and things she loved around the house. Unknown to him, whilst he anxiously awaited her return, she was in the arms of another man.

Upon learning of this deceit, the young man was gentle despite his pain and never did he speak an unkind word about this girl who had betrayed him and broke his heart. Others could not understand why the two were never to be seen together again, but they did not know the truth. He bore that burden on his own.

Most perplexing were her attempts to remain close friends with the young man she had offended. She did not see that despite his continued love and well wishes for her, to remain in contact only drove the knife deeper into his heart.



I feel sad for this fictitious fellow.

Domestication of Self

During the past six months or so, well since I started this job I guess, I have been exploring numerous "domestic" type activities. I guess it is all of the time I have when on call; I can't stray too far from the airport, but I do have quite a bit of time at home.

I have been doing some baking on occasion and then take them into the maintenance engineers at work. Poor fellas (and one gal) are my guini pigs, but I've made nobody ill yet so I guess that's a good sign. I've made them various kinds of cookies, bananna bread, fudge and the like... I still can't cook meat to save my life.

I do lots and lots of cleaning - out of bordom generally. You would think that my house would be tidy all of the time, but it's not. I don't know how that happens exactly. Oh, yeah, I know why, my brother is back in town...

And most recently, I've tried sewing. Imagine! They needed something sewn (Is that the past tense for sew???) at work and somehow "I can do it" came out of my mouth. I then came home and spent a couple of hours figuring out how to weave the darn thread through the machine. I exaggerate really because I was watching Brokeback Mountain at the time so my attention was divided. Then when that little project was completed I decided that I would attempt to sew curtains for the living room. I have finished the two panels for one window and they were a success. Now I need curtain rods and some more material for the other window!

Who knew I had it in me. A fellow at work said that I must be practicing for my M-R-S degree.... Get it: Mrs. Haha, yeah right. The mister I marry might want to have his own MRS degree!!

Flying

Every time I fly I feel so lucky. Yesterday I had such a nice day and flew twice; in the morning we flew to Lethbridge and in the afternoon we flew to Taber (Taber is a small town but well known for its corn). It was a beautiful, relatively sunny day (which created a few minor bumps in the air) and just one of those days which make you feel lucky to have a job like this. Today was a similar day - again flew to Lethbridge and it was my Captains last day with our company so we took some pictures! Here are a couple of them, one showing Calgary and one of us! It was fun!

It was such a tough road to get to this job and every day that I fly I am reminded that it was all worth the hard work. Anyone who has worked in aviation will understand what I am talking about. After 9-11 the industry suffered and there was little movement so finding that 'next' job was very difficult. I know of many people who gave up trying and simply got out of aviation all together. I am happy that I stuck it out because now I don't really feel like I 'work' - I just get to go flying a few time s a week! I love it!

My Mission Statement

So a while back (like 2 years or something...) I read a book that suggested one should have their own mission statement; something to live by. So, I made one and here it is...

* to listen more than I speak
*to mean what I say
*to try and make wise choices
*to ask for help when I need it
*to begin with the end in mind
*to get to know people I care about
*always search to know more
*never compromise with honesty
*make each day count
*respect people
*find what I love
*develop my talents
*use my time wisely
*don't watch a lot of tv
*don't take life, love, friends, family for granted
*look for the positive
*to pursue a greater understanding and awareness of what I believe
*don't settle

Practice for the Airlines

This is a funny thing that someone once sent me! It is how to practice for the airlines.

1. Sit in a cupboard, strapped into your most uncomfortable chair, in front of a large poster of a flight deck for at least 7 hours.

2. Have 4 vacuum cleaners switched on right behind your ears. If one should fail, have the operating manual (QRH) to hand to effect re-start.

3. Have your partner deliver overcooked fish, soggy pasta, stale crackers and cold coffee to the cupboard midway through your simulation session. Remember to have your partner growl on delivering the food tray, and before banging the cupboard door at least 4 times before finally leaving, produce a minging fart.

4. Spill the pasta sauce down your nice clean white shirt.

5. When it comes time to answer nature's call, sit for 30 minutes longer than you have to, legs crossed, and then eventually leave the cupboard for the rest room. Remember to put on your hat.

6. Shine two flashlights in your eyes for at least five minutes to simulate the glorious dawn. Rub your eyes for 2 minutes each to make them nice and red.

7. After 7 or so hours, leave the cupboard and stand outside on your lawn. Switch on the sprinklers and stand for 10 minutes until soaked. This is the Hotel Transport Wait Simulation...

8. Go upstairs, dripping wet, bag in hand, and loiter outside the bedroom door ¡V just as you would in a hotel as the maid gets the room ready. When your partner shouts "What the bloody hell are you doing¨? Simply answer "Simulating the glamour of all night flying to wonderful destinations¨.

9. Fall face down into bed.

10. Midway through your sleep have your partner turn up the television and radio in the next room as high as they will go.

11. Play tapes of departing aircraft, or if your company uses downtown hotels, police and fire sirens will do nicely.

12. After 4 or so hours of restless sleep, get up and enjoy a freezing cold shower

13. Go downstairs and pay your partner $25 for a bagel and a coffee.

14. For aficionados, repeat twice.

This is a Test

This is a test to see if the comment option shows up at the bottom of the post. It went missing from my last few....

Sushi

I just had Sushi for the first time and it was pretty good! I tried a variety of things, but I can't remember what any of them were called! I went with my favorite couple Sean and Nancy and they did all of the picking and they did a good job. There were ones with tuna, salmon, shrimp - all of which were good. There was one plate of relatively raw looking beef slices - that one I particularly liked.

I still can't say that I like the seaweed wrapping part which seems to be in most things, but I can overlook that and say I liked the rest of it. Thank you Sean and Nancy!!

My Funniest Dream

I wonder what I had for dinner the night I dreamed this dream.....

I was dreaming that I was floating down the Saint John River between Fredericton and the Burton Bridge (in N.B.). I was floating on a giant fish stick while holding hands with Captain Highliner who was next to me floating on his own giant fish stick!!!

The end!

Some Favorite Places

During my little ol' life, I've been lucky enough to have visited lots of places. I have many, many favorites, but here area few of them.

1. The shore of Grand Lake in New Brunswick by where my parents live and where I spent my childhood. We lived on the southeast side so were lucky enough to have an amazing view of the sun setting across the lake. No picture could ever do the sight justice.

2. Thousand Islands - well one of them in particular! A few years ago, I flew from Calgary to just outside Montreal with one of my very favorite people (Sue) and we stopped to visit a friend of hers who just happened to have a cottage on one of these islands. I'll never forget the feeling I had when we stepped out of the car into this forested area where we were to take a little boat out to this island. The smell of those trees was so wonderful, it was all I could do not to cry because it had been so long since I had been surrounded by trees like that. (Calgary is great, but not because of its lush forests...) It only got better when we reached the island that was home to only the one cottage. We had a great meal, great wine and great conversation followed by an amazing sunset. I stayed up late and had a solo hot tub outside while listening to the ships travel down the St. Lawrence. It was unforgettable.

3. A mountain in South Korea. A little background first: I have lived in South Korea twice. The first time I lived there was for a year (1997-1998) and then again for several months in 1999. The great thing about Korea's geography is that despite the extreme concentration of buildings and industrialization, there are these mountains (well, giant hills) that dot the entire peninsula. These mountains are protected so that there is no development on them aside from the odd temple or tourist spot. The first time I lived there we lived in an area in Inchon called Man su dong. I loved it, but really it was the armpit of the armpits of Korea. One of the things I loved about the area was this mountain that was just a few minutes walk behind our apartment where I would go for walks (climbs really) and get an incredible view of that part of the city. It was always such a peaceful place to go and get a break from the craziness and noise of the city.

4. Fundy National Park. When I lived in N.B. I used to go there as often as I could to go hiking or camping. Part of me really loves that park because it is in New Brunswick and not because it is necessarily so different from many other National Parks. What I did love was that you had not only the beauty of the big (and they are big) forested hills, but also the Bay of Fundy with its great cliffs and tidal changes. Thinking of it really makes me miss the smell of trees and water.

There are more, but that's it for now!

SAMRA

This past week I have been doing some hard core studying for the SAMRA exam. I don't actually know what that stands for, but it is one of the Transport Canada exams required to get your ATPL. Oh yeah, there are a lot of acronyms in aviation... ATPL stands for Airline Transport Pilot License and all I have left to do to meet all of the requirements is this test.

It just amazes me how much I still DON'T know after all this time spent studying weather and experiencing weather over the past several years. There is just so much to know and I think weather is so very complicated. Cheers to all of the meteorologists who get the odd forecast correct - there are just endless factors which can affect it. I think I could quite possibly go on for the rest of my life studying this stuff and still never get 100 % on the test.

I am hoping to write the test next week if all goes as planned. It isn't a test you want to fail simply for the fact that it costs $105 to write! It is also just one of three tests required for the license!

Back to the books! Well, maybe after I drive to Timmy Ho's for a coffee!

Little Louie Lucifer

Nearly four years ago a friend of mine told me of some poor little kittens running around on his ranch and that they were likely to get eaten by wild animals unless someone rescued them....so I said that if we could catch one then I would keep it. The little one we caught is now known as Little Louie Lucifer. I call him Louie for short (unless he is being bad then he gets the full name treatment!).

He has turned out to be such an amazing cat; companion really. He gives me a reason to talk outloud when I'm home alone and not feel like a wacko!! Here is a picture of him as a baby!!

Dan Quayle

A number of years ago I came across a bunch of Dan Quayle quotes and I don't think I had ever laughed so hard in my life. To this day, I still have a printed copy of them hanging on my fridge because if I ever need to laugh I just read a few of them. I also have a bunch of them written in one of my journals - just in case! Here are my favorite ten!!

1. "I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future."

2. We're going to have the best educated American people in the world."

3. "We have a firm commitment to NATO; we're a 'part' of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe; we are a 'part' of Europe."

4. "I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix."

5. "When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killings in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."

6. "For NASA, space is still a high priority."

7. "Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children."

8. "It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

9. "I was recently on tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people."

And quite possibly my favorite.....

10. "It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."


He is a brilliant, brilliant man.

A Virgin

A Virgin - a blogger virgin that is... It took me days to decide upon a title for my blog and I still feel uncertain about it. For example, I wasn't sure if it should be 'petite' or 'petit', so I just went for it and put the 'e' on the end. Really, it's my blog and I can spell what I want - how I want! Ahhhhh, such freedom and yet I feel exposed and I've only just begun. Oh my, I can see this is going to be a process - letting myself let go and putting myself 'out there' for the world to see. I'm sure it will get easier with time.

So, I came across this word "Quodlibet" in a book I'm reading and just thought it was an interesting word. So, I looked it up and it turns out that it has a couple of different meanings; they are quite different meanings at that. Let me tell you a little bit about the word:

It is a noun. Oooohhhhh, so very interesting. If you aren't sure how to pronounce it (like moi) you can go onto the Merriam -Webster Online Dictionary and click on the little symbol and it will say it outloud for you. (This, by the way is a cool little feature I discovered only today - a day of learning it has been...) Those little pronunciation spellings in dictionaries ('kwad-la-"bet) are great if you know what all the little dots and dribbles mean, but otherwise it's not so helpful; that's on my "to learn" list.

Ok, moving on. In a nutshell, from what I can tell, quodlibet means 'whatever'. From latin it translates quite literally into: quod = what and libet = freely. From another source, it is described as "a mode of academic debate or oral examination". I just liked the idea that it was some kind of discussion on what ever turns your crank. That is exactly what I wanted out of a blog.

The word over time also came to be used to describe a piece of music or several pieces arranged in such a way to be humourous for the audience. Apparantly some believe Bach to have written one....but there seems to be some debate over that too. Anyway, I don't really care about that to be quite honest!!!

Anyway, that's it for now folks. It seems I've just lost my virginity and it wasn't so bad after all!!!