Master's classes = A's

Pilot training = way busy and way too many briefings, hopefully we'll be having more classes than briefings soon

Aerospace physiology = really cool people

This week = it is hump day, it is almost the weekend

me = study then sleep

Well, the first day was interesting. Just a load of random power point type briefings that really isn't new information. But at least it was low stress. The day ended well with a depressing demotivational speech by leadership. People are really good at pep talks here. I know, those sentences are dripping in so much sarcasm they are basically drowning at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Anyway, the battle for wings goes on. Tomorrow is another day. Another very early day. Good night.

So, here it goes. A new adventure about to begin. Pilot training starts tomorrow. I can't decide if the tightness in my stomach is from the nervousness, the fact that it is almost dinner time, or the drugs trials we have to do. Whatever the case, I pretty much am psyched for tomorrow and this next year. It is going to be one heck of a ride.

The next two days will be a series of briefings, most of which are annual type air force briefings to make sure we get the required stuff out of the way so we don't need to do it in the middle of pilot training. Then starts the academic classes, which lasts for about 6 weeks. In June, I hit the flight line. And that means we start actually flying. I will fly the T-6 Texan II. This will happen for about 4 1/2 months, and then we track. We track to a different aircraft, there are 4 options, T-1, T-44, T-38, or UH-1. T-1's are a small jetliner type planes that lead into flying airlift or air-refueling aircraft. T-44's are planes with two props out front and lead into the C-130, which is the air force's large prop plane. It has 4 props and flies cargo drop missions, missions that drop things out the back like pallets or people. T-38's are fighter trainers that lead into fighter or bomber planes. And UH-1's are the helicopter trainers.

I can't fly T-38's or UH-1's because I am to short, so my choices are kind of limited. But I am still excited about it. Out track date is 21 October.

Today, I finished the two master's classes I was working on. Finally, the last paper was a killer. So, now it's just pilot training for a year. Let the good times begin.

This week is dragging on, but also going too fast, strangely for the same reason. I am writing a 20 page paper. Writing long boring papers is one thing I despise about school, and non-technical papers are the worst of them. I feel like I have to make up stuff to say about only semi-interesting topics. But that's not the worst of it. I get distracted so easily while researching and then half an hour later I realize I haven't written a word more and still haven't found what I was looking for. So, the boring long days of research and writing make this week drag on. But I am hardly a quarter way done and I still have another class to write an essay for (thankfully a much shorter one). And the due date seems to be coming up pretty fast now.

I was having a chat with my brother-in-law tonight. It made me realize how awesome my childhood really was; I mean it was rough at times, not perfect at all, but it definitely had its moments, lots of them. My brothers and I had so many adventures together. And I know realize that not every family gets that close. Sometimes sibling rivalry and personalities clash too much. Of course we had our clashes and fights, lots of fights, but somehow they always figured themselves out.

Some of my favorite memories were outdoors and others were of mischief: hiking state parks, free-climbing cliffs, trying to make a creek into a dam, discovering forgotten graveyards in the woods, bonfires, climbing trees, trying to fix broken furniture with duct tape and watching it crash to the floor as our parents walked in, traveling the US in an RV, being chased by bees from an abandoned, emptied pool, trying to get lost in the woods - succeeding, jumping from waterfalls, floating on rivers, making bamboo fishing rods and cleaning fish with a pocket knife, camping trips, secrets, dreaming of growing up....

And oh the laughter, so many things we did purely for a laugh. So many gags and goofy stunts. I think one thing that made growing up together so awesome was the laughter. Practical jokes was definitely one thing I really missed when I moved off to college. Oh memories...

Back from an extended weekend away. Lots of time spent in the hospital for my husbands surgery. It feels good to be back home. Yesterday, I went to our first class meeting for UPT (undergraduate pilot training). I am starting pilot training soon. Crazy. I have been waiting so long it didn't really feel like I was ever going to start. But now I have only 12 days until I start. I suddenly do not feel ready at all. I do feel like I just want to get started and get into it and see how this thing goes. I am tired of sitting around doing not much of anything.

I got dog tags today. Apparently, we have to wear them when we fly. But we are not allowed to wear necklaces or rings, so that seems like a rather large contradiction. I find it interesting that dog tags come with the same chain I use to turn on and off my lights and overhead fans. Of course, I knew this before, but now that I have my own personal light switch to hang around my neck, I have decided it is odd. Who thought that this would make a good necklace, and when did it start? or did it start as a necklace and transition to a light switch? After doing a quick google and wiki search and finding nothing, I wonder if questions like this will ever be answered. Oh well. I guess some thing in life are just meant to be a mystery. Really strange mystery though.

On another note...yeah, exercise thing, fail, epic fail this week. I am one, lazy, and two completely unmotivated. Now, I have plenty of reasons to be motivated. I like being fit, I like the physical pain brought on by morbid amount of exercise, I like being stronger and faster and thinner than the average American, not to mention things are more fun when you have the extra stamina and energy that exercise provides, things like sports, kayaking, waking up in the morning, sex, hiking, playing outside, exploring, water balloon fights, studying...etc. But still, I am not motivated. I think part of the reason is that I have to do absolutely nothing all day. And before when I had to do stuff, it included sitting at a desk filling out and tweaking excel spreadsheets and other documents...boring. So maybe that's it. I am bored. And because I am bored, I don't feel motivated to change the status of my boredom, or to really fix anything with how out of shape I am becoming.

So, now I just have to figure out how to get over that, and I think I will be able to stick to regular workouts. Not sure how, but I hope I figure it out soon.

It's late Saturday night. Today was a seeming success. I am half way done with that blasted paper (unfortunately only half way). But I did go for a run, and enjoyed some much missed Cajun food.

There was a Cajun Festival in town this evening and Josh and I went with some friends. They had all you can eat shrimp and crawfish. It was very tasty. Though not really the best crawfish boil fixings I've had, they were good nonetheless. Because it has been way too long since I've had the pleasure of crawfish at all. We are rather far from the coast, and this apparently makes it next to impossible to get live crawfish all the way out here. So, unfortunately, they had to start with frozen seafood and go from there. And apparently, this part of the world does not use much in the way of spices when cooking, which of course left much to be desired. BUT, it was crawfish, and it was fun.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. Happy Easter.

Fitness:

Ran 1 mile

Friday, running fail. I went to take a 30 minute nap, which I was planning on following with a run. Turned out to be a 2 hour nap with no run following. I have been attempting to work on this long paper I have to write about Enron and financial accounting. However, I really don't care about Enron, and well, financial accounting is boring as well. And somehow I have to get 10 pages out of all the information that is so boring and dry and meaningless to me. It is weeks like this that make me wish I did not decide on doing these two master's classes before starting pilot training.

On a brighter note: if I do happen to finish this paper (I am sure I will, always seems to work out) and the shorter one this week for my other class, then I will have only 3 weeks before I am a quarter of the way done with my MBA. Which is funny to think about, but only true in course credit not time, because I can't take classes for the next year and a half or so.

Also, if I can get myself at least half as interested in the Enron debacle as I am at writing my random thoughts in this blog, then maybe it will go faster.

Fridays are days for grilling steak and potatoes on the back porch. This Friday is no exception, now if only my husband will be released for today, we can get start our weekend.

Fitness:

fitness fail -- 2 hour nap

Happy April Fools.

April the first is a strange day. During that entire day, if anything happens that is not normal, or maybe normal but sucks, I wonder if it is an April Fools joke. Unfortunately, it usually is not.

A new Bones comes out tonight...finally. Of course I won't be watching tonight, but tomorrow on Hulu, you better believe. I am addicted to this show, no, fascinated with it. I watch old episodes, whenever I am feeling bored or like watching something at all really. If all the shows in the world were to be cancelled but Bones, I would be okay with that.

Tonight, I am making Chicken Divan and brownies for supper. Currently, I am making the brownies. And what I mean by that, is I am eating the brownie mix while I wait for the oven to heat up. I wonder where brownies came from...other than heaven of course. But who thought of them, and why have they not won the Nobel Peace Prize? Because that one act of creating brownies has probably done more for the world than any other human act, besides inventing ice cream, of course. I believe if you replaced the phrase "best idea since sliced bread" with "best idea since brownies" one, it would actually mean something, and two it would be used a whole lot less.

Anyway, even though today was semi-useless as I did not accomplish anything but a PT test and mixing brownies up, it is a really good day. I believe that is mostly because of the sleeping in and the brownies, rather than the PT test. So, now I will work on my wonderful paper on Enron's downfall for my horridly boring master's class.

So, I think instead of doing the 30 day blogrimage, since I seem to be really late on starting, I am going to start a monthly challenge. Every month I will choose something to do daily to try to improve myself. For the month of April, I am going to run one mile or more every day during the week and one of the days on the weekends (leaving one day for rest). Running is something I could improve a lot on, and I hope this will be a good start in doing so.

Fitness:

Yesterday, I did pyramid push-ups and shoulder presses.

Today, I got tagged as doing a practice surprise fitness test to help the new fitness monitors figure out the system...yay...

But at least it forced me (literally) to get in a good run, and more push-ups and sit-ups. Though the sit-ups are hardly a workout, doing push-ups today on top of yesterdays has given me a deep burn in my shoulders.