...and happy summer to everyone in the northern hemisphere (summer solstice was yesterday, don't'cha know)!
Yep, we leave for our worktrip on Saturday morning, heading off to Machais, Maine. So, tomorrow night is my night for packing, not for updating the website. But before I get into all that stuff, let me follow up on a few things from my last entry.
Flight training is progressing, I suppose. I had a really good lesson a week or two ago, where my instructor, Mike, even went so far as to clap me on the shoulder for a "good landing! Good landing!" If you've ever tried to clap someone on the shoulder while sitting next to him/her in a Cessna 152, you'll understand why that made an impression on me (Hint: that cabin's cozy). Anyway, we came back to the club to wrap up, and the Chief Flight Instructor, Dave, was there. Dave asked how it went, and, well... it went something like this:
Dave: So, Eric, how'd it go today?
Me: Well... uh... not bad. Pretty good, I guess.
Mike: Eric's coming along really well. He's doing well with the basic maneuvers, power-off stalls... he's the kind of rare student who actually does what you tell him to.
Dave: Oh yeah? Watch out, Eric, pretty soon he'll have you doing your own landings, too!
Mike: Um... actually... he already is doing his own landings. Just did a couple today.
Insert stunned silence here.
So yeah, I felt pretty good about that one, understandably. I've successfully piloted and landed a 152! That's an accomplishment in and of itself (for a newbie like me, anyway), but to surprise the Chief Flight Instructor about how quickly/well I'm progressing? That's something.
Wednesday, I had another lesson. Didn't go so well, unfortunately. Maybe I got overconfident, or maybe I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of traffic chatter going on over the radio, but I just didn't feel as solid. My turns were okay, but I couldn't seem to keep the controls coordinated to save my life; I kept answering questions or doing things in the "wrong" order (when the engine fails, you go for best glide speed FIRST, dammit!); radio communications tripped me up repeatedly, my steep turns felt sloppy; my landings were on the rough side... all in all, a bit of an "off" day. But, I guess they can't all be great days. Besides, a less-than-terrific day of flying is still a million times better than a good day in the office (at least I'm productive in the cockpit!)!
Gibson was flattered by my mention of her last time. Didn't realize what a big deal that was, to be brought up in someone's blog. Ah, well. Anyway, she's out of town yet again. She got to spend about a week or so here, and now she's off job-hunting again in North Carolina and Maryland. Then, she's headed home for her friend's wedding (in which Gibson is the Maid of Honor), and possibly going on a week-long trip to the Grünewald Guild, an art-and-faith retreat center that she's gone to the past couple years. Sounds like a nice place. She's not too keen on going, though -- the job-hunt is her number one priority right now.
Gibson did find time to go see X-Men 3 with me last night, though. Decent movie. Fun, summer action flick. Some interesting turns in the story, too. Worth the money. I'm considering buying the whole series on DVD... they're just that much fun!
Got an apartment lined up for next year -- and, believe it or not, it's that basement apartment I wasn't so sure about. Despite being a basement and the fact that it will, therefore, probably be rather cold this winter, it has some really fine selling points:
Sold. Seriously, the next place on my list was $75/month more, so even if the basement is chilly and I use that much in gas and electric, I'm still doing better. Plus, I don't like laundromats any more. :-p
On to worktrip news!
In case you missed the linky goodness up above there, here it is again: Machias, Maine. It's another Group Workcamp, like the one we did to Bristol, Tennessee, last year (I've got an entry in the archives about that trip, but I've already got two links in this paragraph, my fingers are getting tired, and if you found your way here, you can certainly find the other entry in the archives). I'm pretty excited to get to see Maine -- I've never been there, myself, but I hear it's beautiful. I wish I was as excited to go on the worktrip.
I know it will be a great trip, but I'm not sure I want to go any more. I know the boys are going to be terrors (well, some of them will) and it's going to be a pain to keep them in line. I hate being a jerk and an authority figure, but I have to be, or else the guys are going to be out of control again. On the up-side, I know I have some backup: Tom Owens, who chaperoned last year and got just as (if not more) fed up with the boys as I did, is along again. This is a good thing.
Overall, though, I just kinda want to stay home. I'll be missing a full week's pay, which I can ill afford. Plus, I need to start moving into the new apartment (I've resolved to do it over the course of about a month, piece by piece, rather than trying to do it all at once). I just feel like I've got enough to do right here at home and don't need to go gallivanting off to some other place to hang out with a bunch of crazy teenagers.
Well, here's hoping that the trip surprises me and the boys actually decided to grow up and be mature (fat chance -- the troublemakers are in tenth grade). Here's hoping that we accomplish a lot on this tour and have a lot of fun! At the very least, we get to experience Maine... (we were already warned about the cold-water, outdoor showers!).
Tomorrow, we pick up the vans. Saturday morning, we hit the road. Saturday night, we're overnighting in Topsham, Maine (near Brunswick), at a Presbyterian Church there. There's another group coming from Bay City, Michigan (I think it was Bay City), and their leader is the music leader for the camp, so that should be a lot of fun. We'll get to meet people early on, before we even get to the camp!
Well, okay, I've gone on long enough. Turns out I had more to talk about than I thought I would. Plus, it's nearly 2230, and I have a lesson scheduled for 0800 tomorrow (if the weather's okay), so I need my beauty rest. Another day of work awaits!
Until next time, true believers!