jtrain609
Antisocial Monster
It's kinda strange writing this out, but it's all over a little sooner than I expected it to be. I flew my last trip as a jet driver last month and never even knew it.
I've pretty much had one of the worst months ever for having things go wrong. To start the month, I caught a cold for a few days. Not really a big deal, just overworked and hadn't been sleeping enough and it caught up with me. A few days of good sleep and fluids later and I was doing well.
Then I got some food stuck in my hiatal hernia, which while not a big deal, means I can't swallow. It required a 12 hour trip to the ER and in the end I ended up having an endoscopy done to remove the food. The sedation they use zones me out for a few days, so I was out for another week of work.
At the end of that week, finally feeling better, I said to myself, "I feel like a sloth, I need to get some exercise." So I grabbed my mountain bike and Propilot's brother to get some riding in. We were having a pretty good ride, but on an incredibly non technical part of the trail (most of the ride was actually incredibly non technical) I ate it and went flying off my bike. My helmet is destroyed, my back is ripped up from sliding on it and my wrist is now possibly broken. Put simply the docs don't know if it's a wrist sprain or a Scaphoid fracture, and won't release me to work until they know one way or another. They're making the decision on whether to put a cast on it on Monday, so I'll be in a splint or a cast for my wedding next Saturday.
Either way, the docs have knocked me out of work for the rest of the days that I have with the company, and I'm sick until the furlough. They kind of need to get things right the first time with my wrist, though, because if they get it wrong, it's fractured and they don't immobilize it here soon then they'll have to fix my hand with surgery, the bone could die and I'd probably end up with a screw in my hand. To be honest, I wish I had eaten it on a more gnarly part of the trail or something, then at least maybe I'd have a good reason to have the end of my month screwed up so much.
Anyway, it's kind of strange being done with this. I'm going to be on the street for a while in my mind, and I'm moving on with my life. I'm taking the LSAT in December and I'm planning on applying to law school for next fall.
It's incredibly strange making all these changes in my life, as all I've ever wanted to do was be a pilot. In the end, though, I never had any goals beyond simply being a pilot. I never had dreams of flying 777's across oceans to exotic destinations. When it really comes down to it, in my mind, I've accomplished all my goals in aviation so far. I wanted to flight instruct, and I did. I wanted to work at a freight company, and I did. I wanted to work for an airline, and I did. I don't care that I didn't make it to a mainline company, to be frank. The number of people in tow behind me doesn't matter to me, nor does how high or how fast I fly. I'm the kind of guy that can be happier, and in the end, probably is happier going low and slow. I know that now, and this experience has been invaluable in figuring that out.
I won't be leaving flying anytime soon, I enjoy it too much and I've got too much invested in it to simply walk away. I still have a set of flight instructor certificates, and I intend to use them to their fullest extent possible. In a lot of ways, this is good for me because I miss a lot of things about teaching. Looking back at things, what I did at Amflight was some of the best work I've done over the last 3 years. I hated LA, but worked with some cool cats and got to make a real impact on the folks that I was able to teach (a few of of which hang out here still).
But I've got other goals to accomplish now, which is the real reason why I'm moving away from paying by my bills by flying. Working at Amflight showed me a new love for flying, and working at an airline showed me that I don't love paying my bills by flying. It also gave me a lot of time to read again, and it's lead me to believe that I'm wasting my time flying airplanes for a living. It's fun, but in the end it won't give me what I want out of my life. I want to made a difference in the world, and I'm not going to do it flying airliners around. Marrying Emily in 8 days and starting a new chapter in my life is where I'm focused right now.
If there's anything I've realized in life, though, it's that things don't always go as planned, and don't ever say, "I'll never do X again!!!" I never thought...
-Me and Emily would split up
-Me and Emily would get back together
-I would enjoy flight instructing as much as I did
-I would move to Los Angeles and work at Amflight
-I would work for a regional airline. A lot of you probably know I was one of the most anti-RJ guys out there.
-I would get furloughed 14 months after starting at said regional.
-I would say, "Man, I can't wait to get home to UTAH"
-I would call up Captain Bob one night and say, "Bob, tell me about this regional airline thing."
So who knows if I'll end up back at an airline again. I might get recalled in 6 months after the company buys United and I upgrade right away. Lord knows crazier things have happened in this industry.
So with that, thanks a ton for everybody that has helped me along the way. ryanMickG was one of my instructors and then coworkers at Skymates. E-Dawg got me into Amflight. Bob and Alchemy got me in at Express. There are countless others from here that have mentored me through this whole process, and I can't thank you guys enough for all your help. Rest assured I've listened to, and considered everything you guys have taught me, and I fully intend on passing everything I've learned on to my future students as I move back to flight instructing.
I'll see ya'll in Vegas, right now I've got a test to study for and a wedding to go to.
I've pretty much had one of the worst months ever for having things go wrong. To start the month, I caught a cold for a few days. Not really a big deal, just overworked and hadn't been sleeping enough and it caught up with me. A few days of good sleep and fluids later and I was doing well.
Then I got some food stuck in my hiatal hernia, which while not a big deal, means I can't swallow. It required a 12 hour trip to the ER and in the end I ended up having an endoscopy done to remove the food. The sedation they use zones me out for a few days, so I was out for another week of work.
At the end of that week, finally feeling better, I said to myself, "I feel like a sloth, I need to get some exercise." So I grabbed my mountain bike and Propilot's brother to get some riding in. We were having a pretty good ride, but on an incredibly non technical part of the trail (most of the ride was actually incredibly non technical) I ate it and went flying off my bike. My helmet is destroyed, my back is ripped up from sliding on it and my wrist is now possibly broken. Put simply the docs don't know if it's a wrist sprain or a Scaphoid fracture, and won't release me to work until they know one way or another. They're making the decision on whether to put a cast on it on Monday, so I'll be in a splint or a cast for my wedding next Saturday.
Either way, the docs have knocked me out of work for the rest of the days that I have with the company, and I'm sick until the furlough. They kind of need to get things right the first time with my wrist, though, because if they get it wrong, it's fractured and they don't immobilize it here soon then they'll have to fix my hand with surgery, the bone could die and I'd probably end up with a screw in my hand. To be honest, I wish I had eaten it on a more gnarly part of the trail or something, then at least maybe I'd have a good reason to have the end of my month screwed up so much.
Anyway, it's kind of strange being done with this. I'm going to be on the street for a while in my mind, and I'm moving on with my life. I'm taking the LSAT in December and I'm planning on applying to law school for next fall.
It's incredibly strange making all these changes in my life, as all I've ever wanted to do was be a pilot. In the end, though, I never had any goals beyond simply being a pilot. I never had dreams of flying 777's across oceans to exotic destinations. When it really comes down to it, in my mind, I've accomplished all my goals in aviation so far. I wanted to flight instruct, and I did. I wanted to work at a freight company, and I did. I wanted to work for an airline, and I did. I don't care that I didn't make it to a mainline company, to be frank. The number of people in tow behind me doesn't matter to me, nor does how high or how fast I fly. I'm the kind of guy that can be happier, and in the end, probably is happier going low and slow. I know that now, and this experience has been invaluable in figuring that out.
I won't be leaving flying anytime soon, I enjoy it too much and I've got too much invested in it to simply walk away. I still have a set of flight instructor certificates, and I intend to use them to their fullest extent possible. In a lot of ways, this is good for me because I miss a lot of things about teaching. Looking back at things, what I did at Amflight was some of the best work I've done over the last 3 years. I hated LA, but worked with some cool cats and got to make a real impact on the folks that I was able to teach (a few of of which hang out here still).
But I've got other goals to accomplish now, which is the real reason why I'm moving away from paying by my bills by flying. Working at Amflight showed me a new love for flying, and working at an airline showed me that I don't love paying my bills by flying. It also gave me a lot of time to read again, and it's lead me to believe that I'm wasting my time flying airplanes for a living. It's fun, but in the end it won't give me what I want out of my life. I want to made a difference in the world, and I'm not going to do it flying airliners around. Marrying Emily in 8 days and starting a new chapter in my life is where I'm focused right now.
If there's anything I've realized in life, though, it's that things don't always go as planned, and don't ever say, "I'll never do X again!!!" I never thought...
-Me and Emily would split up
-Me and Emily would get back together
-I would enjoy flight instructing as much as I did
-I would move to Los Angeles and work at Amflight
-I would work for a regional airline. A lot of you probably know I was one of the most anti-RJ guys out there.
-I would get furloughed 14 months after starting at said regional.
-I would say, "Man, I can't wait to get home to UTAH"
-I would call up Captain Bob one night and say, "Bob, tell me about this regional airline thing."
So who knows if I'll end up back at an airline again. I might get recalled in 6 months after the company buys United and I upgrade right away. Lord knows crazier things have happened in this industry.
So with that, thanks a ton for everybody that has helped me along the way. ryanMickG was one of my instructors and then coworkers at Skymates. E-Dawg got me into Amflight. Bob and Alchemy got me in at Express. There are countless others from here that have mentored me through this whole process, and I can't thank you guys enough for all your help. Rest assured I've listened to, and considered everything you guys have taught me, and I fully intend on passing everything I've learned on to my future students as I move back to flight instructing.
I'll see ya'll in Vegas, right now I've got a test to study for and a wedding to go to.