All hail the internet...

Ahhh, finally a new blog post. For the record, I spent an hour last weekend updating this thing on Dearing's computer...only to have said computer eat my damn entry. So I'll try to remember all the crap I touched on in that entry.

Not a whole lot of new things going on. I now work a 0430-2030 shift pretty much at least once a week. I've started calling it "working the slate"...as in working our entire slate of outbound flights. I did it this week on zero sleep...that was an adventure. They let me go around 1700, yet I wound up staying until almost 2100 due to our operations agent needing a hand and helping work a gate. Me and Brian, the other guy that works the 0430-2030 mess, were both running on almost no sleep...yet our flight was the only on-time departure for the afternoon. Eat that, afternoon shift.

Those 16 hour shifts are ass kickers and require a 45 minute shower just to get that funkiness off my body and outta my hair. I've never seen so much nastiness go down the drain. Just the pure black water from when I wash my hair after work. I look like a damn coal miner.

With the weather getting hotter (it was 100-plus with 98% humidity this past week), the funk just gets worse. I've been drinking at least 15 liters of water/Gatorade a work day to stay hydrated, yet I never pee because I sweat it all out. That's alot of sweat. Tack on the smell of Jet A burn off...and you get an idea of what us "below-wing" folks smell like at the end of the work day.

Somewhat exciting news from last week...I did my first pushback last week. I still need to get with the CI to finish my other 3 certification pushes, but I now have one under my belt. It ain't easy to do, either. When you grow up as a Texas country boy like I did, you're used to hauling trailers behind pickup trucks and turning opposite of where you want the trailer to go when maneuvering it. With a pushback, you're using a dual-joint towbar, so you turn into the maneuver...and that takes some getting used to when you're accustomed to a hay trailer.

For those of you non-aviation folks, a pushback is where we hook up a big ass tractor-like vehicle to the nose gear of an aircraft and push them out of the gate (or off of the hardstand) to where they will begin their taxi to the runway. We do this because a plane can't exactly just throw it in reverse and go. Sure, almost all commercial passenger aircraft have reverse thrust...and sure, the MD-80,-88,-90, the 717, the DC-9 and other rear mounted engine aircraft can safely powerback using reverse thrust, but there's FOD and safety issues with wing-mounted engines powering back, so it's safer and more economical to do pushbacks.

For that few minutes or so you spend pushing the aircraft, the pushback operator is the person responsible for the aircraft and everyone on board, so that's a little nerve racking. On a busy ramp, you really have to depend on your wingwalkers to be your eyes. I know in my nervousness, I jolted the plane a few times by letting off the gas a little too much. I asked the flight deck to pass on my apologies to the f/a's since it wouldn't surprise me if I nearly knocked them on their asses. (Noorster, does this ever happen? Bad pushback turning into someone being almost knocked on their backside?)

So, the internet has been down all day. I'm actually typing this entry in a notepad file and will cut and paste later when the damn DSL comes back up. Apparently, some jackass cut a fiber optic cable between here and Dallas...and that's affecting DSL and 911 service. Screw 911 service...just gimme my internet back!

Luckily, I have alot of music on iTunes I haven't had a chance to really listen to and "Groundhog Day" is on TV. Bill Murray is a golden god.

Been trying harder to hang out with friends lately...had a few chances to hang out with new friends as well...Linds and Miss Cooper rock my world (Miss Cooper just a little more than Lindsay...lol). It's been a good couple of weeks.

I went to the Frisco RoughRiders game last night with Robbie Mac. He scored SWEET tickets from the doctor he's house sitting for...behind home plate, 2nd row, free beer, free chili dogs and sitting next to a smokin' hot girl from Frisco. And to top it off, the bat boy is one of my old campers (Scott, the KPFC radio all-star), so I got a couple of game used balls. After all of that, whos cares that the Riders got shelacked to the tune of 13-0. ;)

Last week (or was it the week before?), I got to see Bob Schneider 2 nights in a row...meaning I got to hang out with old friends that I haven't seen in ages like Margee, Phil, Katie, Rica, Cody, Justin, Micah, Holly, and others. That was a blast and a half...few things bring us all together like a Bob show.

Hmm, what else? Not a whole lot going on. I bought new steel toes and kneepads...that's exciting. Hahahaha! I didn't get the Ramp Lead position I really wanted, but I understand my seniority was much lower than the ones that got the positions. I'm gonna try to get outta town next week if I can pull it off. Getting outta Dallas/Ft. Worth as a non-rev on our airline is close to impossible right now. Damn summer loads.

Well, I'm gonna go fire up the TiVo and watch "Groundhog Day" until the internet comes back up. I need to shop for car insurance...c'mon SBC! I need my DSL!

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