So, I made it. 27 hours of traveling from point A to point B, but I made it. Getting settled in to my new place, got the movers coming today to move all my stuff from storage to my new place, which is pretty nice. A lot bigger and better than my old place. I'll post some pictures once I get things moved in and set up. I don't have internet yet, though. Or TV. And I won't get them hooked up until next week. So I'm sitting here at a Panera's while waiting for the movers to call me. Kinda sketchy, but I at least bought a coffee, so I'm "technically" a customer.
Few things of note real quick:
- everything is green...I like this
- thunderstorms...I like these, too
- humidity...not a huge fan of this
- moving into a new place...expensive!
- not having to wear a uniform every waking minute and shave every day...much appreciated
- American girls in summer weather not wearing burqas...good scenery (for the most part, anyways. We have plenty of "cornfed" girls here in Nebraska)
- not having to eat cafeteria food every meal...makes my stomach happy
I'll work on getting some pictures up once I get settled in a bit and all the crazinesss of moving calms down.
Thursday, June 24
Saturday, June 19
Last Post from the Desert!
Turnover is done. I have absolved all responsibilities relating to aircraft maintenance...and it's awesome! Now, it's just a matter of getting out of this place. Kind of like escaping prison.
Finally getting more than one day off in a row is pretty nice, even for being out here. Nothing but getting caught up on sleep, tying up loose ends, packing, and hanging out at the pool. Pretty sweet. I plan on doing more of the same when I get home, except with more than the 3 beers per day rule.
All in all, I'm happy how things went the way they did, and I probably wouldn't change a whole lot if I could go back and do it again. However, I'm glad I'm getting to go home when I am (for various reasons, don't ask).
Not sure what the future holds. I've heard rumors about what I'll be doing when I get back, and I've volunteered for the UAV thing...so I guess I'm just going to sit back and see what happens. Maybe in a few months I'll be hanging out on the strip in Las Vegas!
But that's about it for now. I've got some packing to do!
Finally getting more than one day off in a row is pretty nice, even for being out here. Nothing but getting caught up on sleep, tying up loose ends, packing, and hanging out at the pool. Pretty sweet. I plan on doing more of the same when I get home, except with more than the 3 beers per day rule.
All in all, I'm happy how things went the way they did, and I probably wouldn't change a whole lot if I could go back and do it again. However, I'm glad I'm getting to go home when I am (for various reasons, don't ask).
Not sure what the future holds. I've heard rumors about what I'll be doing when I get back, and I've volunteered for the UAV thing...so I guess I'm just going to sit back and see what happens. Maybe in a few months I'll be hanging out on the strip in Las Vegas!
But that's about it for now. I've got some packing to do!
Monday, June 14
Sprint to the Finish
I know...it's been a while. I haven't forgotten. My replacement arrived the other day, so it's been a whirl-wind of moving my stuff out of my room and into another room while not completely unpacking in order to make it easier to head out soon, finishing up last minute paperwork and policy letters (remember, it's the government I work for, so there's always paperwork...for everything), and now getting him all spun-up to take over my job. I should be officially done by Wednesday (if not, it's his fault!). After that, it's just waiting for the plane ride home. And by waiting I mean sleeping in, going to the gym, and hanging out by the pool. I don't need to be home to start my R&R...
I'll also start posting stuff more frequently once I hand over everything to the new guy, so give me until Wednesday. I'll have pictures!
I'll also start posting stuff more frequently once I hand over everything to the new guy, so give me until Wednesday. I'll have pictures!
Sunday, June 6
(Potential) EPIC News!
So, if you've checked out my Facebook page recently, you probably already know what the news is. But if you haven't (or you were wondering about the details), I've been presented with a potentially career/life changing decision:
The Air Force (more specifically, the Air Force Personnel Center) sent me an email the other day that said the following:
Sir,
We're in need of filling a quota for the RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training pipeline and wanted to know if you would be interested in this type of move. If so, we need to know by 8 June.
Signed,
Some guy at AFPC
That's all the email said, and that's all I have to go off of. My two Air Force email addresses were the only ones in the To: box, so I'm assuming I'm the only one this was sent to. My interpretation is that the Air Force is asking me if I want to go fly UAVs for a living instead of being an aircraft maintenance officer. A very tempting proposal...
On the downside, I wouldn't be able to be stationed overseas (as in Europe or Asia) anytime soon, seeing as how there aren't any UAV bases outside the US. In fact, most of the bases where we currently have UAVs stationed at aren't exactly dream destinations. I would also be giving up on my lofty dream of one day flying the AC-130 gunship, or any other "real" plane...
On the plus side, I would be doing something more involved with missions and I would get to fly something instead of worrying about fixing stuff. I would also be getting into a newly established career field, at the ground level, that is obviously going to be the direction the Air Force (and the military) is heading for the foreseeable future...plus I'm pretty sure there's some bonus pay involved...
I have until Tuesday to make a decision.
In other news, I just thought that I would point out that the overnight low here, meaning the coolest it's going to be in the next day, is 87 degrees. It's supposed to get above 100 degrees before 9am tomorrow (with 80% humidity). Meanwhile, the high for the day in Omaha, meaning the hottest it's going to get in the day, is only 81...and they're getting awesome thunderstorms...
The Air Force (more specifically, the Air Force Personnel Center) sent me an email the other day that said the following:
Sir,
We're in need of filling a quota for the RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training pipeline and wanted to know if you would be interested in this type of move. If so, we need to know by 8 June.
Signed,
Some guy at AFPC
That's all the email said, and that's all I have to go off of. My two Air Force email addresses were the only ones in the To: box, so I'm assuming I'm the only one this was sent to. My interpretation is that the Air Force is asking me if I want to go fly UAVs for a living instead of being an aircraft maintenance officer. A very tempting proposal...
On the downside, I wouldn't be able to be stationed overseas (as in Europe or Asia) anytime soon, seeing as how there aren't any UAV bases outside the US. In fact, most of the bases where we currently have UAVs stationed at aren't exactly dream destinations. I would also be giving up on my lofty dream of one day flying the AC-130 gunship, or any other "real" plane...
On the plus side, I would be doing something more involved with missions and I would get to fly something instead of worrying about fixing stuff. I would also be getting into a newly established career field, at the ground level, that is obviously going to be the direction the Air Force (and the military) is heading for the foreseeable future...plus I'm pretty sure there's some bonus pay involved...
I have until Tuesday to make a decision.
In other news, I just thought that I would point out that the overnight low here, meaning the coolest it's going to be in the next day, is 87 degrees. It's supposed to get above 100 degrees before 9am tomorrow (with 80% humidity). Meanwhile, the high for the day in Omaha, meaning the hottest it's going to get in the day, is only 81...and they're getting awesome thunderstorms...
Friday, June 4
Twilight Zone
Wow, has it already been a week? I'm in that stage where time seems to go both really fast and really slow at the same time. I'm in the single digits in my countdown until my replacement gets here, and we all know countdowns make things go by faster, right? Just like a kid a Christmas time! (that was all sarcasm, by the way) To add to the slowness of things, I'm still waiting to hear the results of the monthly awards for May. I mean, we're already about a week into June and still nothing?!?! Preposterous, I tell you!
On the other hand, I have to look at packing all my stuff up here pretty soon. That should be fun! Living out of a suitcase for a week or so, waiting to catch a plane out of here. At least I won't have to be working, I guess. Also, I'm still getting things all set up to be turned over to my replacement and we have to do the end of tour awards and such, all within the next two weeks or so.
Some good news is that I ended up getting that apartment I was hoping to get downtown. Now it's like a big surprise to see what it actually looks like! Kind of like that old game show "Let's Make A Deal" (yeah, you thought I was too young to remember that, huh?) I went for the mystery box. I really hope it's not a dump...In any case, I'll be able to move into it as soon as I get back into town, so I won't have to couch surf at friends places or get a hotel room.
In the mean time, it's just another week out here...except with an insanely higher level of humidity, for some reason.
Picture Time!!
On the other hand, I have to look at packing all my stuff up here pretty soon. That should be fun! Living out of a suitcase for a week or so, waiting to catch a plane out of here. At least I won't have to be working, I guess. Also, I'm still getting things all set up to be turned over to my replacement and we have to do the end of tour awards and such, all within the next two weeks or so.
Some good news is that I ended up getting that apartment I was hoping to get downtown. Now it's like a big surprise to see what it actually looks like! Kind of like that old game show "Let's Make A Deal" (yeah, you thought I was too young to remember that, huh?) I went for the mystery box. I really hope it's not a dump...In any case, I'll be able to move into it as soon as I get back into town, so I won't have to couch surf at friends places or get a hotel room.
In the mean time, it's just another week out here...except with an insanely higher level of humidity, for some reason.
Picture Time!!
All the AMU OICs I ran with for most of my trip
Navy planes by my building at sunset
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