Best Day During Training

We had our best day during training last Friday when we finally got to fire up the catapult and launch the dummy. I can describe it as the coolest experience I've had in the past 2 weeks, which probably isn't saying much considering the circumstances.

It rained the entire day and most of the night before. We weren't sure if we'd be able to pull the catapult out to do anything at the beginning of the day. The initial plan was just to fire up the birds and run through all the startup procedures, then go home. Fortunately the sun came up (even though you can't tell in the picture), and out we went with the catapult.

I was the third to go. In hindsight I wish I had gone first because the dummy was so muddy when it was my turn. Part of the practice launches was to load the dummy on the launcher, which involved handling the awkwardly weighed, muddy piece of plastic. I avoided getting my clothes dirty by holding it like someone would hold a baby that just left a present in their diaper and heaved it on.

While I was standing there waiting for the launcher to be ready to launch this strange feeling of doing something really bad fell over me. I pulled the safety pin with the safety rope and it clanked to the ground. I walked to the back and gingerly pulled the trigger rope off the ground and stood about 5 feet away from the beast. I gave it a little tug and BAM! the dummy went hurdling toward oblivion, which was the muddy grassy area between the taxiway and runway at the airport. I felt like a little kid shooting off fireworks for the first time during the fourth of July.

I'm sure that feeling won't last. Eventually all the coolness will wear off and it will just be part of the job. But until that happens, I'm going to giggle like a 2 year old everytime I pull that trigger rope...

Almost Time To Say Good Bye

The friends that I made in the class ahead of ours are leaving Friday morning for flight training in Washington, then off to the sand. It's a little sad that these are the last few chances I can see them for the foreseeable future.

I was pretty unhappy due to some problems I was facing last night, so a few of them convinced me to road trip to Memphis. It was Tuesday night so it wasn't as if we were going to get crazy. In fact, I chose to drive since I still had class today. But despite all that it was good just to get away.

It was a very spontaneous trip. Since we didn't know that Friday was their last day, it gave us a chance to spend a little more time together. Although I was really looking forward to hanging out with them this weekend, I guess it wasn't in life's plan.

Finding these people really made the past couple weeks very enjoyable. I came here prepared to be a lone and home sick. Instead I was able to spend some time with some wonderful people, hearing stories and creating new experiences to tell others about.

I think the worst part of meeting new people and sharing new experiences with them is the fact that you now that someday you'll have to part ways. It's always my hope that maybe in the near future I'll get another opportunity to share more time with them. If I'm lucky enough maybe someday I'll see this group again too. Whether it's out there or back home, I think the good times will pick right back up where they left off.

The Most Popular Man In Middle Tennessee

It's quarter till 4 and I just got home from Jackson, TN. It's a slightly larger town about 60 miles north of Savannah. We went up there for some sushi but found a little more than just raw fish.

I was designated the sushi restaurant finder earlier today because we decided it would be a nice change of pace from the regular fried fare we find around here. So I got on to Google and found a few places but narrowed it down to a place called Asahi, yes just like the beer. It had the best reviews of the three I found and I thought it looked like a good area. So off we went, sushi bound.

We got to Jackson around 9 and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of stuff there was there compared to here. I didn't realize how much I took for granted back home that I don't have here until tonight. Access to real restaurants besides McDonald's, Hardee's or Burger King for instance.

So the three of us rolled in to Asahi and got a table. We were all starving so we all ordered individually. Since I have no control of my mind when I'm hungry I went a little overboard with my roll selection. The dragon, surf and turf, spicy tuna and an eel rolls were my choice tonight. They brought each roll out on their own plates so I had constructed a wall around myself in sushi plates. Next to our table was a group that at first glance looked like two couples out for a nice dinner at a sushi restaurant. We were very mistaken...

One of the guys started talking to us and at first we weren't sure why he was talking to us or what he wanted. So we proceeded with caution at first. He kept asking what different rolls were on our table and what the different sashimis were. Everytime he'd ask he'd order what we had and ate it. It was all very strange to me at first but he was a very friendly person so how could I not like him.

Well as the sushi kept coming both tables started to loosen up. It wasn't as if we were sharing deep dark secrets but we were talking. Since they were locals we asked them were a good club was at. They said that they were headed for a place down the road and that we should come along and follow them. By now we'd been in Jackson for about an hour and appeared to have just met 4 new friends.

The first clue I had that this was not your ordinary run-of-the-mill local was the fact that he knew the owner of the restaurant, who evidently introduced him to his first sushi experience a year ago. Then on the way out of the restaurant the same guy stopped and talked to some people at the hibachi grills on the other side of the restaurant and yet another group in the bar area. This was shaping up to be a very interesting evening... or a scene from Deliverance...

We followed them to a club called Cody's. Now, we had a Cody's back at Mizzou where I went to college and it was COUNTRY. What are the odds that a place called Cody's in Tennessee was going to be a dance club, well I guess the odds turned out pretty good. Despite the odd country song here and there it was mainly dance music. Oh, did I mention our sushi friend knew just about EVERYONE in the bar? He even knew the bouncer!

We spent a few hours at Cody's dancing the night away with our new friends. I was driving so obviously I wasn't doing much of the dancing unless dragged out but still having a good time watching. I was amazed by the number of people sushi-guy knew though. I've been told I know a lot of people but they've never been as concentrated as this guy's network.

We chose to leave Cody's for more dancing at a place right next door called the Mix Factory. Our new friend even knew the bouncer there because it turns out he use to bounce for the place. I later learned that he was an MMA fighter, which explained his energy level. His connections didn't end at Cody's because as soon as we got passed the bouncer he was already shaking hands and doling out hugs.

Girls, guys, black, white, asian you name it he probably knew someone with those characteristics and they all seem to like him. Either that or they were all afraid of him kicking the crap out of them... So a little more dancing after that and a few more glad hands we were finally on our way back home to Savannah. We said our good byes to our new friends in the parking lot and sped off into the night...

On the way home I was almost rearended by someone in a Cougar. They sped by and veered back infront of our car. They kind of meandered between the lane and the shoulder for a bit and continued to pull away from my car. After about a mile we passed them on the shoulder. They had their emergency flashers on, so I assumed they realized that they were drunk and decided to stop and pull off the road.

After a couple more miles the same car nearly rear ended my car again. And yet again they veered infront of us and sped off on ahead. A couple more miles down the road there was a silver Chevy on the shoulder with someone standing besides it looking down the embankment. Sure enough the Cougar had swerved off the road and hit a light pole.

That last part really didn't have anything to do with the most popular man in middle Tennessee but it was part of the night. What a good time though! A new experience, with potential new friends, in a new town, at a new restaurant and then ending the night with someone getting their comeupins. Moral of the story, MMA fighters are cool and don't drink and drive.

Good Times, All The Time

I'm really enjoying my time here in Tennessee, certainly more than I had expected. It has more to do with others in the class than the town though... So far we've gotten together every night to hang out, have dinner and drinks. I've spent more time with the class ahead of us because we've adopted an open door policy, i.e. whenever you're home your door is open. It's worked out for a lot of random drop ins and invitations to go out. Last night one of the guys cooked dinner, the night before some others went out to a restaurant/bar down near the lake, before that we ate at a nice bistro downtown, the food is good and the company better.

The people are all so diverse and all come from very different backgrounds. Most of them are former military, or current military. But where they've been and how they got here makes for some really interesting conversation. I guess it's just common sense that when people are put into a similar situation the natural instinct is to be drawn to others that share in that experience. The important thing is to go alone, otherwise you're content hanging out with the same person.

The sad part about this whole thing is that the group that I've spent the most time with is about to be deployed (I found out last night that we get some really cool stuff when we get deployed) and odds are we won't end up in the same areas. But hopefully there will be a new class coming in for the April session and they'll be just as cool as the people that I'm here with now. If not, then I'll just start watching TV, study more and drive up to Nashville every weekend.

My First Day in School

I think that the first day is the most important day for anything. It can tell you what the rest of your time is going to be like, sort of like first impressions. That being said, my first day of training was pretty good.

We actually only had class for 30 minutes, which was spent going over an introduction presentation and some information about the city. The rest of the day was spent with administration work. I got to meet the other kids in class and the people who are about to graduate. It was a good day!

I joined the gym, which is about five minutes down the road. The guys told me about it when I asked and also said that most of them head over there after class. I'm still a little weary of that place though. I got some odd looks while I was working out yesterday, but hopefully I was just being paranoid. I can't stop going though because it's nicer than my gym at home! But that might be because it's also about $30 more expensive than the gym back home... hmmm...

When I pulled in after the gym one of the other guys was outside and asked if I wanted to go to the dam. Obviously, since I had nothing else going on, I took the offer. Although, now that I think about it, if I DID have something going on I probably would have gone anyway. HA, I'm a horrible student, but that's fine, it's all about the experience and making new friends. So I got to hang out with some other people and after that we went out to dinner.

We got a little tour of "downtown" after dinner. It's about a block long and it seems the same couple own just about every building there. They must be like the Trumps of Savannah! The place we went for dinner is a little bit of big city in a small town. The food was good I think (but I'm not very picky so who knows) and they had a lot of selection. The only girl here is staying in a loft downtown and we went up to her place for a little tour.

So my first day was great, maybe too great... I met and got to hang out with some of the others in the program, I got to go see some cool places and eat at a nice restaurant and only had a 1/8 doing real work! I need to keep low expectations though, because the others are leaving in a couple weeks... But I guess that just means I get to make other friends.

Savannah, TN

Savannah is a small town 2.5 hours west of Nashville. There was almost no sign of civilization driving toward the town. However when I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by a Wal-Mart, Walgreen's and a Chinese restaurant. There are a couple things that make me feel okay about a place, first that there are Japanese cars around and second there is a Chinese restaurant. Why? Well it mean's I'm not alone... Since Savannah appears to have both, it might not be to bad of a place.

I got the pleasure of meeting a few people that are in the training class a head of mine. One is from Seattle, worked on commercial programs and was part of the ANG prior to joining the program. Another is an ISR employee from Hawaii who's of Filipino decent. My roommate, an older gentleman, is from Southern California. He was an FSR on commercial programs and has traveled far and wide for that job. All of them seem like really cool people, which is great because the people make the experience.

At first glance the apartments don't seem terrible. They're sparsely furnished but have everything someone might need to live. Ours is a 2 bedroom, single bath.


Each room has a full sized bed and some 80s looking bedroom furniture. The TV is about the size of my computer monitor but I don't really like watching TV anyway. There's a gym down the street that I think I might get a membership at. It'll give me something to do when I'm not at training.

On the downside, I learned that there is apparently nothing to do in town, so they've been driving to other more populated areas to find something to do. That works out in my favor since my brother lives in Nashville and it's only 2 hours away! That means more time to spend with him, his wife, and my nephew!

This is it...

This move isn't permanent by any means, however it feels very much that way. It was the same feeling I had when I went off to college. A form of temporary relocation that put me in an exciting new world and in a way this new job is the same. I'm, temporarily, leaving a home that I'm comfortable in, friends that I love very much and a way of life that I've grown accustomed too. All for a new view, a new experience with volumes of lessons to be learned and a new set of adventures to tell people about when I return. But there is still a long road before I get to the end of this chapter. There's still the good byes, the period of home sickness and the tiniest bit of regret for leaving my team.

I had a going away last night that, I have to admit, made me a little misty eyed. Friends that I've made throughout my life, stretching all the way back to elementary school and well into my career, all coming together to say good bye and good luck. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see everyone and realize how important all the people in my life are to my life. This was the first time that I've wanted the days to drag on so I'd have the opportunity to see one more person and cram in one more lunch or dinner.

Since time keeps trucking along, the point has come for me to jump into the darkness and see how much adventure I'm willing to handle. My desk is cleaned out, my clothes are packed and I'm ready to get going.

The Stress of Change

Not sure how much people care but this blog is a good outlet for me to express my feelings in ways that I would otherwise avoid. I just felt that I would share my thoughts now that the time for leaving is coming closer and closer. To be honest I'm getting a little scared and very stressed.

I'm being temporarily relocated to Savannah, TN for the next few weeks for training and then I'll be flown to Oregon for flight training following that. I don't know what to expect from training and right now there is a lot up in the air on the home front.

My new roommate isn't moving in until the beginning of April, I have a wedding mid-April that I don't know if I can make, I had a vacation planned that I need to cancel and I'm in a wedding in July that I'm not entirely sure I'll make since I have no idea where I'll be then. There's still a laundry list of things that need to be completed at home this week and I'm making every effort to get as much done in my current job as possible.

Although I was warned that things would be very dynamic with this new career path, I'm still a little shocked by all the things up in the air. I don't really know how long I'll be in Tennessee for, I don't know how long I'll be in Oregon for and I don't know where I'm going yet. For that matter, I also don't know if I'll be on a boat or on land. I know that I'm going down this weekend and living in a corporate apartment.

I just get stressed when I don't feel like I have control of the situation. Another reason to take this job was to learn how to not be in control and I'm certainly learning... This was more about evolving as a person and learning life lessons than gaining tangible career skills. So, since stress management was something I needed to work on, now is the opportune time to get better at it.

Day 6

When I left the gym yesterday I'd gotten a call from an unexpected person. It was my program manager. He told me I should start packing because I'm leaving next weekend for training. I've officially been released, and now have a week to get as much stuff figured out before it starts getting more difficult to get stuff done.