Cool New Toy

My IPOD mini crapped out so I purchased an IPOD nano. It takes video so I am going to the store before my next mission and buying a ridiculously priced mic that works with the Ipod so that I can capture takeoffs and landings at the different airfields I'll be going in and out of. Sweet!!!!!

today I finally did something with my time. I got a call to preflight a bird that was landing in the evening. We have this wacky, ridiculous setup where we actually brought duty people to fullfill roles that we could fill. That's supposed to be their job because we do the flying. Even though there are duty loadmasters, the two loadmasters assigned to my crew have gone in every day of the week to launch birds. Me you ask? No room for a flight engineer so I don't go in. I only went in today because the "duty" engineer was on his combat run to get his tax free on. I worked two hours, but should have only worked thirty minutes were it not for my gift of gab and the fact that the maintenance supervisor made sloppy joes!!! All you can eat for two bucks!!!!! So while I was BS'ng with the maintenance guys and adding ten pounds to my waist, they completed fueling, which I was waiting on.

But our planes have flares loaded for our defensive systems. Every so often they require an inspection to make sure that they won't accidently fire and provide a nice fireworks display at an untimely hour: say when your trying to be stealthy or when your landing at a very nice airport where authorities frown upon starting grass fires (yes it has been done). So while I'm in the breakroom in the ops building regaling the folks with stories of my youth, the technician comes out to do an electrical check on the weapons system. WTF? I get out there with sloppy joe fresh on my flightsuit only to find out that I must postpone my preflight for another thirty minutes. What was I to do? Go eat more sloppy joes. Thank God my crewchief Jesse wanted to go home because she came and tackled me and drug me to the plane when it was time.

So today I worked. Now I'm off another couple of days until my long mission. In the meantime I will take more pictures of the base. Upload said pictures and figure out how to work my camera on the Ipod with the microphone so you can hear air traffic control and our intercom communications. I will also be visiting the Canadian club here on base and I hope to find a Trad Ale. Big Rock brewery out of Calgary has a mighty fine ale called the Traditional, but when your in like Flynn with the Canucks you just say, "Give me a Trad!!!!!" If they don't have one I am going to request medical disability for traumatic stress!!!!!