09 December 2008

House Tour




I thought I would share some pictures of our house since most of you haven't seen it. It's really just of the kitchen and entryway with a lot of Christmas decoration pics thrown in. It's a teaser. Now you'll have to check back often because you'll never know when I might upload a picture of the livingroom or, even better, a bathroom. Contain your ooo's and aaawww's.
Obviously we needed to rake. I decided to hold out until maintenance came to do it for us. Especially since we have no grass at all to uncover.


They came today and now we have a nice dirt yard. Well, mud now that's it's been raining for a solid three hours.





Here's the kitchen.
Best part is that we have a dishwasher. And it's name isn't Rachael or sometimes Rick.


The laundry room is past that open doorway with a huge closet that holds the dog kennel.





Our dining area with our new dining table. My sister and I set the table for no reason when she came to visit. It looked pretty though.










Our entry way. It's a good shot of the 1950/60s wood inlay floors. Which would be awesome except they've never been stripped. Ever and have 200 coats of varnish on them.
Still better than carpet.

Kitchen is too the left. Living room straight ahead and bedrooms to the right.
Christmas tree closeup with the angel we used a lot on our tree growing up.
I found these red curtains for something like $4 awhile ago and thought they'd be great for Christmas. Then I put them up and was a little overwhelmed by the red. It's a lot, a lot of red. We'll leave them for now and see how it goes.
We went to a Christmas tree farm to cut our tree but it was pretty ghetto. They were selling cedar bushes as Christmas trees. Wierd. I'd never heard of that before. So we had to do the awkward "We don't like your trees" thing and leave. We went to Kroger and bought this fir tree for $30. Way less than what they were selling the cedar bushes and much more Christmas-y. I also used up our exta ornaments with this little tree like decoration.

Alright, that's all I can handle. I'm not going to lie; it may be awhile before more pics. They take a long time to upload and then organize. Unless Rick knows how to do it some easier way. Cross your fingers. You just may get to see the bathroom afterall.

30 November 2008

first time for this feeling

So this is the first time in my life that I have been DNIF (duties not to include flying). That pretty much just means that you have accommodated some illness that is affecting or could possibly affect your flying so they dont want you up in the air. I had a pretty good upper respiratory infection since last Friday and I really didn't start feeling good until this Friday. I felt pretty bad on Monday because I was scheduled to fly and I had to take myself off the schedule so I could go to the doc. That really sucks for the guys in my flight because it means that one of them got added to a flight without knowing it was going to happen. Other than being sick it wasn't a bad week. We only had to work for three days this week, and it was really nice having the long weekend.
For thanksgiving, Rachael and I decided that we would host as many people that were staying here as we could. Rachael did an awesome job cooking her first turkey and I think that I did an ok job on the side dishes that I was tasked to prepare. We had a total of thirteen people including us over for dinner. It was a really good time. Most of the people were the folks from my class, but some of them had people that had come down to visit so we fed them all. It was really neat just getting to hang out and eat some good food on a day that we could have been working on. After the meal, one of the guys had rented a temporary house so his family could have a place to stay and we went over there for a party. Rachael and I had a pretty good time over there. The next day we did absolutely nothing until three in the afternoon. WE WERE SO TIRED from Thursday. Abbey decided to drive down because she was bored in AR on Friday. We all, pretty much every person from thanksgiving dinner, went out to this pretty good catfish place on the class bus and then we headed out to Starkville for a night on the town.
Well I think that is about it for this week. Coming up this week I am going to be into instruments pretty heavily. We are also probably going to start having Navigation rides as well. Most of this stuff is pretty new, so I have to really start hitting the books now.

22 November 2008

good week

so this was probably one of the better weeks of upt for me. I finished up the contact block of training and i am now moving on to instruments and navigation. My checkride went really well on thursday. I only got three downgrades and an Excellent overall. My flight commander said that was the highest final contact total he had seen in one of his flights. So far our flight is 5-0 for final contacts and that is a really good thing. we didnt do so well on midphase so we are trying to redeem ourselves. Instruments is a completely different kind of flying. you have to stare at the instruments and fight the urge to look outside. there are a lot of different rules that really govern how you fly when you are flying on instruments. that is actually the hardest part, just memorizing what to do when, and what applies where. sorry for the short post but i should have more after the razorback game.

11 November 2008

A day to remember

An inscription at the WWII memorial in DC


It's days like today that should cause every American to look back at where this country came from. Veteran's day, a day that salutes veterans serving in all wars, gives everyone a chance to look back at the beginning of this country and the ideals that we have upheld since its inception. Our system is not based on fealty, fear, or loyalty to some monarch/dictator. This country is THE democratic example that all nations should look up to. Since our inception we have come to the defense of those less fortunate, sometimes at the detriment to ourselves. This country has given freely of its valuable resources, including its most precious one, its sons and daughters. Do not let today go by without reflecting on the sacrifice of those that have protected this country and its citizens from all forms of tyranny. I would like to say thank you to all those who have served/died and given this country the freedoms that it sometimes takes for granted.
The largest flag ever airdropped.

08 November 2008

Man its been a while

So, a lot has gone down since the last post so strap in for a long one....

I think that the last time i posted I was getting ready to solo. I have since soloed several times. The first solo is absolutely one of the most harrowing/exciting experiences. They give you the keys to a couple of million dollar jet/prop and expect you to remember everything that they taught you. I got to go up at the same time as a couple of friends and that made the pattern (where we fly) interesting. It is really different not having an IP in the backseat correcting you on everything that you do. After you solo, they pretty much leave all of the decision making up to you. Your training is in your own hands is a favorite saying of most of the IPs.




This is me right before we went to the plane.
I am wearing my IPs wings since it is bad luck not to
where them on your first solo.

Me and Bervig waiting on the truck to take us out.


Some people strap into the jet, but I strap the jet onto my back.

Engine start

Getting carried to the tank


That was some cold, nasty, water.



Stapp, Bervig, and Me after being dunked.

After we solo we only have four rides until we take our first check ride. I took mine exactly four days later. I usually don't get nervous about taking check rides, and that day was no different. I went in there exactly the same way as if it were just a regular flight and briefed to fly. When we went out to fly everything was going perfect until the takeoff. I did one thing that took me out of my rhythm and I missed one of the few things that will instantly hook (fail) you on a check ride in the T-6. I forgot to turn off the nose wheel steering (NWS) before I started the takeoff roll (it gets really sensitive at high speeds and can lead to a really dangerous situation). The plane was one of the better ones and the IP didn't even notice until we had already started to lift off. I knew as soon as he said something that I had hooked my ride. The ride isn't over though. The way that they score your check rides here you can actually get a better grade even after you hook it, than someone who just has a mediocre flight. I managed to get my head back in the game before I even got my landing gear up. That is a first for me because I used to have a tendency to think about my mistakes and let that effect the rest of my flight. I flew a pretty solid sortie and managed to only get a few downgrades. Even after I hooked it I still had the 7th highest score in the class (the next closest hook was 14th). The check pilot (the guy who grades you) told me that I flew like a test pilot. He said that he thought that the NWS would completely snowball into a bad flight, but he said you couldn't even tell I had done it. He said some really complimentary things about my flying and then sent me on to do my makeup check. I flew my 88 ride the next day with one of the ADO's and that flight was over as soon as I turned off the NWS. The makeups only really grade you on what you hooked for. After that we just went out and had a pretty normal sortie.

After the check rides we go into advanced aerobatics. Those are pretty neat. We do a lot of maneuvers like loops, cuban 8's, immelmans, split-s, barrel rolls, etc. They are pretty neat but they are pretty tireing because of all the G's. We also get two area solo's during this block. They are different because we are out in the area doing all of our manuevers. I only have two more sorties until my next check ride. They will be my last Contact flights. After this, we move into instruments and navigation. That is going to be a completely different kind of flying. I have never really done any kind of instrument flying so it is going to be a huge change in types of flying. The control of the aircraft is the same, but you aren't supposed to use outside references at all. This is what they use when you fly through weather and that sort of stuff. We also just took the hardest test in UPT......weather. That test was a total waste of government resources. Over half of our flight failed, and the rest of our class still has to take it. The best part about taking it was the fact that we only have two academic tests left.


Outside of flying, things have been going pretty well. Bill got really sick a couple of weeks ago and he had me and Rachael both pretty worried that he might be on his last legs. But in typical bill fashion he was up and bouncing around after a trip to the vet, in which the vet confirmed that he is back on track to live well into his twenties. Other than that things are pretty mellow. We are getting ready to host thanksgiving for all the people in our class who aren't going home, and don't have people coming down to visit. That should be fun. Well, I guess that is it for now..

12 October 2008

Who Thought Columbus Day could be this good

So another week has gone by, and things are pretty much the same as last week. We basically did the same kind of flying with just a few more expectations of our skill level. In this block of training we are expected to really know how to handle the plane and we are just fine tuning our skills to get ready for our initial solo. We should all be getting ready to solo towards the end of this week and the beginning of next week. It is going to be pretty cool. On Tuesday and Wednesday we had some pretty nasty flying weather (the ceilings were around 700 ft and that is pretty tough to fly in when you are just learning how to fly on clear days). I got to do some instrument flying, it was pretty rough seeing as I had never had to rely solely on the instruments in the plane before. Once we got on top of the clouds it was just like every other sunny day except that we couldn't see the ground. We had a lot of extra time in the area so we did some cloud chasing, and that was a lot of fun. I also got to work on some aerobatics that we will be doing in the next phase of training. On the other side of training, we took our instrument test on Thursday and now we have moved on to the second phase of instruments. This stuff is all really new to most of us, because we have never really had to think about flying IFR.
On the personal side, Rachael and I are really happy that the government thinks Columbus Day is an important day. This three day weekend is really nice for us because it gives us two days to spend together before I have to get back into the books. On Saturday we went up to Tupelo and shopped all day. Rachael got some new clothes, and then we looked at stuff for the house the rest of the day. She was really excited because she got to go to hobby lobby and TJ MAXX. I am just looking forward to relaxing on Sunday. I have every intention of getting in a round of Frisbee golf and some serious hammock time. Other than that we'll see.

06 October 2008

First Block

So my first week is officially over and we just started our second week of flight line training. It is absolutely the most fun I have ever had in my entire life (to be read: it is the most challenging, hardest thing I have ever done). 4 years of college cannot begin to compare to one week on the flight line (at least for bio majors). I am getting pretty proficient at the basics (straight and level, turns, etc) but I still make a lot of little mistakes. The IPs say that that is normal, but I usually have an unfairly high standard for myself. This first group of rides was basically to introduce us to the handling characteristics of the aircraft. We did things like stalls, and handling demonstrations just so we could get a feel for the wide range of usable airspeeds and maneuvers. Today, I had my first double-turn. That is where they schedule you for two events in the same day, like a flight-sim or a flight-flight. That is really brain numbing. There is so much information in your head at the end of the flying period that I have a hard time going into academic mode and trying to learn how to fly instruments. The way they schedule our academics actually amazes me. We are doing the academics for a portion of the syllabus that we are not even opted to see until about a month from now. We will be done with instruments and on to Navigation and formation before we even get done with the first section. I guess that is why they say the course is extremely front loaded. It is pretty hard to imagine that we have been training for almost two months now. Things are moving pretty fast. Well, that's all for now.

28 September 2008

dollar ride

So friday was my first ride in the T-6. Its called a dollar ride because you give a dollar to your IP to commemorate the ride. It was absolutely awesome. This plane is fully aerobatic and it is pretty high powered. It climbs like a champ and overall is a pretty neat aircraft to fly. The sortie is pretty laid back and there really isnt much instruction, so the learning curve is going to be pretty steep starting tomorrow. We should be flying almost everyday from here on out and it is going to be pretty tough. Here are some pictures from my dollar ride (they are all on the ground because we cant take cameras in the planes).


This is me getting ready to "step" to the aircraft.


This is me strapping in to the cockpit. Apparently we are so inneficient at first, the IP does the walkaround while we struggel to attach ourselves to the ejection seat.

This is my hero shot. I pretty much dwarf this airplane.

Visor down, ready to close the canopy for engine start.

23 September 2008

BIG big news!!

So, of course, Rick forgot to mention the most exciting news of all. I found a job!!! And the best part is that I can ride my bike there if so inclined. I probably won't but it is nice to know that I could (Rick will read this and make me ride my bike at least once...betcha two dollars). It's at the Child Development Center here on the base. The pay is really decent and is made even better by the fact I won't be spending it on gas money to get into town. We're spending the next few days rotating in and out of the various classrooms to get a feel of where we'd like to be most of the time. My first two observations today involved me getting spit up/ thrown up on so we'll see what happens tomorrow. Rick and I are both pumped about this job, though, because I've been home alone so long I've started talking to the dogs like they can 1) understand me (in Bill's case, hear me) and 2) will respond. I think it's definitely time to get out of the house.

Also, the other exciting news he forgot was that our friends just had their little baby girl. They are in our class and we are all so happy to see baby Avery. She's like the class mascot, Baby 0914 (Rick's class #). It's going to be an extremely busy year for them but I have a feeling they'll have lots of help if they need it.

Other than filling out my half ton of paperwork for my job, I've been hanging out with the other spouses in his class. It's a total change from Altus and really nice to be able to hangout iwth people who know what you are going through. If you need to just have a gripe fest about how the Air Force is ruining your life or how much you want a puppy or how all the husbands have forgotten how to take out the trash since pilot training started, someone is there. We've also going to spin class. Unfortunately it's at 7am. Fortunately, last time they played early 90s music which was awesome and a great way to start my Monday. We'll see how long it lasts.

21 September 2008

one more week...

So we have come to the last week of academics. Its not even a whole week, but we still have a test. We actually spend one day on the flight line with them teaching us how to do the everyday tasks that we are going to have to do. Its pretty exciting to know that we will actually be flying starting this Friday. Its going to be pretty rough, they expect us to know absolutely everything about flying the plane and they make it very obvious when you don't know it. We go in on Monday and we get to switch pubs with the class that is leaving so that we don't have to make a million updates to the dash-1 and our checklists. Even though it is going to be tough, it will be a lot of fun getting to fly again.

This last week I did some simulators, mainly emergency procedures and we took a couple of more tests. I am getting the hang of actually "flying" the plane in the simulator, but it will be nice to actually be able to feel what you are doing when we get in the plane.

Rachael's parents drove down this weekend. We had a pretty good time, but Debbie was sick and the weather wasn't that great when they got here. We went to get some pretty good food at some of the off the beaten track restaurants. We watched some good football games and then we watched the Arkansas-Alabama game, and that made me want to be an alumni of some other school. That was absolutely the worst game i have ever seen on television. It looked like mediocre junior high team was playing a collegiate team. I hope that they get their act together before they come down to MSU because we already bought our tickets and I would hate to be as embarrassed as i was yesterday.

Well, that's all we have for now.

16 September 2008

wedding pictures

So, after three long months of waiting, the photographer finally decided that she would put our pictures up on the webpage. They are at: http://onlocationphotog.com/Harris%20+%20Winfield%20Wedding/index.html. I am not going to lie, I look pretty good. I never really had trouble with that though...

13 September 2008

just another day in paradise

Another week down, only 48 left to go. This week we had our aerodynamics class/test and then we started on flying fundamentals and local procedures. we also had our first real simulators even though we really werent even flying. The aero test went alright. I didnt make a 100 but at least i made a 97. They should really start putting our tests on friday and then not teach us stuff because it just makes it that much harder to sit through instead of testing on thursday and then having to do stuff on friday. The aero stuff was actually pretty difficult, but i know what i need and now i can pretty much brain dump the rest of that crap. we started our basic level simulators where they teach us how to do the checklists in a timely manner. we also practiced responding to basic emergencies and using our cockpit resources effectively. I did pretty well on the sims (they really arent that hard). I managed to get my checklist time down from 25 minutes to almost under ten. We also got our flight assignments this week. I am going to be in T-Bolt flight with half of my class. The other half of the class is going to be in Lightning flight. We are all in the 37th FTS. Rachael and I are having a pretty good time with the people in our class. We spend a lot of time with the other married couples. Rachael is going to start golf lessens this week because she really needs them. we are also in major house decorating mode because rachael doesnt like the idea of having our style be "early college". Well, i guess that that is it for now.

09 September 2008

why rachael owes rick a disc







Just an early morning update for those of you that actually check this......




Rachael and I went out with a couple of friends to play some disc golf this weekend. Rachael is not the best player, but she seems to have some fun while we are out there. We had a good time, but little did we know that I would get to attempt some "fishing" while we were out there. Maybe one day she will learn to throw over the narrow part of the water and we can avoid situations like this:

This is one of those moments where you know you really love someone. At the point in the picture above, the water is actually ony about a foot deep. The mud, however, is up to my thighs. For the record, we never found the disc. Now to be fair, I actually ended up in the water a couple of holes later, but it is all about LOCATION. Overall we had a pretty good time. I just wish that the only course around here wasn't thirty minutes away.




Here are a couple more action shots.
Rick with another tree hit



Rachael and her disc prowess


Ryan's wife Julia


06 September 2008

more pics of the things we have been up to

This is Rachael beeing a trooper and riding her bike all around Bainbridge Island, WA. She rode 15 miles in one day!

This is Rachael and her best friends from ASMS the day after the wedding.

This is the official wedding party. The best man Seth, Rick, Rachael, and the MOH Abbey

This is a pic of me getting ready to start my first triathalon. I actually did pretty well. I finished 37th out of 270.

another on bites the dust

so we are now officially done with systems. we took our fourth test of upt and i managed to once again make a 100 on it. i am the only person in my class to get a 100 on all four tests. i guess that it is just good luck, but i have been studying really hard. i just hope that i can keep my streak alive. i doubt that i will because our next section is aerodynamics. this is one of those completely foreign subjects to me. i have never liked anything physics or physics related. we are also starting our simulators this week. we actually have to wear the full get up (helmet, mask, and harness) just to sit in the cockpit and do checklists. we also are going to get split up into flights this next week. it doesn't mean much until we hit the flight line but it will be interesting to see how we get split up.

on other notes, Rachael and i are having a great time. we usually have people over for dinner a couple nights a week and we hang out with all kinds of people on the weekends. it is definitely a big adjustment getting back into all the studying (for both of us) but we are doing pretty well so far. well i guess that is it for now!

29 August 2008

first few weeks of UPT

So the first two weeks of UPT are officially over. We have finished Aerospace physiology and Systems 1 and we have started systems 2. I have taken three tests and so far i have managed to not miss a single question. There is a lot of material that they are forcing down our throats, but things are not so bad....yet. Once we hit the flight line things will get a lot faster. This is pretty much our only chance to try and get a good base of knowledge before we have to start drinking from a fire hydrant. I am really excited to get closer to getting on the flight line because that just means that we get to fly again. Well, thats all for now...two more tests this week. woo hoo!

24 August 2008

These are just a few pics of what we have been up to for the last few months or so.
This is us at Fay Bainbridge state park on our honeymoon.


This is me showing Rachael how to use a water filter on our backcountry canoe trip.

This is Molly the water dog relaxing with a little breeze created by our super fast paddling.

Finally started

After many years of waiting, I have finally started UPT. We started on the 14th of August with some basic intro stuff and then we moved on to Aerospace Physiology for the last week and one day. Phase 1(the first six weeks) is dedicated to academics and getting to know your flight. We are doing pretty well with that aspect. We have had people over several times, including the entire flight last weekend. The info that we are learning in class is pretty basic, but it is still pretty useful. We spent a day just doing classroom lectures on what to expect from our oxygen system, ejection seat, and parachute. We got to go on a "chamber flight" where they put us in a pressure chamber and took us up to 35,000 feet. Then we had to take off our masks so that we could learn what our symptoms of hypoxia were, in case it ever happens in the aircraft. We also spent half a day learning how to land with our parachutes. That was fun, but it was pretty embarrassing doing PT in our flight suits out in the middle of the base.
Our class has some pretty interesting dynamics. We are pretty well spread across the age and background spectrum. We range from 23 to 30, 10 married, 4 guard, 2 reserves, 1/3 ROTC, 1/3 AFA, and 1/3 OTS and AMS. We also have two international students from Japan. It is pretty interesting getting to see the backgrounds where everyone is coming from. Rachael and I are meeting and getting to hang out with some pretty interesting people.
This coming week we are starting the rest of our academic program. We are getting into T-6A systems and some other basic lessons about the aircraft. We also spend a lot of the time getting the traditional "hazes". We have to put the flags out in the morning, keep the POW/MIA table looking nice, drive people out on the flight line, serve beer at the graduating class's assignment night, and a lot of other little stuff. But all said, it is really not that bad. We only have to do this kind of stuff for 2 more weeks, and then we have another class come in and take over the work.
We hit the flight line in about 5 weeks and that is when the stuff is really going to get difficult.

12 August 2008

Columbus

We finally made it to Columbus, Mississippi, found a house, got our furniture and are settling down from a crazy crazy month. Rick is estatic to be starting Undergraduate Pilot Training after almost 9 months as a casual LT (in other words: coffee maker and secretary). He's been reporting in for almost two weeks now but is usally home in an hour or two. It's been really nice to have him home helping get settled.

We found a house on base but it took a week until we were able to move in. It's decent for base housing. Three bedrooms, 1.5 bath, hardwood floors (just ignore the fact that there is probably 50 years of wax and polish on them and they've never been stripped). We're most excited about the fact we now have a dishwasher and central heat and air. The ghetto house in Altus didn't have either. I also am able to put the dryer inside the house. Another big bonus.

They moved our furniture in a week after we got the house so we spent a few days sleeping on an air mattress with two lawn chairs and a rubbermaid box for a dining set. I'm learning a lot on this move and the next one will definitely go smoother. As much as we'll be moving in the next two years, I'm sure I'll become an expert. We're still working on unpacking. Most of the problem is that we have an extreme amount of junk and random pieces of furniture that don't really go together. No surprise there since it is all from college or family members. We'll get there eventually. We did buy a dining set and received it today. Rick looked at me and said, "You're an actual wife now." I think it just hit him that we since we had nice furniture (one piece of nice furniture) we were actually married. It is an awesome table though. Counter hieght with a butterfly leaf so we can sit 6 or 8. It does have white cushions though. We'll have to be careful.

We also bought a patio set on clearance to go with our Christmas grill. (Thanks, Kathi!!) Hopefully, we'll have his training class over this weekend now that we have places for people to sit and eat.

Once we get the house settled I'm going to get more serious about this job hunt. Actually I'll probably go and apply to be a sub tomorrow. Just bite the bullet. It's going to be difficult to get up in the morning after such a long vacation. But, hey, somebody has to bring home the bacon!;)

22 July 2008

Seattle!

Hello from Seattle! We have had a great time these last few days up
here in the northwest. We got to do some really neat stuff. We went up
the space needle, went to the Pike Market and lots of other cool
stuff. We didn't even rent a car! We spent the entire week on bikes
and other forms of public transportation. The weather was absolutely
amazing. It was in the mid-70s everyday. We are definitely going to
come back here again. Next time we are going to fish and kayak to the
extreme.
Rick and I are sitting in the Seattle airport and apparently both updating AT THE SAME TIME. I'll wait though so Ican have the last word.

12 July 2008

Wedding Party

We just got through with the wedding party that my sister threw us
back in Texas for my friends and family that couldn't drive to
Arkansas. It was really good to see the side of my family that I
haven't seen in six or more years. We also got to see some friends
that I haven't kept up very well with; but I am going to make a better
effort to do so in the future. It was a really good party and it was
fun to see the video of out wedding. Pictures to come later.

10 July 2008

So Rick and I are stuck in VOQ (base hotel) for another day but we are finally out of the nasty ghetto house with the teeny tiny kitchen. I"m really excited about that. Tomorrow we leave for Dallas for the post wedding shower (thanks,Courtney!!) and I'm won't be coming back to Altus for a long long time if ever. Rick will be back on Monday, but just for the day. Then we have errands to run in Texas and it's off to Seattle for us. Yahhhh, honeymoon!!!!

07 July 2008

moving

Its that time of year again. That wonderful time of the year where we have to move across the country. You think that as many times as the AF does this that life would be really easy, but man is this a really difficult process. We have spent the last two days just trying to get stuff organized so the movers and packers can come and mess it up. At least we had a long weekend. We went down to Cousin Dave's house and really had a good time. We played on the lake and did all that crazy stuff until we were too tired to move at the end of every day. We also got to see some family that I havent seen in a long time, and Rachael had only met once (or never!). The other sad part about this moving thing is that the bikes have to be stored away in the truck for the next few weeks. I just got a new seat for the road bike and now i dont even have a chance to try it out until we get to Mississippi! Speaking of the new seat, it is absolutely amazing if anyone who reads this has problems with numbness on long rides. I havent been out for a long ride yet but just the few test rides were noticebly different. Since the wedding, we havent done much other than just get ready to leave. Rachael is now officialy my wife, according to the AF and now I dont have to babysit her while she is on base. I am starting to get really excited about starting UPT. I keep talking to Seth and hearing about all of the stuff he is up to and it makes me extremely jealous. Only 4 more weeks until the year+ journey begins.

Peace out!

02 July 2008

Married!

We were married Saturday in Arkansas on Mt Nebo. Of course it was the first time in years it rained on that date. And it rained all day long. But our pictures turned out wonderful and everything probably worked out for the best. We danced, we visited, had two bites of food and now we aren't heathens living together in sin. We are legit. I even have a military ID now. Granted the picture isn't the best but when are they? Now if only we could rein in the chaos that is our house and start getting things ready to move. The packers are coming on the 8th, the movers on the 9th, and then we are out of this house on the 10th. Goodbye falling apart house, crappy stove, ghetto neighborhood and drug dealer neighbor. Hello central heat and air. We are a little too excited to be moving to Mississippi in July but going from no a/c to a/c will do that to you.

22 June 2008

Virginia Cont.

How many rednecks can there be in this country? I thought that they
were limited to the actual southern stated, but I have seen more
mullets and buck teeth than I ever care to see again. This was
probably the best airshow I have ever been to. We had the British Red
Arrows headline and they are pretty good aviators. I got some sweet
pics of those guys.

20 June 2008

Washington DC

So here I am in Washington DC sleeping on the floor of a couple of GW
law students. I struck out on my own last night to see some of the
monuments, and I discovered that this is a pretty cool place. The
Jefferson memorial was definitely my favorite of the ones that I went
to. Even though I cant remember the words right this moment, the
inscription running around the top of the inside was a pretty good
one. These monuments really carry a lot of history, and they are kind
of intimidating in a way. The Washington memorial was also pretty
neat. When I got there, the US Marine band was doing a show and they
were a really good band. After the Washington, I went down to the WW2
and it was pretty neat as well. Its one of the newest memorials in DC.
The Lincoln was after that and it really kind of reminds you of the
Parthenon. It was probably the most beautiful of the monuments that I
saw. The reflecting pool is really some nasty water filled with duck
crap but it looks nice at night from a distance. The Vietnam and
Korean War memorials are right next to the Lincoln as is the standard
arrival for all planes going into Reagan Int. Overall, DC is a place
you need to dedicate about a week to.

v/r
Rick W
Psalm 121

17 June 2008

now that we have that first post out of the way we can get on to the real stuff.


Being a bike commuter in Altus, Ok is like being the one legged man in an ass kicking contest. People look at you like you just punched them in the face everytime they pass you (or you pass them). Even people that know me think it is a pretty weird thing to do. Probably some of the coolest times around here are when someone who has never commuted before tries it and comes to me talking about how much fun it actually was. Who would have thought? Maybe, just maybe, I do this because I actually enjoy it? It absolutely amazes people when you tell them that you do something physical that you enjoy. Hopefully the rest of the AF will be a little more accepting about the whole bike thing.
--This is my Surly Cross Check (aka Regina).

"Fix it or mix it!" Mike Hoover




my life is a pretty boring affair. I am constantly reminded of the contradictions in my day to day life. My preferred mode of transportation is one of my two bikes. I love to bike because its a fun, healthy, good for the environment, and good for the wallet way to get to work. I know that some people would instantly discredit me as a "treehugger" but someday those people will realize that we are all stewards of this planet for the next generation. I grew up enjoying the outdoors in as many ways as I possibly could, and I want my kids to have the same chances that I have had. Also, this is a great way to counteract the negative effects of my day job, Officer/Pilot in the USAF. I burn more gas warming up an engine than most people do in a year, but hey, at least I am trying.
I absolutely can't wait to be a real pilot and not a casual Lt or a student. These past few months have been difficult in that I have not really had a definition for what I am doing. Most of the people in my squadron have a mission, but I am just there filling space and doing the work that no one else really wants to do. That said, I wouldn't trade this time for anything. This has been an invaluable time for me both as an officer and a person. I am gaining experience in areas that many people wont get to for a few more years, and I have spent some quality time with my fiance. We have done some pretty cool stuff that we wouldn't have done if we werent here. Rachael and I are getting married in a little under two weeks, and it is a pretty exciting feeling. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I am thankful for her in my life everyday. I just hope that she can put up with my excentricities.