My SAAB Story

This story begins on a cold boring Tuesday in Dubuque. There were no passengers scheduled to fly out on our afternoon flight, so my boss gave me the rest of the day off. I was scheduled to have 

Wednesday off as well, so I decided it was time to fly somewhere. After all, my last trip was all the way back in November when I went to Paris and Amsterdam. This time I decided on a slightly less audacious undertaking. I had several options with a list of people and places to see, but I didn't think three hours notice was enough time to drop in on anyone. I called Matt, my former roommate to see what he was up to, but got no response. So I checked the availability to Toronto, Canada. Wide open! Just as I was about to board the flight out of Dubuque, Matt called back to let me know it was ok to come visit him in Waterloo. So I quick changed my itinerary and hopped on board. 

Since the flight attendant and I were the only ones in the cabin, we got to know each other pretty well. She had been to Dubuque a couple times before, but we hadn't talked at length until now. When I got to MSP, my former manager, Kai, was waiting for me. He told me that he thought it was odd that there were no connecting passengers coming from Dubuque. We chatted for a little bit before I got on another SAAB headed for Waterloo. 

Matt was waiting for me at the airport. We stopped at Casey's to pick up some pizza before heading back to his apartment near the UNI campus. I met most of his roommates and we watched some tv before I crashed on his floor. Early next morning he dropped me off at the airport where I boarded a CRJ200 to go back to MSP. From there, I got on a CRJ900 bound for Houston. The flight was uneventful and 2 hours later we were pulling up to our gate at the George Bush International Airport. By now, my phone was almost dead because I didn't think to grab a charger. To save the battery life, I kept turning my phone off and on only when I needed to use it. The plane I came down on was headed directly back to Minneapolis. 

I contemplated taking this option, but decided to have lunch instead. I found a Fuddruckers in the A concourse and enjoyed a burger and fries while watching a plethora of Continental aircraft taxi by. The next few hours I spent walking around taking pictures trying not to draw the attention of any TSA officials or local law enforcement. For a brief moment, I got to go outside and experience the near 60 degree weather as I took a shuttle bus from the C terminal to the A. I got a message from Lori saying that she needed a car from Moline, IL. I told her I wanted to go to Memphis first and if she could find me a flight, I would do it. Everything lined up so I continued on my journey. 

I left Houston for Memphis at 4:15 on another 200. Another uneventful flight. I arrived in Memphis about an hour or so later. I only had an hour layover so I decided to get some authentic Memphis barbeque. I didn't want to spring for the ribs, so I got the BBQ pork sandwich and it really hit the spot. 

My last flight of the day was on yet another 200. I got into Moline at 830 and picked up the car at Avis to be shuttled to Dubuque. In my rush to get home, I neglected to ask for directions to the highway. But as luck would have it there were signs upon exiting the parking lot. If only I knew which highway went where. I made the mistake of taking 280 to Des Moines instead of 74 which would have brought me north quicker up to 80 and then to 61. I got the lovely scenic tour of downtown Davenport, which I recognized from our cross country visits to Credit Island Golf Course. 

I pulled into the Dubuque Airport just as the approach lights turned on for American Eagle from Chicago. Our plane from Minneapolis wasn't on the ground yet either so it turned out to be a good trade off. 

Yesterday, I was reminiscing and telling coworkers about my trip and I got to thinking about when I was doing cross countries for my Commercial Pilot's License. Back then, I had to pay for the plane and lunch. (There's a book called the $100 hamburger with great locations around the country to fly to for lunch. By the time you pay for the plane and the fuel and lunch, it comes out to about $100. But that was in the good ole days too!) I'd much rather non-rev for free and just pay for the hamburger.

Thanks for reading my SAAB story. Get it?

New News

I've found that this sliver of time in between church and work on Sunday's works well for blogging. It doesn't offer me as much time as I would like to process my thoughts thoroughly, but if I didn't do it now, I wouldn't do it at all. Especially with today being Superbowl Sunday. So, right now I've got pasta boiling on the stove and I'm eating some apple pie that I baked earlier this week. Nothing special, just a Sara Lee frozen pie, but it is delicious. 

I had quite the action packed weekend. Yesterday, UD held it's first indoor track meet in the new Chlapaty Recreation and Wellness Center. I caught most of the field events, but couldn't stay for the running portion because I had to get back to work. The place is very nice, but it looks kind of bland. It could use some banners or murals to liven things up. One of my former teammates said there were about 10 men's and women's teams there, but I didn't verify. I will post a link to the results here and you can see for yourself. (I haven't had a chance to look at them yet.) Men's Results | Women's Results 

At the meet I ran into sports information director Paul Misner who said he recently received a plaque with my name on it. Turns out that it was the ESPN The Magazine Academic All America Team Award I earned this past year.

After work yesterday, I helped out with a volunteer appreciation banquet for our church volunteers at The Bridge. The Bridge meets on the UD campus, but doesn't not have any real connections with the school. For our banquet, we borrowed the Tri-State Community Church basement on the north side of town. The menu consisted of turkey breast, bake potatoes and toppings, tossed salad with strawberries and glazed pecans, and an assortment of desserts. I didn't have time to bake, so I brought a rhubarb pie and a blueberry pie from Hy-Vee. They turned out to be a pretty big hit. After dinner, we played a couple large group games to get to know one another a little bit better. I had a good time because I got to learn a whole lot more names than I do by just going to church on Sunday morning. 

Well I've finished my pasta and it's time to head to work. Looks like I'll have to change there. I've still got my church clothes on. 

More pictures from the track meet.

 

Doin' Fine in '09

Ahhh! I haven't posted yet in 2009, so this is long overdue. However, I must keep it brief. So far it's been another rough winter in Dubuque. Coupled with last winter when we broke the previous total snowfall record of 75.7" set in the winter of '61-'62. This year has seen record setting low temperatures with wind chills reaching -30°F. Needless to say, these conditions make working quickly and safely on the ramp difficult. I've done a pretty good job of keeping warm at work. I usually wear my Mesaba coveralls over a hoodie with a hat from my small collection and my brand new Carhartt work gloves. They cost a pretty penny, but they're worth every cent. Not all of our passengers have figured out that boarding requires going outside, but I figure if their dumb enough to get in their car, drive to the airport, and walk to the terminal without a coat then it's their own fault for being cold. I just stand at the bottom of the stairs and wish them a good time at their tropical destination while I pull icicles out of my nose.
Northwest continues it's merger process with Delta. Dubuque received it's new signage last week and begins to project the Delta image. We still adhere to some Northwest policies and procedures and will continue to do so until they are phased out over the next two years.
I'm nearing completion of my CFI rating, which means I'm also getting ready to send my resume off to Mesaba. Even if I get turned down initially, I'm hoping the process will give me a new goal for building hours and time frame to reapply.
As a follow-up to my last post, I did make the 2008 Iowa Aviation Calendar! My photo was used as the background for the last page with a preview of 2010. I received a plaque, a certificate, and 5 calendars in the mail. I thought it was pretty cool. Time for lunch! More news to come.

Winter Ops

I never really knew the meaning of this phrase until this week. When I interviewed for Mesaba, I was asked if I could work in all kinds of weather. I said, "Sure!" I had shared a paper route with my dad and my brother when I was younger and we had to deliver in all of the elements. I don't remember anything like this though. The wind chills the past couple days in Dubuque have dipped below negative 30°F. Not even my toasty coveralls could keep me completely warm. The wind blew right through those. I could also sleep in until 5:30 when I had a paper route. These days I have to be up by 4:00 to shower and preheat my car. 

With all the cancellations due to weather and freezing planes, I've put in quite the work day the past two days. I was on the clock from 5am - 10:30am and from noon to 10:30 pm

 yesterday because our plane had a "hung start" on one of the engines. From what I understand, it's too cold inside the engine to produce a good flame and maintain steady combustion. The turbines inside the engine don't speed up to the proper RPM and if the pilot continues the start attempt he or she could do damage to the engine. So we had to deplane everyone back to the terminal and get them rebooked for another flight. Many couldn't make connections that afternoon due to oversold flights and schedules that didn't align. So they got pushed back a day. Last night, the aircraft we were supposed to get from Minneapolis had a mechanical problem and didn't come in. So that cancelled our flight for this morning also causing some passengers to be rebooked a second time. Many people are getting frustrated and thousands are stranded at airports with dwindling hopes of making it home or to visit friends and family. 

I was able to help one family last night though. They were waiting for their son to come home from the military whom they hadn't seen in 10 months. Mom and dad drove from Fayette, IA and were expecting him to arrive on the afternoon flight into Dubuque. Mom told me that she wasn't supposed to be at the airport and only his dad was expected to pick him up. Unfortunately, a late arrival from Seattle cause him to misconnect out of Minneapolis. His parents were then waiting for him to arrive on the late flight that he had been rebooked on. When that flight cancelled, he was told to stand in another rebooking line. When he was almost to the front, that agent had to leave and redirected the remaining customers to a different gate. I was looking at the availability and knew there was no way he was going to make it into Dubuque until the following night due to overselling. I didn't know where Fayette was, so I asked and I found that the next closest airport was Waterloo. By some miracle, there were actually four seats available on their late arrival, so I booked him on that flight. He still had to get his boarding pass from an agent in Minneapolis so I took the phone from dad and began giving him instructions to finalize the process. I told him to just find any agent who didn't look busy and if they didn't know how to complete the transaction, I would walk them through it over the phone. It took a couple more phone calls as he found someone to help him but he finally got his boarding pass. While I was giving him directions over the phone, I learned that he thought he was going to be surprising his mom by coming home early. It was a touching moment for me and I knew the mom was happy to see her son yet that night. I wish I could have been there for the reunion. 

In other news, I was notified this week of the results of the 2008 Iowa Aviation Photography 

Contest. I had submitted several of my photos from work and from the airshow that took place in Dubuque over the 4th of July. I was hoping for several awards, but was satisfied with taking third/fourth in the Commercial Aviation category. To see all the winners, you can go here. To see the page I'm on, go here. Now, I'm just hoping to get published in the 2009 Aviation Calendar. There's a chance it may not get printed due to budget constraints, but I'm hoping for the best. Time to shower and put my petroleum products on before going back out in the cold. All you doobies keep warm. 

Bonjour / Goedendag

It's been a couple weeks since I posted last, mostly due to the fact that I went on my first trip out of the country ever! It's taken me a little while to get caught up, especially with Thanksgiving being thrown in there. For those who have never been to Europe, it was a great experience to be immersed in a culture completely different from that which I am accustomed and I recommend going if you ever have the opportunity. I will try to recount as much as I can remember with the aid of my pictures for those that have not traveled to Paris and Amsterdam! (Disclaimer* - this account of my trip is very long. It will take a while to read and may not interest you. It is meant to be more of a personal journal for my benefit because there's so much more than even the pictures can tell you. If you want the short version, give me a call or check out my Facebook album, #2, #3.)
My co-worker Lori, our friend Sumner from American Airlines and I had planned to Amsterdam after considering other destinations such as Tokyo, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Phuket, Bangkok and Greece (pretty much in that order). We settled on Amsterdam because it would give us the most amount of time to sightsee. Sumner backed out at the last minute to exchange his travel plans for an opportunity to spend time with his father in Jordan, so Lori and I planned to proceed without him to Amsterdam. After an early morning shift at the airport we started looking at flights and alternate routes to Paris and Amsterdam. Somewhere between 8:00 and 9:00 AM we decided to leave a day early and stay in Paris as well. We arranged to have our afternoon work shifts covered and return a one-way Avis rental to Cedar Rapids (IA) so we could catch a flight from Cedar Rapids to Detroit and from Detroit to Paris that night. We each took about three hours to pack a carry-on and a backpack and we were on our way to the Eastern Iowa Airport. 
Our flight from Cedar Rapids left at 5:15 PM and we were in Detroit by 7:30 PM. We departed Detroit at 9:25 PM aboard an Airbus 330 in our business class seats. Before we even pushed back from the gate we were offered champagne and juice. I watched outside while they deiced us and a 747 several gates down. Once established in a cruise climb, we were served appetizers of mixed nuts and a sampler plate of mini toasts with lobster Marsala spread and prosciutto chevre canapé (whatever that is). For dinner, I chose the stuffed chicken breast with gorgonzola au gratin potatoes and edamame and a salad. We pulled out our personal entertainment screens and donned our headphones. I began watching "A Good Year" (something about a boy who inherits his uncle's vineyard), but after finishing my blackberry crisp à la mode, I became somewhat disinterested and tired and fell asleep. I woke up and finished the end of the movie before starting "Wall·E" (an animated Disney flick about a trash-compacting robot). It was okay, but I also dozed off several times during this one. Periodically, I monitored our progress across the Atlantic using the map page of the entertainment system. There was also a flight information screen that showed altitude, time and distance to our destination.
We arrived at Charles de Gaulle shortly after 11:00 AM on Friday morning. There was glass everywhere I looked. Even the jet bridge was made of glass. It was quite a maze from our gate to customs, but the flow of traffic kept us headed in the right direction. After clearing customs, we wandered around looking for an ATM to withdraw Euro and a place to purchase a train ticket to downtown. We looked at several maps and took a few lucky guesses before getting in line. We bought a three day unlimited pass for the trains, buses and trams in Paris. Another lucky guess got us on an RER train that brought us downtown. At the first stop, a young boy boarded with his accordion and began to play music for the passengers. It was very quaint, almost cliché, but he was good and I imagined that he was personally welcoming me to Paris, so I gave him some change. We noticed a lot of graffiti on the walls and over passes at every train station. It was not how I pictured Paris at all. From the Paris Nord station, we began to wonder around armed with a street map and an accommodation guide to secure a hotel or hostel for 2 nights. We struck out on the first place that looked reasonable. The entire street was blocked off apparently for construction, but we also saw a lot of police in what appeared to be riot gear. We never did find out exactly what was going on. We hopped on the Metro to get us over to a different zone. When we got there, we couldn’t find the hotel. The number was on the wall next to an alley, but there 

was no entrance. Looking up and down the alley, we found another hotel with an available room. The only downside was that it was on the 5th floor. It made for an exhausting climb up the steep spiraling staircase. But it was cheap and very clean. That day we were so wiped out that we didn't feel like doing anything but sleeping. So we made a rough plan of attack for the next day and slept through the afternoon and all night.
 
Day 2
 

Lori and I awoke fairly early on Saturday morning to begin our big

day of sightseeing. We took the Metro to the station nearest the Louvre. There were signs to the entrance, but I was not sure exactly where I was going. All the buildings had so much detail on every face, edge and peak. I just kept snapping pictures. It wasn't until I saw the glass pyramids in the center of the museum that I knew we were at the right place. We got in line by quarter to nine and only had to wait a few minutes for them to let us inside. Map in hand, we began in the Denon wing on the first floor. (You can follow along on this Interactive Map if you so choose.) I wanted to head straight for the Mona Lisa so I could get a good look before it got too crowded. However, we did make a few stops along the way. We then made our way through the Greek terracotta and ceramics exhibits in the Sully wing. The Egyptian Circuit didn't interest us much so we moved through that section pretty quickly. Next, we went up to the 2nd floor to see paintings from the 15th - 17th centuries. Not really my cup of tea. I would rather see sculptures than paintings. It was interesting to see students in the museum copying various subjects of art. The artists were very talented and sometimes I couldn't tell the difference between the original and the copy. It was at this time we caught our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from a window. Moving on, we went down to the ground floor through the French, Italian, and Greek sculptures. We saw such masterpieces as Michelangelo's "Dying Slave", Canova's "Psyche and Cupid" and Aphrodite or "Vénus de Milo." We saw just about everything we wanted to by 11:30 AM. Afterwards, we realized how much we rushed through the museum and we probably could have stayed another hour or two to see everything and take in each piece of art more thoughtfully.

A short trip on the Metro took us near the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We came out of the station near the Palais de justice de Paris. Next to that building I saw a cathedral and assumed it was the correct one. Lori and I walked around entire block in vain before looking at the map and realizing the Notre Dame was a few blocks to the southeast. I again rushed past this landmark

 without going inside to fully experience it. I was mad at myself when we got back and heard how beautiful it was inside. I suppose it's just another reason to go back. I did take the time to walk around to the back of the cathedral to see the flying buttresses. Ever since studying about the architecture of that time period in high school history class, I've wanted to see them in person. It was now about lunchtime, so we looked for something quick and cheap. We found a sandwich shop and each had a Royal Poulet, which was a baguette with chicken, lettuce and tomato. It came with a can of pop for just under 5€.
From here we got on the RER line to the west side of town to see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal. It was about four blocks along the Seine River from the station to the tower. I stood at the base in awe of size and grandeur. It covers much more area than one might imagine when viewing from a distance. I wanted to take the stairs to save a few Euro, but it was awfully windy and there didn't seem to be a designated line that I could see. So, we followed the crowd and took the elevator. The second level alone provided a breathtaking view. We spent several minutes investigating the landscape and snapping pictures before heading to the summit. 

Needless to say, the view from the top was even more spectacular. I was amazed that the structure did not sway in the wind the same way most skyscrapers do. Despite the windy conditions, the tower was as solid as a rock. The streets below looked as if someone had hand-carved them out of the solid blocks of buildings. We could see tour boats traveling up and down the Seine. Not too far off in the distance we saw the Arc de Triomphe. This monument was erected to honor those who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. We actually visited this later in the evening, but we had to go back to the hotel to get warmer clothes.Now bundled up, we stopped at the Arc de Triomphe beforewalking down the Champs-Élysées, which I would crudely compare to Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. There were a lot of high end retail stores including Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Prada, Armani and Nike, plus a few car dealers. The Metro took us back past the Eiffel Tower, which was now lit a brilliant blue, on our way to find a place for dinner. We decided on the Castel Cafe. I had quiche that had ham, green beans, tomatoes, and spinach inside. After dinner we walked back to the Eiffel Tower to get some night shots. At the top of the hour, strobes all over the Tower sparkled for about five minutes. It looked really neat, but my camera wouldn't take a good photo of it.

Day 3

There was one spot we didn't get to visit the previous day that I wanted to see before we left for Amsterdam. However, I misinterpreted the map. I thought that Place de Fontenoy was Palais 

de Fontenoy. Big difference. The "Palace" turned out to be a military school with a monument across the street. It was still cool to see up close, but I learned to be more careful with my map reading. Outside the Ecole Militaire, we saw some equestrians. We took a few pictures before moving on to look at what I thought was a capitol building. With a gold-leafed rotunda, I didn't see how it could be anything else. A closer look at the map and some Google-ing when I got home set me straight a second time. What we were actually looking at was Les Invalides, a complex of several museums and the burial site of Napoleon Bonaparte among other French war heroes. Not knowing this and running short on time, we snapped a picture and headed back to the hotel to check out.
Lori and I then made our way to Paris Nord station to board a high speed Thalys train to Amsterdam. We experienced a little bit of sticker shock when purchasing our tickets. For a same day travel ticket, the rate almost doubles. That’s just another disadvantage of making last minute travel arrangements. We didn't have many options, so we bit the bullet. It took us a while to find our seats because I didn't count the cars as we walked down the platform. Then we found out we were booked in separate cars. The conductor said it wasn't a big deal though. From Paris to Brussels was the "highest speed" part of our journey. Afterwards we had to go slower for the towns along our route. It snowed a bit on this leg of our trip. We went through Anvers and Rotterdam before learning of a train derailment near Amsterdam. Somewhere past Rotterdam we took a detour that would skip La Haye and Schiphol Airport. Passengers traveling here would be asked to take a different train to reach their destination. We got as far as Diemen Zuid when they told everyone they would have to take the Metro line the rest of the way to Amsterdam because of the derailment. They didn't really offer much for instructions, barely even a "good luck" before pushing us out the door into the cold and snowy weather. We again followed the crowd and made it in one piece to Amsterdam Central Station by about 5:30PM.
We found our way out, but it wasn't easy to get acquainted with an entirely different language in five minutes. I pretty much had to forget everything I learned in Paris. Again, I had no sense of direction coming out of the train station. To get oriented, we had to walk in one direction until we saw a street sign. The only map we had was in a guidebook loaned to us by a co-worker who had been to Amsterdam on the way back from her trip to Spain. We lucked out again by picking the right street and direction towards our hostel. Already having a place to stay put my mind more at ease than when we arrived in Paris. We dropped our bags off in our room and locked up our valuables before venturing out for dinner. There were no traditionally Dutch restaurants to be found, so we settled for Italian. I had a bowl of pasta with strips of ham. It was interesting, but not bad.

Day 4

We didn't have as many things to see in Amsterdam, so we agreed to slow our pace down considerably. We also declined to buy passes for public transportation because the book said it 

was just as easy to get around on foot. Plus, we didn’t need an excuse to spend more money. At Dam Square we found a national monument, the Royal Palace, and the Nieuwe Kerk. We then headed southwest to visit the Van Gogh Museum. A broken down 

tram car necessitated that an entire street be blocked, which caused us to get a little off track. So, we saw the Magere Brug a little earlier than planned. On our way back in the right direction, we stopped at the Carousel Pancake House for brunch and I got a plate of pofferjes, which I was dying to have. With our bellies full, 

we continued on to the museum For obvious reasons, pictures were not allowed inside. I did not find staring at artwork to be the most fun thing to do in the world, but I made the best of it. I took more interest in learning about the life of Vincent Van Gogh, even though his artwork was a huge part of his life.
From the Van Gogh Museum we walked and walked and walked to see the De Gooyer Windmill on the other side of town. The snow now began to fall harder and the cold chilled us both to the

 bone. I snapped a quick photo and we headed back to the hostel to warm up. It wasn't a very straight shot. We had to weave through a residential area and across a major street. It made us both a little uneasy because night had fallen. After warming up, we walked around trying to find something appetizing. We saw a lot of Italian restaurants, Argentinean grills, and a few fast food mainstays. We picked another Italian restaurant, but on a different street and it turned out to be a very pleasant experience. There were only two main waiters, but they took good care of us and were very upbeat and entertaining. Lori had warned me about the reputation for poor service in Amsterdam earlier when we stopped at the poffertjes house, but this establishment was an exception. On the way home, we stopped to pick up some souvenirs. I will say: it's hard to find something unique to Amsterdam that you can't find at any gift shop in Pella. It was a little hard to fall asleep at the hostel because a dance club next door was "bumpin." Management said there was nothing they could do and understandably so. The amenity kit we received in business class that contained an eye mask and earplugs came in handy and allowed us to get some rest.

Day 5

We had to be up early to get to the Anne Frank House and back to the hostel before checkout

 time. I remember reading the Diary of Anne Frank in either middle school or high school, but didn't think I would ever visit the place where they hid from the German Police. It was a disheartening way to start the day, but I am glad I took the tour. We started on the ground floor and worked our way up and back through the office space and storehouse for the company that Otto Frank owned. In the back, known as the annex, we walked through the concealed rooms where the van Pels' and the Franks lived in hiding for over two years.
We checked out of the Bulldog and made our way to Amsterdam CS to take the train to Schiphol Airport. This system was almost more confusing than getting out of the Charles de Gaulle Airport. We purchased tickets to get to the airport, but I'm not sure if we got on the right system. The gentlemen guarding the entrance to the Metro looked at our tickets and didn't give us any trouble. They even gave us directions. As far as I'm concerned, we paid an appropriate fare and we got where we needed to go, so my conscience is clear.
Schiphol was a nightmare at first. When we got off of the train, nothing looked like an airport. It looked like a mall. There were signs everywhere, but I had difficulty comprehending what they were telling me. It was information overload. Schiphol was definitely not set up like an airport in 

the states. We located a bank of flight monitors and found the appropriate concourse and check-in area for Northwest . I had to change into my business class clothes before check-in so that took a few minutes. While attempting to check in, I had trouble locating my reservation. It didn't work to swipe my passport and when I tried to enter the confirmation number manually, it asked for my destination. On our kiosk at our station, it asks for the final destination airport. However on the KLM kiosks, it asks for the first destination. The kiosk attendant sent me to a to a line that was not intended for employees but the ticket agent was kind enough to help me. We decided to check our bags this time so we didn't have to drag them around but the check-in process was still a hassle. We had to stop at the post office so Lori could mail her postcards. By this time we both noticed the final boarding announcement/special invitations for those passengers were "delaying the flight". It was such a pleasant announcement which made it 

funny. Plus, it sounded as if it had been translated from another language because the words were out of order and some words were missing. I’ll do an impression for you if you really want. I got to do a little bit of plane spotting near our gate before going through security. At Schiphol, everyone goes through security immediately before boarding rather than between checking at reaching the gate. We got in line to go through pre-screening of our documents. After passing the mini interview regarding the packing of our bags and our reason for visiting the Netherlands, we asked the gate agent if she could assign us seats yet. We were told to wait, so we headed over to some chairs. Unbeknownst to us, we walked out of the area that had been roped off for those that had already passed pre-screening. So we had to talk our way back in without our boarding passes. They didn't give us too much trouble and within 10 minutes we had our business class seat assignments.
Our appetizer for this flight was a selection of shrimp and salmon. For dinner, I had the chicken parmesan with cous cous. This is another crude American comparison, but I thought the cous cous had the taste and texture of shredded chicken ramen noodles. I had an ice cream sundae for dessert, a granola bar and a tangerine for mid-flight snack, and the cold meat and cheese tray and bread pudding for a light snack before arriving in Minneapolis. I had enough time to watch the rest of "Henry Poole is Here" that I had started on the flight to Paris, "License to Wed" (starring Robin Williams), and "Wanted" (an action thriller about a group 

of assassins.) We got to Minneapolis at about 5:30 PM, but it felt like 11:30 PM to us. After clearing customs and immigration, we claimed our bags and put them on a different carousel to check them the rest of the way home. We had to wait until 9:20 PM for our flight to Dubuque, but we ran into a friend on the way to our gate and told him all about our trip. Our flight to Dubuque was pretty uneventful. I got a few hours of sleep before I had to be back to work at 5:00AM. I was just glad that my body clock adjusted much better coming home than it did traveling to Europe.
I didn't pay anywhere near full price for the flights, but I will still need to save up before I can go again. I can't wait though. Business class was definitely worth it. Sumner, if you're reading this, I hate you for getting me hooked. Thank you Lori for making me fly business when I wanted to save and fly economy. Until next time, au revoir / vaarwel!

See my other pictures at Photobucket.com.

We Try Harder

It's not a new life motto for me or anything, although I do try to put my best effort into everything I do. I just thought I'd give my post some brand recognition. At the beginning of the week, I began cleaning cars for Avis at the airport to make a little more money on the side. I don't do any of the reservations or front counter duties, so it was easy to train me. I just fill with gas, vacuum, and wash. It's a little bit easier than getting overt the west end of town to donate plasma. I can work as much or as little as I want in between my other shifts and flying and don't have to drive anywhere else. Not sure if I get any benefits, but I can't think of any time I would need a car. I usually stick to public transportation on my non-rev travels. 

Today, I will be departing at noon for Grinnell, IA. The UD cross country teams will be running at Oakland Acres golf course with other D3 schools from the Midwest region tomorrow. It will be another opportunity to see my parents for a while. I hope to get some pictures, but will probably have to concentrate on getting splits again. That reminds me, I ought to bring my watch this time. Gotta do some dishes and pack in the next hour, so I'm out...

A Day of Firsts

It was a day of firsts for me yesterday. It began at 5am at the airport when we had to deice the aircraft. It had snowed off and on Friday afternoon making it difficult for our afternoon flight to land. They had to "go missed" on at least two approaches before making a landing. It began snowing again shortly before our scheduled launch time on Saturday morning and the captain asked to be deiced. Deicing means we really have to be on button to get all the passengers and bags loaded early. Once they're on board and the door is shut, we have to pull a deicing tower around the plane and spray the wings off with a 50/50 mix of heated glycol and water. This mixture will melt the ice off to make it safe to fly. Any snow, ice, or frost on the aircraft surfaces will cause a interruption of the smooth flow of air over the wing, thereby destroying the lift.

After work, I headed down to Iowa City to spend the day with Kyle and the rest of the family. It was family weekend at the University of Iowa and Kyle's engineering department had a open house. We toured a few of the buildings around campus before having lunch in one of the engineering buildings. We didn't plan on going to the football game, but we decided to head over to Kinnick Stadium to see what action we could from the outside because I had never been to a game. Kyle ran into one of his floormates who wasn't going to use his ticket and didn't care to sell it. We were looking for another ticket in the student section, but we bought two more not in the student section. Mom, dad and Amanda went shopping in lieu of going to the game. Kyle and I found standing room on right endzone side of the field.

If you saw any of the highlights, it was a game to remember. Iowa jumped on top early, but then trailed #3 undefeated Penn State in the second and third quarters. Iowa began mounting a comeback late in the third. One bad call in the fourth quarter nearly cost Iowa the game. Iowa deflected a Penn State punt and ran into the kicker, but was called for the personal foul. However, both Iowa's offense and defense were able to overcame the ref's mistake. As time wound down, Iowa still trailed 21-23. With 6 ticks left on the clock, Iowa's field goal kicker came on to attempt a 31-yard field goal. It was good from the second it left his foot. Fans immediately rushed the field, not realizing that one second still remained on the clock. Iowa was charged a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on the kickoff, but it didn't matter. They kicked it onside and recovered for the win inspiring fans to rush the field again. It was an amazing sight; well worth enduring the freezing cold for several hours and not being able to feel my toes.

After the game, we went to Kyle's fraternity house to meet his brothers and their parents and take a look around the house. The five of us then went to Applebee's for dinner. I was about a half hour from Dubuque on my return trip, when a deer crossed in front of me from left to right. Even though I knew better than swerve, my reaction was to avoid the buck at all costs, because the cost of having my car fixed or replaced and hassle of being without my car would have been a pain in the neck. I missed hitting the deer, but lost control of my car due to speed at which I was traveling. I spun out and came to a rest in the median. I was able to back out without the aid of a tow truck. I checked for damage up the road under a street light but didn't find anything more than some dirt around the wheels and side of the car. I made it the rest of the way home safely.