Not Too Shabby

I kept on seeing this store on the way to the airport and finally got the chance to stop by today. I was totally pumped up, I mean when a store is named "Not Too Shabby" who wouldn't be? The store didn't really live up to its expectations, they had tons of stuff but most of it had a nasty haze over it or something. I would compare it to your typical Goodwill center but will probably give it one more chance in the future. I did manage to pick out an awesome beige and suede sports jacket for 13 bucks. Something I will definitely be getting into NYC's hottest night spots with.

The Natty Wall

The Natty Wall is still alive!!! Scott explains it beautifully in his Blog so check it out!!!

http://www.scottge.org/scottblog/2005/03/natty-wall.html

Coffee High

Sitting through the entire length of a movie can be a challenging task for me. I never can sit still. I found out this morning that coffee is not helping this situation. Why? Because at the start of my coffee adventure I was jamming some sweet tunes by Bob Marley. I like to start my days peaceful and Bob is always the man for the job. Now another cup later, I am jamming to DJ Tiesto and some ripping European dance music. This is not normal, it is 9 am in the morning and I am having a solo rave party. And yes, I am bouncing up and down right now as I type. On top of that I am still feeling the effects of being sick. I need to check the ingredients of this Columbian Supremo Coffee for crack. It's STILL raining and the 7-day forecast has rain predicted for everyday!

Andy vs. Virus

Today marks the 3rd day I have been ill. It's actually worked out pretty well since we didn't go up in the plane today or yesterday. I did get a chance to put into action my mad interior design skills and transform room #244 into a love palace. I bought some speakers for my Ipod and a RF modulator to hook up my PS2 to the TV. Now I can dance to some music, watch a DVD, or play a video game.

Just got back from a quick walk around the hotel. It's still pretty cold and my cough doesn't seem to agree with that so I cut it short. I spotted a running trail along the river so as soon I break this stupid cold I will check that out. Still haven't don't too much as far as field work; this morning we set up a base station at a storage unit in Battle Ground, Washington. The weather forecast is not good for the next couple days, so it could be a long weekend. Oh well, the less I work, the faster I can get over this cold.

In the mean time check out my neighbors...

How to get Sicker Faster

If you aren't feeling good, I suggest flying in a small plane all day. That will cure you right up. NOT! I am sick as a dog and this stinks. It's my third day out in the field and I already have to tell the boss I can't fly today. He seems to be ok with it, I mean if you're sick... you're sick, right?

Anyways, besides the fact I was dying in the plane for 6 hours yesterday it was a pretty cool flight. We mapped a canyon/gorge near Mt. Baker. When we got close to the snow capped mountains the snow would fall all which was pretty cool, if you're from Texas. Well, I am heading back to my sick bed.

P.S. - When you hang a "Do Not Disturb Sign" on your hotel doorknob the housekeeping lady is not supposed to come in, right? Well, she is behind me right now probably reading this. This is really weird. She just opened the door and started cleaning.

Kelso, Washington

Flew into Portland, Oregon yesterday afternoon and then was picked up and driven to Kelso, WA where the field crew and pilots have been stationed for quite a while now. I haven't gotten the chance to explore the town and may not for a few days so no comments on that. Kelso is very close to Mt St. Helens which is viewable on a clear day.

Didn't do too much yesterday, except for a little grocery shopping and helped a guy named Lewis pick up some GPS receivers. The drive out to one was along the Columbia River which happened to be the project I was doing back home, so it was cool to see it from a different perspective. The scenery is gorgeous out here and I think I have already spotted a good running track around the local lake. Still feel a little weird just sitting in my new home/hotel room sipping my Columbian Supremo (Best Western style) coffee. After today I should have a better feel for what life will be like in the field. Today, I am going to watch a mission beong flown from the passenger side of a 1969 Navajo Plane. We are heading up to Bellingham, Washington which is almost on the Canadian border. It's supposed to be about an hour flight from Kelso, which is on the Oregon Border.

Here are some pics I snapped of Casa De Awesome...

First Field Experience

Man, I am a blogging fool this morning so you'd better scroll down and read them all. Especially the entry named "Operator" because that kinda explains this post.

So Friday I was told that I will be flying into Portland, Oregon this coming Tuesday to begin working out in the field. Luckily, they had a small mission that needed to be flown near Houston. So they give me the option of going out to Hooks Airport and seeing how everything is done. I was just there to watch and get a feel for it. Arrived at Hooks around 8pm and pulled up to a little Navajo fixed-wing plane, the engineers and another operator from work. Oh, and of course the pilot. I just watched and asked a few questions. Next thing I knew I was sitting in the aircraft with the headphones on and flying in the Houston night sky. I swear the coolest part is listening to the pilots talk... "This is Continental 1413 flying at 3000ft calling it a night" or our pilot "this is blah blah blah quebec victor papa requesting blah blah at heading blah blah", its really cool. Once I begin doing it by myself it will just be me and the pilot for hours on end. I have to call out coordinates and such. It will be overwhelming at first but that is what good note taking is for.

Oh, I didn't barf the first time up which is good because I am sure there would be hell to pay and hear.

Spring Classics

I need to post something about bike racing, I know most of you aren't into this but cycling is my NBA or NFL and its my Blog!! Below are two pics of two big spring classic races in Europe. The first is Alessandro Petacchi winning the Milan - San Remo. This race is almost 300km and this guy is a rocket!! How would you feel after 7 hours of bike racing? This photo is freaking amazing...




This next photo is George Hincapie getting his well deserved podium kisses by European hotties after winning Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne earlier this year. George is one of Lance Armstrong's teammates on the new Discovery Channel Team. Plus, he is my favorite rider so I gotta give him props...

Operator

That would be my new job title, but Data Analyst may stick around from time to time. I finally got off my contract with the temp agency (or I am IT Consulting Firm... they prefer that). Now I can work for TerraPoint directly and will more importantly get business cards. Anyways, my immediate boss had told my main boss that I had shown some interest going out in the field. Well, come this Tuesday I am going out in the field. They are shipping me out to the Pacific Northwest. I still don't know if I am going to be doing field work half the time and then my usual work in the Houston office the other half or what.

Basically, I will be operating the LiDAR system in the plane. I won't get into the details on this post but yes, my job is going to be sitting in a plane running the laser mapping system and living out of hotels. I mean its not that simple but you know... I am weee bit excited. Along with the flying there will be a lot of ground work as well. There is going to be all kinds of important and interesting things to learn so hopefully I can pick it up pretty quick. I already have busted out some old college field method notes so I wont go out in the field dumbfounded. I will get some cool pics, but it will take a few weeks. I don't think snapping photos the first day would impress the project manager too much.

As of right now, I am leaving this coming Tuesday (3/22 - My Mom's B-day!!) and returning April 6. Then the 7th off to NYC for a little vacation I planned right before I found out I was going out in the Field. Then who knows, hopefully back in the field.

Pimp Ride

Feast your eyes on a 1971 Schwinn Stingray Deluxe. Thats right, she is a brand new attention to my family of two-wheeled beasts. That makes 4!. Tobin was nice enough to grab two of them from an old lady's garage and hook me up. I got one up and running already, just needed a few new parts and little luvin'. There is alot that still needs to be done and will post pics of the process.




I have never felt cooler riding a bike around my neighborhood.

Gmail

Mike P. sent me a little Gmail invite. Its the bomb.com, it has tons of storage compared to my 2mb Hotmail account. I am not posting it here only because I have no idea who reads this and I don't feel like dealing with Spam on this account. If you really care you can email me a little request or just wait until I grace you with my email greatness.

I have a feeling my Blog readers are leaving me slowly because I never update this. I am starting to turn into someone I know.... SCOTT. Anyways, keep a close look on the links section. Hopefully, one day I can get some other Blogs I read and some cool links. In other news, I am going to the Big Apple April 7-10 along with Kerri, Mona, Taylor, and Brian. OH, I finally figured out why my camera was not working... the batteries were causing craziness. So I fixed that and will have it ready to go in NYC. Hmmm... Oh yeah! You are suppose to use the word "well" as an adverb and "good" as adjective...who knew?!

Beginners Luck?

Last Thursday Brian drug me down to Old City Pub where they have the Amatuer Poker League night. I wasn't even planning on playing b/c I really don't know how, but Brian talked me into it. Luckily, I had played ONE time before so I sort of knew how it worked. We started and everything was going smoothly for a while and I even had went all in on a hand and won. I was definelty the only beginner at the table but everyone would tell you what to do if you did something wrong which was cool. Anyways, more and more time pass and the blinds kept on increasing. Next thing I knew I was sitting at the final table. It was hilarious, there was this big crowd and me watching my "mad" poker skills. I somehow won a hand on th big table, but not too sure how. Then I just folded and folded until I made it to the last 3. We threw it all in and I ended up getting 3rd. After the game everyone was padding me on the back and saying good job and asking me where I was from. It was AWESOME, all I could do was laugh b/c I still don't know how to completely play the game. 3 out of 91 ain't too bad. Beginners luck I guess...or maybe I just schooled everyone!!! Supposedly, I even get my name on some website. That's it, I am moving to Vegas.