Night Shift

Lucky me landed the night shift the last couple missions we flew in Long Island. (I am back in Houston but thought I would write this sounding like I am an honest up-to-date blogger.) The first one wasn't that bad because we basically took off and then as soon as we hit the project site there were low-level clouds EVERYWHERE. It's always a bittersweet feeling when that happens, good for you, bad for work. So the next day I had to do nothing all day which was great. Having flown primarily in helicopters lately we usually work everyday, so this was a nice a break. Of course with me I get bored within about 30 minutes of waking up so having days off is bittersweet too. I have a complex. Technically it wasn't a day off since I had to go up in the plane at 1 am later that night. That came along and I was ready to go this time. I got a good nap in, had a sweet energy drink on standby, and a go-get'em attitude in my briefcase. Usually in the daytime the air is pretty crowded with planes since we are so close to JFK, but that night the tower actually told us the air space was ours! Baller. The best part of the mission was watching the sun come up over Long Island and all if its little water inlets. Its one of those things I can't describe and picture would only insult the beauty. I have flown early morning missions before and each time when the sun comes up its always a sight to see. Usually the radios are very quiet and the air is very smooth, very tranquil I must say. I should of brought some incense...

Throw a dollar in the bucket

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3824402.html

http://www.click2houston.com/newsarchive/9040368/detail.html

orginally written by PUSKAR

"This kid is one of my little brother's best friends... He spent the entire weekend over at my house the weekend before all this took place.. now he's in ICU clinging to life... his family has been staying downtown to be close to him in hotels and such, and could use any help at all for expenses. Everyone knows about David's condition, and those that don't the story is above. For those that have paypal and want to donate money towards David's recovery and family, any amount is helpful. Help spread the word.

The paypal email account is: DRitchFund@yahoo.com

This is an actual paypal account set up by Wells Fargo.. even a dollar will help... my brother at his school has already raised over $700 dollars, and was shown on the news doing so... if kids can give a dollar or two every day... you can do the same.. "

Running with the big boys

It's mucho fun flying in possibly the most crowded airspace in the States. Surprisingly enough it has gone quite smooth and we have only had to go out of our way a handful of times at ATC's request. I am back with the crazy Frenchman, Francis, and another pilot Steve, who he is in training. Every so often the tower will call us and inform of us of "heavy" traffic which means a huge airliner is near. Its always a few miles a away but still feels pretty close. Yesterday we saw 3 or 4 747s coming in for landing all the way from Europe. Its a beautiful thing when they pass us and then slowly turn in front of us. It's really a site to see. Its even cooler when one comes out of nowhere.

Trust me, this picture does not justify how close they really are! I need a better camera.



The Pilots. Notice the little pic hanging from the ceiling, that's Amanda.

What Day is it?

Where has the time gone? I have spent to way too much time above in the clouds. I am now residing in Long Island, NY. Yesterday, I spent most of the day in the Hamptons. My mood has been pretty pretentious lately so it may be better if you cut all communication with me for a few days because I may come off snobby. The Hamptons kinda of made me that way It's the East coast Laguna Beach, except uglier. I have never seen so many Land Rovers in my life.

Anywho, this job is the entire county of Suffolk so we brought two planes in with two pilots (one for flying, one for radio). Its been fun having such a large crew here, I think there is around 9 of us. I haven't flown in one of our planes since October so it's nice to do that again, but I still prefer the helicopter projects.

You have to be in a secret supreme society to land a deluxe room like this. That's right, not 1, not 2, but 3 beds.

Voices in my Head

Buy Me... Buuuuuuy Me... DO IT!

This is what the Garmin iQue M4 has been telling for the last few days and I may just have to listen.

My Sky Office

So we are finally done with our project of mapping the entire county of Middlesex, NJ. It took us roughly 60 hours to do. I think my back is having withdrawals from the helicopter seat. Usually this would be a job for a plane but since there were no planes around we had to do with a helicopter. The downfall is we could of have finished it in 2 or 3, 6 hour missions in the plane. Rush rush job. Anyways, I thought I would give everyone a tour office for the last two weeks. I kinda miss it already

If you think you can handle it, I would check the video tour out first.

http://pace.netpimpz.com/video/office_r44.MPG


The View




It's a tight fit but I make due



My Desk



My entertainment console



But with a side view like this, you can't complain. Too bad my camera skillz are a little less than par.

Real Men...

Don't need shirts to fly a helicopter.

It's Confirmed

I knew this airport was hot. When this bad boy rolled up to the Airport I was going to reach for my bat. Lucky for Tony Montana kids were frolicking in the grass nearby and I drew back my weapon. You should of seen Tony's clothes, he had the nice jumpsuit with the customary gold chains. I wonder how the application process works for the "Family"? I want in.

The Airport Don

I was hoping that being in New Jersey would allow me to see mafia bosses and Cadillac's. Well, since we just moved airports, my dream has come true. The new airport is called Old Bridge and the manager happens to be the real life Tony Soprano, except shorter. He talks the talk and walks the walk.

Yesterday when we arrived at the aiport in the a.m. I was getting everything unpacked and about to set up a tripod on a known surveying point in the middle of the airport. Some guy in a car stopped me and said I should wait for the airport manager to come before doing it because he may get mad. Yeah, come to find out that was good advice. About 5 minutes later Paul, the airport manager a.k.a "The Don", rolled up in his brand new Caddi. Paul has the perfect accent and wears the 1970s gear you would expect a huge Mafia boss to wear. He likes to complain about EVERYTHING and he is ALWAYS right, its awesome. He gets out and points to me and says, "Is that your helicopter?". I responded with a no which didn't really matter because he started yelling at me about the helicopter. He was upset the pilot did not walk up to him the night before and tell him we would be leaving it there overnight. He went on about some common courtesy thing. Anyways, I listened to his mambo jumbo and finally waived the pilot over to talk to him. The pilot doesn't speak that good of English so it was pretty funny to hear him talk to the "Don". So we all apologize and it was my turn to explain to him what we are doing and what we will need from him. He wanted to charge me for putting a antenna over a state owned monument. No way. I mean GPS is free. I talked him into letting me put my own point into the ground which has worked out so far and is much closer.

Its hard to explain how he is but its really like watching the Sopranos except you are not intimidated by him like you think you would be. However, in the back of my mind I could see him beating me with a bat and then shoving me in his trunk. He reminds of me of Joe Pesci in Casino. I would not be surprised at all if some kind of underground crime ring is going on here. I mean there is a huge race track/drag strip next door. We have come to the conclusion that he messed up sometime in the past and his Mafia "family" sent him here to run the "family" airport as a punishment.

The pilot is always asking goofy questions to get at the Don. Yesterday he was trying to convince him the gas was free and that was hilarious in itself. Let me remind you the pilot is French and his English can be a little off sometimes. Today the Don was upset about the pilot's bent credit card and was preaching to us about proper credit card maintenance. Man I wish I could see this guy at his house interacting with his family. I seriously look forward to hearing a new rant from him every time we land. I really need to a sneak a picture of this guy to prove it.

New Jersey - Middlesex County

So far it's been sleep, work, dinner, sleep, work, and so on. I think we have flown close to 40 hours and this is our 6th day to fly. That's a lot of hours in that seat. Lucky for me, I am kind of scrawny and can fit perfectly in my little air cubicle, but it's hard to move once your locked in. Everyday in the air provides a nice view of NYC. We are flying this project from North to South so each day we move farther from it. The first day we flew, I could see the Statue of Liberty and make out individual buildings. Somedays the haze is pretty bad and when you mix it with smog it makes visibility not so great. The airport we are basing out of also is the home for all the news helicopters for New York City. Every morning they take off and then every afternoon at 5 they take off for traffic reports, and of course they will take off on news breaking events throughout the day. The flying is pretty boring and we spend about an average of 6 hours a day up there. However, we have to stay on our toes for local air traffic. Newark Airport was reasonably close to the Northern block of the project so big jets are constantly flying overhead. Last night we went out for beers at a college bar in New Brunswick where Rutgers University is. It's always fun to go to a foreign college town and check out the scene, each one is unique. Here are some pics I took from the sky only because I have been up there more than on the ground.

New Jersey Turnpike



ABC Channel 7 Newscopter (these suckers are head to catch on camera)



A not so great pic of the Big Apple



Rutgers Stadium



A very large helicopter, some sort of Sikorsky

Kalmbach Compound

Well, a few weekends ago we got it done again at the Compound. We only had one night to get it done because Friday night was spent in Wacky Waco. Eric took us to some local hotspot(s), we had some disgusting crawfish (all crawfish is disgusting), laughed, had few beers at Crickets, and laughed more. I like hanging out with Eric because all of our one-liners tend to come out and they don't end until about 2 days after the fact. In fact, I walked in to the office Monday and told one lady "Sho Nuff!", which came out of nowhere so I didn't really know what to say next. Here is a list of the classics:

Duuuuuude.
Dude?
DUUDE!
Sho' Nuff!
Mornin!
Sheeew (this what eric does when he is finished eating and it was good, oh and he throws his napkin at the plate)
Heehuu (that's hard to explain)
Shoooooooooooooot!

I think that's most of them.

So Anyways, we spent the majority of the night at Crickets and had a good time. Cara did not pick any girls up for Eric which is the only reason I brought her but that is ok :). We called the night pretty early so we would be rested up for the lake the following day.

Eric needed a cooling off...



The Lake

We rolled out of Waco at around 10 am but stopped off at the local coffee shop for some dog biscuits first. The ride up there was pretty entertaining, we had live GPS, a live steering wheel drum solo and I even took a sweet pic of this new church I am thinking about attending.



So we rolled up the lake and Eric did his honorary first opening of the Coors Light. Its kinda of like tasting a new bottle of wine at a restaurant because everyone is waiting for the OK, He ok'd it. Things got under way pretty quick, Cara fell in love with the sweet 70's decor and the house in general. I think she may have a small crush on Larry which I totally support. We basically just sat out on different docks, soaked in the sun, and got it done. For dinner we had some really really good fajitas that were cooked to perfection on the cowboy grill. I wonder if they have some of these at the cowboy church? The night continued to roll on and we continued to roll along with it (if u will). At one point we were all ferociously head banging to Pantera when boats would cruise by, it doesn't get better than that. Eric swam on the "pool" table and Cara didn't leave the hot tub for a good 2 hours. I think everyone had a blast and I look forward to many more trips to the Kalmbach Compound.

Mmmm... Drink it in!



Too cool for school



L-I-V-I-N



I charged her $100 for this pic

Bad Andy

Bad Andy. I haven't blogged in a while and the only excuse I have is only good for the last 3 days because my hard drive crashed. Luckily, I backed it up not long ago and it's good to go after I put a new HD in last night and got everything copied back over.

PS - I am in the Garden State now, a.ka. New Jersey, a.ka. Jersey

Let me sum up my 2 weeks in Htown and various parts of Texas...

MOTLEY CRUE was in town and we took full advantage! Grupo de Awesome consisted of Jinx, Chris O, Brian, and myself. They rocked the house although they had to take like 3 intermissions to get it done. However, with Motley Crue it doesn't even matter how they preform as long as there are hotties, midgets, and fire on stage. Not to mention the lead guitarist died and came back to laugh still rocking. Tommy Lee ripped it from the rafters in his drum solo which was pretty sweet. I don't think I have ever thrown up my horns up in the air that many times at a concert. It was was nothing short of hardcore.



Geocaching is back in full effect. Team Ram_Rod consisted of Cara (my highschool sweetheart), Brian, and myself. Cara was a newbie and of course was blown away by the greatness that is Geocaching. Our first cache ended up being an "Event" cache, so we ended up in the front of Gander Mountain b/c that is where the local geocachers hold their super cool monthly meeting. So next we went looking for another cache which turned out to be in a really cool location under a bridge. I swear I took some awesome pics but they are not on my camera... anyone?

The Kalmbach Kompound was off the chain once again but I need to elaborate on this since Eric is patiently waiting on a well deserved blog.

Went out a few times for good beer with good friends.

Andy Reddy has fallen off the deep end and is getting married.

Brian and his pet lizard finally broke the ice and are friends now.