We are Pilots

Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well this holiday season. I know that keeping warm is more difficult for some than others, but with Seattle on the brink of our first big storm of the season, I have managed a hiatus to Florida and California for a couple weeks.

Anyway, I've been up to the usual over the past few months: no good. I flew my final mission of the year back in early October with a fairly young crew, making things a little more exciting than normal. We spent a couple nights in Germany before heading to Manas via Afghanistan. Manas isn't actually too bad a place: you can actually drink beer and they have washers/dryers we can use. In fact, here is the AF link to Manas. However, it actually looks more like this photo below.

Looks AND feels like a concentration camp!

Besides Manas (which I admit did not have snow at the time, but instead has little annoying rocks that we have to walk over) we also ended up in Plovdiv, Bulgaria for a night. It was a bit rainy and we only spent about 3 hours in the downtown area (aircrew has to sleep and preflight the aircraft at some point), but they had a very well preserved Roman theater and the remains of an old Thracian settlement. Other than that, it felt like Eastern Europe/Turkey/Mexico, which I highly recommend!

Anyway, I spent about 12 days doing that before heading out to Oklahoma for Instructor School. Can you believe it? I'm actually certified to teach people stuff now! Though at times it is difficult to remember what that stuff is...hmmm...oh well. But seriously, I learned a lot and got some good flying in, which was especially nice since I won't be flying from January thru May (more on that below). Altus hasn't changed much since my last trip there a year ago, but it is close to some of the Texas Grangers and I was able to make a trip down to Austin to see Philip, Tammi, Logan, and Lacie, plus catch a Horns game. I also made a few weekend trips to Dallas with some friends - basically I left Oklahoma at every possisble opportunity! I love Texas, btw. People are friendly and there are things to do, good food to eat. yay. Oh, and plenty of Tito's to drink.

Phil, Aaron, Tim, and Raph drinking Tito's BEFORE the tailgate

So, I finally graduated from Altus for the 3rd time on Nov 20th, and on my way home, who do I stumble upon at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, but Angela! So we took a pic. You may recognize her from the hit series on NBC, "The Office" on Thursdays.

She's actually very nice in person...and REALLY short!

I wasn't back in Seattle very long before heading to Covina for Thanksgiving which was a nice break from all the hard work I've clearly been up to. Megan and Becca weren't around, but Jonathan and I made the most of things with our parents for the big day, with Sarah, Josh, and Will even joining in the fun. We played a stupid board game as well. If you have more than 6 people, I do NOT recommend this game. Trying to play with more than the MAX limit, when combined with alcohol, may induce brothers to say mean things to each other. Just sayin'.

Anyway, we followed up Turkey day with a little get together on Saturday night and had a nice turnout. Katie drove down from SB, the Bruner boys made it back, and then add some friends and mix it up with parents, a hyper-active golden retriever, some snacks from Trader Joe's and a jaunt to BevMo. G2G...noob. I don't know if there are any pics, but we had fun....but not too much ;)

Anyway, I've been back here in Seattle for the past 2 weeks getting ready for a 120-day deployment to Qatar. I leave at the very end of the month and will be back in mid-May, hence the no-flying comment earlier. Al Udied AB isn't so bad these days, with wi-fi in some places and a brand-new gym complete with 4-lane (indoor) swimming pool. I'll probably be working 12-hour shifts, everyday, for 120+ straight days...but I won't have much else to do but eat, sleep, and workout, so that will be fine. The goal is to be in triathlon shape by the time I get back, so no excuses. In fact, I just bought a new pair of speedos that I conveniently left in Covina, so I'll be sure to collect them when I go home for Christmas.

Next week I'll be in Florida for a little training, and then Vegas/Covina the week after that. So, if I don't see you before I leave, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Oh yeah...don't forget about the Armed Forces Bowl on New Year's Eve; Air Force v. Houston...go Falcons!!

Love,
Aaron


By the way, my post title is a song by Shiny Toy Guns. Check them out, and make sure you listen to "Rainy Monday" too! Sehr gut, danke!