Those are delicious!

Well, Aeroflot strikes again!  In all fairness, though, it wasn't completely their fault this time. I think. It makes for a better headline though. I like riding on them, believe it or not. The service is very good and I think most of the airplanes have been updated, so I feel pretty safe. So far I've ridden on two Airbus 330's and one 320. The 330 is nicer. Has the little TV screens in the seat backs. There is also a camera located in the front of the aircraft down on the landing gear. All the passengers can watch the center line while taxiing around. Anyway, currently we are parked somewhere on an airport halfway between Moscow and Delhi. Just on the southern edge of Russia.  Apparently, and this is the story the crew is going with, there was a medical emergency so we diverted to ???  Now we are stuck on the ground for another hour or so, cause the airport wont let us leave. Not sure why. I'm having a hard time understanding some of the PA communications. I might have to march up there and take us to Delhi. It's snowing, so we'll have to deice too. That will take some extra time as well. With any luck, we'll get stuck here over night. That should be fun.

Update: the Captain just made an announcement just said 40 minutes then we are out of here. I seriously doubt it. It's what I would say, so I know that it's a fib!

They turned the movies off. Not sure why. It's a good way to pass time. My book is finished and my laptops only has about 2 hours of battery power left. Things are getting critical in here. My blood pressure is rising and I'm starting to sweat. Actually, there is always entertainment around here. Just look around a bit and you'll see it. Someone was caught smoking in the lav just recently! Naughty, naughty! I don't think that he will get kicked off, but he's tied up like a chicken now in the back galley. They are beating him with what looks like a coat hanger. The screams are just for show. I doubt it hurts much. I'm just kidding. I'm sure it hurts a lot. At least this aircraft is big enough to move around in and not feel claustrophobic. I can think of worse aircraft to get stuck on for a couple of hours.

Most of the people on-board speak Russian and very little English. The girl that I am sitting next too, in 19I, speaks very little English. I of course speak absolutely no Russian, except for “goodbye”, so it's been quiet. I'm pretty sure some older ladies were making me the center of a joke just recently. I spilled water on the girl next to me and as I was trying to find something to soak it up, they were just laughing away and staring right at me. Then they were blocking my path and talking to me. Not sure what was being said, but they had a mischievous look in the eye. Made me nervous! I had to sit down quickly and start muttering under my breath.

Update: It's snowing hard now. I doubt we are getting out of here. I wonder where we are? Haven't got a clue, cause I didn't quite catch the name of the airport. Hope I don't have to sleep in the airport terminal tonight.

Not sure if you readers got the message that I love Stockholm. If you didn't, or you were daydreaming while reading my last blog, or maybe you were drifting off while someone was reading it too you, I like it there. Next sim session should be in August and it should be really nice there. I have it on good authority that the summers are terrific. Plus, I just found out that I can add a few vacation days to the beginning or end of my sim time allotment so I can stay and explore a bit. I like it. So that's the new plan. Hopefully we get to come back to this sim. The next closest sim is in Sydney, Australia. I could suffer through going down there I guess.

I am really surprised at how easy going these passengers are with this delay. Wow. What a contrast to the ones that I had aboard my aircraft a few months ago. Can't remember if I told you that story or not. I'm going to pretend that I didn't, so I can tell it again. Flying from LAX (Los Angeles, CA) to SUN (Sun Valley, ID), we were presented with the choice of diverting to save a woman's life or taking the chance that she would survive the rest of the way to SUN. It was a tough choice, I agonized over the decision for about 2 seconds, a long time in aviation, but we did eventually divert to RNO (Reno, NV). Our lovely passengers, being of kind spirit and concerned only for the well being of others, were all in an uproar that we would divert and then, once on the ground, take time to replenish our medical supplies, fuel, and a new clearance. I had several concerned passengers poke their head into the flight deck and give me “some advice” on what to do. Really now!  I came very close to leaving some of those folks in RNO, but I didn't want to fill out anymore paperwork. So now I am observing what people are supposed to act like in the case of an emergency diversion. It's pleasant.

The one thing that I might miss the most is the Swedish pancakes that I had each morning. They were so delicious. Top them off with a little whipped cream and some delicious jam and you have one great breakfast. Pretty fattening, but delicious. I think that when Jeannette gets here, I will have her make me some. Every morning.

New update: a new 40 minutes for customs and deicing. Like I said earlier; we're not going anywhere tonight. Better find a blanket quickly before they disappear.

Anyway, like I was saying about those pancakes......

Sniff, sniff; smells funny here

"Hej!"

I'm in Stockholm now. Just for brief, 3 day, visit to the simulator and then back. It's sure nice to get away and breathe some fresh, clean air though. Oh, man do I love breathing again. I might bottle it up and take it back with me. I can just see myself in the security line. “No, please don't open those, you'll let all the air out.” I might get some funny stares. Something else too, the power hasn't gone out yet. Hmmm. I wonder if everything's alright.  Enjoy the history of this post.

(I wrote quite a bit of this blog while I was waiting for flights, so it has some time jumps in it.)

Earlier; in another time and place.

Today, I am flying up to Moscow then over to Stockholm for some training. My airline is Aeroflot for both sectors, so we'll see how that goes. I've never ridden on Aeroflot; heard stories though! (edited: Aeroflot was excellent. Great service and ride. I would not hesitate to fly with them again)

The ticket agent just told me that my flight is delayed. Not sure when it will leave, but I'm pretty sure that I will miss my connection in Moscow. I've never been to Moscow, so I'm not sure what the procedure is for transitional passengers. Security? Extra screening? I'll find out soon enough.

When checked in at the ticket counter this morning, I was informed of the delay and possibility of missing my connection. Armed with that info, I promptly went to the bookstore and bought the thickest book I could find. Just so happens that it's one of my favorite authors, Ken Follett, 'Fall of Giants', and although I have the book at home in the states, I haven't read the whole thing. In fact, I've only read about 50 pages. Only 800 left to go! Should take a few hours to get through it.

12 oz coffee and book in hand, I migrated the 2 miles of corridor to find my boarding gate. People are sprawled out all over the place. The airport has these lay flat chairs, like pool loungers, against one wall that are being used by sleepy passengers. Others are hanging over the backs and armrests of the regular airport bench seats, trying to get as comfortable as possible. It's fascinating to watch people at the airport. I just love watching. One must be careful and a little sneaky about doing it though. A good book is a great cover. When I watch people I wonder where they are going? Who are they meeting? Are they leaving someone? Holiday? Work? Locals or visitors? It's fun to try to figure it out. When you have 10 hours to kill in an airport, try it. Although at 4:30 in the morning, it's hard to read people. Most are just fighting to stay awake. Those that aren't fighting, are sleeping. Only two options this time of morning. Oh, the crowd is surging for the counter. False alarm, though. The crew just walked by and everyone got excited. Good news; it looks like a newer Airbus 330 that we're taking. Makes me feel a little better.

I figure that the coffee should keep me going for the next :45 minutes or so. Hopefully we will be boarded and on our way. The 2 hour nap that I got last night in Delhi is barely taking the edge off the sleepiness that I feel. I know that if I fall asleep here, I'll sleep right through the departure of my airplane. The fiasco of yesterday's scheduling, combined with no one really knowing where I was at, has lead to this situation. It's long and tedious, but lets just say that it's the last time that I will ever let it happen again. It's too common place, but those happy days for the company are over.

I'm walking around and can't believe that the Delhi international terminal can be this nice. It's amazing. What a contrast to this entire city. European and Western style shops line the inside walls. Throw in Restaurants of all flavors and an endless supply of little coffee and bakery places scattered throughout, and you have yourself a first class terminal. I should come here just to hang out and recharge.

My new little bag that I purchased just for this event is working out great. I left my crew bag at home, because it didn't meet the international standard for carry-on size. This one is great. Meets the size requirements and I have room for my laptop inside. Cost me about $85 USD in the mall. The store was having a closeout sale on last years model. Works for me. Can't be too out of date.

The flight to Moscow was excellent. Like I had feared; we arrived too late for me to make the connection to Stockholm. The next flight is at 7:15 and is operated by SAS. I've been sent down here to the end of the D gates to await a replacement ticket. It's 12pm and the new ticket should arrive around 2pm. Good thing I brought my book.

Have my new ticket and have wandered around looking for something to do. Reading is fine, but I'm sleepy and my eyes need a break. I like to just look out the window at the snow falling. Didn't get a chance to enjoy the NW winter this year. I'm not really a big fan of snow, but not experiencing any just feels like I got cheated out of something. Russia looks pretty with snow. I imagine that it would look great in the warmer times of the year too. I plan on making a trip up here to look around when it warms up. The snow plows are scurrying around; attacking the snow and moving it into piles on the ramp. They have a good system for snow removal. First; a big grading tractor comes along and scrapes off most of the top snow. Scrapes it off to the side. Then a team of two smaller tractors, with snow plow blades on the front and a spinning sweeper brush on the back, zip around and scape more snow to the sides and sweep the pavement clean. Then a very large tractor comes around and scoops up the snow and takes it away. I can't figure out if they sprinkle salt or something like salt on the pavement, but that's next. Finally some guys come over in a little car and drive on the pavement to make sure that it's not slippery. It's very fascinating and very orchestrated. They seem to have things down pat. I did try to point out a spot that I felt they should redo, but they just ignored me.

My SAS flight just arrived. I watched the snow plows clear the parking area and SAS had no trouble what-so-ever. Nice work guys. Hopefully there won't be much or any delay with this flight. My eyes are feeling like sandpaper and my tummy is growling up a storm. I think I might have to tap into my safety fat reserves to get me through this time of trouble. No worries, that's what it's there for. I'll replenish it later.

I made it! Oh, the air is clean and fresh. Cold, but it's so good to breathe in wonderful air again. I'm heading over to the flight barracks and call it a night. I forgot my camera adapter, so I can download pics yet. Although, I might try something............ Oh, yes. This will work. Enjoy.

Can you spare a square?

Finished off my first roll of toilet paper today. It's particularly noteworthy to me, because it establishes a critical benchmark of consumption that I can measure my health with later. I think these things are very important and should be taken with the utmost seriousness. Plus, I can plan my shopping easier now that I know my consumption rate. I think that the next couple of weeks are going to be exciting around here as I consume the first of everything! I get goose-bumps just thinking about it!  I'll try to share these exciting moments with you as they unfold before my very eyes.

I'm considering taking a chapter from my Indian friends and colleagues and documenting every little thing that happens around me.  Plus, I will be getting a signature to authenticate the notations.  Maybe even a stamp to notarize things with. It's a crack-up around here, cause everyone runs around with little notebooks and writes stuff down, and then makes you sign it. There are thousands of these notebooks floating around. Most of the time they just document people coming and going, in and out of various buildings and places. For example: I am supposed to sign in and out of the “logbook” that's stationed conveniently in the exercise room. If I don't sign in then I get hounded while I'm on the treadmill until I do. However, my stubborn nature is rebelling and I have refused the last couple of times. It causes all sorts of responses.  From insistence to the deer-in-the-headlights look. You really never know what reaction you will get! I really shouldn't cause trouble, cause they are so nice around here, but it gets to be a bit much after awhile. Plus, they know me know, so I just tell them to fill my name in and sign it! They're learning.

Took the Air Law Test in Delhi today. Flew up from Hyderabad at O-dark-forty-five. That's 06:45am flight time, so I had to be at the airport at 05:45am to catch it. Actually, I should say that I was supposed to be there at that time. A more convenient time for me, that I calculated the night before, was to show up at 06:15, so that's what I did instead. Worked out great for everyone involved. Especially me. I've noticed that I've been in an extra ornery mood lately. Not a bad ornery mood; rather a I'm-not-in-the-mood-for-this-crap ornery mood. I think it's OK to be in those moods. Anyway, back to the Air Law Test, cause I know you're dying to hear more about it. So I flew up to Hyderabad only to sit at the Ops building until 01:15pm, when we were herded outside into a bunch of cars, like cattle, and driven, quickly and with no regard to road safety or laws, to the testing grounds. I have enclosed a picture of our testing grounds for your viewing pleasure. It certainly was my viewing pleasure for sure! At one point I had to use the restroom and let me tell you, I cannot describe it to you. There are not enough words to describe it to you. I was going to take a picture, but didn't. I seriously regret not taking one now. It looked like the inside of a barn. No joke. Seriously now, it did. OK, you guys keep sidetracking me. Enough of that. The test was OK, I missed some of the questions, cause I went and looked up the answers afterwards. I calculated that I could miss 15 and still pass the test. I think I can live with that. If I don't pass, I just reschedule and come back in two weeks and try again. It's not a critical and important test. Just another box that needs to be checked off the list. 

The test givers were little Nazi's and stomped up and down the rows watching us, like a hawk watches and little mouse, lest we try to cheat.  Any little whispering was immediately squelched and snuffed out before any potential answers could be leaked to the testing group.  I felt like I was back in grade school.  It was fun and enjoyed it.  I actually didn't cause any problems.  I was thinking of some, but I restrained myself.  One of the funny and utterly stupid rules they have here is that you're not allowed to correct any mistakes made on the test.  And I mean that if you see one that you made before you turned in the answer sheet, you are not allowed to change the answer.  It's the craziest thing.  It is very common here.  Not just in a few places, it's actually the norm.  The Fraulein in charge of the testing made it very clear to the group that no corrections would be allowed once the ink meet the paper.  No exceptions.  You couldn't even request a new answer sheet to rewrite the answers down.  Of course there were a few guys that messed up and tried to get relief of the no-correction rule, but they were denied with great gusto.  I guess you just get the answer wrong. 

Earlier, while I was hanging out in the Ops building, bored as all get-out, I was approached by one the crew planners. Her job, specifically, among other things, is to plan trips to Stockholm, Sweden, for crew members to have a little rest and relaxation. OK, not that last part. It's actually for simulator training/currency and stuff like that. Boring and stressful; all at the same time. Not sure how the time can be both, but it is. The plan was for some other poor soul to spend time up there in a couple of days, but that deal fell through when the company lost his Visa. Not sure how that can happen, but it did. Apparently and unbeknownst to me, which is usually the case, I was the alternate pilot for this little gig. They originally had me scheduled for an April sim slot, and that would have been great. Nice spring weather up there, so I could cruise around and visit places in beauty. But now cause it's the middle of February; it's cold and snowy up there. Not my first choice of times, but the change will be good. The company wanted to keep me in Delhi and send me out the next day, tomorrow, but since I didn't know I was the alternate sim pilot, I didn't pack for the cold weather in Sweden. In fact, I didn't pack anything at all. Something that I will have to change from now on. Always carry some extra clothes, cause you never know what this crazy company is going to pull.

So, I'm excited. I could care less about the sim. I've done lots of those, so that should go pretty easy. I'm excited to travel out of India and into a clean, fresh smelling county! I might just look for a job while I'm up there. I wonder if they need any sim instructors..........

My next post might be from Sweden. I'll try. Although, you really don't know it's from Sweden. Kind of like you don't really know that I'm in Hyderabad, India. I could just be in Indiana and writing from my hotel room. I'll send pictures.

Keep living life, people. And if you ever have a couple seconds, jot something down and send it to me. I love mail too.

Later taters, Darin

Who thinks this is a bad idea? Raise your hand.

So I just finished my first two days of instruction.  Not instruction given to me.  No.  Instruction that I give to some other poor soul.  When I first got my flight schedule at home I had these little codes in the “special instruction” box. I couldn't figure out what they meant either. I didn't think much of it and honestly really didn't care that much to ask about it. So it was a little surprising to show up for work only to realize that I was training someone. No waiting till I'm good and ready, noooooo.  Just throw the new guy into the lion's den. Does anybody except me see the hazards here?  Honestly, it probably could've turned out to be kind of exciting and you'd like it too, if you're into the panic and high blood pressure thing. I personally am not, but everyone is different. Personally, I was really hoping to have a little more time to adjust to the system over here, but that's obviously not going to happen. I did give the guy the option of backing out and waiting for a real instructor.  But he thought that we could handle it. Boy was he in for a rude shocker!  Ha!  Putting it mildly: the first day was a real cluster and I'm surprised that it went as well as it did. I crashed out that night in Chennai, cursing the career choices that I have made. The next day I was determined to be on top of the situation, so I spent the morning prepping for the flights and that helped enormously. It actually went rather smoothly and I think I might have actually figured out some of the radio calls on my own.  Of course it helps that I am just plain good. But that goes without saying. So much so that I have to remind people to tell me.

OK, for the last week or so, whenever I would type on my computer, I would sometimes get this little prickly feeling in my wrists as they rubbed, ever so slightly, on the edge of my laptop. Drives me crazy. Feels like a little sliver of insulation or a really fine wood splinter. I hate that feeling.  I'll pull my skin off just to stop the itch.  Every time that I check for something though, there's nothing there. Really bothers me.  This imaginary sliver.  Kind of like the imaginary spiders that run across my bed while I'm sleeping (another story all together). Well, tonight I figured it out. Been figuring out a lot of things, this is just one of them. So as I was typing, I kept feeling the sensation and so I watched very carefully as my wrists rubbed the computer case. I noticed that surrounding my computer is a very thin piece of metal. I think its aluminum or something. Probably there to help my computer from getting banged up. It's also a great conductor of electricity!  Yep, as I look, there is a tiny little spark that arcs from the computer to my wrist, giving me the little prickly sensation! Of course I then realize that nothing is grounded here, except my bare feet on the marble covered concrete building that I live in. Sure enough. I raise my feet off the floor; no arc. Put my feet back on the floor; nice little arc forms. In addition, it's only when the laptop is charging. Easy fix; wear socks or unplug the unit. Done. I'm on a roll.

Still haven't decided if I'm going to get a scooter or not. I think that I might, but I still need to do some checking on the whole license thing. Plus, I don't know if I have to buy a registration for it or not. It would be fun to have one. Opens up a lot more territory that you can cover in a day or two.

I am looking out my window at the busy street that runs through the place called Nanakramguda. The night is alive with music, dancing and the sound of generators howling away. I guess that there is a wedding tonight. Every once in awhile a bunch of firecrackers will pop off and I'll hear shouts and yells. As I drove through the streets on my way to my apartment, it actually looked like a lot of fun. Everyone was all dressed up in their traditional outfits and were parading around. You would never imagine that they could get so dressed up for events like this, especially if you saw them during the week in their regular clothes. Its neat to watch. I'm happy that they are happy.  There is so much sadness here. I would imagine that for some, this is it. This is the highlight of their week, month, year, or maybe life. We should be so inclined as to take the opportunities given us. Who knows what tomorrow holds in store for us.  I don't for sure. Should we even care and does it really matter?  Live today.

Changed my mind

Changed my mind.

I actually like writing my stories down and I know some of you like reading them, so I'm continuing. I know who my true family and friends are now too.  I figure that these posts are for me and those who like them, but mostly for me.  I might have jumped off the deep-end the last post, but it was true.

The condo that Scott rented, and I am staying in, for a small fee of course, is turning out to be pretty nice. At first I was just a little uncertain that being on the outside of town would be a good idea. The noise is definitely less out here and the traffic seems to be better. The draw backs are that there really aren't very many places to go eat and shop. And when I say many; I really mean none. Unless you count Nanakramguda as a shopping center. I like to lovingly refer to it as a squatter village mess hall. I drive through on the way to work, but I don't think that I will ever venture there on foot. It's one of those places you wander into and never wander out.

One of the nice things about living on the edge of town is being able to zip out into the countryside on my bike and peddle around. I'm not sure who owns most of the land around here. I think the government does. After questioning some of the locals, it was determined that if there is no fence then it's fair game. You can peddle for miles and miles through some of the back roads and little trails here.  There are cows and pigs just roaming around.  Mostly though, a whole lot of nothing.  Well, if you don't count the needle like thorns that jump out and pop my tires for no reason.

The flying is going well. Had my first unsupervised flight today. Four little hops of about a hour and thirty minutes for each one. Most of the flights are going to be around that time span. Fits our airplane perfectly. The flying is easy; it's the understanding of the radio calls that is going to take some time. I had to, on several occasions today, look quickly over to my interpreter sitting on the right side to get the ATC translation. The word on the street is that it's the English language being spoken, but the jury is still out on that one. I find that if I miss the first part of the transmission then it's all over. By the time that I have processed and figured out what they said earlier on, I've missed the rest. There's a lot of “say again” transmissions from my airplane! The company has some different (bazaar) rules and procedures that really don't make any sense. Plus, there are things that the FAA outlawed years ago, that are in practice now. Changes are hard to make around here, so we'll see how it goes.

I watched my first little motorcycle accident the other day. It was a nice day and we were hanging out on the balcony, watching the world go by, when it happened. A motorcyclist was cruising down the road, not too fast mind you, and another one was pulling onto the road. Remember, over here, when you are pulling onto the road, never look up the road for traffic. If you do and the other driver sees you looking, then you are obligated to yield. So the best course of action is to just enter the roadway at about a 45 degree angle and make the other drivers yield to you. Do it slowly too. That of course brings about a rash of horn honking and position jockeying, which brings more horn honking and brake lights (if they actually work, which most don't). Anyway, for our story, the motorcyclist merging onto the road was obviously minding his own business and following the “no look” policy while pulling out onto the road. The oncoming motorcyclist was just a tad late on the horn and didn't yield, of course, and smacked the other motorcyclist broadside. Both bikes went down in a heap, while both drivers spilled out onto the road. In 2.37 seconds exactly, there were about 45 people standing around gawking at the wreck. There was nothing really to see. I was hopping for a good fight, but the drivers just hopped around shaking it off and then they started their bikes up and drove off. No exchange of insurance, information, or even any words that I could tell. Very anti-climatic if you ask me. Now the tanker truck that tipped over on the flyway, that's another story.

Speaking of crazy. My FO and I had a race home the other day. Found out that he has an apartment just down the road from me about 5 minutes, so we were going to share a company cab. For some strange reason though, we had to take two cabs. I don't know and I don't ask why anymore. I just go with it. So of course we had to make use of the opportunity. I think I might have started it, but he might have, now that I think of it. My car left just before his did, but my driver waited for an oncoming truck to get out of the way. Car B (my FO's cab) didn't. So it was on. We took them just before the corner to the freeway, and as we skidded around the corner, on two wheels, the gloves were off. It reminds me of a video driving game on these roads and you have to dodge the slow, weaving trucks and random pedestrians that wander around on the road. Every once in awhile, you have to dodge a pig or something fun like that too. So, sometimes I would lead and other times car B would lead. We traded the lead over a dozen times. At one straight stretch I looked over to the speedometer and it was bouncing off the stops about 150-160. That's in kilometers of course, but it's still pretty freaking fast. And that's the last time I looked. I just urged the driver to go faster! And he responded with a stomp of the accelerator pedal to the floor.  The speedometer stopped moving, which was good cause it was bothering me. Our 30 minute taxi ride was shortened considerably to a more reasonable 17 minutes. Much better. It pains me to say it, but I came in second in this event. I thought we had the race in the bag as we rounded the last corner and took car B on the inside, but the right sweeping corner, that we were riding to victory, turned back on itself, sweeping to the left, allowing car B to retake the lead and the trophy. Rats. Next time.

So far I haven't gotten sick. Every once in awhile I get a little upset tummy, but it's over quickly. The food is pretty good. I have some really spicy stuff today. Made my eyes water and sweat bead up on my forehead. The beauty of the Indian food is that the spicier you order it, the less you eat. Helps with my weight loss program. So far I'm down 5 lbs. I eat lots of veggies and fruit. Much better for me than the crap I used to eat at home.

There's not a whole lot to do around here. I try to keep myself busy, but it's tough. As my schedule gets a little more concrete I think that I will travel a bit more. Maybe even get a little scooter. Not sure about that one yet.