Author: To the Nth

Flying, Not Enough Flying, and Not Being a Teenager

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How on earth did it get to be mid-August?  The wall-to-wall flight and duty schedule my husband’s been on might have something to do with it.  At least he’s not hurting for flight hours this month.  We would, no doubt, both be a little more sanguine about the whole thing if fewer of those hours ate up our weekends, but such is life when there are aircraft carriers at sea who demand their COD hits with the clamorous fervor of a infant seeking a pacifier.  “Want it now!  Want it RIGHT NOW!”

My current level of flight time leaves much to be desired, although attempts were made to rectify my sad ground-bound state last week.  Alas, Mother Nature foiled my first bid for a Mission Observer proficiency hop with a grumbling sky and a worrisome number of lightning strikes in the vicinity.  The weather at the airport was such that we probably could have taken off safely, but returning at the end of our flight would have been iffy.  Our Mission Pilot decided that he didn’t fancy explaining to our superiors precisely why we thought it was a good idea to take off only to divert for weather and get ourselves stranded at another airport, so we stayed firmly planted on the ground.

No problem, we just rescheduled for a couple days hence… only to be stymied by another group signing the plane out from under us.  Here’s hoping for better luck this week.  I would dearly love to take advantage of the funding CAP always seems to have available for flying as the end of the fiscal year draws closer, especially consider how long it has been since I stretched my MO muscles.  Those skills are perishable; I hope I haven’t completely forgotten my G1000 tricks.

I have not made much progress in transitioning from the right seat to the left (translation: I have not yet begun working towards my private pilot certificate).  A while back, though, my husband and I visited a few local flight schools to get a feel for the various operations and instructors.  At one of the schools, we were chatting with an older gentleman about the process, how many hours would be needed, the rates for aircraft rental and instruction, and so on and so forth.  When he reached the part of the spiel about solo flight, though, he looked at me kind of funny.

“You know, you have to be at least sixteen years old to solo.”

I was a little taken aback — after all, I was there with my husband, wedding rings clearly visible.  Boy, I thought, this guy must think my husband is one hell of a cradle robber! I assured the gentleman that I was, in fact, a full decade safely past that particular minimum.

I’ve often been told I look young for my age, but to have someone wonder if maybe — just maybe — I might be fifteen? Everyone says I’ll appreciate it later, but I’m not quite convinced that I have reached the point at which it is flattering to have one’s age underestimated by ten or more years.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #8

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Missed out on #7, shame on me.  Here’s to getting back on the wagon with #8, though.

What is ONE thing you’d like civilians to understand about being a military family?

Just because military folks dress a lot alike and have awfully similar haircuts doesn’t mean they all think the same way.  The military is far from monolithic; please do not mistake the uniform for a signifier of uniform thought and lockstep personalities.

What is your favorite mistake?

The mistake that turned out best in my recent memory wasn’t anything life-altering or deep.  We were in an unfamiliar town looking for a place to snag lunch, and we displayed poor enough judgment to trust our GPS to take us to something random in the “food” category.  The place whose name had sounded so intriguing when we selected it from the list turned out to be in such a sketchtastic area that we didn’t even get out of the car for a closer look.  Our efforts to get back on the highway from there led us to a much nicer shopping center containing — lo and behold — a Red Robin.  We hadn’t been to one in years.

Any mistake that leads to heavenly onion rings has to be a good one, right?

What indulgence could you give up for a year?

I could live without our occasional afternoon respites at a local coffee shop — I make pretty tasty caffeinated beverages right here at home — but I’d be sad about it.

If you could be a winged animal, what would you be?

Have I mentioned that I’m a bit of a dragon freak?  You should see all the draconically-themed novels on my recently erected bookshelves.

A green dragon basking in the sun

I drew this green Pernese dragon basking in the sun when I was in high school.

What is one question you’d like to see asked in a future MFF?

“What is the silliest get-up you have ever worn outside of a Halloween party?”

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to ENS Wifey’s blog, snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

Hi Ho! Cherry-O

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Did anyone else play that game growing up?  I think I mostly chewed on the tiny plastic cherries.  It’s a wonder I didn’t choke, which would have been a tragedy — I’d never have had a chance to dazzle my readers with my blogging wit.  (I’m sure you are all shuddering at the very thought.)

Cherry-licious Rules:

  • Thank the person (or people) who, in a display of erudite good taste, bestowed the award upon you.
  • List three things you love about yourself.
  • Pass the love along to five other bloggers.

Thank you, Sespi!  My Russian-speaking, cookie-baking, adorable-canine-owning, ambitious (she’d love to be Secretary of Defense, which I’m cool with as long as she still opens up that café for my tea-sipping pleasure) fellow Navy wife is always a pleasure, whether one is reading her blog at And You Never Did Think or conversing with her on Twitter.

Thank you, Brooklet!  I was so tickled to connect up with another “Fly Navy” bride, especially one who holds felines in such esteem.  Check out her blog, Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl, for stories of her continuing adventures in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Mr. V.

How do I Love Myself?  Let Me Count the Ways…

1.  I am extremely modest. I’m intelligent.  I might not be the next Einstein, but I have always been told that I am smarter than the average bear.  For good or ill, my identity was wrapped up in being “the smart kid” throughout my childhood.  Now that I’m an adult, I hope I have a healthier way of looking at it: one of my great strengths is that there isn’t much that I would consider myself incapable of learning, ergo I don’t have to fight many “I can’t do it!” mental blocks when it comes to intellectual challenges.

2.  I love my curly hair.  It may not always behave, but when it does?  Hot damn.  😉  My husband, however… the messier it is, the better he likes it.  It has become a running joke that if he tells me my hair is looking particularly good, I had better check to make sure it’s not sticking up like I’ve had a close encounter with an electrical socket.

3. I love that I can, much to my astonishment, handle change.  (Good thing, too; ‘twould have been a crying shame to marry into the military and discover that I couldn’t.)  I don’t necessarily deal with upheaval gracefully or with a smile on my face — more like a Manhattan in hand and a stream of profanity on the tip of my tongue — but I do eventually adjust.  I might even be getting better at it; the Navy certainly gives us enough practice.

More Sundae-Toppers

My feed reader is brimming with blogs I heartily enjoy.  I could pick any number of witty, heartfelt, talented, hit-the-nail-on-the-head perceptive writers for the list.  I’m lousy at keeping track of who has already received which award, so apologies if I’m doubling up.  I’m also not married to the idea that these pretty little pictures represent a sacred contract that states you must play along and post in your blog and pass it to X of your bestest buddies, so please do not feel obligated for my sake.

Here is a sampling of blogs written by some very cool women.  You might enjoy them, too.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In #6

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What is your spouse’s best feature?

I am sure I will not be the only MilSpouse Friday Fill-In respondent to answer this question with some variation on, “It’s so hard to pick just one!”  I wouldn’t have married my husband if I didn’t think he had a staggering number of “best features,” but different aspects of why he is such a great guy jump out at me on different days.

One aspect of my husband’s personality that jumps out at me on quite a few days is his enthusiasm.  His excitement over whatever topic has captured his interest — from flying to motorsports to a particularly delicious meal — is contagious.  His obvious delight in sharing all these things never fails to cheer me up.

Mild, Medium or Hot sauce?

I like the comfortable range between medium and hot, especially if a flavor like bourbon is involved.  I can handle the heat and I do enjoy it, but I’ll choose a milder sauce with more flavor over a one-trick-pony ultra-hot bottle.

What is the worst uniform you had to wear for a job?

The only “uniform” I have ever had to wear for a job (unless we’re counting Civil Air Patrol volunteering) is a set of techie blacks.  In theatre, the people working backstage wear black clothing to reduce their visibility when they are skulking around out of the spotlight.  Of course, when I was getting paid to be backstage, I was working wardrobe and pretty much kept to the green room, where it did not matter one whit whether I blended into the shadows.

My high school theatre group (in which I met the love of my life, as it so happens) had a joke: “If you paint it black, no one can see it.  If you paint it plaid, no one will want to see it.”

You have invisible powers… where is the first place you would go?

To the bathroom, where I would check in the mirror to make sure I was truly invisible.

Can I have force fields, too?  The daughter in The Incredibles was pretty cool.

What’s left on your “to do” list for this summer?

Oh, too much to enumerate here.  A random sampling:

  • Finish my Technician rating in Civil Air Patrol so I can get promoted — gotta get those sweet silver bars on my shoulders 😉
  • Choose a flight instructor and begin working toward my private pilot certificate
  • Get a head start on knitting gifts for the winter holidays (hope everyone wants to unwrap cute coordinated dishcloth sets, ’cause that’s what they’re all getting)

Are you a military spouse/fiancée/fiancé/girlfriend/boyfriend? Hie thee to ENS Wifey’s blog, snag the questions, and add yourself to the Mr. Linky for this week’s MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!