HawleyBlog

Chris' Bone Head Move of the Week:
So I'm sitten' here yesterday and I'm thinkin' "I know...I'll just bid for a two day trip that starts on the 30th and that way, when I get back on the 31st, they'll release me and I'll get New Years Eve free from duty" (I always think in run-on sentences) Of course it's relatively meaningless because Lorna is gone 'till the 3rd and I actually have nothing to do, but the premise was sound. So I fire up my scheduling software and take a look at what trips are available. An overnight in San Jose...Perfect! I'll blow into the Bay Area, maybe see a friend or two and then head home for New Years. So I bid for it. Later in the day I check and, sure enough, I got the trip. I pull up a copy of the trip and something looks funny. You know how they say read the fine print...I didn't bid on a San Jose, California (SJC) overnight, I bid on a San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) overnight! Holy Crap I'm going to Central America...Have I had my shots?...Should I call the State Department...Does Lorna have enough money to pay off the kidnappers? (I saw that movie with Russell Crow)...Should I get more life insurance?...Does this Hamburger have Mad Cow Disease? (by the way, I love saying Spongaform Encepholopothy. Try it three times fast after a few beers!) I know my blog has gone for a week or two without any posts but if you don't see anything for more than a month, send $100 to the Costa Rican Revolutionary Freedom Fighters Front on my behalf. (Try sayen' that three times fast...Freedom Fighters Front...Feeum frighters...Drink!

The good news is I may get New Years Eve off...Assuming I don't get kidnapped or swallowed by a ten foot iguana in the lobby of the hotel! Happy New Year!

Well, they finally got Saddam. Now if they can just get that other menace to world peace, we can all rest easy. What was his name?...Oss...bin...Oh that's right...George W. Bush.

The House Chapter 1

So last July, Lorna and I are wandering around the big Air show at Oshkosh, WI when she picks up an ad for "Airparks" around the country.

An airpark is an airport that has houses with hangars built on it. You can live with your airplane. Just taxi out of the drive and off you go. It has always been a dream of mine to live in one.

Anyway, there was an ad for Phoenix Regional Airport. It's a bit south of Phoenix and it is just starting out. We decided to check it out when we got home. It took us a little time to find because it is a bit hidden. We drove around the airport and saw where the "Studio Hangars" were going to go up. We made calls and looked at lots (approx. $40,000 for a small one). On the way home from the airport, we noticed a home for sale across the road from the airport. Lorna called to find the details. Three bedrooms, 3.16 acres with horse facilities listed at $134,000. The airport was selling land at the equivalent of $200K/acre. Hummm...We figured the structure we wanted to build on the airport would cost approx. $230K. 1/5 acre @ $40,000 or 3.16 acres at $100K+? The truth is, we came so close to getting a lot on the airport but then the imagination kicked in. A Horse Ranch! "The Lazy-H". "Yea, we got a little spread down south". Maybe I could pave some of it and make my own runway. Hawley International Airport and Horse Ranch! (This will sound even crazier when you see the photos) Ultimately, if we would have gone for the airport property, we would have had little, if any, yard and I just couldn't see our future kids-to-come riding their bikes on an active taxi-way. The dreams of the "Bar-H" won out and we made an offer on the house.

That's when the trouble really began!...More later.

Blogging by phone again. I'm in a brewpup in SLC. I just saw 'The last samuri'. Not a bad flick but I enjoyed 'Love actually' more. Well, back to the Hefe-Weizen...later!

Sitting in PHX waiting for my flight to Salt Lake City. I fly there tonight and sit for 32 hours. ON A SUNDAY! Sunday in Salt Lake...Think I'll get some hookers and go to the strip bar or the Casino. Lorna's in Vegas for the night. What's the saying..."What happens in Salt Lake stays in Salt Lake". That doesn't sound right does it? I guess I could always find some WWII vets and reminisce about Pear Harbor.

My pilot group has been voting on a tentative agreement (TA) with our company. The company has been stonewalling for almost four years using 9/11 and their ATSB loan as an excuse. They have offered sub-standard pay and minimal benefits. An earlier TA was voted down earlier this year. Voting ended this morning at 8:00 and the results were closed than I could have predicted. I have been with the company less than a year so I was ineligible to vote. Don't ever say one vote doesn't matter.

From the union: The results of the Tentative Agreement ballot have been tabulated. The TA has failed with a 50.17% no and 49.83% yes vote. 1,445 of the 1,487 eligible pilots cast their vote, or 97.2% of the eligible voters. 725 pilots voted against the agreement, 720 pilots voted for the agreement.

Christmas has hit on Palm Ln. Lorna threw up the Xmas lights tonight. Our neighbors have put up awesome displays and she was feeling a bit inadequate. In the process, she blew out our white strand of lights so now we have half a display. We look pretty sorry. It made more sense when she told me that she bought them at the dollar store. Of course the whole subject is overshadowed by the fact that it was 78 degrees today. It's supposed to be 80 on Thurs. Did I mention I love Phoenix! Jingle Bells...Batman smells...Chris has got a tan... Sing it with me!

I've decided that the amount of posting I do to the Blog is proportional to the amount of beers I drink. There may be a few more posts tonight so hang tight.

Thanksgiving was grand. I loved seeing my grandma and my uncle. I was exhausted on Sat. night. A Cleveland leg followed by an Ontario round trip. The good news is I now have four days off, as does Lorna. Might have to have a couple beers tonight! I hope we will have news about the new house soon.