All change

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:14:26 +0100

This blog terminates here, all change please.

I’m going back to work in two weeks, which means my life will be changing substantially and I will finally be doing what I really want to be doing. This blog has been ignored and poorly updated for too long, and feel that it’s time for a change - a fresh start.

The (Air)Bus Driver’s Journals will be up sometime early July - maybe here, maybe somewhere else less buggy. Keep your eyes open and you’ll find it.

S.

Splash

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:12:19 +0100

Another week-end of sailing has come to an end and I’m hurting all over, for good reason.

We had a short but intense regatta yesterday - two races in the morning with moderately strong winds and very intense competition. We came a disappointing 5th and 4th (out of 9) even though we were first across the line on the second race. Good news is we were only 2 minutes behind the leader and 15 seconds behind #3 on the second race, which was about an hour long.

As this is a mixed fleet and no two boats are identical performance is based on a time handicap system. Basically the leg time is divided by a handicap number to get the corrected time. Our “problem” is that we’re apparently the fastest boat in the fleet which means coming first across the line doesn’t equate to a first place - we have to come first with lots to spare.

S.

I just remembered...

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:55:02 +0100

... I have a journal and I haven’t written anything for almost four months. Time to break the silence.

The reason I haven’t written about anything is because there really wasn’t much to write about flying-wise, and have been too lazy to write about anything else. I am still waiting for the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation to finish it’s Chinese new Year holiday and do it’s job: get my paperwork sorted out so I can fly. As nobody seems to have even the remotest idea of how long this process will take I have returned home to England to wait.

What have I been doing while waiting? Mostly sitting around at home doing precious little, occasionally driving hours to see friends in disant places or having friends over to see me.
Last week-end I very unexpectedly found myself crewing a 38ft (11m) sailboat in a local regatta which was very good fun. We managed a 5th place on 12 boats in our class which isn’t bad considering half the crew had never seen the boat before. I then drove to Bournemouth to see Gaz, spent the evening in a pub and finally went flying to the Ile of Wight yesterday - those of you who know me on facebook will find the pictures.

So I suppose life is going on slowly even if I’m not doing what I really want right now, and as I have overcome the first hurdle of writing a new post I may do so again in the not too distant future.

S.

Malaysia

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:48:02 +0000

Hello from the tropics. The picture you (should) see is Kuala Lumpur by night, with the famous petronas towers lighting the night sky.

I have been sitting around for the last 2 and a half weeks spending most of my days in the pool and occasionally venturing into central Kuala Lumpur or one of the nearby shopping centres.
All this idle stagnation is caused by the Malaysian government which is taking it’s time issuing our airside passes and other essential documents. I’m not saying the wait is unjustified, but I’d rather be home than in a company-paid flat in a complex with a pool and café with an average temperature of 29° ... well actually ... No, as much as tropical weather is nice, being far from more or less everyone I know isn’t fun.

I haven’t yet had the urge to explore the country/region, it may be time to start now...

S.

South East England by air

Thu, 8 Jan 2009 18:25:32 +0000

Went flying twice last week in a Warrior, for the fun of it. The sky was a magical shade of blue and the sun was just in the right place. Not a bump for miles. . . . Perfection, see for yourselves.

Otherwise I’m just completely busy with trying to prepare for my departure Sunday. Getting what I need, somehow compacting it into one case that’s less than 20kg (at £35/kg I’m NOT taking any overweight) and seeing everyone I have to see.

S.