(Mostly) One picture a day.

I've decided I am going to take one picture each day and start posting them somewhere. I am unsure if it will be here or somewhere else that turns out to be easier. I won't figure out what works best until I just get to doing it, so here goes.

This was taken at the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools conference today at the Cobo Center.

Summer in Michigan

"You don't realize what you have until it's gone." For a long time, there, I thought this was only what girls must have thought after they broke up with me. But after living in Vero Beach for nearly 8 months now, and traveling back to the Great Lakes State in June, I realized that the phrase might be applicable to more than just the regrets of the women I've ever went on a date with.


I don't think you can't fully appreciate the things you encounter on a daily basis. At some point, no matter how hard you consciously try to not take things for granted, you start to get numb to the senses you experience day in and day out.

My most recent trip back to Michigan was enjoyable on many levels. I was able to catch a Tigers game, hang out with the family for a weekend at Mackinac Island (one of my favorite places), and spend a little time back home in Flushing. The trip went WAY too fast.

To get back to my initial point, I realized how freakin' sweet Michigan can be. Even Flushing, which has nothing out of the ordinary going for it, is absolutely beautiful in the summer. Jogging back at home was one of the more enjoyable parts of the weekend. Northern Michigan, however, has to be one of the most underrated places on earth. Nothing holds a candle to Northern Michigan in the summer. I can't wait for August when it looks like we'll be making our annual camping trip.

A note to all who make my blog your homepage, I'll be making a trip back home the 4th of July weekend with no plans. Seems everytime I come home I have big plans. I'm looking forward to coming home for a few days and just doing whatever.

-Cush

The fam and I in Mackinac immediately following a race I ran (hence my stylish garb).

Florida, flying, and other happenings.

There's a reason why they call this the Sunshine State. The weather here has been crazy good, and has allowed me to fly much more than I would have ever been able to back home. So far, in the 5 months I've been here, I've turned my heat on twice and the a/c on twice.

I absolutely love my job and the people I work with. My students have all been great and fun to work with. Below are a few pictures of me with a couple of my first students. Both these guys are bound for the Nigerian Air Force.


Mamman and I

Bolaji, Me, and Mamman

A perk of living in Florida is being so close to so many MLB spring training sites. When my sister and her family came down on vacation, we caught a Tigers game in Lakeland. We couldnt have asked for a better day than we got sitting out in the outfield grass. Miguel Cabrera hit a HR that sailed over my head by no more than five feet. I had my glove ready and everything.

Me n Tess!

The only negative thing I can say about my job is that, at times, work has been pretty slow as I had an extremely low student load. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a glass half full kind of guy(well, you know now). So I decided to take advantage of some of the extra time I've had. You know how the saying goes...when life hands you lemons, I say you go to mardi gras (or something like that). Matt Cuttitta lives in the shadow of downtown New Orleans, literally. So I decided to make the drive to the Big Easy and met his brother Tony for the final and biggest weekend of the celebration. Matt's an engineer for Shell and scored tickets through his work to a party with a balcony over Bourbon Street. For those of you who don't realize the significance, that's like scoring box seats to the World Series.

Matt, Tony, and I.

Me on the balcony over Bourbon St.

Well, that's it for now. I'll be in town from April 10th-13th if anyone is interested in meeting up. I will be spending a majority of that time in Detroit as that is opening day weekend.

-Cush

Christmas in July

If anyone has ever been to a 'Christmas in July' party, save a few rare exceptions, like the one my Aunt Jane put on a few years back (there, I covered myself), you probably realized that they just aren't the same, and kinda suck (not Aunt Jane's, tho!). Well, I'm living where it's Christmas in July all season long! It's just not the same. Christmas carols, lights, wreathes, Santa, 8 pound 6 ounce baby Jesus and 80º weather just don't mix. It doesn't feel like Christmas down here.

Luckily, I'll be making my much anticipated return back to Flint-town for Christmas, and I hear there's plenty of snow to go around. I'll be home from Wednesday until Monday. For anyone interested, I'm trying to set something up for the day after Christmas.

Other updates are kinda boring. I'm pretty much doing the same things everyday. I'm either out flying or sitting at home watching TV and playing on the computer. I'm trying to save money these days, so I'm not really doing much with my spare time. I'll have to say, I'm really enjoying living so close to work. I went 18 days before I had to put gas in my car, which is a nice change from when I was driving between Royal Oak and Flint everyday.

My offer is still out there for anyone who wants to come down and visit. I'll pick you up at the airport. Seriously, get on the computer and check out the fares from Flint/Detroit to Orlando. It's insane the prices you can get. I suggest AirTran or Spirit. I'm flying back to Detroit on Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve!!) for 55 bucks. That's the time you usually get gouged.


-Cush

I'm back!!

You'll have to excuse my absence. As evidenced from my previous post, I was pretty cock-sure about the Tigers this past year, and it seems it has taken me several months to recover. Nonetheless, I am back and am going to make an effort to keep an updated blog on my adventures in The Sunshine State.

For those of you who have been out of the loop, I have taken a job in Vero Beach, FL. This is located on the Atlantic Ocean between West Palm Beach and Daytona Beach. I am flight instructing at a flight school named Flight Safety Academy. So far, I'm absolutely loving my job, although this comes with cautious optimism as I recall saying to a colleague on my first day of teaching kindergarten: "I can't believe we're getting paid for this." We all know how that ended(note: I'm not teaching kindergarten anymore).

Just this morning, I was sitting in an aircraft at 7:15, taxiing to the runway with my student, when I recalled where I would have been at that moment if I were still school teaching. I have to say, I couldn't be happier with my decision to venture back into the field of aviation. Now, that's not to say anything against what school teachers do....it takes a real special person to do what they do, I just wasn't one of 'em.

What makes me most proud of what I'm doing, is knowing that I'm following in the footsteps of people that I hold in the highest regard. People who taught me how to fly. Notably, André Fairbanks and Ken Johnson. Without these two, there's no doubt I wouldn't be where I am today. André for molding me into the pilot I am now, and Ken for roping me back into the profession. This, however, pales in comparison to the type of friends these two have been to me. If I could only have the influence on a single pilot that they have had on me, my flying career would be a complete success.

I'll never forget the time André and I went to Hooters for lunch (like I said, some things never change(inside joke(see also: facebook))) the day of my instrument checkride, and he put a Hooters sticker on my headset, like I'd actually wear that on a check-ride with his best-buddy Walt (note: they're not really buddies (In fact, Walt hated him)). For whatever reason, Walt liked me (hey, I'm a likable guy!), which I found out to be a rarity around Flint Air, so I decided to ride that wave as long as I could. I promise, I'll cut it out with the parenthesis.

Welp, I think that's enough for the first time back. I don't want to over exert myself on the first post. In closing, I want to say to all my friends, come and visit me! It's sun and fun all the time down here. I'll even pick you up at the airport! Make your winter vacation plans now. Vero Beach!

-Cush





Here's me in my new uniform outside my apartment. Like I said, sunny all the time. Come and see me!

Make your October plans now!

It's funny, because I can recall saying a few weeks ago to someone: "It's sad, because it's not even Thanksgiving yet and I can't wait for baseball to start"...and that was BEFORE the tigers make a blockbuster trade to get a surefire Hall of Famer who isn't even 25 years old yet. This guy is gonna be in Detroit for a long time. Brace yourself for a crazy year of baseball in Detroit. I can't wait for when the Tigers start dismantling those pukes over in Cleveland. The Tigers had the 2nd best offense in all of baseball last year with a hurt Gary Sheffield for most of the year, now they're adding Renteria and Cabrera. This team could be setting records. It wasn't too long ago when the Tigers were unwatchable. In the early part of this decade, they were a minor league team. It's amazing how far they've come in a few seasons. Anyhow, I managed to talk my dad into upgrading to a full season ticket package (again, before the trade), so we're sitting pretty with tickets this summer.

In other news, I ref'd my first varsity basketball game this past Friday night. It was truly a blast. I really fit in and don't think anyone noticed that I had never done the three man system before. I didnt hear a peep from either coach which, from what I've seen, seems to be rare at the varsity level. The atmosphere was great. I've had a few packed gyms before when I was doing JV games before a big varsity game, but I don't think I've ever had this many people in the gym at the start of a game. Friday night basketball with the pep band playing can sure get the adrenaline going.

The trip to Key West was a great time. The weather was impeccable and the drinks tasted even better. Unfortunately, there wern't many drunken pirate activities to speak of, though at times they could be seen drinking in the bars. It kind of lost its luster, though, when one of em started singing karaoke and sung "what a wonderful life". That's no joke, I couldn't make that up.


At least he didnt sing the Lord's Prayer.

-Michael

Wow, what an insane weekend.

The weekend started on Friday(obviously), the day of my commercial check-ride. I decided to head out to the airport early to work on my maneuvers. I was working on emergency procedures, where you pull the throttle to idle to simulate an engine failure and practice what you'd do. Well, as I go to push the throttle in to recover, I press it in too fast and nearly stall the engine at 3000 feet. Not a very good start to the day I thought to myself. Well, anyway, I breeze through my check-ride and am now officially a commercial pilot.

For celebration, I invited a couple handfuls of friends and family to the Old Sequoia, a cigar bar and lounge behind the Redwood Lodge and everyone I invited showed up! It was great! I ended up getting smashed and a couple of us went to the Autumn Lounge for some karaoke, but I don't remember much of that and guess I got kicked out because I was sleeping on one of the tables.

The next day was Rick's wedding day. It was a great wedding and reception, and though I was still hurting from the night before, I managed to get wrecked again. That was a great time, congrats Rick and Angie. After the reception, we decided it'd be a great idea to go to McDonalds. In the hallway we see a woman and about 10 kids that we saw at the wedding and we asked em all what they wanted from McDonalds. Weird thing, they all wanted nuggets. I couldn't even coax the little girl into getting a happy meal, even after I told her they had the My Little Ponies this month. So off to McDonalds we go, and we end up buying about 40,000 Chicken McNuggets. By the time we get back to the hotel, all the kids were sleeping. I don't think I've ever ate so many chicken nuggets in all my life. When we woke up the next morning, they were littered all over the room, even after half of us ate until our guts busted.



That's not me, or anyone I know, but it might as well have been.

-Michael

Detroit Rock City

Well, it's about as official as it can be, which is to say nothing is finalized, but a move to Detroit is finally happening. Graver and I have picked out a swank place just a few blocks from the heart of Royal Oak and should be moving in by the middle of next week. Hmmm, now that I type that, it scares me to reminisce about the last time I said something was going to be happening the following week (see below: any post about my check-ride, which is still yet to happen). Anyway, if anyone is looking for a sweet place to stay, we're looking for a third roommate.

The aforementioned check-ride is still yet to happen because the replacement transponder I purchased worked (or didn't work) worse than the one it was replacing. I've sent that one back and am awaiting the delivery of another one. Hopefully, one that works.

My trip to Key West got booked today. A trip at the beginning of December with the family. My sister was checking out some key west websites to see if anything was going on down there while we were there. She stumbled upon this: http://www.piratesinparadise.com/ Pirates in paradise! Are you kidding me?! I always thought tears of joy were only for the movies. Anyway, I seriously envision myself going on a three day bender and walking the streets of Key West all sauced up as a scene from the Pirates of the Caribbean when they're in Tortuga goes on around me. I figured, if I'm going to drink like a pirate, I ought to have a Pirate mug. I found this gem on eBay:

That's gonna be a silly good time.

-Michael

G4 TV

There are a handful of things that come with a career change that don't really strike you until it happens. Among these is the reunion between myself and crappy afternoon television programming. This really brings me back to my college days when sitting around flipping through the channels and finding nothing to watch in the early afternoon hours (about the time I'd roll out of bed) was a daily ritual. Anyhow, there was a channel that Emil, my most-recent college roommie, and I liked to watch called "Tech TV." It was a rare channel that actually had some good shows in the afternoon that were later replayed in their prime-time lineup. Anyway, in my quest to find something to watch at 2:00pm, I found out that "Tech TV" is now defunct, but the network that bought it, called "G4 TV", still airs many of the same programs in the afternoon hours. There's a new show too, called "Attack of the Show" which seems to have established itself as one of the better shows on the network.

Now, if you're one of the two people who probably read my blog (hi grandma!), I'm going to do you a solid. As we all know, the internet is a goldmine for amateur video that's a riot, beginning with the Numa Numa video several years back. The website for G4Tv has an awesome page called "around the net" where they post clips of some of the funny, and sometimes classic, content that they find on the net. Also on this page, there's a weekly podcast (you can watch it right off the page) where the hosts of AOTS (Attack Of The Show, pay attention) take you through some of the recent content they've found. I highly recommend it. Check out the link http://www.g4tv.com/aroundthenet/index.html , and click on the video clip entitled "around the net" on the right side.

-Michael

Transponder Issues

Well, my commercial flight examination is yet to happen, because while going through the logbooks of the airplane(making sure everything is up to date), I noticed that an inspection that is to be done on a biannual basis, hasn't been done in over four years. That was the first delay to the check-ride. "Alright, no biggie", I thought. "We'll get this checked out and I'll be good to go." Well, that is until the transponder (the afforementioned piece of equipment) failed the inspection. Now I have to get a new transponder, and by new I mean refurbished, because everything in aviation is way to damn expensive. Ultimately, I found a transponder that fits for me that was pulled out of a crashed airplane in Alaska (hopefully the last crash that transponder sees), but until it gets here and is intalled, my airplane is grounded.

It is due to arrive Thursday or Friday, and to be installed on Saturday. Then, it's test time for me! Hopefully everything goes according to plan and I'll be a commercial pilot come next week.

-Michael

Weekend of S's

Saturday and Sunday, surprises, sunburn, sweeps, and studying.

The weekend started with a pleasant surprise when Butch and I decided to make a night out of visiting dive bars in Flint. We started right downtown at the Loft, which was pretty dead, but we did come by some good information that many of the strippers from Nathan J's hang out there. We then went across the alley to the Torch, which had a fair amount of people there, but was pretty boring. Finally, we decided to head to the Raincheck Lounge, which I had heard of for years, but had never been to. It's not in a great area, and when we pulled in, there were some people in the parking lot who looked pretty rough, and we nearly pulled the plug on the idea....but having made the track, we figured we might as well give it a shot. As Butch reached for the door, I feared the worse, figuring the moment we walked in the music would stop and everyone would be staring at us. Much to my surprise, the Raincheck is a great place! There were lots of ladies, good tunes, and a crowd that seemed right up my alley. Butch ended up buying some chick sitting across the way a beer, and (against my advice) instructed the bartender to tell her to "Ditch the zero and get with a hero" after she failed to walk over after he sent her the beer. The crazy thing, she comes over after the bartender drops the line. She had a few screws loose, telling us she's going to Mott because she doesn't think there's a Physical Therapy program at UM-Flint, which is one of the things that UM-Flint is better known for. Ultimately, she refused to give out her number, but took Butch's.

Saturday was a long day that began with John and I going to the Michigan football game and melting in the stands. I never thought I'd get scorched in the middle of October. We then had bowling Saturday night, which we were both looking forward to as we were matched up in a first place showdown with his sister's team. John and I talked shit for two weeks leading up to this match up, only to bowl like shit and get swept. Even worse, my dad's team swept their bowling league match-up and I had to hear about it all day Sunday.

Tuesday is judgement day (weather permitting) as I have my FAA commercial pilot's checkride scheduled. The rest of my time between now and then will be devoted to studying. Update to follow!

-Michael

Now that's flyin

The other day, we were out doing some practice maneuvers and decided to take some videos of some of things we've been doing. The best of which was a spin we started from 6000 feet, and if you notice the altimeter on recovery, it's just a shade above 4000 feet. That's nearly 2000 feet in just a few seconds. Compare that to the tallest roller coasters at Cedar Point, the Top Thrill Dragster (420 feet), or the Millenium Force (310 feet). It was pretty insane.

My commercial training is just about complete, and will be taking my check-ride next week.

-Michael

Going Full Circle

In an effort to try and keep people updated , I'll try my best to sum up what I've been doing the past several years.

As most people know, I went to Western Michigan University and entered their Aviation program with aspirations of becoming an airline pilot. Upon graduation in December of 2004 however, I wasn't confident in the outlook of pursuing a career in aviation. Thus, I decided to enter graduate school at U of M-Flint to get my masters in education as well as my teaching certificate. I spent a year and a half accomplishing this and in the fall of 2006 obtained a kindergarten teaching position in Grand Blanc. During my year in Grand Blanc, it became apparent to me that teaching wasn't my gig, and perhaps I had made a mistake.

Coincidentally, late this summer was time for me to take my bi-annual flight review to remain current with my pilot's certificate. Having been busy with grad school and then the start of a new career, I had flown only a handful of hours the past two years. Going back to the airport and the flight school (to get my flight review completed) it all started brought back some fond memories and allowed me to rediscover the passion for aviation I once had. After deliberating the entire summer on what I wanted to do, I ultimately chose to continue with my flight training and pursue a career in aviation.

That brings us to where I am today. I've pretty much been living at the airport the past few weeks, and in less than three weeks, am on the cusp of receiving my commercial pilot's certificate. I plan on taking my tests and check-ride sometime next week. With each passing day, I am becoming more and more sure of my decision to return to aviation. I'm having an absolute blast flying.

That pretty much sums up where I am now and where I've been. I've gone completely full circle and am back in the same building on the field of Bishop Airport I first walked into the summer I finished high school. Updates on my flying will follow with some pretty cool videos we've taken the past few weeks. Some of them are pretty insane.

-Michael

Why?

Let me start by saying that this will be the last post devoted entirely to the topic of blogging. For those of you who have the distinct privilege of knowing me, it may come as a surprise that I've started a weblog. Here are a few reasons I decided to start one:

1. Documenting the times: It always seems to be a good time when you happen to stumble upon old papers from high school or college and read and relate to the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that you had long ago. I felt that it would be a good idea to, in some fashion, document the things I'm doing in my life, and how I feel about it. I felt that a blog would be a good medium to accomplish this because it would also allow me to.....

2. Keep friends and/or family updated: At times I find myself wondering about past friends, acquaintances, and connections I’ve made along the way in high school, college, grad school and beyond, and wondering if I’ll ever meet those people, or at the very least, find out whatever came of them. I felt that a blog would be a good way to keep people updated on what I’m doing as well as providing another medium in which to communicate. Also, I often find myself turned off by the police line of questioning from people about what I’m doing with my life. I have found it easier to open up and express myself when writing, or more literally, typing.

3. Fun: I have discovered that I find enjoyment in writing things that I know (or think) people are going to read. Most recently, and possibly exclusively, this came within message boards for online classes or fantasy sports leagues I play with close friends. I’ve spent way too long posting (what I find to be) witty smack talks and retorts that I think people will get a kick out of. Not only will this keep me entertained, I hope that anyone who happens to come across my weblog, either accidentally or purposefully, will find it interesting and somewhat entertaining.

4. Becoming involved: One of the things I kinda wish I would have done was to become more involved in college. Not so much during my years at Western, but during my time at U of M-Flint. At the time, I was bummed that I wasn’t at Western anymore and sort of had a negative attitude toward being back home and at U of M-Flint, and didn’t involve myself in anything. Realizing you don’t have to be in college to involve yourself in something, I ultimately decided to start into something new, and figured a blog might be a good stepping stone into something bigger (possibly….maybe…..who knows, it’s a start!).

So there you have it, a few of the main reasons I decided to start a weblog. Hopefully, here in the near future, I can start delving into the meat and potatoes and start writing about what’s going on in my world. Also, I’ll probably be changing the layout and theme of the blog often in the early stages. If anyone has any suggestions, comments, ideas or anything, let me know!

-Michael

First Post!

Well, here I am! After procrastinating for a long time about starting a blog, I finally decided to put my plan into action. My main road block to starting a blog was really not being sure about many things pertaining to the blog. What should it look like? What will I write about? Will people think I'm goofy for doing it? Eventually, I figured out that the only way I'm going to find out the answers to these questions is by diving in and starting one and letting it take shape as it will (and realizing I don't care about the answer to the last question!).

As far as style and topic, I think I'll begin by just writing as it comes to me. I believe the topic will be myself, for starters. I have a few ideas about things I'd like to write about, but I believe they'd require a blog of it's own, and I'll hold off on those ideas until I have a better feel for how to better keep, maintain, and design a blog.

Well, I'll keep the first post short and sweet and chalk it up to experience. I finally have my first blog post under my belt!

-Michael