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