02/08 3eme semaine/ 3rd week

Cette image a ete prise a New-York, vendredi dernier, dans une tempete de neige, qui a bien failli nous coince la pour la fin de notre semaine. Avec 400 m de visi, et un plafond a 100 m, dans une neige qui n'arrettait pas de tomber, nous avons bien failli ne jamais partir. Bien que nous soyons arrive a l'aeroport a 6 hrs du matin, ca n'est que vers 2 hrs de l'apres midi que nous avons enfin reussit a decoller, destination la Floride, alors evidement, on etait plutot content de partir!

Miracle of miracles finally do happen. Florence finally sleeps in her crib for all naps and nighttime. And, most importantly, without fuss. Only took a week. Well, nine months and one week. Was a combo of "extended womb experience" as one set of parents called it, and the simple fact that she is a very light sleeper - like her Dad. She is so darn sensitive to movement and sound. Thank goodness that the Arizona summer is returning, so we can again blast her fan which lulls her to a great night's sleep with its sounds.

Frankly, wouldn't be a bit surprised if Florence ended up being a powered pilot because she loves all things about all fans. We turned a ceiling fan on tonight because it began to get near 80 degrees in the house, and she just watches it and giggles.

She's near walking unassisted. She can walk great, pushes her little push cart all around the house. And she can stand unassisted. Doesn't even wobble. Her first are firmly planted, like tree trunks. She almost took her first unassisted steps to get back to her push cart, but then she realized what she was about to do and decided her bravery isn't quite there yet.

But, oh, what a little explorer she is. The baby who was once called by us "the lump" because she was content doing not much at all will not ever sit still, much to our horror, and is in a constant state of motion upon awakening bright and bushy tailed at 6am each day. If she took credit cards I'd pay her big money to sleep longer but good luck. We've tried rearranging her naps and bedtime but nothing shakes her early morning rise and shine. A born future Marine, I guess.

Regardless, upon awakening, she likes to walk, walk, and walk, climb, scoot, reach, push, etc. Unfortunately, her nights are still crap. Only way to put it. Best case she wakes up only twice. Bad times, she reverts back to newbornhood and wakes up literally ever hour all night. Good thing we don't have a gun in the house, because on those nights I'd shoot myself just to get some good sleep.

But, she's cute. Boy, did evolution know what it was doing when it made babies cute or what....

And we sit in the ever repeated parent limbo of wishing for when she'll be more independent so we can return to a good night's sleep and knowing full well that when those days do arrive that we will long for this little explorer to return because, although she is never content to not explore all this world has to offer, at least for the moment this world of hers is defined by the reach of our arms.

Is it not inevitable.... "I won't be able to make it home for Christmas this year, Mom. Some friends and I are going skiing. Maybe Easter. But no promises."

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

02/08 2eme semaine/ 2nd week

Et bien voila c'est fait. Le planeur a ete depose a cote d'Albuquerque, et dans une date non determinee, je devrais pouvoir le recuperer avec un systeme de freins neufs, et des instruments qui fonctionnent, quelques eraflures reparees au gelcoat, bouche le trou la ou allait la bouteille d'oxygene.
Ca monte, du cote de Flagstaff au nord de l'Arizona, d'ou la neige au sol. Si je le reprends dans 2 mois, il faudra aviser sur le moyen de transport, j'ai peur que la voiture chauffe de trop dans la chaleur de ce pays. On verra bien!
Plus de photos sont sur le lien suivant. C'est pas forcement interessant car c'est souvent tout droit les autoroutes dans ce pays, mais la derniere photo montre bien que le desert peut etre vert, et puis il y'a aussi dans le talus a cote de deux voitures de police, un cadavre. C'est sinistre, mais ca explique notre bouchon au milieu de nul part...
http://picasaweb.google.com/jeplane/MoriartyTrip

02/08 1ere semaine/ 1st week

La semaine a demarrer sur les chapeaux de roues, comme prevu pour le "Superbowl", avec 80 avions sur le parking rien que pour notre compagnie a elle seule. Autant dire que si un pilote de compagnie comme 'USair","United" ou "American" passait par la, il n'ya pas de doute que ca a du l'impressionner!
Nous sommes reste pratiquement qu'en Californie cette semaine, car beaucoup de petits problemes: Un joint sur le pare-brise qui empeche l'avion de pressuriser correctement sur le premier avion, le trim qui correspond pas a une indication normale sur le deuxieme...

Florence pendant ce temps, suit son bonhomme de chemin tranquille. Des que je peux, je mets la maman devant le clavier pour qu'elle nous raconte.

Busy week in Florence-dom, mostly due to sleep issues, as in "not getting sleep" issues. Been doing some detective work to decipher the problem. Going to bed too early, problem one. Not getting enough down time prior to bed, problem two. Not needing as many naps anymore, problem three. Not enough background noise to hide house sounds, problem four. Diaper leakage, problem five.

Anyhoo, so slowly chipping away at the issue to finally get us back to sleeping through the nite. It's a slow process, but hopefully a relatively painless one on her. After all, how much pain should a wee little baby have? Save that for adulthood, for when you're working for "the man."

Refuse adamantly to let her cry it out, or, better said, to abandon her to the tough shit world as we know it. Really, who invented cry it out? Some sadistic bastard who wanted to sell books.

I find it funny, not in a ha ha kind of way, when people are proponents of things to do to their babies which they would never ever want someone to do to them. For example? Well, imagine, you're laid up from an injury, or just an ol' fart and you don't get around well anymore. So you're dependent on someone else to help you, help you move, help you eat, etc. And you're in bed, stuck without someone's help, and you're hungry, or cold, or don't feel good, or your old fart diaper leaked, or the house noises are keeping you up, maybe the neighbor's dog keeps barking, or, hell, you're simply lonely and scared, not understanding what's happening to you. You simply need a loving hand, hug, or kiss.

Now, wouldn't you just love your supposed loved one to come in, look at you, pat you on the tummy, say "you'll be fine" and leave you without assessing your needs or, God forbid, answering them. After all, suck it up, it's a tough shit world out there so deal with it.

Somehow I think you'd be pissed or hurt or upset if this was done to you. But, hell, you need to be trained that you can't always have what you want. (Why does it seem that those who didn't get what they wanted seem the most hell bent on assuring that no one else gets what they need? Like a sad game of misery loves company). And that training might as well start at four months of age! Suck it up!!!!!

Better hope, you evil cry it outers, that some sad karma doesn't come back to kick you in the ass when you're an ol' fart! It will be a lonnnnnnnnnnggg and lonely night with that wet diaper. Oh, and don't forget, that you spent so much time crying for help that your voice is hoarse and you actually vomiting from the stress (common in cry it outed babies).

I was in a hospital once, visiting my mom, and next door was this very old, very sick woman quietly crying out for help, saying in a low, sad, weak voice "help me, help me." Nurses walked by. No one answered. I went to her to assess her needs and got her help. Guess an old fart version of a cry it outer. Saddest thing I ever saw. As if the woman wasn't suffering enough but to feel ignored and abandoned, well, that's even worse than any physical pain you can have.

And now for what I really think. I really should stop being so damn shy with my feelings.

Out.

01/08 4 eme semaine/ 4th week

2h30 de planeur cette semaine, et c'est parce qu'il a fallu descendre, enlever les ailes pour mettre le tous en remorque. En effet, apres bien de maintes plaidoiries aupres de divers mecanos, il a bien fallu se rendre a l'evidence: les reparations devront etre faites par un atelier d'entretien et puis c'est tous.

Alors, j'ai profite de quelques jours apres le passage d'un front froid pour faire un dernier vol dessus, car qui sait quand je serai capable de le revoler. Cela se voit a peine sur la photo, mais ceux qui connaissent n'hesiterons pas a dire que le desert est vert. Apres tant de pluie pendant 2 jours, la nature se rengorge, le moindre petit buisson, la moindre touffe d'herbe ressurgit, pour peut-etre sa derniere averse de l'annee, et c'est un spectacle toujours spectaculaire, qui generalement ne dure pas, et se terminera dans les 2 mois a venir.

Rendez vous est pris pour un long trajet vers Albuquerque donc.

La semaine qui vient demarre a fond de train, car je reprends le boulot le jour du "superbowl", un événement majeur de la télévision américaine. Le Super Bowl est la finale du championnat de football Americain qui voit s'affronter les vainqueurs des deux conférences pour le titre de champion de la NFL. Or il se trouve que cette annee le match se deroule justement a 5NM de la maison, alors evidemment, il va etre difficile d'y echapper! Pour un pilote, ca se traduit par environ 1500 avions d'affaires tasses sur les aerodromes locaux, et de longues attentes a obtenir une autorisation IFR lorsque tous le monde veut quitter le coin apres le match. Affaire a suivre!