jrtc adventure day 2

I am exhausted.  Today was  long day of meetings and briefings, the majority of which, I admittedly did not understand.  Lots of piloty lingo and jargon, I'm sure that my facial expression was somewhat like a curious dog's when they hear something strange...you know, cocked to the side quizzically.  But I made it.  And even managed to glean some useful information from it.  Next time, I'll find a Military Jargon-to-English dictionary, or maybe hire an interpreter.  In the meantime, my brain is oozing out of my left ear.

I did get the opportunity to meet a handful of the awesome aircrew members, they all seem to really enjoy what they do.  I can't say that I saw anyone that seemed like they didn't want to be there, which is remarkable considering they had a 4+ hours-long series of briefings. Tomorrow kicks off the actual flying portion of the exercise and it seems like they have a very busy several days in store.  More to come on all of that tomorrow when we get to the flying.

In other news, I came to the sad realization this morning that I brought my iPod, but no headphones.  And with tomorrow's super early show time for the flight, and my unwillingness to make the trek back to Wal-mart tonight after I already went to purchase what ending up being a dissapointing frozen lasagna, I can't say that I'll be remedying that problem anytime in the next 24 hours.

Well it's time for me to pack my stuff so I can head to Fort Polk tomorrow, eat the Ben & Jerry's (which I'm sure won't be as disappointing as the lasagna), and then head to bed.

However, as promised, here's the flight sim photo from yesterday's post:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="658" caption="Here's the photo of the KC-135 simulator flight I posted about yesterday. The man on the right is Bill, a flight sim instructor at Scott AFB. He was very patient with me and my flying inexperience. Thanks, Bill!"][/caption]

Amado, AZ

I got to spend Wednesday with this guy.  Suffice it to say it was probably one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.

The stories Col Halvorsen shared with us, the things that he's seen and done are absolutely incredible.

God Bless Texas

I find myself in San Antonio, Texas this week for an Air Force journalism conference.  This morning has been solid briefings -- while not the most exciting things ever, they were at least somewhat informative and a good thermometer for the current public affairs climate in the Air Force.

We're staying a hotel near the Riverwalk which is nice.  The one huge drawback: no wireless.  Well I shouldn't say no wireless, there is wireless in the lobby, but not in the rooms.  Which is kind of a pain.  There are sleep number beds in the rooms, but no wireless?  That just doesn't make sense.  So down to the lobby I must go if I want to check e-mail, etc.  As an added level of not-so-much-fun, the office laptop refuses to connect to the secure network so I can check my e-mail and, with several major projects coming to a head this week, that is nothing to be happy about.

Yesterday was a long day of travel -- it still never ceases to amaze me just how long it takes people to get on and off an airplane.  I just don't get it.  You stand up, grab your bag and you walk off the plane -- where's the hold up?  But overall good flights, got some sleep on each flight which was desperately necessary after only three hours of sleep.

Well the next session starts soon so I'm off.  Enjoy your day.

Last Day of Vacation

Well, after two rather violent tremors today we decide that it was time to call the front desk and find out what that is. We knew it wasn't an earthquake, but this time, the mirror on the other wall was shaking...we wanted an answer. It was the laundry.

So today was our last day in Seattle, nothing too special.  We did go up to the observation deck (floor 73) of the Columbia Center to check out the view and it was amazing.  I'd share some pictures, but they didn't come out too great and aren't anywhere near the caliber of the actual view itself.  Suffice it to say that it's way higher, way cooler, and way cheaper than the Space Needle.

We also made another run through the market to find something for Dad, I finally found a jar of Sour Red Cherry preserves made here in Washingtion (he looooves Cherry preserves) and some salmon rub for when he grills salmon out.

Well, I'm gonna cut this one short, I'm far too entertained by Jeremy's current aggravating phone call and busy packing to be blogging right now.

Seattle Day Three

Since our hotel internet was being shady last night I suppose I have two days worth of blogging to do this evening. Yesterday was awesome. We started off our second day with some coffee from Seattle's Best which, I dare say is better than Starbucks! *Gasp* Blasphemy, I know! After grabbing our coffee we walked over to the market and realized that we were still too early as a good portion of the vendors were still in setup mode. So we walked around for a bit and ran into The Race for the Cure in Seattle. We watched the walk for quite a while...it was absolutely amazing to see all of the people who were out walking, just an enormous amount of people. A flood. The picture below is one of my favorites from the walk, there is a woman carrying a sign that reads "Cancer Sucks" it's not the best quality, frankly, I'm really tired and don't want to sharpen it. Sorry :)



When we had had enough of the sea of people we headed back to the Pike Place Market and decided to start gathering things for lunch (and look around for some more goodies to bring home). We enjoyed a super yummy picnic of fresh french bread, salami and ham, garlic and dill chevre goat cheese, lychees, kiwi and strawberries (pictured below). It was lovely.



After lunch we headed to the Underground Tour of Seattle. And it was awesome. Got to hear all about how historic Seattle is underground and why it's underground, a definite must-see if you ever visit the city. Then it was off to a pretty rad toy store and then we hopped on the monorail and headed to the Space Needle. And no, we did not go up the Space Needle. Honestly, it seemed a little gimicky and quite frankly neither of us were interested. Jeremy has been up it before and he wasn't too impressed. Besides, there is a building down town that is way higher that you can go up in for a few bucks during the week and I'm looking forward to it. The Space Needle just didn't do anything for me, regardless of its fame. But here's a picture of the space needle anyway.



After The Space Needle it was back to the hotel in search of an Outback Steakhouse we both needed some protein and it was well worth it. Then, being the lame kids that we are, we went to sleep -- hey, it was a lot of walking.

This morning we hit the road at nine and headed to Mt. St. Helen's. I was initially super excited to go, but when I woke up this morning not feeling so well my enthusiasm faded. Luckily, about 1/2 way through the ride there I felt much much better and was able to enjoy the ride and the views.

The ride there was pretty slow, but once we hit the mountains it was gorgeous, very green and we even saw some snow. We continued up the mountain and were on our way to 99 to get on the road up to the observatory. We drove and drove and finally were greeted by a road closed sign. Epic fail. It would have been nice of the website for Mt. St. Helen's to tell us that the effin' road was closed, but hey we made the best out of it. So we took our time down the mountain, stopping where we wanted to explore and snap photos. I've put the best shots of the day down below.

We returned back to Seattle defeated but hungry so we stopped at Applebee's for some dinner. We had intentions of going to see Kung Fu Panda after lunch, but both of us were so tired we chose the nap option. I slept for three hours. He didn't get any sleep because his bed kept shaking. After doing a little bit of research and discussion we realized that every few minutes our beds (and the wall behind them) shake. Sometimes very softly and sometimes pretty vigorously, but it's always rhythmic. This is both settling and unsettling. Settling because I felt it last night and having the back problems that I do I thought my back was freaking out because the shaking is harsh enough to feel but subtle enough to make it feel like it's you and not what you're sitting on. Unsettling because we have no idea why our freakin' room is shaking. It's like our own personal passive earthquake. Now it's just annoying me and killing my balance.

Picture time :)


The view from the sun roof.



Me hanging out of the sun roof.



View from one of our road side stops on the mountain.



Flower child.





Huggin' trees.



On the pavement.



And I always thought Washington was one of the more progressive states...hrmmm....

Pictures, finally!

The internet finally stabilized enough to upload pictures now let's see if I can get Photobucket to cooperate



One of the beautiful skies I was telling you all about.



Bored in the car.



Meandering in Seattle.



A sampling of the many beautiful flowers in the Pike Place Market.

Seattle Day One

I'm writing to you poolside after some amazing Olive Garden salad and soup. Jeremy is swimming and I'm sitting on the sidelines because I didn't bring my bathing suit, it's not warm enough for swimming (at least for me) and when I looked at weather last week it was supposed to be in the 50s with some rain.

Well it's been an interesting first day in Seattle. First and foremost, this city is absolutely beautiful. The traffic SUCKS but that's the same in any city you go to. We headed downtown first thing this morning for some coffee, I got an Americano at an organic french bakery downtown, the name of which escapes me at the moment, and Jeremy picked up his white mocha at the first Starbucks we saw. Then it was off to the Pike Place Market where I picked up some great finds for some great people back home including beautiful handmade rings with handmade glass stones in them for Mom and Jen and then some Rooibos tea for my good pal Jake. And yes, I realized that I'm spoiling the surprise since I know at least one of them reads this blog, too bad so sad, no surprise for you. I'm still looking for the perfect thing for Dad.

We did get lost for a while and made some extra unnecessary miles but hey it's a pretty city so it didn't all go to waste, we got some good pictures and had a good time. My feet, however, did not enjoy the journey too much. I wore black Old Navy flip flops, which I'm sure creates the reaction of "Bekah, duh, why would you walk around downtown Seattle all day in flip flops? You moron." But here's the thing. Old Navy flip flops and I are like best friends, we do everything together, including walking around new cities for hours on end and until today we have never had an issue. I blame Old Navy's new flip flops design this year, they just don't break in like they used to, and I think the straps go further down your foot, either way, I was disappointed. It's the Pumas from here on out.

Around 3 or 4 PM Jeremy and I both realized that we were zonked so we headed back to the hotel where I nursed my screaming feet for a little bit and then took a quick nap, then it was up at 6 and off for dinner. We arrive at Olive Garden and find a parking space and Jeremy decides to back in. So we're backing in, no problems -- or so we thought. We get in and this woman screams "OH MY GOD!!! STOP STOP STOP STOP!!!!" and I immediately think "Oh my God, we've hit her child, oh my God." And I start mentally freaking out. And so I look at Jeremy and I'm like "What happened?" To which he replies "I think I hit a little bit of the curb?" Are you kidding me?! She freaked out because we hit a little bit of the curb? Come on! Jeremy, being smarter than I, got quietly out of the car and we walked into the restaurant. Quite frankly, had it been me I probably would have given the lady a piece of my mind for freaking me out so badly, but that's just me. We walk out of the restaurant after dinner and inspect the back end of the car....nothing, not a thing. Uy mio.

Now we're back at the hotel, he's swimming, I'm sitting on the chair with my feet up. (Feet, please forgive me?) Soon we'll head back inside for some mind-numbing evening television and some Ben & Jerry's that we picked up from the 7-11 (Oh thank heaven!) down the street from the hotel. Still working on the pictures, our internet connection at the hotel isn't stable enough to allow me to upload any today. Maybe later tonight?

Road Trippin' Day 1 & 2 (and part of day 3 technically, but since I just woke up and am still in bed it's not really day 3)

Well, hallelujah, praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition, folks!!! We are finally in Seattle after two loooooooong 13 hour days in the car and I finally have what seems to be a solid internet connection -- at least until I said that and my bars all disappeared. I guess I'll just keep typing and then when I get a full signal I'll copy all my words to make sure I don't lose them and then post them...argh crappy hotel wireless. I've noticed that hotels either have super great internet or internet that makes you want to launch your computer into tomorrow and more often than not it's the latter of those two.

We started out on Wednesday morning around 7:30 and plowed through western Nebraska - well actually almost all of Nebraska since I live in Omaha which is right on the Eastern border and oh. my. gosh. there is NOTHING there. I always knew that there was nothing in western Nebraska, but now that I've experienced it myself I KNOW.

I suppose I should also tell you before I go any further that I'm traveling with my dear friend, Jeremy, who is in the Coast Guard and is on his way to Alaska right now and I'm just along to keep him sane and hang out for a few days in Seattle before he catches his ferry to Ketchikan, Alaska. It's also important to mention that I have absolutely no idea whatsoever how he's made this trip at least three times without running himself and his vehicle off the side of the side of the road -- yeah it's that bad. It's pretty, but pretty is only entertaining for so long.

Ok, so we got through Nebraska in all of it's flat, non-hilled existence and then into Wyoming. It was not until this trip that I actually believed Wyoming existed -- I mean, think about it, what comes out of Wyoming???? Noooooothing. Wyoming had hills and rock formations which were quite drastic changes from the flat landscape of Nebraska, but I was left with one burning question: Why do people live there?!?! WHY?! Granted, I think there's only about 22 of those people, but why subject yourself to that?! Uy mio!

After Wyoming it was on to Utah. A very pretty state, but I still don't like it. I visited Salt Lake City with some friends in late 2006 and basically wanted to gouge my own eyes out. It's pretty, sure, but we just flat out did not like it, we didn't find the people very hospitable nor did we find any that had much personality -- we went to find something to eat at 8 o'clock downtown and nothing was open -- that's weird. So I've never been too fond of Utah, it's similar to my distaste of Evansville, IN -- I've just never had a pleasant experience there. So we arrived in Ogden, Utah around 7 or 8 o'clock on Wednesday night and after getting settled in our hotel we hit the local Olive Garden for some amazing salad and lots of pasta and after feeling like we hadn't ate in days it certainly hit the spot. Utah, this time, wasn't that bad, far better than my previous experience but I still can't say I like the state, but I do still think it's pretty.

After some good sleep we woke up on Thursday morning around 6:30 to grab breakfast, pack up and then head out again. The day's task: plug through the rest of Utah, across Idaho, through a part of Oregon and then for the looong stretch across Washington.  We started off with a hearty breakfast of waffles and then filled up on gas to the tune of over $4 a gallon!!!!  Ridiculous and we set off.  The scenes were beautiful, even Idaho was fairly fun to look at.  It started to get very green when we got into Oregon and by Washington there were only three color grey/black on the road, blue in the sky and green everywhere else.  It was gorgeous!  We got some amazing sky views on our trip -- absolutely beautiful clouds.

We finally got to Seattle at 6:30 pm last night.  Just in time for rush hour!!!!  After fighting Seattle traffic, we  reached our hotel at 7, I don't think either of us have been happier to reach a hotel ever.  We discussed dinner options and both agreed that neither of us wanted to see that car again for at least 12 hours so we found ourselves desperately finding any restaurant that would deliver to our hotel finally finding a Dominos.  Dinner was filling, it certainly beat the Slim Jim, Riesen, and Oreo Cakester diet in the car.  After the pizza, it was a Jeff Dunham DVD and SLEEP!

So, here I am, day 3 and finally in Seattle.  We've got a few more things to do before we head out for a day of exploring.  Can't wait.  That all being said, it's important to give credit to those responsible for helping us get to Seattle they include: Margaret Cho, Chris Titus, Pablo Francisco, Mitch Hedberg, Dane Cook as well as our iPods.

Pictures to come soon as soon as my Photobucket decides to not be moronic.

What a crazy week it has been! With only 15 days standing between me and graduation, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and that, dear friends, is glorious. In the meantime, I'm working hard to wrap this semester up, I have one major project, one major research paper, 2 exams, and then 2 final exams, it's gonna be a jam packed last week of class and then finals week. But despite the craziness, the last weeks of this semester and subsequently my last weeks of college have been amazing. Great friends, great parties, great conversations, and great nights spent on swings.

On Tuesday, I went up to Dayton, OH with a friend for the Jimmy Eat World & Paramore concert and it was incredible. A band from Arizona, Jimmy's home state, called A Dear & The Headlights opened up and they were pretty good, I struggled to understand the lead singers words but that's OK, they were good. Next up was Paramore and I'll admit it, they surprised me, I was half expecting them to be one of those bands who sounds great on the CD and then in concert they let you down. But Hayley, she lived up to that awesome voice on their albums. I was pleased. And while Paramore is not nearly as seasoned as Jimmy nor as personally anticipated by me as Jimmy they did put on a great show. Jimmy, however, was brilliant. Just brilliant. It was the most simple and straightforward show I have ever seen but by far the best. They came on stage and they played their hearts out, they didn't waste my time with something sycophantic like "your the best crowd on the tour" or something as equally lame. They came to play music and that's what they did. They did have a little bit to say but for the most part, they just played and it was amazing. It's the first concert that I never even thought about looking at the time during, as well as the only concert where my eyes were physically affixed to the stage. They were just SO GOOD. And at the end, when Jim Adkins thanked us for coming out for the show, I really feel like he meant it. Like somewhere inside he is still kinda thinking "People are paying money to come out and see me? That's so cool." Long story short, see Jimmy Eat World if you can, it's totally worth it.

In other half-way neat news, I got to have dinner with the president of my university tonight at his house. Our PRSSA chapter puts on an auction every year where people can win a dinner with the president if they are the highest bidder in their category. And as the president of my school's chapter of PRSSA I get to go, and so I did, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Gary Ransdell is a pretty cool dude, and his wife Julie -- a doll. But dinner was really delicious and the company as equally delightful. Major kudos to them for opening their home to us, not a lot of university presidents will do that and they not only agreed to it but jumped at the chance and that really says something.
Signing off, I have to go finish my last Biblical Greek homework assignment ever. Praise the Lord!!!!

It's Been a While....

So it's been over a month since I've blogged, and I am ashamed.  I've recently been writing the old fashioned way -- in a journal -- and so I've been neglecting ye olde WordPress.

I just got back from my final Spring Break as an undergrad on Sunday and it's a little weird.  It was odd to leave my parents house knowing that the next time I would be coming back not as someone who lived there but as a visitor...now that's a transition.   Spring Break, however, was fabulous regardless of the staunch realization that I'm becoming a grown up.  I got to see most of the people that I hold of real importance in my life.  Over the last few months, I've really come to realize who the people that truly care about me are.  And even though I don't get to see them often I know that my Omaha friends are ones that I will love dearly forever and who will always love me back.  I wish I could just carry them around in my pocket.  Ok, so that's a little weird, but I think you get what I mean.

Had an interview at the end of February with the Air Force for a civilian job opportunity.  I still have yet to hear anything back, but I'm keeping my hopes up.  Civilian employment with any branch of military is an who different playing field and so it could be a while and I expect that.  But it is my number one choice which puts me in a pickle because, clearly, I have to keep applying for jobs as to not get stuck without one but at the same time I don't want to be put in the position of accepting a job without having heard back from the AF.  But, I'm keeping faith that I'll get the job that I'm supposed to and it'll be where I'm supposed to be and where God wants me.

Well I suppose that's enough for now, hopefully there will be more soon.

New Year New Title Set

So I've decided that the "Bekah v. _____" title set is so 2007 and it's 2008 and thus, I have retired it.

So today I went to Yorktown Beach in Yorktown, VA and I was basically reminded that it's still my favorite place, and I"m not sure why. I mean, it's not a particularly hot or exotic destination, it's just something about the beach, the people, and the surrounding town that I just love. But today was perfect. Perfect weather, perfect company, perfect place, and perfect bare feet in perfect ocean water. It all made for a very happy Bekah.

Bekah v. Searcy, AR

There are two things you can always count on in Searcy, Arkansas – 1) the burned out second “F” and the “H” in Waffle House sign and 2) a strike at the Kohler plant. I’ve been coming here for years to visit my grandparents and somehow those two things always manage to make themselves present, at least, if at no other time, for my visits to make it feel as though I never left.

Fall Break is here and I have retreated to the outskirts of the aforementioned town until Sunday morning. And do not be mistaken, the word “break” is nothing but a con. I will be catching up on homework, sleep, and oh yes, I’ve brought my actual job with me. Hurray for mobile offices, I suppose. Oh well, at least I get paid, right? So break doesn’t sound too exciting, but in all honesty, I think that’s what I need – boredom. I’ve had too much excitement thus far this semester, I need to spend an weekend unconnected to the world which may prove as a problem since I have to put in the research proposal for Bateman tomorrow. Hrrmmm…I guess I’ll have to find that mysterious coffee shop with the Wi-Fi in the morning. I am however, hoping to catch up on some LEISURE reading and there will probably be the obligatory, yet welcomed shopping trip with the grandparents.

Well I’m off. It’s leisure reading time. Cult of the Amateur here I come…

Easter Extravaganza--In pictures.

Mr. Fly --- You must die.


Got you sucka.


Just because the wine bottle has a pretty label doesn't mean the wine will have a pretty taste. $10 literally down the drain.


Yay ham!


Ze trash.


Happy Easter! Yes, that is only Coke in those glasses.


Stirring something.


Someday, she and I will both be cooking mavens.


Except if you ask us to make jell-o eggs, those didn't turn out so...whole. But they tasted yummy!


Spiderman wanted to join in the fun because he loves Jesus too. Spiderman makes very good mac n' cheese.


Our misshapen eggs. Oops.


Stirrin' those spider webs.


Almost done!


One last spoonful!


Done--I think we did a good job.


Sitting down to partake in our AWESOME homemade dinner.

This was how I culminated my Easter Weekend. More later.