conquering the world one oxymoron at a time
November 5, 2006 at 8:36 pm
· Filed under life updates
I missed my shower water pressure. Of all things, I missed that the most, and I didn’t even realize it until I took a shower this morning. Oh yeah, and I missed toilet seats. A lot. First thing I though when I found a bathroom in the Boston airport was “thank god I’m back in the US-f*ckin-A, land where I can sit down to pee.”
Some observations during the 24-hours of traveling:
- Boston is COLD. The US-of-A is COLD. It’s sweater weather even in South Carolina, yet I was in short sleeves the entire time I was in China.
- Who the hell asks for 2 rums and coke while sitting in Economy class during a 2-hour flight from Chicago to Boston? The guy who sat next to me, that’s who. I can maybe see buying one, but 2?? He later brought out a Harvard Business School casebook and started reading. HBS, figures.
- Being an air traffic controller could be a really cool job. I listened in on the flight deck live feed during the landing process in Boston, and that stuff was pretty freakin’ sweet.
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Haha - HBS. I used to envy the prestigious “I went to Harvard” or “I have this/that special degree” lifestyle, until I realized how insanely stressed out one has to be to get it. I’m all for pushing myself as far as I can go, but…well what’s the point of driving a Jaguar if you’re an alcoholic/chain-smoker/[insert favorite vice here]? Health is priceless.
Speaking of stress, you do *not* want to be a traffic controller. It’s rated as one of the most stressful jobs in America. Outdated computer systems, hundreds of dots on the screen representing thousands of innocent lives that you have to safely guide to the proper runway, day in and day out…hey, maybe you’re up for the job. Maybe I’m just speaking for myself, but…forget it! I’d rather cut grass for a living if I had to. And don’t get me wrong - it’s wonderful that some folks have the nerves for it…just not me.
If you want a piece of the action still, you can buy radio scanners that tune in to traffic control frequencies. I used to listen to air traffic all the time on one of these - I think it’s somewhere around 110 MHz or so. Radio Shack is the biggest supplier I think. Of course, you might get tired listening to “Delta Five Six Niner cleared for final approach,” so these things also pick up police, fire, etc. The fun doesn’t stop there - e me and I’ll tell you how to make the most of one (ooooh…sounds sketchy!) :-D
Welcome back to the States Shan. Hope this makes you smile: http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5795/childlettertopilotqb3.jpg (it’s a little crude, so feel free to delete this comment if you like!)
ali wrote @ November 6th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Welcome back Shan!!
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