Random Thoughts For 500

Work was unusually stressful, today. One of my fellow coworkers had had enough of the politics and quit. It was very unexpected to everyone, I think. He was a good technician. However, this is the third person to have quit in about one week. I find it interesting that they all worked in the same department...the same department I work in. Huh, (thinking to myself)...that is not a good sign. Needless to say (is it really needless?), I left work with a kind of surreal feeling...and kind of sad. It reminded me of my last job, the only job I have been fired from. Can you imagine? Me...fired! I have been in the industry for 18 years - wow, it has been that long? - and never, until about 5 years ago, have I ever been fired. I have been laid off once, but that is very different than getting fired. In my defense, however, I did not deserve to be fired. Would you like to hear my side of the story? So here it is (the scene opens up to a sweltering summer day, some time five years ago):

I am mechanic working in hangar about 50 minutes from home. I love my job - I get to work with a lot of airplanes. But my first love is flying them. I am a pilot and have been one longer than I have been a mechanic. My goal is to fly over seas as a covert missionary pilot. –Sound exciting? I think so, too. The only problem is, I have been in an auto accident and am recovering from surgery (I was not even driving). I have not been able to fly for about 3 1/2 months. Man! I really need to get back in the air. But what luck! I have been back to work for almost two week and am starting to get back into my groove, except for finishing up a couple of therapy visits. Unfortunately, during my absence, three very important people quit, all flight instructors, one being the Chief. So one mechanic, who is also a pilot, gets his lucky break and he moves up in the world of flight instructors. Good for him; bad for me. My supervisor has always had a soft spot for my flight educations. In fact, he is the one who hired me right after I came back from a mission trip to Africa. The understanding we have is that I am first a student commercial pilot, then a mechanic. It has been this way for the two years that have paid for instruction from the company. He keeps his eye out for any instructors who can teach me missionary flight which is very different than commercial flight. Today he calls me into his office and gives me the number of a retired missionary pilot with a C-185. I’m thinking, "Man! This is awesome! ". We sit down and talk about the times I can be available for instruction. Since the airport I will be flying at is not where I work, we settle on my flying in the early morning and working after 10 am, 2 days a week. Well, you can probably see what is going to happen. My Supervisor is afraid of my boss…much to my embarassment, so am I. My boss is a tough old goat…and not very nice. I think after having three employees’s quit he cracked. So, as the day progresses, I am elbow-deep in a Continental-450 engine with grease and solvent all over me. My boss walks up to me and says he wants to see me in my supervisor’s office, now. How comfy…it’s a small office. For the next 30 minutes my boss rails me about the times I want to fly and says something nasty like I’m not a serious mechanic…or some such nonsense like that. I don’t see him holding the FAA certificate with more than 1900 logged hours of just training, 3 written exams, 3 oral exams and 3 practical exams. The whole while, my supervisor never once defends me and never admits that he had given me permission to fly (not to mention, it was his idea). He is afraid. As is my boss’s way he tries to use derision to manipulate the circumstance to his favor. But, I know his game, and I am not interested in playing anymore…nor will I sit silent any longer while he insults me. I simple know…this is it! I breathe in slowly and say with resolve I knew not where it came, “What is it going to be, are you firing me or do I quit?”

Back to the present: I find it very old – yes, surreal- that today I ran into my old boss at Lowe’s. I haven’t seen him for almost 5 years now. I pretend that I have not been thinking about him today, but in reality I have, due the stress at my current job. I shake his hand (I initiated) and ask him how he is doing. He asks me the same and I respond with a few light hearted sentences. We say our good-byes, all the while the awkwardness was obvious…at least to me.

K=[2F-F^2]...figure that one.

So...I made it though the second week of school without any scrapes and bruises...or so I thought. Then I realized I had a blog spot to maintain. Great! it is already 12:21pm and I have not had more than 5 hours sleep per night for the past five days. Man I am so tired! On top of that, my boss wants everyone to put in over-time, though he skipped out on work today. Figure that? Well, that's just the way it is. I'll get over it. I guess I should talk about something useful (not necessarily interesting to you). How about braid. Yes...I mean braid...nickel-coated, copper braid to be exact. I spent the entire day at work trying to solve a problem with this nickel-coated braid. The exact problem? Well...I can't tell you that. It would possibly infringe on some ITAR rule and blow my cover. But, what I can tell you is that I can change a 48-carrier (spools, spring and all) in under 1 hour and 15 minutes. Most people take 2 hours. Imagine!

Welcome, fellow classmates!

Well, this is a first for me. I have never wanted my own Blog, if not for the sake of this class, I would probably not choose to have one. I would like to say my desire for anonymity is due to my being part of the WPP. Alas, this is not the case. Let me just say that I enjoy being low profile. Life is less complicated this way. However, to show that I am not altogether dimwitted about the potential value of communicating with my classmates, I heartily welcome you all to my little "living room" for a cup of coffee, or whatever beverage suits you (nix the alcohol). During the interim of this Blog I will enjoy your comments as long as they are clean and positive and will do my best to respond in like manner.


(I take my bow)
Kodiak