Woke up at 8:45 A.M. I was so tired. I opted to skip breakfast and let my body make its own decision. I found myself waking up at 10:30 A.M. No one else in the room was moving.
I looked out the window (the pic above). My oh my. We already had a couple inches of snow, and it was falling fast. It was nothing but white outside. The flakes were falling almost as fast as rain, so I knew they were heavy and wet, but they were still adding up very quickly.
Crap.
The snow continued to fall, and the forecast was calling for snow all morning, then rain/freezing rain in the afternoon, then a few more inches of snow during the evening. What a day this was going to be. I e-mailed our boss at noon and filled them in on the situation. I have absolutely ZERO desire to wait around here in Little Rock for this stuff to melt. It took several days for the one inch of sleet to melt last week!!! Who knows how long it would take for several inches of snow! GET ME OUT OF HERE.
Jeff and I made a snowman in the parking lot. The wet snow made that VERY easy. It looked pretty good if you asked me! Then we hitched a ride to the airport so that we could grab the courtesy cars. While there, we met another pilot who was doing the exact same job we were doing...just for another company. As we were leaving, I asked if he would like to join us. He was thrilled at the idea. He invited his fellow employee pilot who was outside to come, too. No worries.
Oh boy. I rode with Stan (the other guys QUICKLY jumped on the opportunity to get in the other vehicle!), and I was very aware that my life was in his hands. Sweet mother. The other two pilots joined Stan and me in the car. On the ride over, I was just humbled about my job. It's a known fact that our company has the highest pay amongst all of the vendors. More or less, there is one main company...and four vendors that each work for the main company. But the pilots at the vendors are each paid differently. And I even applied to the other company whose pilots I now found myself with!!! Well, they were EAGER to hear how good we had it...and I tried to be tactful, but I feel that honesty is the best policy. So we shared about our pay, our vacations, how our boss pays for our flights home for vacations, and on and on.
And they were in awe. And pretty sad, too. They asked how to work for our company...it's a common theme. As a matter of fact, two of our current pilots used to work for this particular company. It's just...well, we ALL feel that someone is pocketing some money somewhere. But our boss chooses not to...and I am so grateful for that. These pilots get paid $400/week. I usually make that in two days...and we do the EXACT same work. The EXACT same!!! I just don't get why I have this job, I don't. I mean, I am sooooooooo GRATEFUL to have it, and I really am appreciative, but wow. Wow. As we all ate at Waffle House, I just watched the two guys from the other company...I just watched them. I was NO different than either of them. This is just how the cards were dealt.
I am thankful for my job.
And thankful to be alive after riding with Stan. Stan, I love ya, man, but wow...I never know how a car ride is going to end. I was thankful to walk away with my body parts all intact. And it didn't help that Little Rock literally shuts down with snow. They really have no snow plow equipment...and no salt on the roads. Getting five inches of snow here is the equivalent of getting two feet back home. It's mass chaos. The snow stays on the roads, the water freezes at night, and the people can't drive. The only good thing? Hardly ANYONE was out on the streets. We had two cars out here, and we were almost the only ones. Everything was closed. Whole Hog BBQ. Bank of America. Every other restaurant. Outside of Waffle House (which was closing two hours after our arrival...and the manager sent the servers home and only kept one cook). Oh Little Rock.
I talked to Dad this evening, and he has fixed my sump pump problem. Woo hoo! I haven't even bought the house yet, and I already have my first expense. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come!!!
We played cards through the afternoon (a common theme anymore). And we ate at the restaurant downstairs for supper. The airport had numerous cancelations (again), so the hotel was sold out (again). I only grabbed salsa and chips as we had eaten at 3:00 for lunch. I am just trying to pass the time these days. It's not a very fun place to be. Yes, I AM still making money, but c'mon. It's sometimes not too fun.
I continued studying, too. About aviation. I don't know when my chance will come, but I want to be ready. I NEED to be ready. It's work, I won't lie. Some stuff I remember, others it feels like I have to learn all over again. But I don't want to miss an opportunity if it pops up.
We played cards deep into the night, and I ended up going to bed at 1:30 A.M. I have nothing to wake up for tomorrow. I mean, there are five inches of snow on the ground. I may be here for another week before I can shoot revenue.
Crap.
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