Back in the Saddle

Today was my first day back at work in almost 3 weeks.

One perk of this profession is setting your own schedule and getting extra days off by bidding creatively. For example I used two weeks of vacation but I was able to get 18 days off in a row.  I could have had 19 off in a row, but I was ready to head back.

Today I had a simple day trip. Just a trip down to Cedar Rapid, Iowa and back.

I really didn't want to bring my suitcase as it's somewhat of a hassle. Of course I would risk getting stuck in Cedar Rapids if the plane broke. I risked it. I just brought my headset and required manuals.

Thankfully it was an easy trip. My Captain took the first leg. I wanted a chance to refresh myself on how things operated. I did make a joke that if he could just remind me where I put the keys in to start the engines, I could likely figure out the rest.

Nice trip. As expected my first landing after being gone for almost 2 weeks was a thumper.

Off tomorrow and back for a 4 day trip on Wednesday afternoon.

For September I decided to bid an international schedule meaning every overnight would be out of the country. I wanted something different.

Well I got what I wanted, 3 day trips all international with weekends off. Great.....until I saw my Captain. He's one of two men who I just don't get along with. Thus I traded all of the trips for different trips. Same working days. Due to training conflicting with my schedule I "work" just 8 days next month. I have another 5 days of training. Overall fairly easy.

Glad to be back. More later.