winds of chance and circumstance blow in and all around us ...

attributed to Jimmy Hoffman

and posted here with this quote:

"Width of life is more important than length of life." ~ Avicenna

The New Year found me looking for a "job".  And ... I have an interview coming up.  First a haircut, then an interview ... I am shining up my boots.  One of the things I've found early in this quest: there is a lot of competition for the jobs that are available.  One of my concerns with my last job as I thought about the best way I could handle, ummm, conflict resolution, was about who really needed the job the most.  When you are in a situation where you actually can make ends meet, working for pay (rather then volunteering, or pursuing one's own interests) becomes about other things.  I've spent a pretty good amount of time thinking about those "other things".  I think it is harder for me to not "work" then it is for me to "work".  I think working, outside our home< will be what is now best for our family.  At the same time, I really don't want to take a paying job away from someone who needs it (for whatever the reasons) worse then I do.  I am surprised that there are not enough jobs to go around for honest people who want to work.

I sense change coming.  It ... disquiets me.  I feel myself watchful.

During this time I think of the job, the specific flight instructing job, that I thought I was preparing for, and I reflect on "what happened" and ... I still can't put a satisfying answer together.  The pay ... sucks, and, I am not a huge fan of the twenty-somethings in general. They seem ... young, terminally young.  I console myself thus.  Console is too strong a word.  I really don't think about it much at all ... I would have enjoyed teaching people how to fly well, but I am okay with not teaching too.  I have seen a really "sketchy" underbelly to flight instruction where basically money changes hands but little value is added to a person's life.  The process of earning the certificates was extremely significant in my "real" life.  It built me.  I don't want to use those skills, the colorary benefits of those life experiences, to extract cash from someone gullible enough to  ... hmmm, drink the kool-aid.  I am not optimistic about the future of air travel as we know it ... . A lot of people, more savvy then I, believe we will go to pilot-less "flight decks" ... and those planes are coming off the drawing boards if not the robotic assembly lines.  Freight being transported sure won't voice a concern about "Hey, Where's the Captain?"it'll be a great venue for the trials of automated flight or whatever we are going to refer to it as.  There will probably always be some form of "pleasure" flying, but that begins with a different type of student I have found ... . Maybe, oh definitely, I am just getting old ... definitely also those jobs are not what they once were (even then, they weren't "all that").  Lotsa shiny faces dreaming up yonder dreams.  Last night a very well packaged young person told me that until recently they had been dreaming of becoming an astronaut, now they'd just be happy flying Fs (I didn't mention that fighter pilot is a bit more involved then just flying super cool airplanes ... dreams are important).  Now that we have proven that anyone can be President, maybe we can get back to exploring space (           sigh        ).

Uh ... wrong track DeAnnie ... a little re-boot may be in order!  The job ... not appropriate blog material, but the thing I especially like about it is they say every single time you do that work you know you have made a difference, a positive difference in some one's real life.  I think I may be better suited for real life then dream-chasing (as lovely as it is).

An old F4 guy "helped" me through the CFI cert process.  Warriors.  Fs are flown by warriors ... arsenal delivery would take the shine right off of it for me.  I am grateful that there are those guys, just sorry that we continue to need them to do that job.  My buddy was one of the few in his batch fortunate enough to come home.

I just want to be honorable as I make choices.  Change is blowing around.  I like that I am still enough just want to do what's right ... whatever that is.  So ... haircut first ... .