May has been so busy. Last weekend us girls went up to DC because we had ballet tickets for “Cinderella.” It was a good show. Even tho I have never taken a point class, I have done my fair share of dancing so I can really appreciate the ballet & am always impressed. We also saw the National Gallery of Art which was neat. Some art I just don’t understand, in particular modern art, but then some is really neat. I like really like religious art, especially the Renaissance Era stuff & the Impressionist works are really growing on me as well. I personally have difficulties drawing stick figures so I’m amazed at what some people can do. This weekend was the Annual air show at Andrews AFB which was pretty neat. The Blue Angels were there & I have never seen them in person before so that was cool. I also enjoyed the F-22 Raptor demo & the F-104 Starfighter Demo Team seeing how other than those 3 aircraft the rest of them reside only in museums. Afterwards, we had a going away party to go to that I made an Army Men cake (there’s a long story) for that was quite scrumptious, if I may say so myself.

This week I’ve managed to stay extremely busy. I was sick Monday afternoon so I came home & slept for most of the afternoon. Tuesday a new girl was interviewing so we took her over to the island to show her some fun things to do & eat some crab cakes. Wed & Thurs were spent having a blast at Tides. Other than Monday, I spent more time after work awake last week at Tides than I did in my apartment; needless to say, a few of us are now on a 1st name basis with the bartender. It was a lot of fun tho & I kind of needed to get out some of those nights (thanks Brian & Matt for making me go!)

Being out for the most part this week were the “Ups” & I felt like myself. Other times this week I have been really frustrated & I’m one of those people when I’m upset & something else doesn’t go “right” it snowballs & I only get more upset & more frustrated. It’s a vicious cycle, but that’s the way it is with me. A few of my friends have noticed some of the things that are frustrating me tho & seem to see it my way so that makes me feel a little better, or at least not like a crazy bitch. I’m also getting a little restless. I want to take another trip somewhere, even it it’s just somewhere nearby for a long weekend (no, Kansas for my cousin’s wedding in a couple weeks does not count….it’s Kansas!) Planning a trip shouldn’t be hard, but oh, wait, some boys still suck at life! I think I made it clear in the last entry, they also irritate the hell out of me & aren’t going to change any time soon so I guess I need to plan my own fun trip!

So I can’t figure out if I’m more mad at myself or the trio of boys that pissed me off this weekend. I have a lot of guy friends (a lot more so than girl friends) and I usually get along extremely well with them, but not this weekend. The part about being mad at friends you’ve known for awhile is should expect it, thus the reason I’m mad at myself. People, esp guys, don’t change over night or even quickly for that matter, regardless of how good of talkers they are. You also think that by having so many guy friends I would understand them, but no. They are weird creatures who are, for the most part at least, wrong about almost everything. I suppose this is what I get for trying to be so nice.

It’s finally spring her so things are getting busy again. Last month the girls & I took a weekend trip to Baltimore to see “Camelot.” I thought it was a really good play. We also hit up Cheesecake Factory & the Howl at the Moon piano bar at Power Plant live for the evening – always entertaining!!! On the way home we decided to drive thru DC to see the Cherry Blossom Festival along the Tidal Basin. The flowers were really pretty, but the millions of people were overwhelming. The following weekend Jerry & a friend of ours from college visited. It would have been a fun weekend, but unfortunately I didn’t feel well for most of it.

Just this past weekend I went home to Texas- whoop!!! It’s been about 10 months since I’ve actually been home (I’ve seen my family; just haven’t been to Texas) so it was nice. My mom & I spent Friday at the mall. It’s too bad all of the stores are filled with the same ridiculously ugly clothes because I really need a bunch of casual everyday stuff. I did, however, still do more than my fair share to stimulate the economy. The clothes were ugly, but thankfully the accessories were not. Just within the last year, I have become obsessed with handbags so I bought another one, & I even bought 3 pairs of shoes, including a pair of cowboy boots. That’s impressive for me, probably the only girl in the world who hates shoe shopping. It’s not the shoe shopping that I hate so much per se; it’s knowing how painful it is going to be to break the shoes in, & then I’m going to wish I never would have bought them, so avoid shoe shopping to begin with. Friday night I went out with a couple of the LaserQuest guys I’ve known for years & that is just what I needed. I had a rough week last week & those 2 guys are the kinds of people that always make me feel special & good about myself & they kept me laughing the entire night; tho I’m sure the real Texas fajitas and margaritas didn’t hurt either. ;-) Saturday, mom & I went for hour massages at the spa & it was heaven! I had forgotten how great professional massages are; I must find a good spa up here & treat myself more often! We also did some more shopping & I got to meet my sister & her new boyfriend’s puppy, Bella. She’s cute, but also an ornery little thing that’s too much work for me. Saturday night us girls went to church at the new co-cathedral in downtown Houston. It was pretty, but it just doesn’t look like a real church; it’s too modern. I think churches should look old, and I absolutely love gothic style churches with huge arch ways & a ton of stained glass. After church, dad, Jenna, & took my mom out to eat at Morton’s Steakhouse for her 50th birthday that was earlier in the week. The food was good & we all enjoyed the evening out. I wasn’t quite ready to come home Sunday, but I think if I had stayed too much longer it may have been too much to handle. I absolutely love my family, please don’t get me wrong, but I also enjoy the independence that comes with not sharing a house or the same city with them on a daily basis.

This week I’ve been a little sluggish. My flight was delayed for DC weather so it’s only Tues & I’m behind on sleep. Tues has gone back to being my kickboxing night since belly dancing ended. That class was fun, but wasn’t a “real dance class” in my mind and I never broke a sweat so I don’t think it counted as a real workout either. Mon has unofficially become girl’s night as some of us girls who live near each other get together at our place for Dancing with the Stars & frozen girly drinks. It may be a little silly, but it’s a lot of fun & it starts the week off on a good foot.

Happy Easter! It was another 3 day weekend, but I didn’t do a whole lot. Thursday was happies at Cheeseburger, which was a good excuse to get out of a work event. Friday & Saturday the roomie & I were pretty lazy leaving the apartment only to go to the grocery store & grab a good read from the library. Last weekend was a lazy one too, but after having stuff to do every weekend since I got back from Europe it was a welcomed break. This weekend, however, got slightly boring. I was glad that today was Easter. I went to church early this morning to avoid the later, more crowed masses. We decided that Easter brunch would probably be pretty crazy so we opted for chocolate chip pancakes after church & then we went out for an early dinner. We found a place called the Captain’s Table over on Solomons which was really good. It’s been awhile since I’ve had crab cakes & they were very tasty. Crab is pretty much the only seafood I’ll even touch (& only if it’s already out of the shell) & it wasn’t until I interned out here 2 summers ago that I even tried crab so it’s still a new favorite of mine. This week could be long as it’s a 5 dayer & some people will still be out for extended Easter breaks. At least last week there were cats & traps to watch. Maybe something cool will happen this week too. Next weekend it’s a girls weekend in Baltimore to see “Camelot”, hit up Power Plant Live, & maybe stop over in DC to see the cherry blossom festival. It’s a week away but I’ve been excited since we bought tickets & booked the room.

Things have been pretty crazy lately, but I’m happy & having fun so I can’t complain. Jerry & I went to Frankfurt & Paris Feb 15-23. We spent the first weekend in Frankfurt & Mainz Germany & then the week in Paris. We saw so much & it was absolutely amazing! Everyone at work made fun of me for having a color coded itinerary, but it work well. I’d go back in a heartbeat, but at the same time if I never make it back, I feel content with everything I saw. We didn’t just see the cities, we conquered them! If only I could get Americans to adopt the European coffee & cake tradition in the afternoon….

This weekend Jerry flew up & spent the weekend in Baltimore. We saw the Broadway musical “Rent” & it was fantastic! I love going to the theatre! It’s so entertaining and some people are just so talented. I can’t carry a tune in a bucket so I’m always impressed by the performers. We also went to DC & met up with a friend from college I hadn’t seen in awhile for lunch.

This week I purchased airline tickets to go home next month for my mom’s birthday and to Kansas in May for my cousin’s wedding so I’ve got a busy spring ahead of me. Now if only we could get some more of the spring weather….

I can’t believe that this week will mark a year in Maryland for me. Time has flown by and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any. I’ve enjoyed branching out on my own, my real job, and becoming an adult, but it still seems rather surreal. I’m definitely still a kid at heart if not in other ways too.

The holidays flew by, but were great! I spend Christmas with my family in Dodge City, Kansas. I met my birthday twin, my new cousin, Haylie, & she’s so cute! I spent New Years in Tulsa with Jerry. It was pretty uneventful, we had dinner with a couple of my cousins, and hung out, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It’s been a little hard getting back into the routine of work, but I’m getting there. This week I finished up a short course at the test pilot school & got to fly in a P-3, which was a lot of fun. The actually let us each take a turn behind the controls, which was awesome! I’m certainly not a great pilot by any means, but it was neat. Also, this week some of us girls started taking belly dancing classes. It was rather amusing at first, but overall it was fun & I hope it’s a good ab work out.

Another big thing is that Jerry & I are planning a trip to Europe next month to Frankfurt & Paris. There’s a lot to do when planning such a big trip in a rather short period of time (we just bought airline tickets a couple weeks ago), but we’re super excited about it!

This weekend I’m being lazy as it snowed yesterday & is literally freezing today so I’m staying inside!

I can’t believe it’s already so close to Christmas! We had our first snow last week, we’ve decorated the apartment, & I’ve finished shopping & writing Christmas cards! I’m definitely getting in the spirit & am looking forward to spending the holidays with my family. I’ll be in Dodge City for Christmas with my whole family, & then in Tulsa for New Years with Jerry since he came here for Thanksgiving. I actually cooked my first Thanksgiving meal this year, & it turned out surprisingly well. We didn’t do much else exciting over the rest of the weekend, but it was nice to relax & avoid the stores filled with crazy shoppers!

Other than getting ready for Christmas & enjoying Thanksgiving, I’ve still been enjoying life in the ‘real world.’ Jerry took me to Baltimore to see Hairspray, the Musical, which was phenomenal! I liked the movie, but the show just blew it away! Last month, we also traveled to Norman, OK to watch the Aggies take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Not surprisingly, the Aggies ran out of time, but it was still a fun weekend & I got to meet some of the people Jerry works with at a tailgate. I’ve also started hitting the drill hall after work regularly. I finally hired a personally trainer for a few sessions so I know what I’m doing & don’t feel like a complete idiot. I’m doing well & between cardio, weights, and kickboxing I think it’s working. It’s also kept me from going out too much & I spend a lot less money throughout the week, which has come in handy while Christmas shopping.

So this has been one of the rougher weeks since I started life in the “real world.” Things just aren’t going right, regardless of what I do. I’m sure it will blow over, but it’s frustrating anyway! It could definitely be worse tho....I could be studying for midterms & doing ridiculous projects for psychotic profs that don’t speak English! Ok, yeah, my life’s a breeze by comparison!

At the same time, I keep wondering if I’m ever going to realize that this is the real world, this is my life. I’m convinced that one day I’m going to wake up in my room at my parents’ house to find the last 10 months have been a really long dream and really I’m like a 10 year-old kid! Most of the time I still feel like a kid myself! I can’t believe that I’m 23 years old, have a real job, live half way across the country from my parents, have a real bank account, pay rent & bills, & people my age are getting married & having kids! This just can’t be happening; it’s nuts, isn’t it?! I like being young! Just because I have “adult responsibilities”, doesn’t mean I can’t be young, have fun, & have a carefree / see where life takes me attitude. While I have high hopes for the future & do want to eventually settle down a bit, I don’t see myself being old or boring anytime soon!

Another month has gone by and I still don’t know where time has gone. Last month has been so packed full of stuff I feel like things have been a blur, but I love it!

Early in September a bunch of people I work with (& Jerry) took a white water rafting trip on the Gauley River in West Virginia. It was opening weekend of Gauley Season, where they open Summerville Dam and the Gauley River is the number 2 river in the country for white water rafting and number 7 in the world! It was extreme with several class IV and V rapids on our 8 hour journey down the river. I was really nervous about going, but it was awesome & I would definitely go again! Our raft flipped twice, including one bad spill on the last rapid of the day, where I was pulled from the river by another raft in our group. Oops! Jerry and I also saw a cave in Virginia on the way back and got a great deal in DC on a hotel that even included free room service! Nothing like spoiling yourself after a long day of rafting in the sun!

Andrea & I spent the next weekend in Baltimore partying at Power Plant Live with some friends. I think we drank more than we ever have in a night & still were thinking clearly by the time we walked back to our room; Mike who was jumping in fountains with apparently uninterested bachelorette parties, playing with popcorn ceilings, and toasting to “televisionphonenetting” while doing shots in bed was a different story…..

Two weekends ago I made another trip to Tulsa to see my Jerry! We went to the piano bar, out with some of his friends, and enjoyed some dessert at the new Cheesecake Factory there…yum! If only there was one of those in Southern Maryland…. I’m going back for my 4 day weekend this weekend. Gotta love all those Fridays off & random government holidays!

Last week was full of happy hours and friends; Tides and CIB 2 nights in a row! Of course I put in a 12 hr work day Thursday so I deserved to let loose a bit. Saturday was girls day in Annapolis where Andrea, Liz, & I went to watch the Navy football team take on Air Force! Navy won & we had a good time. It was different going to a different college and routing for some other team, but it was live college football and a good time nonetheless. Afterwards we hit up the sale at the gift store at the academy, took a short, self guided tour of the academy, and a scrumptious dinner before heading home.

In all the whirl wind stuff, I also managed to get a flight physical so next month I can fly in a P-3 for a short course taught by the test pilot school- whoo-hoo!

Where has this summer gone?! I swear it just started! The end of it has been filled birthdays, parties, and seeing my baby! I’ve been down to Tulsa twice now and it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Jerry’s place it great, there are actually things to do in the town, and he hangs around some cool people. He also made it back up here to take care of me while I was sick one weekend.

My birthday was just the past week and my roommate organized a fun night out with friends at Solomon’s Pier and the Tiki Bar. The night ended with fabulous homemade triple chocolate cake. Although, the coolest thing about my birthday this year was that my newest cousin was born on my birthday within the same ½ hour as I was, but 23 years later. Her mom actually lives in Tulsa & Jerry & I had lunch with her just two days before she gave birth to little Haylie. I really would have loved to hold a newborn baby that weekend, but it’s really cool we share a birthday. We have so many Aug birthdays in my extended family it’s surprising we’re the first Aug birthday twins!

In Texas Labor Day does not mark the end of the summer like it does here. Back home there have been years that I have helped put up outside Christmas lights in shorts! Here the pools close (pools actually closing is surprising enough for me let alone this early!), people put boats away, and the season actually begins to change. All I can think about is how much I’m dreading it getting cold again and how much I hate snow! At least yesterday Mike was nice enough to invite me out on his boat. We made it up to Clark’s Landing for appetizers and drinks and the down to Tiki Bar, which we ended up closing down for the night! I can now say that I’ve been to Tiki Bar by boat & we had a good time so it was definitely worth it!

My summer has been flying by so fast, but I still have a lot planned so it’s not ending anytime soon!!! The last weekend of June I flew to Kansas for family reunion which was nice, I suppose. I enjoyed seeing everyone and for the first time in a long time all 8 kids & spouses, all 17 grandkids, & all 3 great-grandkids were there on my mom’s side! It’s a big family, but fun nonetheless plus I have some crazy uncles that are always entertaining. After I got back from Kansas we had a mini aero reunion where by chance David, Kate, & John Michael were all in town on the same night. Andrew, Andrea, & I took them out to Stoney’s and to the Tiki Bar for Mai Tais. It was great to see them again!

I celebrated Independence Day by going out the night before to play beer pong & guitar hero & then watching the Solomons fireworks from base on the 4th. In the process I’ve been trying to keep myself out of too much trouble with the people I work with; so far, so good.

A couple days later I went up to DC to meet my mom, sis, & Grandma who flew up to see me. That weekend was spend sight seeing in DC; the mall & the monuments, Arlington National Cemetery, Ford’s Theatre, and the National Zoo to see the pandas. They spent part of the week while I was at work in Baltimore. When they were here I made sure they took in Cheeseburger and Solomons. We had to hit up the Tiki Bar for mai tais and we had the poor bar tender all confused. She was convinced that my Grandma was the mother of my mom, sister, & me. When I said she was my Grandma, she gave my grandma her beer for free! We, of course, also had to have crab dip at the Pier, which the really enjoyed. The second weekend of their visit was spent in Hershey, PA taking in Chocolate World & Hershey Park. It was so much fun & more chocolate than I could ever imagine!!! Jerry also flew up there to meet us. My Grandma was sad he couldn’t make it to the reunion so she as really glad to see him there & she definitely thinks he’s great.

This past week was spent trying to get back into a routine, but it was pretty crazy in its own fun way. Wednesday I came home expecting to take a nap, but ended up going sailing on Ben’s boat. I’ve never really been sailing before so I really had a great time & the sunset on the water was so pretty! Thursday after an afternoon storm we were out of power here, but us girls went on base to see Ocean’s 13, which I thought was really good, but I really like that whole trilogy of movies. Friday, a group of us went to the River Concert Series. I went to nearly all of the free concerts on the river last summer, but this was the first one I’ve made it to this year. Yesterday we had a going away party for Merkin, one of our project pilots, on the beach. It was a lot of fun & Ken brought a huge potato canon! All of us girls are going to miss Merkin around the office, but Liz & I got a team picture so we’re happy. Today I went to church and ran errands. Hopefully this short week will go by quickly & I can go see my baby next weekend!

Furniture people irritate the hell out of me! “We’ll be there within the hour” was four hours ago! Hello! I’m taking a half a day off of work for this shit!!! Then again had the moving company done their job without breaking any of my stuff & the first company I tried ordering replacements from worked I wouldn’t be sitting here now! It also doesn’t help that it’s now thundering outside with an increasing chance of storms....some people really just suck at life!

Other than furniture shopping (grrrr!), things are going well. I spent last weekend in College Station for Chris Shaw’s wedding. It’s so hard to believe people my age are getting married! I think it’s the whole becoming an adult in the real world that still takes me by surprise tho. I’ve been in Maryland working & supporting myself for 5 months now & it doesn’t seem possible! Each wedding I go to I get more use to the idea that eventually I’ll have my turn, but it still seems like a bit of a fairy tale in a way. The wedding was really nice tho & I got to see a lot of people I went to school with which was a lot of fun. Jerry & I made it into town early enough Friday to eat some Italian food, which is something you can’t really get in Southern Maryland, and to hit up Northgate! Whoop! :-)

My summer is filling up faster than I thought. I’m going to a family reunion in a couple weeks & then my mom, sister, & Grandmother are visiting. We’re going to get in DC & Hershey, PA on the weekends I have off & then during the week they are going to take in Baltimore. I think it will be a fun time! Then there’s another wedding in August & a maybe a rafting trip with the office in Sept.

When I’m not out of town or at kickboxing or yoga, I’m usually out with the happies or work gangs. I’ve become a regular at the Green Door on Thursday nights, which is actually fun if you go with the right group assuming there’s no drama. It can make Fri rough, but after college I’m use to it. Two weeks ago, I was helping out on another jet & of the door group I was the only one to make it to the 7 am brief on time & I wasn’t even required to be there! It showed up all those guys that made fun of me for drinking girlie drinks/shots all night!

The flutter work I did on the other jet was cool & I enjoyed learning something new, but my jet is better & dropping weapons is way more fun!

I made my first trip home last weekend for Jerry’s graduation and it was sooooo hard to come back. College Station is still home to me; even more so than my parents’ house. I’ve been in college for the last 4 ½ years of my life and only lived in the house my parents live in now for about 4 years before I left so it makes sense that would be home. Last Sunday was really hard, but since I got back into my normal routine here I’m doing so much better!

Jerry’s graduation ceremony was so long; leave it to the Aggies to put the College of Engineering and the College of Architecture together! After graduation, his family had a reception for him & I got to meet all of them. At least the night before we went out to eat at roadhouse with his parents so it was less overwhelming that it could have been. I was so nervous about meeting everyone, esp his parents, but I really think it went well despite being totally out of my element.

In addition to just going to graduation, Jerry & I ate at the Texas Roadhouse & made a trip to Northgate the night before. I love Northgate: lots of fun and real bars with fun people! We met up with a couple people from his airplane design team and ended up spending more time out there and have more drinks than planned, but that’s usually the way it goes. Jeremy at Mad Hatters still makes the best shots (gotta love his famous Canadian Hockey pucks!) & chocolate martinis ever! He even came up something new to draw with the chocolate syrup: a sailboat, which is rather appropriate for a girl visiting from Maryland! Saturday, after some shopping, Jerry and I drove back to my parents’ house in Katy for the night. They took us out for some real Tex-Mex and we laid low for the night.

Yesterday Liz, Andrea, & I spent the day up at Andrew’s Air Forces base for the Joint Services Open House Air Show. It was a lot of fun, but we were wiped out at the end of the day. In addition to several static displays there were some awesome performances including: the USAF Thunderbirds, an F-22 demo which was really cool as I had never seen one fly before, an F-117 Night hawk Stealth demo, some heritage flights, some acrobatic performers, the Golden Knights Army Skydiving team, an F-15 demo, & an F/A-18 demo, which would have been cooler if I didn’t see demos from them every day! :-)

I’m still enjoying Maryland, but I’m getting so excited about my trip back to Texas on Thursday! I’m going Jerry’s graduation & will also spend Saturday night in Katy with my family. I think it’s going to be a great weekend!

I enjoyed Kate being in town for a couple weeks. We took her out a few times. Kate & I made it to our first Tiki Bar Opening. This is the biggest event in Southern Maryland & it’s pretty crazy. Their Mai Tais are worth the $7 tho. They’re super strong at first but after a couple sips they taste just like Hawaiian Punch; I promise! I also introduced her to Maryland crab cakes & she was a big fan. I really don’t like seafood, but I do love crab cakes & crab dip…. Yum!

This weekend has been slow & lazy, but relaxing. Yesterday was gross & today’s a little chilly so I’m staying in. Friday, we went out to Cheeseburger in Paradise for an early Cinco de Mayo celebration, which was fun. Ben & I had a couple Patron shots, so we attempted to make it a real fiesta. Despite the weather this weekend, it is getting better. A couple weeks ago we even made out to the beach on base. It’s not the best beach & I’m sure the bay will be filled with Jellies in just a few more weeks, but it is a beach that’s only about 10 min from my house so I can’t complain!

A really awesome pilot at work is leaving this summer, all of us girls are beyond bummed, but at his request the office is having a potato cannon contest at his going away party so leave me some advice on building one if you can! Liz & I are thinking a pink one with the work "bink" on it covered “remove before flight” flags......

I really enjoyed having Jerry around for the Easter weekend. Friday we went up to DC with Andrea & saw the Cherry Blossom Festival along the tidal basin near the Jefferson & Roosevelt Memorials. The cherry blossom trees are really pretty, but unfortunately the strong winds and cooler temperatures hurt them and they weren’t blooming in full force. We also walked the entire mall taking in a few things here & there. We found a funky little Italian joint for dinner that was excellent & then went to the Nationals game for opening weekend. It was freezing!!!!! I’m so spoiled in Houston we watch baseball games inside a covered stadium with the A/C on & no freezing temps outside.

Saturday morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow!!!!! It was pretty, but only because Jerry & I got to be lazy and lounge around inside. We did decide to enjoy a happy hour at Tides, my favorite bar in Southern Maryland because they have fabulous martinis! I did not want to take Jerry back to the airport Easter day at all. We did go to church before that & we got a ton of chocolate from the Easter bunny! I’m still enjoying it all. Yum!!!! A group of us new hires got together for a pot luck Easter dinner that night & it was so good to have a real meal & be around friends. It really helped me keep my mind off of Jerry being gone. I’m not counting the days until I go to College Station for his graduation. Seeing him & other friends & my family, meeting his family, Aggieland, Texas Roadhouse, Northgate, Mad Hatters…. WHOOP!!!! I’m so excited. I also just bought tickets to go to Kansas in June for the family reunion on my mom’s side. I haven’t been to my Grandma’s house in about a year and a half so it should be a good time.

Last Friday a group of us newbies went done to Norfolk to tour the shipyard. We saw a few ships, a sub, and the E-2C hawkeye simulators. It was really cool, but it was a long day of cramming stuff in. I’d love to take a boat trip sometime for work to really see what it’s all like.

This week I’m enjoying the apartment all to myself and am looking forward to a shopping trip at the Fashion Centre in DC on my Friday off. Well, that’s assuming I survive a couple more gloomy days filled with tornado force winds. It’s been ridiculous!! I know tornadoes are rare for Maryland but the way the wind whips around the corner of my apartment building whistling & howling you’d think a tornado was going to plow thru the wall any second. It’s creepy & it hasn’t even been storming outside. Kate’s also in town for a training course so her, Andrea, & I are going to venture into DC this weekend to see the sights & attend Aggie Muster. I’ve never been to an off camps ceremony before so it should be nice.

Things have been going well for me lately, but I’ve been keeping super busy so I haven’t updated in awhile. My job is still great & I still think my jet is cool. We did a test last week that involved dropping 10 cluster bombs from our jet & it was awesome! We also had a pretty crazy test pilot whose favorite word is “Bink!!!” Not sure where it comes from, but apparently it can be used a sound effect for just about anything.

I’ve taken in some more sights since I’ve been here. Jerry came up for his spring break & is coming back for Easter. Over spring break we saw some of DC including the National Air & Space Museum, the Monuments on the mall, & we even went up the Washington Monument, which was awesome. It’s a great view of the entire city. We also spent St. Patti’s Day weekend in Baltimore. We went to the National Aquarium & saw all of the critters including some funky looking sharks and rays. We also spent the evening down at Power Point Live taking in the nightlife and spent a few hours at the dueling piano bar, which was a riot as always. I really enjoyed having him around.

I’m also starting to feel like Maryland & my apartment is becoming home so it makes me happy!

Life in Southern Maryland is still going well. My job is still going very well. I jokingly got permission from one of my managers to paint my jet pink if she’d fly more. :-) I think she would, but I’m having a hard time convincing the navy of that. Go figure! I’ve also gotten to participate in some more flights and I’m getting to the point where I feel very comfortable briefing the flights as well. We’ve had a couple long days in the past couple weeks, but I think I’m going to enjoy the overtime checks so I certainly can’t complain. I have flight line training this week & I’m hoping to get qualified to sit in the cockpit soon too. A good deal of maintenance was being done on my jet at the end of last week so I spent some time in the hanger asking questions and learning a lot about her. I still absolutely love fighter jets & I know my eyes still light up when I get to be around them so I take advantage of every chance I get to hang out in the hanger.

For President’s weekend I was invited up to Jack Frost, PA for some snowboarding. I haven’t been snowboarding in years, but it sounded like fun & we had a great deal on a house with a hot tub and lift tickets so I went. It turned out to be an absolutely fabulous weekend so I’m so glad I went. I even picked up snowboarding again much faster than I ever thought I would. I took a refresher course the first day but was on the blues by the end of the day keeping up with Ben & Mike for the most part so I think I did fairly well. When we weren’t on the slopes we were partying it up at the house! We drank, played games, and sat in the hot tube until the wee hours of the morning every night but always managed to get up at a decent time to hit the slopes. Luckily the following work week was only 3 days long so that really helped.

I’ve gotten to know a lot of the other new hirers pretty well too. We’ve been going out to eat seafood over on Solomons Island on Fridays for Lent which is cool. The girls & I are still going to kickboxing, which is the best stress relief ever!!!!! I so should have taken that up in college!

Last weekend my friend, Andrew, came up to visit on a house hunting trip. He starts work here in a couple weeks so Andrea & I showed him around. We didn’t scare him too bad as he is still taking the job & seemed to enjoy his visit. That Saturday, Mike had a town-house warming party we all went to. It was a pretty good time, but I think I was too sober to enjoy being around everyone really drinking. Oh well. We were social, & Mike actually works with the people Andrew was hired to work with so he was able to do some networking.

This past week was the first 5 day work week we’ve had in a while so it was a little rough. This week is a four day week though & my boyfriend comes Thursday to spend his spring break with me. Whoop!!!!!

I am adjusting pretty well to life in Maryland. I love my job and my jet. I’ve recently learned that she’s a spoiled girl, but then again so am I for the most part so we get along well. I gave my first pilot brief Thursday. I was really nervous but it went well. However, we had to ground abort the flight because of a fuel leak so I’ll get to probably repeat the brief this week sometime. Unfortunately it is suppose to snow and be icy for the next couple days…gross! I’m sick of cold weather.

My apartment is still coming together little by little. I still have more stuff to put on the walls and am still dealing with the government & mover about all of my stuff they broke. Never move with North American or one of their subsidiaries because the suck at life and will break all your stuff! Grrrr!!!

I really haven’t gotten out of Southern Maryland much since I’ve arrived, but I’ve managed to make it out to dinner a few times, to a few happy hours, and the door for a couple concerts. With all the people I know from this summer and all of the other recent new-hires I met I’m feeling more at home everyday. Some of the girls even talked me into taking a kickboxing class with them at a local martial arts studio. It kicked my butt, but it was a lot of fun & a great stress relief so I signed up for more. At least I can enjoy my free time even if it is in Southern Maryland. I am however getting sick of some aspects of the town. I really thought Katy was suburbia hell. Try combining all of the major roads in that town into one & you have Southern Maryland. Ugh and some of the people are so backwards! I’m never going grocery shopping on the weekend when there’s a snow storm expected to come through early in the week again! The store was so crazy and the shelves so empty you would have thought people were stocking up for a cat 5 hurricane! I just don’t understand people!

It has hit me a few times that I am half way across the country in the real world, but for the most part I’m doing okay. I have my major ups and downs, but the friends I have here help a lot so I have yet to be really homesick. The real world is just a whole new lifestyle so I’m taking baby steps to adjust but seem to be doing well & so far I think I definitely made the “right decision.”

The last couple months have really been a blur. I finished finals, graduated from college, went to Belize, moved half way across the country, and just finished my first week of my new job & life in the “real world.”

Graduation came and went really fast. My grandmothers and aunt came down for a long weekend. While they stayed with my family we also celebrated Christmas with them. For Christmas itself, my immediate family went to Belize. It was an interesting experience. We stayed on an island called Ambergris Caye. The beaches, water, palm trees and such were really pretty and the resort we stayed at was nice, but it’s still a 3rd world country. You go into town or the main land and you see all the poverty and they don’t even have drinkable running water. I enjoyed my visit but it also reminded me of how lucky and spoiled I am to live in the States. Besides lying out by the pool and enjoying rum punch at the bar conveniently located in the resort pool, we also went into town and loved shopping at the open air markets for hand made jewelry and trinkets, visit the Mayan Ruins, Xunantunich, on the mainland and a Baboon Sanctuary (however baboons in Belize are actually Howler monkeys.)

After Belize I had a few weeks at home that I spent with Mr. Beasley & my family before the big move. Buying stuff for a new apartment and packing for something like that is crazy, but now I’m here and just waiting on the rest of my stuff that should be here this weekend. I’m getting a little tired of camping out on an air mattress. Other than that work is going well. My first week has been kinda of slow as no test flights have been done on my Super Hornet, the “Salty Dog 100” due to maintenance and weather, but next week looks busy and more fun. I’m doing weapons and store separation testing on the F/A-18E and have been reading up on and am really excited about my job so hopefully I won’t be disappointed. Unfortunately the worst part is the weather- it’s so cold! It’s snowed 2 days since we’ve been here and I’m ready for summer weather now!

It’s been a crazy month and this last week of classes is hell. I thought 9 hours would be a breeze but I was wrong; AERO 402, 430, & 452 is not a good combination. At least it’s over soon! Got a lot due this week and then fly-offs Monday. I should be super stressed but I think I'm so stressed that I can't take it seriously. There's so much to do that it's funny...don’t know why but it is. Maybe I’m too close to graduation to care.

I finally figured out the whole job thing. In addition to my offer at NAVAIR China Lake, I also got offers at Rockwell Collins doing displays for Army helicopters and at NAVAIR Pax River doing flight testing on weapons separation for my own F-18. The Pax offer is a lot less money than Rockwell Collins because it’s government but it’s also real aerospace engineering and sounds like so much fun that I just have to take it. I am, however, guaranteed promotions with raises so the money situation will probably only be rough for the first 6 months. Andrea is going up there with me and we are going to be roommates. We’ve found one apartment I really like so hopefully that will all work out.

I had a pretty good Thanksgiving at home, despite having to convince my parents about the whole job thing, but they aren’t engineers so it’s hard for them to understand sometimes. The highlight of the weekend was definitely the Aggies beating the hell out t.u. in Austin. WHOOP!!!!! I’m so happy we finally beat them; it’s a first since I’ve started here. Job interviews with trips to Iowa and Maryland have kept me plenty busy, but I love traveling and seeing both coasts and the center of the country all in 1 semester is pretty neat even if each trip was only a couple days long. Before Thanksgiving I also went to San Antonio with Jerry for a wedding and took in the Riverwalk. The night life doesn’t really come close to 6th Street in Austin but Coyote Ugly and the awesome Martini bar we found were very cool.

Now just counting down to graduation & my trip to Belize with my family for Christmas…..