Travel Note 5 March 2008

The last few days have been quite busy and rather long. We actually brief half the mission as opposed to sitting in the briefing to answer questions and correct misspeaks. With two missions to brief, monitor and debrief it makes for a long day. There is usually a simulator in there, too. But the pilots are eager to learn which is good.

Last night we got to feel the earth move! Just a little tremor which the locals probably didn't even notice but I could feel it in my room up on the 10th floor.

Today wasn't such a good day as we learned in the morning that the base lost an airplane last night. The initial guess is spacial disorientation as the the jet just fell off the radar scope. No news on the pilot but as of this morning they had not located him so I think they expect the worst. Bummer! Since it was one of the modified jets it leaves us with one less to train with. No flying due to the accident but we did get a sim out of the way. No flying tomorrow but some ground training with some of the instructors.

The food is not too bad. Perhaps I won't be shedding any pounds after all. You kind of have to try a little of everything and find the stuff you like. There's also enough American style food at breakfast (eggs, cereal, bacon, etc.) to get you through till dinner.

The job search continues in earnest! Resumes out, working on applications, making connections, buying lottery tickets!

Travel Note 2 March 2008

Taiwan

All of yesterday was spent traveling from Boston to Taipei via Atlanta and Narita (Tokyo). It's quite the marathon and you're pretty beat up when you get in.

I spent a half a day in Taipei waiting for the flight to Hualien. The Grand Hyatt in Taipei is pretty nice! Breakfast is a huge buffet and you could load up for the day there. And it's complementary for us! It is right around the corner from the 101 Tower which is pretty hard to miss. I think at one point it was the tallest in the world but I'm not sure. Plenty of places to eat or just walk around.

We headed off to Hualien in the afternoon via an ATR 72 (turbo Prop) on a half hour flight. It's a small city and the hotel, the Parkview, is pretty much in the middle overlooking the port. Not bad. Evidently western style food is in short supply so it may be an opportunity to lose a pound or two. We'll see. We start work early tomorrow morning.

The job search continues! It seems that Jacobs is willing to meet everone's salaries...except mine! I'm looking into a few options which may or may not mean working the same job that I'm doing. Stay tuned!!