Learning the Ropes

This week has been relatively consumed with study and practice drawing the new maps we are faced with. For those of you not experienced in the Air Traffic Control field, let me just say that the learning curve is pretty steep. Even though Robin and I are experienced at what we do, the real 'meat' of the job is that every place that does ATC has its own set of challenges, procedures, traffic flows and nuances. Each and every flight is subject to procedures based on its route of flight and destination, and even what type of airlplane it is. This is even more pronounced along the coasts, where international overwater and trans-oceanic flights are routine.

To begin our learning process we are handed maps of the airspace. We pretty much have to learn the equivalent of a road map, including all the exit numbers, miles between the exits, the speed limits along the way and what each gas station expects from the drivers along each route. .. ok .. bad analogy, but it is a detailed level of study and it's time consuming and, I'm discovering, a little more difficult now that I have aged .. ermm .. I mean .. matured a bit.

The part about sending airplanes out over the ocean is new as well, and it involves detailed rules and strict procedures for interfacing with other oceaninc facilities and even different countries.

We will diligently pursue this learning because it matters greatly that we become as expert as possible in our jobs. There's precious little margin for error and we need to have a lot of information on tap quickly. It's tiring, and it's fun.

OK, in the other half our world (the non-employment half) Robin and I have been pursuing a couple of endeavours to keep us moving. We spent some time chasing lost paperwork and disposed of a bunch of old (and I mean old) records from the past. We are still actively downsizing where possible and we are finding that some of the 'stuff' that we brought along as 'essential' isn't really all that necessary.

We are learning about doing battle with the humidity. We came from very dry air to wet air, and aside from the fact that every cold drink you have drips on you when you pick it up, the high humidity presents a real danger of mold or mildew forming in the closets and elsewhere. We've tried a few of the commercial moisture-absorbers and to their credit they work well, but we will need a better long-term solution so we are going to have to make room for a de-humidifier somewhere in the living room or dining area.

The fifth-wheel was built with an 'arctic insulation package', and it is actually pretty tight and well insulated. This is good and bad, as the only real airflow comes from the Air conditioners or powered vents so moisture is trapped inside with us. On the good side, it keeps the bugs out and once we get the inside air dry, it'll stay dry longer. It's a quest. I love quests :)

We joined a fitness place. We've worked out twice ... I'm sore. We will be stepping out of our boxes big time with this venture, as it will involve both fitness exercises and a look at beginning self-defense classes. We've talked about this a lot over the last few months and have decided that it might be prudent to learn about self-defense from an expert. If we plan on traveling around in a sailbot, we may indeed be exposing ourselves to a slightly higher risk of some idiot trying to steal something from us and it will be good to know how to defuse or protect ourselves in such a situation. It's a new stretch in a series of eye-openers that we are in the middle of as we draw closer to setting sail someday.

Still no word on the repairs on the Solara. We've had a couple of phone calls indicating that they 'expect' the car to be back to us, but as of today no word on setting up an appointment to retrieve it. Hopefully this means that they've taken extra care to see to all the details that we mentioned when we checked it in. We will see. It will be nice to be back in our own wheels, and have the option of putting the top down when the time is right.

That's just about any time it isn't raining.