March 1st, 2000
Well, this is the first entry in this section, so theres lots to tell.....
Most signifiganly, Spanky is taking to the sky!! In the words of Pink Floyd, and most recently, the Foo Fighters, I'm LEARNING TO FLY!!!!
I'm taking lessons to get my Ultralight licence. I completed my ground school last weekend. That teaches you all the "need to know" about getting started, and then you have to score at least 90% on the exam to pass. I got 100% and my arm is still sore from patting myself on the back. From here I start flying, and I can't wait. I did an intro flight in a cessna back in December which got me hooked on the whole flying thing. After weighing all the options, I thought Ultralight was the way to go. Tons cheaper, and those of you who have been to my cottage know I have plenty of room for my own landing strip. I'm doing my training at Sport Flight in Barrie, and the whole deal should ring in just over the $2000 mark. Not too bad I'd say. Planes range around the $15k mark so by this summer (fingers crossed) I'll have my own flying machine.
I've also applied for a new job at work (hope this doesn't jinx it). It's more pushing pencils than pushing buttons, but it will lead to full time with benifits and hey, I'll even get a vacation. Something thats long over due. The offical title is "Traffic Services Officer", a job I've been doing on the side since the old one left, so I figur I'm a shoe in.
So, I'm havin' a great time (Mave is super too), Norm & Brenda are well, Blaine as always is Blaine....
So stay tuned for mor updates!!
March 2nd, 2000
Well, today is my friend (and cousin) Brian's Birthday. He's 31 today, so happy birthday you old bastard. After a long day at work me and my girlfriend Mave hooked up with Brian and Jenine at Quigley's in the beaches for some birthday cheer an din-din. I had the Thai Peanut Chicken (Mmmmm, tastey!) and I have left-overs for lunch tomorrow. They even threw in some chop-sticks. I think I'll need an extra half hour for lunch (and maybe a bib).
March 4th, 2000
Today was Michelle's Birthday. Happy 27th Mitch!! My extended family and I went out to the Friendly Greek for some B-Day lunch, and I was introduced to a Greek beer called Mythos, or something like that. Not too bad either, considering it wasn't Guinness. To top the day off I arived home to find and email from one of my old Clevelands House pals (Cleve's is a resort we used to work [and drink and experience life] at). Chris is one of the realest people I know, and I'm glad to call him a good friend, and he's great at keeping in touch. Congrats Chris and Stef on your new baby girl Zoe! And a long over due HELLO to Jerome, another of the Cleve's Crew who is staying with Chris this month in North Bay. Jerome is now an international photographer and is here to do a shoot of the First Nations Police forces in Canada. Cudos my friend.
March 8th, 2000
Today spanky, like the majestic eagle (or Canada goose perhaps?), took to the air in flight!! I logged my first two hours of flight time towards my Ultralight Pilots License and it was fantastic. We had summer like temperatures today (22 degrees C) and it actually made things a bit hazey, but still flyable. My first lesson took me to the Muskoka airport which was pretty cool because I pass it every time I drive to my cottage. Kinda neat to see my route from a birds eye view. I took a couple pics of the plane I flew, so an Ultralight Page will soon be added to Spanky Online I'm sure. When you see the plane, you may think "That's an Ultralight?", but it all has to do with weight. This thing wasn't much smaller than the Cessna I flew back in December. Should be cool to actually get up in a smaller, open cockpit plane once the summer gets a little closer. Who knows, I may be licenced by then. I'm booked to fly these next two wednesdays!
April 3rd, 2000
Guess I'm slacking a bit in the "What's New" department, but I don't think anybody reads this shit anyway. Self gratification I guess. Ok, since my last entry I've logged 2 1/2 more hours flying time. Slowly (and expensively), but surely. I also went to see the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young concert last Thursday, that was pretty cool. Then on Friday I met up with the old Cleveland's House crowd and we went to the Toronto Rock Lacrosse game. Toronto won, I got quite drunk. Also pretty cool. The hangover on Saturday was a stinker though. That's it for now.
