Motivation: Pushing Limits

Thought you had some amazing goals for 2012? Think again. Next year, James Ketchell will set out to do what no one has done; row across the Atlantic, climb Mt. Everest then cycle around the world. He's already done the first two tasks although in different years and while completing all these feats in a year is timely possible, I'm excited to track his progress. Check out his awesome video, following him on twitter, @CaptainKetch and track his story via his website, jamesketchell.net.

Pushing Limits from Tim Juby on Vimeo.

My Career Goal

Now this...I wanna fly! Ever since this aircraft was first announced back in January 2003, I knew that it would be my "end-all," my one point in life where I knew that I was flying the best of the best! In all her glory, check out the new livery on Boeing's first 787 (ZA101 / JA801A) set to fly passengers in the All Nippon Airways Network as early as late October. Now where I can buy a ticket for the back, or better yet, request the jumpseat?

As reported previously, the blue lines at the rear of the fuselage are designed to highlight how the three core elements of the airline’s service brand – innovation, uniqueness and the inspiration of modern Japan – operate across the ANA network. Only two Dreamliners will be painted in the special livery, the rest will be in standard ANA livery.

(via Seattle PI via AirlineReporter)

Post Marathon Runs

Getting on a redeye the following day after a marathon that you didn't train for isn't necessarily the best way to "recover." During the day, I even did a light jog trying to exchange my season tickets for some awesome seats at the the night's Padre game. Dreading the flight, I wasn't necessarily hurting that much and the flight was relatively easy as I was upgraded to first class. I wore my Injinji Compression socks which helped a lot and found myself walking again with a normal gait. The quads and hamstrings weren't bothering me too much when I got off of the flight which was a good feeling. Tight yes, but limping, no. Well, this last four day trip allowed for two days of running. Tuesday was a straight recovery and it was in Jackson, MS (not MI) so it wasn't like there was an outdoor path or the best of indoor exercise facilities. Wednesday was a fun day. Over 20 hours in Washington D.C. always proves to have some good times and it all started with an awesome lunch. Mentioning "best" and "chinese" to the captain there was no convincing. We headed over to Sichuan Pavilion on K Street and gorged on some awesome Chinese food. We even got 10% off our bill because we had finished and left before 12:30pm! That's what I call a lunch special. I'm always happy when the company I bring enjoy their food. We agreed to head back and hang out at the hotel before the afternoon happy hour so I lounged around a bit up until my planned 15 minute treadmill run; a breaking in of not only my shoes, but my fresh off a marathon legs. Did I mention that I ran the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon?

I put on my brand spanking new Newton Running Shoes and made my way downstairs to the basement. I stretched a little bit and got onto the treadmill at an easy 6.0 then decided that I should run a little faster. I finished with a feel good pace finishing @ 18 minutes w/ 1.94 miles completed. Since I programmed the machine for 15 minutes, it gave me a 3 minute cool down and I increased my speed to 10.0 to try to make it to the 2 mile mark but it forcefully stopped. I got off of the treadmill, stretched, did a few other quick workout but felt great!

I took a quick shower, dressed and headed back downstairs. It was a balmy 98F in DC with an index of 100 or so and after the shower, I was still perspiring like a dog. Mixed in with the heat, I was just soaking. The walk to Georgetown didn't prove any cooler.

The next day, after a long MSP-IAH flight blocking in at just over two hours, I found out that we were next to Memorial Park in Downtown, Houston. After reading reviews, I was convinced that I had to check this course out which clocks in at just under 3 miles. I'm all about running outside and since this was an awesome running trail, why not? I was able to once again easily convince the captain that it was a good idea to sweat it out on the track, in the heat and that I would stay pace with him.

Good stuff all around! As the reviews on yelp pointed out, there are a lot of great athletes of all experience levels and a bunch of shirtless doods. Lots of spandex to be had, you'd think that there was a 5K going on! I decided that I wanted to actually reach the 5K mark and taking it easy on the trail with my Newtons, I was just in for a the loosening up.

After a good 11 min mile, we waited for the van driver to pick us back up and then I proceeded to do 20 mins on the bicycle finishing just over 7 miles. Good stuff! I think I'm on my way to some good workout routines & habits! I'm addicted by the way to working out again! Feeling good and staying fit. Now, only if I can keep a steady diet and do without some of the overeating and indulging that goes on a couple nights a week! =)

End of the Month Run

After four days of cold and bitter weather, I landed in San Diego two nights ago and then immediately prepared for some hot yoga. Being awake for over 17 hours and just coming off of a 4 hour flight isn't necessarily the best way to prep for the hotness, but Adelle and I still went for it. I almost didn't have a choice but none the less, I enjoy it. The following morning, I wake up from a zombie attacking / survival mode dream (yes, I blame the yoga and dehydration status), and am wide awake. Adelle heads out for her shift and I just hang out until I get the will power to head out for my San Diego Harbor Loop. I guess some of you, namely a Mr. Ryan Espiritu, might not consider it a "loop" but I do. I guess you can call it an out and back but and just because I want Ryan to still be my friend, I official concede.

I felt good heading out but I didn't hydrate properly and the sun was definitely beating down on me. The first three miles were great great running at under a 10 minute pace, but then it went to crap. I got a phone call, my headset stopped working for a minute and then when I started to head back, the 11:00 sun got the best of me. I didn't bring any water with me and I wasn't prepared for the heat. I would find a pace runner here and there, but ended up walking more on the way back and could never find the initial stride that I had. Overall, I'd say that I felt like a 6/10 and when I got back to the apartment, I drank and drank, and drank...and now I'm sitting here blogging. Good times all around!

Here are some awesome pictures of the beautiful weather thanks to an awesome high pressure ridge just to the north. You have here the Downtown San Diego skyline with some sailboats scattering the bay and the Hilton San Diego Bayfront and the Coronado Bay Bridge. Awesome day for a run!

Good times flying...

The last four day trip entailed an overnight in Downtown Oklahoma City followed by two overnights in Hartford, Connecticut. I was also fortunate to be flying with an "adventurous" captain so I got the chance to catch my first Oklahoma City Thunder game and watch Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook in action. The Thunder came out strong winning the game and I came away with a new Home Jersey and a great picture with some of the Thunder girls.

I also got some good pictures of "breaking dawn" in Hartford, CT and the early morning in Grand Rapids, MI with the ship and air traffic control tower in the background. Check these out!

Training since Last Week

If you haven't followed me in the last week or so on foursquare or twitter or on my Garmin Connect Profile, you can see that I've been busy traveling (working) everywhere and working out very lightly, if anything. It's hard to recover from a 55 mile bike ride then hop on the red eye back to work. Last Sunday, I was mostly mush and tried to run a little on Monday (.87 miles back and forth to the Crystal City Mall in Washington DC) but found out I was still sore so that was a no go. My true intentions were to pick up some daily vitamins from the GNC shop since I left everything back at home. <-- #FAIL

Here is Garmin profile of my ~55 mile ride that I did last Saturday with Trek San Diego. I rode with group B2 but then fell back to B3 then fell somewhere between the groups and ended up finishing on my own. It was a little rainy and I like to think that I performed well during some parts, but once again, near the end, I was faltering a bit and ended up resting too many times.

Disneyland Post Apocalyptic Crowds

Initially scared by all the news and various media reports that Disneyland was closing and not letting people in due to ovehwleming holiday crowds and even friends warning me that they were close to going insane, driving up to the happiest place on earth was a little bit of a concern.  If you know me, I'm always down, so in the end,  we charged ahead.  Amazing weather to boot, it was a great day!  We didn't really have time to explore certain areas of the park but all in all, we did the "important stuff" minus the water rides.  We even got to hang out with JP and his high school friend Frances. One thing that both Adelle and I never did before was the Toy Story ride and experience the Wonderful World of Color Show at California Adventures.  That show was pretty darn awesome.  They even had a dedicated Tron: Legacy bit choreographed.  Great stuff.

We're Tourists in SD...Whale Watching...

Once again, the last two two weeks have come and gone a little too fast. Starting with a bit of fun, Adelle and I celebrated good times on a San Diego Whale Watching trip on the 17th after a failed attempt on the 16th. We initially thought we were going to just cruise around the bay but found out that our tickets, that were so graciously gifted to us by Adelle's brother and sister-in-law, were also valid for the Hornblower Adventure Whale Watching Cruise. This forced us to postpone for a day which worked out just right after eating an awesomely large hamburger from a local place called Waterfront Bar and Grill. Waterfront Bar & Grill. The meal was perfectly awesome. I was pretty much dreading the boat after that burger! The next morning, we headed out early for some Jamba Juice Oatmeal, and even had pops come along with us! I haven't been Whale Watching since the third or fifth grade and the day was forecasted to be awesome. The sun was out, the weather was beautiful, the seas were calm and we saw whales! Here are some pics!

Various Shots from Work + 1 New Guy Named Jakob

The beginning of this year brought on an onslaught of weather to the eastern seaboard and of course, I got to fly into it, around it and enjoy the flurries.  I really can't admit that I it was all joyous work, but it's all in the job description.  It's what we are trained to do and must do to bring you safely from Atlanta to who knows where.  Here are some shots; one with snow, one at night w/ the moonlight + Venus, and two others one of Atlanta Downtown followed by the Atlanta airport at night viewed from 11,000 feet. All these shot below were taken in the month of January.

Since I was fortunate to have two awesome flight attendants with me during a 40 hour stay in Allentown, Pennsylvania, we rented a car early morning and ventured out to three different vineyards, a chocolate factory as well as the local mountain to check out the slopes.  The vineyards were quite awesome, friendly and the various ambiances' were definitely different from the traditional ones here in Southern California.  For one, we don't have Ice Wine nor a freezing lake next to a cottage.  Peep these.

Sometimes, when I'm sitting in the back of a plane, non-revving, I'm able to snap some awesome up close pics.  Here is the airTran Atlanta Falcons themed Boeing 717 and one of Delta's newly modified 767 with winglets!  What do you think of these?

Something even more cooler...two of my very good friends, Kurt, who happens to be one of my groomsman and also shares the same birthday, July 28th, had his first child, Jakob with his lovely wife Krysti. Check out the happy father and son!

4 on, two off, 4 on – part 2 / my printed schedule after the fact

When I say after the fact, the schedules below depict the times that the aircraft recorded once meeting certain parameters e.g. brakes released or set & passenger door open or close.  These were not the original scheduled departure and arrival times but in fact, the true record of my legs or "flight time."  I guess you can say that the times in bold represent the time that I actually "fly."  The difference between the "Block" and "Credit" is that we get paid for credit while "Block" is the time I'm recorded to be in the aircraft.  It doesn't represent the time I spend in the cockpit in between flights or before flights (which is actually represented in the another bold header "Turn"), or the time I'm at the airport on a layover.  I'll further explain these "pairings" below in this blog post but for now, here is a picture of a 4-day typical schedule.  It's not like there is much to figure out.  It's pretty much cut and dry.  Following along the on the first line: The first line on my pairing "OSA A7470C" is Flight number 5548/ Originating from ATL (Atlanta-Hartsfield) / Destined to DAY (Dayton, Ohio) / Departed at 14:58 local airport time / Arrived at 16:16local airport time / TailN761ND <-- which is the registration number of the specific aircraft / A/C type being a CR7 (Canadair Regional Jet 700 Series) / Block1:18 (1 hour & 18 minutes flight time) / Credited 1:33 (in other words paid for 1 hour & 33 minutes) / Pax(passengers) on board 70 / Miles from ATL-DAY432 / BurnAv4423 (average fuel burned enroute measured in pounds / Turn 0:44 (time on ground to have the passengers get off, clean the aircraft, cross seatbelts, stock the galley, clean the bathrooms, refuel, input preflight measures, walk around the aircraft for a visual inspection, remove bags, add bags and passengers and close the door) 42 minutes.  That's line 1 in my pairing.  Pretty much going down through the day, I end up at Little Rock, Arkansas for a layover of 14:26 (14 hours & 26 minutes) where it includes the van ride from the airport to the hotel, the ride back to the airport in the morning, and any sleep that I get in between.

Screen shot 2009-12-24 at 07.04.33 AM

If you take a look on Friday the 18th, I was lucky to actually have a 28 hour overnight in Portland, Maine where I enjoyed some of the world's best known Clam Chowder from Gilbert's Chowder House. (yelp review here)

Everyday, I have a Report time which, and depending on how long the ride is to the airport from the hotel, we leave usually around 15 minutes prior to duty in to ensure ample time to get to the aircraft.  Of course, the means I also usually wake up about 1 hour prior to the Report time giving me enough minutes to accomplish the morning routine, throw the uniform together, pack up, eat breakfast and board the airport shuttle or taxi.

There isn't much more to explain really except for the Totals: line telling me that my initial Report time that I have to duty in at the company computers in Atlanta is at 14:00 on the 17th / and I'm Released at 16:46 on the 20th.  For those three days, I will be able to log 18 hours & 47 minutes of flight time, get paid for 20 hours and 48 minutes plus my per diem which is calculated by the TAFB(Time Away From Base) 74:46 74 hours & 46 minutes multiplied by our current rate of $1.65 / hr.

At my current rate of 3rd year pay $39.55 /hr * 20.8 --> I pull in around $822.64 + my per diem ($123.36) giving me a total of $946 for this entire pairing.  Granted I was away from my family the entire time, it didn't include the time I fly back and forth from San Diego to Atlanta and whatever else you want to add in.  I'm not whining really, but this is a sample of just a week in the life of a pilot.  Now, the missing link in this bigger picture is the amount of duty time that I put in between flights that I didn't get paid for.  In other words, I was actually working or at work whatever, for about 32 hours and 2 minutes total during these three days; in my uniform, and not resting.  Keyword being resting.  That's clearly a deficiency of 12 hours just hanging around the various airports.  <-- Not fun.  (Add up the Duty on the bottom ride side of each day to get the total figure)  Now, why is that pilots are only paid for block / credit time, it started long long ago during the birth of the industry and hasn't changed since.  It's a mixture of corporate greed (if that's what you want to call it) and FAA regulations governing flight time in a given period for pilots.

I usually have 4 of these trips a month, sometimes only 3.  Hope you enjoyed the explanation.  Any questions?  Please leave a comment below.

(if you are interested any further, many if not all US airlines' payscales are available to the public listed under each airline profile at http://www.airlinepilotcentral.com/airlines/)

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4 on, two off, 4 on - part 1

and "we're back!" All in all, twelve days total of “work” transpire. If you wonder why twelve instead of ten, it’s the added day of commuting and getting reacquainted with Atlanta the days prior to my 4 day trip that kicks things off. This is without mentioning the quick trip to Las Vegas the three days prior which included driving in the rain and snow along the CA 15 Freeway.

Back on December 9th, I boarded a red eye flight from San Diego at 10:50pm to Atlanta, arrived almost an hour early around 5:00am, and was lucky to get to my apartment around 6:30am. I shut my eyes and got as much horizontal rest as possible. During this short journey, I was accompanied by another fellow employee on a similar schedule, who also happens to be my flatmate therefore, I have to admit that my plight is shared amongst others and am in need of no singular sympathy. Just listen, err, “sit back and relax and enjoy the flight”, err, read the blog.

Because of my unfortunate mistake a couple of weeks back (link), I was forced to get a ride back to the Atlanta Airport and pick up my other roommate’s VW Jetta that he so kindly lent me enabling my accomplishing of errands. Once completed, I rested at the apartment in preparation for what would be a freezing schedule.

Back to back overnights in Toronto followed by another in Akron, Ohio, two nights in Atlanta, one in Little Rock, Arkansas and then two more in Portland, Maine was what laid ahead of me and thinking of it all just made me tune out. Sometimes I refer to this as teleporting, but only a handful know what I’m talking about. If you care to chime in, let’s do it over coffee and an open mind. ^_^

I found myself, once again, lost in my mind, so to speak. It’s been a rather difficult last couple of days only because the blur that is my life feels less and less controllable, but then again, I can reason that it is otherwise.

A few of my closest friends recognize the misty eyes or absence of me, but the character that I normally am temporarily disappeared. Slowly drifting back into the calm, I find myself in desperate need of my comfy bed at home in San Diego, the lively bodies that inhabit my house on Classique and the warmth of the season. I can’t wait to get home.

If you can't tell here in this photo, my captain took this of me when I was "chilling" on the ground in Little Rock.

Whirlwind of Work

This post is brought to you by:It's been a crazy tour of duty / flying the last couple weeks. From jumpseating almost every week back and forth to San Diego, taking care of the honey who caught the flu bug, food tasting for the wedding and the latest drama with my car's battle against a pole traveling at 5MPH and don't forget doing some work for my podcast, peak interest, I'm a little over-worked. I'm loving every minute of it without a doubt but my personal time has been limited as of late. I'm just glad that I'm able to use some inflight WiFi brought to you for FREE by eBay, Delta and gogoinflight! Thanks guys!

Here are some pictures from work over the last few days. (make sure to click on the pics for a larger / full photo)

I finally had some time and configured an affiliate link to introduce you to Coradine's LogTen Pro for Mac and iPhone! If you plan on buying it, it'd help me out if you used the link below. Check it out! It's the best in the ENTIRE industry. I'd even recommend that you buy an Apple / Mac computer just to use this awesome piece of software and an iPhone to pair it with for immediate logging of flight time!

The Last Month

The month of September ended in a whirlwind of vacationing, moving and surviving the slew of mosquito bites that I suffered both from Nicaragua and Atlanta. The last week in September was dedicated to moving, but after a great night of splurging at Taco Mac with some good pilot buddies, my roommate and I still hadn't made a final decision on where we would end up. Eventually being forced to move out of our apartment because the management ended up renting it out to a couple of college girls, we were lucky to be able to negotiate for a "non-upgraded" 2 bedroom, two bath for even cheaper than what we were paying in the same complex! The non-upgraded tag once specifies that it has black appliances rather than white ones, but you can't tell the difference at all anyways. We now have a pool view, and a 1-year lease for $818/mo (that's actually $750 + their fees for water / sewer / garbage, etc). I think we definitely scored as we're also closer to the front of the property making it so much easier to access the huge trashbin, Starbucks across the street, my favorite Cuban restaurant Coco-Loco, as well as Best Buy and the MARTA. I'm happy with the place and I'm just happy that my roommate, Mark Russell and I have a place that we both like a lot. Dealing with Comcast in trying to get the cable line activated was a little bit of a cluster, but apparently, it was disconnected within our apartment!? I guess it would have made sense for them to send out a mechanic guy to our apartment rather than just assuming turning it on from the outside was all they would need to do.

I finally made it back to San Diego by way of ATL-PHX-SAN and the last leg was great. Southwest is always just really friendly, but I have to admit that the two Delta pilots were great company for the 3.8 hrs in the jumpseat. Thanks for the ride guys!

For now, I'm just excited to be back home but there is so much to do when it comes to cleaning up my desk space, taking my bike out for a ride and hanging out with my favorite girl!

In the meantime, check out my new favorite drink at http://elijahnicolas.posterous.com/favorite-new-drink-and-turtwig-on-a-couch-at and the relaunch of the "peak interest" podcast at www.peakinterest.net or via iTunes.