There isn't much I miss about work, but there were some great sunrise/sunsets from the tower.
This sunrise showed in my Facebook memories from 10/31/2012
Showing posts with label Tbt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tbt. Show all posts
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Throwback Thursday: winter returns
Today's Throwback Thursday is brought to you by a brief return to winter in the Ozarks!
Wow! 75f (24c) yesterday and 28 (-2c) tonight!
It was a good morning to sleep late. The windows in our bedroom were opened a bit so the upper 30s outdoor temps made the room cool and provided a deterrent to crawling out from underneath the warm blankets. I took a page from Chris' book and just rolled over and grabbed my phone and did some of my morning surfing from bed rather than getting up.
The major downside to that -- no coffee!
I decided that I'd go out for coffee this morning so I am blogging from Starbucks and eavesdropping on the conversations at the tables around me. On another morning, I may just go to the little coffee shop in Ozark and blog from there but today I felt like taking a brisk ride on the cycle. And the free refills at Starbucks was also a factor in that decision.
Ozarkers tend to be a little stubborn when it comes to reverting to wearing coats and winter wear. Many of today's patrons are refusing to even wear a light jacket and are only going as far as wearing long sleeved shirts and jeans.
This Starbucks appears to be a gathering place for moms with young kids. Next to me is a couple of women (one with a baby) talking about life. The one with the baby is doing most of the talking and I sense that she needs an adult to talk to. Her friend is actively listening and asking questions that keep the mom eagerly engaged.
Another couple of ladies look to be engaged in an interview or meeting of some type. The mom with the toddler appeared to be a little late (although it could be that the other woman was early). Mom is feeding her young daughter and taking notes and appears to be the one directing the meeting.
There are also a couple of college student that are studying and a mother with her son that look like they are taking their home school class to the coffee shop today.
A businessman on his phone, an older man having coffee and a breakfast sandwich, and many that are just in and out with their drink of choice make up the patrons of Starbucks on this late March day.
Oh yeah, and the old guy people watching and blogging in the corner!
Spring temps will be back soon and I'm sure that they will bring thunderstorms and showers as they usually do ... they seasonal cycles continue as we journey around the sun.
I think I'll grab lunch in Springfield before heading home. I'll people watch from another location!
John <><
Wow! 75f (24c) yesterday and 28 (-2c) tonight!
It was a good morning to sleep late. The windows in our bedroom were opened a bit so the upper 30s outdoor temps made the room cool and provided a deterrent to crawling out from underneath the warm blankets. I took a page from Chris' book and just rolled over and grabbed my phone and did some of my morning surfing from bed rather than getting up.
The major downside to that -- no coffee!
I decided that I'd go out for coffee this morning so I am blogging from Starbucks and eavesdropping on the conversations at the tables around me. On another morning, I may just go to the little coffee shop in Ozark and blog from there but today I felt like taking a brisk ride on the cycle. And the free refills at Starbucks was also a factor in that decision.
Ozarkers tend to be a little stubborn when it comes to reverting to wearing coats and winter wear. Many of today's patrons are refusing to even wear a light jacket and are only going as far as wearing long sleeved shirts and jeans.
This Starbucks appears to be a gathering place for moms with young kids. Next to me is a couple of women (one with a baby) talking about life. The one with the baby is doing most of the talking and I sense that she needs an adult to talk to. Her friend is actively listening and asking questions that keep the mom eagerly engaged.
Another couple of ladies look to be engaged in an interview or meeting of some type. The mom with the toddler appeared to be a little late (although it could be that the other woman was early). Mom is feeding her young daughter and taking notes and appears to be the one directing the meeting.
There are also a couple of college student that are studying and a mother with her son that look like they are taking their home school class to the coffee shop today.
A businessman on his phone, an older man having coffee and a breakfast sandwich, and many that are just in and out with their drink of choice make up the patrons of Starbucks on this late March day.
Oh yeah, and the old guy people watching and blogging in the corner!
Spring temps will be back soon and I'm sure that they will bring thunderstorms and showers as they usually do ... they seasonal cycles continue as we journey around the sun.
I think I'll grab lunch in Springfield before heading home. I'll people watch from another location!
John <><
Thursday, February 18, 2016
A Blast From the Past
It's a kind of Throwback Thursday type of post.
I'm not sure why, but for some reason I've been thinking about air traffic control lately. It could have to do with the bill in Congress that has to do with shifting air traffic to a non-profit corporation, or maybe it's just recent contact with a couple of controllers. A recent lunch caught me up on the all the latest tower news.
As expected, my contacts with former coworkers have become fewer and less often. When I was working and someone retired, it didn't take long before life went on without that person and they were seldom brought up in conversation. I expected that to be the case with me and those that retired at the same time as I did. There were four of us that retired from the facility in Dec '14 and Jan '15. Three more retired during 2015 and one left to take a promotion.
For a while Chris and I were meeting with two other couples for dinner, but it has been several months ... and life goes on.
As a controller, I rarely did anything outside of work with other controllers. Our relationships were really centered around being air traffic controllers. I was pretty certain that when that ceased, so would our relationships.
For the most part, that has been true.
There are a few people that I think I will continue to stay in touch with, and a few others that I will probably be in touch with less often. It is a little sad, but it is just the way of things.
I can honestly say that I do not miss it at all. I am also glad that I was able to retire prior to a changing ATC structure. I'm not saying that it won't be a better way of doing business. The way the FAA has been managing it over the past few decades has been terrible. Staffing is at critical levels and will probably get worse before it gets better with so many controllers eligible or soon to be eligible to retire.
I do see things that make me think of different people and some of the conversations that we had and occasionally send a text message. But there really aren't too many instances when I think of work or the people there. I stopped by the tower once when I had to drop Hannah off at the airport, but that has been the only time.
Life goes on.
I'm enjoying my days -- especially when the weather is nice enough to get out and walk. I managed to walk 100 miles in January and will make another 100 miles in February, even with 2 fewer days! Some days are nice enough to sit out on the deck, and we've managed to cook out a couple of days. I'm motorcycle shopping online and hope to make a purchase before April. Baseball season is only weeks away and all will be right with the world.
Well ... I guess there is still the election year politics, strife in the Middle East and all kinds of other issues, but my world is pretty quiet.
This blog is my main form of interaction with others on most days ... and I am really okay with that!
Tomorrow will be a new day and we're going to take a weekend road trip. I'll report back later.
John <><
I'm not sure why, but for some reason I've been thinking about air traffic control lately. It could have to do with the bill in Congress that has to do with shifting air traffic to a non-profit corporation, or maybe it's just recent contact with a couple of controllers. A recent lunch caught me up on the all the latest tower news.
As expected, my contacts with former coworkers have become fewer and less often. When I was working and someone retired, it didn't take long before life went on without that person and they were seldom brought up in conversation. I expected that to be the case with me and those that retired at the same time as I did. There were four of us that retired from the facility in Dec '14 and Jan '15. Three more retired during 2015 and one left to take a promotion.
For a while Chris and I were meeting with two other couples for dinner, but it has been several months ... and life goes on.
As a controller, I rarely did anything outside of work with other controllers. Our relationships were really centered around being air traffic controllers. I was pretty certain that when that ceased, so would our relationships.
For the most part, that has been true.
There are a few people that I think I will continue to stay in touch with, and a few others that I will probably be in touch with less often. It is a little sad, but it is just the way of things.
I can honestly say that I do not miss it at all. I am also glad that I was able to retire prior to a changing ATC structure. I'm not saying that it won't be a better way of doing business. The way the FAA has been managing it over the past few decades has been terrible. Staffing is at critical levels and will probably get worse before it gets better with so many controllers eligible or soon to be eligible to retire.
I do see things that make me think of different people and some of the conversations that we had and occasionally send a text message. But there really aren't too many instances when I think of work or the people there. I stopped by the tower once when I had to drop Hannah off at the airport, but that has been the only time.
Life goes on.
I'm enjoying my days -- especially when the weather is nice enough to get out and walk. I managed to walk 100 miles in January and will make another 100 miles in February, even with 2 fewer days! Some days are nice enough to sit out on the deck, and we've managed to cook out a couple of days. I'm motorcycle shopping online and hope to make a purchase before April. Baseball season is only weeks away and all will be right with the world.
Well ... I guess there is still the election year politics, strife in the Middle East and all kinds of other issues, but my world is pretty quiet.
This blog is my main form of interaction with others on most days ... and I am really okay with that!
Tomorrow will be a new day and we're going to take a weekend road trip. I'll report back later.
John <><
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