Back to work

You remember that let down feeling after company leaves?? Well, it's worse when you are living alone overseas. My friend Ron was here yesterday and we really made a day of it. I took a taxi up to the Shangri-La and enjoyed their amazing breakfast buffet. I met another crew member from his Continental plane that is an SDA and lives in New Jersey. That was very cool. We took the time and I got permission with the help of my support staff to go to my airplane at the Delhi airport and take a tour. There were a few rupees that changed hands to keep everybody happy but this is the first time that I have been able to take someone to see the plane. Security is so tight and it's such an operation to go there that I don't try this often. After the airport and airplane tour we made our way down to my city, Gurgaon, and went out to a nice TGI Fridays that they have there. Then on down to my apartment, where we could both get a nap. Poor Ron comes over here and tries to stay on his West Coast USA time schedule so he stays awake all night and tries to sleep in the daytime. Now that I live in Delhi, I am always trying to get him to do something entertaining while here. I even got him to go with me to my small group from the Sunday church that meets on Tuesday night. He had positive things to say about that after we were done and he got to see a very international Christian group last night. After the meeting I went in his taxi back to Delhi to take him home and then back to my place. By the time I got home last night I was really tired of riding around in a taxi all day long. These are not big, comfortable SUV's or anything so it's quite a ride sometimes.

I have had several families or people approach me at the airport in my flying uniform and ask me how I like India. I am always positive and tell them that I really like the nice people and the beautiful countryside and bright colors. I like the food and then I tell them that the roads are awful and they look at me like I must be nuts or something. I guess if this is all you have ever had, you cannot understand an Interstate that you can travel at 70-75 MPH on for hours at a time without dodging cattle, people, scooters, bumps, large road repair projects, etc. My friends from the US Embassy just got back from their European vacation and said the part they enjoyed the MOST was just taking the rental car on the open highway and driving without fear of car destruction by many different processes. I can't wait to see Karen's reaction when we take a taxi into Delhi and experience their wonderful roads and traffic. I am going to have to put her in handcuffs so that the taxi driver lives to see another day - ha!!

I flew on Monday and then tagged around all day yesterday with my uniform in the trunk in a a suitcase in case the cell phone rang but we got away with a whole day off and now today I am also able to be at home and relax. Nice.

Our aviation CEO is in Canada or America and our chief pilot is in London via Abu Dhabai and Beirut so we had a couple of issues that needed their attention and I just had to deal with it. Sometimes, international flying is just an adventure, that's all you can say.

Here's a pic of our day. Chat soon. Dan