The bug that just keeps biting.

This last weekend I went on a little trip with a friend who has a 1/4 share in a plane. We flew on a pretty long cross country flight (for a small plane) from Atlanta to Mobile. I sat in the right seat and helped him navigate and work the radios. I even got some stick time at the controls. This was the first time I've been at the yoke of a plane in quite some time. Almost five years as a matter of fact. The trip didn't go so well. We had problems with weather, headwinds both ways, and on the way home we were aloft for a whole ten minutes before we had to land at an airport in the middle of nowhere because of a faulty gauge. It would've been cheaper and faster to drive.

The whole trip pretty much freaked L out. I took me some time to build her confidence in my flying skills when I was training back in the day. She has a minor issue with heights. It had been so long since we had been up in a small plane together that she was white knuckled for a good portion of the trip. Especially when we had the mechanical problem. It took some coaxing to get her to hop back into the plane after a mechanic looked at it and determined that all was OK. After we landed back in Georgia, she said that she would never get into a small plane again. This was a blow to me. I love flying and I'll never be able to give it up as long as I'm able to do it. I want her to be able to enjoy trips in aircraft as much as me. And while I know she'll never love it as much as I, it doesn't do me much good to be buzzing around the sky if I can't take my favorite passenger with me. Driving home from the airport, I explained how I would have done many things different if I was the one in charge of the plane. I quelled many of her concerns about the safety of small planes and also made here realize that, at no point, would I have let the guy we went with do anything that would've jeopardized our safety. As a matter of fact, I did exercise my will and prevent him from taking off in marginal weather. By the time we got home she was breathing easy again and told me that I always make her feel safe.

Disaster averted.

Despite the trips many problems, I've been hit (hard) by the flying bug again. I've actually been avoiding exercising my pilot privileges for the past few years intentionally. This is because it's an expensive lifestyle and our financial situation demanded that I avoid it. Now that we're getting back on top of things, I find that my eyes turn skyward more and more. Our little trip has spiked my need-to-fly-ometer. I've been doing a lot of research on aircraft that are within my financial grasp. I even talked a the lady at our credit union about financing options for one of these. Ultimately, I've decided to wait until I can afford to build my own plane which involves buying this kit outright. In the mean time, I'm going to gradually get my skills built back up through rental. It's high time I became a plane geek again and L has given me the green light to do so.

I do love that woman. Without her support I never would've earned my license. The thought of flying without her makes it lose some of it's luster. I'm lucky she's willing to give it another shot.

Confession.

I'm gay.

So I'm rummaging through ebay looking for some fabric for the interior panels of my bus. As I'm clicking away and searching for that perfect pattern or color it hits me. I'm actually enjoying shopping for fabric. No self respecting hetero male would ever admit to doing this sort of thing, let alone enjoying it. Then it got me to thinking. What else do I do that's not typical male behavior?

I...
go shopping for clothes with my wife.
have a good eye for color.
rarely watch sports.
can cook.
have seen (and enjoyed) two seasons of Project Runway.
love to listen to Elton John.
am not afraid to hug another man.

Hmmm...I'm guessing that this is what it feels like to be "In the closet." With the exception that I find men physically repulsive that is.

Honestly ladies, I don't understand why you're all not lesbians. Men are just nasty.

Answers of the week.

Jane asks...
Have you and "Ms. Glenn" given any more consideration to having a baby? I think you should post a picture of yourself on your blog!

Ahhh the baby question. I guess I kinda left that one wide open the last time I talked about it. Well Jane, L and I talk about the baby issue at least once per week. We're officially still on the fence about the whole thing. We can't commit to having one and we can't say that we're definitely not going to. It's not that I never wanted one, on the contrary, I think I would be a great dad (better than my father and my stepfather.) The problem is all the intangibles. A big part of the issue for me is that many of the kids from my side of the family (all were great and wholesome at one point) got completely screwed up along the way. They're all still good people down deep but it's been mostly outside influence (that which parents have little control over) that FUBARed them. So we still consider it but something is keeping us from pulling the trigger.

I posted a picture of myself here a couple weeks ago. I don't see any pics of you on your blog.

Kel asks...
It's not self-absorbed to ask what your readers would like to read about. I was going to ask if your wife knows about your blog...I guess it would be interesting to know more about your relationship.

No she doesn't Kel. I haven't told her because this is my outlet. I'd rather not edit myself thinking that she's reading it. I'm sure that someday she will find out about it and it scares me a little. I love her but there are some things that you want to say that you would never tell your spouse. I can't think of anything off hand but you've seen the movies where the woman asks the man. "Does this make me look fat?" True or not, there is only one answer to that question. this is my outlet to just blurt out things the pop into my head.

Anything specific you would find interesting to know about my relationship with L?

Your mommy can't help you.

I'm not normally into the whole celeb worship thing. Maybe it's because I grew up in LA or maybe it's because I know that 99% of them are completely out of touch with reality (kinda like politicians). I normally couldn't care less what the hell a celeb had for lunch or who is dating who but it tickles me to death that Paris went back to jail. The spoiled little bitch needs to stew in her own juices for a while.

This weeks question.

Is there anything you would like to know about me or get further into?

Yea I know it's a pathetic self absorbed question of the week but I keep forgetting what the hell I was going to write about when finally get around to the blog.

They say the first thing to go is your memory...I can't remember what the second thing was.

The little voice in my head.

Him:
Hello Glenn. I'm the little voice in your head. You know me. I'm the one who tells you that you're about to do something stupid or berates you for not fixing the toilet and makes you feel guilty for being lazy in general.

Me:
Um, why do you only speak up when I can't do the things you make me feel guilty about?

Him:
Well, it's pretty simple really. You have to be really quiet to hear me.

Me:
How quiet? I don't seem to be having any trouble hearing you now.

Him:
Well you can't hear me over the TV, when you're talking to other people, or distracted in general.

Me:
So basically I can only hear you when I'm perfectly still?

Him:
Yep.

Me:
Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass you are?

Him:
What do you mean? I help you get things done. I keep you out of trouble.

Me:
Yea that might work if I could hear your bullshit when I really needed it. Not when I'm at work or laying in bed at three AM. Do me a favor will ya? Either speak up when I need you or shut the fuck up all together.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Can't you just hear the screeching "waa-a-waa-a-waa" from the movie as Clint stares down Lee Van Cleef? That's not really what this post is about but every time I think of that movie I hear that little blurb in my head.

A quick little reflection of where I stand in my life.

The Good:

I've made good strides in my battle against my lazy DNA. I have a car I built as proof.
I just crossed a huge milestone in my marriage and I can say that another ten years seems quite doable.
I'm enjoying where I live more and more every day.
I'm making more local friends and maintaining the relationships I have better than I used to.

The Bad:

I don't like my job yet I seem to be just content enough to live with it.
My sleep (as a result of my job) affects my entire life outside work. This can't be healthy.
Speaking of health, I need to quit smoking...again.
Although I've progressed some in being more motivated, there is still room for improvement. I still haven't managed to fix the running toilet in my master bath and I bought the part about two weeks ago.

The Ugly:

I need to make more of an effort on keeping myself up.
Time to dust off my Gym membership because I'm getting too soft.
Go to the doctor/dentist.
Shave more than once per week.
Get my hair cut more often.
Maintain my "manscaping" better. Stuff like trim goatee, toenails, and other...areas... that need attention.
All of "The Ugly" things are simple and can also be those things that make you less desirable to your mate if you let it go too long/often.