So yeah. I don’t really have anything much to say lately.

I’ve been so stressed out lately from all the work I’ve been doing that I think I’m getting more gray hair. Lovely.

Side note: I got a hair cut today.

Oh yeah. And I traded my bicycle for a compaq iPaq, which I then turned around and sold on ebay. So basically I sold my bike on ebay, but in a roundabout way that involved way less shipping troubles.

I’ll write more later when I’ve got more free time.

Well, last night we went flying again…

Shane, Jarred, Zach and I all flew down to Dallas and circled the downtown area from about 1000 feet. I got a couple of photos and some video with my camera but it’s too dark to really make out much in the pictures. It was really cool, but I wish we could go during the daytime so we could actually see stuff on the ground.

After we got bored of flying around, we landed at the Addison airport, got a courtesy car and went out to eat at the local Two Rows Restaurant.

Shane tried to be friendly to the (ugly) waitress and asked her if she wanted to go flying with him sometime. She said she was too scared but I bet she was just using her fear of flying as an excuse or something. At any rate, it was kinda funny. She couldn’t figure out why we had flown to Addison when we could have just driven for a fraction of the cost since it’s only an hour away. Hah. Silly people. Because flying is more fun!

Shane decided he wanted to sit in the back of the plane on the flight home so I got stuck at the controls again, which was nice.
It took me a couple minutes to get the feel of the plane again (hey I’ve only flown once before) but after that it was smooth sailing. Jarred sat in the co-pilot seat and helped navigate and keep track of other airplanes and the radio. Every now and then he’d give me a tip on what to do next, and when we got back to Sherman, we split the landing process about 50/50 since it was kind of windy and I’m still not that experienced.

Other than that, it was a fairly un-eventful night. I got home at around 12:30 (I was scared I wouldn’t get back till 2:00 or something). When I woke up at 7:00 this morning I was kind of tired but a cup of coffee and some breakfast perked me up.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more exciting (or at least they’re exciting to me) adventures!!

I bought fireworks.

I shot fireworks.

I ate food.

I hung out with friends.

And it was good.

yup.

Well, I’m pleased to let you know that I have yet another exciting adventure to tell you about.

I have never flown in a small plane, but my entire life I have always wanted to be a pilot. I dabbled some in flight sims as a child but my interest faded once I got a job in the computer industry at the ripe old age of 13.

However…

Last night Shane and Jarred, two of my pilot friends, informed me that they were going to make flight to Oklahoma City and back.

No real reason whatsoever. They just wanted to fly somewhere! Of course, I was all for it, and about an hour and a half later we were all sitting at a TGIF restaurant in Oklahoma City at midnight. Crazy, huh?

We just went to Oklahoma City, ate at a plain ol’ restaurant, and flew back.

Such is the life of pilots, I suppose.

At any rate, they let me fly the plane the entire trip back to Texas. Yup. I taxied the plane out to the runway and took off. After climbing to about 4500 feet, I leveled off and maintained the appropriate heading according to the GPS. (Keep in mind that this was all at night so I had to fly almost entirely by the instruments in the cockpit). About half way to Sherman, we decided to make a pit stop at some little rinky dink airstrip in Oklahoma (I don’t even remember the town), so I landed the plane there. After we were finished there, I took off again and flew to Sherman, where I landed at the Grayson County airport. Of course, by then it was like 3:00 AM. Good thing I’m a night owl.

I took some pictures of the adventure and posted them on my photo blog.

http://tommychapin.blogspot.com

Now I just need to fly in the day time. Maybe I’ll even get some video of it or something.

I held my breath in the swimming pool the other day for a total of exactly 2 minutes and 33 seconds.

For me, the key is to get as much oxygen in my blood stream as possible beforehand. Don’t “hyperventilate” (breathe in and out really fast), as that actually keeps your body from absorbing the oxygen. Instead, take deep, relaxed breaths and hold it in your lungs for a few seconds so your lungs absorb the oxygen. Let it out and repeat the process for about a minute.

When you’re ready to hold your breath, pull as much into your lungs as possible and hold it there. Don’t try to fill your mouth and throat up with air because that just makes it more difficult to relax. Try to lock your throat and just keep the all the air in your lungs.

Set a goal in seconds, relax, and count. After your body has used up most of the oxygen, your breathing reflexes will start to kick in and a lot of people make the mistake of exhaling and inhaling the air from their lungs to their mouth and back and forth. Resist this impulse and force your body to relax. This will slow your heart down so you don’t need as much oxygen.

*Keep your throat locked and keep the air in your lungs.*

Keep counting until you meet your goal.

Once you have met your goal, come up relaxed and take a deep, relaxed breath of air. Don’t start hyperventilating! Remember hyperventilating prevents you from absorbing the oxygen.

I don’t have much to write today, besides the fact that I am currently dressed up in my best clothes. Silky black dress pants, a blue dress shirt, and of course, the obligatory black dress shoes and black leather belt.

I have to leave the office early at 4:30 so that I can go to my girlfriend’s cousin’s wedding. Yay.

I hate weddings almost as much as I hate funerals.