ARS Airlines

As many of you know, ARS now owns a plane. It's a Cirrus SR-22 Generation 3. It's a fairly typical single prop 4 seater, but it has all the state-of-the-are bells and whistles, including its own parachute. Since I had only been in small private planes a couple of times in my life before this, I was a bit apprehensive about it the first couple of flights. Now that I've gotten used to the in's and out's of it, I have to say it is really the way to fly. The time savings we gain by using it are dramatic. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was able to fly to a small rural town in Alabama, do my work, fly back, and be back at the office by 5. That same trip would have required an overnight stay if I was flying commercial and driving. Our client's seem to think it is fairly impressive, so I don't mind bragging about it too much.

I'll still be getting to the vast majority of my jobs by driving in the Jeep, but for those few occasions a month were I need the plane, it is certainly hard to beat.

Here's a photo I took of it outside our hangar at RDU one morning.

Atlanta ... for work

I was in Atlanta for a business meeting yesterday. Though I didn't get to sight-see or shop, I did get to experience riding on the MARTA. I was rather impressed. I flew into the Airport and then immediatly hopped on my north bound train for Sandy Springs. I was fortunate that I never had to change trains (so I can't speak on the ease of this transition), but the leisure of not fighting traffic or getting lost in Atlanta was relaxing. I also tried to "blend in with the locals" by jamming on my IPod during my commute.
I know there are many spectics for the light-rail system in the Triangle (my lovely husband being one of them). But after experiencing what Atlanta had to offer, I feel like there may be a place for a light rail system in our own Urban/Suburban sprawl. Atlanta is the ultimate example of Southern sprawl and it seems to work for them. I will have to take a closer look at what the TTA proposal looked like. Also, I would be interested to know what the average Atlanta-ite thinks of their transportation system. Is it as convenient for someone who lives and works in the City as it was for an outsider? Would a light rail system effect me - good or bad - in my suburban home in Cary? Would I be able to use it to commute to my job in Morrisville? I hate my drive to and from work. It is extremely short milage-wise but it takes me FOREVER. If I could jam mindlessly on my IPod for those miles - it would probably make me a much more pleasant person.
It is something that I never put a lot of thought into, b/c it never came to a reality. But now I am curious.

Ski clothes are expensive!

Ashley was right about spending the difference on clothes. Both of us were ill-equipped to do any kind of outdoor activities in Wyoming (planned: downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling), so we had to visit basically all of our local outfitters. Since low country North Carolina in March doesn't look much like winter, we were forced to deal with picking from the bottom of the barrel everywhere we went. Although this meant we were typically rewarded with "clearance" pricing, it still meant paying $200 for a $300 jacket that no one else wanted. We searched hard, got lucky in a couple stores, and came away with everything we needed. That being said, we spent almost exactly as much on the clothes as we spent on the tickets! Oh well. At least we will have all the ski stuff we need for the next several years.

We can't wait for this trip. It will be a much needed break from the real world, although I'm sure I'll be having to deal with emails and phone calls some of the time. It will be nice to actually see some snow as well. (No...that day I spent in 21" worth of the stuff in Detroit doesn't count...that was horrible).

Vacation booked

The tickets have been purchased. We bought them last night. Surprisingly cheap too!
We will be headed out to Jackson, WY on Wed. March 26th and coming back that Sunday. This is the longest we have been out there in a while. It should be fun. Hopefully the in-laws won't get too tired of us sleeping on their couch. Now I better go shopping. The winter in NC is a little different than the winter in WY. Glad those tickets were cheap, b/c I am about to spend the difference on clothes!

Past few weeks

The past few weeks have been a blur. Sean and I (as we have said many times before) have been working crazy hours. We are looking forward to March when we plan to take a vacation out to Jackson Hole. There is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!
Sean had a blast at his track event. On Saturday they were blessed with some of the best weather that they have ever had. I headed home to Burlington for a little R&R. Mom and Dad have redone the house over the past few months. For those of you who grew up with me, you probably wouldn't even recognize it. The final piece was granite counter tops - so I had to go see them and give my approval :). It was a very relaxing time - good food and good company.
Since things have been so busy, Sean and I had failed to plan anything for Valentine's day. We both ended up being in town (that was undetermined as of Tuesday) and his co-worker gave us his hockey tickets. It was a different but great way to spend V-day. Eating bbq sandwiches, drinking beer and cheering on "our" Hurricanes to a victory! It was exactly what we needed.
Also last Saturday we went to dinner with John, Kim and Aidan. It is always good to see them and I swear that child is going like a weed. He just learned to crawl (which Aunt Ashley was letting him do on the table at dinner), which very amusing. He's also very ticklish so we had a good time with that piece of information. It is really cool to see your friends be parents. I still don't feel like we are grown up enough to be having kids - but we are :).
This Friday we are headed to Chapel Hill to see the Will Ferrell Comedy Tour. I got Sean tickets for the show for Christmas. That should be a hoot. Preston is actually flying into town for that show too, so we will get to spend an evening with him. He flies out the next day to San Diego for a conference and will get to spend time with his lady (Lauren).
Well that's all I have for now. Have a lovely Tuesday evening!

Almost here...

First track event of the season is this weekend and I'm so excited I can't stand it. To give you an example, I just drove my race car to a do-it-yourself carwash at 9:00 at night in 40 degree weather just to make it a little "prettier" for the track. There are going to be several of the big dogs in BMW racing on track with us this weekend, so I plan on trying to follow those guys around a little bit for some education. I'm a little nervous about the Time Trial competition, and I know I'll be much more nervous when I actually pull onto grid, but it should be a blast. Hopefully the changes I made to the car over the last couple of months steer me in the right direction.

Wish me luck!!!!!!!!

Laying off on a Friday ...

Today my company layed off about 1/3 of the staff. They were all support people, which made them the "easiest" to get rid of - if that can even be a statement. Just really puts a damper on this already gloom day. I know they will all land on their feet - I did - twice. Yet it is still hard to see them all go. Even harder to feel secure when something like that happens by surprise. I guess this is a "benefit" of having a corporate office.
Personally, this will all just add to my stress and work load, but I am trying to be optimistic. Ironically, we just hired a new guy (go figure) who starts on Monday, so we will see how that goes. As one of my friends joked, maybe this new guy just needs that much room.

Here's to change, right?!?