Been working a lot lately... Off and on, really. Not as steady as I would like, but also not so predictable that I get bored. One day when I'm older, I'll be grateful for a 9-to-5... But it's nice working on call for now. Keeps life from becoming too routine.

Brought a basic kit with me to work the other day. The 20D+grip, 28mm f2.8, 17-35 f/2.8-4, and 80-200mm f/2.8L and a weenie tripod. Worked out pretty well, gave me some shots I haven't done before at the airport working out on the ramp. I was worried that security would try to confiscate my camera or card if they caught me so I had to hide my stuff.. Took off the grip and strap while I was shooting, to keep the camera profile smaller!

Got some nice airplane landing in sunset type pictures, and a few interesting night shots of the crews loading and unloading the planes. It took a minute to get the white balance correct! They must have five different light types at any given area..

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I moved to the Mississippi delta with my wife in July/August '09 (this year) but didn't stay long. We moved back to Memphis at the beginning of October '09 (this year as I write) and I started back working full time at the aviation company I'd been with since moving to Memphis from Cleveland in spring of '07. The plan in Cleveland was to complete my BA and move on, but the Lord was telling us otherwise. I'm about to start school at an aircraft mechanic school here in Memphis... I'm really excited about it and can't wait to get it done and see where the Lord takes us with it. Wycliffe, NAMB, who knows... I would love to get hired on with a mission organization flying teams overseas! My wife has a heart for missions and teaching... It's a good combination, the two of us.

One thing I've come to see about myself is a character improvement over the last three years. I hit some pretty low places and felt like I'd never regain what was lost. Not in a depressed way, just in a realistic "My actions can ultimately hurt people, even myself" kind of way. It's been a mind-growing trip.
It's funny how things can impact a person's life. I was tightening my chemical respirator before climbing into an aircraft fuel tank yesterday and my heart and chest suddenly clenched in a familiar tightness that I'd felt a few times in life at deep emotional crossroads events, and one came to mind very vividly. Just a flash of a second, a moment in passing, not even worth remembering. But it struck me heavily and was difficult to push away as I climbed up into the tank.

So here I am tonight in November 2009, Thanksgiving week. Unquestionably changed, radically moved, ready to do more. Can't wait to see where we go next