I listen for returning feet, and voices at the door.

I know, I know, I suck at this blogging thing lately. I really do. Sorry, but sometimes there's not a lot to report sometimes, just work. I think however, that after two weeks I could probably say something. I have made a couple of non-work related travel trips in the past few weeks, so I share them with you now.

The last weekend in April, I went to Albuquerque, NM to see my college roommate Tim, whom I lived with for 3 years in college. He's getting married over Memorial Day weekend, and in April I wasn't sure of my schedule for May and therefore wasn't sure if my schedule would allow me to attend. (I now know that it does, so this trip turned out to be a little bonus.) Anyway, he lives down there in a house that he and his soon to be wife Wendy live in. They also have quite a number of animals as well. There's the two cats Tweak and Lucy, (though Lucy is a very bitchy and FAT cat that I renamed Jabba the Hut) and two dogs, Max and Mia. I got there on Friday night, and at that point we just hung out. On Saturday, we went and took a tour of the place where Tim works, Eclipse Aviation. Eclipse is a very light jet manufacturer (Very light jets: think of a small 5 person airplane like the ones that I used to fly only with jet engines instead of a propeller.) and it is scheduled to deliver its first aircraft to its first costumer here in the next few months. I got to see the whole operation and see how the airplanes are put together from start to finish. Go to www.eclipseaviation.com to see the airplane if you're interested.

We then picked up Wendy, and went to "the" Mexican place in Albuquerque. It was very good to say the least. After that, we went up to the Sandia Crest Mountains, which are on the east side of town. They have a road, so you can drive right to the top. Beautiful view of Albuquerque. Apparently, I was there on one of the nicest weekends that they've had so far. Not to hot, not too cold. I left on the first flight on Sunday morning, which was at 10:30. This left Tim plenty of time to go back to his place to watch NASCAR, of which he is a huge fan. I would be posting pictures with this post, however, Tim has yet to email them to me, since he's in Virgina right now with his Best Man getting drunk and watching a NASCAR race live.

Another topic that could be brought up is my impending quarter life crisis. Yes, in less than 20 days I turn 25. Holy crap. Apparently, having a quarter life crisis is now a semi-recognized psychological condition. It's symptoms include, but are not limited to:
* feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at his/her academic/intellectual level (This is pretty well taken care of)
* frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career (No frustration with any of those)
* confusion of identity (I'm Ty. A midwestern boy at heart living in SLC.)
* insecurity regarding the near future (Unless the airline goes under, I'd say the future's going well)
* insecurity regarding present accomplishments (Uhhh, it's been a pretty good year for me)
* re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships (My friends are still my friends)
* disappointment with one's job (I fly for a living, and travel for free.)
* nostalgia for university or college life (This I do have.)
* tendency to hold stronger opinions (I've always been quietly opinionated)
* boredom with social interactions (I thrive on them, in fact, I need more of them)
* financially-rooted stress (I'm in debt up to my eyeballs, but staying afloat)
* loneliness (Only cause I'm in SLC)
* desire to have children (Someday, but not now.)
* a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you (I'm doing quite well, thank you)

I'd say that I'm doing quite well as far as all this goes. I'd still like a new car to go along with my crisis though;)

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
I'll stand on the bow, feel the waves come crashing
Come crashing down, down, down, on me

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in
But don't you understand
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams, I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path, and up this cobbled lane
I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again
And you say, just be here now
Forget about the past, your mask is wearing thin
Just let me throw one more dice
I know that I can win
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I’ll keep checking the horizon
And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call
It's gonna happen soon, soon, soon
It's just that times are lean

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart, let the light shine in
Don't you understand
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

On a clear day, I can see, see a very long way
On that clear day, I can see, see a very long way.