Just talked with Dr. D., and her B-777 was pushing back at ORD for LHR.

She is on her way to Bangalore, India via London Heathrow. We talked until push-back time a few minutes ago. She will arrive in Bangalore around 10 pm EST tomorrow (8:30 am Sunday in Bangalore). India is GMT+5:30 on the time conversion. This is an eleven-day business trip for her.

She just got over her jet-lag from her trip to Warsaw last week. She left SC at 6:15 this morning for Chicago, and worked in her Chicago office all day. I don't know how she does it.

The day after she returns from India, she travels to the west coast between 12/20 and 12/24. Then we pack on 12/25 and 12/26. We move on 12/27. That gives us four days to unpack before she is off to Moscow for two wonderful winter weeks working there.

Nick-Nick and I will miss her. She is our best buddy.


Bangalore is lower center at about 12-degrees N

That schedule is WAY worse than mine used to be.

Dr. D is an industrial psychologist (PhD Ga Tech). She is a partner in a Chicago consulting firm. This particular set of trips is contracted with an international Fortune-100 company for test design and validation for executive selection criteria. Her big clients in the US include your home state, where she works with the state DOT in an old, old federal decent-decree lawsuit (Johnny Reynolds, et al, V. Alabama).

She is very kind to invite me to use some of her millions of FF miles to accompany her on these trips. "Been there, done that," I tell her (in jest). Actually, she has a couple of spring and summer trips on which I might just join her. One is to my old stomping grounds in SE Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam).

Another winter meeting of her's might overlap an aviation training conference one of my magazines wants me to cover. That would be in Singapore during the week of the Singapore Air Show (my favorite of the big three: 1. Singapore Air Show; 2. Paris Air Show and; 3. Farnborough Air Show).

How are things in LA? I followed your posts after Katrina. That gave me a good idea what my sister was going through at Point Clear. Her fire-destroyed home (April 2005 .. un-vented gas logs) was bad enough for us, but at least Katrina spared her re-build.

Meanwhile, I've got to get this 100 year-old Prairie Cottage ready for move-in on the 27th!

Mac


The "Prairie Cottage" I am restoring.

it has great curb appeal. Is it in Greenville?

Dr. D must be permanently tired and jet lagged. I don't know if you have ever revisited SE Asia, but I'd be curious to hear your impressions of it if you return.

An interesting novel, recommended to me by a Vietnam vet, and a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002Z0HKQ/qid=1134185484/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-2546396-9368153?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

In fact, a good friend of her's grew up in "our new" house. She, Dr D, used to spend the night-over there in the 60s. It has changed a lot, and it is bleeding us to death just getting ready to move in. 'Course, having to pay a second painter to re-do the interior, after paying the first, is not good.

I did not realize Nelson Demille was a Viet Vet. Dr D has read several of his works and recommended them to me. Two sit on my bedside table: both might hit way too close to home.

Up Country is the one I need to read. I think I am finally over those nightmares of my missions near there (the Trail in Laos). Those were bad enough. My only real up-country missions were far northwest of Hanoi, and almost into (to the border of, by my Inertial Navigation System) China. That got me some good pics of Dien Bien Phu.

The Demille book I do not need to read, from what I know about it, is Charm School. That book trades on all that was way too well known among the un-armed crypto missions in and around Vietnam. The caveat was in my group .. get shot down and live, visit the USSR.

Back to the Prairie Cottage. You got to break some eggs before you make an omelet. Today, after the Pella-fellas ripped another window out.

It looks very pleasant.

Like some one could write a book, create great works of art there