History in the Making

Pending no unforeseen issues and weather that behaves, the first Boeing 787 airplane will take to the skies on Tuesday morning, December 15, 2009, at 10:00 PST. You can watch the historic first flight from www.newairplane.com with live coverage starting 24 hours prior to takeoff. For up-to-the minute information you can follow the following aviation nerds reporters as they report live from Paine field in Everett, Washington.

FlightBlogger

Future Of Flight

And if you want to see a great picture of the nose off the ground from Saturday's taxi tests, click here.

Stressed but Blessed

So lately I feel like I've been at my wits end. I've missed my family and friends more lately than any time since I moved away. It's weird to me that all of these feelings would hit 2 years later, but it's true. I know there is a reason I am here, but some days I just want to move home and live with mom and dad. I'm not sure what I'd do, but I'd figure something out. Except I know that's neither realistic nor what God has planned for me right now so here I am. So, what I try to do when I get discouraged and stressed is think on what I have that others don't. So, in an attempt to be optimistic (when I really just want to throw the biggest pity party for one on the East coast) here are some things I'm thankful for:

1. My salvation, because honestly that's all I need.
2. Socks that mostly don't have holes in them.
3. Verizon, email, and Facebook (even though sometimes Facebook annoys me.) All of these things keep me so very connected to those I love and helps with the loneliness.
4. A roof over my head and blankets on my bed. So many do not have these luxuries, even here in our own country.
5. Food in my pantry and refrigerator. Even though most of the time it's not what I'm craving, it is there and I can eat it to sustain myself.
6. People who love me. And who tolerate me calling them daily or ranting when I just feel down about life. Or who make fun of me for being terrified of shots, but being willing to do whatever it takes to help me through that. Who just plain love me for me and not for whom others expect me to be.
7. The ability to buy a plane ticket to fly half way around the world to see one of my dearest friends.
8. A job. Even though 9 days out of 10 I am so stressed out that I just want to walk away, I know I am blessed to have this opportunity and that I am learning more and growing more in my abilities daily. Even when I feel like I've lost every single brain cell that connects what little I do know to the other little I know.
9. Christmas china. I love that for 1 month out of the year I get to pull it out of storage and feel like I'm dining like a princess. Even if I'm dining on Easy Mac or Captain Crunch Christmas Crunch.

So there you go. Just a few little things I think about that I can focus on when I start pity-partying like it's 1999.

Anti-Twilight

I don't read the books. I don't watch the movies. And I refuse to be a part of this cult following. I also don't do Harry Potter. Don't ask me why, but anything that seemingly was geared toward a younger audience and has somehow captivated people of all ages just seems weird to me. You can leave me comments that say how great they both are, but you will not change my mind.

P.S. I feel the same way about Lord of the Rings. I saw the first two movies because I was dating someone who loved them. The highlight of that relationship ending (other than it wasn't meant to be) was that I was not forced to sit through the third movie. 6 hours of my life I will never get back. UGH.