Truly incredible. My sister graduated from nursing school yesterday. An RN. Lots of people do it, sure. But very few do it while having not one – but TWO kids, one who is hell on wheels, the other with a small heart defect, as well as losing a grandmother in the process. I told her that what she did could NOT be done, and I was serious. Just absolutely amazing.

Worked on the flying club airplane this weekend. Specifically, the club Cessna 172. It’s been in a hangar getting new paint, new glass, and a new interior (all to the tune of about $14,000) so it will be like a new airplane really nice.

As the maintenance officer, I carry a lot of daily responsibility for the club – fielding questions about the planes, handling communication about fixes and priorities to our mechanic, authorizing purchases, etc. This was a whole different ballgame. The organization required to get a project this big done by effectively two guys is massive. This weekend was the end – with one exception.

The plane was completely done, including the super-cool new vent canjs and sun visors. It was completely reassembled and cleaned up. We rolled it out to fire it up and take it around for a test flight. No dice. battery dead. After getting jump starts, trickle charging the battery, and even getting it running for 15 minutes – we couldn’t get tthe battery to hold a charge. Needed a new one. How much? For what is roughly equivalent to a slightly-more-powerful car battery? How about $225? For a BATTERY. Good GOD.

So now it’s Tuesday to get it running again.

One of the Sales team leaders just came in to discuss something (to get my opinion), and upon leaving said “Man – we are so lucky to have you here”. So much (for me, anyway) is about the appreciation you get from helping people on a daily basis. It’s not about power, or money, or title. It’s about respect and making a difference.

Maybe it’s a LITTLE bit about money.

I just stood in my hallway and listened to my 7.5 year old (the .5 is CRUCIAL when you are 7) have a conversation with Sierra – one of her friends from school. All at once I was amused, amazed, and sad. She sounded SO grown up, SO intelligent, and SO political. Yes – political. She was talking about how “she was talking to X, and they talked to Y, and then Z came and asked me what I thought about Q, and them X wanted an apology for something I did 2 weeks ago, and like stood there for like, 10 seconds waiting for an answer, and I was like….”

Dear LORD. In August she will be 8, which doesn’t seem old – but look at it this way: she’s halfway to 16. SIXTEEN.

I need to calm down now.

I have decided to embark upon one of the more dangerous journeys one can set out upon: the remodeling of my kitchen. ALREADY I am overwhelmed with the options, investigation required, and potential expense involved. There are cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring – to say nothing of actually redesigning the layout of a kitchen designed and built in 1956.

God help me. Thankfully, the best deigner in the UNIVERSE is helping with it (Brian Oslin of Huntington Beach, Ca), and since I routinely WHIP his ass at golf, he feels he owes it to me. Brian designs everything from simple kitchens for shmoes like me, to multi-bazillion dollar homes for famous stars. That’s what’s cool about Brian – he’s a money whore, so he’ll do it for anyone.

Must go back to work now, so I can make enough money to someday, maybe, pay for this project.