Confession

Let me start with a confession: I’ve tried blogging before (more than once, actually) and was never able to stick with it.  I struggled with what to write, wasn’t especially passionate about the things I did write and eventually I just stopped writing.  I had come to the conclusion that blogging wasn’t my style.  But over the last few months the urge has returned, this time with a focus: my love of aviation.  I’ve decided that it’s time to give blogging another shot.

Nice tail feathers!

So, Who Am I?

I’m your average aviation enthusiast who just started a new job at an airport.  In accounting.  Sorry, I know you were hoping for something more glamorous.  As it turns out, though, even accountants receive SIDA badges.  This means that I have access to most areas of the airport.  So far I’ve used this special access to enter the highly-secured, off-limits area of… the Human Resources department.  Yeah, I know.  But I’ve only been at the airport a week – give me some time to figure it all out! On Friday I got lost wandering through the ticketing area.  No, I’m not kidding.  In my defense, a large portion of the airport is under construction so I accidentally got funneled into a long tunnel surrounded by warning signs and “hard-hat-only” stickers which ended at the Southwest counters.  The cool part is a pretty Southwest bird was parked just outside a large window – so the adventure wasn’t a total waste of my time.

The view from the employee lot.

My Favorite Places… So Far

Even though I have yet to wander into any of the super-exciting secret areas that surely await me beyond the security lines (ha!), I have gotten to visit some pretty cool places.  Like the employee parking lot, for example.  The employee lot is located next to runway 10R/28L and right beside the Air Traffic Control Tower.  I actually enjoy getting to work early so I can sit in my car, sip coffee and watch the planes take off and land, which is one of my very favorite things to do.  I could do it all day long and never get tired of it.

View from the department window.

Another fun place to go is the top level of the parking garage.  From there I have a lovely birds-eye-view of both runways.  If the weather cooperates, I can also get an amazing view of the sunset, which silhouettes both the city and the tower.  Wandering around inside the administrative offices is always an adventure because I never know when the next corner will bring me to a window with a cute RJ or maybe a business jet peeking in at me.

But my very favorite place so far has to be the top conference room.  It overlooks the American Airlines/US Airways gates, as well as the runway.  I’ve discovered that it can be quite tricky to focus on meetings when there is such awesome scenery just outside!  As for the view from my desk… sadly all I can see are walls.  Bummer!  However, in a week or so we’ll be moving to new digs which, apparently, will require us to walk outside through the baggage area.  That ought to be interesting! I’m not holding out much hope for a nicer view from my new desk, but considering all the other nice views I get to see every day, I won’t complain.

Sunset over the city