During the Olympics in Vancouver this last February, the city came alive with a spirit of joy and fellowship, the likes of which I had never seen before. The streets in the center of the city were barricaded and pedestrians were free to mill about as they wished. I only managed to get right downtown once during the games, I like many, had no tickets to the venues but went down to just soak up the ambiance and a few suds. I went on the SkyTrain, the local rapid transit, with my brother-in-law. Once downtown we wandered a bit, stopped for a bite to eat and then headed over to the "Zip Line".
The Zip Line is a pair of cables stretched across an open park area, attached to a very high scaffolding on one side and a lower one on the the other side about 300 meters away. The objective is to hook yourself to one or the other of the cables with pulley and assume your mass, the pulley, the cable, gravity and the lower scaffold all align perfectly and you don't become a splatter at the base of the higher scaffold for jumping off it.
It is quite safe, and in spite of spending hours at altitude and even having taken a rock climbing course at the University, it was a little difficult to just walk off the edge of the tower.
Of course the other aspect was that there was normally about a 3-4 hour line up for this free activity, I wouldn't have waited and in fact due to the Bro-in-law having been High School buddies with the fellow managing the event, we got the "Rock Star" treatment: In the back door, waiver signed as two assistants help select and install the harness and helmut on each of us and then subtly insert us in the line at the base of the tower.
It was a gaaaaassssssss,
The other aspect of the Olympics was that they instituted a surcharge at the airport for the SkyTrain, a $5 surcharge, only if you boarded the transit at the first 3 stops nearest the Terminal building.
My company office is at the second stop and I had discovered it you purchased a book of tickets you didn't incur the surcharge, in fact the books give a discount over the regular fair.
The surcharge annoyed me and I made a point of telling everyone about the ticket books.
One evening, having been in the office to check for mail on a return trip from visiting Balloon Girl, I watched a fellow wearing the Olympic garb, vest, bandanna and hat approach the automated ticket kiosk for the SkyTrain. He looked at it and looked at it again. I asked "Are you buying ticket?" He kind of ignored me but not quite and I asked again. His reply was "Yes?" as if to ask why I was asking. I went into my spiel about how I thought it was a terrible idea to impose a surcharge and that it was going to cost him an extra $5 just to use the transit from the airport. He nodded and I then drug out my book of tickets and showed the price to him and said if he wished he could have one for what it cost me. He reached into his pocket and handed me 2 twonies ($4, the about the price of the tickets). We chatted a bit then he noticed my crew bag and asked what I did, I replied I was a pilot for XXX XXXXXXX and he nodded. I asked if he was a colleague, (seems that is the code around here to see if you also work for XXX XXXXXXXX). He replied in the affirmative and we chatted a bit more. After we were on the transit a while I asked where he was going and he said "for dinner with the boss, and and the money guys". I said "Huh?" and he smiled and said "YYY YYYYY (The president of the company) and the folks from ZZZZZZZZZZ ( a multinational finance and leasing corporation with large manufacturing interests), He re-introduced himself as HHHHHHHH ( a name I immediately recognized) the Executive VP of Human Resources.
I told him to give my regards to the gentlemen but due to my less than natty attire I would have to decline any invitations for dinner that night, he chuckled.
As we further chatted it was determined we would both be going to Sydney Australia on the same flight later in the month, he riding and me flying. So we agreed to meet and chat some more on the flight.
Unfortunately, that was the first flight I was scheduled for after my concussion, so I was unable to attend. We had exchanged business cards so as a courtesy and not really expecting a reply from an Executive VP on a social matter of this sort, I emailed him that I would be unable to work that flight due to the concussion suffered when playing hockey. His reply was long and sincere, I was pleased.
Now as I write, I have spent most of the day the last three days on the phone to Employee services trying to get out of the mess my file appears to be in. Long story short, no longer being paid as my extended sick pay is paid not by the company but by the insurance company and they don't seem to be able or willing to talk to each other and I apparently still need more forms filled out to get paid.
I thought I had gotten them all filled in weeks ago, but apparently not and instead of asking me for them the policy is to wait until I raise a fuss then tell me it's my fault for not completing the "Easter egg hunt, but we're not going to tell how many eggs there are or which park we hid them in" task.
I think I will be sending one more email today.
Take Care
AJ
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Fatigue is tiring
I work night shift mostly, it seems that one should be able to sleep when you are tired but that doesn't seem to work for me.
My job is that of a long haul airline pilot. I try not to spread that around as most of my career people have wanted to hear about all the horror stories that I have and mostly it is a job that is really quite mundane, "Hours and hours of sheer boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror" is the old gag line, it's not really true.
Statistically, the most dangerous part of my job is the ride to and from the airport. It is a great job and some of the other pilots, men and women, adapt well to the "overseas" flying, I don't. I enjoy the dynamic aspect of the job, thinking in 3 dimensions and considering energy management of planning the flight to optimize the efficiency of the several hundreds of thousand pounds (kilograms actually, we use metric measures now).
En route, the job becomes rather mundane, monitoring radios/ACARS(a fancy fax machine)/ checking the flight plan/ monitoring systems/ recording time and fuel at waypoints that are usually about 40-60 minutes apart/ interfacing with the cabin crew (since 9/11 we are no longer able to have "guests" on the flight deck, it used to be a real pleasure to have someone come up and ask the myriad of questions that they always had, or have a young person come up and show them the lights and controls that encompass us as we work).
On most airliners today, the crew requirement is for two pilots, on the long haul we operate with up to four. On a four crew operation we all are present on the flight deck (the term cockpit left the jargon many years ago) for the first part of the flight until we are established in the cruise portion and then again from the start of the initial descent from cruise until we complete the flight at the gate. The more eyes and ears the better.
During the cruise portion of the flight on the long haul flights we can take a break, two pilots are required to remain in the flight deck, except for short periods when one can leave for physiological reasons (pee break). The cruise time is divided into two or four breaks and we can leave the flight deck and have a "rest". The modern long haul aircraft are equipped with crew rest facilities. These range from a curtain around the business class seat, usually placed in the least desirable location in the cabin, next to the lavatory and the galley, as the revenue passengers don't care to be disturbed by the continual banging of the lav. door that vibrates the seats adjacent to them or the rattling and banging of the galley doors and equipment as the flight attendants (don't call them "stewardess/stewards unless you are willing to face the wrath of a large deity).
The flight attendants are generally great but there is an undercurrent of animosity that has permeated the work place, by only a few, but it is omnipresent, due to the jealousy of the facility and length of our breaks. On the longer flights you can find them in the economy seats or occasionally lying on a mound of blankets on the floor of the galley on some aircraft that are not on the very long haul, the longer haul aircraft do have cabin crew rest facilities with bunks.
The flight deck crew on the aircraft I am presently on (the very long haul/ultra long haul) is a modern wonder. The rest facility is ensconced in essentially the overhead bins, that may sound crazy but the aircraft is a single deck design but has enough room to place a small area for two seats (with entertainment systems just like the passengers) and two lay flat bunks separated by a petition but essentially two coffins with reading lights, side by side, no room to stand up but it is quite comfortable and the best part is that it is away from the banging doors and clattering trays and galley carts.
It sounds like a wonderful place to rest. It's not. The low frequency vibration of the craft keeps you in a continual state of tension even when you do get to sleep, your brain is saying "watch out, you might get tossed out of bed" by the subtle clues that are telling it you are not completely secure here and your muscles never relax completely, taught, waiting for that next jostle. The noise of the engines and believe it or not the wind noise across the skin of the ship is insidious, omnipresent and fatiguing, your ears never being more than a foot or so from the inner cabin wall.
Then you get to the hotel. The lay-overs in exotic destinations: Australia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Frankfurt, What a dream job. The layovers are generally 24 hours as you take the next flight out the following day, just the exact wrong amount of time for a proper rest. You've worked the flight over, onboard crew rest aside, and arrive exhausted. If you sleep for 8 hours, you awaken to the local clock being early evening and have a 12-16 hour void to fill, usually in the downtown areas we stay not much to do at 2 am, and then you are ready for another sleep but its time to strap on the plane again and get to work. Consequently, the norm is to grab a short nap, 2-3 hours, and meet with the other crew members, usually just the "front end" as the days of crew fraternization are pretty much a thing of the past. You plan a long walk, got to get the kinks out from the up to 16 hour flight you came in on and a meal. Usually eating dinner at about 8 am body clock time, the legendary alcohol consumption of the past has pretty much ceased in the last decade, the consequences of the third beer, even after a good sleep still puts you in jeopardy of the zero tolerance for any blood alcohol measured by the random checks (and this is a good thing, incidentally you can have a small trace of blood alcohol from body generated sources due to some physical disorders and there have been pilots caught up by this very thing)
The subsequent sleep, after another long walk after a too big dinner/breakfast, is welcome respite. Usually for about 2-3 hours, then the body clock kicks in and says "it's 3 pm, what are you doing?" Your melatonin levels are out of whack because you have been chasing the sun all flight or walking around in the daylight in spite of it being night time at home.
You lay awake, now middle of the night at the destination but midday for your circadian rhythm desperately trying to rest for the next 10-16 hour flight, usually falling asleep minutes before the wake up call that starts the whole circadian jostle again, daylight induces the body to adjust to the local clock and then the night shift home again, arriving usually before noon, planned that way by the airline so the passengers can make ongoing connections to the final destination.
The drive home is usually the most dangerous activity I do. Tired and feeling ill usually, fatigue is insidious, your brain is in neutral and you are not really there. I usually can't sleep when I get in the door and if I do, it sets up the long night of not sleeping, then as you adjust to the home clock again, your brain stays behind.
I have found I mustn't use power tools or try anything requiring much concentration for at least two days after I am back. Golf handicaps soar, the drill usually doesn't stop until it is biting the flesh, well you get my drift.
I have been off work for a month now and am finally getting a full night's sleep, something which I haven't enjoyed for the most part of the last 6 years. It's refreshing to not have the fog of fatigue hanging over your every thought and deed.
I bid off the overseas last fall but will not be trained on the new to me, domestic airplane until at least this coming September, I had taken the overseas job to facilitate the balloon girl and having time to spend with her, she takes a lot out of you and I felt I had to be there for her, but being there fatigued, I couldn't do the other things I needed to do.
I am looking forward to returning to work as soon as I get the OK from the medical staff
(concussion see last paragraph)
http://breathingatsealevel.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-time-out-of-shoot.html
but do not look forward to the fatigue, September won't come soon enough for me.
My job is that of a long haul airline pilot. I try not to spread that around as most of my career people have wanted to hear about all the horror stories that I have and mostly it is a job that is really quite mundane, "Hours and hours of sheer boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror" is the old gag line, it's not really true.
Statistically, the most dangerous part of my job is the ride to and from the airport. It is a great job and some of the other pilots, men and women, adapt well to the "overseas" flying, I don't. I enjoy the dynamic aspect of the job, thinking in 3 dimensions and considering energy management of planning the flight to optimize the efficiency of the several hundreds of thousand pounds (kilograms actually, we use metric measures now).
En route, the job becomes rather mundane, monitoring radios/ACARS(a fancy fax machine)/ checking the flight plan/ monitoring systems/ recording time and fuel at waypoints that are usually about 40-60 minutes apart/ interfacing with the cabin crew (since 9/11 we are no longer able to have "guests" on the flight deck, it used to be a real pleasure to have someone come up and ask the myriad of questions that they always had, or have a young person come up and show them the lights and controls that encompass us as we work).
On most airliners today, the crew requirement is for two pilots, on the long haul we operate with up to four. On a four crew operation we all are present on the flight deck (the term cockpit left the jargon many years ago) for the first part of the flight until we are established in the cruise portion and then again from the start of the initial descent from cruise until we complete the flight at the gate. The more eyes and ears the better.
During the cruise portion of the flight on the long haul flights we can take a break, two pilots are required to remain in the flight deck, except for short periods when one can leave for physiological reasons (pee break). The cruise time is divided into two or four breaks and we can leave the flight deck and have a "rest". The modern long haul aircraft are equipped with crew rest facilities. These range from a curtain around the business class seat, usually placed in the least desirable location in the cabin, next to the lavatory and the galley, as the revenue passengers don't care to be disturbed by the continual banging of the lav. door that vibrates the seats adjacent to them or the rattling and banging of the galley doors and equipment as the flight attendants (don't call them "stewardess/stewards unless you are willing to face the wrath of a large deity).
The flight attendants are generally great but there is an undercurrent of animosity that has permeated the work place, by only a few, but it is omnipresent, due to the jealousy of the facility and length of our breaks. On the longer flights you can find them in the economy seats or occasionally lying on a mound of blankets on the floor of the galley on some aircraft that are not on the very long haul, the longer haul aircraft do have cabin crew rest facilities with bunks.
The flight deck crew on the aircraft I am presently on (the very long haul/ultra long haul) is a modern wonder. The rest facility is ensconced in essentially the overhead bins, that may sound crazy but the aircraft is a single deck design but has enough room to place a small area for two seats (with entertainment systems just like the passengers) and two lay flat bunks separated by a petition but essentially two coffins with reading lights, side by side, no room to stand up but it is quite comfortable and the best part is that it is away from the banging doors and clattering trays and galley carts.
It sounds like a wonderful place to rest. It's not. The low frequency vibration of the craft keeps you in a continual state of tension even when you do get to sleep, your brain is saying "watch out, you might get tossed out of bed" by the subtle clues that are telling it you are not completely secure here and your muscles never relax completely, taught, waiting for that next jostle. The noise of the engines and believe it or not the wind noise across the skin of the ship is insidious, omnipresent and fatiguing, your ears never being more than a foot or so from the inner cabin wall.
Then you get to the hotel. The lay-overs in exotic destinations: Australia, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Frankfurt, What a dream job. The layovers are generally 24 hours as you take the next flight out the following day, just the exact wrong amount of time for a proper rest. You've worked the flight over, onboard crew rest aside, and arrive exhausted. If you sleep for 8 hours, you awaken to the local clock being early evening and have a 12-16 hour void to fill, usually in the downtown areas we stay not much to do at 2 am, and then you are ready for another sleep but its time to strap on the plane again and get to work. Consequently, the norm is to grab a short nap, 2-3 hours, and meet with the other crew members, usually just the "front end" as the days of crew fraternization are pretty much a thing of the past. You plan a long walk, got to get the kinks out from the up to 16 hour flight you came in on and a meal. Usually eating dinner at about 8 am body clock time, the legendary alcohol consumption of the past has pretty much ceased in the last decade, the consequences of the third beer, even after a good sleep still puts you in jeopardy of the zero tolerance for any blood alcohol measured by the random checks (and this is a good thing, incidentally you can have a small trace of blood alcohol from body generated sources due to some physical disorders and there have been pilots caught up by this very thing)
The subsequent sleep, after another long walk after a too big dinner/breakfast, is welcome respite. Usually for about 2-3 hours, then the body clock kicks in and says "it's 3 pm, what are you doing?" Your melatonin levels are out of whack because you have been chasing the sun all flight or walking around in the daylight in spite of it being night time at home.
You lay awake, now middle of the night at the destination but midday for your circadian rhythm desperately trying to rest for the next 10-16 hour flight, usually falling asleep minutes before the wake up call that starts the whole circadian jostle again, daylight induces the body to adjust to the local clock and then the night shift home again, arriving usually before noon, planned that way by the airline so the passengers can make ongoing connections to the final destination.
The drive home is usually the most dangerous activity I do. Tired and feeling ill usually, fatigue is insidious, your brain is in neutral and you are not really there. I usually can't sleep when I get in the door and if I do, it sets up the long night of not sleeping, then as you adjust to the home clock again, your brain stays behind.
I have found I mustn't use power tools or try anything requiring much concentration for at least two days after I am back. Golf handicaps soar, the drill usually doesn't stop until it is biting the flesh, well you get my drift.
I have been off work for a month now and am finally getting a full night's sleep, something which I haven't enjoyed for the most part of the last 6 years. It's refreshing to not have the fog of fatigue hanging over your every thought and deed.
I bid off the overseas last fall but will not be trained on the new to me, domestic airplane until at least this coming September, I had taken the overseas job to facilitate the balloon girl and having time to spend with her, she takes a lot out of you and I felt I had to be there for her, but being there fatigued, I couldn't do the other things I needed to do.
I am looking forward to returning to work as soon as I get the OK from the medical staff
(concussion see last paragraph)
http://breathingatsealevel.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-time-out-of-shoot.html
but do not look forward to the fatigue, September won't come soon enough for me.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Horses are cool
I got back to the condo late this afternoon from visiting the balloon girl, a one hour and forty minute flight away. It was nice and sunny there and it is mostly cloudy and cool here. We had a great time yesterday and today, both days she chose to go to the Mall and see the Sea Lion Show. Yesterday we sat in the "pay" bleachers, today dad cheaped out and we watched the show from the upper deck of the Mall in spite of her initial protests. She enjoyed the show just as much both days in the end and she always gets whoever is around to clap and smile. We took a flock of balloons (they fly away if not properly tethered, so must come in flocks) back to her apartment and I left some easter candies for tomorrow.
Tomorrow she starts back horse back riding. She has ridden horses for six or more years now, in the spring and in the fall. It is Therapeutic Riding and is the most wonderful thing in her world. Before she started the therapeutic riding we had tried everything to get to focus. She still is not interested in watching TV or playing games as such. We spent hours, two or three minutes at a time, sitting on the couch, bribing her with Smarties, at the doctor's or some other professional's direction, trying to get her to sit and focus on one thing.
I had taken her to places where they had pony rides and in spite of wanting to pet the horse and even indicating she wanted to ride, she always balked at the last minute, freezing up and not willing to get on the pony.
I would have bet a months pay that the therapeutic riding was not going to work but we had waited for several months to get to the top of the waiting list and were willing to try anything to get her to have an activity that she could participate in.
Well the people at the therapeutic riding were wonderful and couched her onto the horse and she rode the entire hour without so much as one protest. It is hard work sitting on a horse that long but she loved it and persisted.
She signs horse tens of time every day and when she isn't riding, I will often take her to the stable just to visit the horses and watch for a short time, anyone that might be riding in the indoor arena.
ASL sign for horse:
The horses are such kind animals and the staff and volunteers are the best!
Tomorrow she starts back horse back riding. She has ridden horses for six or more years now, in the spring and in the fall. It is Therapeutic Riding and is the most wonderful thing in her world. Before she started the therapeutic riding we had tried everything to get to focus. She still is not interested in watching TV or playing games as such. We spent hours, two or three minutes at a time, sitting on the couch, bribing her with Smarties, at the doctor's or some other professional's direction, trying to get her to sit and focus on one thing.
I had taken her to places where they had pony rides and in spite of wanting to pet the horse and even indicating she wanted to ride, she always balked at the last minute, freezing up and not willing to get on the pony.
I would have bet a months pay that the therapeutic riding was not going to work but we had waited for several months to get to the top of the waiting list and were willing to try anything to get her to have an activity that she could participate in.
Well the people at the therapeutic riding were wonderful and couched her onto the horse and she rode the entire hour without so much as one protest. It is hard work sitting on a horse that long but she loved it and persisted.
She signs horse tens of time every day and when she isn't riding, I will often take her to the stable just to visit the horses and watch for a short time, anyone that might be riding in the indoor arena.
ASL sign for horse:
The horses are such kind animals and the staff and volunteers are the best!
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