I just got a call from Mesa Airlines.
I’m employed! Training starts Oct. 8 in Phoenix.
I’m also about to go do something I never thought I would do…. buy an… ah… ahhh.. Ahhh.. Apple.
There. I said it.
Dear Mrs. Nachzen,
My name is Joanna Brenner (alias “Jonah”). I just became a junior at the University of Mobile and am currently majoring in political science. Before I started my college career, I homeschooled. Our family began this practice when I was in the sixth grade after moving out of state. There were many advantages to homeschooling that we discovered along the way, but the most valuable, in my mind, was the love of learning it gave me. I guess it also socially isolated me in a way because during my first week at college, I was rudely awakened by the fact that most of my fellow students were not interested in learning for the sake of itself. This made me very cynical toward other people, even when I ‘met’ fellow bulletin board enthusiasts my age who seemed to enjoy knowledge. A couple of months ago, I guess, I came in contact with a newcomer to this board. Berckums and I immediately started a conversation about Stephen Hawking. As we sparred over the posts, I discovered that this individual had a lot of knowledge and was fun to converse with (putting prepostions at the end of sentences is about the extent of my rebellion against authority; everything else is accidental). We began exchanging e-mail and discovering that we had a lot in common. I’ve never experienced someone who is so much like me. It’s scary. I was shocked to find that he was only 14. Could this much wisdom and maturity be coming from someone so young? I thought. It facinated me. So, anyway, each of us wants to meet the other, face to face, to see what we’re really like. Electronic impulses only tell you so much about a person. As a post script, I wanted to mention that I think it’s wonderful that you’re considering homeschooling next year. That’s great. Berckums is definitely the sort that would benefit from that kind of education. He is obviously a self learner/teacher. The freedom to study what interests him at his own pace can only nourish his love of learning. It certainly did mine. I hope to some day meet the woman who has reared such an interesting son.
Jonah
Does anyone still have copies of my e-mails from Europe on my trip March-July of 1998? I think my sents were from the MAF.
2 cups water heated so it feels warm but not uncomfortably hot
1 package or 2 to 3 teaspoons yeast
a little bit of sugar or flour to proof the yeast
1 TABLESPOON of salt after yeast has begun proofing
5 to 6 cups flour (I like King Arthur Bread Flour best) or however much the dough will take until it stops being sticky
Put in a greased bowl, turn over, cover, and let rise about an hour. Punch down, kneed, and shape into two long loaves. Place on a cookie sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Make slices about half an inch deep crosswise along the loaves so they won’t break their own cracks. Cover and let rise again at least an hour. Place in an oven preheated to 400 degrees and bake for 35 minutes.
For a crispy crust, brush with egg before baking. For a softer crust, brush with butter when you take it out of the oven.
You can use about half whole wheat flour, and it will still work. But it won’t be (fake) French bread anymore.
Oh, by the way, this bread is terrible the next day (though, you can toast it fine and it makes lovely French toast).
Today I went to a Mesa Airlines open interview thing. I considered it highly unlikely that they’d be interested in me, given my very low multi-engine time. Four people showed up, and one of them didn’t even have an instrument rating! (He wasn’t seriously applying, just wanted to find out about the company.) I had twice the total time of the other two guys, but they had twice the mutli-engine time. After a short written test, then a short interview, we were offered conditional employment. The condition being we pass FBI background checks, and the chief pilot signs off on us. The thing that seemed to worry the interviewer the most? The fact that I have 6 speeding tickets. This strikes me as absurd, but apparently demonstrates that I’m a lawless, dangerous person. Which is silly. I’ve never broken an FAA regulation, ever. Anyway, I think it’ll be a couple weeks before I find out for sure, then I’d have to wait on a class date. I was initially excited about Mesa because I thought I could be Denver based, but they’re only hiring for Jets right now, and there are no jets in Denver. So, good side is– I’d be flying jets if I get it. Down side is– I’ll likely be flying out of either Chicago or New York, which is a long drive to work:) No, I wouldn’t move, at least not while it means making Joanna quit her job that pays twice what I’d be making.