What does 3 years look like?

I've been at Alaska Air Balancing 3 years now. On my second or third day the boss gave me a brand new Pentel Hi-Polymer eraser. Below you can see what it looked like when it started and what its down to today. That's what three years looks like.

Pink Ladys...

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away... Which explains why most apple orchard fires are started by physicians.

When I was a teen I went to a summer camp in the Yukon Territory, Canada. They had some Red Delicious apples there that were the best I've ever tasted.

I like my apples to be very crisp with the right balance of tart & sweet. And since time traveling back to 1990 isn't possible (yet), my choice for apples is the Pink Lady variety, pictured here to the right.



I should warn you though... They ain't cheap. In fact they are usually the most expensive choice. And you can't find them year round. But when you can, they are worth the cost.

Dear Alaska Air...

I saw this little rant on Andrew Halcro's blog and thought it was worth reposting.

"Dear Alaska Airlines,

As a loyal customer for my entire travel life, it's hard even today to ignore the pre-boarding ritual of the military-esq instructions regarding the carry on policy. Two bags maximum, one personal item under your seat and one small carry on that must fit "conveniently" in the overhead compartment. Any violators will be gate-checked to Des Moines.

It's a great rule for light travelers like me who like to get what they need then stash their briefcase above their head. The problem is there is never any room because flight attendants never seem to enforce their own edicts. For heaven's sake, I can't fit a briefcase in the overhead bin but if I had a tuba I'd be golden?

Just minutes after issuing the age old guidelines regarding carry-on etiquette, some merry traveler comes rumbling down the aisle with a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk in tow. They move with glacial pace, use the entire width of the aisle and then some, fracturing elbows along the way as they try and find their seats.

But that's just the beginning.

At row nine I witness a passenger trying to stuff a backpack the size of Fiat 500 into the overhead bin. At row fifteen someone is trying to shove a kayak into an already packed compartment. It's overhead anarchy at 30,000 feet.

Where in the world were the uniformed enforcers of their own clearly articulated airline carry-on policy? Where were the captains of the sky keeping Jed Clampet and family from loading up the 737-400 and moving to Anc...Anchorage that is?

In closing my beloved airline, if you're going to lay down the rules about your carry on policy, please enforce them.

The next time some rube tries to roll a footlocker down the aisle, drop 'em like a bad habit with a taser gun, then gate check their bag to Des Moines.

Time to show these overhead compartment interlopers that size limitations must be followed. Time to teach a little r-e-s-p-e-c-t for the shared space concept. Time to dispense a little tough love to travelers who think size doesn't matter.

Plus, I'm tired of my Smarties being smashed.

In the words of Leslie Nielson, "Just to let you know we're all counting on you, and don't call me Shirley.""

I'd post the link to Andrew's blog and put his words in italics but I'm doing this from my phone and it's a little awkward.

Oregon!!

We are in Oregon this week, so I thought I'd trying doing a post from my phone with Blogger's mobile app.

I did my last two years of high school here in Oregon at Santiam High School. We had two vending machines by the gym. One was a soda machine with Mt. Dew in five of the seven selections.

The other machine was candy and had these Tom's Peanut Rolls in them. I lived on those and Mt. Dews those two years.

Maybe that's why I'm morbidly obeses today.