A day that will live in Epicness.

Yesterday was a day full of epic. Seriously.

I not only got to see the B-17, but crawl around inside for a little bit. How awesome is that?! Yes, I knew previously I was going to get to, but knowing that I have is just so cool... Especially thinking back to it, which I was doing all night and had a lot of trouble falling asleep. I'll try save some of the spazziness from you, unless of course you'd actually want to hear it. Then just ask on MSN, I'd be more then happy to tell you about it. XD

One thing that struck me about the inside is how small the compartments were. Yes, I've heard that it was cramped and have seen pictures, but obviously pictures can make things a lot different when it comes to comparing size. It's one thing to see a seat and try to imagine it, yet it's a completely different thing to walk through without being able to actually stand completely straight until you get to the waist gunners positions. It's surprising they could squeeze through with all their equipment and jackets.

When you first crawl into the small door (on the left side, under the cockpit), you go into a space that's only large enough to crawl and turn around in. They had the Bombardier's position (it's in the tip of the nose, the plexiglass bubble) blocked off, so I didn't get to go sit in it or anything.

Crawling toward the tail of the plane, you come to a small "room" where you can sort of stand up in. The cockpit is right in front, which is surprisingly tiny (it was blocked off as well). It looks as if the pilot's shoulders would be against the side of the plane, so there isn't too much room at all. The place you're standing it is actually the flight engineer's position. He'd keep an eye on the instrument panels and make sure everything's still working right. Also, he'd control the top turret gun position. I stood in that and looked out the plexiglass bubble a little, but didn't have too much time to sit around and gawk at everything like I wanted to (people were behind me and I didn't want to make them wait forever).

Going further back, you come across the bomb bay. In the middle, there is a very thin metal walking path with some ropes on the side (metal plates in the middle that act like walls). On each side of the plane is where they held the bomb load. They had a few decommissioned bombs for show. I couldn't imagine how scary it'd be to be walking across that only to look down and see Germany 30,000 feet below you. If you fell off, you're screwed. Granted, they had some harnesses, but a few times I heard of guys needing to take it off to try get the frozen bomb bay doors open. They had to jump up and down on the doors to break the ice.

Moving along, you come to a small room which held the radio operator and navigator. There was a small table with a radio next to a chair where they'd sit. In this one, since they are able to take people up to fly in it for $475 per flight, it also had a few extra seats. The ceiling was actually plexiglass, so you could see out the top. Aside from the bomb bay, it was the first time I could nearly stand up straight.

Behind that lies a compartment that houses the tail gunners and the ball turret gunner (the round bubble that hangs below the plane). This was easily the largest compartment, as all it was was the rest of the plane that had nothing in it. They had the waist guns still in, so I looked through the gun sights some and sat awhile inside since people could move past me finally. Looking to the tail of the plane, you could see where the tail gunner had to crawl through and sit, but they had it blocked off. Standing in the fuselage, I imagined how crazy it'd be to see it after a mission. Spent .50 caliber shells covering the floor... If they used most of the ammunition, it'd actually take brooms to sweep all of the shells out to make ready for the next mission.

While in there, a guy who looked mentally retarded walked up and started asking Jen what stuff was. He'd point and go, "What's this?" It was obvious he was just doing it for attention/to get her to talk, but I explained, anyway. Even if he didn't care, perhaps Jen would've liked to know.

Finally, we had to get out since I doubted they'd like us to camp out inside there for hours. We walked around the plane a lot just talking and taking some pictures. What really sucked was that I had my brother drive to my place to drop off my camera so I could have it, yet when I got there it didn't work at all. I'm not sure if the battery died or what (which wouldn't make sense considering I made sure it was fully charged the night before). So aside from the pictures I got on my cell phone, I couldn't get any. *emo* Hopefully some of Jen's prints come out that she took with a 35mm for Photography class. Yet as the professor told her, the ones you really want to turn out pretty much never do...

After awhile, we walked to the gift shop (I had already purchased a book (the size of a program you'd buy at a professional sporting event) from the guy who was monitoring who went into the plane) and I took a look at what they had. I ended up buying this awesome key chain, a poster of Sentimental Journey (the B-17), and these really cool playing cards which were spotter cards for air craft. They were originally issued in 1943 to help civilians and soldiers learn how to spot different sorts of airplanes just by the shape. Each card has a different aircraft (the four suits are of the different countries: US, Britain, Japan, Germany) and a picture from the front, side, and bottom. I was disappointed with the "models" they had there. One was just a cheap plastic (it felt too light to be metal) one you put on a stand and pulled a string to make the propellers move. That in itself isn't bad (aside from the plastic part), but the detailing on it was poorly done. The top turret was just a black piece of plastic and actually reminded me of those really cheap toys you'd buy for a 5 year old. Same with the other little models. I actually have a better one at home already that I bought which is smaller, and even more detailed than those. Disappointing, but at least I got a cool poster, deck of cards, and new key chain.

We hung around the plane for awhile longer until Jen was finally getting bored. So we left and walked around the mall for awhile, stopping at stores to look around. I had never known they had a candy store there, too bad it was sort of expensive....

Ah, yes... I saw a B-17 and crawled around inside. One of my life long dreams have been fulfilled. Unless I get brain damage or get amnesia, I'll never forget it. Epicness, I say. Epicness.

Just in case no one knew, the B-17 Flying Fortress is my all-time favourite aircraft ever built. Even compared to the P-51 Mustang or the F-15 Eagle, the B-17 is on a whole different level of Epic. Jen even commented that she never knew how big of an airplane nut I was. Guess I had to show her sometime, right?

Rainy Days and Assistance.

Upon stepping outside at 4:30 AM, I saw rain until I finally got home for the evening after doing some shopping and what not. Since then I haven't been outside, but it sounds like the rain finally stopped.

Most people find rainy days depressing and boring while others become angry and annoyed since they 'lose time' from the things they could have done outside on a sunny day. However, rainy days actually make me happy. The lighting the grey clouds create, along with the constantly falling rain, really sets a mood. Perhaps the mood is not originally of excitement or happiness, but a reflective mood. Not only that, but also the feeling of sitting within a warm car/guard house while watching the rain pour is comforting. It's nature's way of saying that no matter how bad it gets outside, you can always find comfort within, whether it be yourself or others. Or perhaps I just like to see symbolism which isn't really there to begin with. Either way, rainy days are my favourite by far.


Speaking of sitting within a guard house, my day at work was decent. I'm cruising through my book, Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact. I accidentally read the book right after it first, since I bought it a year or so ago not knowing there had been a previous one. I beat the Xbox game Republic Commando, which the books are a continuation of. Amazing game, great books. That is, if you're into Star Wars and military-esque fiction. One of my managers, this guy who seems constantly pissed/angry, asked me the other day what I was reading, and when I showed him the book and said 'Star Wars', he replied, "Oh, you're one of those guys..."

Anyway, a few things happened. First off, since it had been raining, with it came a single bolt of lightning. I never saw it, just heard the loud bang as the power went out for a few seconds before returning. The security device (one of those things on the wall you set so it turns on motion detectors) went out and kept chirping until this guy came in and must have messed with it. Apparently, from listening to chatter on the radio, all the lights had gone out in the store. They're the types of lights which take a few moments to warm up when turning on, so they had to say over the loud system for all the guests (customers) to remain calm and that the power was back on. I'm curious if anyone freaked out or tried to slip something in the pocket with the cameras powered down. Or...even walk into the sliding doors when they failed to open as the power went out. That'd be amusing to see, actually.

Another notable part of my day was that this handy-capped guy came through. On the way in, he was asking me if his seat belt was broken or something because he couldn't get it to stay. He was a big guy, so I just thought he must've just been having troubles getting it all the way around. I offered to help him with it, so he opened the door and I reached around and buckled it for him. I'm just curious what the cars behind him were thinking, seeing me reach into the vehicle for a little while. Let's hope they didn't expect to get searched on the way in. Haha.

Well, I close tomorrow (techincally today since it's almost 2 AM), so I was able to stay up tonight. I found out why my microphone doesn't work with WoW when my USB one does. I'm pretty sure WoW doesn't support my sound card, since it's an old model (latest driver came out in 2000...). When I turn off WoW's VC, then the mic works just like normal again. So it has to do with the driver/plugin not compatible with WoW. I just bought a new headset today thinking that was the problem to begin with, so I'll have to try return it tomorrow or something. Now I just need to buy a USB headset that's around $30 to get it to work fine. Yet I know I won't have the money to buy anything extra for awhile, if even this summer. My paychecks haven't started coming in yet (they're usually a few weeks late), and that's next month's rent money. I do have a backup plan if it's late, but I really really hope it doesn't come to that (I can explain if you ask) for several reasons. We'll see how it goes, I still have most of the month. At least I saved up extra food money so I don't have to worry about that at all.

When I had found out why my mic hadn't been working, I finally did get to play an hour or two of WoW. I tried to finish some quests in Westfall with Muriel, my level 19 Gnome Warlock. It went well, aside from the fact that collecting the pig livers took the whole time since they basically hardly ever dropped. If someone had been running behind me skinning, they would've made a good portion of money I'd guess. No one did, though, so it took forever to get respawns sometimes. Other then that, nothing much happened while playing today aside from the fact that I saw a Horde named 'Slashdie' run into Westfall (Alliance territory) and get wasted on within the settlement there. What amused me was that he must have been a high level, because it took a 70 mage several frost bolts to finally kill him. I'd feel as if it was a waste of time to get a character named 'Slashdie' all the way to 70. But I guess some people just have too much time on their hands...

On a random note, I bought a new flavour of burrito than I normally do. Normally I get the Cheese and Bean Burritos, but I decided to get...uh...I forget what it's called, but it looks spicier. They're just the frozen ones you buy in packs of...12 or something. Simple food, but I'm curious how they taste. I'll have to try them tomorrow.

Well, I think I'm going to head to bed. I'm sleepy and don't feel like waking up too late tomorrow. Hopefully your day(s) has(have) been as eventful as mine.

Promotion

The other day, I finally ranked up in Halo 3. Now I'm a Major, one star! w00t! (...weird. the zeros look just like o's. o.O Crazy font.) It took forever since my internet had kept kicking me off Xbox Live for awhile and I lost more experience playing than I even got, which is horrible.

Work Related Goodness and Announcement

Lots have happened since I last updated. Finished school, Lea graduated and started summer school, and I got a job.

First off, let me tell you about my job. I'm a security guard at the Menard's lumber yard, and the job itself isn't bad at all. Yet my new temporary supervisor does not know how to make a schedule. Seriously. She's retarded in that aspect. As in...mental ill people laugh at her. They call her things like 'retard' and 'stupid', and laugh at her incompetence.

Okay, maybe she's not that bad. Yet it isn't exactly 'fair' like she keeps trying to make it. I asked for only openings, as I'm the only worker aside from one woman who works weekends that can actually get there on time in the early morning to open. Yet she's put me on about two to three closings per week, and is giving this other guy a chance. After I realized he was having some problems in his personal life, I didn't think it was that bad.

However, that's not the worst thing she's done, although I'll probably still bitch about my schedule. One of the guys who trained with me wants full time. Yet in the schedule she gave, he only works 25 hours per week, while the other guy she's giving a chance to is working 51 hours per week...and he wanted 35-40. So, yeah. The schedule's really messed up right now, but I'm finally getting my first day off since beginning the job May 27th. If she calls saying I have to go in, I'll just ignore it, I swear.

I think the reason she has no idea how to schedule is because she only works one day a month. I'm not joking. Yet she thinks she knows exactly what's going on.


Since work's on my mind, I'll indulge you in a few of the amusing radio chatter I heard while working so far.

One night, someone was asking this lady to get him a pallet jack. She said they were all being used, so he replied, "Then steal one." After several seconds of silence, he added, "...like a ninja."

Tonight, guests were leaving early and we were actually almost fully closed half an hour after the store closed (which is rare). People were having fun because it's a Saturday night and they get to go home early. Over the radio, someone started playing Marco Polo, and this guy actually answered. So the game went on for about the last ten minutes on the radio, just randomly saying, "Marco." Then a response of "Polo." More people began to join in on the impersonal chatting, and everyone was saying how they were going to camp out in the back and throw a party. Some people added to bring beer, and someone called out over the radio, "All Menards employees are going to the tap after work!" After awhile, these two guys started whispering over the radio, "...I see you." "I see dead people." "Where are you?" "Why are you following me?" "Where aaare yooou?" For awhile...the people were just saying random crap like that. It was hilarious. That's one good thing about closing; you get to hear a lot more random jabber over the radio if people are having fun in the back.





In other news... I might try actually update this as much as I can. Even if it's just completely random and saying, "Went to work; sleepy; bed time." XD Okay, I'd be more descriptive, don't worry.

...if anyone even reads this. That's why I quit LJ in the first place. What's the point of writing a journal if no one reads it (excluding real life journals that are private, obviously)? If it's going online, obviously you want someone to read it and be able to talk about it with. It's the whole point of explaining stuff. To get it out of your head and for others to read without needing to repeat yourself a lot just to get more than one friend to know about it. Yeah...I just wish Blogger would have some way to give people a notice when a new post happens. That way it'd be so much easier to keep track rather than needing to constantly check back on your own every day. I know that unless it's something amazing, it normally doesn't happen too easily or for very long.

Aaaanyways, I'll end this here for now. If I think of something, I'll post it.

Have no worries, traveler. The wind be at your back and as strong as a moose. Your path is not tread alone.