Vectors to Final: My Diet - Page 4

ll__raine__ll · 08-17-2008, 10:47 PM

that sux

over here it's illegal to only give a tenant 2 weeks notice. landlords have to give 6 weeks notice "in writing". (fair enough too) they also have to give tenants notice in writing if they're selling their property. if i were you i'd check out the laws of your land and see if your landlord isn't trying to pull a swift one over you.

CTIgrad · 08-18-2008, 04:24 AM

Monday morning, means two things; a weigh in and a new chart. Here ya go!

ll__raine__ll · 08-21-2008, 04:20 PM

just popping in to say hi

things are quiet in here. hope all is going well for you. your chart is still showing a gradual loss so all good in that respect.

atcgirl42 · 08-21-2008, 06:20 PM

Chris, I'm sorry I haven't checked in for a few days. Life gets in the way sometimes. How is the housing situation going? It's funny, when I went through the screen, OKC was all set up for FAA trainees. There were tons of apartments available that were furnished with cookware and furniture. Check at the academy if you haven't found housing already. They might be able to help you out.

Are you done with non-radar tomorrow? Lord I hope so.

I wouldn't worry too much about the so-called 50% failure rate. I tend to think that's BS. It honesty used to be that way years ago, but the FAA is so desperate now for new hires that they'll give a trainee a lot more chances than they used to. I'd venture to say that the failure rate is more like 10-15% these days.

CTIgrad · 08-21-2008, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atcgirl42

Chris, I'm sorry I haven't checked in for a few days. Life gets in the way sometimes. How is the housing situation going? It's funny, when I went through the screen, OKC was all set up for FAA trainees. There were tons of apartments available that were furnished with cookware and furniture. Check at the academy if you haven't found housing already. They might be able to help you out.

Are you done with non-radar tomorrow? Lord I hope so.

I wouldn't worry too much about the so-called 50% failure rate. I tend to think that's BS. It honesty used to be that way years ago, but the FAA is so desperate now for new hires that they'll give a trainee a lot more chances than they used to. I'd venture to say that the failure rate is more like 10-15% these days.

Hey thanks for stopping by, I know how life goes so no worries on the absence.

Lets see if I can touch on everything you said as well as give an update on other things. I finished non-radar last week, which was great. My written went well (98 on it missed one question) my practical had a couple of screw ups. I forgot to cancel a block with another sector for protected airspace on a VOR apch. Also, one seperation error, as I was issuing the clearance I realzied what I was doing but it was too late. Had one guy at 120 wanting 60 and another guy level at 70 head on. Restricted the decent to miss airspace, but didn't even think about the guy at 70. As soon as I did it thou, I got a DME outta the guy at 70, and they had already passed, they were safe but because I didnt get the DME first still a bust.

The guy that did my eval was a supe and said even thou I did that, it was probably one of the better problems he had seen run in awhile, just dont make stupid mistakes and I"ll be set. This week had been radar academics. Our whole class is dragging rear end, its funny to watch peoples heads bob around the class from nodding off. Thankfully we only have 4 days left in the classroom then we're down to the radar labs, which is going to be a whole new set of drama, I'll explain later.

Found a new place to live, old army guy, been pretty cool so far (only a day so far thou). Its a bit further than the old place but it just gives me a longer ride in on the bike now. The FAA has some 'approved' housing down here, but because I needed for only a month or so, I couldnt get a long term lease, so it was going to be 81 bucks a day. For that ammount of money I could rent a whole house, furnish it, and still come out ahead. The big hang up for me was I needed garage space for the motorcycle.

I hope you're right about the washout rate. It really does scare me to not have a stable job and know that I have 6 figures of student loan debt on my shouldres.

CTIgrad · 08-31-2008, 08:56 PM

Well its been awhile since I've put anything in here so lets see what new with Chris.....

The new place is kinda interesting. Things are slowly settling back into a normal routine. Fridge space is at a premium thou as we both have a ton of stuff in there. The longer commute to work is good and bad, give me some more ride time on the bike, but days that I have to take the truck it sucks. Talk about filling it up at 65 bucks a tank. Ugh.

Kinda a big disappointment this weekend. With the 3 day weekend we had, our class was going to road trip to New Orleans, however with Gustav on the way we called it off. Ended up staying in town which had it ups and down. Went out drinking last night with some buddies that I hadn't seen in awhile, they got their spots down here finally so thats good.

Today got back into the gym finally after a short hiatus. The new gym thats near me has this stationary bike with movable handle bars and a shifter with a tv screen. You hop on and the tv comes up with trails and road courses for you to bike and compete on. Its pretty fun, give you something to look at and race with. Ran about 2.5 miles and biked an additional 5 today. Weigh in tomorrow for camp, should be interesting.

Work is going ok. We started our radar sims Friday and this is going to be intense. The first 10 problems or so are kinda get to know the system thing so they aren't to bad yet. Our main role now is to learn how to run an effective radar associate position. What that means is that we do all the data input as well as coordination needed with other facilities and or sectors within out facilities. Not that hard, but the tricky part is figuring out what needs to be done when, and then doing it quickly and correctly. If you mess it things quickly cascade downwards and things get ugly.

It's kinda interesting how your job translates to things in your like. On our keyboards at work, there is a 10 key like we all have at home on our keyboards. However its backwards, 1 2 3 is at the top of the 10 key instead of the bottom. It takes a bit to get used to, but its almost second nature for me now. I was doing some excel entry the other night and looked up and realized all my numbers were wrong, my fingers were still using ATC keyboard not regular one.

Also controllers have a really weird sense of humor. There is a small seperate keyboard that the R and R/A side share called the Keypad Selection Device, or the KSD. It used to be called the Data Input Keyboard or DIK. Naturally you get a lot of middle aged men with nothing to do, and you get some interesting jokes about borrowing your... well you get it. There are a few other funny things that I've learned however I'll save them for another time.

CTIgrad · 10-05-2008, 09:37 PM

Well its been a LOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGG time since I've posted anything here. Things in OKC got to be real crazy the last few weeks and pretty much everything non FAA fell to the way side. So here is a small update on my life and how thing are going.

In the weeks leading up to the end of my tenure in OKC, I hit the 225 mark which was my goal before I flew out to my buddies wedding. Made the trip home for the wedding and it was a blast, however that marked the begining of a melt down in diet world. My best man speech that I was worried about went off with out a hitch and I actually ended up getting a lot of compliments about it.

Flew back to OKC and my last week down there was pretty intense. I had my PV that Friday which was a HUGE stressor. I came outta the room feeling like I had tanked it completely, had some sep errors and a missed pointout (pretty serious mistakes) however the supe that came down signed me off. Two people however didn't make the final cut, kind of bitter sweet.

My dad flew into OKC the following day for our drive home. Diet continued to suffer for the next 2000 miles home. Reported to ZSE last Wednesday and overwhelming doesnt begin to describe how I feel at the moment. I have 6 very complex maps to memorize within 3 weeks, in addition to a small forest of binders that I need to commit to memory as well.

If everything goes well, it looks like I will be starting dysim training the end of January and possibly hit the floor to begin my A sides mid Feb.

Started the diet back last week and so far I've been dropping the weight I gained like mad. I assume its all water weight, I will report my first weeks loss tomorrow as its the weigh in day for BCC.

CTIgrad · 11-05-2008, 09:48 PM

Lets update this thread a bit. Here is what is going on in my life.... Or the lack there of.

The diet has sucked for the last four weeks. Not to say that I haven't lost, but its been a pound here or there, then I gain it back. Its this floating around that drives me nuts. I haven't stuck extremely close to plan, however I haven't gone off the deep end either. Today after a little bit of thought, I think I might have that spark again. Went for a run today and did about a mile or so without stopping. My goal of a 5k by the end of the year looks dismal.

Work has had its ups and downs. So far I've been stuck in a small room with a mountain of information to learn. Had six maps with roughly 400-700 things on each one to memorize and draw. Finished those in three weeks and moved on to an array of other things I need to learn by the time I start sims. Only have a couple left and I hope to have them done within the next week or two.

I actually head down to the floor for the next two weeks (starting Monday) to get my first ratings. They are only an assist rating which really isn't used anymore in the world of ATC, so more or less I'll be learning how to make coffee. Have a few weeks back in the cubby till I hit sims on Dec 12th. Scheduled to be done with those on jan 24th, and on the floor for my first real ratings after that.

So far I would say I am ahead of my fellow trainees only in the progress of things. As far as actually comprehending it, I think we're all still completely lost. I'm told that its normal till we actually get to the sims and the floor and start seeing how it all fits together.

Its frustrating for me, as I have always just been able to get things. Stick something in front of me and in a matter of no time I can master it. Not happening with this. I keep looking at the same things over and over again and it just isn't sinking in. I hope that ah-ha moment isn't far off for me. Historically I dont fair well at something if I dont have some success initially with it. Dec 12th can come soon enough.

Heading to bed early, gym at 0400 tomorrow for me. Here is that graph I promised last time, I had been lazy.

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08-17-2008, 10:47 PM	#91
ll__raine__ll Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 445 Gallery: ll__raine__ll Stats: 196/183.26/132 WOE: Low Carb Start Date: 24 July 2008	that sux over here it's illegal to only give a tenant 2 weeks notice. landlords have to give 6 weeks notice "in writing". (fair enough too) they also have to give tenants notice in writing if they're selling their property. if i were you i'd check out the laws of your land and see if your landlord isn't trying to pull a swift one over you.

08-18-2008, 04:24 AM	#92
CTIgrad Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Buckley, WA Posts: 367 Gallery: CTIgrad Stats: 315 / 236 / 200 WOE: Atkins Start Date: Jan 20, 2008	Monday morning, means two things; a weigh in and a new chart. Here ya go!

08-21-2008, 04:20 PM	#93
ll__raine__ll Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 445 Gallery: ll__raine__ll Stats: 196/183.26/132 WOE: Low Carb Start Date: 24 July 2008	just popping in to say hi things are quiet in here. hope all is going well for you. your chart is still showing a gradual loss so all good in that respect.

08-21-2008, 06:20 PM	#94
atcgirl42 MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Philly area Posts: 1,329 Gallery: atcgirl42 Stats: 168.4/146/145	Chris, I'm sorry I haven't checked in for a few days. Life gets in the way sometimes. How is the housing situation going? It's funny, when I went through the screen, OKC was all set up for FAA trainees. There were tons of apartments available that were furnished with cookware and furniture. Check at the academy if you haven't found housing already. They might be able to help you out. Are you done with non-radar tomorrow? Lord I hope so. I wouldn't worry too much about the so-called 50% failure rate. I tend to think that's BS. It honesty used to be that way years ago, but the FAA is so desperate now for new hires that they'll give a trainee a lot more chances than they used to. I'd venture to say that the failure rate is more like 10-15% these days.

08-31-2008, 08:56 PM	#96
CTIgrad Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Buckley, WA Posts: 367 Gallery: CTIgrad Stats: 315 / 236 / 200 WOE: Atkins Start Date: Jan 20, 2008	Well its been awhile since I've put anything in here so lets see what new with Chris..... The new place is kinda interesting. Things are slowly settling back into a normal routine. Fridge space is at a premium thou as we both have a ton of stuff in there. The longer commute to work is good and bad, give me some more ride time on the bike, but days that I have to take the truck it sucks. Talk about filling it up at 65 bucks a tank. Ugh. Kinda a big disappointment this weekend. With the 3 day weekend we had, our class was going to road trip to New Orleans, however with Gustav on the way we called it off. Ended up staying in town which had it ups and down. Went out drinking last night with some buddies that I hadn't seen in awhile, they got their spots down here finally so thats good. Today got back into the gym finally after a short hiatus. The new gym thats near me has this stationary bike with movable handle bars and a shifter with a tv screen. You hop on and the tv comes up with trails and road courses for you to bike and compete on. Its pretty fun, give you something to look at and race with. Ran about 2.5 miles and biked an additional 5 today. Weigh in tomorrow for camp, should be interesting. Work is going ok. We started our radar sims Friday and this is going to be intense. The first 10 problems or so are kinda get to know the system thing so they aren't to bad yet. Our main role now is to learn how to run an effective radar associate position. What that means is that we do all the data input as well as coordination needed with other facilities and or sectors within out facilities. Not that hard, but the tricky part is figuring out what needs to be done when, and then doing it quickly and correctly. If you mess it things quickly cascade downwards and things get ugly. It's kinda interesting how your job translates to things in your like. On our keyboards at work, there is a 10 key like we all have at home on our keyboards. However its backwards, 1 2 3 is at the top of the 10 key instead of the bottom. It takes a bit to get used to, but its almost second nature for me now. I was doing some excel entry the other night and looked up and realized all my numbers were wrong, my fingers were still using ATC keyboard not regular one. Also controllers have a really weird sense of humor. There is a small seperate keyboard that the R and R/A side share called the Keypad Selection Device, or the KSD. It used to be called the Data Input Keyboard or DIK. Naturally you get a lot of middle aged men with nothing to do, and you get some interesting jokes about borrowing your... well you get it. There are a few other funny things that I've learned however I'll save them for another time.

10-05-2008, 09:37 PM	#97
CTIgrad Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Buckley, WA Posts: 367 Gallery: CTIgrad Stats: 315 / 236 / 200 WOE: Atkins Start Date: Jan 20, 2008	Well its been a LOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGG time since I've posted anything here. Things in OKC got to be real crazy the last few weeks and pretty much everything non FAA fell to the way side. So here is a small update on my life and how thing are going. In the weeks leading up to the end of my tenure in OKC, I hit the 225 mark which was my goal before I flew out to my buddies wedding. Made the trip home for the wedding and it was a blast, however that marked the begining of a melt down in diet world. My best man speech that I was worried about went off with out a hitch and I actually ended up getting a lot of compliments about it. Flew back to OKC and my last week down there was pretty intense. I had my PV that Friday which was a HUGE stressor. I came outta the room feeling like I had tanked it completely, had some sep errors and a missed pointout (pretty serious mistakes) however the supe that came down signed me off. Two people however didn't make the final cut, kind of bitter sweet. My dad flew into OKC the following day for our drive home. Diet continued to suffer for the next 2000 miles home. Reported to ZSE last Wednesday and overwhelming doesnt begin to describe how I feel at the moment. I have 6 very complex maps to memorize within 3 weeks, in addition to a small forest of binders that I need to commit to memory as well. If everything goes well, it looks like I will be starting dysim training the end of January and possibly hit the floor to begin my A sides mid Feb. Started the diet back last week and so far I've been dropping the weight I gained like mad. I assume its all water weight, I will report my first weeks loss tomorrow as its the weigh in day for BCC.

11-05-2008, 09:48 PM	#98
CTIgrad Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Buckley, WA Posts: 367 Gallery: CTIgrad Stats: 315 / 236 / 200 WOE: Atkins Start Date: Jan 20, 2008	Lets update this thread a bit. Here is what is going on in my life.... Or the lack there of. The diet has sucked for the last four weeks. Not to say that I haven't lost, but its been a pound here or there, then I gain it back. Its this floating around that drives me nuts. I haven't stuck extremely close to plan, however I haven't gone off the deep end either. Today after a little bit of thought, I think I might have that spark again. Went for a run today and did about a mile or so without stopping. My goal of a 5k by the end of the year looks dismal. Work has had its ups and downs. So far I've been stuck in a small room with a mountain of information to learn. Had six maps with roughly 400-700 things on each one to memorize and draw. Finished those in three weeks and moved on to an array of other things I need to learn by the time I start sims. Only have a couple left and I hope to have them done within the next week or two. I actually head down to the floor for the next two weeks (starting Monday) to get my first ratings. They are only an assist rating which really isn't used anymore in the world of ATC, so more or less I'll be learning how to make coffee. Have a few weeks back in the cubby till I hit sims on Dec 12th. Scheduled to be done with those on jan 24th, and on the floor for my first real ratings after that. So far I would say I am ahead of my fellow trainees only in the progress of things. As far as actually comprehending it, I think we're all still completely lost. I'm told that its normal till we actually get to the sims and the floor and start seeing how it all fits together. Its frustrating for me, as I have always just been able to get things. Stick something in front of me and in a matter of no time I can master it. Not happening with this. I keep looking at the same things over and over again and it just isn't sinking in. I hope that ah-ha moment isn't far off for me. Historically I dont fair well at something if I dont have some success initially with it. Dec 12th can come soon enough. Heading to bed early, gym at 0400 tomorrow for me. Here is that graph I promised last time, I had been lazy.