Whew, What a Week!

This week I worked 6 day shifts, filling in for more senior people who took vacation. Working Christmas didn’t bother me that much except that I couldn’t see my dad’s side of the family Christmas Eve in Wichita Falls. It was a very busy workweek! One day Sacramento was fogged in, and two or three planes landing in SMF had mechanical problems. The next day San Jose was fogged in. Tuesday Reno was extremely windy, and one of my flights reported severe turbulence just before landing and diverted to Oakland. Thursday I tried to referee a battle between a Captain who wanted an aircraft inspected and the mechanics who didn’t think it was necessary based on the circumstances. Yesterday I had flights into Denver, a double-diversion at Albuquerque due to snow and fog, a charter to plan, and thunderstorms all over Texas. This is on top of our Christmas celebrations. Now I finally get a day off, and we’re having an 80th birthday party for my grandfather in Rowlett.

BREAKING NEWS! AN ANDYBOX.COM EXCLUSIVE!!! Thursday brought the birth of Paige Noel Cerney, the first daughter of my cousin Joe and his wife Erin. You won’t find this anywhere else, not even BabyCerney.com!

Live Long and Prosper

Today’s Cool Website Spotlight shines on Prosper.com, a site that links up people who want to borrow money with people who want to lend money. The borrowers either don’t want to use a traditional bank or have poor credit and can’t get a loan. They provide their financial details, get a credit score, and write up a request for a loan amount and suggested interest rate. Then the lenders look over the requests on the site, including their credit score and debt/income ratio. Then they bid on a piece of the loan, offering maybe $100 toward the loan at 10%, 25%, or whatever the appropriate rate is. Most lenders lend small amounts to many people to spread out the risk of default. If and when the loan is fully funded, the lenders start bidding down the interest rate until the “auction” closes. The borrower gets the money and starts paying it back to the lenders with interest over a 3-year term. If they default, Prosper sends a collection agency after them. It’s a fascinating concept, and if you can tolerate significant risk, it can provide excellent returns for you as a lender. Behold the power of the Internet!

The Bed

When I graduated from college, I had very little furniture, so I furnished a living room and bedroom. The bed I chose was a wall unit, queen-sized with huge piers on either side and a tall headboard with a mirror, all in oak veneer. This bed is BIG. The matching dresser and chest had plenty of space. I chose these pieces partly because I liked them and partly because I wanted to have enough space for my future wife’s things, in case I ever found a woman willing to marry me. Well, once I did find a wife, she thought the bed was too big and didn’t like it. She also didn’t like my nice brown comforter that had served me well as a bachelor. At first I was hurt and offended, but over time I came to understand a woman’s need to “fluff the nest”. We replaced the comforter early on, donating the old one to some needy folks, but we ended up saving the bed for this weekend. We spent a few hours at IKEA, one of the coolest furniture stores ANYWHERE. We bought a black metal bed with birch nightstands, another new comforter, funky lamps, and a beautiful painting for over the bed. The massive old bed now sits in the guest bedroom. We also got a new mattress set for the guest bedroom from Sleep Experts. They are very nice folks, helpful but not pushy. They rehab and donate your old mattresses to charity, so I like doing business with them. Now that everything is set up, Jenny is happy, and I must admit that I am, too.

December Happenings

Jenny and I enjoyed Handel’s Messiah at Bass Hall in Fort Worth last week. Like most choral performances, it made me want to sing in a choir again. It also reminded me of the majesty of Christ, the grandeur of His plan for the world, and how insignificant most of our daily worries really are.

Friday night was graduation time. On a cold, drizzly night aboard the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, with many members of my family aboard, I finally put an official end to my time at Embry-Riddle. I met ERAU administrators and a fellow student for the first time. My mother- and father-in-law flew Southwest for free for the first time as well. We toured the Texas State Aquarium beforehand, which I recommend. Dad treated us to a fabulous dinner at Landry’s Seafood, which I also recommend. It was a great weekend.

It’s hard to believe Christmas is almost upon us! 2007 is only a few weeks away. Jenny and I will celebrate our 4-year anniversary soon. It’s always amazing how time flies!