Tech School - 1-1/2 months in

Hello from Texas! I must admit, I'm a fish out of water down here, almost literally. It's been over 100F each day for the entire time I've been down here, with the max temp around 114F. Tech School is full of very interesting and challenging information to learn, and I'm certainly up to the challenge. I guess I don't have a choice :).

I'll give you a tour of the base (the parts that are remotely interesting) to give you an idea of what I see and where I'm living. First off, here's my building/room. Nicer accommodations than I've had in the Army, so certainly no complaints here. I'm living in a housing complex for only prior service students. We don't have to live with those coming straight from Basic Training. The maturity level around the area I'm living is a perk, for sure.

There are lots of static display aircraft on base for me to drool over. Since I'm the one writing the blog, I've decided to give you some mild Air Force aircraft education. Starting off first with the 4 aircraft on each corner of the parade field, right across the street from my building:

F-15 Eagle - Still one of the most powerful aircraft in the world, when considering both thrust and armament. That's amazing since it came to life in the 70's.

T-37A - Training aircraft that use to be flown at Sheppard, but has since been retired because they're expensive to maintain. Aka, the "Tweet" because of it's high pitch engine noise.


T-38 Talon - Current use as a trainer aircraft at Sheppard for NATO fighter pilot school. A similar version of this airframe, called the F-5 Tiger, is still being used by some Air Forces around the world. It was used in Top Gun to portray Russian MiGs, but it doesn't look anything like a MiG.


F-16 Fighting Falcon (also called the Thunderbird) - Currently the airframe of choice for the famed Air Force demonstration team "The Thunderbirds". Also from the 70's era and designed by Lockheed Martin. The Air Force desired a single engine fighter which was less expensive to maintain than the F-15, and here it is.

There are other aircraft placed on display around the base. Here are the majority. I may have missed one or two. It was over 100F when I was walking around taking the pictures, so I was in a hurry to get back into the air conditioning, haha.

F-111 Aardvark - The first operational variable sweep wing fighter in the USAF arsenal. Its primary mission during the cold war era was for ready response in case of a nuclear attack/counter attack.


F-100 Super Sabre - The first Air Force plane capable of supersonic speed at level flight. One of the last fighters the USAF had in which the jet engine intake was also the nose of the aircraft.

F-105 Thunderchief - Highly successful in the Vietnam War for taking on enemy missile batteries while traveling at high speeds and low altitude. The first to be nicknamed the "Wild Weasel". Bonus points for who can tell me the next plane in the USAF arsenal that was called the Wild Weasel.


F-102A Delta Dagger - Was used primarily as a fighter in the 60's, but spent much time in the Vietnam War escorting B-52's and F-105's on their bombing missions. Only one F-102A was shot down by a North Vietnamese MiG-21 during the war.

B-52 Stratofortress - The most successful and long-lived bomber the USAF has ever had. It was first introduced in 1955 and is still successfully flying missions today in the form of the series B-52H.


F-4D Phantom II - This highly successful aircraft was used from the 1960's through the first Gulf War. One of my co-workers was a navigator (back seater) in this aircraft. I asked him one day about the challenges of that job, and he said (jokingly) it wasn't hard to hold the stick with the carrot on the end of it to lead the pilot around.


F-104 Starfighter - Nicknamed the "missile with a man in it" for its high performance capabilities during its operational period (introduced in 1954 and last flown by the Italian AF in 2004).

My classes are held in a large structure that acts as three hangars and two floors of classrooms. This will be the only building I'll be in for the duration. (below)

Here's a picture of me learning how to safety wire an electrical connector. We do this to prevent electrical components from coming loose or apart during flight, caused by constant vibration.

So far I've learned the topics of Aircraft Fundamentals, Aircraft Documentation/Discrepancy Reporting, DC Power Fundamentals/Troubleshooting, and now we're in the middle of AC Power Fundamentals/Troubleshooting. In a few weeks I'll be able to get hands on with the nose gear of an F-16, the electronics systems in a C-130, and then start working on the F-15 and F-16 to finish out the course. I'm looking forward to the hands on portion. It's not something I'm allowed to do at my regular job.

Here's a picture of me and my new friend, Keith Stone (from the Keystone Light commercials):


I wouldn't have been able to attend this training and remain focused, leaving all of my responsibilities in WA, without the support of my amazing wife. She's doing an incredible job of holding down the fort at home. Thank you Carissa for your juggling act with the car problems, our two crazy pets, taking care of the house, and balancing school and clinicals (and doing very well in both). I know I wouldn't be able to handle all of that by myself. When I get home I'll take on a lot of the chores so she can hang up her super woman cape for a while.

Until next time, enjoy the rest of your summer! See you all soon (I hope!). - Chris

Now that we're currently playing military family our date nights no longer consist of beach walks, movies or bar hops. Our relationship revolves around text messages, letters and skype dates. I consider myself lucky if we can both find corresponding times in our busy schedules for a quick skype visit. I'm even more lucky if I get a visit from a special guest like tonight's appearance from Nun Walker. Good thing I was on my best behavior.

Anybody out there??

Long time no post...

I guess my excuse this time is live has been crazy busy. I little out of hand at times, but we're getting by. When I decided to go back to school we understood it would be a difficult road full of sacrifices for the next year. Little did we know it was going to be this challenging and rocky of a road, maybe it's better we did not though, sometimes ignorance IS really bliss.

I guess I don't even know where to start blogging since it's been so long. I guess I'll just sort through my camera and see what I can find.

In May we FINALLY finished (what we thought was finished) our Ford saga... We received the keys to our brand new 2011 Escape. Identical to the old, a little lighter color, a few more frills and (best part) a working transmission. Yay.

You can see the old evil Escape in the background...

Our "gift" to ourselves with our tax return was to rip the carpet out of the bedroom and put down some hard floor (major driver of this project - allergies and pets). I was more than happy to see the carpet go, tan carpet and animals (or someone as clumsy as me) is just a bad bad combo.

Before

For some reason I don't have an after photo?? Stay tuned on that one...

Chris and I treated the family to a David Letterman performance at McChord as part of his Tour for the Troops. I think it's safe to say we all had a great time.

Chris requested a trip to Long Beach before he left, as usual the coast did not disappoint.

With Chris' upcoming departure in July we tried to squeeze in some visits to local sites. We took a tour of Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge and it was worth the trip! It's crazy to think that there are gardens that beautiful and well cared for right in our backyard.

A trip to the Seattle Aquarium, followed by dinner and a Sounders game.
What a life for these guys:

Hard to believe he takes me anywhere!

We celebrated Father's Day and JoAnn's birthday

I built myself a raised bed (I'm eating fresh veggies like a King right now) with a little help from Chris.

And extended the flower bed down the side of the house (room for my rhubarb and blueberries!)

Jennie flew out to visit and we had a great time of wine tasting, birthday celebrating, Sounders game and hanging out.

All this excitement wore Chris out so he caught a snooze on the ferry ride home.

We visited another beautiful garden about a half mile from our house, yet again amazing people can make such beauty when our yard looks like... uh... we won't go there...
This plant was taller than me!

Our last outing before Chris left was to Port Townsend, one of our happy places. The town is so relaxing, you can always find a good bite to eat and it's close, but still feels like a get away. We pretty much ate our way through town starting at our favorite restaurant (with homemade pie!), via the local microbrewery and creamery for fresh cheeses. Yum! On the way home we stopped by the Port Townsend Airport to check out the airplanes there for the fly in. (I'll let you guess who's idea that was). There was a gorgeous vintage Air Force plane there, shiny!

After all the fun we'd been having the day we've been preparing for and dreading had arrived, my Airman was leaving for five months. Chris was all packed and ready. I tried to get myself into this duffel, but it just wasn't working out. Bear thinks he's going though.

It was a sad and emotional day and after saying goodbye in the morning I headed down to the Naval Hospital for one of my last clinical days. It was good to be there, surrounded by people who understand the military way of life.

So while Chris has been gone I've been attempting to be Super Woman all while perfecting the art of being in two places at once. You never know how much a team a marriage is until half the team is 2000 miles away! Between class in Renton, wrapping up round 1 and 2 of clinicals in Bremerton, living in Kingston, staying in Auburn, juggling the dog (shout out to all the single mom's - wow.) and prepping for my next round of clinicals in Gig Harbor it's been exhausting (now you can see why on the lack of blogging). I've considered selling the house because it seems as though I just live out of my car these days... With that said, it's safe to say I miss Chris. But don't worry, Team Walks will be reunited for a visit in September. I'm flying down for (almost) a week to spend some time with him and check out his new stomping grounds. After that, another few months apart (throw in more clinicals and a national certification exam to keep me busy) and we're through this chapter in our lives. I graduate from Surg Tech school the day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving morning I have a one way ticket to Dallas to go retrieve my husband. I'll spend a week at Sheppard AFB while Chris finishes classes, attend his graduation and then we embark on a two week journey home (via grand canyon, Vegas, Disneyland, San Fran to meet the new baby and Mt Hood for a wedding). I've warned Chris he better be prepared, I've already been practicing my football style tackle hugs for when he comes to get me at the airport :)

So two days after Chris left my summer break started... nice timing. Rather than sit around and pout at home I jumped on a plane and made my annual visit to San Fran to see Eileen, Ben AND the baby on the way! It was a perfect trip full of sleeping in, relaxing and eating (the baby caused that one :)

Eileen flew back with me for time with her family and a baby shower! Fun! Here's mom and a pregnant Eileen.

That about wraps up the excitement. As of now I'm just trying to keep life under control as a one man show!

And it wouldn't be right to write a blog without making tribute to my wonderful Grandma. Such a strong and inspirational woman full of life and love. I treasure every chance I got to spend with her. She is very much missed and remembered daily.

I'm sure she's up there baking up a storm right now so everyone that enters the pearly gates is issued a loaf of zucchini bread :)

I'm back on the radar! Besides school work, not much has been going on around here, but here's a Walker household roundup (in no particular order).

1. First quarter complete - check! This was a rough quarter, course load wise and personal wise. With the support of parents and an exceptionally understanding husband I finished the quarter strong with a 3.97 GPA. Next quarter should be easier (yeah... right.) I'm only taking 24 instead of 27 credits. Come May I'll begin my labor and delivery clinical rotations and hopefully get a placement closer to home. Clinical schedule is class Mon/Tues and in the hospital Weds-Fri. Anything shorter than a two hour commute will be greatly appreciated.

2. Spring break! For me at least... Chris is still participating in the "grown up world" and doesn't get one. No Cancun or anything exciting. Just spring purging and a few donation trips to Goodwill.

3. Birthdays! I celebrated the big 27, Payton celebrated the big 1. Chris and I got the opportunity to see the family at Payton's celebration, so we kept mine lowkey. In honor of my 27 years I got a giant slab of salmon and some cake. Yum.

Chief Cake Decorator:

Finished cake with flowers from the Walkers:

Pretty fishy:

4. Chris and I had our first ever legal encounter yesterday. We had our arbitration hearing with Ford over the Escape. We were well prepared and had everything organized (don't mess with two engineers). The Ford representative phoned in and was completely disorganized. I told Chris afterwards that it would've been better if Ford had just sent a written statement rather than let this yahoo on the phone. This guy had no idea what we were even there to arbitrate. Long story short we have a good feeling that Christopher Walker vs. Ford Motor Company will end in our favor. Hopefully this saga is nearing an end, stay tuned.

5. Bathroom remodel still underway. Yet I have some new ideas we're executing. Could be good ideas... could be bad ideas...

6. Animals - We finally decided to just bite the bullet and take Bear in for doggie allergy testing. He's been itchy for months and we've tried everything. His test revealed he is allergic to mother nature. Grasses, trees, you name it. We've got him on some super strength pills and some shots (I know, I know) and he's doing much much better.

You can see his test spot that they shaved. He's in diver dog position here.

And Gatsby's just Gatsby. Courageously guarding the folded laundry here.

Since I have the week off I promise another post in reasonable time :)