Sunset shmunset

Got to the flying school today and met the staff. Interestingly not an American to be seen. The school is run by what appears to be the total population of Weybridge in Surrey, the UK. Nothing like travelling 7,000 miles to be taught by someone from your back garden. Bit of a change of plan was proposed. Long story cut very short. Instead of doing the JAA ( European qualification ) do the FAA ( American qualification ) first and then at the end of the FAA course do the endorsement for the JAA. Number of reasons least of all is that the FAA qualification is for life whereas the JAA has to be renewed every 5 years. More importantly though is that the FAA will recognise all the previous hours I have done in Australia whereas the JAA will only recognise 10 of them. This way it should be cheaper and quicker. Huh-huh.

Regardless I was given more books than you'd see in your local Borders and told to go read ahead of my first flight tomorrow with my instructor '' I'am 25 ish '' . That's 24 in anyone else's language. I felt like telling him that creative accounting like that will get him far if he ever decides to leave the world of aviation and do something more honourable like enter the financial world.

Also checked into my student digs. A self contained apartment about a mile from the airport. 2 rooms and 4 beds in an area of town that looks something remarkably like a couple of scenes in 8Mile with Eminem ( you know you are getting older when you have to google how to spell the fuckers name ). If the engine block is still attached to the chassis tomorrow morning I wont' be surprised. Just midly shocked. My host, when hearing which part of town I was moving to informed me that '' it's only one step above a trailer park '' . Maybe so. But at least with a trailer home you can move it to a more desirable part of town. The only time they are going to move this place is when the bulldozers come through to level it and put up yet another much needed ( or not ) shopping mall to compete with the other 45 within 2 miles of here.

Jokes aside it's not too bad. Does the job. Clean, self contained, close to the airport and if I don't make it as a pilot I'm sure the toothless guy downstairs will have taught me how to play that Ukelele he was strumming as I parked the car this evening.

I dropped my gear off and hurried out to wade in the ocean whilst watching the sun set. Here's a snap which also got me thinking. If the sun is setting here where is it rising at the same time ? The answer you are looking for is Singapore. Setting in Naples , Florida on Tuesday November 2 and rising in Singapore on Wednesday November 3. Ironically both recording the same temperature of 28 degrees with Naples suffering 500% less humidity would be my guess.