12 Jan

Still pretty slow on the day cycle at least mission wise. We have had a nice bout of maintenance problems the last couple of days, so that has given us something to do. Once again it seems like the aircraft talk to each other – once one breaks they all want to get in on the action. After several days of frenzied activity we beat them down and they all behave for a few days. This slow time has allowed me to get back into exercising again. During this deployment I have noticed several indicators that I am getting old and my body’s response to exercise is one of them.:) I find myself satisfied with a much shorter workout than I used to be and the funny thing is the pain level is just the same. We did have a little excitement a couple of days ago – for the first time since we have been here we got measurable precipitation and by morning it had turned into snow. It didn’t last long but it was wild seeing it snow in the desert. The guys flying that night ran into some of the bad weather and had to climb up into the clouds and fly home on instruments. That caused a little anxiety but it actually all worked out just like we plan for. I found out my leave date for next month – the 7^th. Just having the date has made me a lot more excited – I just hope the days don’t start dragging.

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