Anyway, so I had some serious research to do, because there are a thousand ways to get your flying time, and a thousand ways to get trained.  So, I started to look into it.  Being myself, I got really really excited about every option that I investigated.  I started by looking into paying for my own training.  Boy, let me tell you, that is one great racket to be in, because there is NO standard for charges while getting your civilian (FAA) flying tickets (Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI, CFII, Multi-engine, MEI, ATP, etc etc).  I priced my training with 4 different companies and prices ranged from as low as $17,000 to as high as $60,000.  And, they all took different amounts of time.  For example, at one place I would be out with my Instrument, Commercial, CFI, Multi-Engine, and CFII in 4 months of full-time work, while, at another place, I would be a paid instructor (HA! paid like a bag-boy at Safeway) after I got my tickets and end up finishing with more hours but in 2 years time.

            Then, there is the prospect of what job to get to build your hours until you can apply to one of the majors.   Flying processed checks from city to city is a very popular way.  That probably would have been my route had I not been accepted because it gave you lots of flying time in lots of different conditions.  Or, you could become an instructor pilot and spend hours and hours punching holes in the clouds with students.  Now I may sound down on these exploits, but in fact, I am not because I would have been doing some of them........AND LOVING IT!  Hey, if you want to fly, there is no room for pissin' and moanin' because you are not starting out in a Learjet.  I think I would have flown checks or instructed and been absolutely happy with it.  I hate these guys that make it seem that just because you didn't learn to fly the way they did, that somehow you are "less" of a pilot.   Baloney, there are good pilots and bad pilots in EVERY facet of the industry.  I just hope to be a good'un.

            That previous paragraph brings me to a joke that I heard that if you know any pilots, you'll think is funny, if not, it'll probably seem pretty stupid.  Here goes:

               Q:   Your at a party.  How can you tell if there is a pilot there?

                            A:    He'll tell you.

            Okay, okay, I admit, not too good, but it is kinda funny cause we (all of us) are damn proud that we can do things that most people can't or won't.   I mean, come on, if I was an FBI agent, or a marathon runner, or a rocket scientist, you better believe that I'd be bragging all the damn time. 

            Anyway, back to the good stuff.  If you'd like more information on the civilian way to do things, please E-mail me, I can be of some help.  So, for me, I had narrowed my choices to 2.   Nevermind that my dad had been telling me all along to investigate the Reserves or Active Duty. "Yeah yeah dad, I'll get to it.......but for now, guess how much it's going to cost me to go to Comair Flight Academy".   So I had decided that I was either going to go to Comair Flight Academy (total cost $50,000, time 2 years) or go to Airman Flight School (total cost $24,000, time 6 months, no instructor time).    I was dead set on those two options.  If you would have asked me then, that's what I would have told you.  And boy did I talk about it.  I am surprised my girlfriend didn't leave my self-centered butt, because all the conversation ever revolved around was me and my flight schools.  It should have revolved around how pretty she is (that ought to get me out of the doghouse for a little while). 

            My dad calls me one day out of the blue and says "Hey there, just thought you might like to get in touch with this guy I flew with this past trip, he is in a Reserve Unit down in San Antonio".  I said I would but wasn't really too interested.  I told myself, even though it would be cool to fly for the military, it would probably take a long time to get in and then be a pain in the arse.  Let me stop here.  DON'T BE AN IDIOT LIKE I WAS.  Turns out, that was the best damn idea there was.......for me, you may be different.   Either way, just like sushi, don't knock it till you've tried it. 

            To make a long story short, I did end up calling Captain Brooks to chat about the Reserves.  Boy let me tell you, there is nothing better than talking to someone who is excited that you called, excited to be flying, and excited that you are interested.  I owe quite a bit to Mr. Brooks because, he changed my life.  Honestly.  He was so convincing that not only was the Reserves a great place to be but that I was the perfect candidate for the Reserves.   We talked for about an hour and when we were done, I was hooked.   I sat there for hours and just daydreamed about what it would be like to fly all over the world, fly the biggest plane in the service, and become a part of a group of guys, that if I believed Captain Brooks, were just my kind of people.  I was pumped.   He invited me to the next Hard UTA weekend (weekend when all of the reserve guys have to come into the Unit and take care of stuff) to meet everyone and get a feel for the way the Unit operated and to get some "face-time" (which means smiling and selling yourself to people who you just met).   Just so happened that the next UTA was the very next weekend, so I quickly cancelled my plans (thanks for understanding, Donell) and made arrangements to meet at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.     I was trying not to get too excited about the possibility of being in the Air Force, just like my dad..................but I was.

Read more to find out what happens.............