After much training and learning, I am finally out of Denver and on IOE (Initial Operating Experience). I've pretty much just been running the West Coast shuttle between Seattle, San Francisco, LA, and San Diego. As a whole I like the new plane. I feel like it gets more respect based solely on the fact that it looks bigger. You will note I modified the masthead of this blog to reflect the recent changes. The transition has been very easy coming from the CRJ. In any event, I now find myself in San Diego.
It was a warm and sunny morning, so I walked to Balboa Park. I had forgotten how large it is. It was also very crowded since it is Saturday. On my way across Cabrillo Bridge, I spotted an F-list celebrity jogging the opposite direction - Farrah from Teen Mom. We can all thank Nicole for exposing me to such a terrible MTV show. Who is this person, you ask? Her most notable accomplishments were getting pregnant at 16, undergoing lots of plastic surgery, and/or publicly releasing a sex tape. Perhaps in South Beach, that's just a Tuesday, but most people tend to think she's a bit . . . off.
Farrah was far from the last unusual thing I saw in Balboa Park that day. A man in an electrical wheelchair made a beeline for me and muttered something about Jesus and my sins while trying to give me some sort of biblical literature. I politely raised my hand to say no and walked by. Just meters away, was this little tent display that offered visitors a chance to ask an atheist a question.
There were also other groups trying to generate signatures for petitions or donations for other causes. I felt like I was in the movie, Airplane! I couldn't shake them all. And when you thought you'd seen it all, there was Santa Claus. The question is - would he have been more inclined to ask the atheists a question or talk to Jesus/Sins man? As someone who studied history, I should state that the Christmas lawn displays that show santa at the manger, are historically inaccurate. It is now generally accepted that Santa was a communist party leader. Just look at him. He's as red as they come.
After meandering around the park and deciding not to actually spend any of my money on museums, I wound my way back toward the hotel. Perhaps next time I will be more willing to pay the admission, but today I'm feeling cheap. I have to save up for my next trip, which is tentatively scheduled for October. And I know what you're thinking . . ."Didn't he just finish training? And he wants vacation already?" Yes. I don't understand the problem with this.
Until next time, and welcome back to the adventures of Flyin' Brian.
