The Eagle has Landed

The test flight is over. The Captains are here and we are informed that 90% of the things are ok. We're going to push through with the positioning flight tomorrow.

Yey!

This has been the longest day here.

I'm definitely coming home.

:-)

I'm Coming Home

Whew.

After an intense and anxious wait for the snow to subside and for KLM to release the aircraft for the pilot's checks, the flight test proceeded as scheduled. Well, about an hour and a half later than originally planned.

Although it's my first time to witness snow, this third day of Icy Amsterdam is not fancy for me anymore. I want to go home. And this frozen-water-that-drops-from-the-sky can potentially delay that. But, God has been kind and permitted the sun to shine the whole day.

It was a bit of an intense stand-off when the pilots arrived, hungry and being forced to proceed with the ground check and then to the ferry flight. I felt quite embarrassed that the team wasn't able to secure meal cards for them to eat first and then go about doing their business. But they decided to eat what was on the aircraft anyway. And with the lead captain declaring that they need sunlight to perform the test flight, everybody in the Team that spent 4 and half weeks here waited tensely at what the outcome will be.

You see, the pilots can only be on duty for 16 hours. That's regulation. But the test flight will consume roughly 4 hours and with a 12-hour trip back to Manila, the lead captains will be out of commission if we even push through with a return flight after the test flight. and they have to rest for 8 hours minimum, I think.

When the flight dispatcher (from us, sent here to KLM specifically to send off the aircraft for flight) told us that sundown would be at 1830H, we felt that there was little chance for the aircraft to have its test flight today. That means another day delay.

Drats...

So everything went on, the ground check proceeded as planned, not knowing if the lead pilot will take it to the skies. By quarter before three, there were faint signs that they may fly it for the test flight. I had to watch it unfold.

Moreopver, I had to rush to the office (on the third floor), print a copy of the General Declaration of passengers accompanying the test flight, and rush to the aircraft to deliver the document to the crew. they accepted it. And after a long waiut that seemed like forever, I watched from inside the hangar as the stairs to the first door was retracted , that door closed, and the aircraft to be pushed back for its line to the runway.

Whew.

And now, the wait continues. Even though the test flight commenced, we're still waiting if there would be remarks that may need to be addressed.

But it's a sign that things may go as planned for our return to Manila.

It has been an arduous life here in Amsterdam - 7 hours and hundreds of miles away from home.

Tomayto, Tomahto -> Holland, The Netherlands...

Ever wondered why Holland is now The Netherlands? Well, we got to talk with our gracious hosts at the office about it and he gave us a bit of a history lesson.

Holland is part of The Netherlands. Before, there were different kingdoms: North Holland and South Holland. Since Holland and the other domains in this area (Utrecht, Flevoland, etc.) were 'low' or below sea level, they were called the Low Countries, which formerly included modern Belgium and Luxemburg. Then, somebody decided to unite the Low Countries... Nadir, Nether... Thus, the Netherlands was born.

Simplistic, but it did answer the very first question that came to my mind upon arriving here.

Oh, and Amsterdam is their capital but the seat of their government is at Den Haag or, as we know it, The Hague in English.

A Hole in My Heart

I think this picture aptly captures how I felt yesterday.

Valentine's day and away from home...

It has left a big hole in my heart. I long for Nina's company, her embrace. And I miss our little boy's laugh and play.

It's cold here, far colder than what the weather brings...

The countdown continues... 16 days to go till I'm home.

Amsterdam Weekends (Part 2 of 2)

(...hectic day yesterday and the other day, but the blog continues...)

It snowed! But I didn't want that now... Not when we're about to go on another trip to downtown Amsterdam. Snow here melts when it touches pavement, so there's not much of a build-up and there's not much fun in that. I only get blasted at the face by cold, melting water and the temperature outside is to d&#n cold.

We managed our way to downtown, even though the Tram driver was rude, we were helped by a fellow passenger. We needed coins, we didn't have them. (We meaning me and 3 of the on-site team members). We got off before the Centraal Station (no, that's really how they spell it here, the Dutch have a particular liking to double vowels, as much as Filipinos love the 'a' vowel - you know: bababa ba? bababa!).

Wandering about another part of Amsterdam where we haven't been to yet, we managed to find ourselves at the Rembrandtplein or the Rembrandt Square where I asked to be photographed before the lifesize recreation of Rembrandt's famous work, the "Night Watch". There's me holding to the hand of somebody in the sculpture.

Oh, and did I mention it's 'Rembrandt Fever' here? their celebrating his 400th birth anniversary. You can't miss it here. Maybe one of these days I'll visit the Rijksmuseum to see his works. Before coming here to the Netherlands, all I knew about Rembrandt was that he was a painter.

Next weekend, i plan to ditch my fellow on-site team members to freely explore Amstertdam. They look like the type that won't enjoy museum visits. but then again, who knows... I'll ask. And just as I told my beloved wife that Amsterdam is too free a city that its like Sodom or Gomorrah, I plan to stay well clear of the bad sides of the city.

And it'll be pasalubong buying time as we only have 2 weekends left...

Amsterdam Weekends (Part 1 of 2)

Saturday was a good day, full of sunshine. It's times like this that I wish I was with my family, strolling this alien landscape and discovering ourselves - I wonder how Matt will react to the different birds or the cold? Alas, I have to endure the pain of spending time by myself... and discovering if I have a knack at photography.

I know my wife could surpass these shots when she gets her hands on this toy. I;m still thinking if I should buy the phot printer back at the shop where I bought my Digicam. It's offered for only EURO 50 if I buy the camera. Hope the offer still holds.

We had to bring our housemate to the hospital. His nose has bled for a week now. It's a strange state he's in. It was an excuse for the 3 of us to wander to a new part of Amsterdam. I didn't bring my camera in consideration, but the university grounds where the hospital was wasa good, clean place. The vrij universitiet (hope I got that spelling right) had a griffin for a symbol. Kinda reminded me of Harry Potter... hehe.

I passed the day finishing the laundry and ironing all of my clothes for the week. It's washing the thermals I'm worried about and as of today, I haven't had time to do so.

We did hope that this fine weather would continue through Sunday, when we plan (4 of us) to go to the City... Then, Amsterdam Weather kicked in.

Can't help It

I'm still human. Even though I raved a while ago about my job, I miss my wife and son IMMENSELY. I wish they were here with me. Maybe in the future, they can come along.

Have to fix their passports, among other things.

20 looong days to go.

Sigh...

From 6 to 6

Starting Monday, we were at the office by 6 a.m. And we leave by 6 p.m. Tough job, having to balance the requirements of reporting to Manila and the routine work here. But, I have no problems about it. Why?

'Cause I like what I'm doing. And I can't see myself in any other job in the world.

Ever since I was a kid, I had my very own airport, playing with toy planes of different shapes, sizes (and scale). Testosterone probably kicked in during my teen years, when attention shifted to nice, quiet airlines to the more aggressive fighter planes. I'd memorize the nicknames of any fighter plane or bomber plane in the world - F-14s (Tomcats), F-15s (Strike Eagle), Mig 25s (Foxbats), etc.

Entering Pisay, my attention went from the sky to beyond the confines of the Earth. Star Trek and the fascination with starships began. Although Star Trek stories are great humanist fiction, my concern for the series was mainly due to the technology it offered. Especially the idea of massive starships cruising around the galaxy. By the end of my 4-year stint in Pisay, I knew I wanted to build.

Build moving objects, that is. And my sights quickly came back to earth. I had to go to my first liking - airplanes. Since UP was the only university i had set my sights on, I ended up taking the nearest course to aeronautical engineering as possible - mechanical engineering. A compromise of sorts that opened up more possibilities to come.

Warp speed to today. I will be completing this entry after a quick lunch break. Needless to say, I am very thankful that God gave me this job. Seeing this great piece of engineering work being opened up still leaves me in awe. And this same awe is manifest whenever II get to sit at a window seat, looking out at the horizon as this vehicle speeds its way to its destination - 40,000 feet above the earth.

So, what is your passion? What drives you? Are you doing it today?

Some say 'will it enough and the universe will conspire to give it to you'. Others think 'it has been written in your destiny to fulfill'. They may be true.

Me? I believe in 'ask and you shall receive'.

View From the Top

It's another work week. But I'm glad I got a chance to go out of the apartelle yesterday, with my housemates from LTP. We went to Amsterdam and was greeted by moisture. I could'nt quite describe it as rain. It was more like somebody is spraying you on your face with a fine mist of water. So that's what they call rain here in the Netherlands. Wait till they see the storms back in Manila.

That was exercise for me - 4 hours of endless strolling, looking at shops, eating lunch at an eat-all-you-can Chinese nook, and scouting for potential souvenir buys. By the time we decided to return to Amstelveen, we were dog gone tired.

But I had a thing in mind I'd like to accomplish back home. I've so much wanted to buy a digital camera, primarily for Nina to play with and explore and for Matt, and secondarily, for work. I need to take lotsa pictures while the Check is going on, to give Manila a feel on how things are progressing (or stagnating). It was well within the budget. I hope Nina will enjoy this when I get home.

So here was the result - I bought a Kodak C360 5.0 megapixel digital camera (with a 2-inch screen), a set of chargeable AA batteries with a charger, and a memory card for the pictures. Toying with it last night, I present to you some of the shots from our humble apartelle on the 11th floor of the building in Meander, Amstelveen.

Miles away from home

It's Saturday, February 4, 2006. I'm at an office that is beginning to feel like a prison cell. It's a weekend, and all normal Dutch personnel working in this hangar are off enjoying their precious 2-day reprieve.

I'm a Filipino, doing my job as a member of the on-site technical team tasked to watch over one of our Jumbo's while it undergoes overhaul here in Amsterdam. Put the info together and you'll probably know which airline I work for and where we are now.

It's 5 past 11am. All of the team is here to have some paperwork to finish. We'll have lunch soon, after our materials guy finishes his already growing list of parts to be shipped or sourced.

I'm bored. Nothing much to do. Places here close by 6pm. I've told Nina how much I miss the time when the local department store back home would close by 10pm. We'd have lots of time roaming around the mall before Nina and I would decide to go home - to the protests of our little angel Matt. OK, maybe he's not an angel at times, especially when he's cranky, but he's a bundle of joy nonetheless.

There are only 27 days left for the scheduled check here. Hmmm... I'll be 28 this year. I'm getting old.

I miss my family. I miss Nina's cuddle during cold nights and Matt's body snuggling up as a lambing.

27 days...

If only time would tick faster.