Its been a while...

There’s nothing like bypassing January to escape all the requisite talk of resolutions (see post last year)…but in all seriousness, I’ve just returned from a relaxing and indulgent holiday in New Zealand. It sure helped to take the sting out of going back to work after the Christmas/New Year holidays. The copious amounts of gourmet food, wine, sweet treats – both at restaurants and over at the homes of friends and family was manna from heaven and a great way to farewell 2012 and welcome the new year.

Whilst I was relaxing up in the mountainous pine forests of New Zealand’s Coromandel Coast I got to thinking…what do I want to do/try/experience, and ultimately be this year?

My last blog entry was in October, and from that date till the Christmas shutdown period, I was consumed by work. For those of you who have followed by blog, you may recall that I was studying for my government license to assess pilots and cabin crew on emergency procedures. I’m pleased (and a little more than relieved) to report that at the beginning of December I achieved that milestone, and as a reward, I have been banished to the classroom and the simulators ever since in order to train, assess, examine, and sometimes yell - all in the name of air safety. My little sojourn allowed me to take stock, reflect and set the stage for the coming period.

Regarding my career and my writing aspirations, one thing I realized is that I am no longer ‘waiting tables looking for my big break.’ By that I mean the days of taking all sorts of odd jobs (usually poor paying ones) in order to feed my writing habit are over (in reality they have been for the last few years). Although I enjoyed my bohemian existence in my early twenties, now that I’m in my thirties, I’m pleased to report that I can juggle a respectable professional career while knocking on the publishing world’s door. I could do worse than follow in the footsteps of say…Michael Crichton or Tess Gerritsen, among many other luminaries.

Having said that, since I had to spend most of last year working assiduously on my nine-to-five persona, I am now wildly free to focus on my life’s other great love (that is, other than the wonderful people in my life) = writing. Busy as I was last year, I did work my little keister off on polishing my YA novel. I had hoped (and plainly stated in an early entry) that I would have finished the requisite changes/improvements and be on my submission journey way before the fireworks on New Year’s Eve. But I’m actually proud to admit that I didn’t get there. (In fact I have four more chapters ahead of me, so I didn’t miss the mark too badly). The reason I mention this is because I’m kind of proud of my shortcoming… For someone who would love nothing more than to receive ‘The Call’ from an agent, I finally came to the peaceful realization that I will not sacrifice quality in order to submit. I always understood that rushing would lead to sub par writing and thus reduce the chance of publication, but the angst and youthful impatience was always there, buzzing away. But not anymore. I like this new zen-like me. Let’s see if it holds me in good stead moving forward.

To finish (I apologize for the long entry), I am excited about blogging on a more consistent basis. If last year was my freshman attempt, this year’s sophomoric ramblings will be more assured and more consistent…I promise.

Evacuate!

Where did March go?

I sit here, completely run down with a head cold and utterly exhausted after a relentless month (my doctor informed me yesterday that my left eardrum is bleeding a little, to top it all off).

I had to put away everything - personal life, family, writing, exercising...all in an effort to run the gauntlet of Emergency Procedures training that all pilots and cabin crew must pass in order to fly above the clouds.

There was a twist in my story though.

I was part of an initial flight attendant course - and I had to sit all the exams and the practical drills, but I was there as a 'trainee trainer'. For those of you out there who think flight attendant school consists of learning how to serve food and beverages in the sky - think again! The first four weeks of the course is all about dealing with emergencies at 40,000ft.

Crash landings, ditchings (landing on water), inflight fires, depressurisations, dealing with door and exit malfunctions, pilots who are incapacitated, post-crash survival, and I can keep going...is what occurs every nine hour work day during the course. The pass mark for written exams is 80%, and in other assessments, only 100% will be deemed a pass. (In my case, as a new Aviation Safety Instructor, it was expected that I ace them all - no pressure...it was a cinch...really...(gulp). Some don't make it, and tears are shed, tempers sometimes fray, but the pressure-cooker environment is purposely crafted to see what crew are made of in the event of an emergency.

Sitting at my desk now, at the tail end of it, I have to say it was an awesome month. The pressure was immense and the scenarios were grim, but working with the new recruits (who you can't help but bond with over the course of the journey), and working with my fellow instructors - who range from former soldiers, fire fighters, flight attendants, pilots, school teachers, air marshals and other fascinating backgrounds, made March a crazy, intense, cortisol-increasing month, but one that was well worth the journey.

Coming from instructing crew in aviation first aid and security (anti-terrorism), to now being on the journey to becoming an emergency procedures instructor, it makes the non-writing part of my life feel incredibly worthwhile.

Having said that, I am looking forward to getting stuck back into my novel right after the Easter break. As broken as I feel now, I have been reinvigorated creatively and I'm excited about the next few months - I am also at the tentative beginnings of creating an 'author website'.

But, in the meantime, whether you celebrate Easter or not, eats loads of chocolate and get out amongst it all with your loved ones - that's what I'll be doing.