Zok

Did you get tired from all the reading yesterday?

I forgot the part where we started off going to Subway NYE morning so we could have lunch in the plane on the way out there.  The first Subway we went to, it had an Open sign, but nobody came to the drive-through window after over 5 minutes.  I yelled "Hello?"  We drove around, doors open, lights on, open sign on...and not a single employee in sight.  It was weird, man.  So we drove to the Subway on the other side of town and got our lunch.  Then we stop at a gas station/market to pick up snacks for the evening.  The gas station is closed.  So we go to another gas station.  That's pretty much how the day went.  This didn't work, so we'll try something else.  That didn't work, so we'll try something else.   Good thing we are stubborn people.  ;)

Today was a little bit of a panic getting some stuff done before Kaylee moves into college.  Saturday is moving day, and we needed some paperwork filled out still.  We weren't sure she had her full transcipts in, and I hadn't done her medical form.  I go to do that today only to learn that it has to be filled out and signed by the doctor's office, verified, not just from me.  First time I've ever had that, but it's smart, because every other place has just taken my word for when and what shots were done.  So oops.  I ran to the doc's office, and they kept the paper, and let me know they'd tell me when it was done.  I got the call at 5 pm, so tomorrow I can go get it and submit it to IWU on Friday so she will be allowed to move in on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Steve called about the transcripts and found that they already had them after all, because Eastern's counselor was on top of all that for all the graduating students.  Which is really cool.  So...other than needing to go to Target for some last minute things, Kaylee is officially ready to head off to college.  Saturday we all go and move her in and go to a few orientation things, and then the schedule says "Say Goodbye to your Loved Ones".  I thought that sounded very final and fatal, until Kaylee told me that last semester it said "Say Your Final Goodbyes".  Somebody needs to work on this.  It sounds like we're sending them off to be killed, not to college.  ;)

You might remember me talking about the Zok?  It's a bulb that looks like a baby booger sucker, that claims it helps with bad headaches.  I thought, this sounds ridiculous.  But I looked up reviews, and there were SO many good ones, and even Forbes had done an article on them.  I thought...no way.  I ordered one anyway because I get desperate sometimes.  It came in the mail a few weeks ago, and I haven't had any occasion to try it.  Until today.  The headache that didn't come yesterday, arrived this morning.  I woke up early and took some Tylenol and Motrin and Claritin D, all to fend it off.  No luck.  It wasn't bad yet, but it was going to be.  You can just tell after enough of them.  And then I remembered that Zok thing.  I was like...no way.  I followed the directions, squished it flat, stuck it in my ear until the tip of it was on my ear drum basically, with a suction so strong that I could remove my hand and leave it stuck in there.  Did that for the required 20 seconds.  When I pulled it out, I didn't notice much difference.  There are two ways to do it.  So I did it the second way.  Leave it inflated, stick it all the way into your ear until it's sealed on the ear drum, then squeeze the bulb lightly to put a little pressure on it for 20 seconds.  I actually felt a little better after that, and thought, nah.  So I did it the first way again.  This time I felt my ear pop on the left side a little bit a couple times.  I put it away, thought "no way, this is dumb".  Five minutes later I realized my headache was completely gone.  I mean...gone.  I'd also had a couple Poweraids which usually helps, but they hadn't kicked in yet.  The headache was gone, and it stayed gone all day, with no more medicine.  I think the baby booger sucker actually worked on this kind of headache.  It's relieving and equalizing pressure in your head with the suction.  So they say.  I've always said I can feel it in the right side of my head when I get these.   Sometimes my eyes and nose run too.  I've also said it feels like my brain fluid is leaking out of my head sometimes.  Awful.  Anyway.  It could be a coincidence, it could be the Poweraid, but...I am cautiously optimistic that this might actually help some of these.  And if it does, it's priceless.  The best $30 I've ever spent.  Hopefully I won't have occasion to use it again soon, but when I do, if it works as well as today, I'll be very excited.

I got the email from MyFlightBook.com with the stats for the year.  I always think this is a little interesting.

Your totals for all of 2019
AMEL: 107 Landings (94 Day, 13 Night), 23 Approaches,  138.1

ASEL: 1,073 Landings (1,011 Day, 57 Night), 7 Approaches,  411.9

Complex - PIC/Total: 270.4

High Performance - PIC/Total: 235.0

Tailwheel - PIC/Total: 150.1

Turbine - PIC/Total: 33.1

Cross Country: 183.3

Night: 43.0

IMC: 15.8

CFI: 399.7

PIC: 550.0

Total Time: 1,180 Landings (1,105 Day, 70 Night), 30 Approaches,  550.0


Flying stats and achievements for 1/1/2019 to 12/31/2019
• Logged 366 Flights!
• Total days flown: 198 days out of 365 (54.2% of days in period)
• Longest streak of consecutive flying days: 19 days from 7/30/2019 to 8/17/2019
• Most flights on a single day: 6 flights on 08/23/2019
• Longest flight: 7.80 hours on 7/10/2019
• Furthest flight: 1,714.0nm on 11/8/2019
• Distinct airports visited: 65
• Distinct aircraft flown: 35
• Distinct models flown: 27 (comprising 19 families of models)

So in one year, 150 hours tailwheel time, 550 total, 35 different airplanes, 65 different airports.  Kind of fun.  :)

Back to work over here!