Marriage

I love my wife.

Leftovers

I don't like to eat leftovers.

But I do because it saves money.

Grand Rios

I am sitting at the bar at the Grand Rios hotel in Brooklyn Park, MN and recently found out the bartender just got out of jail.

Nice. Check please!

A&P

For all you non-aviation types, an A&P is an airframe and powerplant license. It is a federally issued license to work on aircraft and aircraft engines, and more importantly, sign off the work that has been completed as airworthy.

This is a MASSIVE responsibility considering what you are signing your name to. You are essentially stating that the work you have completed is in TOTAL compliance with federal standards and manufacturer standards and not to mention the fact that people are going to be flying with a product that you have had your hands on.

Now, as an employee of an aviation engine manufacturer, I typically don't sign off work done on aircraft/engines work with my personal A&P license (which I was awarded in 2002 after 4 years of preparation, required classes and a ridiculous two day exam), but I nonetheless perform such work on aircraft.

Today, I spent more time working on engines and aircraft than I have done in a long time. I very much enjoy doing this as part of my job, but am glad that it is not the only part of my job! I had to remove an engine from an aircraft, disassembly a major portion of the engine and replace an electronic component inside the engine today. It was fun, a lot of work, but fun!

The only bummer...I am still in Minneapolis.

Traveling

I am in Minneapolis, Minnesota AGAIN!!!

I was in Minneapolis the for the following dates:
Oct 30-Nov 2
Nov 16-17
Nov 29-Dec 2
Dec 6 - Dec 9
Dec 11-Dec 12
Dec 18-20
AND, NOW...
Jan 22-Jan 26

A little excessive? I think so! Yet, this is my job. I can't go into any detail about what I am doing up here, other than I am working.

There are a few jokes at the company I am working with up here and they are:
1. Hey Brandon, when are you going to start paying MN state income tax.
2. Hey Brandon, there are a few homes nearby that are for sale.
3. Hey Brandon, is the only reason you come up here because we grill out on Fridays?
4. Hey Brandon, here's the code for the door for when you get here before we do. (and yes, I have the code)

Traveling is tough. Physically and probably even more so, mentally and emotionally. I know that Jennifer misses me and I miss her too. It is no fun coming back after a long day of work to an empty hotel room. It's usually late when I get in anyways because we work late and then eat even later. So I am tired when I get back...like now. I'm going to bed.

Blogging from Minneapolis.

Our Vows

Jennifer and I are sitting at the kitchen table waiting for our Curry Cashew Fruited Rice to get finished cooking, and yes it smells awesome. Jennifer was on her computer and found our marriage vows. We reaffirmed our vows this evening, after almost 11 months of marriage, while sitting in our kitchen. I think we are usually a little more romantic than this, but I thought I'd share our vows with you.

Do you Brandon take Jennifer to be your lawful wedded wife, to live with her after God's commands in the holy estate of marriage? And do you promise to love, comfort, honor, keep and serve her and forsaking all others be faithful to her, so long as you both shall live?

I DO!

Jennifer repeats (replace Jennifer with Brandon and husband with wife and vice versa)

I, Brandon, take you, Jennifer, to be my wedded wife. And I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be your loving and faithful husband for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, as long as we both shall live.

Jennifer repeats (replace Jennifer with Brandon and husband with wife and vice versa)

With this ring, I seal my vow and offer it as a symbol of my love an affection and of my constant faith in God, who gives me the power to keep this covenant; In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Jennifer repeats

Thanks for reading our vows. We like them too.

Photo by Geoff Johnson, photographer and brother-in-law.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

That means, "Do you speak German?". And the answer to that is...No, as a matter of fact I don't. But, I would like to.

So if you're wondering why the title of this post is in German, here is the answer. It actually has two parts to it.

1. For my job, I was recently assigned a program to develop an engine for a customer that is located in Austria. My customer is located in Wiener Neustadt, which is 30 miles (0r 48 kilometers for those who use the metric system) South of Vienna, Austria! The native tongue in Austria is of course German. I am pleased to say that my first trip to Europe will be on February 2nd, and the better part is that I don't have to pay for it! The sad news is that Jennifer won't be coming and it is going to be work work work. I am hoping for multiple trips of which one I plan on extending for some personal vacation time and bringing Jennifer!

2. For Christmas Jennifer got me language software from Rosetta Stone. This was a great gift, however the way in which it was acquired is somewhat humbling. Jennifer and I set a limit on how much we would spend on each other for Christmas. This amount was based on how much we budgeted for the Christmas season for giving gifts. The cost of this software far exceeded the budgeted amount, so when I was traveling a lot in the months of November and December for work, Jennifer would go give plasma. Yes, my wife shed blood for me this year for Christmas and made a nice lump of cash in the process. In the end Jennifer did not spend more money that we had in our account for Christmas, yet she gave so much more!

Introduction for the New Guy

Since this is my first blog entry, let me first introduce myself. My name is Brandon McShea. I am a twenty six year old guy who lives in Mobile, AL with my beautiful wife Jennifer and our two dogs Maggie and Zoie. Maggie is a Weimaraner and Zoie is a Labrador/Spitz mix. Our dogs are how Jennifer and I met. We were walking in the park one day when Zoie ran up to Maggie and me and Jennifer came over to get her. The rest you can say is history; or history in the making to be precise!

I have always been interested in aviation, and I am one of the blessed people in this world to get to actually do what I love. I am an engineer for Teledyne Continental Motors, the world's leading manufacturer of piston engines for general aviation aircraft. I am actually a "Senior Project Engineer". Basically what that means is that I manage the development and certification programs for new engines and their installation into new or existing airframes. My job is great because it has so many facets. One day I'll be working in my office scheduling tests and calculating fuel flows and horsepower, the next day I'll be out in one of our many test cells running an engine, the next day I'll be working on an engine in an aircraft, and the next day I'll be out conducting test flights. Yes, I get to fly for work and it's pretty cool. A lot of the time however my head is buried in a computer looking a thousands of lines of engine data.

Other interesting facts:

• I do have my pilots license which is tons of fun, although I have not flown for personal fun in quite some time
• I purchased a home which my wife and I now live in
• I drive a sweet 1997 "faded red" VW Jetta
• I am a medallion member on Delta Airlines
• Pizza is my favorite food

Stay tuned...