Can this really be true?

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is in its second day of public hearings about the crash of Continental Connections Flight 3047 that killed 50 people near Buffalo on Feb. 12 this year. Colgan was operating the Buffalo flight as regional airline partner of Continental Airlines. You can read the related article at the Washington Post.

What struck me as completely odd and unbelievable is this: "Under questioning from the board, Mary Finnigan, Colgan's vice president for administration, reported that Rebecca Shaw, co-pilot of the crash plane, drew an annual salary of $16,200 a year. The board also said that Shaw once held a second job in coffee shop while working as a pilot for the airline in Norfolk, Va." Meanwhile, "Pilots who work for major carriers flying large jet planes typically earn about $125,000 per year, on average."

Colgan has about 430 pilots and experiences an annual attrition rate as high as 30 percent, according to the safety board. Captains at Colgan Air typically earn between $50,000 and $53,000 per year.

I certainly hope that the NTSB does a thorough investigation and the appropriate regulations will be put into place.

St. Marteen

So we are back from our very short trip to St. Marteen. It was our first time there and we loved it. We probably wouldn't have gone away but our friends talked us into it and we are glad they did. It was difficult being away from our 8 months old but was a necessary evil so to speak. I missed him a whole lot but can't say the same for him. He seems to have been doing just fine without us.

We heard enormous amount of things about St. Marteen. Pretty much everyone we know that has been there could not stop talking about how great the place is. We received thousands of recommendations starting from which beaches to visit, where to go snorkeling or diving, which restaurants to eat at, and most importantly to rent a car. Of course, the four of us, wrote all of this information down but didn't look at it until our second day on the island. All of this would have been fine except the car part. Our first day there we kind of just chilled at the Dawn Beach in front of our hotel (Westin Dawn - Dutch side) and then towards the late evening decided to wonder off via taxi to the French side of the island.

Well, instead of following the thousands of recommendations provided by trusted sources, we decided to ask the hotel staff, note not the concierge, and the taxi driver of where to go. The taxi driver quickly suggested Grand Case, noting that its a wonderful destination to go eat and walk around, with an abundance of shops on "both sides". We, not knowing any better, agreed.

We came down to Grand Case shortly after 9:00 PM on Saturday and decided to go eat. It is worth noting that when we got to Grand Case, the place did not look all that inviting and the "both sides" of shopping and restaurant turned to be a small street with most shops closed and restaurants emptying. The neighboring streets were swarming with locals, drinking at the local bars and listening or dancing to Reggaeton. We, finally, settled on a Seafood restaurant, the name of which I do not recall at this time, and set down to eat. The food was OK and the service was mediocre. After we had our dinner, we wondered around the Grand Case street, passed by the Grand Case beach and marina, and then went to look for a cab back to the hotel. And, this is where the fun began.

We couldn't find a taxi and while looking for one, somehow wondered off the Grand Case street to the local streets and highway, continuously repeating - "St. Maarten - the friendly island". Needless to say, the reason all of our dear friends kept telling us to rent a car is that apparently after 10:00 PM, you can't get a taxi to take you anywhere. They just simply DO NOT WORK. Not one cabby, and we found a few drinking in the aforementioned bars, wanted to take us to the Dutch side. We even stopped at a local restaurant asking to be called a cab. The waitress was very pleasant and did call a few, except all 4 of them declined to take us anywhere. All hope wasn't lost though, I had a bright idea, we asked the waitress to call the Westin and have them send someone for us. After about two hours, we finally were back to our hotel.

This is us waiting for our taxi (well I am taking the picture).

Maybe more stories to come at a later time. In the meantime, I will continue to upload pictures from our trip here.

Me and Mr. Darcy

I just finished reading Me and Mr. Darcy: A Novel by Alexandra Potter. This book was unexpectedly charming, a great and easy read. This is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice and a chick lit novel. The books is very close to the original and is full of quotations from Pride and Prejudice.

If you’ve ever dreamed of what it would be like to meet Mr. Darcy, this book is for you. Emily Albright, a 29 year old single woman has been on a series of bad dates. So many, in fact, that she has sworn off men. But when she signs up for a trip to England for a Jane Austen retreat, she finds love in the most unexpected ways.

The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) sponsors tours of England that include visits to Jane Austen's residences, private homes she knew, and places she visited. Itinerary and registration information will be mailed to JASNA members prior to being posted on the web site, and tour participants must be JASNA members. For more information, visit The Jane Austen Society of North America.

Favorite quotes from the novel:

“The reality is always more disappointing than the fantasy.”
“Stick by your principles, go after what you want, and don’t be afraid to admit when you are wrong.”
"Overpaid, oversexed, and over here"

Geography of a Man and a Woman

THE GEOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN

Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa , half discovered,half wild, fertile and naturally beautiful!
Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe, well developed andopen to trade, especially for someone with cash.
Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain, very hot, relaxed andconvinced of her own beauty.
Between 36 and 40, a woman is like Greece, gently aging butstill a warm and desirable place to visit.
Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain, with aglorious and all conquering past. Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel, has been through warand doesn't make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.
Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada, self-preserving. butopen to meeting new people.
After 70, she becomes Tibet, wildly beautiful, with amysterious past and the wisdom of the ages... only those with an adventurousspirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge visit there.


THE GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN

Between 1 and 70, a man is like Iran, ruled by nuts.

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