A lot has happened since the last time I posted to this blog.  The transient lifestyle has meant for me that I am largely detached from my Internet connection.  I hadn't realized how much I am online until it became unavailable.  Last night I stayed with my lifetime friend Boyd and his wife Pam.  They put me up for the night and will be depositing me on the train this afternoon to Eugene.  He fixed breakfast this morning; scrambled eggs, sausage links, fried potatoes, toast and jam.  I think I wanna move in now.

We started work on the plane in Eugene on the 30th of July.  So far, there have been only five days of work, but so much has been accomplished.  Here are some highlights of major accomplishments:

• Wings on and angle of incidence set
• Horizontal stabilizer on 
• Vertical Stabilizer on 
• Elevators on
• Rudder on
• Wing tanks prosealed and final skins riveted 
• Control rods all properly set and installed
• Landing gear assembled and installed
• Engine mounted and all sensors installed
• Vetterman exhaust installed
• Propeller installed, torqued and safety wired
• Engine baffling in progress
• Engine Cowl in progress

We are waiting for the new panel and other parts to arrive, but Wally assures us that two more weeks of work and we should be done and ready for the painter.  One big unknown is how long it will take for the FAA to finish with their paper work.

Working with the guys at Synergy is kind of like paddling in a raft that's flowing down a fast moving river.  So much is happening that it's hard to know how much I'm really adding to the process.  If I were not there, it wouldn't stop them.  Never the less, Bob and I are totally involved and loving it.  The Synergy guys know what to do and don't have to waste time standing around talking about it.  They dive in and before you know it the work is done.  Even while they teach us in the process.

My solution to housing was to rent a room I found on Craigslist.  How could I have known I was dealing with a troubled individual?  My landlord struck me as quirky when we first met.  She seemed paranoid about the air quality and 'Chemtrails' as though someone is out to get her.  She has the house up for sale, but set the price at what she wants rather than what the market would indicate. The first few days were okay.  I tried to keep a very small footprint in the house.  I cleaned my dishes and put them in the dish washer.  I keep my personal items within the confines of my room rather than taking over the bathroom.  I removed my shoes at the door to keep her floors clean.  I tried to negotiate her permission to bring my wife to stay with me, but she said, "NO".  I figured we could handle the one month separation because I could go home for the weekends.

Last Wednesday I noticed that the dishwasher was full, so that evening I put soap in it an ran the dishwasher.  The next morning I removed the dishes and put them away.  I thought I was just being a good housemate, but she instructed me that I should let her do the dishes.  She said, "Just put your dishes in the sink".  So (while it struck me a little odd) I put my dishes in the sink the next morning as instructed.  I went of to the airport for a day of working on the plane.  We had a very full day, and I came home with a big headache and exhausted.  I went straight to my room and fell asleep.

I was awakened by her shouting, "You need to get out right now".  I came out and asked if everything was okay.  She said,"Have you read your email?"   "No", I replied  "I have been working on the plane all day and haven't even noticed that I had email."  She wouldn't talk to me, but instead told me to read my mail.  So I read my mail.  She had left me three messages; each growing increasingly weirder than the last.  She was very upset that I had left my dishes in the sink.  You can imagine my confusion.  She was madder than a wet hen.  So I took the blame for the 'misunderstanding' and tried to calm her down.  I thought that this would be the end of the matter; WRONG.

I came home this last weekend because there was going to be a delay in our work until Wednesday and I wanted to spend the time with family.  You can imagine my surprise when I received another email telling me that I need to move out RIGHT NOW.  Okay, I give up.  So I arranged to stay in a hotel and let her know that I'll be moving out Tuesday evening when I return to town.  I thought she'd be happy.  Now she's decided to verbally attack my character via email.  I can't wait to be out of there.  I am so thankful that my brother will be coming with me to get my stuff.  I have this mental picture of my land lady that disturbs me.

Just to add to the drama, she (Mrs Bates) decided to throw all my stuff in a bag even though I asked her to leave my things alone..  Then she emails me to tell me about it.  Yike!