New Life

It's been an intense past couple of weeks.
After I came back from my flight physical, I ran around to several doctors and procedures to get back up documentation for my waivers.

I did the best I could do.
I seriously can't thank my dad enough, because I would have had nothing without him.
I was able to submit really great letters from highly respected physicians to support my waiver application. I hear about the waivers sometime in late January or likely February.

My last post mentioned that my security clearance had started.

Holy Sh*t.

First off, they go...everywhere. Phone interviews aren't enough. They meet in person. Since my security clearance isn't "super" high, they will not go to the Czech Republic, where I spent 4 years of my life. They will, however, meet with every single person in America that they can to talk about me.

I'm still not sure if they will talk to my immediate family, but I have had at least one friend call me so far and say "I don't remember what you did! Why do they keep asking?!?"

I met with the guy in Boston who is working on my Boston contacts. Over the phone, he sounded old and cranky. When I met him, he looked younger than me (but still seemed a little cranky). I can see why: we spent three and a half hours going over my paperwork and making it right.

HE MADE CORRECTIONS BY HAND. WRITING. EVERYTHING.

I could wax poetic on this evening for hours (ha) but I won't. Three points came out of this meeting.

1) I was exhausted
I'm sure he was too. We literally shut down the building. This was the most intense and detailed questioning of any sort I've ever done. Including applying to a consultancy firm, which involved an 8 hour interview.

2) I was/am embarrassed.
I did some stupid things in college. Last night I had to re-live all of them. I wanted to kick myself. I understand that college is usually a time that kids experiment and get into trouble, but...I wish I had done it a little more....clandestinely. The main thing is that they don't want to see people lying, so I tried my best to "re-live" those embarrassing moments as accurately as I could. I don't ever want to have to do that again.

3) I feel exposed
I've written before, that if I get a pilot slot, the government "OWNS" me for at least 13 years. I've used the word "own" in a lighthearted manner, but now, it's serious. I want this. I will do what it takes to make this happen. And if that means exposing my life, I will.
I've gone from living a relatively carefree life to now worrying about everything I do. It's not a BAD thing that I weigh my decisions more heavily, but it has been a SNAP change, not a gradual adjustment. I all of a sudden felt like every phone call I made, every email conversation I had, etc. was being documented. I know that's being unnecessarily paranoid, but it was my initial gut reaction. I know I'll get used to it very soon (week or so), but I just thought I'd write this post to document my initial reaction....