Hey everyone. I hope everything is going well for you and that you are enjoying your summer thus far. Things are good for me and I am really enjoying the time off from school. While I have been working a lot, I have been making sure to relax a bit as well. Summer is definitely important for that.

Not all that much new has really happened since I last wrote regarding work. There have been a few interesting moments, as always, but on a day-to-day basis, things have been running relatively smoothly, which is good. This summer at work, I have really been trying to learn as much as I possibly can so that I can add it to my bank of knowledge going forward. I do this primarily by getting involved in everything I possibly can get involved in, which is sometimes tiring but definitely worth it in the long run.

I mentioned in my last article that I had a good friend named David that owns some restaurant franchises. As if I wasn’t busy enough, I have taken a job with him on the weekends helping out with his staff and stores. This is not that tough of a job, but it gives me the ability to see David more often while I am home and to get to know some of his employees and customers as well. So far, it has been a lot of fun and it is neat to learn some different food preparation techniques than what I had learned in my earlier days of working in the foodservice industry.

Last weekend, I went over my friend Mike’s house for  4th of July fireworks. He lives right on the water in East Haven, so this afforded a fantastic view of the festivities. Also at his house were several friends of mine who I hadn’t seen since I have been home from school, as well as some of my other co-workers and associates at the airport and some new friends who I met. It was a great night.

A few days later, I went with some of my co-workers at the airport to meet with AngelFlight Northeast in North Andover, Massachusetts. My airport is hosting a large airshow in October to benefit this organization and we took the 3 hour drive up there to iron out some details with them. All in all, the meeting was extremely successful. They took us out to a really nice restaurant for lunch when we got there and during this time I got to know some of the leadership for the organization. They are a great group of guys and I look forward to working with them more in the future.

Just yesterday, I returned home from Florida where we spent a long 4th of July weekend. If you have been reading my journal, you know that my parents recently purchased a home in South Florida, so we went down to that house. It was a great family vacation. We spent a lot of time at the pool, but we also went to Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, the beach, and just looked around the area a bit. At this point, most of the house is decorated and it really feels like a second home. I really look forward to visiting again.

On the way back home at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, I noticed a lot of commotion at the gate across the concourse from my flight. The flight, going to Haiti, apparently had some baggage checked on it that wasn’t associated with a passenger. Because the flight is already considered high-risk, all of the bags were pulled off and an abundance of law enforcement and airport officials were on hand. It looked like quite a sight.

When we landed back in Connecticut at Bradley International Airport, my good friend Eric who used to be the Operations Manager at the airport I work at now was there working. Last summer, he took a job in Operations at Bradley, a much bigger airport. He stopped by the gate to say hi as I hadn’t seen him since Christmastime. It was good to see him and I am sure I will see him before I leave again for school.

Well, that’s all I have guys! As always, don’t hesitate to e-mail me any questions you might have.

Talk to you soon!
Pete