I've been going to school for pilot training for the past 9 months, but as of a few days ago, I'll have to quit until next year.

I've been on probation for nearly seven years, and have found it very difficult.  I tried to make it work in my home town (Austin, TX) but couldn't get a job that I felt was really what I wanted to do.  So I moved to Waco, TX to go to Texas State Technical College, which has the best college pilot training program in the state.  Unfortunately, my job combined with the hours of school and hours in the air didn't allow me to complete as much community service as the state wanted.  So now they are going to ship me off to an 'ISF' (Intermediate Sanction Facility).  I'll be there for six months, and then be let back out.  The downside is that I'll be out of school for that time, and won't be able to come back until May of next year.

The UPshot of this, is that I will be able to take care of ALL of my community service, as well as most of the fines I owe to the state.

So when I am able to come back to Waco, I can continue my training with as little fuss as possible, given my situation.

Some of you may remember that a few years back I was taken out of the loop for a year to go into jail.  This won't be anything  like as harsh, but I will be gone for awhile.

Keep me in mind . . .










And . . .










"I'll be back."

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Well if you REALLY want to know:

In 2001, I made the mistake of trusting my friend to be safe.

We were at a friend's wake (car wreck) and five of us decided to go swimming at the neighbor's.  They were out of town, and the folks we were hanging out with were supposed to be taking care of the house.  We did go swimming, but the two youngest of us (15 and 16) decided that they wanted to see the Z78 Camaro in the garage.  It was open halfway (to allow the pool cleaners access to the supplies) and we all went in.  After that, I went back to the pool with my friends, while the other two decided to stay in the garage.

Five minutes later, we heard the sound of wood breaking and walked into the garage to find the two younger boys breaking down the door with a pickaxe.  This is where I screwed up.  Instead of leaving, I decided to stick around and see what would happen.  Eventually, the door broke down and we all decided to invade.  That was the stupidest decision I have ever made.  We started to root around, taking small stuff like surround sound speakers and stuff that was just laying around.

A few days later, the pool guy came and noticed that the door was broken.  He called the cops, the cops called the owners and the owners called the neighbors.  The neighbors put two and two together and interrogated their son, who was with us.  He gave us up immediately, and we all went to jail.  Since I was the oldest (18) I was pinned with the crime.

I am currently on probation for a ten year sentence, starting in 2002.  I've screwed it twice so far, this time being the third.  I have gotten lucky that the judge has not revoked me and sentenced me to PRISON, so I think I can say that I am at least doing okay.

This is the LAST time I can screw up, but I think that after this I can finish out my sentence (July of 2012) without incident.  I don't do drugs, and I don't do anything illegal anymore.

I really hope this is the last time I have to make a post like this . . .

Travis wrote on Jun 1^st, 2009 at 4:34am:


So you sorted yourself out and worked every hour possible and was being a productive member of society. Seem the justice system once in a while needs to pull the blinkers back and look at the bigger picture.
Good luck

Matt

You got a 10-spot for simple burglary?

Either that's a judge having a BAD day, or you be omitting a portion of the story................

And you've "messed up" twice since?

You may wanna take the time to re-evaluate you decision-making paradigm whilst you're away!

Negativity?  Nope!  Just my bad habit of callin' 'em as I see 'em.  Too bad, so sad that I upset your delicate sensibilities, BUT, you put it out there after all!

HOPEFULLY, after not getting it the first time, or the second or third for that matter, you are truly now on the path to redemption.  Hate to be the (further) bearer of bad tidings, but felonies and jailtime reflect rather poorly on a resume.

I'm in the honesty biz (read law enforcement) so if my honest take on your predicament did not overflow with sympathy, then so be it.  I'll feel bad about it for about ninety seconds or so.