CITIES AROUND THE WORLD I HAVE BEEN TO

With my careers as a pilot and also as an ESL English teacher, I have lived and worked in a number of countries. I have flown into many cities around the USA and the world. Some destinations I do not show for reasons of my own, but here's most of the them.

• Create your own travel map or travel blog
• Vacation rentals at TripAdvisor

WORKING ON DEFCON 2012 - A FEATURE MOVIE

Here are Defcon 2012's Twitter Stats.

JUST GETTING STARTED - SHARING FLYING

I'm going for a unique approach to sharing about fighter aviation. It will sometimes be very funny, often from my own notebook on ACM and BFM, which is air to air, plane against plane, fighting. I'll share my photos, videos, drawings, cartoons and thoughts on things. Lot's of flying stories and practical tips on flying aircraft of any type, including jets - and also on flying the simulators so many of you have deep in the guts of your hard disk.

This will be a light hearted fun blog, and one where you will do some learning. At least I hope you will. If I can inspire a few people to keep their noses clean, and to get into aviation, then I think I've done my job here. In this blog, this will about inspiration, learning and excelling, and not a place for activists and their debates and attacks on those unlike themselves.

Here's a bit about myself:

Currently I'm a film producer and director, and one with a previous career as a pilot and instructor pilot. I have about 1000 hours, including jet time - in light high performance military birds. Today I am into the jet warbird scene, and want to earn my civilian CFI (instructor ratings). I also am aiming for getting my own aerobatic plane. I miss flying inverted! It's the only way to look at the world ...

My flying started when I was a little girl, flying with my grandpa in his Piper Cub off his farm. He would give me the controls a lot, and made for me a Backseat Pilot's Certificate. I thought everything of him, just because he was a pilot. His plane was non-frills and very basic.

Later, while in High School, I decided to take up flying lessons at a local airport close to my house. I would do all kinds of small jobs to earn the money for lessons, including cleaning out barns, switching irrigation pipes, babysitting, etc. At 16, I started a few courses in Aircraft Systems at Northrup University as a part of a program for high school kids. At 17, I earned my Private Pilot's certificate. At 18, I enlisted in the Air Force.

And, at 19, I made a killing on the commodities market and bought a small plane for ten grand. They were much less expensive back then, and I placed it on leaseback to help pay for it and it's upkeep. In fact, it paid for itself and then some! I'm pretty good at business. Within a few years, I finished a BA in Business Administration, and after began to fly and get paid for it. I instructed for a long time. And the story goes on after that to flying some amazing birds. Eventually I also earned an MBA in International Business, taking courses after my work hours.

Along the way, I have had some scary moments, and lost some pilot pals that had gone down. Once, during a checkride I lost one of the engines, and managed it back, with the check pilot totally in silent observation. That ride I passed, indeed. No sweat. I once had no choice but to continue an instrument approach, an ILS, right as a thunderstorm parked at the other end of the runway, giving us a lightening show. I once hit turbulence so bad, I banged my helmet on the plexiglass. That's when you ask the guys on the ground to look for hairline stress cracks. No fun. And I once got into an unintentional spin during a turning contest during ACM. And there more tales to tell like that.

And the great things happened too, and they far outnumber the not so fun events. I have seen my share of beauty, and nothing matches it. How about a full moon night over the clouds on a perfect Christmas Eve night, returning after a well executed series of maneuvers? Or how about flying over the vast lights of LA at night for the first time? Or dipping low to check out the surf, finding the waves looking perfect! Flying past snow capped mountains and then over Meteor Crater, a giant impact crater seen for miles. Now that's a cool sight from the air! And once I spotted two blue whales just off the California coast. Endless beauty from the air, I tell you!

And the people I have met. Some amazing individuals.

In 2003, I stopped flying, but the flying bug hasn't left me. I guess pilots never really leave that. I wondered at what I would do next, and after some ventures into retail and e-commerce, the film industry found me. I have always been a hobby photographer and filmmaker. One day a producer liked my work that I submitted to a small film festival. So that's my new job, directing and producing feature films. We just completed a feature sci-fi, Defcon 2012, and in a few weeks, it will be screened for the first time at the New York Film Festival in LA!

My goal is to succeed to the point where I can shoot a fighter pilot flick. My next goal to to get a L-39 and put it on leaseback somewhere, and to give rides to those that show potential and massive improvement in their lives. My main goal, like I keep saying, is to inspire, lead and change peoples lives.

What do I do when I'm not working so hard? Oh, let's see ... surfing, gaming, writing, social networks, experimenting with new foods and flavors, drinking beer under the stars and going to the movies with a gaggle of friends.