"You Can't Make This Stuff Up"

David made that statement on Facebook earlier this week. He was flying home from a convention in Las Vegas, and he decided to check his suitcase because Delta had insisted that everyone gate check their bags on the flight out. David was just trying to avoid that hassle on the return flight.

He goes on to say:

"Delta lost my luggage on Saturday. No big deal - buy new stuff and file receipts with Delta to get reimbursed for half of it if you're lucky. That's life. 

But 11alive news called me a few minutes ago saying they found my suitcase, along with a bunch of other people's suitcases, littered in a field near the airport. Apparently Atlanta police have just busted some luggage theft ring - the thieves have been grabbing bags as they come off the baggage carousel, and then dumping them in fields. 11alive volunteered to deliver my suitcase to me at home, but I bet it's all trashed."

Channel 11 arrived at his apartment with a film crew and a van full of suitcases. They had David identify his bag, search it, and then give a statement. David thought that was the end of it. But on Monday evening they began airing a special investigative report about the luggage thefts. It turns out that Delta tells everyone that their bag is "missing" and it will probably turn up eventually, just like they told David. 

On Monday, one of their viewers saw this luggage mess in the field and called the police. Three hours later the police still hadn't shown up, so she called channel 11 to report the police ineptitude. They filmed the field littered with clothes and suitcases, (they panned across David's open suitcase and white and blue dress shirts several times), and checked the luggage tags, and realized what was happening. That's when David heard from them.  

Last night, Wednesday evening, David's segment was on the news. We saw him look in the van, identify his suitcase, and look through his clothes briefly. Then he made a statement about Delta having no security at the south terminal carousels.

I quote the online news:

"David Noren, of Dunwoody, who flew in on a flight from Vegas on Saturday Oct. 27, wanted us to deliver his missing bag.

"See your bag there?" we asked when we showed up.

"Yup," he said, as he reached into the van and grabbed it. "So, I got a call from Delta. They actually didn't say anything about it being stolen or lost. They just said, 'We apologize'."

We turned over all of the other bags to Atlanta Police, at the airport"

David is bright enough to not pack valuables or electronics in his suitcase, so nothing was missing. But his two most expensive pieces of clothing were ruined: his suit pants were ripped and his leather shoes were gouged with holes. 

Hopefully Delta is feeling the effects of their bad press. Today they told David that they will replace everything at replacement cost, plus give him skymiles and travel vouchers. If only it was for international first class...

All photos taken from 11alive.com news clip.

 

Apartment Update

Hey there. I'm still around, believe it or not. If you're not friends with me on Facebook you might have thought I had disappeared or something. At any rate, now that my apartment is mostly put together (I still need to get two more dining chairs, three or four bar stools, an arm char, and a nightstand), I thought I'd put some pictures up. You'll have to forgive the picture quality - I took all of the pictures on my phone.

I also did not clean up specifically for these pictures. I've apparently turned into a neat-freak.

Dining Room - view when you walk in the door.

The Living Room - the couch in the bottom of the frame

is in the left of the frame of the first picture. The bookcases

are new as of tonight.

Arguably the most important part of the entire apartment.

Kitchen - this picture is from opposite the first picture.

Bedroom - Just a bed. What else did you expect? The door to

the bedroom is off to the left of the picture right above this.

I guess some decorations on the walls might go a long way, too. I'll get around to that once I figure out what all the light switches are for. I was hoping some would be tied to some outlets, but so far the only light switch that I have figured out that doesn't control a ceiling light was tied to the A/C compressor. Odd, you say? I would agree.

The Last Graduate

David graduated this morning: Magna Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Information Security and Assurance. The 72 BS majors joined the 415 Business school majors for the first of four ceremonies on campus this week. 

The graduates in Convocation Center

Heather and the boys joined us for the ceremony. Luke spent the entire time gazing through the binoculars, which was a good thing because he was happy and quiet.

 David's comments on Facebook today about his accomplishments:

 "So, in four years I got my Bachelor of Science in Information Security and Assurance while working full time in the industry, worked two jobs and/or 75+ hours a week for almost two of those years, had my name published in a book in the acknowledgements section, got my CISSP on the first attempt, and in order to stay sane and do something fun, got my pilot's license. Next up? Hmmm, turn 23? Go to the beach? Watch a movie? I don't know what to do now. Any ideas?"

We're so proud of you, David!

With Mom and Dad

Moving Day

Friday was Moving Day #1 for David. After work, we filled my van with the first load (all the TV equipment), then he took me over to see his new apartment. We measured and discussed furniture before we hit Ikea. I'm sure Ikea's stock went up that day since David bought almost all of the furniture he needs in one big spree: sofa, dining table, four dining chairs, bed frame, bed slats, and mattress. Amazingly, it all fit in the van, and David's wallet was considerably lighter.

The Professor and Jared met us at the apartment for unloading and a grand furniture-putting-together party. We finished up just before 2:00 am, furniture all nicely arranged. 

The Professor has become a pro at snapping all the slats into the bedframe,

while Jared proved himself a pro with the wrench

Jared helped David conquer the dining chairs

On Saturday, David moved all his clothes, as well as his desk and all the computer equipment. I'm sure that took hours to set up. His old room isn't quite clean yet: assorted linens and clothes and unidentifiable objects still sit on the floor.

A coffee table, two more dining chairs, and a night stand will round out the new apartment decor well. And Mom thinks a large piece of art on the wall would be a nice touch too.

Shopping

David gave me a wad of money last night and asked if I would go buy all those things he would need to move into his apartment (except the furniture). I happily obliged - I love spending someone else's money!

First I hit Ikea with Heather and Joyce. We picked up dishes, a few kitchen gadgets, and an ironing board.

Later I stopped by Target and Walmart for assorted gadgets, cleaning supplies, and paper goods. All this I added to the stash I've been accumulating over the past six months or so as I go garage saling.

Most of this is from garage sales

I discovered it really is hard to remember everything you need when you need all of it at once. I had to stop when I ran out of his money.

Goodbye Camry

Early this week we said goodbye to our Camry. It served us well, transporting our college kids to school and work and on all kinds of adventures. With 178,000 miles, it had worked hard. But it still has life in it: We sold it to a friend who is a car mechanic and who expects to own it for many more years. It sold with no effort from us. I simply mentioned on Facebook that we had a Camry for sale; a few minutes later our friend replied. And that was that.

Late last week David bought his own 2012 Accord, now that he has his career job and will be graduating next month.

I Survived

I'm going up in this tiny toy plane?

Immediately after David landed on Saturday and collected his congratulations from his instructor and us, he offered to take us up for a flight. The Professor excitedly said, "Yes!", while I hesitated and seriously thought about staying on terra firma to be the official photographer. But as I considered, I realized that I would come to regret my decision. There is only one chance to be the very first passenger in my son's flying career, right?

So I cautiously said yes too, and soon I was buckled into the front seat next to David. I got a set of earphones and gulped as we taxied out of the parking space and headed toward those crisscrossing strips of concrete. Past the air control tower the plane did an odd sideways skitter; I was certain there was obviously some sort of mechanical failure and we must head back. But no, David smiled and said, "This plane does that; it even did it when the FAA test pilot was in the plane."

David chattered with the tower and suddenly we were in the air. All was smooth, but very steep, at first, and then we hit air bumps. Not fun air bumps. I hate air bumps. More and more and I was quite scared (I hate that falling feeling). David offered to go back but he also assured me that once we were at altitude the air would be smooth. I white-knuckled it as I tried to take a few pictures and suddenly it really was smooth.

And then it was fun. We flew north over Lake Allatoona and east over the northern suburbs, past the interstate, to Lake Lanier. When we spotted a regatta of sailboats David said he would go down for a closer look. That was a mistake because we hit air bumps again. So we went back up.

Eventually, of course, we had to come back down, and that meant more bumps. Our house is directly under the airport approach, and I was too scared to look out the window to see it. I just clutched the edge of my seat and stared at a red handle imbedded in the floor.

Near the runway again I could relax because we weren't that high. I said, "It's ok now because we could actually jump from here." We actually couldn't, but thinking so made me calmer. Our landing was one of the smoothest I've ever experienced.

It's Official!

David is officially a pilot now: he passed his check ride this afternoon. Congratulations David!

Here he is,coming in for his landing, a tiny speck in the sky (look over the building).

And on the runway, safely landed. (above the front plane).

Flying...

Now that I have made my entrance into the 'real' world of work life (and all the good things that come with that - namely a real paycheck), I decided now would be the best time to tackle something I have always wanted to do. Anybody who knew me when I was younger knew I had a borderline-unhealthy obsession with any man-made object that seemingly defied gravity.

The picture above is of the Cessna 172 I flew last weekend. We live about 15 - 20 minutes from a small general aviation airport, which is actually the third-busiest airport in the state. I picked a flight school at the airport and started lessons last weekend.

Normally, the first flight is where the instructor lets you try flying for 5 or 10 minutes and gives you a taste of the experience. I suppose all my years of trying to make the flight simulator on my computer be as realistic as possible paid off, because the instructor took off then had me fly for the next hour, all the way down until a few seconds before the wheels hit the runway as we landed. And you thought teaching your kid how to drive gave you gray hair? :-)

I loved it so much I was back the next day for a "real" lesson. I hope to be flying two or three times a week until I meet all the requirements and pass the final checkride. I should note that this is just a hobby - my boyhood dream of flying for an airline will never happen. Given the industry today, I think that is a good thing.

There He Goes, Into the Wild Blue...

David really needs to tell what he's currently up to. It won't surprise anyone who knows him, but I will leave it for him to tell.

David's News

Amidst all of the April Fool's Day fun, I'll post something that is not a joke. I'm excited to be starting at Symantec (the largest security software company, for those who don't know) in a couple of weeks, as an information security consultant. I'll still be physically working at Coca-Cola Company, helping to manage their threat and vulnerability management side of information security. And I'm happy to not be "just" the intern now!

Mom adds: This is a salaried, real career job. David managed to land this while he still has over a year left before he graduates. Congratulations David!

A Phone Conversation

The woman on the other end had a thick accent. Although she was difficult to understand, I eventually caught on that she was doing a background check for a potential employer. She stated: I am calling to verify that David ___ graduated from "Homeschooled" on (date). Then she asked my name and position at "Homeschooled". Apparently, she never noticed that we share the same last name, and therefore, I am his mother.

Hmm, you think the company uses cheap labor from India?

Later~

Several companies are vying for David's attention. Today he had two lunch dates, both wanting to employ him. His second lunch date was at Ruth's Chris. Poor guy.

Oops. Oops. Oops.

Three kids, two events in under 18 hours.
Kid 1: a trip to the ER for a severe allergic reaction
Kid 2: a car accident (the other driver's fault; no one hurt).

David Goes Corporate

Our family has suddenly become a fan of Coke products, not because we like them, but because David is a new intern at Coke's HQ. He began on Monday. So far, it's been meetings every day. He works in the department called "Information Security and Regulatory Compliance". Really. He will be getting class credit for two semesters as well as a paycheck.

He reports that all drink vending machines in the building are filled only with Coke products and all drinks are free. There is even an online map showing which drinks are stocked in which vending machines, just in case your fave drink is one of the more obscure ones and only one machine has it. It's a nice perk, but he sticks with Dasani bottled water.

New York

Yep, I'm still alive, although you wouldn't know it by seeing how little I post on here.

A few weeks ago a group of 15 people from Student Government went to New York for a Student Government conference. We were ready to brave the apparently record snowfalls for the weekend as we left early Friday morning.

15 minutes after taking off, we checked our emails to find out that the conference was canceled because of snow. Now, we live in Atlanta, and are used to 1" of snow shutting down the city for a day or two. One would imagine that New York could survive 24" of snow just fine - but apparently not.

As we approached New York, we found out that the airport was closed and ended up landing in Baltimore to sit on the plane for a while. They let people off but warned us not to go far because they would leave the moment they were able to. Unfortunately for the only passenger that did get off, he did not make it back in time to get on the plane. Oops!

We spent Friday and Saturday splitting up into groups to go see all the sights. I was able to check off most of the "big" ones, except for the Statue of Liberty which we only saw from a distance.

A few guys and I decided it was too expensive to sleep in New York, so we spent all night Saturday night walking across the city, going from Central Park to Lower Manhattan, to the U.N., back to Central Park, Times Square, and eventually the hotel to get an hour of sleep. 16 miles of walking from about 4pm to 6am!

Despite the conference being canceled, we all had a good time and hope to actually go to a conference next year!

David Scores

Not one to frequent garage sales, David visited one today (in January!), looking for a fleece jacket. Instead, he found this:He called to tell me about it and convinced me that is was exactly what we needed to replace our original, decaying kitchen faucet. When he got home he even installed it! Thank you, David! We like the pull-out sprayer feature on the end of the faucet.

Later, Chuck and I saw the same model at Home Depot for $130, a 96% savings. We added the matching soap dispenser to the right.

Back to School

School started on Monday morning, bright and early. Greta is glad to be a senior; only 24 credits left until graduation! Her fall semester classes are Statistics, Advanced Sculpture, Advanced Ceramics, and Printmaking II. She will be teaching a few art classes at Out of the Box, and she is on the Student Government Exec Board.

David is glad to no longer be a freshman. This fall he is taking Business Law, Financial Accounting, Criminal Justice, Application Development, and Operating Systems Security. He is continuing to drive for Napa about 30 hours a week, and he is secretary for Student Government.

David Dresses Up

David all dressed up in his new gray pinstripe suit. And blue shirt.And his new black suit. And white shirt.

Daniel was his shopping buddy today.

School's Over

Finals were over in early in May, then Greta immediately started May Term. She took Pych. That's over now too, but final grades aren't posted yet. Here are the results of her spring semester's work in Advanced Ceramics:

David finished his Freshman year by getting a delivery job at Napa Auto Parts. He says it's rather boring, but he likes the paycheck.

He also played his pipes at one of the four graduation ceremonies at school. No one knew he would be playing, so he got a few surprised looks. This weekend he's off in CA playing his bagpipes in cousin Danica's wedding. I can't wait to hear all about it. (And maybe add a picture.)

Secretary David

Yesterday afternoon, I was invited to attend the last regular Student Government Association meeting for the semester to see David sworn in as Executive Secretary. He ran unopposed, as did the entire slate of officers. (That's the new Treasurer being sworn in next to him.)

Greta decided not to run for the fall, so she is rolling off. But she plans to stay involved as an executive page or something. Her friend Daniel is now President.