Jennifer Lesher's Blog, page 16

Flight Test

My career shift just keeps getting better. This week I’ll be talking to a flight test manager at Boeing, so I can learn more about the role of flight test mechanic, get an idea if that’s truly a career path I’m interested in, and, if so, find out more about the career roadmap that will […]

As It Turns Out – Writing the Book Was the Easy Part

As many of my readers know, I wrote a novel and published it this past January. Writing it was an arduous task, full of self-doubt, interminable edits, learning to show more and tell less (but sometimes tell because it was the right thing to do), and long days and nights with nothing but my laptop […]

Best Day Ever

In life, you can go with the safe option, and know that you’ll be able to predict how most of your future days will go. Or you can toss the safe option out the window, step off into the abyss and see where life takes you. A little over a year ago, I stepped off. […]

As the Propeller Turns – Spring, 2014

This is one of my occasional series of posts about airplane mechanic school. You can read the other posts in the series here. Believe it or not, I’m over the hump. I’m 2.5 weeks away from the end of the fifth quarter of a two-year program. We go to school year-round, so I will be […]

My Visit to the Alternative Physics Garage

This week’s post is a lighthearted answer to the question: What if we treated our cars the way we treat our bodies? About a week ago I noticed that my car wasn’t starting up quite as easily as it used to. Then one day it wouldn’t start at all, and I had to get a jump […]

When You Have the Attention Span of a Gnat

A friend and I were talking about the challenges of getting things done when you have a short attention span. I was reminded of this little “day in the life” account I wrote a few years ago, based on a particular Saturday I had just suffered through. Two notes: I’m usually not a slob and […]

The Two Facial Expressions That Stop Stupidity Cold

I was going to share this with some friends, but then I realized it would make a great public service announcement. I have recently noticed that there are a lot of people who aren’t comfortable standing up for themselves, or negotiating difficult interactions. So, I present – the only two facial expressions you’ll ever need […]

Let Me Tell You How Much I Hate Painting

I’m kind of phoning it in this week because I have used up all my free time painting my living room and hallway. I hate painting. It always takes longer than I think it will. Unforeseen (by me anyway) complications arise. Behold, my visual report of the painting experience. Here’s the before of my living […]

No One Can Take This from You

Do you ever feel badly about yourself because of traits that are perceived from the outside? Your looks? Your body? The prestige (or lack thereof) associated with your career? Yeah, me too. I think we all do it at some time or another. The evo-psych crowd will tell us that the tendency to judge on […]

Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast

Back in the 90s Jeffrey Mayer wrote If You Haven’t Got the Time to Do It Right, When Will You Find the Time to Do It Over? The title was based on a quote attributed to basketball coach John Wooden – “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time […]