tlorimer,
Right now...it's 3:57am...two days before my IOE. Over the past couple months, I've slept in until 10am and enjoyed my time off since my LOFT. Since being informed that IOE is next Tuesday (26th), I haven't slept a wink. My wife isn't sleeping either because when I am in bed, all I do is toss and turn. I've been scrambling to go over materials long since forgotten. I've had nightmares of forgetting checklists and all sorts of similar horrors. Nervous? Heck yeah.

Yesterday, I took a trip to find our Ops/Crewroom. That helped...atleast now I know where to park, where my mail is, and about how long it'll take me to get from where I live to where I need to report to. On my way, I ran into a fella I was at SIM with (for a bit) who was on his 3rd trip and he was kind enough to let me roll with him. I don't think he quite has all the butterflies out of his stomach yet either.

Despite how life seems for us behind closed doors, it makes me very proud to wear the uniform in public. The prestige look on most of the public's faces as you stroll through terminal is hard not to feel good about. At the same time, I'm incredibly nervous about doing a good job and I know that despite all my preparations, I couldn't possibly be entirely ready for the responsibilities expected of me. Four months ago, I was flying skydivers and now I'm about to take the reigns of a 50-seat jet for REAL. The SIM was one thing, but the REAL thing is something I thought I'd never have the privilege of flying. I can't deny the pressure of knowing that ~50 lives are depending on me (not including everyone on the ground) to do my best...but, I take comfort in knowing that I've been trained well and I have a captain willing to teach me. Seems like yesterday, I was spending hours on my parent's computer, flying Microsoft Flight Simulator and dreaming about all of this. I know it's coming, but I can't imagine a day where I take this feeling for granted.