Everything posted above is pretty good =) The laptop is a must. Sitting around on rainy and cloudy days would get extremely boring without a laptop. Also, the iPod was the best investment I made while flying for DWAS. After being in the air for 6 hours with another 2 to go, you throw on some techno or Offspring and all of a sudden your back in action!

I also started dipping and eating a lot of sunflower seeds =)

Unfortunately, being a pack rat or not, you will accumulate a lot of crap. When I first started we stayed in an extended stay hotel, so I went and bought a pot so I could make soup and spaghetti... We never stayed in another extended stay my whole time at DWAS (mostly because they were really crappy). DWAS did the hotel and rental car pay differently though.

But I flew around for the next year with this pot sitting on the computer stack... it actually was great to hold things in it... screws, camera panels, etc.

Enjoy the job... it's an amazing experience and you will learn sooooo much. Just remember that if your persistent enough, ATC will let you work anywhere =)

Former DWAS
Former XJT