Up, up and away.

Fixit clocked up ten years service at his work last November, which meant he got :

• long service leave,
• an invitation to a slap-up meal with the bosses and the other long-standing employees (an annual treat apparently),
• some crystal.

This Christmas he received another timepiece. From me. And despite the fact that my little key-chain watch is worth about 10% of the Waterford Mantel Clock, Fixit preferred the one I gave him.

Not just because it is a really cool keyring but because it was representative of better things. Yesterday Fixit quit his job. He is forgoing the annual dinner and cashing in the long service leave. And he is making a bold leap into a whole new career and becoming, for the second time, a mature-age apprentice.

Yes. Say good-bye to Fixit the Motorbike Mechanic and hello to Fixit the Aircraft Mechanic! (I'm sure it's got a more technical name but you get the gist).

He made enquiries last year and sent out resumes, he had a very informal interview two weeks ago and this week he received the letter of offer and a wad of paperwork to sort through. It then took him a day to take it all in, because after all it is quite a big step, before he handed in his letter of resignation to general astonishment and sudden offers of pay-rises. Too little, too late. His first-year apprentice wage at the new job will be $19 a week more than his fully qualified, long-standing member of staff wage at the old job. And it's not just about the money. It's about the level of frustration he felt in his working environment. He's looking forward to this new job, because if there's one industry where you'd expect them to be paying meticulous attention to their work it's aircraft maintenance. I know I'd feel safe flying if Fixit was mechanicking the plane - well, I mean, obviously, after he has been trained and all...

We are slightly sweating on him passing the physical. Only because of his chequered medical history with it's broken bones, dvt/pulmonary embolisms, encephalitis and the fact that he's down to his last kidney.

Fingers crossed for that next Wednesday, but in the meantime, yay!