My real job is building balloons, not just flying them. The bummer of this is that more often than not, I get to go through all the excitement of getting up early, dragging a balloon out of the bag and inflating it but then don't get to do the fun bit...You see it is normally someone else's new balloon. Instead of flying away - the bit that makes the getting up early really worth it - we go through a long and detailed check list to make sure it has not been sewn together inside out or upside down and that all the strings pull on the right bits. We then deflate it and put it back in the bag.
When the weather has been poor as it can be this time of year (for balloon nuts or anyone living near ready to burn bush..) this can mean coming in like we did on Sunday morning to do the test inflation because that is the only day that looks like a chance.
The kicker is four of us packing away a 300,000 cu.ft balloon designed to have 16 happy passengers stuff it in the bag. Talk about a great way to start a Sunday.
The photo is of the offending beast in the photo is for Bob Lye on the Gold Coast. It is leaving on a truck in the morning and will be cashing in Christmas balloon flight vouchers by the fist full soon after.
