Ever wanted to be a pilot?

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A monarch butterfly was once spotted by a glider pilot at 11,000 feet, and private pilots in visual flight rules (VFR) conditions have to stay below 18,000 feet. But I'd be well above the non-migratory altitudes of butterflies, so in that case, it would be the truth. Today, I started ground school in preparation for starting flight lessons (hopefully at the end of November). I'll be there every Saturday until November 8, at the end of which I take a practice test and, if I can get a score of at least 80, will get a recommendation to sit for the actual FAA examination, for which I need at least a 70 to pass. At that point, I begin flight time with an instructor, where I have to put in a minimum of 40 hours of flight time (20 with an instructor, 20 solo), along with various other requirements, before I can get signed off for a checkride with an FAA examiner (the average number of hours is actually 60-70). I've got 200+ pages of material to read for next week's class (a big chunk of that is for today's, plus pre-reading for next week's), and some video labs to install and answer, for which my instructor sees the results. It calms down a little next week, and while it still leaves me nervous, I'm much happier for having decided to do this than to let the opportunity slip by again. I'm looking at my bills, trying to figure out which I can trim back, because at $143 to $148 per hour for the plane and another $48 per hour for the instructor, it ain't cheap, even on my salary. (My SANS Mentor honoraria are going to come in really handy for this.) But I've wanted to do this since I was in high school, and I think I can pull this off in the next six months if I can keep my mind on it and not get too bogged down at work. I'm pretty much living my dream, have you ever wanted to be a pilot?