So, NCAS ended. Yup, you might have known this based on my week of Facebook status updates counting down the minutes and swearing off work for at least 2 weeks after the students left. You also might know this from me actually calling you back after not talking to you on the phone for five months. Or you might be living under a dark rock. Either way, the spring season of community college students arriving on my doorstep expecting an amazing experience has come to an end. I think we were pretty successful, and I had some amazing students come through NASA this spring. Of course, I also had my fair share of "interesting" students come into my life. Like the one who sends me spam emails on a daily basis (most of these are caught by my junk mail folder, but i think if this student knew he was sending me horrifically dirty links on a daily basis, he would be mortified. Or maybe not. Maybe he is just that weird).
I think what I learned more than anything else this spring is that this program really does mean a lot to these students. I think before we went national, the Texas students had a good experience. They enjoyed themselves, and then they went home, a few came back as interns, and that was pretty much it. But not these national students. These students some back by the dozen. They stay in touch, they respond to my emails (like 10 of them applying for a one spot internship within an hour of me posting it). And I really and truly believe what they do in community college, and then at NCAS, makes a difference. I like to talk at the end of NCAS about how the week is 20% building a rover, 80% meeting people and working as a team. And i think sometimes the students think I am a moron when I say it, but I really think that the people they get to meet, the other students, this is what is so valuable, and what I love to watch the most. I have also, this spring, for the first time (ok, with a couple of exceptions, which we do not need to go into here) really made some good connections with some of the people who have come through the program. Now, I don't kid myself that most of this has to do with the fact that these students think I have some magic in with the internships and hiring managers at NASA. Please, if that was the case, I would quit work, go back to school, and come back as an intern. But, I like to get to know these people. A lot of them are my age, and they have some amazing stories to tell. Jessica and I talked today about collecting these stories. I just think that you won't get the same kind of story from a high school student or a university student. But a 30 year old community college student, they have a story. There is some reason they are in school, some reason they want to come to NASA, and some reason that they understand more about hard work than most of the students I meet at NASA. And, so I am going to start collecting these stories. At the very least, this should hopefully increase funding of this program. And maybe, just maybe, this will help people see why community college is such an important part of our education system, and should NOT be overlooked or underfunded.
Ok, off of my soap box, on to some more stories from the spring and life. So, I spent Saturday at the hospital. Not for me, but for a student. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was very aware that 5 hours separated me from the end of the spring programs, from a trip to Florida, and from 2 weeks of leave from work. I thought, oh heck, I can do anything for 5 hours, ANYTHING. I am never saying that again. About 10:15, our intern informs me there is a student having trouble breathing. Awesome. So, 5 3's later (the NASA version of 911), the JSC security guards roll in with some guy who (maybe) was a clinic EMT. Maybe. He asks some vague questions and hangs out, not doing too much of anything. Then in rolls the Houston Ambulance and fire truck, lights flashing. And, since I know you are all wondering, none of these people were young hot EMTs like one might expect. Typical. So, I left the program in the capable hands of Sarah, Kat, and Susie and off I went to the hospital. And I waited. And waited, and watched my Florida trip slowly go out the window. Finally, 3 hours later, the doctor decided it was nothing and discharged this poor guy. He was clearly not feeling well, and his mother was also clearly panicking on the other end of my cell phone, so we got him to the airport as quickly as possible. I had visions of him staying over night in Houston again, and me having to drive him all over the place to find a hotel. Luckily, on a Saturday morning at the ER there isn't much action, so we were on our way, and my Florida trip started to look more like it could actually happen. Now, those of you who have been around me recently might have noticed I am incredibly indecisive. I am not sure where this has come from, but I think it might be the overall exhaustion causing me not be able to make a decision until game time. Or after game time sometimes. So, I drove home thinking I wasn't going to go to Florida, and just chill at home (because I was pretty sure I was too tired to fly, and also sure the shuttle wouldn't lunch on Monday). Well, by the time I got home, a bunch of other stuff had happened (it was a long drive) that had pissed me off, and I was pretty sure I just needed to get out of Texas for a while. Best. Decision. Ever. I threes clothes in a bag (literally, threw, and in the process, brought ten tank-tops, one t-shirt, 3 bathing suit tops, 1 bathing suit bottom, and 2 pairs of flips flops). That t-shirt got worn A LOT. I drove like a mad woman back to Hobby Airport, checked in, and fell into a chair at the Wings place, where I proceeded to do justice to a beer, a chicken wrap, and a piece of banana bread. And then got on a place, flew to Tampa, and checked into a hotel about 30 seconds from the airport. It was midnight before I landed on the bed, and 1am before my brain shut down. I was just looking forward to a long, uninterrupted sleep (I love the cats, but they do nothing for long periods of sleep without being woken up). So, I slept. And slept. And slept. Until 4am. And at 4am, the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard woke me up from a deep sleep. I can usually sleep through thunderstorms. Apparently though, this was a Florida kind of storm. Pretty sure I am glad I didn't get out of bed to look, because as this storm passed the hotel, I think so did a tornado. The entire hotel swayed (I was on the top, 12th floor). It felt like an earthquake, and was wiper weird. It was enough to take down all the dividers on the hotel balconies. The next morning, tree and power lines were down. It was quite a scene. Luckily for me, it was a quick storm, and I didn't wake up enough to really worry, so I passed out again and didn't wake up until after 9. I spent the morning slumming around the hotel room, enjoying the fact that I could screw around on Facebook, read a book, or watch TV, and didn't have to answer to anyone. Amazing.
Eventually I got to the car, found some lunch, and made the drive across the state of Florida to Cocoa Beach. I am still in love with the fact that this drive only take 2 hours, coast to coast (yes, it is supposed to take 2.5 hours, but someone might have a lead foot). I rolled into "The Resort at Cocoa Beach" where my friend Dawn has so graciously invited me to stay with her in her 2 bedroom condo of amazingness. Now, I wasn't expecting a lot from this resort, since usually the rooms in Cocoa Beach are designed for spring breakers, tile floor and all. Well, not this place. This place was like a cruise ship on land. I walked into the lobby to find a move schedule for their movie theater, a sign about their ice cream social, pool activites schedule, a bar, a restaurant, and a massage parlor. The room was also really nice, 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, all in pineapple theme. We really should have counted the pineapples, they were everywhere! I did a speedy change into a bathing suit, and made my way to the fancy pool, waterfall and all. So, here I am, all psyched about this amazing resort I am not paying for, in my bathing suit, with nothing to do but lay in the sun and listen to music being played by the live guy on the guitar. And so I do. For about 2 minutes. And then the love bugs take over my space. And my take over, I mean, swarm. When I moved to Texas, I had my first experience with the love bug. They roll in each spring for a few days and like to fly everywhere. They attach to each other and fly around in pairs. And then, a few days later, they are gone. Well, this was their time in Cocoa Beach. The news anchors reported that this invasion was the worst ever. Awesome. So, 5 minutes into my pool time, love bugs were crawling all over me. And you know I am not a jumpy person, bugs don't bother me. Until they crawl into my bathing suit. That is about my limit. So, into the water I went. This worked for a while, but I can only be in the water for so long before I get prune-y and cold. I thought maybe the wet legs would deter the bugs, but not, they seemed to like the water even more. So, 2 minutes after getting out of the water, my pool time was over. Don't worry though, I was not completely out of options. Because, you see, I walked through the hotel, out the back door, and oh, onto the beach. Man, it was rough. RIght past the hot lifeguard carrying many chairs on his back, and onto the white sands of Cocoa Beach. Now, the love bugs were still here, but slightly less annoying since there was more of a breeze to contend with. So, I walked through the love buy grave (the pile of them from the edge of the tide, similar the seaweed piles we get in California), dumped my bag of stuff (I don't really travel lightly to the water, with my sunscreen, book, magazine, gatorade, water, wallet, 2 phones, i-pod, sunglasses and snack), and checked out the water. Now, I grew up in the ocean, both Atlantic and Pacific, and am all about waves. I am not, however, all about jellyfish. And I am old enough to know that they exist and are a pain in the ass. So, I didn't go too far in. The waves also have another affect on the bathing suit top staying on, so on a crowded beach like this one, I felt it was only fair to not put on too much of a show. So, knee deep was as far as this ocean girl got that evening. It sure was nice though, the water was perfect, not too hot yet (like Galveston, when you just feel like you are swimming in everyone else's sweat) or too cold like most of the California beaches. I spent some time people watching (favorite pastime ever), and then headed back in to the room. Soon after Dawn arrived and we made our way out onto the town for the evening. We had dinner at our favorite romantic Italian restaurant table for two, and then we met up with some friends who had warmed up the bar for us and we had a few drinks (that's right, I had more than 1, and even survived!). We headed home early to try and sleep before the launch the next morning, at which she had to be ready to go at the ungodly hour of 3am. I had a more reasonable meeting time or 5:30am. So much for sleeping in on vacation.
So, I won't bore you with too many details of this launch, other than to say it was absolutely amazing. Breathtaking. And really overwhelming. This was Endeavor's last launch. Endeavor was the replacement shuttle after the Challenger accident. Some of you may know that I lived in Orlando when I was younger. My dad used to take us out to see shuttle launches. I can remember sitting on his shoulders to watch a night launch at like 4am (come to think of it, I bet the people behind us were pissed at the tall man with the 4 year old on his shoulders). When I was almost 5, we were taken outside of our kindergarten classroom to watch the Challenger take off over our heads. I have memories of the smoke plume and the fireball overhead. At the time, I didn't realize that this wasn't what it was supposed to look like. I thought fire was normal for a space shuttle. Challenger was the last shuttle launch I saw in person. So, it only seemed fitting that my next launch in person would be Challenger's replacement on her final mission. It almost makes the last 3 failed attempts I have made to see a shuttle go up live worth it. In fact, I think it makes it nice that this is how it turned out. I watched the shuttle launch with Veronica and Kevin, and with Katherine on the phone listening to the loudness of it all. It was something I wish everyone could watch live. There is one more people. I am hoping to be on the beach watching it go up. So are a million other people. Make your plans now!
The rest of my trip was equally awesome to the launch and pool day I had already had. Dawn and I put our time in under the sun (with the bugs), and I came out of that experience with another bug in my bathing suit and a half of a bug in my nose. It was just lovely. We napped all afternoon long after our 4 hours of sleep the night before, and then met up with the rest of the gang for some dinner and drinks. There was a lot of giggling and good stories, and I am pretty sure some pictures were maybe taken. I spent one more night at the resort before driving into Orlando today. I drove around for a while checking out local hotel pools (I had all day, and couldn't do anymore love bugs). I finally settled on a hotel I have stayed at before by the airport, where I knew I could get into the pool without a key card or bracelet. And then I snuck in. That's right, 30 year olf woman acting like a 19 year old. I was super stealthy. Although, Becky is probably right, it makes it a lot easier to sneak in when you look like a self respecting adult rather than an idiot teenager. So, I did some more sunning, swimming, and napped a little bit before I got hungry and had to seek out lunch. After eating and considering a pedicure, I decided to just head to the airport instead.
So, the airport is a pretty standard routine for me. I get there pretty early, get through security, and then just hang out. I like the airport most of the time. I can get on wifi, or talk on the phone, get a book, and just chill. And I did. For 3 hours. My flight was ten minutes delayed, so I checked with the guy at the bag check area, and he told me I would still make my (now 15 minute) connection in New Orleans. He was clearly full of crap. So, I boarded the flight, got all comfy, started my Sodoku, and then on comes the gate agent. Anyone going to Houston, you are not going to make it, so you should just get off now and get on our direct flight. Oh, and your bags, they won't make it either. Good thing my medicine is in my purse…So, off I get, and in line for a new ticket. Me and about 15 other people. I am just waiting for this woman to tell us all she is out of seats. But nope, she just keeps giving out ticket after ticket. And when she hands me mine, not only am I like A52 (unheard of this close to boarding), she also hands me a $100 credit voucher. So, in essence, I got a non stop flight, which I wanted to begin with, a better boarding number than I had to begin with, I was flying with all my friends (pretty sure half the plane was NASA), and i got $100 credit. Still not really sure what the money was for, but I am guessing it had something to do with either the delay or the fact that I was flying on a free ticket (no one else seemed to get this magic bonus). Not a bad deal to get home at about the same time I was originally going to anyway, and without the annoying stop in the middle. Although, being stuck in New Orleans might have not been the worst thing in the world.
All in all, this trip was exactly what I needed after the long spring season. I am not completely rested, since there was some serious questionable sleeping hours , but I am getting there. Back to reality tomorrow, or rather tonight, since I am sure the cats have completely ravaged my house, and probably pooped (again) in my bath tub. Good thing they are cute. And back to visiting the cute little Cejka twins, who clearly missed their Aunt Debs, and showed it by screaming all night last night, according to their Mom. Don't worry, B&B, I am back!
