Nose + Job

Nose Update: The doc yanked the tubes out of my nose Monday morning and ever since I have had the most amazing experience of breathing. I cannot remember ever breathing so clear and easy. I'm not taking Claritin, not sniffing Afrin, not sticking on nose strips--nothing--and yet I have more air circulating through my body than ever before in my life. To be honest, it's a bit like when I got glasses: I had no idea what I was missing. I understand why people run. I see how it could be fun to exercise. I probably wouldn't want do die afterwards or anything!

If you have ever been given the option of getting your deviated septum fixed, I recommend it wholeheartedly. I feel great!

If you're a bit hesistant because of my former discomfort, take note: I think it was my own fault. See, I was not breathing well (as I was told would happen) with the tubes in my nose so I thought I'd use a tried-and-true remedy: Breathe Right Nasal Strips. I placed the strips high on my nose to get "above the tubes" [note: the tubes are about 2" long so there is no way I was getting above them]. It hurt after a short while so I took the strips off and went to bed. That's when all of the drama started. Apparently I peeled up the skin and let all kinds of havoc loose in my nose.

Once I realized this, I felt really dumb. The doc thought I was a little wacko too. But I don't really care now, cause I can breathe :-)

* note how I am carefully avoiding the interesting yet gross story about taking the 2" tubes out of my nose. You're welcome.

Job Update: This was the last day for FSRI. We shut our doors to make way for the new Space Florida organization. I guess t's a good thing they hired a president on Wednesday. He had 48 hours to gather up all the knowledge he needs about space and Florida (he has no experience with either one) before shutting down the exisitng organizations and firing everyone. Well, I guess if you're paid $178,000 your first year, they expect you to be able to learn fast. His 30% performance bonus would well exceed my salary and I'd had several years of experience before I came on board!

I enjoyed the 9 months I was able to spend with the team and I appreciate all of the experience and advice they gave me. It was a dream job like no other working with an all-star cast of dedicated and brialliant people. Many of them are staying around and taking new jobs at ERAU or FL Tech. If you're looking for someone that is talented, dedicated, and "good people", look no further than the former FSRI staff list.

As of now, I am officially self-employed full-time! I'll be going to Spain to manage the Space Generation Congress on-site during September and then going out to New Mexico for the X PRIZE Cup in October. Add on the SEDS Space Vision Conference in November and a couple of conferences in December and I've got a busy schedule! Now I don't intend to kill myself trying to make $178,000/yr, but I am going to make a living. I don't know what that looks like just yet, but that's part of the fun!

Stay tuned! There's always more...

Tim's Nose Job

Well, technically it was a "septoplasty" to repair my deviated septum. But it happened to my nose and has altered its appearance, so I feel like it's a nose job.

Oh, did I mention that it HURTS?!?! Apparently my body does not like it when pieces inside my nose are sliced, diced, and sewn back together. I am swollen, bruised, and overall in a lot of pain.

Things I've learned:

1. Nose jobs hurt.
2. Having your nose "fixed" means you can't breath out of it for a while.
3. Pain killers are not all bad...
4. "Outpatient surgery" does not mean you should go back to work the next day.

More on the story as it develops...

Here, There, and Everywhere

WOW. July and August were both busy months! It seemed like everytime I sat down to write, I had too much to talk about! Jen hit all the highlights, but I wanted to throw my 2-cents in as well.

• Flew in ZERO-G with the owner of Pocari Sweat, a sports drink popular in Japan. Both Katie Collier (my SLSTP intern) and Keithe Bagette (the ZERO-G summer intern) got to experience weightlessness!
• Kaare's friend Mike and his fiance came down from DC and stopped by KSC to see me.
• Jen's brother Dave stayed with us for about 2 weeks.
• I gave a talk to the NASA interns about "launching your career in the space industry" (and it ROCKED).
• Went to a cool FSRI staff pool party at Sam Durrance's house (nice place, great people).
• Executed the first-ever parabolic research flights to operate from KSC (where tons of people got to fly and mom got her second flight!)
  
• Flew ZERO-G flights in San Diego and San Jose, CA.
• Finally got to see the Mansion in Silicon Valley where Jen was staying (NICE!).
  
• Attended Jen's awesome Next Generation Exploration Conference at Ames.

I'll put up some neat pics and movies of mom in zero gravity soon. If you want them sooner, let me know! (Same goes for pics from California--it was a wild trip!)

What a Relief!!

It's over. It was a success. Now I can breath again.
It was an awesome week. The conference went wonderfully. It was powerful to see all those people together in one room.

One of my thoughts on Friday was, I couldn't get an astronaut to come speak at the conference, but that's okay because every single one of these people at the conference is going to become an astronaut. We (civilization) are going into space. And the energy and the passion that I saw over those 3 days is what is going to get us there.

I am proud to say that we made it onto NASA Watch. You can read the comments of some of the participants here.

Now I've got to get to work. We have to print the proceedings!

Fun in "The City"

Susie drove up from Long Beach to spend the weekend with me this weekend. We had a great time. Friday night, we went to Mimi's Cafe and then to see Scoop. I didn't know what to expect, but it was a great movie. I really recommend it. How can you beat Woody Allen driving a Smart Car, a guy jumping off a boat into the River Styx to come back from the dead, and Hugh Jackman without his Wolverine sideburns?!
Saturday we headed out early, first to Oakland to the USS Hornet museum. The Hornet is an aircraft carrier, built in 1943 and decommissioned in 1970. It was the ship that picked up Apollos 11 & 12 after they landed in the Pacific ocean. I got "volunteered" to sit at one of the ship's guns and spin the manual controls to sight down the enemy. We also went on the engine room tour. I wouldn't want that job!
From Oakland we headed to San Francisco, The City, via the Bay Bridge. Lots of traffic, but we made it eventually. We shopped at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. Then headed over to the Cable Car turn around. We had to wait in line for a while to make it onto a cable car, but it was worth it. We rode all the way across the city. Our cable car almost t-boned a pick-up truck and decapitated a lady in an opposite going cable car (they pass very close to each other). But in the end, no one was injured and we made it to the swanky shopping district. Don't worry, Tim, I only spent $15 there.
We grabbed another cable car back across town and had dinner in an Irish Pub before heading home. It was certainly a better experience than my last one in San Francisco--I still had my purse at the end (because I left it at home). Susie and I had a great time. The City has redeemed itself in my eyes. And there's still so much I want to do there--go to Alcatraz, ride a bike across the Golden Gate bridge, take a horse buggy ride....