OSHA Construction

Hi from my desk in the CP-12 classroom.

We're learning all about OSHA construction requirements this week. What fun. :-(

I'm surviving in AL. Class isn't too demanding, so I've been working on some craft projects that I've been meaning to do for a while. I got from freshman year of college all the way to senior year done on my scrapbooking.

I've also been training for a 5k run some of us from the class are doing on St. Patrick's Day. Last night I ran 3.25 miles! I couldn't do much else the rest of the evening, though. I also go to yoga class twice a week.

Here's a photo from our class BBQ last weekend.

Tim, Shannon, Roiann, and I going to Nawlins (New Orleans) this weekend, so watch for some good pictures.

Tales from Miami

After spilling both my chicken nuggets (not so bad) and huge Coke Zero (very bad) all over myself in the car , I thought Flight Attendant annual training was going to be horrible.

Then I picked up Loretta (I found her on the third loop through the airport!) and brought her back to the hotel. Where she did not have a reservation.

Sounds bad, right?

Well, while we got her checked in to a non-reserved room I wandered over to the coffee station to get a drink that was hot, sweet, and didn't have caffeine. Alas, only regular tea bags! (the Courtyard Marriott in Ft. Lauderdale has great decaf fruit tea.) Instead I stumbled upon a new and CHEAP late-night beverage. To make it, add the following:

• lemons
• hot water
• Splenda

It makes a GREAT cup of... something delicious! Mmmmmm...... What a way to end the day!

Lazy Alabama days...

Yes, I'm back home, but I am still thinking about all the time I spent in beautiful Alabama! Really, Ft. Rucker was pretty nice, but it was COLD. Except in the room at the Army Lodging building. It was HOT in that room. So we evened out things by keeping the windows open. While this may sound odd, I can assure you that it was much more odd to experience the blasts of frigid air piercing the oven-like dry heat of the room as I sat working at my computer. I got lots of exercise walking 3 feet to the window to adjust how much it was open every 15 minutes :-)

I did get to meet some of Jen's classmates while in LA. They were a nice bunch from all over the US. We went out to eat every day together while I was there. I think we hit all the major food sources in only 5 visits!

Valentines Day was an unexpected treat for us. We each sent things for our 8 year dating anniversary on Feb 9, so on Feb 14 we didn't have anything to do! (By the way, it is GREAT having an anniversary just before Valentine's Day. We can skip all of the expensive stuff and V-Day rush!) We went into town and hit the TGI Friday's for dinner. We would have waited over an hour to get seated, but instead we had a wonderful time eating at the bar. Again, we skipped the lines by thinking smart!

I'm glad I got to see into Jen's life in AL so I can picture all of the funny things that happen and place some of the characters in her stories. While it's not a horrible place to go, I am not in any hurry to spend a lot more time there. It was nice to get back home and be together with our cats for a while :-)

Enjoy the picture of Jen at her desk! More pics (and perhaps some video!) coming soon...

Tim's trip to LA

Hello from Alabama! (I'll let that sink in. It took me a minute too.)

On Sunday night I got a call asking if I was going to the Space Florida meeting in Tallahassee on Monday. When I was considering the 4-5 hour drive across the state, I realized I'd be close to Jen! After a few minutes of frantic calling I got Teresa to watch the cats, Jen to agree to come get me, and Eddie was set to come pick me up instead of meeting me part way. Then I stayed up all night to pack! Not hard as we already planned to meet at 4am so we could be in Tallahassee by 9am. In less time that most people take to sleep, I'd completely changed my plans for the week, packed, and was off to another state!

After the state space meetings and a delicious lunch in beautiful downtown Tallahassee, I got to go to the Capital with some colleagues to check in on local legislators. They weren't there, but it was a neat thing to do. I hung out at the Challenger Center until Jen got done with her class and drove 2 hours to get me. While I waited I got a great tour of the facility and got to sit in on a fantastic IMAX movie about the oceans. If you are in the area, check out the Challenger Center!

I'll spare you the details of driving to Ft. Rucker--mostly because there are no details to give! There's not a lot out there in Lower Alabama. But Jen is there, and now, so am I.

Still alive and kickin'

I spent three days at home with the cats and nearly went insane*. Not that the cats aren't great, but I needed to get out of the house for a bit. Going to the bank and to pay the water bill today seemed like a huge treat. And even then, Jack rode with me in the car...

Tonight I went out with Robert and Teresa to the Ruby Tuesdays in Merritt Island for dinner. (WOO-HOO! PEOPLE!!) It was Robert's birthday and we sat and talked for several hours after we'd finished the meal. In fact, the servers were all sitting together playing cards waiting for us last few tables to finally clear out at the end of the night! I enjoyed stories from scout camp and discussions of belay techniques when doing ropes courses. What a departure from our normal "space, space, space" conversation! Perhaps we are tired of the media coverage we've gotten lately... (YES, we are painfully aware of the "crazy astronaut" story in the news. "Astronaut" is a job title, not a decree of sainthood. We don't know her and are as confused by her behavior as anyone else.)

Things are going well around the house. Last week I tested out the new mop by scrubbing down all of the floors in the kitchen, foyer, hall, and bathroom (it worked great). Monday and Tuesday I cooked food and ate like a real person, so I am not starving. I have done laundry once since Jen left--and will finally fold it tonight!

Talking with my business partner Karen, I realized that I do my best work around and with other people. I've been spending a lot of time lately just looking at a computer screen working budget numbers or other paperwork. Alone. Cats not withstanding, I haven't been around other people and have definitely not been working up to my potential. I do have an office at the Center for Space Education at KSC that I moved into last week. (No windows, one other person in the maze of rooms, but it gets me out.) My new goal is to create more interactions with people on a daily basis. Anyone want to meet for lunch?

Thanks to everyone that has been checking in on me to make sure I am eating. I appreciate your help! Please keep the letters, phone calls, and dinner invitations coming.

*Just kidding! I think...