I am really tired this morning and in a slow sim. I guess life at work could be less interesting. But it could be more interesting too.

Whoa. Things just got interesting in the sim. The payload that the sim was deploying just exploded. Exploded! Raining debris all over the simulated orbiter… I think things might get interesting in a moment. I've never seen that before. Its a really challenging case that has a lot of potential… (remember, you want to see things in a sim that you hope never to see in real life..)

This was a weekend of boats and drama. Most of the drama was associated with fireworks. And a dog that shall hence be known as "that damn dog". Or Bennet. Well, actually the problem started with Apache. We were babysitting a friends dog who Apache bit. Grumpy dork. So we had to separate them. When we left for the fireworks we left Apache and Bennet in my bedroom and other dog in the living room. Bennet does not like thunder. A year ago he damaged the door frames to several rooms in the house with his claws during a thunderstorm, so now we confine him to a crate during storms.

Apparently Bennet no longer is a big fan of fireworks (he's 7 years old, you'd think this would have come up sooner!) We were all off on Byron's boat watching the most awesome display of fireworks in a city of other boats. It was amazing seeing all the lights of the hundreds of other boats on the water and we were right under the display.

So. Bennet, to express his psychosis, clawed through my bedroom wall. We're not talking a little hole here. He clawed through the drywall from the floor all the way up to the door handle, an area of about 2 feet wide and about 4 feet high. I mean, this is a huge hole. A hole bigger than that damn dog. He exposed the studs on either side of the wall.

Now I guess Cari and I need to learn to drywall. Or at least learn how to find a good contracter…

Anyway, I escaped this drama by boating. Actually to be honest I was part of the drama there. Byron wanted to go on an overnight offshore cruise this weekend. I was not enthused. I love sailing, but the thought of sailing overnight just didn't appeal to me for this weekend's activity - especially as a last minute thing where I didn't really have time to prepare myself. I've realized I'm not really spontaneous. Plus the weather looked like it would be pretty terrible combination of rain and heat and possible tornados (water spouts). I like things I'm doing to be on the calendar for a week or so or I am amazingly resistant to doing them. But love conquers my safety zone or something, so after some cajoling, Byron convinced me to go.

I'm really glad I did. First of all, the weather was fabulous, not too hot, and we could see the stars all night. The two other crew members that came with us were fun and entertaining. The water was calm, the wind blew steadily to keep up moving, the other boats we were with stayed close by for safety. And, even better, while I was off flying on Saturday morning (one of my best lessons yet!), Byron did all the prep work to get the boat ready to go.

So, for those who aren't familiar with this area, though the Gulf of Mexico is a quick 20 minute drive from where I live, its much harder to get to by boat, which is what made this an adventure. We left Clear Lake and went out into the Galveston Bay. Then we had to sail and motor all the way down the east bay, and through The Houston Ship Channel, pass the Bolivar Ferries, saw a multitude of dolphins and even more container ships, and then out the 5 mile long jetties with their weird waves and currents in order to get out into the Gulf of Mexico. That process takes about 6 hours (each way!). Its certainly a big difference from Florida where there is an inlet to the Ocean in every major town that puts your boats minutes away from being off shore.

Anyway, this distance makes sailing in the Gulf a real adventure that requires a multiple day trip. Or in this case, an overnight trip. We reached the Gulf just as the sun went down, sailed all night, and came home as the sun rose.

I was really worried about sleep. I work all night sometimes. There's nothing worse than being awake during the witching hours in the middle of the night for me. Sailing through the night requires one person (perferably two) always be awake on watch. Everyone else was so enthusiastic about middle of the night sailing, though, I was able to get my nap in at the perfect time between midnight and 4 a.m. I woke up just before we came back into the jetties. I was wide awake to sail and motor the boat all the way back to the dock while everyone else napped. It turned out to be really fun, I ended up really glad I went. Though next time, I want something like this on my calendar more than a day in advance…

Though I took a long nap yesterday afternoon, I am not fully recovered yet. I am looking forward to a peaceful night at home tonight and a good night's sleep.