Happy Birthday to Me!

Thanks to everyone who sent me cards and gifts and things. It is very exciting to receive packages at my new house and have cards to decorate my counters. It makes me feel loved while I am still trying to get to know people here. So I'm 23. No one call and sing me "No one loves you when you're 23... and you still act like you're in freshman year." So far its been a great day and last weekend was a great weekend.

The best part about this birthday, is I actually have time to think that it is my birthday. I remember one year I was so busy studying for a structures test, that I had completely forgotten until the gang arrived with the cake. And then there were the years where Women's LEadership Conference stressed me out so much I didn't have time to think about it. This year, I am calm, well-rested, relaxed and happy.

Honeymoon in Houston

Last week we had a lecture on different stages of adapting to a new culture (meant for international travels): Honeymoon, Hostility, Habit, Home. Well, most of my Swiss experience fluctuated between Honeymoon and Hostility, though, happily I think I did enter the habit phase before I got home.

Here, I think I am still in Honeymoon with Texas. I love the weather (that's just because it hasn't hit a million degrees with 100% humidity yet). I love the scenery. There are a kabillion resteraunts. I am reading a book called "Being a Yankee Chick in Texas" and it says that you know you are at home when it feels like you have gone a long time without eating Tex-Mex if it has been over a week - well, last week, I said that same thing "I haven't had Mexican in a while" and then realized it had only been a week. I am sure Karen is laughing at this, because she knows I never really even liked Tex-Mex before!!

So, I have also learned here that the RODEO is no joke. There is like a two week event called the Houston Rodeo. And in addition to the expected bucking broncos, trail rides, and cowboys, its apparently a great social event with concerts every night (from Neil Diamond to the Dixie Chicks). Very strange. I have also learned that there is a difference between an east and west Texas accent. And I have been watching the King of the Hill and suddenly it makes a lot more sense - a very very good orientation to Texas life.

So, this is my last day in the office prior to going back to the training academy. Tonight, I plan on spending my first night in my new apartment (go me!). I have declared my kitchen and bathroom "complete" in that they are clean, the boxes are unloaded, and they have enough things to operate (meaning I will not be purchasing new items for them until my other rooms have achieved "complete" status). To stop the impulse of spending money on furniture, I am not going to buy anything new until I refinish the kitchen table I have - so that will be my birthday-weekend project if the weather is nice. Fun fun. Afterwards, I am trying to decide - will my next purchase be a dresser or bookshelves? I am sure since this isn't exactly an exciting decidion, no one will be betting on the outcome.

I am slowly collecting a list of doctors (gyns, dentist, cardiologists, eye doctors, and a vet for my dog when I get her, etc.) - so I am going to flex my wings of my new health insurance policy and still probably end up paying through the teeth with copays and uncovered things (i.e. eye doctor and dentist - probably the most necessary of my health care providers). (Thanks Mrs. Feigh for expert advice from one who has moved a LOT!).

New address and phone:

1201 Enterprise Ave, Apt 713

League City, TX 77573 USA

(281) 334 - 9451

So, I know its been a long time since I have done one of these entries - I am on a one-day break from my Training Academy, so there will be some more downtown before I come back to doing this daily. Anyway, I want to do a quick catchup.

What did I do today...

I went to a kickoff meeting for the Space Generation portion of the World Space Congress - a week long, once every 10 year event that Houston will be hosting in the fall. It was kind of cheesey, all rock-and-roll, space is cool, type stuff, but I am definitely going to get involved, so I guess they one me over. I even decided to submit an application to be a delegate the Space Generation summit, one of the U.N. events at the conference - I probably am not very competitive for a position, but it would be cool if I got one, anyway.

Also in other coolness, I finally saw Ron, who I have been playing phone tag with, since he was at the meeting too. We are definitely going to get together, sometime, eventually, if he is ever home :). I also, in all randomness, ran into Ricardo Leon. If that name doesn't sound familiar to you, let me explain. He was my team leader in the ill-fated Europa exploration project I participated in my freshman year. He graduated that year and left, and I never saw him again. Though I heard from a mutual friend that he had gone to Thailand, and then ended up at the International Space University in France. Certainly, I didn't expect him to end up here. Anyway, as it turns out, he married a Canadian who got transfered down here, and he came down with her and he now works for Lockheed. He lives in the apartment complex across the street from me! What a small world! So we spent a while reminsing about how the Europa project was a perfect example of what-not-to-do in a design team, and he said he felt decidedly better that when I finally got my own chance to lead a design team, I learned from all our mistakes. Oh, and Karen, he wants to see a copy of our presentation about the foibles of team projects :).

On to the apartment

I moved in this weekend (though all my clothes are still at Kathleen's house). In a feet of remarkable coordination, the electricity was on when it was supposed to be. The movers showed up ON TIME at 9 a.m. sharp on Monday morning, and were done unloading the truck and unpacking all the boxes I asked them to (more on that subject later) by noon. The cable company showed up at 12:05 (pretty good, considering they were scheduled to come anywhere between noon - 5 pm). And, that's that.

So, I now have:

1. A chair

2. A beat up table which I will refinish as a weekend project

3. A bed

4. A wall of boxes of books (that are currently serving as my entertainment center/tv stand)

5. A closet full of clothes (with no shelves to put them on)

6. A MILLION wooden spoons and spatulas (thanks mom!)

7. A finished bathroom (I went with "Seamist", a sea-green type color, with blue and green butterflies on a white cloth shower curtain. I almost screemed at the stupid color naming process "Sea foam", "Sea glass", grumble! Why couldn't it just be blue, green, yellow, light blue.... I felt really pitiful that I spent so much idiot time deciding which of these color schemes to go with)

8. A beautiful view of a beach (sand volleyball court), gazebo, water, sailboats and a fake lighthouse.

And that's all I have, so feel free to send anything and everything (or just cash) to help me buy chairs, a dresser and bookshelves (the most pressing items on my list)

In other stuff..

Talked to Karen this weekend. That was fun. She found an awesome inconsistancy between the British and American version of the 4th Harry Potter book. You know all the gossip about the mother and father coming out of the wand in the wrong order (not the order in which they died), well, they come out in the right order in the British version. So, it was just a typo, not part of the "legend". I also finally caught up on reading Sarah's journal, Sarah, I must say, I am very disappointed in not being on your list of fun phone-talking people. :(

So, here I am, signing off again for another two weeks... :)

This is a temporary ending of entries.. I will probably be away from a computer for the next two weeks or so. Anyway, this is a perfect excuse for you all call me or write me a snail mail letter to get updated about my life instead of just reading my journal in silence.

Once again my weekend experience was fairly normal. On Saturday, I went to Star Furniture, they were having a one-day sale. That's where I had found my beautiful bomber-jacket/ranch couch that I loved. Supposedly on sale, it was only marketed down $100 from its previous price - still unaffordable for me at $2000. I am assured that that is a normal, if not reasonable, price for a couch. But until I transition to a highly paid rocket scientist (oh, wait, that's an oxymoron!) I think I will have to stick to the $600 IKEA couches.

On Sunday I had a very pleasant conversation with Karen. Its awesome to talk to her - its been a while since we had a voice conversation. I can't wait for our roadtrip to Scotland in 9 months from now :).

Then, I went to help out with the P.S. interviews. It was fun, mostly the part about entertaining the parents while the students were doing their interviews (there were 12 interviewees total, and they were doing them in groups of 3). I love answering questions about Tech!

It was pretty fun the group dynamics though. There was Liz Roellig and I. Then the 9 other alumni there helping out with interviews classified as your typical executive-level managament, older, white male. I mean, we're talking blue blazers, khakis, southern gentlemanliness, the works. Oh, and they all worked for chemical or petroleum companies (Liz does to), so little aerospace me was definitely outnumbered. It was fun to see Liz though.. we were never in the same social group at school but we always got along, and she was very cool, so it was nice to see a familiar face.

While I am on the subject of Tech, apparently flying club is getting nailed by JCOC (part of student government) for having non-student officers. I am very amused by this and very gratified that someone has taken notice. And its even better that the chair of JCOC is actually a very active member of flying club.

Doctors, doctors, doctors

Today I spent the morning in the JSC clinic getting my whatever baseline physcial stuff that they "have to have on record" done. I was poked, prodded, and subjected to strange tests that (lung capacity, EKG, hearing, drugs, etc....). Anyway, the thing that most amazed me about the whole thing was the organization - they actually had copies of my records from when I had my flight physical, chest X-ray and medical clearance for the KC-135 back in 1999. Can you believe that?

Of course this reminded me that I have to go about the process of finding a family doctor, flight doc (though I think the clinic here will do my flight physicals for me, Sarah, do you know?), densist, ob-gyn, eye doc, and cardiologist down here. Does anyone know where to start on this process?

And for the weekend

Lie low and save money is the order of the weekend, because I get paid on Tuesday (whoo hoo, my first pay check!). Other than that, on Sunday, I am going to help out with the President's Scholarship local interviews. I am excited about that - I love talking to high school students and I will even get to see Liz Roellig (a friend of mine from school who also ended up in Houston).

I also expect a call from Sarah telling me that she has worked up the courage to ask her crush out on a date.