Laptop

I ordered a laptop today! It's refurbished, but it's also pretty loaded. $899 for a 1.8 GHz with 512 M RAM. CD RW / DVD combo drive, wireless networking, 15" screen, 6.5 lb. I'm supposed to get it October 5 - just a few days early for my birthday.

Yesterday's post broke a record - 4 comments for a single post. I'm glad to see that spaceflight is worth talking about, even if just among us space nerds at NASA. How come nobody ever comments when my posts are about where I walked with the dogs last night? :)

Next Tuesday is my orbit FDO cert qual sim. This is the really tough sim that they give you right before they're ready to finish certifying you "to find any rough areas". People have been coming by my desk to smile smuggly at me and give me sage advice like "study hard". So much for sleeping for the next 4 days.

The Astros swept the Cardinals this week and are actually drawing me back into interest in baseball - that and Ichiro's potential breaking of the single season hits record. It's pretty cool to be involved in a close run for the playoffs again, but nothing will ever beat Seattle 1995. So far, I haven't seen anybody jump of the back of a sofa and almost land on another person after the game-winning hit. Nothing will ever beat that.

Back Online

Much to my husband's liking, we recieved our new desktop yesterday - three days earlier than Dell promised. I was able to check my e-mail for the first time in 3 weeks. He, of course, proceeded to spend hours downloading and test driving a beta version of a new Star Wars game. I looked for laptops for an hour or so - I'm thinking of getting a refurbished laptop. It's a pretty good deal, assuming that the thing works, of course.

I'm totally bummed today because Sarah and Jason traded in their unused season tickets for seats at Saturday's game, and I can't go. Gavin and I will be in College Station to see Lauren and Melissa and see the A&M - Kansas State game. Not that I'm complaining about getting to go to a college football game, but I would be more mollified at missing a critical game in the wild card race if it was the Huskies I was going to see. UT is a worthy opponent - come play them Dawgs!

In other news, SpaceShip One just made it to outer space. They're intending to make the second flight in an attempt to win the X-prize on October 4. The team that builds it doesn't seem to be too concerned with the fact that the control system malfunctions pretty much every flight. I'm worried that one of these times, the pilot won't be able to correct it in time to maintain control. Burt Rutan was quoted in the Chronicle as saying about the corkscrewing motion observed on this flight "I was worried about that because that's not the way it was supposed to be." Duh! If the shuttle started doing barrel rolls on ascent everybody in the control center would have kittens. It's a testament to Rutan's design's flexibility that it can handle that kind of abuse, but I would think they'd go into overdrive to figure out these roll excursions before they put another guy in the cockpit. But then, they're a private company and they can get away with a lot more risk than NASA can for whatever reason that is.

Hi, Sharon!

OK, sorry for the group page, but hi Sharon! I was so excited you commented on my blog. E-mail me so I know where to get in touch with you.

So, yes, there has been another long pause in posts. Just after I posted my last, we went to Kansas City (MO) for Matt's wedding. It was a really fun trip. We stayed in a ritzy Hyatt in the Crown Center area. It was connected to a shopping mall, and we pretty much spent the first 24 hours we were in KC in the hotel/mall without going outside. Sarah and Jo got REALLY excited when we discovered that the San Jose Earthquakes MLS team was staying on our floor. You should read Sarah's blog for the story, but the short version is that they got this major soccer star to come hang out with them for 2 hours in the middle of the night. More inportant in my world, I got to wear my red dress again, and I looked totally hot - see! :)



After Kansas City, we came back home and found the power was back on, thankfully. But, when Gavin went up and turned his computer on, it blew out. We determined that both motherboards were likely fried, and cut our losses. Gavin ordered a new desktop last week, and I'm going to get a laptop for my birthday. Sucks to have to buy two new computers in one year.

Becca, Sarah and I went to see Hair on Tuesday. It was - interesting. What was more fun than watching the actors was watching these women my mom's age in front of us talking about the naked scene. They were really into it. :) My favorite part of the play was the actress that played Jeannie. She reminded me a bit of Drew Barymore (her voice - I couldn't see faces from our seats), and she was the ultimate pothead.

Saturday, the girls went into Houston and did pot. I mean painted pot - I mean pottery. I made a picture frame for Caroline and a salad bowl for myslf - which could turn out to be pretty intereting. I kind of ran out of time at the end and made a couple messes because I was in a hurry. Anyway, it was really fun!

Ok, that's all. I'll try to post more than once a week in the future.

Bad Blogger

OK, so I know I've been an inconsistent blogger lately, at the best. My excuses are numerous.

1. For the first time in the last two years, I am actually busy at work. Not just occupied, but actually busy.
2. My computer died Tuesday at home. :( Not sure what's wrong with it. It may be a good excuse to buy a laptop for my birthday, but I hope my hard drive is OK.
3. I spent my evenings this week shopping for wedding presents, getting my hair cut, getting prescriptions filled at the pharmacy, and going to the cheesecake factory.
4. Last night the power company shut off my electricity because I accidentally underpaid my bill by $50. They charged me extra for turning it off, extra for turning it back on, and extra for paying with my credit card over the phone so that it would come back on today. Gavin and I spent the night at Becca's because our house was 8 bizillion degrees. I'm switching power companies on Monday.

That's pretty much all you're going to get today because we're off to beautiful Kansas City for Matt and Stephanie's wedding. At least I get to wear my red dress again. :) Maybe I'll remember to get a picture this time.

Oh, PS. Gavin finally shaved off that stuff he grew on his face while we were in Peru last night. It's like I got my husband back

Long's Peak

My Long's Peak trip report is finally up. Click the link below or the link on my homepage...

Long's Peak

Arriba!

So we're back from Peru. As Jen wrote, it was quite the trip. My favorite moments were:

1. Meeting Jen (and Becca and Karen) at the Sun Gate, overlooking Manchu Picchu.
2. Hiking with Sarah and Cari up a peak to gaze at the moonlit peaks and clouds around us. Oh, and to look for the Southern Cross which, as always on this trip, was too low in the sky.
3. Walking around our magnificent campsite early in the second morning, enjoying the quiet majestic solitude of the Andes as the others napped in their tents.
4. "Llama fish", and other assorted bits of spontaneous humor that frequented our trip.

The hike along the Inca Trail was incredible. The mountains alone trump the Rockies in terms of sheer beauty, with their craggy tops and steep sides lushly covered with green grass and bushes. There are countless places to stop on the trail, peering down the mountainsides into the river valleys below. And spotting the stoic ruins sprinkled throughout.

That is what made it really special, the history of the Incas and the impressive engineering they managed without iron tools. Stepping lightly through stone ruins that have been standing for over half a millenia, admiring the exquisite stonework which allows stones of several tons to lie nearly seemlessly against the others without mortar. And yet, strong enough to withstand several centuries of strong earthquakes without showing much wear. The terraces where the archaeologists suspect the Incas engaged in horticulture experimentation -- testing various strains of crops on each terrace to see how well they weathered and performed.

Pizarro's story of the conquest of the Incas in the 1530s reads like something out of a fantasy novel; it is the quintessential conquistador epic. 200 men and horses, standing against an army of 80,000 Incas. And winning through some astute political and tactical maneuvering, a kidnapping, and impeccable timing. From a military history standpoint, very impressive stuff. It was interesting hearing some of the guides reflect upon the event as they lead you through the ruins in Cusco. For many in the Inca Empire, it was merely another change of leadership. Although these Spanish brought horses and iron and Christianity, they merely did what the Incas had done to the other nearby tribes: move in and establish control. Such was the way of the Old and New Worlds, back then. I found the people today to be pragmatic about it, without much trace of anger or hostility stemming from the colonial expansion of the Old World. Perhaps with the revolutions in the 1800s and 1900s, much of that emotion for the society has been spent.

I plan on reading more on it. And I plan on returning with Jen, she would like to see much of it.

Ramble on

So all week, people have been all "Jen, go to the doctor. Jen, go to the doctor." So this morning I tried. What did I get for my effort? Two trips through a pouring rainstorm to hear that the doctor I had an appointment with "had to go to the other clinic this morning". What's that about? How many clinics does one doctor need? So anyway, I have to go back this afternoon. Which basically means this whole work day is pretty much a loss, and that's too bad because it was my only day this week when I didn't have a bunch of meetings scheduled. But, it could be worse since I'm stuck on my testing document until people decide what requirements I'm supposed to be testing.

We've been lucky here in Texas with the hurricanes this year. I have a morbid fascination with them, and probably would be excited if a small one came into Houston. But category 3 and above are storms I want no part of. Although the forecast track for Ivan keeps moving westward, it sounds like it is pretty unlikely it'll get this far west. Knock on wood!

I went out last night after work to get Matt and Stephanie a wedding present. Then I stopped at DSW and bought some new shoes. :) I wasn't sure about them in the store, but I put them on with the pants I had in mind this morning, and they look great. Yea, shoes!

Map

Everybody is making these maps of countries they've visited, so even though mine's pathetic so far...

Busy

I love being busy at work! I've been so busy the last couple weeks (aside from when we were in Peru, of course) that I haven't had time to do things like write in my blog. This is a good thing, really. Although it may sometimes deprive people of hearing about where I walked the dogs last night, it makes me much happier. Even though what I'm busy with isn't the most exciting or exotic assignment in the world (it's testing new software, which basically involves writing long boring documents and attending a bunch of meetings), I do feel like what I'm doing is necessary and is contributing to our return to flight. That's important to me because much of the time since the Columbia accident I haven't felt like I was a vital part of the space program. In reality, I've been doing what I need to do to become a vital part of the space program, but it feels better now that it's not all playing sophisticated video games in Mission Control. (I still like playing the video games, too.)

I'm on the schedule for my FDO Cert Qual sim. This is the really hard sim that you do right before you do the one where they sign off that you're ready to be a certified FDO. It's a really big deal, and it's scheduled for October 7. Assuming that all goes well, I should be certified by the new year.

We went over to Matt and Stephanie's new place today. I really like their house. It's about a block from Galveston Bay, and it's up on stilts. They have a porch, swings, a hot tub, a deck, and a unique house. Sometimes I'm sad that we decided to buy in the standard subdivision neighborhood rather than finding a unique place like Matt and Steph's. But, we like our house, too.

Back from Peru

Well, we're back from Peru. It was really cool, but unfortunately I wasn't able to enjoy it to the fullest extent. The cold that I got before we left didn't want to leave me be. I was very sick the first two days we were there. The third day, I was able to go the the Pisac market in the morning. Lunch wasn't in the offering, though, since I almost got sick after 3 bites. In the afternoon, we had a tour of the Sacred Valley - I saw it from the bus. The next day was supposed to be white water rafting, but I figured that was a recipe for disaster, so I stayed in the hotel. By the time everyone else got back at 5pm, I was feeling better. I ate dinner and went to the market down the street. I got up at 4am the next morning with everyone else and decided to attempt the trail. BIG mistake. I felt OK and had an appetite, but the cold was now in my chest and I was really struggling trying to get up hills (any hill, not just big ones). Four miles in, before the trail really started heading up the pass, I gave up. Becca sacrificed her hike to go back with me. Our guide, Pauld, sent some porters back for us with a tent, and we spent the night in a village near KM 88 and then walked back to KM 82 the next morning.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed that I didn't get to go on the trail. It was painfully obvious that I wasn't up to it, though. On the day we went back to KM82, I was really dragging by the time we got back to the trailhead, even though most of the way was down. The porters found us a bus from KM 82 to Ollen Tambo, and a taxi from there to Urabamba. In Urabamba, we met up with Karen, who hadn't been on the trail because she has a bad knee. The hotel in Urabamba, Sol y Luna, somewhat made up for not getting to hike the trail. It was wonderful! Each room was a separate circular bungalow with excellent decor and lots of blankets on the beds. Showers were hot at all hours of the day. The hotel has a swimming pool, spa, tennis courts, stables, and the grounds are beautifly landscaped with tons of flowers. I would definately recommend this a as a stop to any Peru traveller. There aren't any Incan ruins in the valley, but the surrounding scenery is beautiful, and it's pretty close to KM 82. And, oh my God, is the hotel nice! I had my alpaca meat here, and I think it was much better than it would have been anywhere else. I still don't like the big hunk of meat meal too much, though.

We took the train to Aguas Calientes the next day, and I spent the afternoon in the hotel again while Becca and Karen went to check out Machu Picchu. I got really depressed while I was waiting for them to come back, because I was feeling like I'd missed the whole trip at that point. Luckily, I was feeling OK the next morning, and was able to make it up to the Sun Gate to meet the group coming down from the trail. I had a good time exploring the ruins that morning, though I got pretty tired after about a half-day or so. We ate our overpriced lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge, and went back into town to rest before dinner.

Our last day at Machu Picchu, we all went up the mountain in this picture (Wayna Picchu). It was pretty steep, but I made it almost all the way up. I stopped at the overlook near the buildings, a bit down from the top. I had to take some of my Cipro that morning, and I was feeling a bit light-headed. Anyhow, the view was great. I was proud of myself. We started to take a detour to the Temple of the Moon on the way down, but I actually got really low on energy and decided to turn around. Sarah and I headed back into the ruins to find a place to sit and contemplate, while Gavin and Cari went off to find the Inca Bridge. I'll post pictures of all this really soon. I probably won't write a trip report, since I didn't hike. I'll like to Sarah's when she's done, though.




OK, one more thing today. In Peru, I met Becca and Sarah's roommate from college, Karen.
This is Karen: ......................................................This is my roommate from College, Anna:

Anna...Karen...Karen...Anna. It weirded me out the whole week. Their personalities are different, but some of their mannerisms are similar and wow....