Forgiveness

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"...and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us..."
Jesus, Luke 11:4

There is pain - real pain - caused by close friends, relatives. Sometimes it's harder to forgive our friends than our enemies. We're human... we hurt each other all the time. Sometimes it's intentional, sometimes it's not. I think most of us know we should forgive, but sometimes we think we can't possibly forgive or we try to tell ourselves we've forgiven someone but we still shut them out of our lives or refuse to talk to them again....that's not forgiveness.

Even if you're not a Christian, forgiveness still applies to you. When we don't forgive, it's like a poison. It eats at us, steals our joy, and prevents us from getting close to people. See this article for a secular perspective on forgiveness which talks about how it affects our physical and mental health.

I see it all the time - even at church. I have friends who end up mad about something the other person did, then another says something mean, then the friendship is over. Neither can humble themselves to ask for forgiveness for their part of the hurt. Why do we create "levels" for our friends? Some people are in our inner circle and others are not. People who bother us, hurt us, annoy us... we shut them out. Why do we think we're in any position to punish someone for hurting us? Maybe we're not trying to punish them, maybe we're just trying to keep from getting hurt next time.

Be wary... that is not the life that God requires. This is one of those areas where we tend to make up our own rules rather than following His word. (Yancey Arrington, one of the pastors at my church, wrote about that here.) God's word doesn't say we should forgive but be cautious of the people we have forgiven lest we be hurt again! When He forgives us, He separates our sin as far as east is from west as if we had never sinned. He welcomes us back into the fold and does not turn His back on us no matter what we do or how often we do it. That's not a license to sin, but some take it as such. We are afraid that if we forgive people, they may take it as a license to continuously hurt us... but that should not prevent us from forgiving them. They may hurt us again and probably will. They are humans. But so are we. We will also make mistakes, have bad days, say things we shouldn't, think and do things we shouldn't. If we can't forgive, the Bible says we will not be forgiven. Woah... that's big.

Think about the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21 - 35. A servant owed a king an enormous debt that he would not be able to pay even if he gave every penny he earned to the king for his entire life! Before being thrown in jail, the servant begged the king for mercy and the king graciously forgave his servant. His joy was short-lived because as soon as the servant walked into the streets with his newfound freedom, he went looking for a man who owed him a small amount of money and demanded payment. The poor man pleaded with the king's servant but the servant did not have mercy and threw him in jail. When the others around saw what had happened, they told the king. Infuriated, the king threw his servant in jail because he could not show a small amount of mercy when he had been shown mercy.

We would be wise to heed the warning in Matt 18:35 - "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

Who do you need to forgive? Is it a friend? A relative? God? Are you questioning why God let something happen to you? Why he let someone die? Ask yourself:

1. Who am I holding a grudge against?
2. Why?
3. Let yourself for a minute imagine letting that go and forgiving them - what would that do to you? What would that do to them? How would it affect the others around you? Would it bring them closer to God?

After you do that, also ask yourself: who do you need forgiveness from? Maybe you need to seek their forgiveness. If you have already sought forgiveness and they have not given it, maybe it's time to ask again.


Further reading: When I was doing research for this post I came across a verse that is omitted in ESV, NLT, and NIV. The verse is Mark 11:26 and in the New American Standard Verison (NASB) it reads: "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions." There is a footnote here that says that other ancient authorities inserted this verse. I took that to mean that this statement that God won't forgive us if we don't forgive others is not in the original text or the oldest manuscripts. I'm going to have to ask a Pastor about this because I had heard that verse before and wasn't aware that it's not in the oldest manuscripts. If and when I find out some answers about this topic, I will let you know! But if you know more about this than I do, please add it to the comments on this post!

What I'm Thankful For....

We have so many blessings! I am definitely guilty of taking things for granted. I know we should be thankful for everything all year... but for those of us who aren't perfect (*raises hand*), I'm glad there's a day set aside to remember that we have more than we need.

Here are a few things I'm thankful for (by no means an exhaustive list).

1. My family - I miss you, I love you
   
2. My friends - I love you
   
3. My church - I am so blessed to be part of Clear Creek!
   
4. All the people who have discipled / mentored me in my life
   
5. Not being immediately affected by Hurricane IKE -- and being able to help those who were
   
6. My small group (and all the small groups I've been part of at CCCC)
7. My health
8. All the provisions God has blessed me with: my job, my apartment, my car. I truly have more than I need.
   
9. All the wonderful experiences I've had - both good and bad. God uses everything to draw us to Himself.
10. Being born in and living in the land of the free and the home of the brave

Above all, I am thankful for the Lamb - Jesus Christ. He lived the life you and I could not live and paid the price we could not pay.

We sang this song last night at church. My sister introduced me to it earlier this year. She leads worship at her church. She's an awesome singer, by the way! What a gift she has been given! Words cannot express how much I enjoy lifting up these words together with the saints. In this time of Thanksgiving, I can't think of anything I'm more thankful for and this song sums it up. You can hear it on YouTube.

The song comes from the words in Revelation 5....


Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"



(Worthy is the Lamb, Hillsong United)

Thank You For The Cross, Lord
Thank You For The Price You Paid
Bearing All My Sin And Shame
In Love You Came, And Gave Amazing Grace

Thank You For This Love, Lord
Thank You For The Nail Pierced Hands
Washed Me In Your Cleansing Flow
Now All I Know, Your Forgiveness And Embrace

Chorus:
Worthy Is The Lamb, Seated On The Throne
Crown You Now With Many Crowns
You Reign Victorious
High And Lifted Up, Jesus Son Of God
The Darling Of Heaven Crucified
Worthy Is The Lamb
Worthy Is The Lamb
Worthy Is The Lamb

Election Day

Just a quick update:

I tried to vote on Friday afternoon (last day of early voting in Harris County (Houston, TX)), but the line was crazy long - I didn't want to wait 2 hours... especially since I was wearing my Halloween costume! So I decided to go early today. I got in line at 6:50am - only about 20 people in front of me. About 7:20am I was in the voting booth - it was my first time! For the last presidential election, I voted via absentee ballot in FL for Missouri. 2 elections, 2 states - where will I be in 2012? I definitely had a huge sense of pride today walking back to my car having cast my ballot! I'm very excited about watching the results tonight. It's hard to think about anything else today.

I'm also excited about the FREE STUFF many companies are giving out today! After I voted, I got a free tall coffee at Starbucks. Tonight from 5pm to 8pm you can get a free Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Cone (click here). I've also heard that Krispy Kreme is offering free donuts today!

It's fun to watch the Facebook Election 2008 page as the number rises steadily towards 3 million Facebook users that have voted. I am predicting 5-6 million by end of the day. There are 110 million Facebook users worldwide (age 13 and up) according to Wikipedia, but I don't know how many of those are legal, US voters. But still, 3 million voices - that's a lot! I do hope that this election will break participation records. It's great to see people care!

Happy Election Day everybody!

IKE Cleanup this weekend!

This weekend, 1000 volunteers will be gathering to help clean up Shoreacres.

The following info was mailed out by Clear Creek Community Church and more info can be found on IKEASSIST.org.

Hope to see you there!

Saturday
We are targeting Saturday, Oct. 25th, as our biggest day of Ike assistance yet.

The goal is to have 1000 volunteers from area churches to be sent out from Base Camp on that day.

We will be concentrating our efforts in Shoreacres a small city located between Highway 146 and Galveston Bay. It is not an island, but has bay waters on three sides of the city. Of the 650 homes in Shoreacres, 575 had rising water and/or severe damage to their homes. On Saturday we want to clean up what FEMA did not pick up and begin to restore the normal clean looking yards/streets to Shoreacres. We will literally go block by block to help clean up what was left behind. This is a great opportunity to make a major difference to the feel of a community.


Saturday's Schedule

• 8:00am Meet at Gloria Dei (click here for directions). --- Parking spots are limited, so please park across the street from the church. We'll meet for a time of worship and a brief orientation.
• 8:30am Depart for Shoreacres --- We are asking all CCCC people to please park at Bayshore Elementary School, 301 Fairfield, Laporte. (click here for directions)
• 9:00am-1:00 Clean-up Shoreacres --- We will divide into teams and CCCC teams will depart to streets from within walking distance of Bayshore elementary
• 1:00pm Lunch --- Lunch is provided. This will be a great opportunity to invite anyone you meet from the community to join you for lunch. No cost.
• 2:00 Depart after lunch

What to Bring

• Appropriate shoes (no open toe) & work clothes (recommend pants and not shorts).
• Garbage bags (heavy duty), rakes, shovels, brooms, wheel barrows, gloves. We have some supplies, but not enough for 1000 people. Please bring what you can.
• Wear your green Ike Assist shirt if you have one

Inspiration on KUHF

Repost from OpenNASA:

I stumbled upon a gem this week when I was listening to Houston’s Public Radio, KUHF, on FM 88.7. They have created a 6-episode “mini-series” recounting some highlights of NASA’s history in celebration of its 50th Anniversary! The series is full of historic audio clips you may not have heard before and interviews with Mike Coats, Gene Cernan, Gene Kranz, and John Glenn - to name a few!

If you missed it, you can listen to it here. All six episodes have been posted to the website. It’s definitely worth your time!

Fall Preview

I love fall. Fall is probably my favorite time in Houston. Fall brings relief from the blazing heat of Houston summers. Granted, it's still over a month away, but it's coming! Because summer is so hot here, we tend to have a lot of outdoor festivals and activities in the fall. For example, the Ballunar Liftoff Festival (pics here) will be coming to JSC in a couple months. Plus, there's the Texas Renaissance Festival (arguably the largest and best Renfest in the US!) and the Wings Over Houston Air Show at Ellington field (pics here and here). Not to mention, my season tickets to the Houston Ballet start in September. I'll be seeing two performances: Onegin and Classically Modern. In the fall, it's cool enough to ride my bike outside! I've definitely not had enough motivation this summer to ride it.

In a nutshell, that's what I'm looking forward to in the next three months!

NASA Motorcycle Gang!

Three of my friends have recently purchased sport bikes. One has a blue Kawasaki ZX-6R, another has a yellow BMW K1200R, and the third has a black Yamaha R6! Sweet bikes if you ask me!

I finally got to see all 3 together at church on Sunday! My friends and I walked the NASA Motorcycle Gang out to their bikes after the service ended. They all mounted and zipped out of the parking lot. It was exciting to see them all together for the first time! Later that afternoon, a bunch of friends got together for home-made fajitas. Since it was such a gorgeous day, all three bikers ended up riding over there. I rode over on the BMW! Lunch was delicious, but the party ended abruptly when we noticed thick, black rainclouds overhead! The bikers needed to get out of there quickly... back to Clear Lake! The storm had caught everyone by surprise.

Oh, what a thrill! Yamaha in front, Kawasaki behind, and I was on the BMW - bringing up the rear! Our 4-wheeled friends were all standing in the drive-way as we screamed down the street. For one glorious minute, we were all together, riding fast and free. I have always wanted to be in a biker gang!

... Suddenly, the dream ended when the first two bikes took a different turn getting out of the subdivision... argh!

I kept looking over my shoulder for them as I sped off on the BMW, but it looked like they weren't going to catch up. With sadness, I accepted that the group ride was over and decided to just enjoy the rest of the ride.

There's nothing like riding a motorcycle! We rode on the NASA Parkway for the first time. The black clouds were behind us, bright sky up ahead. Looking up, I saw a large hole in the clouds ... it seemed to be teasing me. I just wanted to fly right through it. The air was cool and crisp as the storm was blowing through. We made a fast, tight turn on Middlebrook and then went back to my house. Whew! What a ride!

Hopefully someday soon we can get the three bikers back together (with me on the back of one, of course). I'd love to go for an extended ride with the gang. Maybe we'll go to Austin some time!

Tropical Storm Edouard... A Welcome Respite for some

Monday began with a flurry of news of the impending Tropical Storm "Edouard." We heard that JSC had a senior staff meeting at 9am to discuss the option of suspending operations. Edouard was expected to develop into a Category 1 hurricane by Tuesday afternoon with sustained winds of up to 70 miles per hour. However, the storm wasn't the first thing on my mind...I had a TON to do yesterday. I was simultaneously checking my analysis, updating a report, getting margin summaries on my hardware for a flight analysis, and putting together summary charts to give to Safety. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but it started sounding like JSC was going to shut down before the end of the day. I told my coworkers that I thought Boeing would be less conservative than NASA about shutting down, and I continued to scramble to get everything done. My parents are coming to town this week and I was supposed to have MER (Mission Evaluation Room) training on Wednesday, so I was definitely hoping Boeing would keep the doors open for at least the rest of the day so I could finish my work!

As you can imagine, everybody in the office was thrilled at the thought of getting to leave early... except me. I don't know why I was so put out by the prospect of getting kicked out! Part of it was that I knew I wouldn't get anything done this week if they sent us home Monday and Tuesday (when the storm was scheduled to hit). I knew I wouldn't get much time in on Wednesday before my parents were to arrive... and I am taking off Thursday and Friday to spend with them... so there goes the week! I kept getting interrupted with updates about JSC. I found out the secret to looking busy is to keep your headset on your head even when you're not on the phone... then people are less likely to stop by and talk to you.

Really, it wasn't a big deal to me - I knew I'd survive in the face of my looming deadlines and the pressure to finish. I knew that even if Boeing suspended operations, my deadlines would wait until our return.... But for some reason it just irked me that everyone seemed to be up in arms over a tropical storm! It was a perfect, blue-sky day! Winds were only projected to get to 70 mph... so we're not talking about a big storm, here! Gosh people! ;)

Naw, I can't complain... it's a free day off work... Granted, Bay Area (the street my building is on) floods during most heavy rainstorms... so getting to work could be a problem on Tuesday. In the interest of safety, JSC decided at 11am to shut down at noon. At 12:07pm, an email went out at Boeing that our operations would be suspended as well for the rest of the day and tomorrow (Tuesday). With thunderous applause and shouts of joy, my teammates packed up and started heading out. Only one was still protesting...

After I made my final calls / emails to let my teammates in Huntington Beach know that I'd be out until Wednesday, I packed up and walked out to the car.

...only to find a traffic jam in the parking lot! It took me 15 minutes to get out! I bet we all looked pretty silly evacuating the building on a perfect day!

I went to lunch with 2 coworkers and then home. I "hurricane-proofed" my balcony by bringing all the plants inside and turning the big, plastic table upside down. When I started to prepare, I realized that I was scaring myself a little bit. I wasn't a bit worried until I started rearranging things. Then all the "what ifs" started running through my head. It was an eerily calm night. Blue sky turned into clear night with sparkling stars. Maybe we would have a storm tomorrow, maybe not.

I slept perfectly through the night and woke up to light rain about 9 in the morning. "Not a big deal at all," I thought. I kept waiting for the storm to pick up. Monday, the weather channels were predicting landfall at 1pm to 2pm. However, as I watched the news today, it seemed like everybody was trying to make a bigger deal out of it than it was. One newscaster was talking about a palm branch that blew down...not a tree... a branch.... wow. Another was standing in half inch watcher... shocking. There seemed to be some places in Houston where the highways were covered with water - but that happens during any big storm. Throughout the day, I heard no lightening or thunder. Just a soft, steady rain. The flowers were very happy! About 3pm I started to feel confident that the storm had passed entirely. It hasn't rained a drop in a few hours now. The sun is shining.

I moved my plants back outside. Looks like I was right yesterday, but I am thankful for the 1.5 days that Boeing paid us all to go home and watch TV. :)

As you can see in the picture above, my apartment got a little water on the volleyball court.

I think it's very common that when we worry and over-prepare, things don't end up being that bad. Likewise, disasters occur when we least expect them. It's good to take hurricane threats seriously, but I'd recommend that when facing a tropical storm that may turn into a cat 1 hurricane, we should all remain calm. After some of the big storms we have faced, I think Houstonians would have panicked a little less for this one.

Here are my happy plants:

Lighthearted News!

It's stories like this that make Boeing-Houston feel like a family...

Earlier this summer, the duck that lives in the ponds behind our building had 16 ducklings. They were so cute and fluffy! We were horrified when we saw that their numbers were dwindling - predators were picking them off one by one! Who knew that our little forest was so dangerous? Adam Morgan, a guy on the Communications / Public Relations team, wrote up the tale and sent it out to all of the Boeing-Houston distribution lists. We were very sad to hear about the ducks, bu the story was well-written and it was the talk of the town for a while after it came out! It was striking because it was so unusual to hear a story like this coming out of the same channel as our weekly site news.

Later, the duck had 16 more ducklings! This time, the whole building was rooting for her! Adam wrote part 2 of the story. I'd like to share it with you. Hope you enjoy!

"Update to the duck saga:

Our delicate dance with Mother Nature

If there’s one thing I learned about nature, the environment and how much we should intervene during my years doing Communication and Public Affairs with the USDA Forest Service is for as many people and situations, there are just as many opinions and opportunities. The opinions people have about what’s best for the environment covers the entire spectrum – from the complete hands-off approach to very active management.

The same is proving true at Boeing’s Houston site when dealing with the resident duck and her latest batch of hatchlings. The demise of the previous 16 ducklings is still fresh in the minds of many. Click here for more info.

Many individuals felt it was the role of Site Services to find a way for the ducklings to survive the harsh environments into which they were born. And some felt just as strongly that the site should remain hands-off and let nature take its course. The hands-on approach was decided.

The site solicited an external call for those interested in “adopting” the ducklings and received numerous inquiries. One inquiry in particular seemed to stand out above the rest and felt like the perfect match. The inquirer wrote that they had 15 secluded acres with several “friends” for the ducklings to interact. The farm consisted of three ponds for splashing as well as separate store-bought swimming pools, which is a favorite for the resident Peking duck on the farm. The inquirer promised a good life for the ducklings free of worry from predators and human consumption – a perfect environment for the Houston site ducklings.

The family retrieved the ducklings last Friday, and the little critters have taken to their new farm life quite well – they even have their own personal “body” guard. It seems Charger, one of the dogs of the group, has decided to adopt the ducklings. Their new keeper keeps the ducklings in a pen with a pond (and the dog of course) until they are a little older and more capable of protecting themselves on their own –she even brings the duckling inside at night for further assurance of their survival.

For those worried that the mother duck was traumatized by the removal of her hatchlings, the site sought the advice of animal experts before making any relocation decisions. In the case of ducks, unlike mammals, ducklings do not need the care of their mother for any length of time, and vise versa, the mother will do just as well without the ducklings.

The farm promises to keep the site updated and informed of the ducklings’ progress as they adapt to their new surroundings. The first update came this weekend as the ducklings began their new life on the farm. Click here and here for images of the ducklings at their new home.

By: Adam Morgan"

*end quote*

One more July post...

I can't believe it's almost August... I can't believe we are over half way through 2008 for that matter! I've had a lot of fun and I've traveled a lot too. I've been to St. Louis three times: two weddings and a funeral. I also went to Ukraine for 10 days (more on that later), Denver, and Navasota.

I mean it's crazy!

But besides all the fun I've been having, this year completely stands out for me.

Back in March, I was asked to be on the JSC 20 Year Vision Team. That's how it all started... A team of 30 NextGen / Gen Y folks (whatever you want to call us) were asked to come up with a vision for JSC. Before we could do that, we needed some lessons on strategic planning because most of us had never thought beyond our daily task list. This task would require us to put ourselves in the shoes of the JSC Center Directors and Program Managers. We needed to imagine that it is 20 years in the future and we are the Center Directors and Program Managers... It was fun... and daunting.

It took us almost half a day to be able to say "When I am the Center Director, I will...." Once we made that leap, we were able to move forward. Over the next month and a half, we worked on the Vision and a presentation to go along with it. You can find it here (the third link). We presented our Vision to Mike Coats (JSC Center Director), his senior staff, the Joint Leadership Team, the Lockheed Martin Leadership Association, REACH (the Boeing New Hire Club), our managers, all the interns / co-ops... the list goes on! It's amazing how many speeches I've given this year. So many cool things have come out of working on this team...

• I've gotten to talk to people I never dreamed I'd be talking to.
• I've made some very deep, meaningful friendships.
• I've learned new skills: strategic planning, big picture thinking, teamwork, leadership
• I got so excited about pulling other new hires into the action that I joined REACH's core team.
• I cooked up a summer intern mentoring program for Boeing.
• I helped with the International Space Settlement Design Competition.
• I've been asked to help facilitate cross-generational discussions at Boeing in Houston.
• I was inspired to apply for International Space University and became one of Boeing's runners up. (I hope to be selected in 2009)
• I learned about new tools like Twitter.
• I started to blog again.
• I've been asked to keep participating in strategic planning at JSC.
• I bought a BlackBerry. :)

.... I like lists a lot, by the way....

I really attribute most of my personal development this year to that two-day 20 Year Vision Workshop back in March. It gave me a boost of energy I have not had in a long time! The first day, I was so inspired to have a solid 8 hours to think about the future. That night, I was talking everybody's ears off with all my excitement! The next day, I went back for part 2 of the workshop. I distinctly remember the feeling of, "Today, I'm going to change the world... or at least make a difference." I want that feeling every day! I want to be in a place where I really feel like I'm contributing. That's why I'm so involved in REACH and the JSC Strategic Planning activities.

Honestly, I'm not just trying to compile a list of good deeds and accolades... this really all stems from a desire to be involved in other people's lives - for their benefit. It's so rewarding to do things for other people... and to do things that will impact the future.

I also distinctly remember the feeling of "Wow, I didn't know this world existed!" My dear friend, Chris, said "Welcome!" I mean it's just amazing what you find when you get out of your bubble. We only have one life to live. So far 2008 has really been an outstanding year, and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

How Did I Get Here?

Since my blog is entitled Houston Chronicles, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about how I came to Houston. It may surprise you to know that I have not lived here that long. I was born in St. Louis, MO and lived there for 18 years. St. Louis is a great city! I'll have to blog about it some time... I lived in several different areas of St. Louis: Florissant, St. Charles, and Chesterfield. I never imagined that I would live anywhere else! Pretty much my whole family is in St. Louis - mom, dad, little sister, big sister and her family, big brother and his family and my other big brother is across the river in Illinois. My Great Aunt Ruth lives in St. Louis, so did my grandma for the last several years until she passed away.

It all started in 10th grade. I learned about Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama one day when I was poking around the internet - don't remember how exactly I came across it. Regardless, I decided that I really wanted to go to Space Camp during the summer after sophomore year of high school - it was the year 2000. The high school camp called "Advanced Space Academy" lasted for 6 days. I signed up for the Mission Specialist track which entailed flying around the Payload Bay of the Orbiter during simulations ("sims") - how cool is that? I soaked up the experience like a sponge. I learned every fact they threw at us in 6 days. We had 3 short sims and one long sim. For the long sim, I was in Mission Control because I ended up liking that job more than being an astronaut - I know, I'm weird! In Mission Control, the counselors do silly things to keep you entertained. They'd sit in the back and make Star Wars quotes pop up on our consoles! It was very entertaining. After Space Camp, I was hooked. I came back and told my big brother that I liked my math and science classes, and I loved Space Camp - but what kind of job could I do that entailed all 3? He said I could be an "Aerospace Engineer."

I wish I had a picture of that moment because it turned out to be a defining one. From that point on, I continued to take all the math and science classes available to me. I took AP Bio, Chem, Physics, and Calculus. When senior year rolled around, I used US News & World Report's college rankings to discover that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL was the #1 Aerospace Engineering school (for colleges without a PhD program). St. Louis University was #2 at the time. Therefore, I applied to both schools. After being accepted to both and calculating that it would cost the same to go to either school (factoring in scholarships), I decided to head down to Florida for 4 years.

Naturally, I majored in AE, thanks to my brother's advice. I loved my classes, professors and experiences at school. I was a member of, and later President of, the AE Honor Society - Sigma Gamma Tau. I also went back to Space Camp as a Counselor during the summer of 2004.

The next summer, I accepted an internship with Boeing in Houston. I guess it should have occurred to me that if I wanted to be in the human spaceflight business, there was a very good chance I would end up in Houston. But I didn't realize that until 2006 when I graduated and took a job with Boeing in Houston - same team as my internship. I never thought of Houston as the place where human space flight comes together. I knew that Mission Control and the Astronauts were in Houston, but I didn't realize that the engineering, analysis, and hardware owners are in Houston too! I guess I thought that it was all in Florida. After I came here in 2005 for my first internship, my eyes were opened as I saw the Johnson Space Center from the inside for the first time.

There are numerous aerospace companies nestled in the Clear Lake area - all working on NASA contracts. Boeing, Lockheed, Oceaneering, Jacobs, USA, Barrios, Wylie, Hamilton-Sundstrand, MEI, and others. It takes thousands of employees to keep the Space Shuttle and International Space Station flying. Now we have Constellation in the mix! It's probably common knowledge to some, but back in high school when I decided to go into aerospace engineering, Houston really wasn't on my radar screen. I just wasn't aware of how Houston fit into the picture. Now that I'm here, I see that JSC is really the epicenter of Human Space Flight.

So... now I've been here for 2 years. Time flies! In the last year, my horizons have really been expanding. I've been participating on a team working on JSC's 20 Year Vision (more on that later) and I've been helping to lead Boeing's new hire club: REACH.

It's funny where life takes you!

Another week begins....

The Dark Knight was about what I expected. It was violent, dark, fast-paced, action-packed, and filled with stunning special effects. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine were excellent as usual. Heath Ledger's performance was phenomenal. I knew it was going to be good, and he did not disappoint! He was totally unpredictable and off the wall. Since I don't know the comics, this was my first exposure to Two-Face. It's an interesting question: is a guy who decides whether to do good or evil really evil if he leaves his decisions to "chance?" He's obviously one of the "bad" guys, but you feel a little sorry for him which is intentional, I'm sure.

The Space Settlement Design Competition was really fun! Saturday, I helped teach the Structures session. We had an architect named Laurie on the presentation team - she did most of the technical info. I presented the teamwork aspect at the beginning. Each of the four departments (structures, human engineering, operations, automation) had a separate technical session to learn what they needed to know to perform their tasks. After all the technical sessions the teams assembled back into the 4 companies and began to work on their proposals. (On Sunday, after church, I came back to help as a Red Team member. Basically, we were giving the kids a chance to have some pre-judging feedback from the Technical Experts. Each team had about 2 hours with 2-8 Red Team members. I was there until 9:30 pm! The projects have come a long way in 2 days. I am very impressed with what they have done. The presentations and judging will be today. Winners will be announced from 4 to 5pm in the Blastoff Theater at Space Center Houston. I wish I could go...

Saturday evening I saw "Rob Roy" for the first time. That was a fantastic movie! I love anything about Scotland, first of all. It's just a quirky obsession I have. I love the culture, the music, and the passion of the people as evidenced by their history. The movie told the story of a Scottish clansman who became entangled with the English lords when he borrowed money from them. It is a tale of love, revenge, honor, and courage. I highly recommend it for those who haven't seen it. If nothing else, the landscape and the music alone are worth seeing/hearing!

So the weekend was very busy, and yes... I am tired as I expected. There's a lot going on this week. I'm a little overwhelmed by my "to-do" list right now - especially since my parents will be visiting next week!

Weekend plans

I love weekends... but why are they so short? I don't get time during the week to have as much fun as I'd like, so I try to cram it all in on Friday, Saturday, Sunday! However, that usually leaves me pretty depressed on Sunday evenings because I know five long, hard days lie ahead of me before the fun ones come around again. Weekends leave me exhausted too. C'est la vie... until I think of a better plan, I'm going to keep packing my weekends full of fun... if I plan to sit around at home all weekend and "relax" I know I won't look forward to my weekends.

Anyway, this weekend will be fun! Tonight I'm leaving work at 4:30 to go to dinner at Red Robin and the BATMAN at the IMAX!!! I'm so excited! I've heard such good things about that movie (besides that it's dark and violent). I'll have to do an addendum to this post later and take a stab at being a film critic!

Saturday and Sunday I'll be helping out with the International Finals of the Space Settlement Design Competition, here in Houston, TX! http://spaceset.org/

Anita Gale has been running these programs for a LONG time.... There really isn't a more realistic industry experience for high schoolers out there... at least according to Anita. I've been helping Anita this week in preparation for the Finals. We've been making copies of the info for the students and pulling everything together. Anita still hasn't written the RFP (request for proposal)... she plans to do that tomorrow. It seems like there is a crazy amount of prep work that goes into these competitions. I didn't realize that last year - I only helped out for a few hours as a Technical Expert for the kids working in the Structures group. It was really fun so I decided to play a bigger support role this year. I'll be a Tech Expert again but I will also help with the pre-judging on Sunday. Pretty excited!

So that's the forecast...we'll see how everything turns out!

Grandma

Well, last week was rough. I found out Sunday morning that my grandma was very sick and in the hospital. After church, I was on the phone with my mom and dad a lot for several hours. They told me that I should fly home b/c it wasn't expected for her to last more than 24 hrs. I ended up getting a ticket for Monday (my birthday). I told them I wanted to talk to her again which I did - I told her to get better because I'd see her on my birthday! Then I told her I love her. She could only gurgle back. At 5pm, dad called and told me she was gone. It happened about 4:15pm. After letting the tears come, I went through all of my photo albums looking for pics of her when she was 20 years younger, healthier, dancing (not in a wheelchair), and with all her beautiful brown hair. That really made me feel better. I flew home after work the next day and did the same thing with mom/dad. Then we made the bulletin for the funeral which took quite a while. The funeral was Thursday. We went to Centralia, IL for the funeral. I saw my cousins and brother and his kids and several of grandma's old friends and my mom's old friends. Then we went to the burial in Chester. It was good to see all of the things she saw when she was growing up and even the house in which she was born! Then the long drive back. What made the whole trip better was spending such quality time with my mom/dad. We watched some movies, cooked together, went to downtown old St. Charles, and an art gallery and shopping. Sadly, I had to come back Sunday evening and then back to work. I miss mom/dad. I think mom is doing okay. Hard to tell sometimes. She'll probably deal with it more privately like I did. I will really miss grandma. My favorite sayings of hers were "Goodness gracious sakes alive! Caught a fish and thought I'd die!" and "Who has more fun than people?" She was so beautiful and smiley and I'll never forget her voice.

Off to a great start!

Well, I'm finally back in the groove! Monday night Bible study was lots of fun - played "nertz" and had pizza/brownies - we'll start our study next week. Tonight was my church's mid-week service - "the Gathering" - soooo good! Yancey talked about not letting our freedoms in Christ be stumbling blocks for others. Instead of stumbling block meaning "offensive" as it often does, he was saying that it means something that causes someone to go back to worshiping something other than Christ. So I definitely took a lot home with me tonight! I've been learning about finding satisfaction and peace in Christ in my Beth Moore Bible study called "Living Free." Providentially, it coincides with the struggles I've been going through - I LOVE when that happens! My morning devotional "Experiencing God" has also been lining up with my life. It's been about finding God's will through prayer and revelation - not just going off and doing whatever you want to do and then asking God to bless it. I also started a prayer journal. Every year, it seems I start gung-ho with new Bible studies and prayer journals and all that - but hopefully this year will be different! A resolution is not just a "well, I'll try this and I know I'll fail, but it's worth a try" statement - it's a firm, unwavering commitment. So if we're going to make resolutions, we need to be "resolute" about them! Good luck with yours!

Enjoy the picture! It's from City Museum in St. Louis, MO with my sister and my nephews. We took them there over Christmas break. Lots of fun!

Fresh Start 2008

Guess it's time for a new blog! I was looking at blogs linked in Facebook and realized I hadn't posted to my blog in a year. The old blog represents for me a chapter in my life that has closed, and a new one has begun. So I thought it was appropriate to start a new blog and I'm hoping that I'll use it more and that it will get more interest. ;) The old one is http://www.thisphotograph.blogspot.com/

There are some photographs on there that I like but don't expect too much. ;)

This photograph was actually taken in April 2007 on my back patio. I love my apartment and my patio. I have 2 hibiscus, 1 hydrangea, a desert rose, and a cactus. I had started an herb garden before Christmas, but I'll have to start over in the spring because the weather was really rough on them.

2007 was a roller coaster year, but overall very positive. One relationship ended and another has begun. I started cycling and I also got my basic SCUBA certification. I learned to tango dance. I saw several ballets with my season subscription and several symphonies. I finished my Renaissance Festival Dress with Liz and went to the Festival twice in November. I went to two back-to-back weddings in June - one in St. Louis, the other in Oklahoma. I went to Phoenix in January. I went to California on my first business trip. Work has been fun - we have a new manager who was promoted from within the team. In June, I went to Kennedy Space Center to see the shuttle launch - it was a fantastic trip! My mom and sister both visited in March on separate occasions and then mom/dad/Amy all came down in August for a trip to San Antonio. I was able to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Spent a lot of time with Keith's boys (my nephews). I feel so distant from my family at times. Too bad NASA is not in St. Louis. But it's difficult because I do love Houston as well. Both cities definitely have their good points.

2008 looks to be a very promising year. I am considering whether to start a Master's program. I have several trips planned - I'd like to go to Seattle, Colorado, Ukraine (mission trip with my church), Cozumel for SCUBA diving, Florida to visit my old friends, St. Louis for holidays, and I'd like to explore Austin this year since I've never been. I have 4 more ballets to see this year and I'll probably subscribe to next season too. Houston Ballet Rocks! Other than that, who knows what the year will bring?