I Have Not Forgotten...

No no, I'm not dead. I am very much the opposite. Like I said, we just got our high-speed cable internet yesterday. True, I've technically "had" internet since I got here; we kind of stole some bandwidth from a guy somewhere near us that didn't properly secure his wireless network. That method wasn't very reliable, however. Now we have our own network set up, and yes, it is very much secure.

Wondering what's been going on with me? Here's a blow-by-blow of how the last week has gone:

Friday(august 19th): I made the long drive down here to Houston. It took 8 hours, but it honestly did not feel like it. Mal made me this mp3 cd, which made the trip seem more like 4 hours. I was moved in and settle that night. My room is much better than last spring; the sink is actually IN the room, I have a much larger closet, and my bathroom is connected INSIDE my room, so I don't have to walk out of my room to use the restroom...now THAT'S comfort, haha. The rest of the apartment looks exactly like our last, only it's flipped, haha. It took a little getting used to, but I think we're ok now. Here are some pics of my room...

My lovely room. Notice my baseball corner in the back; everything is ready to support my team at a moment's notice, haha.

The sink is IN my room. How COOL is that? The bathroom can be seen in the background.

Yes, she's down right now, but she will be up soon....very soon.

Saturday: I got a call from Walker, a new co-op here from Mississippi State. He invited me to an Astros game with him and his Dad; I readily accepted. It was 97 degrees outside that day, but Minute Maid Park has a retractable roof, making the gametime temp around 69 degrees. It was great...........
I noticed something while at that game. I am not a big Astros fan, let alone National League fan, but then it dawned on me: World Series......Astros vs Red Sox.....holy crap! I'm not saying we'll make it that far, or even get into the playoffs, but just think about it. The World Series HERE! If that scenario played out, I'd make sure I got 2 tickets, even if I had to pay an arm, leg, or soul to get them. The Astros still are not my team, but I am DEFINITELY rooting for them to get that Wild Card spot. GO 'STROS!

Sunday: I was a complete bum. I sat out by the pool, got a few rays, and rearranged things here and there in the apartment. I also had to iron clothes for work, and I attempted to get to bed at a decent hour( I wasn't very successful).

Monday: First day of work. I went to 600 Gemini to get badged, which was so much easier now that I am a returning co-op. It was great to see my old group: Eric, Colin, Al, Frank, Elizabeth, Pam, Macresia, and Jude. Sadly, this summer several of my mentors moved on to other things beside the civil space program. They are doing well from what I hear; I just wished I could have said goodbye....Then I met my new manager; of course, he wasn't really new to me, as he was the guy that interviewed me for this job. Best of all, Bryan(my new manager) is in the same room as Trey. Trey refused to look at me when I walked in, haha. He's upset I didn't come back to one of his groups. He wont even call me by name now; he just calls me "co-op", haha. Everyone in my new group is awesome. I will go into much detail about this new group in a later post, but just know that this is actually rocket science; what I am doing is exactly what you think of when you hear the word NASA, spaceflight, or rocket science. It's a blast(get it?). I'll talk more about all that later, though, so you have something to look forward to......

when I went to see my old group, I ran into Eric first. What did he say right as he saw me? I quote, "Hey Henry, what are you doing tonight? Nothing? Good. Poker night is back. My place at 8:00. I'll see you there."....and that was it. No "Hey man, how are ya?" or "how was your summer?" or "what's up? glad to see ya back?" It was funny. I think he knew I was coming.

So I went to play poker with the boys while we watched Monday Night Football, chowed down on pizza and snacks, and drank all kinds of beverages. I knew the basics of poker going into that game, but the guys really helped me get the hang of it. I am completely hooked now. Sure, I put in 10 bucks and left with $2.75, but I'll get better. We play every Monday night. I'll win the money back :)

Eric also told me about his Labor Day Bash next Saturday at his place. TONS of people are going to be there, and I am planning on joining them. It's gonna be awesome. The first full weekend of football + backyard grilling + a huge crowd = FUN for all. I can't wait!

Tuesday: Day two of work. Again, it was great fun. I ran into Eric again that morning. During poker the night before, I mentioned to him(knowing that he was from Dallas and a huge Cowboys/Stars/Rangers/Mavericks fan) that the Avalanche were coming into Dallas to play the Stars on October 8th. He seemed interested but didn't say anything at the time. This morning he said, "Why dont we plan on going to that Avs game in October?" So the wheels have been put into motion for my semi-annual trip to Dallas, haha. I am SO excited. My Avs will be back on the ice, and I'll get to see them near the beginning of the season.

Also, I'm going to see the Avs play in Nashville over Christmas break AND during the spring semester when we have a 3-day weekend in the spring. I'm also going to see Wayne Gretzky coach the Coyotes against Nasvhille in April. Can you tell I'm excited about hockey's return?

I told Colin(my fellow Sox fan in my old group) my idea for the playoffs in October. I suggested that all of us(Red Sox nation here in Houston) take turns hosting a Sox Party every game of the playoffs(in which the Sox play, of course). He loved the idea, so we're gonna try doing that come October. That should be fun.

Tuesday night, I went to the League City sportsplex(about 8 miles away) to watch the volleyball league play. This complex is NICE. There are 6 regulation beach courts, all with great sand, new nets, and plenty of lighting. I stayed for about 2 hours. It was unbelievable. I found the league's website, and I discovered that a new league starts late next week. I'm not sure how many spots are left open, but Jason and I are definitely interested. We're gonna practice some over the next few days, and if we think we can get some damage done on other teams, we'll sign up. It's $120 a team, so we're not gonna join unless we think we can play at a decent level.

Wednesday(today): The Yankees just allowed 9 runs in one inning, and the Sox are up 3-0; today is definitely a good one.

It's about time to put the clothes in the dryer, so I guess I'll stop here tonight.

Until next time,
-H