Long time, no post, but I have good reason. My Sox haven't been impressive...in fact, they have been down right deplorable. That is, until tonight. Big Papi comes through AGAIN, hitting a walk-off hit to left field, driving in Johnny Damon to beat the Blue Jays 5-4. With the Yankees winning, that means the Sox are 1 game behind New York going into this weekend's HUGE 3-game set against the Bombers. THIS is the playoffs to me, folks. This is going to decide the playoffs, and it may even be a preview of the League Championship Series. Tomorrow, Eric, Colin, Jason, and I are headed to BJ's to watch the game right after work. We gotta head out of work early, so we can get seats; Happy Hour at BJ's is from 4-7. Colin and I are hoping we see some Yankee fans....it should make for an interesting evening. Don't be surprised if Colin and I get into a fight, haha...
The fun doesn't stop after tomorrow night. Saturday morning, Eric, Jenn(his wife), Colin, Rachel(his g/f), Jason, and I are headed to D-town(that's Dallas). We'll get there around noon, just in time to sit down at yet ANOTHER bar and watch the Game 2 of the Sox series. After that, it's off to the Texas State Fair we go. I am SO looking forward to the fried Twinkies Eric keeps telling me about. After the fair, it will be time for an awesome occasion: MY FIRST HOCKEY GAME of the season!!! Avalanche vs Stars, baby. It's gonna be awesome. My jersey and two Avalanche shirts are ready to represent...
Obviously, I made it home safely from MS. I drove back Monday with Walker in tandem, and we were making awesome time until we got to I-45. It took us 4 hours to go 130 miles....eyugh. That sucked. Nevertheless, we arrived safely and the toll booths were closed for Rita Evacuation, which meant a Free Ride home once in Houston :)
Besides the Sox winning, I got even more great news from Mallory tonight. It seems a friend of hers has the exact costume she was looking for. That means a FREE costume. Which in turn means that we are gonna continue with her idea for our Halloween costumes. What are our costumes?! Mwa haha...I'll let you ponder on that one...
well I'm extremely tired from shouting and cheering tonight, and I have to do all that over again tomorrow night; therefore, I am turning in early tonight.
-H
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Heading Out
Walker came down from Starkville to spend the night here tonight, reducing his total driving hours for the trip home. We leave tomorrow at sometime around 8am. We had this brilliant plan mapped out as to how we were going to return to Houston; we were gonna take back roads and take the most roundabout way home, but we WERE going to get home. We then found out that evertyhing east of Houston and south of Hwy 190 is shut down to traffic....damnit. In addition to this, the authorities are routing EVERYONE to I-45. WTF!? Thankfully, there is some good news. Many of the evacuees began returning Saturday night, and as a result, the traffic on I-45 seems to be moving rather swiftly(according to the Houston Chronicle). It only gets hairy near Beltway 8, but that's to be expected. Hopefully I wont run out of gas and have to ditch my jeep in the middle of the interstate. No whammies no whammies no whammies...
Jason isn't returning until Tuesday. He has tons of Vacation Days built up, so I don't blame the guy...
Since Jason wont be there, I wont have internet(he took the modem) for one night, but I think I can get by. I found out just mere minutes ago that Seabrook has electricity, so I can at least watch tv or a movie( I did take the tv set-top box)...
In other news, I beat God of War this weekend with the ample amount of free time given to me during my stay here in Canton. UNBELIEVABLE game. Truly a piece of work. I look forward to the sequel. I somehow missed the fact that my parents had several pieces of literature available regarding classical mythology. I am reading what is considered to be the foremost book on the subject: Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I am only about 40 pages into the thing, but it is very very interesting. This stuff just fascinates me...
Sox and Yanks both won today...still tied atop the AL East. Indians dropped one, so their Wild Card lead is down to a 1/2 game over us and the Yanks.
I am looking forward to this weekend: Dallas, Avs Game, Texas State Fair, and the Sox/Yanks series. I am dubbing the activities this weekend as the first annual Octobatorium. It should be a blast...
-H
Jason isn't returning until Tuesday. He has tons of Vacation Days built up, so I don't blame the guy...
Since Jason wont be there, I wont have internet(he took the modem) for one night, but I think I can get by. I found out just mere minutes ago that Seabrook has electricity, so I can at least watch tv or a movie( I did take the tv set-top box)...
In other news, I beat God of War this weekend with the ample amount of free time given to me during my stay here in Canton. UNBELIEVABLE game. Truly a piece of work. I look forward to the sequel. I somehow missed the fact that my parents had several pieces of literature available regarding classical mythology. I am reading what is considered to be the foremost book on the subject: Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I am only about 40 pages into the thing, but it is very very interesting. This stuff just fascinates me...
Sox and Yanks both won today...still tied atop the AL East. Indians dropped one, so their Wild Card lead is down to a 1/2 game over us and the Yanks.
I am looking forward to this weekend: Dallas, Avs Game, Texas State Fair, and the Sox/Yanks series. I am dubbing the activities this weekend as the first annual Octobatorium. It should be a blast...
-H
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Sanctuary
Finally....I am home.
I got off to a much earlier start this morning, thanks in part to Rita's potential nastiness. Nominally, JSC is at an Emergency Level 5, which just means that they're always on the lookout for something to happen. Well, yesterday, they moved down to EL 4, which means that something is gonna happen, so start making preparations. We didn't expect to move to EL 3 until sometime tonight; boy were we wrong. First thing I hear when I walk in this morning(at 6:45, no less): "We're at Level 4; unplug your comp, unplug your surge protector, cover your comp, and get out of here." Whoah...
So work today was short :) Of course, that meant my miserable drive would only begin that much earlier. Jason left even before I could, so he got the 1 hour start...I would see him again later. Walker and I decided to drive tandem; that way one of us could always play some defense in the heavy(at least, we THOUGHT it would be heavy) traffic going out of town. We headed out around 1100am. Hwy 146, like I said, was slow-moving; it took 30 minutes to go about 6 miles. That didn't make me feel any better about the drive. Thankfully, once we got onto Interstate-10, things smoothed out with hardly any traffic at all. That is, until we got to Beaumont. The road workers decided to shut down one lane for a 4 mile stretch; what is more annoying is that the road they closed was having NO WORK being done on it! WTF. That aggravated me more than anything...until the Horne Curse struck. Right as traffic begins to move at a snail's place, guess who's air conditioner stopped working? Yeh, that's right. Of all the times, it happened when I'm not moving and the sun is directly overhead at high noon. That made things even worse.
With every person and their mother tying up the networks around Houston, our cell phones didn't work well the entire day, so Walker and I had to perfect our sign language from car to car. You know, "you take that car" or "you pass first, then me" or "I'll slide in, then I'll let you go in front of me". We got pretty good at trasnmitting those signals near the end of the trip...
We eventually made it out of Beaumont(I'm still without a/c) and towards Lake Charles. That part of the trip I was familiar with. Then we had to turn onto Hwy 165, a road I have never taken. Even though we found out this road was a designated "Evacuation Route," there were hardly ANY cars on the road. Granted, it was 55 mph for 75% of the road, but still. It was much better than running into the god-awful mess near I-12 and I-10 in southeast Louisiana. The drive was decent, despite the fact that my a/c began acting menstrual: it's on, then it's off, it's on, then it's off. VERY annoying...
We stopped in Alexandria to eat and refuel; after that, we went on to Monroe and Interstate-20. While on Interstate-20, guess who we see? Jason in his CRV carrying his massive 12 ft. kayak on top. He said he got awesome mileage(31 mpg!!) when he only went 55 mph, so he had been doing that ever since Alexandria. Needless to say, we didn't slow down to 55 mph to keep him company; we continued on...
I got home around 8:30, and Walker drove away on I-55 towards Memphis, his home.
So I'm here now in the friendly confines of the Gray Center. It's quiet, it's relaxing, and most importantly, no hurricanes are in the forecast :)
Now, had we actually stayed in Houston and weathered(haha) the storm, we were prepared for the Day After. Jason bought his kayak several days ago, before we heard anything about this girl Rita. We were able to go over some basic skills before leaving...
What makes this mini-vacation even better is that I get to pick up the dogs tomorrow! My parents put them up in the canine extended stay boarding, or as we call it, "The Spa." Since my rents would be gone until Saturday, the girls were gonna stay there until then, costing money and making them even more homesick. Since I'm here, I'm going to pick them up tomorrow, which should be awesome. They aren't expecting me, of all the Hornes, to pick them up, especially this early! For two days, it will just be me, my dogs, and my cats at the Center. How awesome is that!?
It was a sad day today in Major League Baseball...the Yanks won, and the Sox lost. What does thta mean? No more first-place!!! Yanks lead by a 1/2 game. Like I have been suspecting for the last month, it looks as if it will definitely come down to the final 3 games at Fenway. Jeez...
-H
I got off to a much earlier start this morning, thanks in part to Rita's potential nastiness. Nominally, JSC is at an Emergency Level 5, which just means that they're always on the lookout for something to happen. Well, yesterday, they moved down to EL 4, which means that something is gonna happen, so start making preparations. We didn't expect to move to EL 3 until sometime tonight; boy were we wrong. First thing I hear when I walk in this morning(at 6:45, no less): "We're at Level 4; unplug your comp, unplug your surge protector, cover your comp, and get out of here." Whoah...
So work today was short :) Of course, that meant my miserable drive would only begin that much earlier. Jason left even before I could, so he got the 1 hour start...I would see him again later. Walker and I decided to drive tandem; that way one of us could always play some defense in the heavy(at least, we THOUGHT it would be heavy) traffic going out of town. We headed out around 1100am. Hwy 146, like I said, was slow-moving; it took 30 minutes to go about 6 miles. That didn't make me feel any better about the drive. Thankfully, once we got onto Interstate-10, things smoothed out with hardly any traffic at all. That is, until we got to Beaumont. The road workers decided to shut down one lane for a 4 mile stretch; what is more annoying is that the road they closed was having NO WORK being done on it! WTF. That aggravated me more than anything...until the Horne Curse struck. Right as traffic begins to move at a snail's place, guess who's air conditioner stopped working? Yeh, that's right. Of all the times, it happened when I'm not moving and the sun is directly overhead at high noon. That made things even worse.
With every person and their mother tying up the networks around Houston, our cell phones didn't work well the entire day, so Walker and I had to perfect our sign language from car to car. You know, "you take that car" or "you pass first, then me" or "I'll slide in, then I'll let you go in front of me". We got pretty good at trasnmitting those signals near the end of the trip...
We eventually made it out of Beaumont(I'm still without a/c) and towards Lake Charles. That part of the trip I was familiar with. Then we had to turn onto Hwy 165, a road I have never taken. Even though we found out this road was a designated "Evacuation Route," there were hardly ANY cars on the road. Granted, it was 55 mph for 75% of the road, but still. It was much better than running into the god-awful mess near I-12 and I-10 in southeast Louisiana. The drive was decent, despite the fact that my a/c began acting menstrual: it's on, then it's off, it's on, then it's off. VERY annoying...
We stopped in Alexandria to eat and refuel; after that, we went on to Monroe and Interstate-20. While on Interstate-20, guess who we see? Jason in his CRV carrying his massive 12 ft. kayak on top. He said he got awesome mileage(31 mpg!!) when he only went 55 mph, so he had been doing that ever since Alexandria. Needless to say, we didn't slow down to 55 mph to keep him company; we continued on...
The view of Jason from my car after I passed him. Note the gigantic kayak on top of his car.
I got home around 8:30, and Walker drove away on I-55 towards Memphis, his home.
So I'm here now in the friendly confines of the Gray Center. It's quiet, it's relaxing, and most importantly, no hurricanes are in the forecast :)
Now, had we actually stayed in Houston and weathered(haha) the storm, we were prepared for the Day After. Jason bought his kayak several days ago, before we heard anything about this girl Rita. We were able to go over some basic skills before leaving...
Here I am, using my 6th sense to "detect" the storm...
Now I'm praticing my normal rowing maneuvers...
And finally, here I am using all my might to fight the gigantic waves from the storm surge.
Now I'm praticing my normal rowing maneuvers...
And finally, here I am using all my might to fight the gigantic waves from the storm surge.What makes this mini-vacation even better is that I get to pick up the dogs tomorrow! My parents put them up in the canine extended stay boarding, or as we call it, "The Spa." Since my rents would be gone until Saturday, the girls were gonna stay there until then, costing money and making them even more homesick. Since I'm here, I'm going to pick them up tomorrow, which should be awesome. They aren't expecting me, of all the Hornes, to pick them up, especially this early! For two days, it will just be me, my dogs, and my cats at the Center. How awesome is that!?
It was a sad day today in Major League Baseball...the Yanks won, and the Sox lost. What does thta mean? No more first-place!!! Yanks lead by a 1/2 game. Like I have been suspecting for the last month, it looks as if it will definitely come down to the final 3 games at Fenway. Jeez...
-H
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Escape from Houston
This town is getting kind of creepy. Everywhere you turn, people are packing up their things, and some of them are actually leaving right now(it is 11:30 pm central). Honestly, I don't blame them. Considering today that we heard reports that 146, the road I take from my apartment to the interstate, is jammed with cars, the wiser solution would be to leave right now. Unfortunately, I can't do that; I have to go in tomorrow and get a few things done, while also gettin in a few hours(so I can use my vacation days later this semester :) ). No, they aren't forcing me to stay; in fact, NASA has a "liberal leave" policy in effect right now. If you have something to tend to, or something you have to do, DO IT, and don't worry about work. I think that's a good policty. JSC is expected to close tomorrow after work, so Thursday and Friday will be paid leave :)
If I can get to the Interstate-10, I should be golden. From there, I'll drive a ways to Lake Charles, and shortly past that I will get onto Louisiana Highway 175. That will take me all the way through Louisiana, from Alexandria all the way up to Monroe. At Monroe, I'll just get onto Interstate-20 and be on my merry way to Jackson. If you need a visual, click HERE.
There is one thing I am concerned with, though: GAS. Everywhere around here, stations are running out of gas because everyone is filling up in anticipation of what is to come. Hell, even Jackson is running out of gas; we've heard reports that it is taking 5 hours to get gas there. Suffice to say, I'm worried as hell that I will not be able to refuel en route to my home. I can make the trip with less than 1.5 tanks, so if I can make at least a 1/2 fill up at some point, I should be OK. SURELY Alexandria or Monroe will have fuel. They aren't small cities either; each one boasts a population greater than 50,000. If I can't find fuel, it might be bad. I may have to take shelter in a local hotel, and nothing is more depressing that stayin in a hotel by yourself. I'm hoping that it will not come to that. Let's just cross our fingers...
well, tonight is a short post, as you'd expect. Hopefully, next time you hear from me I will be relaxing at home with my dogs, sitting on the back porch drinking a cold one, and listening to the ball game.
This is Henry Horne, in Houston...signing off...
...................*static noise*.................
If I can get to the Interstate-10, I should be golden. From there, I'll drive a ways to Lake Charles, and shortly past that I will get onto Louisiana Highway 175. That will take me all the way through Louisiana, from Alexandria all the way up to Monroe. At Monroe, I'll just get onto Interstate-20 and be on my merry way to Jackson. If you need a visual, click HERE.
There is one thing I am concerned with, though: GAS. Everywhere around here, stations are running out of gas because everyone is filling up in anticipation of what is to come. Hell, even Jackson is running out of gas; we've heard reports that it is taking 5 hours to get gas there. Suffice to say, I'm worried as hell that I will not be able to refuel en route to my home. I can make the trip with less than 1.5 tanks, so if I can make at least a 1/2 fill up at some point, I should be OK. SURELY Alexandria or Monroe will have fuel. They aren't small cities either; each one boasts a population greater than 50,000. If I can't find fuel, it might be bad. I may have to take shelter in a local hotel, and nothing is more depressing that stayin in a hotel by yourself. I'm hoping that it will not come to that. Let's just cross our fingers...
well, tonight is a short post, as you'd expect. Hopefully, next time you hear from me I will be relaxing at home with my dogs, sitting on the back porch drinking a cold one, and listening to the ball game.
This is Henry Horne, in Houston...signing off...
...................*static noise*.................
Monday, September 19, 2005
Rita, Rita, Fo-Fita
I guess Mother Nature is pissed off from all the oil refineries in northeastern Houston because she is headed this way in the form of cyclonic winds in excess of 90 mph. That's right, Hurricane Rita is projected to hit southeast Houston(where I live right now) at some point Saturday morning. Considering it's at 90mph now, and it's going to have several days to build up in the warm Gulf of Mexico, I am getting the HELL outta here. Jason has relatives that live in Sugar Land, which is southwest Houston, so we thought about staying with them; however, several people have told me that Sugar Land will still have severe power outages and high winds. Yeh, sorry if I am not overly excited about staying in a hot, humid city without any power for several days. I talked to Eric, and he is probably going to stay with his family in Dallas; I had hoped he would offer to let us stay with him(they have extra rooms), but he never did, and I'd feel awkard asking.That only left me with one choice. I could stay in the haven of havens, the sanctuary of sanctuaries, the garden of Eden, if you will......the Gray Center, of course!! I have been advised that leaving Wednesday night out of town would be wisest, as the Mandatory Evacuation will probably be issued Thursday, and getting out of town would be near impossible. Besides, if Rita stays the course, on Thursday morning, at approximately 0200am, Mission Control Houston will handover all control over to Mission Control Moscow. THAT means that JSC will shut down operations, and THAT means that I wont be required to report to work on Thursday or Friday. Best news? BOTH of those days(and maybe more, depending on the outcome of Rita) are paid leaves of absense. SA-WEET!
Yeh, it sucks to drive so damn far away for only a few days, but I really dont see another choice. Jason is still unsure, and even if he decides to stay here in Sugar Land, I think I'm pretty much set on going. I just reaaaaally don't want to be here when things go down. Of course, packing for this does present some packing problems.....
I'll have to pack my most important electronics, my pictures, and any necessary clothing. Everything else I will try to put up on the high shelves in my closet. Surely the water wont get that high, right!?
So, if I leave RIGHT after work on Wednesday, that'd put me at MY house around midnight. Then I'd have Thursday and Friday to chill and relax, and my rents(who are in Nashville for the week) will be there sometime Saturday. I'd return Sunday, unless conditions are worse and JSC is inactive for longer...
Eh, this whole hurricane business is annoying. I hate being displaced. On a much lighter note, though, Trevor gave me some good news on the Starkville homefront: they are building a Tiki-style bar TWO BLOCKS from Glenn Hollow(where I shall be living next semester). Tiki Bar? Not that exciting, right? Just another bar. What IS exciting? They are putting a full-size SAND VOLLEYBALL court next to the bar! How freakin' awesome is that!? Sand courts less than a 5-minute walk from my apartment! Next semester will be fun indeed :)
Speaking of Starkville, I may just drive on up there Thursday and Friday. I mean, why not?
I've been playing this new video game(well, a few months old) recently. It's entitled God of War, and it's about this mortal that is commanded by Zeus to destroy the God of War, Ares, before he destroys what is left of the city of Athens. What ensues after this introduction is nothing short of pure awesome-ness. All the Gods and Titans get into the mix, and it's just plain fun. Needless to say, this game has piqued my interest in Greek Mythology. Sadly, no such course is offered at Mississippi State. I think I may just pick up a book at Barnes&Noble...
I'm gonna go work out.... or run.... or something...
-H
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Ramblings...
hey er'body...just a few things to talk about today...
Today was the first of what is hopefully a tradition here. Shortly after work, we(the guys) all met at the sand volleyball courts near Eric's and played until the sun went down. It felt incredible today, especially when the sun got lower. Unfortunately, we were only able to play one 2v2 set, as Frank and Kimi(his g/f) came after we were done. We had to play 3v3 after they arrived(we didn't wanna be rude, haha). Since that one set was really a game, and since Jason and I owned them 21-16, that brings our career record back up to .500 with a 4-4 record. We have been on a tear ever since losing those first 4 grueling matches...
I have so much energy as of late. Maybe it's the volleyball, but I'm not sure. I just feel like doing something all the time. My workout regimen is actually fun as hell: every other night around 9pm for about one hour. Maybe that has something to do with my energy level...
After playing beach volleyball today, I just HAD to pick up Top Gun. It's kind of scary that I have never owned my favorite movie of all time. Better yet, it's the "Special Collector's Edition." I am watching this bad boy tomorrow night. The bonus cd has making-of features, trailers, music videos, and commentary. I'm gonna do ALL of that...
Tomorrow is the toural(it's a new word. It's like annual, but since this happens every co-op tour, I coined the term "toural") Mentor/Mentee Breakfast and Luncheon. I'm excited about going, mainly cuz we get to hear some cool people speak, as well as get free food!......however, there is a dark side to this. My mentor, Tarik, has a deep, dark problem. It's terrible, as I found out about his problem several days after I got to know him and really like hanging out with him. What is his severe disillusioned problem? I will disclose that to you all next post, just to add a little suspense :)
I'm out.
-H
Today was the first of what is hopefully a tradition here. Shortly after work, we(the guys) all met at the sand volleyball courts near Eric's and played until the sun went down. It felt incredible today, especially when the sun got lower. Unfortunately, we were only able to play one 2v2 set, as Frank and Kimi(his g/f) came after we were done. We had to play 3v3 after they arrived(we didn't wanna be rude, haha). Since that one set was really a game, and since Jason and I owned them 21-16, that brings our career record back up to .500 with a 4-4 record. We have been on a tear ever since losing those first 4 grueling matches...
I have so much energy as of late. Maybe it's the volleyball, but I'm not sure. I just feel like doing something all the time. My workout regimen is actually fun as hell: every other night around 9pm for about one hour. Maybe that has something to do with my energy level...
After playing beach volleyball today, I just HAD to pick up Top Gun. It's kind of scary that I have never owned my favorite movie of all time. Better yet, it's the "Special Collector's Edition." I am watching this bad boy tomorrow night. The bonus cd has making-of features, trailers, music videos, and commentary. I'm gonna do ALL of that...
Tomorrow is the toural(it's a new word. It's like annual, but since this happens every co-op tour, I coined the term "toural") Mentor/Mentee Breakfast and Luncheon. I'm excited about going, mainly cuz we get to hear some cool people speak, as well as get free food!......however, there is a dark side to this. My mentor, Tarik, has a deep, dark problem. It's terrible, as I found out about his problem several days after I got to know him and really like hanging out with him. What is his severe disillusioned problem? I will disclose that to you all next post, just to add a little suspense :)
I'm out.
-H
Thursday, September 08, 2005
So what do you do?
I have been asked this question by many of my friends and family lately. I decided I would finally attempt to shed some light on my job.
According to the Guidance, Navigation, and Control(GNC) Training Manual:
According to the Guidance, Navigation, and Control(GNC) Training Manual:
The International Space Station Guidance, Navigation and Control (ISS GN&C) system is composed of United States Orbital Segment (USOS) and Russian Segment (RS) capabilities. Together, they provide attitude and state determination, propulsive and non-propulsive attitude control, and Pointing & Support. The US GN&C system can request Russian thruster firing to desaturate the Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) set when needed. The GN&C system also provides generic pointing data to solar collectors, thermal radiators, antennas and other articulated appendages.
That gives you a basic high-level overview of the system I am studying. I say "studying" because I am actually in the "flow," as they call it. The flow is really just the sequence all new-hires in Mission Operations follow. You first learn about all the systems onboard the International Space Station(ISS); then you begin to study your system(in my case, GNC) in depth. This involves learning about critically related systems in depth, with a Knowledge Requirement(KR) after each section. A KR is an oral checkout of how well you know the subject at hand, usually conducted by a certified front-room controller. Currently, I am studying the related systems of Command and Data Handling(CDH, my last group), Thermal Control System(TCS), and the Electrical Power System(EPS). I am rather confident in my CDH knowledge, so I will more than likely be taking that KR rather soon. I'll eventually get the other KR's done as well.
The group that I am in, and the one that is primarily concerned with the GNC system is the Attitude Determination and Control Officer(ADCO) group. This flight control group consists of a front room controller, the ADCO, an his backroom support man, HAWKI(pronounced Hawk-eye). HAWKI isn't really an acronym, but it kind of is. Basically, each letter in the call-sign HAWKI stands for a variable that is related to the system. For example, H represents angular momentum in physics; A(actually a lower case greek A) is the variable for angular acceleration. W(again, really a lower case omega) stands for angular velocity. K is the familiar variable for kinetic energy, and I is moment of intertia. That is how they came up with name HAWKI; although, I am sure they came up with the name FIRST and then tried to decide what made up the letters. Nevertheless, that has to be the coolest call-sign out of all the ISS or Shuttle disciplines.
Since I am only here a few months, there is no conceivable way I'd get backroom certified. I am just expected to go as far into the flow as I possibly can. After the KR's, I'll sit-in on many simulations(sims) and get some On-the-Job Training(OJT) with ADCO and HAWKI.
In addition to the flow, I am busy with several other projects. The main one involves this PC tool, named the Basic Attitude Replication Tool(BART). My group lead has a thing for Simpsons characters. Anyway, BART is just like the name implies, a simulation tool for the station. It involves TONS of math(some of which I have never seen), some coding, and lots of problem solving. I am enjoying that challenge so far. I am supposed to be given a new task tomorrow, so that is something else I can look forward to. During my time this semester, I have noticed the group website is quite possibly the worst out of all the disciplines at the J, so I have taken it upon myself to update it, Henry-style. That should be a fun side project as well...
Some post later, I will try to describe all the people in my group. They are truly a diverse collection, haha. I will mention one thing, though. My group lead, Brian McDonald(BART creator), is a graduate of Mississippi State. Needless to say, he and I get along juuusst fine :)
That's it; I'm done. NFL is on, the Sox are down 3-0 in the ninth, and the Yanks have lost 7-4.
-H
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
The Best Idea Ever of All Time
The following is an email Eric sent to me, Colin, Rachel(colin's g/f), Mary, and Frank today at work. The subject line of the emailsl was "The Best Idea Ever of All Time". Just read , and you'll get an idea of how fun Eric is to hang out with...
Henry and I are formulating a colossal weekend and are extending to you our viewers a limited time offer to multiply your weekend fun factor by 2 or maybe even 17. The Dallas Stars Hockey organization are playing some guys from Colorado somewhere on Saturday Oct 8 in Dallas. This weekend just so happens to overlap with the greatest of all state fairs… the Texas State Fair. Which also just so happens to overlap with Texas-OU weekend at the greatest of all state fairs (see above).
So far Jen, Henry and I are planning to head up to Dallas the weekend of the 8th, head to the State Fair on Texas-OU day for all the greatness that they have to offer (turkey legs, corny dogs, fried twinkies, Big Tex and listening to all the beaten down OU fans as Texas rolls over them in the Cotton Bowl), then head to the Stars game for hockey sports action, then out to the West End to enjoy all the chicanery that is involved with whatever team wins rubbing it in to the loser.
Let us know soon if you are willing to let Dallas rock your socks off and want to join in. Henry is the point man for hockey tickets so he is the one you need to let know by the 17th. We'll have to be on the horn right at 9am for tickets so let him know.
-Eric Maier
Monday, September 05, 2005
The Beginning of an Era
The winning dynasty of the Horne-Hopper beach volleyball tandem has officially begun...
As planned, this morning around 11:00 Jason and I met up with Eric, Jenn(his wife), Frank, Kimi(his girlfriend), and Colin at this court we had never played on. Eric knew this place had one, and since it was close to his house, it seemed the logical choice. The weather was perfect: sunny, 89 degrees, and not at all humid. The court was the best we have played on here; the sand was soft and deep, the net was the correct height, and the wood border around the court was several yards from the playing area, which reduces chances of a bad accident.
Here are the game-by-game results, with notes as needed:
Game 1: Eric(Maeir)/Colin(Peterson) VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Maeir/Peterson 23-21
Set 2: Horne/Hopper 21-14
Set 3: Horne/Hopper 21-18
Notes...Jason and I were sloppy at the start, but we soon began to regain our form. We completely slaughtered them the 2nd set. The 3rd set was closer, but we played some of our best yet.
Game 2: Frank(Lafuente)/Peterson VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Hopper 15-10
Notes...Frank arrived after the first game, so we just decided to switch out and play short games to 15. Jason and I had the best rally and best bump-set-spike combo this game.
Game 3: Lafuente/Maeir VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Hopper 15-13
Notes...Even as the other team got to rotate their players and remain fresh, Jason and I still owned.
Game 3: Horne/Peterson VS Hopper/Lafuente
Set 1: Hopper/Lafuente 15-13
Notes...Wanting to break up the dynasty and allow others to win, the guys suggested Jason and I switch teams. We complied, with Jason and Frank narrowly taking the win. Colin and I had a 14-11 lead, but I was responsible for the final points they scored.
Game 4: Horne/Peterson/Maeir VS Jennifer(Maeir)/Lafuente/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Peterson/Maeir 15-11
Notes...When everyone was finally there, we played a final game of 3 vs 3(2 vs 2 is the only way I like to play, but it was fun nonetheless). Me and the boys from ODIN breezed through the game(yes, I know that is incorrect grammar)
Afterwards, Eric suggested we all head to the pool in his neigborhood. Considering we were exhausted, drenched with sweat, and covered in sand, this was a no-brainer. The pool was pretty neat, with 3 different sections, one being this really really really cool area with fountains and slides all over. The pool time was extremely relaxing, and it was cool to just hang out with everyone. I think we stayed there for abou 2 hours.
Needless to say I got tons of sun today...maybe too much, haha.
We did bring our cameras today, but the pictures aren't that hot. I mean, if you REALLY want to see them, then email or IM me. All the really good action shots are from far off(Kimi did most of the photography), and the close shots are just of us standing there, waiting to receive the ball.
Plans are a GO for the Avalanche game in Dallas. We are going to drive there, and probably take a 3 or 4 day weekend. Not only is the hockey game going on that weekend, but the Cowboys are playing Philly, and the State Fair(which I hear is tons of fun) will be up and running as well. I cannon wait...
It'll be hard to go to work tomorrow, but oh well. I gotta earn that dough some how :)
-H
As planned, this morning around 11:00 Jason and I met up with Eric, Jenn(his wife), Frank, Kimi(his girlfriend), and Colin at this court we had never played on. Eric knew this place had one, and since it was close to his house, it seemed the logical choice. The weather was perfect: sunny, 89 degrees, and not at all humid. The court was the best we have played on here; the sand was soft and deep, the net was the correct height, and the wood border around the court was several yards from the playing area, which reduces chances of a bad accident.
Here are the game-by-game results, with notes as needed:
Game 1: Eric(Maeir)/Colin(Peterson) VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Maeir/Peterson 23-21
Set 2: Horne/Hopper 21-14
Set 3: Horne/Hopper 21-18
Notes...Jason and I were sloppy at the start, but we soon began to regain our form. We completely slaughtered them the 2nd set. The 3rd set was closer, but we played some of our best yet.
Game 2: Frank(Lafuente)/Peterson VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Hopper 15-10
Notes...Frank arrived after the first game, so we just decided to switch out and play short games to 15. Jason and I had the best rally and best bump-set-spike combo this game.
Game 3: Lafuente/Maeir VS Horne/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Hopper 15-13
Notes...Even as the other team got to rotate their players and remain fresh, Jason and I still owned.
Game 3: Horne/Peterson VS Hopper/Lafuente
Set 1: Hopper/Lafuente 15-13
Notes...Wanting to break up the dynasty and allow others to win, the guys suggested Jason and I switch teams. We complied, with Jason and Frank narrowly taking the win. Colin and I had a 14-11 lead, but I was responsible for the final points they scored.
Game 4: Horne/Peterson/Maeir VS Jennifer(Maeir)/Lafuente/Hopper
Set 1: Horne/Peterson/Maeir 15-11
Notes...When everyone was finally there, we played a final game of 3 vs 3(2 vs 2 is the only way I like to play, but it was fun nonetheless). Me and the boys from ODIN breezed through the game(yes, I know that is incorrect grammar)
Afterwards, Eric suggested we all head to the pool in his neigborhood. Considering we were exhausted, drenched with sweat, and covered in sand, this was a no-brainer. The pool was pretty neat, with 3 different sections, one being this really really really cool area with fountains and slides all over. The pool time was extremely relaxing, and it was cool to just hang out with everyone. I think we stayed there for abou 2 hours.
Needless to say I got tons of sun today...maybe too much, haha.
We did bring our cameras today, but the pictures aren't that hot. I mean, if you REALLY want to see them, then email or IM me. All the really good action shots are from far off(Kimi did most of the photography), and the close shots are just of us standing there, waiting to receive the ball.
Plans are a GO for the Avalanche game in Dallas. We are going to drive there, and probably take a 3 or 4 day weekend. Not only is the hockey game going on that weekend, but the Cowboys are playing Philly, and the State Fair(which I hear is tons of fun) will be up and running as well. I cannon wait...
It'll be hard to go to work tomorrow, but oh well. I gotta earn that dough some how :)
-H
Sunday, September 04, 2005
The Bash
Last night was the Labor Day Bash at Eric's place...
Holy crap. It was unbelievable. There were around 25 people there at any one time. We had two televisions set up, one each showing a different game. We watched the USA/Mexico soccer match(USA won 2-0, going back to da' Cup), watched some great tennis from the U.S. Open, and of course, we watched tons and tons of football. Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Tennessee, and on and on...we watched part of at least every major game that was going on.
To add to this already great atmosphere, Eric had an unbelievable party mix of music playing on his Mac the entire time. The sound system went through the entire house, even outside near the grill! I told him I want a list of the entire playlist from last night; it is definitely a mix I can play for future gatherings that I will host.
Food was plentiful throughout the house and outside. We grilled chicken and vegetables on the grill to make fajitas. All kinds of chips were along the bar with possibly every dip known to man. Carrot sticks and cucumber slices, along with this unique ranch-like dip, were my snack of choice during the night. On the kitchen table was a HUGE bowl of chex mex; it was also a favorite of mine. Cookies, brownies, and other sweets also occupied the kitchen table space. Other delectables and finger foods were dispersed between everything else.
What did we do during all the tv timeouts and halftimes!? Oh we gamed, and gamed alot. A dart board was available, and I made a point to play on it. It was electronic and not bristle, but it was still alright. I beat Colin in cricket by 200 points. Then we played teams in a game of 501, and what's-his-name and I won by a little over 100. Eric also had a foosball table, but I just refereed the games on that. Frank brought over this game called Washer Boards; it's a homemade game, but it is quite possibly the best party game to ever be invented. Basically, you have these two boxes, about 1.5 feet square and 7 inches tall. The front is inclined down, and there is a hole in the middle, about 4 inches in diameter. The whole box is covered in cloth. You set the boxes about 20 feet from each other, and each team attempts to throw 3" washers onto the board. One point for landing the washer on the board, and 5 points are for landing the washer into the hole. Yeh, who landed the washer in the whole in his first game? That's right. We lost, but I still had the only ringer the entire game :)
The whole night was a blast. People began leaving, albeit slowly, around 1:30am or so, but Colin and I stayed. Colin, Eric, Jennifer(his wife), and I just sat around the kitchen table and talked about EVERYTHING imaginable until about 4:30.
During the course of the night, I was able to get Eric, Colin, and Frank interested in playing some beach volleyball. They were actually very excited about it. We are scheduled to play at 1100 on Monday, a Labor Day volleyball showdown, if you will.
I know you are prolly wondering where all the pictures are. I had fully intended to bring my camera, and it was sitting on my counter with all my other stuff(wallet, keys, etc.); for one reason or another I forgot it. Secondly, if I did post the pictures, chances are chaos would ensue with the response they'd get, so I'll just stick to describing the night, haha.
time for disc golf!
-H
Holy crap. It was unbelievable. There were around 25 people there at any one time. We had two televisions set up, one each showing a different game. We watched the USA/Mexico soccer match(USA won 2-0, going back to da' Cup), watched some great tennis from the U.S. Open, and of course, we watched tons and tons of football. Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Tennessee, and on and on...we watched part of at least every major game that was going on.
To add to this already great atmosphere, Eric had an unbelievable party mix of music playing on his Mac the entire time. The sound system went through the entire house, even outside near the grill! I told him I want a list of the entire playlist from last night; it is definitely a mix I can play for future gatherings that I will host.
Food was plentiful throughout the house and outside. We grilled chicken and vegetables on the grill to make fajitas. All kinds of chips were along the bar with possibly every dip known to man. Carrot sticks and cucumber slices, along with this unique ranch-like dip, were my snack of choice during the night. On the kitchen table was a HUGE bowl of chex mex; it was also a favorite of mine. Cookies, brownies, and other sweets also occupied the kitchen table space. Other delectables and finger foods were dispersed between everything else.
What did we do during all the tv timeouts and halftimes!? Oh we gamed, and gamed alot. A dart board was available, and I made a point to play on it. It was electronic and not bristle, but it was still alright. I beat Colin in cricket by 200 points. Then we played teams in a game of 501, and what's-his-name and I won by a little over 100. Eric also had a foosball table, but I just refereed the games on that. Frank brought over this game called Washer Boards; it's a homemade game, but it is quite possibly the best party game to ever be invented. Basically, you have these two boxes, about 1.5 feet square and 7 inches tall. The front is inclined down, and there is a hole in the middle, about 4 inches in diameter. The whole box is covered in cloth. You set the boxes about 20 feet from each other, and each team attempts to throw 3" washers onto the board. One point for landing the washer on the board, and 5 points are for landing the washer into the hole. Yeh, who landed the washer in the whole in his first game? That's right. We lost, but I still had the only ringer the entire game :)
The whole night was a blast. People began leaving, albeit slowly, around 1:30am or so, but Colin and I stayed. Colin, Eric, Jennifer(his wife), and I just sat around the kitchen table and talked about EVERYTHING imaginable until about 4:30.
During the course of the night, I was able to get Eric, Colin, and Frank interested in playing some beach volleyball. They were actually very excited about it. We are scheduled to play at 1100 on Monday, a Labor Day volleyball showdown, if you will.
I know you are prolly wondering where all the pictures are. I had fully intended to bring my camera, and it was sitting on my counter with all my other stuff(wallet, keys, etc.); for one reason or another I forgot it. Secondly, if I did post the pictures, chances are chaos would ensue with the response they'd get, so I'll just stick to describing the night, haha.
time for disc golf!
-H
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The Epic at Minute Maid
Maybe Walker has some clairvoyant sense...or maybe he is actually from the future. Either way, I think he knew what he was doing when he "accidentally" did not get the tickets for the Roger Clemens' game...
We went to the game fully expecting to have a great time. We did indeed have one; however, little did we know that 13.5 innings later, 4 hours 15 minutes since we arrived, we would STILL be watching what turned out to be The Epic at Minute Maid.
We met at Walker's place after work, and we headed out shortly after that. We got a great parking spot and chowed down at The Home Plate grille across from the park. Fifteen minutes prior to the first pitch, we proceeded into the park; we realized that it was Bobble-Head Doll day, but when we finally got into the park, we were just a little too late to get one. There were actually 2 dolls in one package: Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan. How much could I have sold that bad boy on ebay!?
We found our seats in the terrace level, basically between the first and upper decks. Here's a view from our seats:
The game begins...
The first inning goes rather quickly, with neither team scoring.
Second inning. Seconds after I tell Walker, "You know, Yadier Molina is a great ball player, just like his 2 brothers," Molina CRANKS one to right field, making it 1-0 Cards.
Bottom 2nd. The Astros play a little short ball, getting in 2 runs to take the lead.
Innings 3, 4, and 5 didn't exactly fly by, but they did showcase some excellent web gems. Jim Edmonds made some ridiculous runs to get to some fly balls, and Pujols made an incredible tag at first base.
6th Inning. Thinking his glove didn't do enought talking, Jim Edmonds launches a ball into the left field bleachers, bringing in Pujols. Cards up 3-2. That score would stand until the 9th inning...
Bottom 9th. First batter up is Morgan Ensberg(the last minute All-Star pick). On the second pitch, Ensberg says hello to his little friend: HOME RUN to the bullpen. Game tied 3-3. Astros were unable to add any more. To extra innings we went...
10th Inning. After a few tumultuous batters(Pujols is on 3rd), Brad Lidge(who throws 97 consistently) is called from the Bullpen. The crowd is pumped. First pitch, and the Cardinals execute a SUICIDE SQUEEZE!!! It was awesome. Pujols scores, making it 4-3.
Bottom 10th. Bard Ausmus comes to the plate. FIRST pitch: YANK! A line drive to left field. That would be TWO blown saves for the Cards in ONE game. Mwa ha ha...Unfortunately, no more runs were scored for the home team in that inning.
11-12th inning. No runs are scored for either team, but more Top 10 Plays were abound. Pujols bare-hands a bunt to second base to get the lead runner. Edmonds does his thing again. Biggio and Bruntlett tear it up in the middle infield.
**at this point, I realize this is the LONGEST game(by inning and time) I have ever witnessed. Also, as the game goes on, more and more people leave. I have no earthly idea why, but I didn't ask any questions. That opened up seats for us that were down and close to the action**
13th inning. On a 2-2 pitch, Jimmy Edmonds decided to break out the whoopin' stick one again: homer to left field. Cards up 5-4.
Bottom 13th. Julian Tavares comes in for the Cards amidst tons of boo's from the crowd. Ensberg comes through again: single. A sacrifice bunt is put down, but Tavares quickly throws it to 2nd to get Ensberg(it was later revealed on Sportscenter that Ensberg was actually safe). 1 out; man on 1st. Jason Lane comes up, singles to right field. 1 out; man on 1st and 3rd. Cards then intentionally walk Jose Vizcaino. 1 out; bases loaded. Ray King comes in from the bullpen to relieve Tavarez. Next batter is hit by pitch; game is now tied 5-5 with 1 out. Al Reyes replaces King on the mound. Next batter, Ausmus, flies out to right. Game is tied, 5-5, with 2 outs. Up to the plate comes Eric Bruntlett, the shortstop. First pitch: strike. Second pitch: strike. Third pitch: foul. Fourth Pitch: ball. Fifth pitch: low ball. On the 6th pitch, with a 2-2 count, Bruntlett lines to left field, scoring the go-ahead(and winning run).
At this moment, I also realize that this is the first walk-off hit I have ever witnessed. Truly amazing. This game included so many firsts for me, and I have been to many many baseball games.
Sadly, my camera's batteries were running low, so I was unable to get a pic of the final play. More reason for my pursuit of a new camera, haha.
Well I hope you enjoyed that; Lord knows I sure did. I am headed to Eric's Labor Day Football Bash, so I will catch you all on the flip side...
-H
We went to the game fully expecting to have a great time. We did indeed have one; however, little did we know that 13.5 innings later, 4 hours 15 minutes since we arrived, we would STILL be watching what turned out to be The Epic at Minute Maid.
We met at Walker's place after work, and we headed out shortly after that. We got a great parking spot and chowed down at The Home Plate grille across from the park. Fifteen minutes prior to the first pitch, we proceeded into the park; we realized that it was Bobble-Head Doll day, but when we finally got into the park, we were just a little too late to get one. There were actually 2 dolls in one package: Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan. How much could I have sold that bad boy on ebay!?
We found our seats in the terrace level, basically between the first and upper decks. Here's a view from our seats:
The game begins...
The first inning goes rather quickly, with neither team scoring.
Second inning. Seconds after I tell Walker, "You know, Yadier Molina is a great ball player, just like his 2 brothers," Molina CRANKS one to right field, making it 1-0 Cards.
Bottom 2nd. The Astros play a little short ball, getting in 2 runs to take the lead.
Innings 3, 4, and 5 didn't exactly fly by, but they did showcase some excellent web gems. Jim Edmonds made some ridiculous runs to get to some fly balls, and Pujols made an incredible tag at first base.
6th Inning. Thinking his glove didn't do enought talking, Jim Edmonds launches a ball into the left field bleachers, bringing in Pujols. Cards up 3-2. That score would stand until the 9th inning...
Bottom 9th. First batter up is Morgan Ensberg(the last minute All-Star pick). On the second pitch, Ensberg says hello to his little friend: HOME RUN to the bullpen. Game tied 3-3. Astros were unable to add any more. To extra innings we went...
10th Inning. After a few tumultuous batters(Pujols is on 3rd), Brad Lidge(who throws 97 consistently) is called from the Bullpen. The crowd is pumped. First pitch, and the Cardinals execute a SUICIDE SQUEEZE!!! It was awesome. Pujols scores, making it 4-3.
Bottom 10th. Bard Ausmus comes to the plate. FIRST pitch: YANK! A line drive to left field. That would be TWO blown saves for the Cards in ONE game. Mwa ha ha...Unfortunately, no more runs were scored for the home team in that inning.
11-12th inning. No runs are scored for either team, but more Top 10 Plays were abound. Pujols bare-hands a bunt to second base to get the lead runner. Edmonds does his thing again. Biggio and Bruntlett tear it up in the middle infield.
**at this point, I realize this is the LONGEST game(by inning and time) I have ever witnessed. Also, as the game goes on, more and more people leave. I have no earthly idea why, but I didn't ask any questions. That opened up seats for us that were down and close to the action**
13th inning. On a 2-2 pitch, Jimmy Edmonds decided to break out the whoopin' stick one again: homer to left field. Cards up 5-4.
Bottom 13th. Julian Tavares comes in for the Cards amidst tons of boo's from the crowd. Ensberg comes through again: single. A sacrifice bunt is put down, but Tavares quickly throws it to 2nd to get Ensberg(it was later revealed on Sportscenter that Ensberg was actually safe). 1 out; man on 1st. Jason Lane comes up, singles to right field. 1 out; man on 1st and 3rd. Cards then intentionally walk Jose Vizcaino. 1 out; bases loaded. Ray King comes in from the bullpen to relieve Tavarez. Next batter is hit by pitch; game is now tied 5-5 with 1 out. Al Reyes replaces King on the mound. Next batter, Ausmus, flies out to right. Game is tied, 5-5, with 2 outs. Up to the plate comes Eric Bruntlett, the shortstop. First pitch: strike. Second pitch: strike. Third pitch: foul. Fourth Pitch: ball. Fifth pitch: low ball. On the 6th pitch, with a 2-2 count, Bruntlett lines to left field, scoring the go-ahead(and winning run).
At this moment, I also realize that this is the first walk-off hit I have ever witnessed. Truly amazing. This game included so many firsts for me, and I have been to many many baseball games.
Sadly, my camera's batteries were running low, so I was unable to get a pic of the final play. More reason for my pursuit of a new camera, haha.
Well I hope you enjoyed that; Lord knows I sure did. I am headed to Eric's Labor Day Football Bash, so I will catch you all on the flip side...
-H
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Baseball Moral
moral-of-the-story time...
Walker, a huge Cardinals fan, decides he wants to go see the Cards play the Astros this weekend. He mentions it to me, also stating that Roger Clemens(300 game winner, 6 Cy Young awards, future Hall-of-Famer) would be pitching on Friday night. He asks if I would like to go. I say sure, with the stipulation that he buy the tickets(i'd pay him back, of course) and make the rest of the plans. So he instant messages me yesterday; he says there is a problem. Supposedly, the Astros changed their rotation slightly, so they could better match up against the Cardinals' big 3. What's that mean? It means Clemens' start was moved to Saturday night. Walker didn't find this out until AFTER he got the Friday night game tickets. He forgot to check right before he bought the tickets. Instead of the Rocket, we get to see Ezequiel Astacio(who?!?) and Mark Mulder(15-6, so he should be fun to watch).
So what's the moral of the story?
Answer: From this point on, I shall do all planning and ticket-buying for every sporting event I plan to attend.
Upside to this: I get to see Albert Pujols(mvp candidate, power hitter), Jim Edmonds(probably up there with Andruw Jones in terms of awesome center fielders), and David Eckstein(great shortstop who looks like he is 16).
Also, Sept. 13 is supposedly "NASA Day" at Minute Maid Park, which means we get SUPER cheap tickets. Pretty much my entire group is going, which should be fun(it's like 30 people). The STS-114 crew will also be present for a pre-game presentation, so that will be cool as well. The Astros will be playing the Marlins; a game which has MAJOR playoff implications.
Sucks that I've seen both of these teams(STL and FLA) play before...no new teams...
and yes, I'll be rooting for the Astros(see earlier post).
I changed my mind; I'll talk about my job NEXT post :)
-H
Walker, a huge Cardinals fan, decides he wants to go see the Cards play the Astros this weekend. He mentions it to me, also stating that Roger Clemens(300 game winner, 6 Cy Young awards, future Hall-of-Famer) would be pitching on Friday night. He asks if I would like to go. I say sure, with the stipulation that he buy the tickets(i'd pay him back, of course) and make the rest of the plans. So he instant messages me yesterday; he says there is a problem. Supposedly, the Astros changed their rotation slightly, so they could better match up against the Cardinals' big 3. What's that mean? It means Clemens' start was moved to Saturday night. Walker didn't find this out until AFTER he got the Friday night game tickets. He forgot to check right before he bought the tickets. Instead of the Rocket, we get to see Ezequiel Astacio(who?!?) and Mark Mulder(15-6, so he should be fun to watch).
So what's the moral of the story?
Answer: From this point on, I shall do all planning and ticket-buying for every sporting event I plan to attend.
Upside to this: I get to see Albert Pujols(mvp candidate, power hitter), Jim Edmonds(probably up there with Andruw Jones in terms of awesome center fielders), and David Eckstein(great shortstop who looks like he is 16).
Also, Sept. 13 is supposedly "NASA Day" at Minute Maid Park, which means we get SUPER cheap tickets. Pretty much my entire group is going, which should be fun(it's like 30 people). The STS-114 crew will also be present for a pre-game presentation, so that will be cool as well. The Astros will be playing the Marlins; a game which has MAJOR playoff implications.
Sucks that I've seen both of these teams(STL and FLA) play before...no new teams...
and yes, I'll be rooting for the Astros(see earlier post).
I changed my mind; I'll talk about my job NEXT post :)
-H
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
[(23-21), (21-17)], [(21-18), (21-11)]
Today was the beginning of the Hopper-Horne volleyball era. We met those guys at Friendswood Park at 700, and we were well underway soon after some warm-ups...
We played them well the first game. We were even able to force them past 21. The next was also tight, but not as close. They took the first match. The next game was pretty much the same as the last. It may have been the competitive atmosphere tonight, but Jason was EN FUEGO. He was hand-setting bee-yoo-tee-fully to me; these sets were right on the money. We both dug well off of serves too. I was able to put away most of those awesome sets from Jason; I think I know exactly how to spike it just right now. We aren't exactly sure what happened in the final game, but they smoked us, haha. Despite the ownage on their part, Jason and I were pumped after the second match. We completely surpassed our expectations, and we look forward to playing against these guys and others soon...
The guys said that the courts are usually packed at night, but since school has resumed very few have shown up. They said the weekends are usually a good night to find other people to play...
Jason and I are gonna take a day off tomorrow, mainly due to the fact that gas prices jumped 60 cents from the time we went to work this morning to the drive back home.
Speaking of spiking gas prices...
The idea of solar arrays on the moon microwaving energy down to us isn't such a bad one now, is it? HA. I do believe the civil space program has a clear purpose this and the next decade.
I am going to sit in on the sim tomorrow. It's a short sim(0800-1400), but it's a biggie: they're simming the installation of the next piece of the station(the next truss segment). That, of course, puts some ka-razy torques and moments on the ISS body, which is exactly what my group is concerned with...don't worry, I will fully explain my job and group's purpose next post :)
-H
We played them well the first game. We were even able to force them past 21. The next was also tight, but not as close. They took the first match. The next game was pretty much the same as the last. It may have been the competitive atmosphere tonight, but Jason was EN FUEGO. He was hand-setting bee-yoo-tee-fully to me; these sets were right on the money. We both dug well off of serves too. I was able to put away most of those awesome sets from Jason; I think I know exactly how to spike it just right now. We aren't exactly sure what happened in the final game, but they smoked us, haha. Despite the ownage on their part, Jason and I were pumped after the second match. We completely surpassed our expectations, and we look forward to playing against these guys and others soon...
The guys said that the courts are usually packed at night, but since school has resumed very few have shown up. They said the weekends are usually a good night to find other people to play...
Jason and I are gonna take a day off tomorrow, mainly due to the fact that gas prices jumped 60 cents from the time we went to work this morning to the drive back home.
Speaking of spiking gas prices...
The idea of solar arrays on the moon microwaving energy down to us isn't such a bad one now, is it? HA. I do believe the civil space program has a clear purpose this and the next decade.
I am going to sit in on the sim tomorrow. It's a short sim(0800-1400), but it's a biggie: they're simming the installation of the next piece of the station(the next truss segment). That, of course, puts some ka-razy torques and moments on the ISS body, which is exactly what my group is concerned with...don't worry, I will fully explain my job and group's purpose next post :)
-H
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
The Final Dress Rehearsal
As planned, Jason and I went out to the Friendswood sand courts this afternoon around 5. They weren't as gorgeous as the League City courts, but these were still nice. There were three of them, and they were all ours. We practiced for about 2 hours; we warmed up, worked on serving, then tried bum/set/spike drills. The last drill is what really makes you better:
Facing the back line, Jason would "serve" the ball from the net to me, where I waiting at an angle from the server about 5 feet from the back line. I'd bump it back to him in a controlled angle, he'd either get under it or bump-set it towards the net with loft, and then I'd go in for the spike or dink. We are still trying to get the perfect set. That's when the ball is about 3 feet above the net just as I jump to hit it. We switched out every 3 tries. We got it about 2 or 3 times; the other hundred tries were somewhat off. Either way, though, we got better.
As we were about to leave, two guys came up to the courts with their own ball; they looked like they knew how to play. Sure enough, they began the same drills we did(I learned from the guys at League City), and they looked good doing them. They asked if we wanted to play, but we were already worn out; however, we are gonna play them tomorrow around that time(7pm-ish). I think we'll put up a good fight, but these guys looked really sharp on the court. They were pretty cool, though, from what I ascertained in the short conversation with them. At the very least, they'll be able to teach us alot and show us what we're doing wrong. Besides, you ONLY get better by playing people better than you are(no matter the sport). I'm looking forward to tomorrow...it should be fun.
Sox are down by 2 right now to the D-rays, who seem to be resurgent all of a sudden...
Andy Roddick is down a set now to some dude from Luxemburg...what's up with that?
-H
Facing the back line, Jason would "serve" the ball from the net to me, where I waiting at an angle from the server about 5 feet from the back line. I'd bump it back to him in a controlled angle, he'd either get under it or bump-set it towards the net with loft, and then I'd go in for the spike or dink. We are still trying to get the perfect set. That's when the ball is about 3 feet above the net just as I jump to hit it. We switched out every 3 tries. We got it about 2 or 3 times; the other hundred tries were somewhat off. Either way, though, we got better.
As we were about to leave, two guys came up to the courts with their own ball; they looked like they knew how to play. Sure enough, they began the same drills we did(I learned from the guys at League City), and they looked good doing them. They asked if we wanted to play, but we were already worn out; however, we are gonna play them tomorrow around that time(7pm-ish). I think we'll put up a good fight, but these guys looked really sharp on the court. They were pretty cool, though, from what I ascertained in the short conversation with them. At the very least, they'll be able to teach us alot and show us what we're doing wrong. Besides, you ONLY get better by playing people better than you are(no matter the sport). I'm looking forward to tomorrow...it should be fun.
Sox are down by 2 right now to the D-rays, who seem to be resurgent all of a sudden...
Andy Roddick is down a set now to some dude from Luxemburg...what's up with that?
-H
Monday, August 29, 2005
Grrrr
Ok, I consider myself a people person. I try to be nice and convivial to anyone I meet. Sometimes, though, I just wanna strangle some people. Today was theh last straw; it was quite possibly the most frustrating day of my entire life...no joke. I was pushed to my limits, and at the end I was being quite rude to all of those involved. No no, I cannot divulge the details of this occurence...yet. Due to the highly classified nature of the information contained within this event, I must remain silent until at least the weekend. I'm sorry, but if I said anymore, it would be too much. Believe me; you will hear this entire story(it may be entertaining come this weekend) by at least Sunday...just stay tuned.
Poker night tonight...I did slightly worse than last week. I ended up with only $2, which is 75 cents less than last time. I had quite an auspicious start to the night, winning the first 3 hands, but my chips slowly dissipated after that.
Sox won big; Clement is SO our ace now. The Yanks are winning as we speak...let's hope Ichiro and the Mariners can turn the tides before the night is over.
-H
Poker night tonight...I did slightly worse than last week. I ended up with only $2, which is 75 cents less than last time. I had quite an auspicious start to the night, winning the first 3 hands, but my chips slowly dissipated after that.
Sox won big; Clement is SO our ace now. The Yanks are winning as we speak...let's hope Ichiro and the Mariners can turn the tides before the night is over.
-H
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Blendin' In
I have finally hit one of those milestones in life. One of those times when you know you have grown up, when you realize that you aren't a kid anymore, and when you recognize that you are a highly capable individual. It happened around 445 cst today...
I bought my very first blender. That's right, ladies and gents; I am officially a blender of fruits and juices. Granted, I have used blenders before(most recently during summer school), but they have never been MY blenders. Now I can resume making the wonderful strawberry-banana smoothies I became so addicted to this summer. It is a glorious time, indeed.
Jason and I practiced again today. Somehow, some way, we were exponentially better than yesterday. I have no earthly idea what it was. He and I can bump-set like crazy now, and we can do it with much better accuracy. Tuesday we go to the sand courts, and we're gonna work with the net. I'm gonna send an email out on the co-op server tomorrow, setting Thursday as the day anyone can come out to play some 2 v 2 beach volleyball against me and Jason. Bring it on...
One more thing. Richard has finally won over the girl he's been eyeing for almost a year. She's kinda on the large side, but she's got alot of personality. She's very needy though, as she wont do anything without Richard being right there. She does anything he wants, however, when they ARE together; she cools him down, plays music for him, or in more intimate settings, she heats him up. I haven't met her personally, but I have seen some pics. Yes, like most babes, she looks INCREDIBLE with her top down. Well here, just look at the pic. WARNING, scrolling all the way down will show the picture. If you are underage, a Yankees fan, or just get queezy at the site of such pictures, please leave this website now...
Down...
Down....
Just a little bit more...
Allllmost there.............
Is she SMOKIN or what?!
I bought my very first blender. That's right, ladies and gents; I am officially a blender of fruits and juices. Granted, I have used blenders before(most recently during summer school), but they have never been MY blenders. Now I can resume making the wonderful strawberry-banana smoothies I became so addicted to this summer. It is a glorious time, indeed.
Jason and I practiced again today. Somehow, some way, we were exponentially better than yesterday. I have no earthly idea what it was. He and I can bump-set like crazy now, and we can do it with much better accuracy. Tuesday we go to the sand courts, and we're gonna work with the net. I'm gonna send an email out on the co-op server tomorrow, setting Thursday as the day anyone can come out to play some 2 v 2 beach volleyball against me and Jason. Bring it on...
One more thing. Richard has finally won over the girl he's been eyeing for almost a year. She's kinda on the large side, but she's got alot of personality. She's very needy though, as she wont do anything without Richard being right there. She does anything he wants, however, when they ARE together; she cools him down, plays music for him, or in more intimate settings, she heats him up. I haven't met her personally, but I have seen some pics. Yes, like most babes, she looks INCREDIBLE with her top down. Well here, just look at the pic. WARNING, scrolling all the way down will show the picture. If you are underage, a Yankees fan, or just get queezy at the site of such pictures, please leave this website now...
Down...
Down....
Just a little bit more...
Allllmost there.............
Is she SMOKIN or what?!-H
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Weekend #1
We went to see The Brothers Grimm last night at the Cinemark down Nasa Rd. 1. I had been interested in this movie ever since I heard about it last winter. It didn't blow my sox off or anything, but I liked some parts of it, which were all the times when references to the old Grimm Fairy Tales were made. I distinctly remember reading those as a child, and seeing this flick piqued my interest in them once again. I found this website that has ALL of the GVT on it. Yeh, I didn't know there were around 200 of those; jeez, that's alot of fairy tales.
my favorite radio station down here is 94.5 The Buzz; whenever I am not listening to a cd of mine, I have my radio tuned to The Buzz and nothing else. Twice a year, 94.5 sponsors this awesome day of concerts called Buzzfest. Everytime they have an awesome lineup. This year, the highlights include Nickelback, Seether, Cold, and Audioslave, and it will take place in Minute Maid Park. Yeh yeh I know. All my siblings are saying right now, "Wow, Henry has really crappy music taste." I get that alot, so don't feel bad for saying/thinking it, haha. Anyways, tickets went on sale this morning at 1000 cst. I woke up at 1030(I meant to wake up at 1000, but my alarm didn't seem to work), and I immediately went to the computer. ALL of the Pit tickets were sold, which left only the stadium seats. Talk about PISSED. Normally, that wouldn't be too bad, but considering that the main stage will be ALL THE WAY into center field, it wouldn't really be that much fun being almost 300 feet away from the stage. Therefore, I have opted out of the concert this year. They do give away tickets on 94.5 all the time, so I'll listen and wait for my chance. Otherwise, there's always next year :(
I assisted Jason in his kayak shopping today. Those two-seaters are HUGE! Jason seems to think he's gonna order his kayak online, so he can get free shipping. I can't wait for that baby to get in. We are SO taking that thing into the Bay...
I bought a pull-up bar today, and I installed it this afternoon . It's pretty sweet. I have always wanted one, and it is a good way to start and end my day: push-ups and pull-ups. Speaking of excercise equipment, sometime very soon(as in, weeks) I'm going to get a workout bench. Not one of those ultra-mega-too-many-gadget benches. Just a simple bench that has a leg hook, standard support bench, and an incline. One would really help with my workouts, which shall resume next week :)
I was able to chill by the pool for a few hours today as well. It's nice having one of those nearby...
Jason and I began our road to volleyball dominance today. We basically threw the ball around in the parking lot here. I'd serve to him, he'd bump it back to me, then I'd set it to him, and he'd serve back to me. We did that for about half an hour. My bump and bump-set have improved DRASTICALLY since this summer. My serve still needs work, but we'll practice some more. Jason and I are gonna go to the Friendswood courts(the free ones) middle of this week and work some more. Jason has caught on quickly, and he can handle the ball really well. Another advantage is that he is very tall, so we should be able to do some damage on the courts. I contacted the League City volleyball league guy, and he said that all the spots for this upcoming season have been filled :(. No fear, though. Jason and I plan on practicing more during the weeks, getting the co-ops together to form a co-op league, and playing competitively more often with them. There are GCVA tournaments pretty much every weekend through November, so we will have a chance to see what we can do. Anyone can enter the tourneys, so that's a plus for us. The last few tournaments are actually at the League City sportsplex(the one I have talked about), so that should be fun. Stay tuned...you'll be hearing more about the Horne-Hopper volleyball tandem for sure...
speaking of that, AVP is on the Outdoor Life Network tomorrow...
out of pure frustration, I am not going to talk about the Sox right now. Needless to say, I am not happy...
-H
my favorite radio station down here is 94.5 The Buzz; whenever I am not listening to a cd of mine, I have my radio tuned to The Buzz and nothing else. Twice a year, 94.5 sponsors this awesome day of concerts called Buzzfest. Everytime they have an awesome lineup. This year, the highlights include Nickelback, Seether, Cold, and Audioslave, and it will take place in Minute Maid Park. Yeh yeh I know. All my siblings are saying right now, "Wow, Henry has really crappy music taste." I get that alot, so don't feel bad for saying/thinking it, haha. Anyways, tickets went on sale this morning at 1000 cst. I woke up at 1030(I meant to wake up at 1000, but my alarm didn't seem to work), and I immediately went to the computer. ALL of the Pit tickets were sold, which left only the stadium seats. Talk about PISSED. Normally, that wouldn't be too bad, but considering that the main stage will be ALL THE WAY into center field, it wouldn't really be that much fun being almost 300 feet away from the stage. Therefore, I have opted out of the concert this year. They do give away tickets on 94.5 all the time, so I'll listen and wait for my chance. Otherwise, there's always next year :(
I assisted Jason in his kayak shopping today. Those two-seaters are HUGE! Jason seems to think he's gonna order his kayak online, so he can get free shipping. I can't wait for that baby to get in. We are SO taking that thing into the Bay...
I bought a pull-up bar today, and I installed it this afternoon . It's pretty sweet. I have always wanted one, and it is a good way to start and end my day: push-ups and pull-ups. Speaking of excercise equipment, sometime very soon(as in, weeks) I'm going to get a workout bench. Not one of those ultra-mega-too-many-gadget benches. Just a simple bench that has a leg hook, standard support bench, and an incline. One would really help with my workouts, which shall resume next week :)
I was able to chill by the pool for a few hours today as well. It's nice having one of those nearby...
Jason and I began our road to volleyball dominance today. We basically threw the ball around in the parking lot here. I'd serve to him, he'd bump it back to me, then I'd set it to him, and he'd serve back to me. We did that for about half an hour. My bump and bump-set have improved DRASTICALLY since this summer. My serve still needs work, but we'll practice some more. Jason and I are gonna go to the Friendswood courts(the free ones) middle of this week and work some more. Jason has caught on quickly, and he can handle the ball really well. Another advantage is that he is very tall, so we should be able to do some damage on the courts. I contacted the League City volleyball league guy, and he said that all the spots for this upcoming season have been filled :(. No fear, though. Jason and I plan on practicing more during the weeks, getting the co-ops together to form a co-op league, and playing competitively more often with them. There are GCVA tournaments pretty much every weekend through November, so we will have a chance to see what we can do. Anyone can enter the tourneys, so that's a plus for us. The last few tournaments are actually at the League City sportsplex(the one I have talked about), so that should be fun. Stay tuned...you'll be hearing more about the Horne-Hopper volleyball tandem for sure...
speaking of that, AVP is on the Outdoor Life Network tomorrow...
out of pure frustration, I am not going to talk about the Sox right now. Needless to say, I am not happy...
-H
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
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...
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
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.
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
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Houston Bound
Well folks, tomorrow morning I leave bright and early for Space City, USA(Houston, for the uninformed). I've been packing the last few days, and I will load everything into the jeep tonight, making my departure tomorrow more expeditious. The internet/cable guy can't come to our place until Tuesday, so I'll have to rough it over the weekend, haha. Scattered showers is the forecast, but there might be some sunshine here and there; I may try to head out to the pool. One thing I am definitely doing: going to the the League City Sportsplex to see where I sign up for the beach volleyball league :)
And with what, I am gone. Next time you hear from me, I'll be back on the job, ensuring that thing orbiting the earth stays that way.
-Henry
And with what, I am gone. Next time you hear from me, I'll be back on the job, ensuring that thing orbiting the earth stays that way.
-Henry
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
What the...
An ENORMOUS tent was erected today on the center grounds...really bizarre. I'll try to provide photographical reconnaissance tomorrow.
-The H
-The H
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