I had been following someone local to me who was selected to attend a NASA Tweetup, to go to Kennedy Space Center and see the launch of STS-134. Watching his Tweets I began to see a whole other world out there. A world of Space Tweeps. I grew up on science fiction and still dream of space travel and exploration. So I started to follow other folks on Twitter, including NASA. Following the STS-134 Tweetup folks I was really envious. To be granted access to NASA facilities and to meet NASA people, what a great opportunity for a regular joe like me! So, when I saw the JPL Tweetup announced I set the alarms to remind me to get my application in on the specified day.
The day came, and I put my name into the bag. I kept thinking, how the heck will I afford it? Can I get the time off work? But I hit the "submit" button thinking with my luck I would not have to deal with such issues. I would not get picked.
Fast forward a bit and I am giving my boss a ride home after a long day. I checked my phone while parked by my bosses place and saw a new email. I have to tell you I should have stayed there and not driven anymore. I was buzzing with the impossible news, I was selected for the JPL Tweetup!
Suddenly, all those issues about affording it, about if I could get the time off at work, seemed like tissue paper to be shredded on my way to the shining goal of being at JPL.
My other dilemma was that I had another trip on the horizon. A very expensive one, but it is a non-negotiable trip. I was going to visit my son upon his graduation from High School - in Australia. Could I fly to Pasadena, CA and stay in a hotel and still afford Australia? Would the use of my PTO from work to go to JPL jeopardize my Aussie trip, or my job? I experienced a shift. I had a goal. I would make all these things happen. Period. I even dreamed up a rationale for the JPL trip. It was my 'practice' for going to Australia by myself.
I had not done much travelling by myself, you see. When I went to Malaysia I had the most wonderful guide with me. My wife, who had grown up in Penang, Malaysia. I had visited England, Scotland, and Wales, but that was when I was very young and with my family. I have been lucky in being well traveled. Visiting Mexico, Canada, several locations within the States from New York, to DC, to several western states. (I didn't always live in Oregon. I grew up in Minnesota.) Other than a trip in northern Minnesota in a VW camper van after I graduated High School, I had not traveled solo. So JPL was my shakedown cruise for Australia. (I am excellent in the art of building rationalizations.)
The preparation began. Shopping for the cheapest airfare, the most inexpensive hotel, and what would I do for local transportation? I have a way of approaching things that I believe is honing itself into a very workable way to build process. I call it, learning how to pack for a trip. (It is more than just what goes into the bag, but that will be another blog.)
One by one, the pieces fell together. I had been working a lot of over time and with a little money left over from the tax refund (likely the last time we will get a refund, mind you) and with the cost of the flight and hotel kept low, I decided I should rent a car, too. All the practical things were ready. I put in for the time off from work, too. It turns out that it would be counted as an "occurrence" because it was a Monday. The rule is, you don't get Monday's off unless it is part of a full week away. Whatever. I had perfect attendance for 12+ months prior to the trip, so I decided they can put a mark on my record. JPL will be worth it.
If you are still with me, here, congratulations. You deserve a beer. Go get one, or whatever your favorite beverage is at the moment, because I have not even got to the best part. Go on, I'll wait.
They say that anticipation is better than when you get it, right? I don't think so, Mr. Pessimist. Immediately after I accepted the invite to JPLTweetup 2011 I started following and being followed by the other folks who were going. Some had prior NASA Tweetup experiences but many were newbies like myself. I have to give a shout out here to @Joi_the_Artist here. I believe she was the one who also set up a Google spot to communicate/coordinate with other JPL Tweetup folks. I regret I did not have more time to chat with her during the actual event. (But Uranus Table was the best, after all.....)
Traveling there went off without any major hiccups. I had been planning so long, and gave myself plenty of time so that it was not a rush-rush thing. I landed at LAX and got to the car rental. I had a decent deal locked in, so was pleased when the agent let me select my vehicle and included some cars which would have been considered an upgrade for what I paid. I took the Camry. I grabbed lunch, and started mapping my route (again) on Google Maps on my phone. Of course, checking Twitter every 2 seconds, too. I felt like since I was lucky enough to be able to rent a car, I should stick around LAX a bit to offer rides to other Tweeps if they needed it. As it turns out, of course everyone else had also planned well and had their transportation issues handled. So, off to the hotel.
The Hi-Way Host Motel in Pasadena was everything I had hoped it would be. Cheap, not too far from JPL, and mostly clean and quiet. Later, I guess I was not surprised when I found a condom wrapper under the bed and that one of the few channels that was clear on the tube was the (free) 24-hour porn channel. Well, it was cheap to stay there. I settled in, freshened up, and took off to explore Pasadena.
There were some of the folks gathering at a restaurant (thank you, again, Joi) to have dinner that night and I wanted to be sure to find it for later. While doing that, I saw Tweets that some other Tweeps were in the neighborhood and I actually found them! My first face to face with some of the folks I had only known with "@" in their name. @ZorkFox and @Joi_the_Artist along with someone else who memory has lost, were staked out in a coffee (ice cream?) shop. I stopped in, but was needing to leave right after to move the car, plus I needed a nap.
Later, at dinner, we sat at a long table and met more Tweeps from many different places. (you all know who you are, and it would bore you if I listed em here anyway. Even if I could remember them all.) But my mind was too busy thinking about what was going to happen the next day. Tomorrow I was going to be at JPL.
So, back at the room, clothes laid out, alarm set. Restless sleep with anticipation buzzing in my head.
I got out the door in good time, thinking I would get coffee and breakfast along the way. I was on the freeway when I remembered my meds. Without going into too much detail, I could have lived without them, but I wanted everything to be as perfect as possible. I pulled off the freeway, frantically looking through my man-bag (it is NOT a purse!) I found I had packed my meds. All was well. Thanks again to Google Maps on my phone, I got back on track and was nearing JPL. I spotted a Jack-In-The-Box and stopped for breakfast. Not my first choice, but after the frazzle of pulling off the freeway etc. I just was glad to be near JPL and still had time to eat. And bad coffee....
Driving up to JPL I finally hit traffic. The line of cars moving toward the gate into JPL. Oh my god, did I just say that? I was finally here! I was quietly afraid that I would get to the gate and the guard would tell me, "You aren't on the list." or "The Tweetup? That was LAST week!" But I got through and found a spot to park. Walking in, I was already meeting other Tweeps. No surprise, but they were just as excited to be there as I was. We queued up like good English school children, and started making idle chat while we checked in and got our badge and "goodie bag".
There were several round tables in a large room lined with....history. Space history. I mean, full sized models (some may have been 3/4 scale?) of some of the legendary spacecrafts that any space-eager kid had heard of.
Each table was named for a heavenly object. Mars, Venus, Saturn, Pluto, Vesta, and many others. So, why did I decide to sit at Uranus? Well, by the time I had entered the room, almost every other table had at least one person already there. I thought, you know, I am not fast friends with anyone here, yet. I should find an empty table and see who else shows up. Guess what. I think that Uranus was the only one that was still empty at that point. I wonder why? Besides, there is that whole a-boy-named-Sue phenom that means if you are at a table with a funny name, you are tough and have guts.
Each table had a bit of technology hardware on it. Something to explore. I wandered to one table where a JPL person was demonstrating Aero-Gel. Now, I had heard about Aero-Gel, but to see a guy hold a 4 inch by 4 inch one inch thick piece on his open palm, then get it blasted by a hand-held torch..... and he says he did not feel a thing? People, Aero-Gel is like NOTHING. What kind of magic is this? Of course, it's science. But still, frakking amazing.
We are greeted and the day begins in earnest. JPL and the organizers had a full day planned for us. I was glad I wore comfy shoes!
However, the first segment of time were presentations from several of the ongoing projects that JPL has going on. Hearing these passionate scientists translate so well what their "baby" was doing, and all the people required to do things on each project. Let me tell you something. If you read a SciFi book or see a SciFi movie where some leading man character has to learn all there is about these space aliens, or space travel, or earth science, or rocket science.....there is a reason why they all end up calling or going to JPL. All the best, brightest minds work there!
You don't believe me? Okay, think about this. Every time you step into your car, it starts, runs, navigates, protects you, and so many other things without you even noticing. But the moment one thing goes wrong, you are sunk. The starter is messed up. It got too cold over night and you hadn't winterized your car. You know, a flat tire ruins your whole day. Well, these folks figure out how to get a space craft or a lander off the earth, navigate it to a planet far, far away, and then have it collect data and send it back in a useful form. And they succeed! Over and over! If you get a flat in space, there is no AAA there to help. Hearing these people speak is amazing. Seeing the results of their work, astounding! I would clean their bathrooms and sweep their floors just to work among such people!
*** This is terrible, but I will stay true to how I said I'd blog. RAW. Therefore, this is getting posted as PART I. (Part II and maybe part III to follow...)
No comments:
Post a Comment