Five months on the Ice

“Wow.” I got in to bed at 2:30 in the morning yesterday. I was in a hotel. I was off the ice. It’d been 5 months since I’d been around a tree, flower, darkness, kids – the list goes on and on. Only three full weekends off in 5 months – which doesn’t really count since I put in the equivalent of over 20 days of overtime. Many weeks of the first few months were 68 hours a week. A few weeks into the 70s. We’re required to work 54, but there were many times, I had to put in the extra time for my own sake and for the sake of the department. As a supervisor, it takes a bit of extra time to look after the folks. But all that is behind me as I now enjoy the freedom of sleeping in, having a lazy day, and walking around in shorts and sandals! It feels amazing. There were many times this past season, where I would emerge from a building to think, the environment is trying to kill me. As soon as you walk outside, the clock starts. Expose a hand, the clock starts. It’s sometimes a long timer, but it’s a timer nonetheless.

The botanical gardens haven’t disappointed. “Crazy,” sometimes I muttered to myself. Other times, “Look at that!” while looking at the big green leaves of a Horse Chestnut tree. The colors, the smells, the grass, the dirt…especially after seeing it last in it’s relative late winter/early spring. The place has bloomed!

The second season of being a supervisor went much better than the first. Lessons were learned and applied from that first year and I worked hard to get the team together. They were a wonderful group to work with and all the challenge of the season before melted away. How great to just have 6 people who worked in harmony together. No drama, everyone steady. Have come to realize how much I value steadiness in those around me.

Still no word from NASA. They checked my references, along with 5 of my friends. Now we wait to see if we make it to the top 500 to the top 120. They’ve had a bunch of interviews already but recent developments in our administration have stalled things. We wait some more.

How to describe the season? It was exhausting and exciting. I learned a lot. And had such a great team. Saying goodbye, one said, “I can’t thank you enough for hiring me.” Hopefully they return for another season. I have at least one more in me before I’ll need a serious break.

Highlights: Icepatch (a Dispatch cover band) formed again with a few different players and we had two gigs – one in the club and another at Icestock, the New Year’s Eve outdoor music “festival.” (Tons of fun.) A few up-close encounters with curious penguins. Working with an awesome team. Being a member of the search and rescue (SAR) team. Deepening the connection with many wonderful people.

NASA update: Still waiting. I made it in the recent astronaut application to the top 500 from over 8,000 applicants. Now waiting to see if I make it to the top 120, who get interviews. Most of the interviews have already happened. It’s down to the wire…