I made it!

Well friends, I am beginning my fourth week of work here at NASA Headquarters.  Let's just say that life here is a little different than life at Athens Middle School.  First, let me show you around my office...

My Nameplate!

I live in a cozy cubicle in the ARMD, which is NASA-speak for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.  Think airplanes, not rocket ships.  NASA studies a great deal of things, but when you think of NASA, you mostly think of space exploration.  While that is a big part of what NASA does, remember the first "A" in "NASA" stands for aeronautics.  The ARMD works on making planes safer, quieter, and more cost efficient and continues to work on making your experience in commercial and private aircraft better.

Remember, NASA is with you when you fly!

So here's a panoramic view of my cube.

I have decorated it with some sweet touches from home.

You will recognize Gonzo from the Muppets, a picture of Wes and me from the my Space Camp graduation in 2002, my Sweet Home Alabama paper weight, a picture of all of the boys, Yoda, a robot, and LEGO Darth Vader. 

Moving across my desk, I get a laptop and a second monitor and keyboard to work with.  I also have my own phone and extension.  If you look carefully, you can see the phone displays the NASA meatball!!

The rest of my cube has my R2D2 Mr. Potato Head, LEGO ninja Jay, my  LEGO Luke Skywalker, and my Cabbage Patch Kid astronaut.  I have also declared my allegiance to the mighty Crimson Tide, much to the chagrin of the Auburn fans in the office.

A word about my Cabbage Patch Kid.  She has been with me from the beginning of my space obsession.  I can't remember how old I was when the whole craze went down (I think late elementary), but I have had that astronaut doll (who, coincidentally looks a lot like me) for a very long time.  I think it is very fitting to have her sit on my desk now.

Moving out of a school and into an office has been quite a transition.  The first perk is that I can go to the bathroom and eat lunch whenever I want to.  If I am hungry at 10:30, I can eat lunch at 10:30.  It is incredibly quiet - no yelling, no bells, no slamming lockers.  And the biggest perk of all is that I have not had to tell ANY of the engineers in my office to pull up their pants!  But, I miss my students and my friends.  The BEST Robotics Kick Off has come and gone and it feels a little weird not dedicating my Saturdays to Team BEAST.  

So, what have I been doing with my time?  Well, if you follow me on Facebook, you already know that in my zeal to explore the city, I did too much walking/running and ended up developing a stress fracture in my upper tibia.  So, my exploration of the city has slowed quite a bit.  But, I have been very busy with work for both NASA and the Triangle Coalition, the group that manages my fellowship.  I will update you all on those adventures next week.  Until then, 

Adventure is out there!

I'm Proud to be an American!

Last Wednesday, August 28th, 2013, was the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.  As you can imagine, the city planned many different events to commemorate the anniversary and I was lucky to observe and participate in one of them.  On Saturday the 24, participants held a rally at the Lincoln Memorial and then marched from the Lincoln Memorial to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and then on to the Washington Memorial.

After seeing the thousands and thousands of people streaming on to the Mall during my run that morning, I decided to join the festivities after lunch, just to do some people watching.  I was not disappointed.  The first person I met was a gentleman who marched in 1963.  He was carrying the same sign he had carried as a young man.

I found myself a curb near the World War II memorial and watched the procession of protesters stream by.  One of the first groups I noticed was this one:

The gentleman in the navy suit is Rev. Al Sharpton.  The tall man in the second row is Rev. Jessie Jackson. And yes, I was this close.

Once again, it really didn't matter what my political affiliation was or what causes I supported, I was there to be a part of history, and the two men literally feet away from me were two very prominent figures in history.  It was very cool!

And speaking of causes, I watched the march for about an hour and made note of each protest sign that passed.  I saw signs for:

• support of Trayvon Martin
• against the Stand Your Ground Law
• equal rights for women
• voting rights
• housing rights
• support for labor unions
• support for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender equality
• the Japanese/American Association
• voting rights for DC
• better hours for nurses
• tax Wall Street

and my favorite...

Basically, if you supported a cause, you were welcome in the march.  Which makes being an American so incredibly amazing.  Here were thousands and thousands of people, all peacefully marching for whatever they believed in and no one bothered them.  The police were nearby watching to make sure everyone was peaceful, but they were not stopping the protest.  And all of this occurred within a half-mile of the White House.

I am so lucky to be an American.