The end of an era.

I am sitting in my studio/office and looking up at the wall facing my desk.  There they are, the tribute posters to the five space shuttles, right where I can look up at them and be inspired.  Joining them is my Kennedy Space Center ball cap, a "Mission Success is in Your Hands" Snoopy poster, my autographed picture from when I met Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, and a small Canadian Space Agency logo.

Nestled in the midst of this is a large picture of Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe, with her quotation, "I touch the future. I teach."  She was my hero when I was fifteen and she's still my hero at 41.

Almost two hours ago, Atlantis blasted off for Mission STS-135, the final space shuttle launch ever.  And I'm still processing it.

I wanted to be there.  I really wanted to be there.  I was eleven years old when the first space shuttle mission took place, when Columbia's SRBs ignited and that beautiful bird shot up into the heavens.  That day I promised myself that -- someday -- I was going to see a space shuttle launch.  But I never did.

This is where I'm supposed to reflect on the past thirty years of shuttle flights, saying something profound, as the talking heads have been doing for the last week.  Some of them have been declaring that this is the end, while others have been insisting it's a new beginning.  The truth is, it could go either way.

It costs approximately $400 million dollars to launch a space shuttle.  That's just one mission.  And the space shuttle has its limitations -- it is restricted to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).  So the decision was made to retire the fleet -- the entire space shuttle program -- so that the money could be freed up to do bigger and better things.  The problem is that the path ahead looks kind of foggy, with NASA's Constellation program scrapped, and resulting reliance on various commercial companies developing space vehicles (which is ultimately a good thing, but ...).  There's now a gap, with NASA forced to spend the foreseeable future sending North American astronauts to the space station on Russian spacecraft (at a rumoured $63 million a seat).

I don't want to get into the whole "Do we go back to the Moon or do we go to Mars?" debate.  This blog post isn't big enough for that (although, just for the record, I'm a "moon first" kinda girl).  I think the bigger questions are "How are we going to go anywhere?" and "When?".

Tomorrow I will try to find reasons to be optimistic.  Tomorrow I will try to believe Chris Hadfield's assertions that the end of the shuttle program is not the end of the space age.  Tomorrow I will work on Googling developments to get excited about -- technology that will make human spaceflight beyond LEO possible, and will allow humans to explore outer space, not just skim around the edges of our own planet.

But today...

Today I am just sad.  And I think that's as profound as I'm gonna get.

Support your local space geek.

It's no secret that I am a human spaceflight enthusiast, and that I desperately want to attend the last space shuttle launch (currently scheduled for the end of June).  Unfortunately, unless I win the lottery, I'm not going to be able to make it without a little help.

I have created a button on Zazzle.com (and will likely create other products using the same image) so that, if you choose, you can help support my efforts to witness the end of an era.  My fascination with space began with Columbia's launch in April of 1981, and I really want to be there to witness the shuttle's final chapter.

If you would like to purchase a button, please click the image to the right.  Thanks, and -- launch on! :)

What I've felt(ed) lately.

In the days leading up to my discovery of The New Awesome Job, I was playing around with my needle felting.  I can't fully express how addicting it really is, watching a lump of fuzzy stuff turn into a recognizable object.  Now, I've got a long ways to go before I can do something like Jen Scheer's Hubble Telescope, but I think I'm coming along nicely.

I started off with the little blue bird, who made me smile so much I gave him to a friend to brighten her day, too.  Then I made the snowman, complete with little felt hat.  And then I brushed the cat -- Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Maine Coon Cat, to be precise.

You see that brown heart in the upper right?  The brown is made from Zaph's fur.  I needle felted the fur into a flat shape and then used scissors to cut out the heart, adding the final touch of a little red roving for the centre.

I was working away on a little tree when I snapped two of my three needles, so I'll have to wait before finishing it and continuing along the way of needle felting madness.  I think Zaph, who loathes being brushed, just let out a sigh of relief.  :)

"Go For Launch!"

I just stumbled across the most amazing video about fifteen minutes ago!

Condensed down to a little more than three minutes, it's about six weeks' worth of Space Shuttle Discovery's life, from being prepped in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) all the way to launch!

After already watching it twice, I can't wait to share it with you!  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Genesis of a Space Junkie

When I was in Grade Five, my mom said to me, "You and your sister can stay home this morning from school if you want."

I was confused.  It was a Friday morning, and I felt fine.  So did my sister.  So I asked why.

Mom explained that there was going to be a news special on TV -- that they were going to launch a rocket into space.  It was going to be the first one of its kind -- it would go up like a rocket and come down like an airplane -- and Mom felt it was important that I watch a part of history.

It was April 10, 1981, and Columbia was sitting on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.  The mission was called STS-1.  Krista and I stayed home and watched...and waited...and watched.

Well, I learned a new word that day: "scrubbed."  The launch was postponed for the rest of the day due to some sort of computer problem, so Krista and I headed off to school, getting there about halfway through the morning.

When I told Miss White why I was late, she snapped, "Well, I could have told you this morning it wasn't going to go."

Everything about that day is burned into my memory.  I settled into my seat feeling chastised and disappointed, but at that moment, the launch of that rocket ship became personal.  It had to fly.

I've found my own kind!

Shortly after midnight last night (while I was still thawing out from two hours of astronomy too close to the damp Atlantic in April), I was wandering around TweetDeck when I stumbled across the Space Tweep Society!  Oh my goodness, people!  It's my lost tribe!

"The Space Tweep Society is a group of space enthusiasts on Twitter from a variety of backgrounds. Our ranks include NASA and other space program employees, astronomers, journalists, astrophysicists, scientists, educators, and space geeks. Our mission is to promote enthusiasm for all things space and to unite those inside the space industry with those who are outside looking in."

Yes, these are most definitely "my people."  And it's a good thing I've found them, because a) I sometimes worry that Phil the Space Prof will get sick of my endless questions (because he's the only one I know around here to talk space stuff with), and b) my husband may not be speaking with me after this morning.  I suspect he's secretly longing for the end of the shuttle program so he no longer wakes up on his days off to the sounds of NASA-TV in the bedroom at 6 AM!

Yes, I was definitely annoying.  I'll admit it.  As I was toddling off to bed at about 2 AM, I noticed that NASA-TV was showing crews walking around the launch pad.  Since I'd never seen that sort of pre-launch activity before, I was utterly fascinated and couldn't turn it off.  Four hours later the alarm on my cell phone went off so I could watch the 90 minutes before lift-off.  (Sometimes I'm really unsure why he puts up with me.  Maybe his new mantra is "three more launches ... three more launches ..." and that's all that's getting him through.)

So STS-131 lifted off at 7:21 ADT -- the second-last planned launch of Space Shuttle Discovery.  The launch was spectacular -- I was surprised and pleased to see that it was still dark in Florida when the Sun was already up here.

I really, really need to see a shuttle launch in person, before there are no more launches left.  (The wheels are turning...)

Redecorating!

Welcome to My Created Life 2.0 (The Space Version)!

I've spent most of today designing this template and getting my widgets in order, and while it's not exactly where I'd like it (the images in the sidebars require some tweaking), I'm pretty happy with the results!

For those of you who didn't notice the subtle teeth in the background of the old design, I'd like you to see if you notice anything here. :D

I'll be tackling the page hierarchy and links as the next few days go by, but for now -- tell me what you think!

A funny thing happened on the way to dental school ...

If you look at the menu bar above, you'll notice that the dental hygiene page is gone.  Pretty soon "The Mission" will be changing, and those cute little teeth that look like polka dots will be replaced.

In a way, this is both sudden and yet almost thirty years in the making.  It started on April 10, 1981.  I just got lost for a little while.

"People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do..."

I've always liked that saying because I believe every experience has a lesson, and everything happens for a reason.  The road leading to a diploma in dental hygiene was not one I was meant to follow to its end, but one to get me to the exit for the appropriate road.  The dental hygiene career plan meant that a) I had to go back to university for some prerequisites, and b) that I would be taking science courses.  But the "happy coincidence" that came out of that return to school should be lit up in 12-foot-high neon lettering:  I took Space Studies.

My dental hygiene career path was for a specific reason.  Its season is over.  And now I know what to do.

Stay tuned, Gentle Reader.  This is going to be really exciting! :D

Day #14639

Hello, Gentle Reader!  Hope my hectic schedule of late hasn't given you abandonment issues!  I've been thinking "Oh, I need to update my blog!" but it never seems to happen.

Things here are going well.  The Physics/Astronomy course is making my head spin, but it's March break so my poor brain is getting a little breather.  There is more daylight now, which means I'm more awake, and once I get past the little blip called Daylight Saving Time (which always messes me up for about a week), I should be back to normal.  (Or as "normal" as I get!)

In other news, Hubby and I have a new baby!  Marvin Galileo McLean arrived on Tuesday, March 2, at 11:11 AM AST.  Weighing more than 100 pounds, he was delivered by UPS and All-Star Telescopes, and Hubby and I are SO psyched to take him out and see what we can see.   Hopefully the weather will cooperate, as this city is known for its fog! :)

Well, I have a lot on my agenda today, so I'd best get going.  Tomorrow is a milestone for me, so there are many preparations on my to-do list!

Talk soon!

When English Majors Do Physics...

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I solved the Mars problem the night before last.  Triumphant, I walked into class yesterday to show my professor the bottom line.  "It certainly looks like the right answer," he said with a grin.

And it did -- until he started going through the problem on the board.  His solution looked nothing like mine and, to further compound my distress, I couldn't follow a thing he was doing.

In my years of teaching, I've come across a number of students who have difficulty in processing language, particularly in reading.  Well, I've long suspected I have a similar "wiring issue" in my brain that makes manipulation of numbers difficult for me.  It's like things in my brain start going in circles and I can't grab ahold of any of it.  It turns into a swirling mess in my mind and I simply can't think.  Everything shuts off.

So I left class yesterday confused and worried.  My end numbers were off, but only by a little bit, which could be a rounding error somewhere along the way.  But why did my solution look nothing like the professor's?  And why couldn't I follow what he did?

Well, I just paid my professor a visit and we went through my solution, and I realized, watching the expression on his face as he looked at what I'd done, that we were speaking two different languages.  He speaks the language of symbols (which I couldn't follow yesterday), and I use words (which bogged him down in his search for symbols).

So my Mars problem solution was right, in the end, and after talking with my professor today, yesterday's class (and its symbols) are more clear.

My agenda for the weekend involves many things, but not physics problems!  I think maybe I'll give that part of my brain a chance to rest!  Instead, I'll  curl up with a good book.  A few weeks ago, I picked up Buzz Aldrin's memoirs, Magnificent Desolation.  While waiting for the astronomy professor, I began reading it, and, as of page 5, I'm already hooked.  In every interview I've seen, Buzz has always struck me as humble and grateful, and someone I would genuinely like in real life, so I'm really looking forward to learning more about him.

From where I'm sitting, in a gallery/hallway at the university's science building, the sky looks very full, as if it's about to do something.  Perhaps I should go home before it starts.  No point in getting wet if I don't have to, right?

I thought about cheating...

... and back-dating this post, but no.  My post-every-day streak has been broken.

Blame Mars.

After class yesterday (and learning that some of my classmates had solved the puzzle), I hunkered down with my books and spent hours trying to figure it out.  I finally came home feeling utterly defeated, for which the only cure is playing God (The Sims 2) for several hours.

Part of this is me being stubborn.  But part of it is also fear.  Inside of me, a little voice is speaking up, saying, "You've never been able to do math.  What if you've bitten off more than you can chew?"  And so I'm desperate to drown her out.

The worst part is, the moment I'm told how to do it, it's going to be one of those forehead-slapping "DUH!" moments.  I can feel it in my bones.  And then I'm really going to feel dumb.

How appropriate that I'm doing battle with a planet named after the god of war. :)

You Were Always On My Mind...

The reason I'm so excited about the astronomy course is not simply because I've been interested in space my entire life, but because I want to understand it -- or at least as much as I can without doing a Ph D in astrophysics.

I like to think, and I like to analyze, and I like to put the pieces together.  (Except when it comes to solving geocache puzzles.  That's an entirely different kettle of fish!  :) )

On Thursday, Astro-Prof started us on a little puzzle involving Mars and Earth, and figuring out how to mathematically prove something.  Well, I'm sure half the class has just gone to Google and figured it out by now, but I'm not going there.  I want to figure it out on my own -- and I've been thinking about it on the average of every 90 minutes since class ended on Thursday.  I'm so close -- I know I am -- but there's just one little part that hasn't clicked yet.

Toddling off to ponder a bit more ...

Experiments, Initiatives, and Science.

While I haven't compiled a list of formal goals for 2010 (because the moment I write them down, they're toast), I have a few "efforts" that left the starting line on January 1, and so far, so good.

First of all, I'm doing the Creative Every Day Challenge, and I'm enjoying it.  Sometimes the desperation of having done something pushes me into experimenting with things I always wanted to try.  Like the object to the left, for example.  When Hubby asked me what it was, I explained it was "a bottlecap I whacked with a rubber mallet, then used as a frame for a small doodle I drew on a dictionary page covered in a thick layer of Diamond Glaze."  (To which Hubby replied, "Uhhh... huh.")  But in actuality, it's best described as an art experiment.  I had an idea and I tried it out.  And while it might not be exactly what I was hoping for, it's one step closer to what I was trying for in the first place.  So hey. :)

I'm also trying to stay on the Ten Minute Rughooking wagon, and although I didn't hook yesterday, I'm allowed one day off a week.  I'm not in love with my current project yet, so it's slow going.  Hopefully it will get better.  I'm working on Friday, so it looks like I won't be able to hang out with my rughooking group at the arts centre, but on the plus side, I did find an ideal place to park today for the next time I go.  (It's the little things, dontcha know.)

Since it's the first week of the new year and everyone else on the planet is on a diet, I might as well mention that I'm leaning in that direction, too.  I'm not fully there yet, because I'm using up the stuff in the house first, but as of the next grocery day, I'm going back on the wagon.  I've been charting my weight every day since January 1 (and have gained two pounds in trying to use up stuff, of course).  If you look at the Lighter Life section, you'll see I've updated the charts there, too.  I really wanted to take part in an X-Weighted event this coming weekend, but I have to work, and at this point, getting my finances straightened out (another item on my to-do list) takes precedence.

Now on to the highlight of my day!  My astronomy course started today, and I'm so excited!  Although I think I'm officially now the slightly awkward combo of "teacher's pet" along with "annoying mature student in the front row," it's all good.  (By the way -- for once, it wasn't my fault! :))  I learned stuff about one of Saturn's moons - Titan - today!  (That's Titan over to the right.)

There was also a funny moment in class when the prof, referencing a quotation by a famous physicist, said, "Now I know you don't know this guy personally, but ..."   I couldn't keep myself from grinning, because the famous physicist was the keynote speaker at the astronomy conference in Ottawa -- I'd actually sat across the table from him, conversing about anything and everything, at a rather intimate dinner gathering for about three hours.

The fact that my course has the word "Physics" in the title frightens me (after all, the last time I took a course called that, I made the stellar mark of 4% on the midterm -- and I'd answered every question!).  But the full title is "Physics for Non-Scientists/Astronomy," and that makes me feel better.  Coming on the heels of the chemistry course, the science-y part of my brain isn't as rusty as it once was, and I can manipulate formulae like nobody's business these days.  And the textbook is very non-threatening, too.  (Little cartoon mice all over the place.)  The only problem with the course?  I don't fit in the archaic chair-and- armrest/desk combos.  First I'm too heavy for a Soyuz capsule, and now this.  I think the Universe is trying to tell me something. ;)

Okay, time to go do some hooking and some writing and to find a magnet to glue to the back of my bottle cap (so it can be added to the Prototype Gallery on the side of my filing cabinet).

Live long and prosper, everyone!

PS -- Did you notice that I've blogged every day so far this year?  Another 2010 initiative!

I so do not deserve my husband.

After we opened our Christmas gifts, Hubby said that not everything had arrived in time.  I just checked the mail now and there was a rather interesting package addressed to Hubby, so I called him at work and asked if I could open it.

Well, folks -- Santa was right.  I got my space shuttle for Christmas.



It's a  trading card featuring a piece of Endeavour's payload bay liner that actually went into orbit.  (Click the picture for a better view.)  I am sitting here touching it and grinning like the astro-nut that I am.

(I should probably learn to cook now, eh? :))

Happy New Year!

Last week I was thinking back on 2009 and decided that it was an absolutely amazing year.  Despite the massive upset that occurred part-way through, more than enough great stuff happened after that to make me literally forget about it for a minute!

The astronomy conference I attended in Ottawa truly changed my life.  It sounds overly dramatic, but it's true.  You see, I've always been a bit of a dichotomy.  Am I an artsy scientific type, or a scientifically-minded artist?  My astrology sign is Pisces, usually pictured as two fishes swimming in opposite directions, and that's just so me.

Anyway, back in the dark ages following high school, I started off in a Bachelor of Science program -- and promptly flunked all my science courses in a most spectacular fashion.  I dropped out of university for two hours, then asked them to tear up the paperwork, and switched to an arts degree in literature.  And it wasn't until I was sitting in that auditorium at the astronomy conference, taking in and understanding all of the jargon and ideas and astrophysical and cosmological terminology, that I came to an earth-shattering realization: I wasn't stupid.  And the part that really took me aback was that I hadn't realized I'd thought I was stupid in the first place. For twenty years I'd been dragging that around with me, beating myself up with it ever since bombing out of the geology program, and I'd had absolutely no idea.  None.

2009 was a major turning point for me.  From standing up for myself, to leaping out of my comfort zone, to branching out creatively, to having my mind opened in ways I struggle to put into words, to beginning a new job which puts so many things into perspective, it was an incredible year.

And you know those mornings when you wake up and you just feel in your gut that it's going to be a thoroughly wonderful day?  That's how I feel about 2010.

This is my year. Let's get it started! :D

Christmas Gift Show-and-Tell!

First of all, I never did find out who sent me the message from Santa Claus in my last entry, and no, I did not get a space shuttle for Christmas.  Having said that, however, I did get some absolutely amazing space stuff from Hubby!

First of all, The Book: a first edition of Encounter With Tiber, signed by Buzz Aldrin.  Buzz Aldrin is my favourite Apollo astronaut and was the second man to walk on the moon.  (He went down the ladder after Neil Armstrong.)  Hubby said that he knew that I wasn't really a science fiction fan, but figured that wouldn't matter in this case.  And he was right! :)



And then, if that gift didn't make me giddy enough, Hubby handed me The Most Amazing Gift Ever!  No, readers, he didn't give me a space shuttle, but he gave me an actual piece of the Apollo 10 Command Module! (Can you hear me shrieking still?)

The Apollo 10 mission, for those who might not be space cadets like me, was the dress rehearsal for the Apollo 11 moon landing.  Apollo 10 did everything Apollo 11 did, except for the actual lunar landing.  I now have something in my possession that actually orbited the moon -- and it completely blows my mind.

The command module for Apollo 10 was nicknamed Charlie Brown (the lunar module was nicknamed Snoopy), and the piece I have is a fragment of the coldplate computer shielding.  It's about the size of my thumbnail, but I can't tell you how cool it is to be able to touch part of a spacecraft, especially one that was instrumental in landing on the moon.


Incidentally, the pilot of the Command Module was John W. Young, who went on to command the very first space shuttle flight.  (And we all know how I feel about the space shuttle!)

Happy New Year!

I was talking with my friend Rowan yesterday to wish her a happy Halloween, and in the course of the conversation, she mentioned that Halloween (or Samhain, to pagans) is actually the end of one year and the beginning of another.  Well, with the amount of new "projects" I'm starting up today, it sure feels like New Year's to me!

First of all, in his quest to help me feel better, Hubby has rigged up an impromptu light box for me to try out to see if it alleviates my Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It's not exactly elegant-looking, but wow!  It's bright!  (I think he said it's 300 watts?)  So I'm going to try it twice a day, for thirty minutes each session, and see if it helps.  Occasionally, I catch it in my peripheral vision and wind up seeing stripey spots for about three minutes, but if it helps, I'm game!  (I almost fell asleep in class one day last week.  Not good!)

Secondly, today is the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and this year I'm certain I'm going to make it past November 3 without falling behind!  Although I have another story screaming at me to be written, I've decided to start something brand-new, partly so that if it doesn't go where I want it to, I won't have invested so much thought into it ahead of time.  Let the games begin!  This afternoon the SaintJohnNoWriMos are having a tea party / write-in, so I may drop by, but I did get almost 900 words in before I went to bed in the wee hours of the morning.

And thirdly, partially spurred on by my trip to Ottawa two weeks ago (yes, the one you're still waiting to hear about -- I know), I have begun my quest for a healthier (and down-sized) body.  This is something that I've been building up to for the last five weeks or so.  I have been participating in Craving Change, a six-week workshop on curbing problematic eating.  Also, some nursing students at the university have begun their own version of The Biggest Loser, and although the prize would be nice, I've mainly signed up in the hopes of having some time talking to a personal trainer and a nutritionist.

But what cemented things in my mind that I need to be smaller came from, of all things, NASA-TV.  A few weeks ago, I was watching the coverage of the return of Canadian Space Flight Participant Guy Laliberté to Earth.  I just had NASA-TV on in the background, and they were talking about the Soyuz capsule that brings the astronauts home.  Well, the commentator mentioned that the seats in the Soyuz have an upper weight limit of 208 pounds.  And I was immediately crestfallen.

Do I think I'm ever likely to be able to afford a flight to space?  No.  But knowing for sure that I can't go because of my weight hit me hard.  In short, it's unacceptable.  (It's the same reason I buy lottery tickets.  I don't expect to win, but I know I can't unless I have a ticket.)  So that's my goal, folks.  I'm going to lose weight because I want to go to space.

Happy November, everyone!

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

I woke up this morning in my own bed, next to my husband, and under both my dog and my cat.  (And like many pet owners out there, I can actually sleep like that.)  But I view life in a very different way now than I did the last time I woke up at home, only 72 hours ago.

Sometimes there are just two options: to do something fast, or to do something right.  Talking about my experiences in Ottawa is something that I need to take my time doing, in order to do the experience justice.  In fact, as I just explained to my husband, I can't really talk about it at all.  It's too big for me to wrap my head around while simultaneously speaking. Sometimes the only way I can express myself properly is through writing.

So I will be writing.  And when it's "done right", I'll post it here and let you know.  But the one thing I will share right here and right now is that I am profoundly grateful to have been given this opportunity, and that it really and truly has changed my life.

I know, I know ...

I told you to watch the blog for updates as my trip went on, but the truth is, I haven't had time to blog properly!  From the time I boarded the first plane yesterday morning until I fell into bed fourteen hours later, it's just been go-go-go.

My best advice?  Follow me on Twitter.  You don't have to join Twitter to read my updates.  Just go to http://twitter.com/kj_mclean and you can read them there.  (The link is on the right sidebar, too.)  I've been updating a lot, because the urge to blog is strong with this one! :)

Today's symposium runs from 8 AM to 6 PM, then there's a special reception to which I've been invited from 6:00 to 7:30, and THEN we "Irving students" have been invited to dinner by the RSC following THAT!

I'm having an unbelievable time -- for the most part, and even the creepy moment last night was an interesting experience -- but the Space Shuttle (what I'm calling the van to take us to the symposium) is picking me up in less than an hour.

ASTRONAUTS TODAY!!!

The Ottawa Trip -- Day One

Somehow (and believe me -- it's a mystery!) I managed to fall asleep last night.  I woke up at about 6:30 AM, and puttered around, waiting to go.  Unfortunately, Hubby was right -- the backpack was too heavy to go as one piece, so I had to break it down into two.

Tweet at 7:25 AM: Doing final packing. Am turning off Twitter updates sent to my phone in case costs extra away from home. Will keep you posted. Watch blog!

Hubby left me at the security gate and headed off to work.  As much as I love to travel, I hate leaving him behind.  We're no longer newlyweds (thirteen years of marriage and counting), but I still get a bit teary-eyed when I know I'm not going to see him for a while.

Tweet at 8:34 AM: I'm waiting in the security room. Less than an hour to lift-- I mean, take-off! And the vending machine here in security has Diet Pepsi! :D

Tweet at 8:57 AM: My "gadget bag" is bigger and heavier than the bag with my clothes. What does THAT say about me? :)

Tweet at 9:04 AM: My airplane just arrived! It's so little and cute! A turboprop! I love these little planes! Probably boarding in about 10 minutes.

I was clearly feeling a little lonely, sitting there in the security holding area by myself.  When the plane arrived, I started to get excited.  All of a sudden the whole thing became far more real to me.

The first time I remember flying, I was eight years old.  I was also flying by myself, to see my grandfather in Montreal, and from there we flew to Winnipeg.  I still remember how excited I got the moment the wheels left the ground -- how peaceful it seemed compared to the rumbling pavement only a second before.  At that very moment, at eight years old, I got hooked on airplanes.