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! :)

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.

My bags are packed; I'm ready to go ...

I've had "Leaving on a Jet Plane" stuck in my head for the last twenty-four hours or so, thanks to Sis Kris. But it's now true. Everything is packed (regrettably in two cases, not one, but what can I do with a 20 lb. carry-on limit?) and I'm just waiting for Hubby to get ready to go.

I did manage to sleep last night. I don't know how.

This is real, folks! I'm really going to Ottawa! I'm really going to meet an astronaut!

So excited!!!

Is it mid-January already?

Wow -- I hope the rest of winter goes this quickly!

You've probably been wondering where I've been (although the Twitter feed at the left would have given you a pretty good idea). It's been a pretty hectic week, but things are coming back to normal now. You should have seen Piper and Zaphod when I walked in the door at lunchtime yesterday. Piper went absolutely bonkers, and Zaph refused to let me out of his sight for three hours. Now, since I know that Hubby kept them both fed, I can only conclude that they actually did miss me. (Although my return meant that they had less room in the bed!)

I logged three more caches while I was away, including a sentimental one: a cache inspired by the grave of the Unknown Child in the Titanic victims' section of Fairview Cemetery in Halifax.

I've been fascinated by the story of the Titanic since I was a little girl, and had visited all three groups of Titanic graves in Halifax, so when I learned there was a cache nearby, it was a must-do.

Not much of a shopper, I did manage to get to the art supply store and pick up some more Inktense pencils. There were so many goodies there -- I could have easily dropped a fortune had I had it! Didn't make it to the ginormous used book store, but there will be other visits. This wasn't a pleasure trip, but a practical one, and I had other priorities.

Although I'm glad to be home, I miss Emily terribly. I can always talk with my sister and her husband on the phone, so that's not so bad, but it's impossible to replicate a spontantaneous hug and cuddle from a four-year-old at this distance.

Work is very quiet this time of year (exams are next week, so the teachers are dragging themselves in to get the coursework and review finished), and I'm glad to have a little downtime.

Well, I'd better go see what the critters are up to. Plotting world domination, no doubt! *grin*

Covering a lot of ground ...

Usually if the week has been too busy to blog, I catch up on the weekend. Well, this past weekend was even busier than usual.

On Saturday morning I got a phone call from my sister, Krista, in Halifax. Her father-in-law was in the hospital and she sounded like she could use a hand, so I hopped into my car and drove down. I arrived on Saturday and then left to come back yesterday morning.

Although it was not a trip under ideal circum- stances, we did have a good visit together. I spent all day Sunday with my niece, Emily, whose main concern seemed to be that the Sea Dogs are my favourite team, while the Mooseheads are only my second-favourite. We had a great time together, though.

First of all, I took her "treasure-hunting". Even though I didn't have the GPS receiver with me, I looked online and found a cache that I was pretty sure I could find without it, and off we went! I wish I'd had the camera ready for the look on Em's face when we found the cache. She was absolutely beside herself with excitement.
After the geocaching expedition, we went to the local playground, and I amazed Emily by telling her that it was a school that both her mommy and auntie attended almost thirty years ago. She had fun on the playground and I got to take some good pictures. (Even though I don't scrap nearly as much as I used to, I'm still all about the pictures.)

That afternoon was a costume party at the MFRC, and I have to tell you, my niece makes the cutest little lion on the face of the planet. Her "RARRRR!" might not be ferocious, but boy, was she having fun!

It was a little awkward being the "tag-along-auntie" at the Halloween party, but besides seeing all of the cute kids in their costumes, I got a huge kick out of seeing some of Canada's finest military men decked out in some very silly costumes, all for the happiness of the kids. I had a great deal of respect for them before, but seeing them dressed up in puffy pirate shirts and vampire fangs and snug, stripey polyester pants really tickled me to the core. These men truly are fearless!

Unfortunately Monday was a bit of a wash-out because the little cold that was taunting me finally reared its ugly head. I just hope I didn't give it to anyone else.

Leaving the apartment yesterday morning was kind of hard. Emily really didn't want me to come home, and while it's flattering to see someone cry because they don't want to say goodbye, it's more heartbreaking than anything else. I love that little girl as if she were my own. Hopefully I'll see her again before too long.

I Fled the Country (Almost).

SisKris and Emily arrived from Halifax on Thursday, and on Friday the three of us plus Dr. Munchkin loaded up in the car and headed for the United States. The purpose of the trip? Krista wanted to pick up some food items not available in Canada, including Cookie Crisp cereal for her deployed navy husband.

I opted out of the whole "leave the country" thing, mostly because I had no money (and nothing makes me crankier than being "forced" to window-shop somewhere different when I can't buy anything). So as the line-up approached the actual "you are leaving Canada" point, I said goodbye to the girls and headed out, tripod in hand, to take pictures of St. Stephen (the Canadian bordertown, not the guy).

When I first told my sister that I would spend my time taking pictures while waiting for them to come back, she wanted to know what I'd take pictures of. "You know me," I replied. "I take pictures of garbage cans if they look interesting enough."

(I did, in case you're wondering, take a couple of garbage can pictures, just to freak her out. I'm the oldest sister. It's my job.)

After taking a couple of miscellaneous photos, my next stop was The Wool Emporium, which I spotted while still in the car (and, if you look closely, you can spot me in this picture). It's a nice little spot, and the proprietress was a delight to talk to. That's one thing I found during my three hours in St. Stephen; everyone delighted in talking with me. And it wasn't just "tourist-talk" -- I know how that goes. (Been there, done that, wore the pseudo-heritage costume.)

I left The Wool Emporium with a package of denim-strength sewing machine needles and a wealth of information of how to spend my three hours, then headed down to a café/used book store, where I found three books (including what I hoped was a "holy grail" for Hubby -- A World Out of Time by Larry Niven, which it turns out he hasn't read) for the amazing sum of a buck each. (The other two I picked up were Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Bonnie Burnard's A Good House.)

Although I was sorely tempted, I didn't go to the Chocolate Museum. (For the uninitiated, St. Stephen bills itself as Canada's Chocolate Town because it's the home of Ganong, the sometimes-disputed creator of the world's first chocolate bar, but never-disputed genius behind the Christmas traditions of Red Wrap and Chicken Bones.)

I knew that a visit to the Chocolate Museum would involve many chocolate samples, and I had a feeling that if I got in there, they'd need a crowbar to convince me to leave! So instead I opted to spend a few minutes relaxing on a bench in the low-key Chocolate Park and wave to the United States across the river.

In case I've never mentioned it before, I love playing tourist almost as much as I love being a tourist, and since I was only an hour away from home, this trip had a little bit of both!

The obligatory picture of the lighthouse (with the American town of Calais, Maine in the background) had to be taken, of course, and while I was there, a local older gentleman regaled me with tales of how many people had been swept away by the currents in the St. Croix while trying to swim across the border.

My three hours went rather quickly, I have to admit. After the lighthouse, I went to check out the goods they had at the market stalls along the waterfront (a summer Friday tradition, I was told), and enjoyed a hot dog at a picnic table I shared with two vendors who happened to be sisters.

As they spoke with their friend who joined us, they clearly kept me in the loop, turning to explain who they were talking about and what the date was they were trying to nail down. I was so much a part of their circle at that point that when their friend saw me inside the visitor information centre, she was stunned to learn I had just met them!

Before long, my intrepid sisters had returned from the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave to pick me up at the provincial visitor bureau (a repurposed former railway station). I sat with Emily at the colouring table while SisKris and Dr. Munchkin went to the market, and before long we were all on our way.

It was a great day, full of simple pleasures. And really, shouldn't life be more like that?

A Hectic Rest

Just got home a little while ago from a whirlwind road trip. Hubby and I had to go to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, for a meeting today. So we hopped in the car yesterday, complete with Piper and all of her travelling necessities, and headed towards “Canada’s Ocean Playground”.

Our first stop was Deanne Fitzpatrick’s Rug Hooking Studio in Amherst, where I “oohed” and “aaahed” (a lot), and picked up some hot pink recycled wool to play with.

Then we headed to Parrsboro, which is like “Rock Heaven” for people who like to collect minerals and fossils (ie people like Hubby and me). We hadn’t been there since our honeymoon twelve years ago, so it was really nice to visit again. The funniest moment of the entire trip occurred when we pulled into the driveway of Eldon George’s legendary rock shop. There’s a large (five-and-a-half foot) concrete dinosaur on the lawn. Well, Piper took one look at it and its bared teeth and went absolutely ballistic. It’s nice to know that, should we ever be attacked by dinosaurs, our little dog will protect us.

It was quite the adventure for Piper, since she also barked at cows, sheep, alpacas, horses, and the campus of St. Francis Xavier University (Hubby’s alma mater). Seeing as I graduated from the rival Acadia University, I should have barked at it too!

So we’re home, we’re exhausted, but we have lots of pictures, and my brain feels a little more balanced having gotten away from the textbooks for a little bit.

Pictures are finally up.

I finally got around to putting some pictures from my trip last month on Flickr, including not just Ottawa and Montreal, but also the beautiful area my uncle and aunt call home.

Enjoy!

Ottawa and Montreal -- June 2007

My trip to Ottawa

Ah, Almonte, Ottawa, and Montreal ... It was all so wonderful on so many levels that I can't even begin to sum it up in one itty-bitty blog post, and I want to get the pictures all "prettied-up" before I say too much more.

My plan at this point is to put together either a website or a slideshow. I'll keep you posted.

Holiday Blues

I'm curled up on the bed under my new "special lightbulb". I picked up a "daylight" fluorescent bulb in the hopes that it will pick me up a little. I'm doing my best to fight off hibernation. My Seasonal Affective Disorder is the worst it's been in years and years. I imagine a lot of it has to do with so much personal loss this year, too. I just keep telling myself that spring is eventually coming, and doing my best to forget that winter isn't officially here yet.

Tomorrow would've been my late dog's 12th birthday, by the way. I think I'll probably feel a little better when that passes.

I'm not in the holiday spirit hardly at all this year. My tree (a real one) has been standing in my livingroom for ten days now, waiting for me to decorate it. I suspect I'll get to it tomorrow, barring a worsening of this cold that has seemed to come from nowhere. I despise the sniffles!

Today was quite fun, though. My sister and her family live about four hours away, and instead of paying Canada Post a small fortune to send our Christmas presents, we decided to do something else. Each of us drove about two hours and met half-way. I got to have breakfast with my sister. mom, brother-in-law, and two-year-old niece (upon whom my personal sun rises and sets). That trip provided me with a much-needed boost, and Princess Emily is just as priceless as ever.

If I can get to January, I'll be a-okay.

More trip notes to come ...

Train 57, from Montreal, QC to Oshawa, ON

I don't know if we're in Ontario yet, but if not, we're pretty close. It's mostly rural landscape out there; I've counted five horses so far.

The car I'm in seems very new, and has WiFi. I have picked up a signal but have not purchased access. Not sure if I will or not. The rails are pretty bumpy, and just writing this is a challenge.

There are also electrical outlets under the seats, so if the LifeDrive needs juice, I can power her up.

Just looked out the window to see three huge V's of geese -- about sixty birds in total -- flying south before winter.

Smart birds.

Montreal, QC

Bonaventure / Gare Centrale: We were only about twenty minutes late getting into Montreal, so that gave me ample time to head to the pharmacien to get some Pepto-Bismol. I think things will be okay.

I got in the line at Gate 14 when a VIA Rail employee named Paul asked to see my ticket, then directed me to be first in line at Gate 13. Well, the way my luck is going, I looked askance at the gate number, but wandered over to stand behind the line-up rope, all by myself.

A few moments later, Paul was rushing by and gestured that I should be standing on the other side of the rope. I laughed and called after him, "I'd be lost without you, you know."

Shortly thereafter, Paul joined me in my line-up of one. "So," he said, "can I get you anything? Coffee? Flowers?"

"Oh," I replied with a laugh, "flowers! Then I can tell my husband that the first man I met in Montreal gave me flowers."

"Uh-oh!" he laughed.

Well, that was the beginning of a running joke and a beautiful twenty-five minute friendship.

We chatted about the new Renaissance cars, and where we were from, how busy the station was, and he gave me some directions on how to get to the métro station tomorrow. The flower-theme was referred to enough that I explained it to the lady who had joined me in line.

Just before Paul let us down the stairs to Train No. 57, he ran across to the VIA desk and grabbed a small white piece of paper.

Coming back and opening the gate with a flourish, Paul wished me a pleasant journey. "And," he said, pressing the white piece of paper into my hand, "I didn't forget your flower."

Sure enough, there was a hand-drawn tulip on the piece of paper.

I love VIA Rail.

Drummondville, QC

Wow, we're running almost an hour late, according to the timetable. I guess that makes my "do I eat breakfast?" decision for me, but narrows the chances of finding some Pepto-Bismol. Oh, well. Let's just see how this plays out.

Somewhere between Charny and Drummondville, QC

Called Hubby a little while ago and chatted briefly, but the call ended abruptly as I had to run to the bathroom. I'm going to skip breakfast and hope that things settle down -- fast.

The sun is coming up, and it's that time of the morning when everything seems to have a light purple cast to it. I used to love this time of day, doing outside rounds at the hospital.

We're travelling through farm country, with field after field of yellowed corn stalks, punctuated by the occasional silo. We just went under what looked like a major highway, and since we're supposed to be in Montreal in a little more than an hour, that would make sense.

Time to just sit back and watch the world roll by.

Charny, QC

I woke up when the train started going backwards. I guess we were changing tracks? In any case, it was kind of cool to look at a nearby apartment window to see someone looking back at me. I waved. He saluted me with his coffee.

Montmagny, QC

I'm getting a surprising amount of sleep, given that my private single seat doesn't give a large person much room to stretch out. I'm a little cold, but with my jacket over me, and my tunes cranked in my ears, I'm doing just fine.

I seem to wake up each time we reach (or even just pass) a station listed on the timetable. I guess curiosity is getting the better of me, but I did get to see parts of Rimouski, Trois-Pistoles and Rivière-du-Loup.

My only concern is that my insides are much more "gurgly" than usual. I'm hoping it's simply too much junk food, and not me getting the stomach bug Hubby has been dealing with for a few days.

Matapedia, QC

So, I guess I'm in Quebec now. It's a pretty little station - a nice yellow. People are kissing each other goodbye on the platform. I guess that's just one more thing that's the same in both official languages.

I think we got here about twenty minutes early.