Goodbye Casual and Hello Usual

Hello Troops,
This is the eve of the Space Center's Official Opening for the 2008-2009 School Year. For the last couple days we've hosted our own school for the full four hour field trip. Central students are beneficial at helping us work the bugs out of our programs. They are the victims in our dress rehearsals and, in return for their patience, they don't pay. Well, all that ended this afternoon. Central is finished and tomorrow at 9:30 A.M. we open with our first school of the season - Westvale Elementary School.

It is funny to be able to point to an exact date and time when your life disappears. You see, since July 31st I've either been on vacation or here, working on the Perikoi mission, scheduling classes and field trips, designing a web site, working on simulator repairs, spending too much money on everything from programming books to new simulators, etc. etc. etc. This is my favorite time of year because I can arrive at 8:00 A.M. and actually go home between 6 and 7 P.M. All of that will change tomorrow, September 25, 2008 at 9:30 A.M. From that moment on we are open nearly every school day running two to four classes per day on missions, classes, and starlabs. We run around here "like chickens with their heads cut off" doing pretty much the same thing day in and day out.

Don't misunderstand me, I love my job and wouldn't have it any other way but I still find it interested that everything will change at an exact point in time and stay that way until another exact point in time at the end of May.

We tired something new today on the Voyager school mission. For the first time in years and years we had a doctor on the bridger in addition to the staff. One of our staff set up a sick bay in the Captain's Quarters right off the bridge. During the mission Lorraine sent "injured" crew into the sickbay for a quick scan and a tasty M and M. It worked well and gave crew members a welcome stand up and stretch during the mission. She looked for those a bit bored and sent them in for a dose of attention. It also worked well for attack scenes. Now we can thin down the number of students at the working stations thus increasing the stress level for those that remain. We will try to implement the Field Trip Doctor whenever staffing will allow.

Well, It is time to go home and enjoy the rest of my Worker's Eve. I'll see many of you here in the trenches as we continue to battle ignorance, stupidity and apathy.

Mr. Williamson