Final Lap

So my first internship with NASA is drawing to a close here in Virginia. My last day will be Thursday, April 17. I'm halfway excited, halfway not. I've really enjoyed working here in SMAB...it's a GREAT branch. The people are super-nice and lack a lot of the uptight egotism found commonly in the rest of NASA. Unless I find that the experimental world just blows my socks off with how awesome it is, I think I could see myself being content in a setting like this permanently.

And yet I'm glad that the semester is almost over. I've been pretty homesick nearly the entire time. Though I've made some good friends here, I'm anxious to see my friends in Florida and my friends and family in Washington. It's been since January that I've seen people in Washington and since December since I've seen some in Florida. (I visited there briefly in mid-February, but I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to.) So while I regret that my time at SMAB is drawing to a close, I'm very happy to take a short vacation to refresh. =)

It looks like I'll be having surgery on my knee in the first week of May. Talk about a bummer for timing. I get home on April 26, meet with the doctor on April 30, and likely have surgery shortly thereafter. What stinks is that my birthday is May 4. Augh...what a way to spend your 21st birthday, huh? Laid up in a cast. Ick. *sigh* But I guess it'll be worth it to have full functionality of my knee again. Oh my goodness, that will be SO nice! It's been so long (November) since I've been able to do anything active. I think I'll practically kiss my knee the first day I can play soccer again!

Another bummer thing about this whole timing is that it'll preclude my annual camping trip up to the Olympics. =( Every year (this would be the third year in a row), I take a buddy or two up to Seattle and the Olympic National Park for a few days of camping and fun. I love doing it so much....it's always such a relaxing and enjoyable (not to mention relationship-building) time. I was going to try to do it this year, even after surgery...but I got ganged up on by my mom and my friend Rebecca. Between the two of them insulting my intelligence from both directions, I bowed to their requests and cancelled the trip for this year. =( It makes me sad to miss it, but as I said in the previous paragraph, it's worth it to get my knee back for the rest of my life.

Things are really starting to get hopping now that the semester is drawing to a close. Work isn't really "hopping"...it's actually pretty slow. But I have SO much stuff to do on the personal end of things. I still have to figure out where I'm staying during my summer internship (whether where I'm living now or elsewhere), and that will determine how much packing up I have to do this next week. No matter what, in the next week I'm going to need to do some packing, clean my bathroom, vacuum my room, wash my sheets, package and ship a computer, talk to someone about storing my truck over the break, finish my taxes, finish my FAFSA, apply for ERAU financial aid, talk to my advisor, apply for more scholarships, register for fall classes, perfect my travel plans, buy souvenirs for friends back home, transfer the title and registration on my truck to Florida, find housing for the fall, and plan for summer travels (including two weddings). See what I mean about "hopping"?!

But that's life. And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd much rather be busy than bored. My only struggle is that it's harder to make time for the Lord when I'm busy....the American culture of go-go-go is not really conducive to a strong relationship with God. But as long as I keep my priorities straight, He is always faithful to order my steps. =)