Deck the Halls

So my roommate Connie and I decided that our home needed a little holiday cheer. Since all of us were going to be gone for the holidays, we decided that we didn't need a full tree, but we did need a little decorating. We got creative by putting the nativity scene up (with Elisa's African Giraffes as an added touch), we put poinsettia flowers in our plant, and lights on the ficus. These are the moments that remind me that I'm a poor college student. :)

Houston NASA Interview

Before you all get super excited for me that I interviewed with NASA, I have to tell you that after all that interviewing they decided to go with a different candidate who "had more of the skills they were looking for." However, I had a fantastic experience in Houston and I got to see some really cool things so I'm really glad I went.

Interview Day 2

Today was the best day of all. I got to relax quite a bit more. One of the guys I met the day before made a few special "phone calls" to get me on the best tours. The first tour I went on was of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. This is where they have the giant swimming pool that the astronauts go in to simulate weightlessness. It was really cool. This astronaut was kind enough to take a picture with me before they put him in the water. If you look closely, you can see him smiling at the camera. :)










Then we went to the flight simulator. This was a full functioning simulator of the spaceship, it tipped back and we did a countdown to go up into space, and then when we came back in, I got to land the spacecraft on the runway. The ride wasn't too bumpy either.

















Finally, I got to go to Building 9 (I don't remember the actual name for it), but it's where they have a lot of life sized equipment that they can use to determine how to pack things, or if items will fit in certain areas. They had a full sized space ship, pieces of the space station. And I can't remember what exactly this is, but I think it's used to land on the moon. After my fun day, I headed back to the airport to fly home.

Interview Day 1

Today, I headed to NASA to interview. I had about 7 interviews with several different people. Including a lunch interview with 5 people. It was pretty crazy, but fun to meet so many people and to get so many perspectives on working there. By the time I left at about 5pm, I was completely exhausted.

My friend, Chris, from Colorado Springs had moved down to Houston, so he drove down to my hotel to visit. We walked around the Boardwalk, they had amusement park rides, and a fantastic roller coaster. We were bummed however when we went to ride the roller coaster only to discover it was closed cause they were waiting on a part.

Houston

I flew down to Houston today to interview with NASA. It was so fantastic to leave the 30 degree weather we were having in Utah. I got pretty lost on my way, but eventually after the help of about 3 different gas station employees, I finally found my hotel, The Boardwalk Inn, in Kemah. It was adorable, so naturally, I had to take pictures.

BYU Football

Today, Connie took me to my first BYU Football game. I know... to some of you that just seems to be a sin to have not gone until now. It was BYU vs. Colorado State. It was tons of fun. If you look at this picture up close you can see the football flying towards the receiver. He caught it... but for whatever reason they didn't count the touchdown. It was still fun to be that close to the action. BYU won: 42-23.

Megan's Wedding

I got to go to my cousin, Megan's wedding tonight. I was fun to see some of my relatives.