Back in black.

Well, these last two weeks have been exhausting. I've switched to a 4:30 am to 1 pm shift. It's nice because I'm off work so early, but it's been taking a toll on my body. Once I get adjusted to it, I'll be fine.

Needless to say, I've been too tired to write, and I couldn't think of anything when I did have the energy. Since I was needed at work last Sunday, I have a three day weekend this week. My boss has been great about scheduling me what closely resembles a regular work week. Next week, I'm Monday through Friday, all 4:30-1. That's the most reliable and regular schedule I've had in years. It feels nice to not have to worry about working a night here, and morning here, and midshift here... It lets me adjust, and build up a routine.

We've been doing a bit of shopping with the gift cards we received from the shower. We got a carseat the other day. It's very safe, and looks nice. I think we got one that will be easy to manuever and easy to clean. We never did get that camera. The offer expired, so we'll get one when we find another offer as good or better. But it'll be hard, that was a great deal. It's disappointing, but it's more important to pay bills right now.

We started parenting classes at the hospital last week. It used to be called Lamaze (sp?) and has to do alot with being informed along with relaxation and breathing techniques. We had fun, and met some nice couples. I am so excited about the baby, it's not even funny. I've been working on my sign language, and studying up on baby signing. It's really neat... Babies can understand you, and communicate with you using signs long before their vocal chords are mature enough to handle language. Signs like "More" "All done" "Pain" "Where?" and "Milk" are just a few of the everyday signs you can use with your baby. They generally start signing back around 6-8 months old, not to mention that they're essentially learning to be bilingual.

This week at work, we had several conventions in. One of which was a space emposium, which brought astronauts, mission control specialists, rocket scientists, and folks from every aerospace company you can imagine to Colorado Springs. Buzz Aldrin was here yesterday. I didn't get to meet him, and he wasn't staying in the hotel but was out to eat in the downtown area with friends who were staying at the hotel. I met the mission controller who was in charge of the flight directly following the Colombia tragedy. It was so interesting to spend time hearing what happened from a man who was in mission control when it happened. His office is across the hall from the mission controller of the Colombia, and he was very involved in the efforts to have NASA investigate the damage before reentry. He went to school with Onizuka of the Challenger tragedy back in 1986, and works in Houston. Today, I met a teacher from Florida who runs a space simulator camp for teens. She has a mock-up shuttle and mission control. She gave me a tee-shirt. I think I'll send it to my dad. He'd love it. It's named Challenger something or other. Needless to say, it's been a pleasure having so many intelligent people around. Just listening to conversations has been fantastic. Let alone the ones they've had with me. They're so excited about going back to the moon. There are so many natural resources that they're ready to start evaluating, and habitation... it's gonna be cool.

Well, tonight we're going to a party for a bellman who's moving to Georgia. He's been real cool, and it'll be sad to see him leave. It's at a Jamaican bar in the area. It's run by a waiter from the restaurant in the Antlers, and is called "Irie." (For those of you who are not familiar with the term, it's Jamaican for "alright.")

Hopefully, I'll be writing more. Thanks for hanging in there.

Peace.