NASA, No Doubt, NCIS, and other things that begin with N
Oh man, it's been FOREVER! I'm sorry! My power cord died shortly after I got back from Texas, and I only just got a new one. Plus, after you go away the prospect of catching up is just so daunting - I was kind of overwhelmed before that, but now I give up. Tell me what's new in LJ-land!
As for what I've been doing recently:
NASA!
Um, TOO COOL. :D Partly because we were kind of like real NASA employees and had fun walking around pretending to be important, and partly because OH MY GOD SPACE. I found out that childhood motion sickness never really goes away (I got too nauseous to go on about 8 parabolas in - that's like 5 minutes, and I was the first, and it took everyone else at least twice that long, but I never actually threw up), but also, floating is REALLY COOL. One of the guys working there (he said it was his fun outreach activity: he worked in the robotics department, the folks who design the rovers and stuff, and most of his colleagues did a robotics competition, but he thought this was more fun. Plus, he got to fly. Also, he was super hot and really sweet and friendly. Unexpected, but awesome) said he threw up the first three times he flew, but that the feeling of weightlessness never got old. To me, it felt like I wasn't at all in control of my body, because you don't move the way you expect to. But I also had way more control over my movements than it seemed anyone else did. I never zoomed to the ceiling out of control, and I never had a problem getting my feet under me before we went into 2G, and I never flailed about kicking people in the head. Maybe it's all the time I've spent in water, but my attempts to control my movement actually worked, as little as they felt it.
Some pictures:
Me, in the plane, about parabola #2. Still happy. :P My current Facebook profile picture.
My flight group, immediately post-flight. I'm the back row at the left end. I actually LOVED the flight suits, despite the fact that Hot Engineer Fernando (front row, right end, green suit and sunglasses but clearly not a student) hated them. They are kind of an awful color, but man, you feel like such a badass. And that fixes a LOT of flaws. :P
Me and two of my teammates in the hangar where we worked. See about the flight suits? And I have worn less-flattering things, which surprised and pleased me. (They did look better on the boys, though.)
As for Texas itself, the people were delightful, I was involuntarily saying "y'all" about three days into the trip (I've always been vulnerable to other people's accents: my sister yelled at me after I marathoned Firefly because I was talking like them and she thought it was intentional and annoying), and I could definitely live in Texas. Not Houston, though, unless I worked at NASA (or my husband did, because that is one job I would definitely relocate for): it's too flat and sprawling. I'm used to cities that are vertical and end abruptly, giving way to distinct suburbs (where houses are actually different) and then to endless trees. I like my cities older and more natural. But in the country? Probably. The sky was gorgeous.
No Doubt!
I saw No Doubt in concert last week. Basically, even though I was way too far away, it was awesome. And I still want to be this version of Gwen Stefani, the grown-up tomboy with bucketloads of charisma and an insane wardrobe. And that's a huge part of why they had such great success in the first place: every girl who might have liked their music wanted to be her.
It was a great show, though. They were really good, really energetic, really into the music. Possibly my favorite moment came in the song "Simple Kind of Life", with the line, "I always thought I'd be a mom." The audience cheered, and she just kind of nodded and smiled. Very cute. Definitely a fun show, both for the reminiscing and just in general.
NCIS!
Apparently NCIS is the new SVU on USA: it seems like it's on every time I turn the TV on. No complaints here, and I've been watching it a lot lately. I think I'm going to start from the beginning, like I tried a year or two ago, except it makes me sad that McGee and Ziva won't be there. I love them! And, from the few episodes with her that I've seen, Kate kind of bugs me, while Ziva is awesome. I kind of casually ship her with Tony, mostly because they're both flirtatious badasses with a fun camaraderie. Same thing with Abby and McGee: I don't actually care, but it makes things more fun. (The show seems to agree, considering the little things they throw in every so often.) But my REAL love is the relationship between Abby and Gibbs. Abby's my favorite character (I LOVE when TV shows have strong and interesting female characters who are allowed to be adorable: see also Sports Night's Dana Whitaker and Firefly's Kaylee), and the surrogate father/daughter (or big brother/baby sister) relationship is one of my favorites (again see Firefly, with Mal and Kaylee, or Mal and River as seen in Objects in Space). They're just so adorable that it makes me sad for no apparent reason, and I love it.
I also love how everyone adores Abby. One of my favorite lines regarding her is Tony's "I don't hate you. I don't think anyone could ever hate you." So cute. Which is a huge part of why I love this show: they all have the most adorable relationships, and I can't really pick which one (apart from Gibbs and Abby, of course) is my favorite. The characters are individual and realistic, and it's interesting to have a show where I'm not in love with any of the guys. I love them all, but no crushes whatsoever. It's a very different TV-watching experience, I can tell you that. :P I also love how the director is a woman. I don't really like her, but I recognize the value of her character and love that she exists.
Any of you watch this show? Any favorites (seasons, episodes, characters)? Any advice for watching this show?
And that's my life at the moment. What's up with you guys? I've missed you! ♥
As for what I've been doing recently:
NASA!
Um, TOO COOL. :D Partly because we were kind of like real NASA employees and had fun walking around pretending to be important, and partly because OH MY GOD SPACE. I found out that childhood motion sickness never really goes away (I got too nauseous to go on about 8 parabolas in - that's like 5 minutes, and I was the first, and it took everyone else at least twice that long, but I never actually threw up), but also, floating is REALLY COOL. One of the guys working there (he said it was his fun outreach activity: he worked in the robotics department, the folks who design the rovers and stuff, and most of his colleagues did a robotics competition, but he thought this was more fun. Plus, he got to fly. Also, he was super hot and really sweet and friendly. Unexpected, but awesome) said he threw up the first three times he flew, but that the feeling of weightlessness never got old. To me, it felt like I wasn't at all in control of my body, because you don't move the way you expect to. But I also had way more control over my movements than it seemed anyone else did. I never zoomed to the ceiling out of control, and I never had a problem getting my feet under me before we went into 2G, and I never flailed about kicking people in the head. Maybe it's all the time I've spent in water, but my attempts to control my movement actually worked, as little as they felt it.
Some pictures:
Me, in the plane, about parabola #2. Still happy. :P My current Facebook profile picture.
My flight group, immediately post-flight. I'm the back row at the left end. I actually LOVED the flight suits, despite the fact that Hot Engineer Fernando (front row, right end, green suit and sunglasses but clearly not a student) hated them. They are kind of an awful color, but man, you feel like such a badass. And that fixes a LOT of flaws. :P
Me and two of my teammates in the hangar where we worked. See about the flight suits? And I have worn less-flattering things, which surprised and pleased me. (They did look better on the boys, though.)
As for Texas itself, the people were delightful, I was involuntarily saying "y'all" about three days into the trip (I've always been vulnerable to other people's accents: my sister yelled at me after I marathoned Firefly because I was talking like them and she thought it was intentional and annoying), and I could definitely live in Texas. Not Houston, though, unless I worked at NASA (or my husband did, because that is one job I would definitely relocate for): it's too flat and sprawling. I'm used to cities that are vertical and end abruptly, giving way to distinct suburbs (where houses are actually different) and then to endless trees. I like my cities older and more natural. But in the country? Probably. The sky was gorgeous.
No Doubt!
I saw No Doubt in concert last week. Basically, even though I was way too far away, it was awesome. And I still want to be this version of Gwen Stefani, the grown-up tomboy with bucketloads of charisma and an insane wardrobe. And that's a huge part of why they had such great success in the first place: every girl who might have liked their music wanted to be her.
It was a great show, though. They were really good, really energetic, really into the music. Possibly my favorite moment came in the song "Simple Kind of Life", with the line, "I always thought I'd be a mom." The audience cheered, and she just kind of nodded and smiled. Very cute. Definitely a fun show, both for the reminiscing and just in general.
NCIS!
Apparently NCIS is the new SVU on USA: it seems like it's on every time I turn the TV on. No complaints here, and I've been watching it a lot lately. I think I'm going to start from the beginning, like I tried a year or two ago, except it makes me sad that McGee and Ziva won't be there. I love them! And, from the few episodes with her that I've seen, Kate kind of bugs me, while Ziva is awesome. I kind of casually ship her with Tony, mostly because they're both flirtatious badasses with a fun camaraderie. Same thing with Abby and McGee: I don't actually care, but it makes things more fun. (The show seems to agree, considering the little things they throw in every so often.) But my REAL love is the relationship between Abby and Gibbs. Abby's my favorite character (I LOVE when TV shows have strong and interesting female characters who are allowed to be adorable: see also Sports Night's Dana Whitaker and Firefly's Kaylee), and the surrogate father/daughter (or big brother/baby sister) relationship is one of my favorites (again see Firefly, with Mal and Kaylee, or Mal and River as seen in Objects in Space). They're just so adorable that it makes me sad for no apparent reason, and I love it.
I also love how everyone adores Abby. One of my favorite lines regarding her is Tony's "I don't hate you. I don't think anyone could ever hate you." So cute. Which is a huge part of why I love this show: they all have the most adorable relationships, and I can't really pick which one (apart from Gibbs and Abby, of course) is my favorite. The characters are individual and realistic, and it's interesting to have a show where I'm not in love with any of the guys. I love them all, but no crushes whatsoever. It's a very different TV-watching experience, I can tell you that. :P I also love how the director is a woman. I don't really like her, but I recognize the value of her character and love that she exists.
Any of you watch this show? Any favorites (seasons, episodes, characters)? Any advice for watching this show?
And that's my life at the moment. What's up with you guys? I've missed you! ♥