In which she thinks it's gonna be a long, long time, 'til touchdown brings her round again to find..
So yesterday last night was all kinds of geektacular. Thanks to sarahetc's wonderful words of wisdom, I was persuaded to skip out on SWW (will make up for it next year, granted they don't schedule during blackout days again) and instead fight my way over to Titusville/the Cape to watch the Atlantis launch.
Needless to say, I am so glad I did.
Granted, it was kinda lonely going by myself and all, but I'm kind of used to it by now. I mean, I'm the kind of person who goes to Disney on her own all the time and isn't bothered by it in the least. But this was something that I kind of wanted to share with someone, and frankly, it taking much longer than I had planned, I could have definitely used the company.
Anyhoo, liftoff was scheduled to occur at 7:38 pm, so after figuring drive time, with how long in advance I'll want to get there so I'll have time to find a parking spot free piece of curb/shoulder/road to park my car, (plus time to load up on gas), I leave the apartment around 5:45. Surprisingly, I didn't run into any kind of traffic until I got to the exit for 50 coming off of I-95 (and man, that was traffic!). Seriously, it was at a standstill un the freeway.
Luckily, it cleared up shortly after that, mainly because I knew a sort of backway down to where I wanted to go. So finally I arrive at the world famous Albuquerque Holiday Inn at the Astronaut Hall of Fame, which I figure is about as close as I'm gonna get considering the streets are jam packed with people footing it trying to get a better spot. By this time it's about a half hour until liftoff. (!!)
As I'm waiting, with my ass parked in the middle of a sidewalk blocking foot traffic, I'm working my phone like the cheap whore it is, texting my sister ('Hee, I'm here! If they scrub I'll commit suicide!'), trying to call my other sister (who it turns out was in Georgia at the time), and pestering my dad for play-by-play television updates. Finally, in the distance I could hear the sound system that had been set up announce that there were only fifteen or so seconds left until GO. At this point I'm ready to pee in my pants.
A few short seconds later, this freakin' fireball silently begins to come up over the horizon, and gains speed with each passing second. I would try to convey how awesome it looks using words, but honestly I'm still at a complete loss. So I'll use pictures, instead...
[I apologize in advance for the crappy pictures. It's all my poor little camera phone can do.]
WE HAVE LIFTOFF! Yes, the shuttle is that tiny ball of light next to the giant white sign. (And no, the shuttle parked off to the right side is not an actual shuttle. It's actually a theater.)
If I remember correctly, this was about the point where the sound waves finally hit. And damn, they were LOUD. Even from the distance I was at (which I believe was about 14-16 miles from the launchpad) you could not only feel the vibrations, but actually pick-out the subtle cracking/popping noises from the ignition. The sound lasted pretty long, too. Definitely a good handful of minutes had passed before things quieted down again.
About a minute or so after this pic was snapped, I could actually see, repeat SEE them release the solid rocket boosters. From a couple of hundred miles away. It's seriously that amazing.
My younger sister called me shortly after liftoff on her way home from work. Said she had been driving north on I-4, and seeing about a million cars pulled over was all "WTF?", only to look over and see the giant plume of smoke rising in the east. As we were talking I noticed a group of guys in their jumpsuits (I assume they were pilots of some sort, I just don't know what kind (Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, or actual Astronauts). I thought they were kinda hot (I have a weakness for men in uniforms), so I snapped a pick of one of them.
Sadly, I forgot that I had fiddled with the resolution settings on my phone, and since I was trying to be stealthy about it was unable to get a better picture. D:
Said smoke trail, about a good ten minutes after launch. I ended up liking this pic so much that I set it as the wallpaper on my phone.
All in all, the only bad part of the whole event was trying (and failing) to get out of there. I honestly didn't feel like fighting all the traffic, so I just figured I'd chill in my car for a while a wait until everyone else leaves. Then I could casually drive away, stress free.
Survey says: *EHH!*
I ended up waiting for a LOT MORE than awhile. Remember that 7:38 launch time? By the time I started my car (I didn't want to waste precious gas and/or battery juice by running the AC and/or CD player) it was pushing 10 o'clock. I only wish I were kidding. After that it takes me another hour of sitting in traffic, during which I only travel about three to five miles. Thank goodness everyone else was headed 95 South, whereas I was going back north. After that the drive was a breeze. What with my insane speeding and all.
Also, I can now say in all honesty: "Gustav Holst broke my stereo." *headdesk*
ION, remember a week ago when I made that little sketch of Sylar and posted it? Well, I did another one. I don't like the way this one turned out nearly as much (the nose, sybrows, and basic shape of the head are all wrong), but I wanted to try doing his glorious hooded ensemble. I also kinda got bored and added an aura of cryo around him.
Why yes, I am a loser. Thank you for asking.
IOON, next Sunday = eww. *cringes*
[EDIT: Question for freetheelves2: DUDE, JUST HOW IC/SERIOUS IS HEROESRPG S'POSED TO BE? 'CAUSE I HAVE A FEELING THAT HRG'S CHARACTER SHEET IS TURNING OUT WAAAAAAY TOO SNARKY. FOR REAL.]
Needless to say, I am so glad I did.
Granted, it was kinda lonely going by myself and all, but I'm kind of used to it by now. I mean, I'm the kind of person who goes to Disney on her own all the time and isn't bothered by it in the least. But this was something that I kind of wanted to share with someone, and frankly, it taking much longer than I had planned, I could have definitely used the company.
Anyhoo, liftoff was scheduled to occur at 7:38 pm, so after figuring drive time, with how long in advance I'll want to get there so I'll have time to find a parking spot free piece of curb/shoulder/road to park my car, (plus time to load up on gas), I leave the apartment around 5:45. Surprisingly, I didn't run into any kind of traffic until I got to the exit for 50 coming off of I-95 (and man, that was traffic!). Seriously, it was at a standstill un the freeway.
Luckily, it cleared up shortly after that, mainly because I knew a sort of backway down to where I wanted to go. So finally I arrive at the world famous Albuquerque Holiday Inn at the Astronaut Hall of Fame, which I figure is about as close as I'm gonna get considering the streets are jam packed with people footing it trying to get a better spot. By this time it's about a half hour until liftoff. (!!)
As I'm waiting, with my ass parked in the middle of a sidewalk blocking foot traffic, I'm working my phone like the cheap whore it is, texting my sister ('Hee, I'm here! If they scrub I'll commit suicide!'), trying to call my other sister (who it turns out was in Georgia at the time), and pestering my dad for play-by-play television updates. Finally, in the distance I could hear the sound system that had been set up announce that there were only fifteen or so seconds left until GO. At this point I'm ready to pee in my pants.
A few short seconds later, this freakin' fireball silently begins to come up over the horizon, and gains speed with each passing second. I would try to convey how awesome it looks using words, but honestly I'm still at a complete loss. So I'll use pictures, instead...
[I apologize in advance for the crappy pictures. It's all my poor little camera phone can do.]
WE HAVE LIFTOFF! Yes, the shuttle is that tiny ball of light next to the giant white sign. (And no, the shuttle parked off to the right side is not an actual shuttle. It's actually a theater.)
If I remember correctly, this was about the point where the sound waves finally hit. And damn, they were LOUD. Even from the distance I was at (which I believe was about 14-16 miles from the launchpad) you could not only feel the vibrations, but actually pick-out the subtle cracking/popping noises from the ignition. The sound lasted pretty long, too. Definitely a good handful of minutes had passed before things quieted down again.
About a minute or so after this pic was snapped, I could actually see, repeat SEE them release the solid rocket boosters. From a couple of hundred miles away. It's seriously that amazing.
My younger sister called me shortly after liftoff on her way home from work. Said she had been driving north on I-4, and seeing about a million cars pulled over was all "WTF?", only to look over and see the giant plume of smoke rising in the east. As we were talking I noticed a group of guys in their jumpsuits (I assume they were pilots of some sort, I just don't know what kind (Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, or actual Astronauts). I thought they were kinda hot (I have a weakness for men in uniforms), so I snapped a pick of one of them.
Sadly, I forgot that I had fiddled with the resolution settings on my phone, and since I was trying to be stealthy about it was unable to get a better picture. D:
Said smoke trail, about a good ten minutes after launch. I ended up liking this pic so much that I set it as the wallpaper on my phone.
All in all, the only bad part of the whole event was trying (and failing) to get out of there. I honestly didn't feel like fighting all the traffic, so I just figured I'd chill in my car for a while a wait until everyone else leaves. Then I could casually drive away, stress free.
Survey says: *EHH!*
I ended up waiting for a LOT MORE than awhile. Remember that 7:38 launch time? By the time I started my car (I didn't want to waste precious gas and/or battery juice by running the AC and/or CD player) it was pushing 10 o'clock. I only wish I were kidding. After that it takes me another hour of sitting in traffic, during which I only travel about three to five miles. Thank goodness everyone else was headed 95 South, whereas I was going back north. After that the drive was a breeze. What with my insane speeding and all.
Also, I can now say in all honesty: "Gustav Holst broke my stereo." *headdesk*
ION, remember a week ago when I made that little sketch of Sylar and posted it? Well, I did another one. I don't like the way this one turned out nearly as much (the nose, sybrows, and basic shape of the head are all wrong), but I wanted to try doing his glorious hooded ensemble. I also kinda got bored and added an aura of cryo around him.
Why yes, I am a loser. Thank you for asking.
IOON, next Sunday = eww. *cringes*
[EDIT: Question for freetheelves2: DUDE, JUST HOW IC/SERIOUS IS HEROESRPG S'POSED TO BE? 'CAUSE I HAVE A FEELING THAT HRG'S CHARACTER SHEET IS TURNING OUT WAAAAAAY TOO SNARKY. FOR REAL.]