This new flexible work schedule

This new flexible work schedule ain’t half bad! I worked 42 hours last week, 33 hours so far this week, and so all I had to do this morning was come in this morning to work the 5-hour FDO/Booster sim and voila — my week was over at noon! I had lunch with the boy, went for an afternoon run all alone on the trails, and now I’m home watching TV and working on websites. I could get used to this.
This morning’s sim was fun and funny. The next shuttle mission has two initialization loads — high dynamic pressure and low dynamic pressure. This creates enough confusion as it is, but just imagine you are sitting on console for the first run of the morning expecting to see the engines throttle down to 67% (low dynamic pressure value) to match what you have pre-configured in the ARD, but the shuttle simulator only throttle downs to 72% (high dynamic pressure value). And then throttles back up nine seconds too early.
If you’re me, at that point you start furiously trying to calculate the change in weight to take out of the ARD (because the ARD thinks you are way heavier than you actually are, to the tune of what you eventually calculate to be ~13,000 pounds) and just as you’re beginning to worry, the flight director calls the run off while you’re still in first stage and says “let’s get the shuttle simulator properly configured, people.” And in the back room, where ARD, Targeting, and Abort Support are all girls today, you’d just hear us giggling.
It was one of those mornings.
Last night I stepped on the scale for the first time in a week and let’s just say I was not happy with what I saw. Too much eating out and not enough working out! But I’m feeling good about my running this week, and optimistic about getting back on track. I’ve run three days already and will run again tomorrow.
Today’s run:
Mile 1 – 11:21
Mile 2 – 11:32 (w/ 1:00 walking break)
Mile 3 – 10:33
Total – 33:26
It was warmer than I thought out there. And I’ve been having my standard it’s-been-a-while-since-I-ran-and-my-shin-splints-are-back pains. But it will be ok.