Last night was the coldest

Last night was the coldest thus far this season. The thermometer read 43 when I left the apartment at 6:45 this morning, so I’m betting it was under 40 at some point. There was white stuff — frost! — on the ground. Craziness. The extremes in weather are amazing; I think I was complaining about heat just a few weeks ago.

The change in weather is always both nice and unwelcome. My body doesn’t react as well as it used to when the temperatures shift over a short period of time. I woke up Sunday with a slight sore throat. It was followed yesterday by general aches, and those have only intensified today. I slept horribly last night, tossing and turning and having dreams that I was late to this morning’s sim. And late to tomorrow morning’s sim. Taking Advil every 5-6 hours seems to be working, but I certainly hope I kick this thing fast. Just my luck to get sick in time for my big sim tomorrow morning and going to Corpus for Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow morning’s sim is my Final Cert. You might wonder why I haven’t mentioned it much, and certainly not nearly as obsessively as I talked about my Cert Qual a few weeks ago. To be honest, I don’t know why I haven’t talked about it as much. I was so nervous leading up to my Cert Qual, but I’m not feeling as much pressure this time. I’m not sure if that’s because I think I can handle it or because I think there’s no chance of me handling it (I’m going to see 6-7 runs, which is 2-3 more than normal, and they’re going to be crazy because of the type of sim it is). I hope it’s the former. It’s very important; it’s my Final. If I pass, I will be a certified ARD Support Officer and will be clear to work the launch of STS-117 next spring.

Wish me luck!