Stardate 8.31.15  A week at the VSA 

This weekend is one of recovery and as much sleep as possible. It was a busy week, accompanying my son on transport to the Vulcan Science Academy all week. We had arranged to stay in a mid-expense hotel, but after checking it out, I deemed it too stinky and undesirable, so we left and headed to the nicer hotel farther south, closer to the Academy. I was a bit too excited to sleep much, but able to get him to his first class on time Monday morning. His Monday schedule was Language, History, Robotics, then Physics. Halfway through they get a lunch break, during which, he twisted his ankle trying to extricate himself from the bench seating. Of course, he felt no pain so kept walking on it and figured it was fine. By the time I found out (3 hours after his school day was complete, in the evening) it had swelled up, but was too late to take him to a doctor. We iced it and I made him rest it.

Vulcan Boys building Robots

On Tuesday, we packed up in case we had to go to our regular doctor near our home, but after a couple hours, the swelling was down and he was able to walk with minimum pain and talked me into allowing him to go to the second half of his Tuesday schedule at school, which included Technology and Research, the latter's instructor is the same for his Math class, so he was able to get the syllabus and assignment to work on at night. After dismissal, I picked him up and headed home, to unpack and prepare for the next day. I had hoped to stay longer, to explore the private beach and pools, but with his injury, I figured I'd go back to do it another time.

I'm Returning ASAP

On Wednesday, I drove my personal vehicle (a 35-minute trip, which was shorter with the new route I found), and spent the whole day there, helping out in the front office and getting to know more about the school and students. Being a former secretary, I proved my usefulness to the staff and they were very appreciative, so I will try to return for a day or two each month to help out. It was nice to feel valuable.



Also this weekend, I got back to some of my own courses, finishing four exams about Klingons, since I had read most of the manual previously. There was more reading and research to do, but I'm glad I'm becoming familiar with it now, a month before the upcoming Klingon Dinner that I may possibly be attending. I need to ask my Klingon-acquaintance about it and the rooming situations. The only issue to overcome - I don't have anything to wear for it yet, not even an official Starfleet Uniform. So, I've got to really research and decide what to do about that.

Ok, ok, I'll say its good!

 

Stardate 08.15.15   Dalek... Da What?    

On BBC America channel tonight is a Dr. Who special (aired during ComicCon, I take it), which is just 2 episodes repeating.

Blink - The first one was like a bad horror movie, utterly frustrating with a lead character (Carrie Mulligan, pre-Daisy of Great Gatsby which was an injustice to her role in the novel, not Carrie's fault, ofc), and stupid B-movie tricks of suspense where the chars are slow and yell instead of taking action to save their lives. Not as bad as The Walking Dead, but close. Shame, cuz it was a great concept, where some "monsters" are statue-like and freeze when seen, but it connected some chars in different timelines, which was well conceived, and how we may determine our own fate.

At this point, I don't mind if they catch her.

The Waters of Mars - A very interesting but bittersweet story of the first team on Mars and poor Barty Crouch Jr. arrives on the day they are supposed to suffer a disaster and die. Will the Doctor interfere or follow the Prime Directive? Does he follow that? I'd think so, with his reticence to interfere. Oh, its the same tripe about not wanting to change the future for certain "fixed events in time." Crazyyyyy. I cried though. It's like Mexico - Don't drink the water.

This is the aftermath of making out for 3 hours with me.

Well, goodnight peeps. And remember... DON'T BLINK!

Stardate 08.14.15   NFL: The Neanderthal Fighting League

I began the morning with a tearful farewell to my son who has a 3-day visit with his Vulcan father. I would be glad for the chance to go do things for me, except I cannot go out to do things, as I'm stuck in Sick Bay with a disabled man who is a big fan of the NFL, and the pre-season games began the other night. I've promised to watch the showing of his home team's first game this afternoon. Until then, I will nap.


Afternoon

So... I'm not very into this Neanderthal-ish Sports Fanaticism of men who tackle other men for a small elliptical object, but I've been tasked with helping this patient to be updated on news about his team and I read about the people and situations from my PADD to him regularly, so I know more than I wanted to. But, at least now I have a human connection to it, and a reason to enjoy it while I want some of these so-called "games" with him on a weekly basis.

Today was the first pre-season Exhibition Game, where the main players show off for about 5 minutes, then let the noobies get some field experience, as wins and losses won't count for/against any teams. So, naturally I'm interested in the rookies, as I had to read all about the Draft for new players a few months ago, and updates on their progress in training since then. Of course, my favorite is the one with my son's first name. But there are also a few "newer" players, who joined 1-2 years ago or transferred in from other teams. One of them is a very... good-looking man, shall we say? So maybe I have more interest than I thought.

Hello Handsome

My lesson for the day was... offense and defense position names and where they are in the lineup when out of the field. So... I understand titles like Center, and Linebackers... but...
WHY IS IT CALLED TIGHT END? There are running backs, receivers... and then this guy who is on the end of the line (I understand that part of it), but why is he tight? especially if he goes running with the ball like the other 2 with more apt names? I believe it is just to distract us females of the species, and to deceptively lure in others with false advertising. Honestly.... they couldn't call it something like... an End Receiver? Oh... wait... I see the problem in that, that's bad too. Nevermind....

Pants'd - I hope I get to see this happen

Anyway, there's so many injuries.... this is so barbaric and animalistic. Can't we protect these player's bodies better with armor? Surely we've advanced enough in this time to have a thin, flexible material. Or... we could just replace them all with robots or androids. I think I'd like it better and cringe less.

They do it with soccer/football/futbol:

No bones are broken this way

Ensign's Log
Stardate 08.13.15  L33T $P34K

So, today I worked on my Communications courses. I had begun on the 3rd one a few days ago, but the first one had 6 pages or so of text in a manual, so I hadn't gotten to it yet. Luckily, the opportunity came when I had a chance to go out for a pedicure in the Ship's Salon. Oh, before that though, I got in a quick visit with a new acquaintance/mate while visiting the Medical Supply Room, but it was the end of her shift and she didn't have long before her next duty somewhere.

So, while sitting in the luxurious electronic-back-massage chair, I brought up the Com101 manual on my PADD and took my time to learn about inter-species communication, including non-verbal and body language, which is very important if I'm going to one day serve as a Ship's Counselor or go on any diplomatic missions. I don't want to mess up and be awkward and offensive, as has happened a few times in the past. Of course I always meant well, but was merely uninformed. So now, I'm getting informed as my digits are getting groomed.

I really recommend this course if you haven't taken it already. It's very well written and informative. I knew some things already, reminded of others, and some was totally new.

So, I basically got this design on my toes, but I made them add pluto and charon too.

Stardate 08.12.15    The Stars, The Moons and the VSA           

I’m up early, again. So, I decided to do my first Astronomy exam, as it was fresh in my mind from reading the first pages of the manual last night while waiting in the dressing room for my son to try on clothes. He’s wearing “men’s” sizes now; it’s a milestone. I almost cried. See, he’ll be attending the Vulcan Academy of Science, so that’s a big change. He’s only half-Vulcan, and only  one ear is pointy (this is TRUE!!). He’s logical but has compassion, super smart though. Far more than I. It’s not uncommon for any discussions to turn to astrophysics as the time approaches 3am. He knows more than I, so I better catch up. 

He'll be on this team for certain.

Stardate 08.11.15      The Doctor is IN            

Today I continued my SFA studies, determined to get as far as I could on COM101 Basic Doctorate. With some dance music mix running for 2 hours on my headphones, I was rocking and researching. Many of these medical terms and definitions I had not seen since 4 years ago, when I first began my education in the field of medical administration, so at least they were familiar to me. Of course, that medical school was subpar to Starfleet Academy, so I’m more excited about continuing higher education here. However, while attempting to answer questions on CPR and mouth-to-mouth breathing, I noticed that there were varying “opinions” on the optimal ways and times and locations for compressions. So, I noted this on the answer sheet, providing at least 3 links on CPR and “rescue breathing”, which is the proper term to indicate there are no compressions needed (because the person has a pulse). I sent it in to the instructor with a note to notice my notations. (Haha. I love alliteration.) He did not reply to it, but then I received my grade- Distinction. YEAH BABY!  

I wanted to brag right away, naturally, and my SF Pen Pal was online, so told her about my corrections, but I remembered that she warned me that some instructors don’t take kindly to that. So I worried, and I was like…

Me: Who is this Killough instructor person? … Let me see his mail profile … Damnnn. He is good loooking, in his small pic.

TardisGirl: lol

Me: Looks strong, like he could crush me if he’s upset about the suggestions. What’s his position? What Region is he in?

I went to check his ID line at the bottom of the message.

Commanding Officer, Retribution Station, SFR-1202

Director, College of Medicine, STARFLEET Academy

That didn’t say what region. What’s SFMD? What’s his rank? VAdm?

So I went to check again….

Fleet Admiral.

I remembered that term from my OTS course…. that’s the O-12… that’s the… I went to check his ID line yet again. Seems I missed the second line in my haste and confusion…

Commander, STARFLEET

So I go back to my friend…

Me: Wait. Is this the CS? Shiiiiiiit

TardisGirl: ?

Me: You know, … our leader. our Commander… of the whole friggin thing???

TardisGirl: LOL

Me: I just corrected his course. And called him hot.

TardisGirl: Nice

Me: Well, he doesn’t know about the second part, at least.

Yay for Ensign Awkward, getting noticed by the CS within a week of joining. I hope in a good way, but it’s probably not, if we’re being realistic here. Anyways, WTF is the CS doing grading papers? He has better things to do, surely.

*sighs*

wait…I just got some certificate in my inbox …for this doctorate course.

Am I a doctor now? Holy Moley!

I’m a SFMD!

WTFBBQ???

“Dammit Jim, I’m a Doctor, not a Back-Hair-Waxer!” (True Story: some rotund, hairy man actually asked me to do that to him within the first 10 minutes of meeting me at our friend’s house. … Denied.)

Beware people… I have a medical tricorder and I’m not afraid to use it. Be very careful. 

How does this old thing work?

Stardate 08.10.15     A Pleasant Morning Message              

This morning, I woke to a buzz on my PADD with a message that I was officially an Ensign, assigned to the USS Tiberius. It was a welcome sight to awaken to and brought me a smile - a rare thing to see in the mornings. Encouraged, I went to my computer terminal. I was bored. I submitted my BT101 course and had no more SFA courses to do, so I went through the catalogue and ordered a slew more. I mean like, from 6 different colleges, a few each. I figured, with some instructors not having sent me ones I ordered days ago, there was a varying perimeter of time as to when they’d arrive, and I had 10 weeks to finish them, so why not? Let’s see who would send me one first.

*crickets chirp, for hours*

What? Where is everyone? It’s like… do people work on Mondays or something?!?! Oh, I got my first reply with a few exams. Aww, from my CO …  for the Emergency Rescue Studies. Such a good guy.

I really must say… my favorite reply was from the Director of the Klingon War Academy:

Greetings, Warrior!  You have decided to begin your journey on the path to honor and glory in order to embrace the Klingon spirit. The path is hard, but a dedicated student of strong will and courage may do well in this pursuit.

So encouraging. Love me some Klingons. I feel as strong as a Targ, able to take on any course, even Klingon History, which he sent me though I didn’t ask for it. But then the College of Medicine ones come in and I dive right into Betazoid Telepathy. Because…. Betazoid.

Kehr-plah! (or however it’s spelled in Klingonese.)

Stardate 08.09.15        What to Wear?                  

  Today, I’m doing housework, laundry and my Officer Training School course, which is merely a rote memory test on all the StarFleet rules and regulations in the manuals. Boring, but perfect for a Sunday. I complete it, and receive my grade later in the night - Distinction. I is an officer now. Yay. Also, had a quick chat with the CO to go over some questions. I suppose at this point, I’m mostly wondering what to wear, now that I’m not an Academy cadet (though still taking courses). Here’s the choices from each era. I like it that these serve as a timeline too. 

 Though I will need a “formal uniform”, I’d also like something more casual and feminine. I love this, but don’t want to copy it exactly, and so many other women wear it, so …

I’d be willing to wear this type too, if not too short. I have boots already, if they will fit.

I may need to hire a seamstress for a custom dress. Ooh, This is nice, maybe I could get it with a skirt over it instead.

wait … 3 years ago I was asked to wear this for a vendor, at conventions, but then they never followed through on it. I wonder if they still have it.

If I wore this, #WinningattheKlingonFeast

Stardate 08.08.15       A New Home      

First meeting with the crews of the USS Hamburger and USS Steak, aboard a station in orbit. Of course, I arrive at the location on time, but my fighter’s navigation panel is not working (I admit I didn’t know how to work it, OK?), and I don’t know which docking bay to go into. I drive around, checking out about 6 of them, doing various U-turns. Finally, I call the CO on the comm who puts a woman on the line to guide me. I told her “A ship’s navigator - I am not. Don’t trust me with that job.”

The woman was friendly right away, so I’ll always adore her for that. And they were all very welcoming, though the CO said I looked familiar, and we tried to find out if our paths had crossed before. I said, “I’m a singer. I’ve traveled for that.” He is too, but only for his own crew. I don’t think he knows Klingon Opera, but I plan to study that myself. Turns out that I probably have run into the another crewman before though. Small world.

We had plenty of time to go over some basic info and then they had a meal (I assumed correctly that the food would be on my allergy list, so I only had soda) before the start of the meeting. We also got to watch a video of two of them on a recent “away mission.”  Afterwards, I stayed around to socialize, mostly discussing current sci-fi pop culture. I felt very comfortable and very excited about this place being my “home”. 

Stardate 08.07.15     The Academy Begins

  Today I began my courses in the Academy, beginning with the College of Xeno Anthropology. I figure that getting to know other races better is useful so that I don’t insult someone of alien origin that may be at the Academy. I’ve already learned the hard way elsewhere.

Never call this guy a “Dangib”, even if he is a lazy slog. Trust me on this.

Stardate 08.06.15         Accepted!                          

  Accepted. YAY! Where do I begin? Got a welcome/orientation message, but no SCC#. I want to begin at the Academy right away though! So, I message two instructors and the orientation contact, and have my SCC# by the end of the night. In the meantime, I read everything I can find in the StarFleet database.

Now… which group to join? Oooh, a local ship … looks good. And they are meeting in 2 days! I message the CO, as instructed. So excited/nervous.

Stardate 08.05.15    A Girl's Dream           

Time: 3 AM Eternal 

(KLF is gonna rock ya)

Space. The Final Frontier. Well, … maybe not the final one, but at least the one before “Finding the right pair of jeans”, as that’s a frontier I haven’t crossed yet, but I’m sure that right beyond it is … the vast universe. Out … there … in the great unknown. /Kirk Impression

Where are we on this map?

Out… there. Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moon light, someone's thinking of me, and loving me tonight.

He is? Where IS he? Or is it an it? Where is IT? That’s fine too. This is why I must go into space: to find him. And besides, I’ve been lost with no direction ever since my junior medical college was completed. I need a purpose, a goal … a mission. A mission!

My mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new ales and new medical simulations, to boldly go where no awkward, geeky, pudgy (but still relatively attractive) girl has gone before.

Wherever that may be. I really am not picky. Nowhere with giant bugs though - that would suck.

This is why I won’t join the Terran Federation

My long-distance pen pal from another quadrant suggested Star Fleet Academy, as she is stationed on a … errr… station somewhere out there. It’s so classified, I don’t even know where. Wherever it may be, may it be somewhere I don’t end up. She’s really bored out there.

So, I put in my application. Wish me luck!