|
12 06 99
|
 |
|
12 06 99
|
|
|
It looks like the Mars Polar Lander is lost. NASA will try to contact it again on Tuesday, but hopes are not high. Damn. Today just flew by. That's good. I have so much stuff to do, and I'm starting to feel the heat. I have to send out my Christmas cards. I need to put up my pine swag over the door with the spiffy new lights I got. I have some massive cleaning to do, and I still haven't finished my shopping. Yes, I know I have plenty of time but it feels like I don't. I think I've been packing so much stuff into my days because I don't want to stress out. Seems a little counter-productive, I know. But I'm not really stressed out about Christmas. If I don't get the cards out, they'll keep for next year. None of my relatives will hate me for not sending a card. If I don't get the pine thingee up, no big deal. If I don't get all my shopping done, I can give out rain checks. I'm stressed out about New Year's. I pulled off this incredible bait and switch with my job so that I could have New Year's Eve off. I said I would close Christmas Eve (which means staying until 6 or 7 in the evening) if I could have New Year's Eve totally off. After some hemming and hawing, they agreed. Brief celebration ensued. But there's another person who needs to get that day off before I can call it a success. Yep. Dave. (Wow. I'm almost too afraid to write about this, for fear of jinxing something. Anyway...) Get this. (I am so psyched!) We know some people who are having a hotel party New Year's Eve in Wisconsin, just about halfway between me and Dave. It'll take me about eight and a half hours to drive out there, and it'll take him ten to twelve hours. But damnit, I'll get to see him! Erm. Maybe. He's supposed to work New Year's Eve. He's also supposed to be "available" in the days following the Y2K switch. Which means he wouldn't be able to get down to Wisconsin. Damn! He's working on getting the day off, but I don't want to get my hopes up too high. I really want to see him. But if I started looking forward to seeing him, and he wasn't able to make it down I'd be crushed. So if I take a nice laid-back approach to this, I should be ok. Whenever I really start mentally gushing about seeing him, I remind myself, "Self, you know he might not be able to make it." That puts enough of a damper on things so my hopes don't skyrocket too high. It would be awesome to see him. This is the longest stretch we've gone without seeing each other. The last time I saw him was when I took my trip to Canada in October. The last time I saw him was at the gate at the airport, and I couldn't see very well for the tears in my eyes. Just to see him again, to refresh my mental image of him, of his scent, of the feeling of his arms around me... Self, you know he might not be able to make it. Damn. You're right.
|
Looking Up Tomorrow (Dec. 7) the Moon will be at its most distant point from Earth for this year at 6am EST. How far? It will be 406,624km away. Interestingly, the Moon will be at its closest to the Earth on Dec. 22 at 356,654km from us. The Moon's orbit isn't perfectly round.
______ of the Day Today's emotion is cautious hope.
Go Somewhere Well, for what it's worth, here is the Mars Polar Lander Official Website. Not that there's much to see.Opens a new window.
|