
Originally Posted by
BuffCyclist
Wow, I would have loved to see a shuttle launch. Had the opportunity to see it in May 2010, but couldn't afford the plane ticket and didn't want to put it (and the entire trip) on the credit card. Ironically enough, while I was house/dog sitting for my friends who were watching the launch, I got a call from the observatory and they asked me to fly down for an interview. Naturally, after being unemployed for 1yr after graduation, I whipped out the credit card, flew down and spent 3 days here. Was basically given the job as a day staff engineer and fiber optics technician before I left and started a month later. It was one of those things that I really regret not going to Florida for that launch, but had I gone to see the launch, there is no way I could have made it for the interview and would have lost out on this opportunity.
Moving from Denver to a small mountain town of 700 outside of a town of 30k was very hard. There was nothing to do (other than hiking, biking, shooting, etc) and no where to meet people, the only bar in either of the two towns is Chiles. But after a couple of months I decided to try Match.com to see if I could meet people that way, and lo and behold, I met my Fiancee. Most perfect woman I could ever imagine and everyday I am lucky to have found her.
Since I have all this free time now, and because I spent the first 2yrs at the observatory as an engineer (designing and drafting parts for the telescope or other site operations), I decided to go back and get another degree. Tuition is paid for, books are paid for, and since I'm taking classes, I get 1mo off per year for "professional development" that I can use to focus on class work. Sure, I'm only taking 2 classes per semester and it will still take me 4-5yrs to finish the Mech Engr classes and get the degree, it gives me more time to focus hard on each class I take and do much better than I could if I was going full time.