: Life is a highway, I'm gonna drive it all night long.
In the past thirty six hours, I've been to San Antonio and back again, on my annual Alumni Weekend adventure. And this year, I dressed as Spock! Work prevented me from taking any more time than that, but it didn't prevent me from squeezing the most out of the time I did have.
The drive down to San Antonio can be summed up in one phrase - "Pie Makes Everything Better."
It really does. I got my yearly slice of pie from the Koffee Kup Restaurant in Hico. Apple, this time. And I enjoyed some of it when I got to Trinity, and the rest when I got back to the hotel yesterday night.
Alumni Weekend was packed full of fun, especially as my favorite Starfleet Vulcan.
The minute I walked up the stairs to the Communications lab, I was dumbfounded. My jaw hit the floor and I had to wipe drool off my boots. I think I muttered a string of at least seven profanities without repeating anything. It... was... incredible. Their master control room has been completely redone. Everything is digital, everything is high definition... Master Control looks like the bridge of the friggin' Enterprise, and I could barely resist the urge to put on a headset and say, 'Hailing frequencies open, Captain.'
Four years ago, we were still using VHS decks, a tiny switcher and no teleprompter. Now, it's more state of the art than anything I've ever seen in my life! Even in the professional world!!
Okay... now that I got THAT out of my system...
The rest of my afternoon and evening were filled with meeting old professors, old classmates and new students. I got to watch a taping of Newswave and give my critiques to the students. I got to have a long talk with the executive producer there, and sense in him the same passion for the station that I had. And I learned that they still refer to my years on Studio 21 as the show's 'Golden Age.'
I even got to attend a lecture on the molecular structure of Swine Flu, presented by the department head of biochemistry from the University of Otago in New Zealand. While I might have been dressed as a science officer, I didn't really have any background in the subject, but I still found it fascinating. (No pun intended.) I never realized that the name H1N1 comes from the type of proteins coating the outside of the cell, and that there are several kinds of H1N1 that aren't swine flu at all.
Most of the evening was spent catching up with old classmates, including an old friend who just happened to show up in costume. We swapped anime convention stories, plans for future conventions, and the like. And we both learned that after a few beers, a Star Trek phaser can be the most interesting thing on the planet. (Vicariously, of course. We weren't the ones drinking.)
My trip coming home was just as exciting. I stopped at Dinosaur World just outside Glen Rose, and walked a trail with hundreds of life-size dinosaur models. It was actually a really peaceful excursion with fascinating facts, and well worth the $15 admission. I loved it, and want to go back again sometime.
All in all, a great chance to get away for a while.
Current Lips: black with a white X
In the past thirty six hours, I've been to San Antonio and back again, on my annual Alumni Weekend adventure. And this year, I dressed as Spock! Work prevented me from taking any more time than that, but it didn't prevent me from squeezing the most out of the time I did have.
The drive down to San Antonio can be summed up in one phrase - "Pie Makes Everything Better."
It really does. I got my yearly slice of pie from the Koffee Kup Restaurant in Hico. Apple, this time. And I enjoyed some of it when I got to Trinity, and the rest when I got back to the hotel yesterday night.
Alumni Weekend was packed full of fun, especially as my favorite Starfleet Vulcan.
The minute I walked up the stairs to the Communications lab, I was dumbfounded. My jaw hit the floor and I had to wipe drool off my boots. I think I muttered a string of at least seven profanities without repeating anything. It... was... incredible. Their master control room has been completely redone. Everything is digital, everything is high definition... Master Control looks like the bridge of the friggin' Enterprise, and I could barely resist the urge to put on a headset and say, 'Hailing frequencies open, Captain.'
Four years ago, we were still using VHS decks, a tiny switcher and no teleprompter. Now, it's more state of the art than anything I've ever seen in my life! Even in the professional world!!
Okay... now that I got THAT out of my system...
The rest of my afternoon and evening were filled with meeting old professors, old classmates and new students. I got to watch a taping of Newswave and give my critiques to the students. I got to have a long talk with the executive producer there, and sense in him the same passion for the station that I had. And I learned that they still refer to my years on Studio 21 as the show's 'Golden Age.'
I even got to attend a lecture on the molecular structure of Swine Flu, presented by the department head of biochemistry from the University of Otago in New Zealand. While I might have been dressed as a science officer, I didn't really have any background in the subject, but I still found it fascinating. (No pun intended.) I never realized that the name H1N1 comes from the type of proteins coating the outside of the cell, and that there are several kinds of H1N1 that aren't swine flu at all.
Most of the evening was spent catching up with old classmates, including an old friend who just happened to show up in costume. We swapped anime convention stories, plans for future conventions, and the like. And we both learned that after a few beers, a Star Trek phaser can be the most interesting thing on the planet. (Vicariously, of course. We weren't the ones drinking.)
My trip coming home was just as exciting. I stopped at Dinosaur World just outside Glen Rose, and walked a trail with hundreds of life-size dinosaur models. It was actually a really peaceful excursion with fascinating facts, and well worth the $15 admission. I loved it, and want to go back again sometime.
All in all, a great chance to get away for a while.
Current Lips: black with a white X
Current Mood: 
relaxed
relaxed