At the swim meet I only had 2 events (most people had 4 events I think). My events were 50 Free and 100 Free. I was okay with the 50 and was disappointed with the 100, but over all I am happy. I just really didn't want to get disqualified, which I didn't, so no complaints.
Lagoon was fine. I was actually in a bad mood for a lot of it, but I liked Deception and Funhouse of Fear. I saw my friend Alexis and said hi. I also saw Alexis's sister in Deception. Her sister scared me, because she came up behind us and it took me a second to recognize it was her. Deception was by far my favorite, but I had fun in Funhouse of fear and some guy in a clown mask started talking to me and blocking my way out, it actually made me laugh because the 3D glasses I was wearing kept falling off and we were having a strange argument. The Night Walk one was not nearly as scary as it claims to be though, quite the disappointment sadly..
On to the "EDM". I said I would try to write about space camp, so I think that I will start telling you something about my adventures there (because all I've really talked about concerning Space Camp is the schedule for sleeping... lame right?). ~~~~
I am not sure what EDM stands for, but I think it might mean End Demonstration Mission. But don't quote me, I really just made that up. An EDM is a six hour "mission." The goal of the EDM is for your group to get the Orbiter to the ISS, or International Space Station and back. But it's impossible, because the Orbiter/shuttle always breaks, and somehow everyone ends up dead.
But before you get to try a mission, you do all kinds of other things. You might think that all you do at space camp is learn about rockets or something, but you're really wrong if you think that. They do teach you about rockets and all that, but there are a lot of very active, loud things you do.
One project is to build a little model rocket with an egg in it. The hard part is that you can't let the egg crack when you launch the rocket. You do the same thing with a space suit, try to protect an apple from water, radiation, and from being stabbed. And you can only use a few materials for its suit. You do a few other experiments like drop an egg from a two story building and use a flame thrower on it, but I don't really want to spend a lot of time talking about these experiments right now.
One thing that you should know is that these things sound like they would be super scientific, but they really aren't. There is a lot of screaming and shouting and energy that goes into watching someone use a flame thrower on a piece of pasta in front of an egg. You also have to do team activities that are athletic and are about team work. They are a lot of fun, but you do them outside and it is really humid, so you get not only your sweat on you, but EVERYONE else's sweat in your group all over you. I know that's gross to say, but it's true.
But before you get to try a mission, you do all kinds of other things. You might think that all you do at space camp is learn about rockets or something, but you're really wrong if you think that. They do teach you about rockets and all that, but there are a lot of very active, loud things you do.
One project is to build a little model rocket with an egg in it. The hard part is that you can't let the egg crack when you launch the rocket. You do the same thing with a space suit, try to protect an apple from water, radiation, and from being stabbed. And you can only use a few materials for its suit. You do a few other experiments like drop an egg from a two story building and use a flame thrower on it, but I don't really want to spend a lot of time talking about these experiments right now.
One thing that you should know is that these things sound like they would be super scientific, but they really aren't. There is a lot of screaming and shouting and energy that goes into watching someone use a flame thrower on a piece of pasta in front of an egg. You also have to do team activities that are athletic and are about team work. They are a lot of fun, but you do them outside and it is really humid, so you get not only your sweat on you, but EVERYONE else's sweat in your group all over you. I know that's gross to say, but it's true.
Sorry, I got off topic, I just meant to say that Space Camp is a lot of fun and you do a lot of very active things, not just nerdy math problems the whole time. There are 4 missions (or AOAs I think their called) and 1 EDM (long mission). Missions are great if you're into theatre; I love missions, because it is just acting and improv and trying to figure things out for an hour. EDMs are the same thing, but instead of one hour, they are for six hours. EDMs are separated into three main part- Take Off, ISS, and Landing. Each section is two hours long, and everyone has different jobs.
One job is Mission Control. They are on the ground and do computer work. You have to do a lot of researching and finding, and I personally don't like it a ton. Another option is MS1 and MS2. MS stands for Mission Specialist, and I like that job. The pictures with me in a harness is being MS2. There is also Captain and Pilot. I don't do well with those jobs... I crash the Orbiter when I am Pilot or Captain. The last option on what to be is Scientist and Engineer for the ISS. I usually end up as Engineer or Scientist. In fact in two of the four short missions and in the EDM that was my job.
Mission Control ended up being mostly the girls' domain- except me, I was the only girl on the Orbiter. The Mission Control place looks like a small computer lab. There are around six computer screens that you can see behind the computers. Mission Control ended up being mostly the girls' domain. They have cameras that show you what is going on in the shuttle and ISS. I always got bored looking at them, so before the EDM started my friend Sasha and I decided to do the Macarena in front of one of the cameras to entertain the other people. The people were not entertained, I guess it was just distracting, but Sasha and I had fun.
The Orbiter-the shuttle that you're trying to get to ISS- reminds me of a gerbil cage. It has tunnels, ladders, and little square rooms that are very small and crowded. There is a cabin for the Pilot and Captain, and a little ladder that connects it to the main room where the Engineer and Scientist have to sit while it takes off. The Main room also branches out to a little tunnel. The tunnel has another little room at the end meant for doing experiments, and a ladder that goes up to were MS1 and MS2 do their little mission thing (in the to picture I am about to get unhooked and go back down the ladder). The whole Orbiter is small and confusing, and to make it more confusing all the doors are like hatches and are hard to open if you don't know how.
Last but not least, the International Space Station, or ISS, is a lot bigger than the other two rooms, but from what I hear, they are trying to make it really crowded and confusing and chaotic by putting wires and panels everywhere. When I was there, though, there was not a lot of useless stuff laying around. In the middle of the room is a big concrete cylinder with a spinning chair on top, and a bunch of cabinets, hatches, drawers, and shelves. The ISS has the most jobs that include actual flipping switches and running around. It is my favorite area, because although I like the MS2 job, I only did it once, so I know my way around the ISS a lot better. (Oh, and there is a coat closet like room that is only a few feet long and wide, which you have to go to when there is a "meteor shower", also known as the counselors ruining your experiments and breaking everything in the ISS that is not tied down.)
Now that I have described what it looked like (If you are even still reading), I will tell you what happened, at least this year- last year is a whole other story. The EDM (the long mission) started with me and Sasha getting bored and him agreeing to dance the Macarena in front of the live feed camera with me. I honestly think that Sasha and I may have had the most fun out of everyone there during the EDM. He wore a pocket watch and had his goggles on during the whole mission, which totally cracked me up because he was like a janitor meets a 19th century business man meets anime nerd. There is no one on Earth like Sasha, he is of the Collinses of Los Angeles (A very prominent clan, as you know.) The Collinses' family must be interesting, because Sasha sure is!
When the clock started, Sasha and I had to sit down, so we just talked for a couple minutes. After it took off, Sasha and I got to go into the room for doing experiments while the Mission Specialists did theirs. We each made this bouncy rubbery thing, it was like two chemicals mixed with rubbing alcohol, but it was so much fun... until we dropped them on the dirty floor and they got ruined. We also talked and tried different experiments. We saw a fake snake and I thought it was so cool, but I think one of the counselors saw my facination and used it against me later in the mission.
The second third was much more fun. A CBS camera crew (go check the video!) came in and started filming us though, so I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. There was like a leak or something that we were trying to find though, and I found it first, so the camera crew came over and I had to try to not get crushed because all the boys wanted to look good on camera, so they all rushed over and pushed me out of the way. I need to not let them push me around, but I was too nervous about there being a camera and about the fact that all the boys were a lot bigger than me and I didn't ever want to be near any of the boys on the ISS. Mean, I know, but I'm being honest.
We had a hectic time because it was really crowded with the MS1, MS2, Scientist, Engineer, Pilot, Captain, Counselor, and big camera crew. Even though it was really crowded, we still had to complete all the check lists and do experiments. Most of the boys didn't really know what to do, but were too arrogant to listen to me most the time. It was really fun and exciting, the only thing that annoyed me was the boys' egos.Now that I have described what it looked like (If you are even still reading), I will tell you what happened, at least this year- last year is a whole other story. The EDM (the long mission) started with me and Sasha getting bored and him agreeing to dance the Macarena in front of the live feed camera with me. I honestly think that Sasha and I may have had the most fun out of everyone there during the EDM. He wore a pocket watch and had his goggles on during the whole mission, which totally cracked me up because he was like a janitor meets a 19th century business man meets anime nerd. There is no one on Earth like Sasha, he is of the Collinses of Los Angeles (A very prominent clan, as you know.) The Collinses' family must be interesting, because Sasha sure is!
When the clock started, Sasha and I had to sit down, so we just talked for a couple minutes. After it took off, Sasha and I got to go into the room for doing experiments while the Mission Specialists did theirs. We each made this bouncy rubbery thing, it was like two chemicals mixed with rubbing alcohol, but it was so much fun... until we dropped them on the dirty floor and they got ruined. We also talked and tried different experiments. We saw a fake snake and I thought it was so cool, but I think one of the counselors saw my facination and used it against me later in the mission.
The second third was much more fun. A CBS camera crew (go check the video!) came in and started filming us though, so I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible. There was like a leak or something that we were trying to find though, and I found it first, so the camera crew came over and I had to try to not get crushed because all the boys wanted to look good on camera, so they all rushed over and pushed me out of the way. I need to not let them push me around, but I was too nervous about there being a camera and about the fact that all the boys were a lot bigger than me and I didn't ever want to be near any of the boys on the ISS. Mean, I know, but I'm being honest.
During the last third of the mission, everything got crazy. Remember that snake I said I was so fascinated with? Well, I saw it when we got back to the Orbiter, but this time it was under Buster's seat in the Captain and Pilot's cabin. I picked it up and all the guys freaked out. They took my new pet fake snake and threw it down into the main room. I was so sad I went down and pouted. One of the counselors was walking though and went into the hatch leading to the science experiment room, so I decided to lock her out. She got mad and when someone finally let her in she told me that I had a mysterious leg pain, which means that everyone should be trying to figure out whats wrong, but no one cared, so I had to scream until they came to help me.
When Sasha finally came he decided that I had Restless Leg Syndrome and I needed to just walk it off. I tried that and I just ended up dead. Everyone else started getting the same thing, but he continued to insist that it was just Restless Leg Syndrome. It was a snake bite, and ended up killing everyone almost.
Okay, I am done rambling, if you finished, congrats, you got farther than I would have.
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