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Heavy support...
Jul. 23rd, 2006 09:32 amI can't remember the last time I missed posting in my LiveJournal twice in one month, but there it is. I had every intention of getting around to posting yesterday, and had even made some two-word entries in the book I carry around to remind me of possible subjects for my tappings, but by the time work was finished yesterday, I was beat.
For yesterday was the commencement of "joint operations," when all the various pieces start coming together in an intricate ballet of movement and testing and then movement again to form a larger component piece, with more testing and retesting to follow. I put in a 10 hour day at work, split between the office and the floor of processing hall 101, in which all the component parts of the ascent unit are being staged and assembled.
And if being tired upon returning to the hotel wasn't enough, yesterday turned out to be the birthday of one of the office staffers, Sasha, who was turning 60, and all of the staffers and interpreters were invited to eat dinner with Sasha in the "mini-bar," which is just off the main dining room. There was food and drink, and conversation, and a very nice birthday cake provided by our boss.
For the record, I was summoned on my radio for the first time yesterday in my capacity as the "on call" interpreter, at somewhere around 11 pm. It turned out some late operations were taking place at the полтинник, and someone on the Russian side needed some questions clarified. I was pinged. As you might imagine, a large part of our job as interpreters is to go find someone who can address the issue and then get back in touch with the caller. Fortunately, as I was speaking on the phone, such a person walked by the doorway of the office I was in, and so the questions were answered expeditiously.
When I got back to the mini-bar, things had begun to wind down. Sahsa was passing around pictures of his family, of which he is very proud (as well he should be). I probably should have made my exit at about this point, but as I had managed to make significant progress with my side translation prior to going in to work in the morning (frankly, leaving to sit down and post here didn't occur to me), and as the atmosphere in the room was convivial, and I was perhaps overtired, I allowed myself to be reabsorbed into the group.
As things wound down, I got to talking with Sergei Z. and Elena A., one of the Russian secretaries, about this and that, and after Elena and everyone else left, Sergei and I had one of those male bonding sessions in which we compared various experiences in our lives, for example, his experiences as a student officer in college, and mine as a Marine enlistee. (There are some things about the military experience that are universal, it would seem.) It was after midnight before we parted company.
I am scheduled as the late person today, starting work at 7 pm and going until midnight or whenever things wind up. The support almost certainly involves dressing up in clean room gear and being available in 101, so it shouldn't involve much stress (unless something goes wrong). The rest of the interpreters are scheduled to work during the day, which leaves me in the position of being the interpreter going along on the trip being organized into town starting around 3 hours from now, should I choose to go.
I don't mind going into town much (unless it's to babysit at the Luna, which hasn't happened for a couple of campaigns), and I generally find it no problem to catch a nap on the bus rides to and from Baikonur, so I don't expect the trip to exhaust me. Still, if I didn't go, I would have an excellent opportunity in which to pursue my own personal agenda. I'll have to think on it.
Cheers...
For yesterday was the commencement of "joint operations," when all the various pieces start coming together in an intricate ballet of movement and testing and then movement again to form a larger component piece, with more testing and retesting to follow. I put in a 10 hour day at work, split between the office and the floor of processing hall 101, in which all the component parts of the ascent unit are being staged and assembled.
And if being tired upon returning to the hotel wasn't enough, yesterday turned out to be the birthday of one of the office staffers, Sasha, who was turning 60, and all of the staffers and interpreters were invited to eat dinner with Sasha in the "mini-bar," which is just off the main dining room. There was food and drink, and conversation, and a very nice birthday cake provided by our boss.
For the record, I was summoned on my radio for the first time yesterday in my capacity as the "on call" interpreter, at somewhere around 11 pm. It turned out some late operations were taking place at the полтинник, and someone on the Russian side needed some questions clarified. I was pinged. As you might imagine, a large part of our job as interpreters is to go find someone who can address the issue and then get back in touch with the caller. Fortunately, as I was speaking on the phone, such a person walked by the doorway of the office I was in, and so the questions were answered expeditiously.
When I got back to the mini-bar, things had begun to wind down. Sahsa was passing around pictures of his family, of which he is very proud (as well he should be). I probably should have made my exit at about this point, but as I had managed to make significant progress with my side translation prior to going in to work in the morning (frankly, leaving to sit down and post here didn't occur to me), and as the atmosphere in the room was convivial, and I was perhaps overtired, I allowed myself to be reabsorbed into the group.
As things wound down, I got to talking with Sergei Z. and Elena A., one of the Russian secretaries, about this and that, and after Elena and everyone else left, Sergei and I had one of those male bonding sessions in which we compared various experiences in our lives, for example, his experiences as a student officer in college, and mine as a Marine enlistee. (There are some things about the military experience that are universal, it would seem.) It was after midnight before we parted company.
I am scheduled as the late person today, starting work at 7 pm and going until midnight or whenever things wind up. The support almost certainly involves dressing up in clean room gear and being available in 101, so it shouldn't involve much stress (unless something goes wrong). The rest of the interpreters are scheduled to work during the day, which leaves me in the position of being the interpreter going along on the trip being organized into town starting around 3 hours from now, should I choose to go.
I don't mind going into town much (unless it's to babysit at the Luna, which hasn't happened for a couple of campaigns), and I generally find it no problem to catch a nap on the bus rides to and from Baikonur, so I don't expect the trip to exhaust me. Still, if I didn't go, I would have an excellent opportunity in which to pursue my own personal agenda. I'll have to think on it.
Cheers...
