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Launch preparations and Idol musings...
Dec. 10th, 2008 04:22 pmIt's just 3 hours, 21 minutes until launch. Sergey Z.'s been in "the bunker" (our term for the launch control center) since around 10 am. I'm here at the полтинник until 5 pm, after which I'm free until 7 pm, when I go over to the Polyot and my as-ever improvised "studio" where I will provide English language "live coverage" of the launch, based on what's supposed to happen and what is announced from the bunker during the ascent.
Some of what I say might even make it into the webcast, but if past experience is any guide, it won't last past the first few seconds of flight, if at all. On the other hand, my golden voice will definitely be piped over to the Proton Club for the nearly three dozen VIPs who arrived yesterday to see tonight's launch.
The van that picked up those of us going to the "go/no-go for launch" Government Commission meeting out at the pad this morning showed up a bit early, the fact of which was communicated to me by radio while I was looking for my badge, which for some reason I had decided not to hang in its usual place (on the inside doorknob to my room).
I laid my eyes on the blessed thing as I was terminating my radio conversation (why did I put it there?), so I threw it around my neck, pulled on a coat, went down to the van, grabbed a seat, and held on as the vehicle lurched back onto the road.
It wasn't until we were halfway to the pad area that I noticed that Maya - who was the second interpreter assigned to cover the meeting - wasn't in the van (not her fault; the guy that called me for some reason didn't call her too), so it fell to me to play the role of both simultaneous interpreter - whispering a blow-by-blow of the meeting's proceedings to the managers as I sat behind them - and consecutive interpreter when said managers approached the dais to formally state the satellite's readiness for launch. The job is doable solo, but it's pretty stressful. It's better to have two people there.
Although I've already declared a conditional bye in this week's round of LJ Idol (i.e., a bye unless I actually post something), I get this nagging feeling that despite all the pressure I'm under this week - I've also just caught whatever upper respiratory thing that a bunch of other people have come down with - my declaration of a bye is really a cop-out, allowing me to avoid facing a subject that stubbornly resists my attempts to wrestle with it and conceive a product that makes sense.
So it would appear I am faced with two challenges, (a) little to say that's coherent, and (b) no time available in which to say it.
So, during odd moments, I've been thinking about the subject of "sexual healing" and putting together snippets of this and that, trying to weave what threads I have into something people might read. I've been experiencing little spasms of self-doubt about my ability to pull this off, or at least pulling it off and surviving the end-of-week poll.
But it has also occurred to me - in my obstinate and perhaps perverse optimism - that if I am to be eliminated from the competition, it might as well be for trying to write something difficult than for having written something that I might think was among my best efforts, perhaps even easily so.
Does that make sense?
Now I just have to find the time.
Cheers...
Some of what I say might even make it into the webcast, but if past experience is any guide, it won't last past the first few seconds of flight, if at all. On the other hand, my golden voice will definitely be piped over to the Proton Club for the nearly three dozen VIPs who arrived yesterday to see tonight's launch.
The van that picked up those of us going to the "go/no-go for launch" Government Commission meeting out at the pad this morning showed up a bit early, the fact of which was communicated to me by radio while I was looking for my badge, which for some reason I had decided not to hang in its usual place (on the inside doorknob to my room).
I laid my eyes on the blessed thing as I was terminating my radio conversation (why did I put it there?), so I threw it around my neck, pulled on a coat, went down to the van, grabbed a seat, and held on as the vehicle lurched back onto the road.
It wasn't until we were halfway to the pad area that I noticed that Maya - who was the second interpreter assigned to cover the meeting - wasn't in the van (not her fault; the guy that called me for some reason didn't call her too), so it fell to me to play the role of both simultaneous interpreter - whispering a blow-by-blow of the meeting's proceedings to the managers as I sat behind them - and consecutive interpreter when said managers approached the dais to formally state the satellite's readiness for launch. The job is doable solo, but it's pretty stressful. It's better to have two people there.
Although I've already declared a conditional bye in this week's round of LJ Idol (i.e., a bye unless I actually post something), I get this nagging feeling that despite all the pressure I'm under this week - I've also just caught whatever upper respiratory thing that a bunch of other people have come down with - my declaration of a bye is really a cop-out, allowing me to avoid facing a subject that stubbornly resists my attempts to wrestle with it and conceive a product that makes sense.
So it would appear I am faced with two challenges, (a) little to say that's coherent, and (b) no time available in which to say it.
So, during odd moments, I've been thinking about the subject of "sexual healing" and putting together snippets of this and that, trying to weave what threads I have into something people might read. I've been experiencing little spasms of self-doubt about my ability to pull this off, or at least pulling it off and surviving the end-of-week poll.
But it has also occurred to me - in my obstinate and perhaps perverse optimism - that if I am to be eliminated from the competition, it might as well be for trying to write something difficult than for having written something that I might think was among my best efforts, perhaps even easily so.
Does that make sense?
Now I just have to find the time.
Cheers...
