It's been a busy few days, with school officially starting up again today. Over the weekend, I made the most of the last of Spring Break. Admiral Dad taught me how to make a crispy French bread. It's important, after all, to hone useful skills in the apocalypse. This was one of the simpler breads Admiral Dad knows how to make, and took a few hours rather than a couple of days. For my first loaf, I would dare to say it came out pretty good:
I also had a video chat with the majority of the Bridge Crew: my First Officer, Chief of Security, Pilot, and Opps Ensign. At school, we tend to be a big fan of game nights. On our video call, Chief of Security hosted a game on an app that replicates Cards Against Humanity, and we had a game night that way instead. Today, I had a video call with my literal crew from the time I spent on a sea ship. Twelve out of sixteen of us were in the call, which I think is a pretty good turn out. It was nice to catch up.
Over the weekend, I also finished getting a section of the Captain's Quarters together to function as an office space. It gives me a separate area to attend digital classes, starting tomorrow, and take calls with my friends. I've still got some more packing/unpacking/cleaning to do, but things are headed toward a good working order now.
Today has certainly lent itself to contemplation, with the knowledge that Spring Break is over and I truly should be back in my dorm right now, or maybe at this point in the day finishing up dinner at Kline with my friends. Star Trek has a proud tradition of exploring alternate universes, and that's a tradition I'd like to indulge in myself right now.
In an alternate universe, yesterday went very differently. In the morning, I had an alarm set. In all likelihood I woke up before the alarm, but I set it just in case to make sure I woke up in time for Admiral Dad and I to have an easy shuttle ride back to Bard. Probably, Admiral Marie made something delicious for breakfast (maybe the same thing she made in this universe; her homemade biscuits are to die for) and we had one last meal together as a family. Not long after that was done, Admiral Dad and I loaded the one or two bags I'd brought home for Spring Break into the shuttle's cargo hold. Unless a friend was babysitting him for me, my dorm fish was brought on board too. Then we headed out.
Shuttle rides with Admiral Dad are always pleasant. We do a little bit of mission briefing, just to make sure I'm prepared, but then we talk about just about anything. Sometimes we put on music, and that comes with a bit of a history lesson, but sometimes we just spend the whole four hours talking. We never seem to run out of things to say. By early afternoon we arrived, and more likely than not Admiral Dad took me out for one last nice meal at Yum Yum Noodle Bar.
There was a bittersweet quality when Admiral Dad left for the Home Outpost immediately after that, as there always is. When I was fresh out of Starfleet Academy and new to the Bard Mission, I probably would've cried. Now that my time at Bard is almost over, it's more of a brief moment of melancholy before I get settled and check in with my crew. By dinner, we're all together again, telling stories about the missed week and laughing.
This morning, I had a meeting with my adviser about my Senior Project (this meeting still exists digitally in this universe, but has been moved to Tuesday afternoons). I showed up an hour early to get a toasted chocolate chip muffin and a Starbucks iced coffee first. Muffin Monday was my favorite weekly treat, and having my advising meetings in the same building as the cafe always felt like a good enough excuse.
Instead, in this universe, the past few days have been spent working out how best to finish the Bard Mission from the Home Outpost. My communications terminal has been one of the biggest obstacles; it doesn't seem to be able to access interstellar frequencies from the Captain's Quarters. Admiral Dad has loaned me his communications terminal so that I may complete necessary reports and correspondences. Both admirals of the Home Outpost are dedicated to making sure I have the resources needed to complete my mission.
I'm far less bothered by living in this universe than I expected to be. I've had moments where my frustration has peeked, to be sure, and everything I'm doing has felt a little bit hopeless, but that's not what I've landed on. Instead, I feel focused. The mission starting back up has given me a new sense of focus. I have goals to achieve, obstacles to overcome, and a universe-class crew to do it with.
I also had a video chat with the majority of the Bridge Crew: my First Officer, Chief of Security, Pilot, and Opps Ensign. At school, we tend to be a big fan of game nights. On our video call, Chief of Security hosted a game on an app that replicates Cards Against Humanity, and we had a game night that way instead. Today, I had a video call with my literal crew from the time I spent on a sea ship. Twelve out of sixteen of us were in the call, which I think is a pretty good turn out. It was nice to catch up.
Over the weekend, I also finished getting a section of the Captain's Quarters together to function as an office space. It gives me a separate area to attend digital classes, starting tomorrow, and take calls with my friends. I've still got some more packing/unpacking/cleaning to do, but things are headed toward a good working order now.
Today has certainly lent itself to contemplation, with the knowledge that Spring Break is over and I truly should be back in my dorm right now, or maybe at this point in the day finishing up dinner at Kline with my friends. Star Trek has a proud tradition of exploring alternate universes, and that's a tradition I'd like to indulge in myself right now.
In an alternate universe, yesterday went very differently. In the morning, I had an alarm set. In all likelihood I woke up before the alarm, but I set it just in case to make sure I woke up in time for Admiral Dad and I to have an easy shuttle ride back to Bard. Probably, Admiral Marie made something delicious for breakfast (maybe the same thing she made in this universe; her homemade biscuits are to die for) and we had one last meal together as a family. Not long after that was done, Admiral Dad and I loaded the one or two bags I'd brought home for Spring Break into the shuttle's cargo hold. Unless a friend was babysitting him for me, my dorm fish was brought on board too. Then we headed out.
Shuttle rides with Admiral Dad are always pleasant. We do a little bit of mission briefing, just to make sure I'm prepared, but then we talk about just about anything. Sometimes we put on music, and that comes with a bit of a history lesson, but sometimes we just spend the whole four hours talking. We never seem to run out of things to say. By early afternoon we arrived, and more likely than not Admiral Dad took me out for one last nice meal at Yum Yum Noodle Bar.
There was a bittersweet quality when Admiral Dad left for the Home Outpost immediately after that, as there always is. When I was fresh out of Starfleet Academy and new to the Bard Mission, I probably would've cried. Now that my time at Bard is almost over, it's more of a brief moment of melancholy before I get settled and check in with my crew. By dinner, we're all together again, telling stories about the missed week and laughing.
This morning, I had a meeting with my adviser about my Senior Project (this meeting still exists digitally in this universe, but has been moved to Tuesday afternoons). I showed up an hour early to get a toasted chocolate chip muffin and a Starbucks iced coffee first. Muffin Monday was my favorite weekly treat, and having my advising meetings in the same building as the cafe always felt like a good enough excuse.
Instead, in this universe, the past few days have been spent working out how best to finish the Bard Mission from the Home Outpost. My communications terminal has been one of the biggest obstacles; it doesn't seem to be able to access interstellar frequencies from the Captain's Quarters. Admiral Dad has loaned me his communications terminal so that I may complete necessary reports and correspondences. Both admirals of the Home Outpost are dedicated to making sure I have the resources needed to complete my mission.
I'm far less bothered by living in this universe than I expected to be. I've had moments where my frustration has peeked, to be sure, and everything I'm doing has felt a little bit hopeless, but that's not what I've landed on. Instead, I feel focused. The mission starting back up has given me a new sense of focus. I have goals to achieve, obstacles to overcome, and a universe-class crew to do it with.
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