Live Another Sol

Surviving Waikiki

Sol 7

Today was like most yesterdays.

In the morning, coffee (fortunately not the freeze-dried type sucked with a straw) while reading 'generic metakernels.' (Aside: The latter expression is Houston lingo for data updates; in lay person language, email.)  Then, a routine walk on sandy space outside.

After that came the incredibly dull part of my day.

Free time in what seemed like microgravity environment.

I sat around for hours - reading and writing. It occurred to me: now that I might live, people would probably read this log, so I had to be more diligent and careful about what I recorded.

Then took a break to do zero-G backflips on a stand-up paddleboard. (Get off the floor. I was just kidding.) Edit that to say, 'watched a movie or two' until I'd watched everything on the deployment hard drive (free Roku, that is). But so do you, so don't judge.

Regarding food: I was going to rip my face off if I ate dehydrated chicken again. Aargh! Saved from self-destruction by canned Starkist. Tuna melt never tasted so good.

Tonight I was tired. Or perhaps, just lonely.

A gust of wind rushed past. Dark clouds hanging fat and heavy had started to release just enough drizzle, enticing me to cuddle in bed close to my pile of evac junk. I went to sleep.

Speaking of sleep... Good night.

Sol 8

Okay, I was a bit downhearted yesterday, but in truth, things were working for me on the whole. In fact, they were going great.

Despite the cooler days and intermittent rain, there were no discernible winds. All had been well. I'd even walked liquid-water side (by the ocean) and was on the lookout for any meteoroid seashells that had been tossed around recklessly.

Indeed, it was starting to look like I'd live another sol. (Aside: Don't you think Live Another Sol would be an awesome name for a James Bond movie?)

At lunch, I feasted on a full ration of just-bought BK whopper and a McDonald's McFlurry with oreos. Aw, yeah. Right. I could indulge once in a while.

After that, it was time to relax. I drifted off to dreamland in the best mood I'd been in since Sol 1.

By the way, Happy Valentine's Day.

Sol 9

My last entry. Last day of going solo.

I got up at 0700 hours, earlier than I needed to.

Station, this is Houston. Everything's on track to planned trajectory in T minus 40 minutes. Are you ready?

Affirmative.

I disassembled Command Center and set things in order.

We will proceed on schedule... mark.

Wow. Things really came along. It was like Christmas morning.

Eldest and Younger Daughters were undoubtedly celebrating the news of my survival. First Grandson got notification of his first piano recital. First Granddaughter turned seven. Second Granddaughter would be celebrating a 'half' toward her seventh birthday soon. And best of all, Hubby had come back.

Houston, shutdown complete. 

Roger that.

Command Center signing off. OVER AND OUT! 

Roving Mission

Surviving Waikiki

Sol 5

Be advised. The visual is GO today.

Roger. You're loud and clear, Houston.

It was time to emerge from the Command Center hub.

Sunshine today! The dawning day was a thing of beauty. All polished and clean, it looked like a just painted picture, the paint still wet. The clouds had dissipated, leaving a patchy blue sky. I didn't have to use a tether or additional anchors. The solar wind was calm. Not like the previous night.

Looking around, I saw that it had toppled a couple of old, huge kiawe trees to the ground at Kapiolani Park and pushed sand all the way to the Honolulu Zoo. But there were signs of life everywhere. The streets, ABC stores, people, and even the traffic all seemed strangely familiar.

The eagle landed... 

Er... actually a wild rooster pranced around. As in Neil Armstrong's metaphor, it was a celebration of the glow of a new morning.

Back in the hub, though still preoccupied with the looming reality of dwindling food supply, I carried on with routine maintenance and stuff. I was sick of thinking.

For after-dinner entertainment, I settled for TV reruns of Alfred Hitchcock shows from forever ago.

Sol 6

I slept in today. I deserved it.

I was going to start my Perfect Sol with a re-supply mission trip to Ross. (For those not in the know, Ross Dress For Less is reputedly the largest off-priced retailer in the US.)

Time to get ready. What?!! No water. Sigh... okay.

Houston. We have a problem.

Resuming service in 1200 hours.

Roger that.

That would be three hours from now. What could I do? The short answer was, Nothing. Seriously, that sucked.

Meanwhile, Scott wipes. Life saver.

P.S. The day did end up perfectly. Tuesday 10% Ross discount for... ahem... seniors.

Awesome.

(To be continued)

The Big Storm

Surviving Waikiki

Sol 3

I did a full diagnostic and systems check on my electronics. Twice. Everything was perfect. Including the fact that today was Saturday.

Shabbat Shalom. Peaceful Sabbath.

I'd always honored it by refraining from strenuous activity. Such as a routine walk or check on the outside of my station. I took it easy and merely updated this log and posted my scheduled blog.

No three-fourths food ration for today's lunch either. Hey, I earned it: spicy Thai chicken and rice, plus Kona coffee glazed macadamias for dessert with iced tea.

Truth. I was feeling pretty confident. I'd begun to think that I would be okay.

I caught up with A Million Little Things. I'd agree with Second Daughter that Delilah should quit speaking in a husky tone. I also think her hair needed deep conditioning and a trim.

Dinner consisted of a small ration of Safeway chicken wings with catsup spiced with Taco Bell diablo hot sauce. On a serendipitous note, I discovered three half manapuas, steamed buns filled with savory pork and various sauces. I wasn't ashamed that I ate two portions. Yum-O with hot tea.

Hold on. Weather breaking news just now from Command Center.

Active watch and warning for Oahu. High surf warning and wind advisory in effect from 0400 hours Sunday to 2400 hours.

That was the Big Storm I referenced two entries ago. Remember? It was on its way, all right.

Yet it was quiet. The lull before the storm? I could hear my own heartbeat. Shush, stop being a Drama Queen, as First Grandson would have said.

I went to bed.

Sol 4

The weather had changed. Not the best of days to be outside. The sky had turned weepy and dark. As if someone had torn open a waterskin, rain poured out from the clouds. The winds were gusting. Jeepers, I could get hurtled into the void, or in NASA terminology, 'go overboard.'

If the situation worsened, I could use the Rover (aka the rental car) and drive away, but where to? I had no sense of direction.

Bleh.

But I thought of the dome pop tent that was in the car. I could get it up and use it as a MAV ascent vehicle to evacuate. Hopefully fast. And float like an Ares astronaut. On the other hand, if I ended up stuck in the storm and doomed to die, I could eat all remaining meal portions. (Shame on me. Enough already.)

Lunchtime. Hmm... those Safeway chicken wings were delish.

On a related musing, I thought about the likelihood of First Grandson's Dirty Dawgs flag football and First Granddaughter's Purple Mermicorns soccer game getting cancelled. And how Second Granddaughter was doing.

ESP point-to-point. Client message received.

From First Daughter: Games cancelled due to rain.

From Second Daughter: Second Granddaughter learned how to finger knit very fast! Loves it!

I'd been missing my sweethearts.

In other news, today was the Grammys.

The winds had picked up again. The night was gonna be a cold one.

(To be continued)

Command Center

Surviving Waikiki

Sol 2

It must have been close to 0200 hours when I finally dozed off, then woke up six hours later. The sun was already up.

I had work to do.

I embarked on a project vital for my survival: a Command Center, aka the Lenovo Flex 14 laptop.

I pulled an ottoman close to the couch to use as a console. An empty, upturned cardboard box set on top provided the perfect pathfinder viewing height for contact with Houston (okay, it was email, actually). From there, I could also keep up with definitive time-dependent data (i.e., Colbert's The Late Show) and Jeopardy. Multi-tasking was the word.

I designated a shelf close by as a charging station for on-orbit reading (via Kindle) and space skype (using my low-tech Lg phone, that is). Behind was Eldest Daughter's ohana family calendar for inspiration.

I tested the setup, being careful not to trip on dangling wires by exiting from the right side. Pretty ghetto, but awesome. Command Center was impressive. 

I stood back and admired my work.

Dinner was an apportioned ration of orange chicken, Beijing beef, and a small salad.

For now, I'd been well fed and ready to undertake another survival endeavor: evacuation readiness. In the event of a launch, I needed several items in my SAFER emergency jetpack.

Stowed on the orbiter night stand, I had a flashlight, matches, and phone. On a chair were shoulder and travel bags filled with important docs including passport, cash, meds, and keys. A launch and entry suit (just a jacket and running shoes, really) completed my getaway prep.

All that work was great for my morale. It gave me something to do. But after things settled down a bit, I started to  languish.

Calm down.

I got around it with a little help from Netflix. The Graduate, Good Will Hunting, and the luscious The Hundred-Foot Journey kept me entertained until after 2400 hours (calculate it - that was midnight).

On a sentimental note, the One Hand, One Heart song in Westside Story made me nostalgic.

Meh.

(To be continued)

Bracing Up

Surviving Waikiki

This series is based on real events that transpired in the previous month. It has been inspired by The Martian, a delightful account of  how an astronaut, marooned on Mars, sets out through often ingenious ways to survive while awaiting rescue.

It uses sol, the measure for a Martian day.

Sol 1

For the most part, my life in sunny Waikiki had been on an even keel.

Until that day.

When Hubby left for a trip out of the country, I knew that I was on my own for 221 hours and 51 minutes (using a conversion factor of 1.02749125179 earth day/sol). It was like being stranded on Mars and relying on my wits to pull through. If this had been a mission, I would be in command if I were the only remaining person. What do you know?

I was in command.

For the record, I survived. As I'd spent weeks on many different occasions by myself, I knew what to do.

In fact, I'd documented my days for whatever that effort was worth. I wasn't sure who'd read this. Perhaps someone would, eventually. Maybe a hundred years from now.

Ok, enough moping. Let's see... where do I begin?

First things first: I assessed the food situation.

There were croissants, bread, and waffles plus Gouda cheese, peanut butter, and Nutella. Leftover Thai Lao food, two Taco Bell bean burritos, Safeway chicken wings, and a three-entree Panda Express box were also in the fridge. Salad ingredients: check. Lemon water: check. Snacks: check.

Enough for two people for three days maybe? According to my boring math, I was just one person, so it should last me six days. And that was if I didn't ration. I think I could eat a three-fourths portion per meal and stretch my sustenance that way to a couple more days or so.

If I ran out, I'd starve to death. But I could run to the convenience store nearby or use a McDonald's egg Mcmuffin bogo coupon before the Great Storm arrived. (Aside: Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you that one such storm had been predicted to arrive on the next couple of sols. But one problem at a time.)

Back to the eval. I labeled one of the burritos Last Meal. Maybe that was not such a good name, but I was certain it was my best bet for takeaway nourishment should I float off into space.

So, yeah. Food and water were all taken care of right now.

Feeling pretty okay that afternoon, I crocheted three multi-colored giraffes and a lion while watching The World's Best, a TV reality talent competition and a copycat of America's Got Talent.

Dinner was the unlabeled burrito washed down with soda saved from my McDonald's lunch. (Aside: Jeepers! What was in that soda? Couldn't sleep. Had to TV binge on a Ray Romano stand-up stint, Jackie, and Die Another Day.)

(To  be continued)