Oh Boy!

Tonight our mission objectives seemed to go so perfectly... and then the Russian Segment Guidance Computer puked all over the place and had more impacts than I would have ever imagined. As they say it is always the un-thought-of failures, the ones you haven't simulated, that happen onboard - and that was true for tonight! And the worst part about all of it is that now I will probably get stuck with writing a procedure for how to handle it!

I am not going to go into any details of it... because I am tired. But the Russian Segment was having computer problems... both the central and attitude control computer problems - and all of our software is built to interact so we had a lot of problems without it.

And while we were trying to figure out everything and I was trying to follow our side and our problems, and also the Russian side and their problems, I had to coordinate a Taxi to take me back home... and then tell them to wait a little longer (which would have been easier had I known the Russian word for wait).

Finally when I think everything was alright - I left - and got to listen to my Taxi's driver's pop music including a techno version of "It's raining men." During which I realized my driver did not know the last couple of directions to the hotel - and asked him in Russian "I think where the Hotel is? No - Do you think where the hotel is?" which thank god he answered back in Russian "Yes, I KNOW where the Hotel is." But then he was lost... and he had gone just slightly past where the metro station was (which still I felt confident from there that I could have walked back). But he stopped, put on his 4-way blinkers, called someone, and pulled out a map. Then I replied "I know where Hotel at Metro Station." In which case, he told the woman on the phone who didn't seem to care, turned the car around, and got me to the hotel after all!

So I have 3 things now to work on. 1st, I still have a long way to go on the listening & reporting at the same time business to work on for my next shift. 2nd, I have to write a procedure for the Russian Computers puking all over. And 3rd, I need to sign up for Russian Language class so I don't ask anyone if I think something instead of if they know something.

And with that I'm planning on sleeping all day - so no pictures of neat Moscow places... just big Zs floating around my room!!