The Flight of the Rocketman

The Rocketman has just passed Mars on its way back to Earth in record time. Of course, in such speeds, he almost crashed into Deimos (or was it Phobos), the satellite of Mars. I remember reading somewhere that the two satellites of the red planet are supposed to be in the shape of a shoebox - rectangular.

I wish I could find that old science book of mine. I think it was my Grade 6 science book or my Freshman High School science book. It was one of those. I used to read all the useless information on the sides and forget all the important ones that went into the test papers.

How I passed Chemistry, I still have no idea. I would get my test sheet back and admire the nicely printed 84 on the paper and not know how I was able to answer those questions correctly. I hated the rules of engagement between electrons and trying to figure out their density. I never really could figure out why it was important to know it by heart, since I won't be able to see the damned things in my entire life! I knew, at that point, I was never going to be a scientist.

When I was younger, I had this desire to become an archeologist and join National Geographic. I had no intentions of becoming Indiana Jones (though I did play around with the thought, once in a while) but I thought discovering history and finding ancient tribes and old temples would be a great way to live your life. Then, I discovered dinosaurs. I had then wanted to become a Paleantologist. I wanted to study the Parasauraphalus (Lambeosaurs where my favourites) and try to discover more and more about them. I had a dream of finding a new set of bones and the species would be named after me. Of course, the Wanggosaurus was not a really flattering thing as you grow older. It sounds like a really, slow-moving, dull, duck-billed dinosaur that always got bullied or made fun of by the carnivores.

I eventually let it go to become a writer... But before then, I was serious about it.

But now I'm a freelancing media whatever. I write, sometimes host or act and now I'm dipping my hands into production work. With the available schedules of all involved, we've been meeting at 8 in the evening and after everything has been said and done, I end up doing some paperwork until very late in the morning (or early, depends on how you want to put it). I like the work because I'm gaining new skills but it is quite frightening when you think of all the things that you have to do and you have no training or educational background to support it. All I've got is guts and a capacity to learn quickly.

I've always liked working hard for a given number of times. I love the stress and the rush of working. And then when the work is done, everybody gets paid and then its a slow life again until the next project (or until the money runs out). That's the life for me. I hate routine. I hate having to go to an office and finishing my work early but I have to stay because it isn't six o'clock yet. Or worse, getting stuck in an office where the air-conditioning is too cold and I can't smoke or play music. That just kills my imagination and creativity.

The only thing I could really do on a regular basis was teaching. But I could not do it everyday. I preferred the Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. I like teaching for an hour only, also. After the hour, my attention span dissipates and I am starting to get bored. But I love teaching. That was a great job. I hope to be able to do so again.

But here I am again, busy with work and learning new skills and just applying myself for a chance for some big bucks right before Christmas! I have done any literary writing recently but I was able to buy 2 new books - hardcover for only ninety-nine pesos! There is a sale going on in National Bookstore right now. The first is called The Athenean Murders which sounds exciting on the blurb. I can't wait to read it. It's about a modern day translator translating some texts from ancient Greece and he stumbles upon a text about the death of one of the students of Plato. But one of the teachers doesn't believe that it was accidental, he believes it was murder. So he calls upon a "Master of Enigmas" and together try to solve the mystery. So we go through this mystery from the translator's point-of-view. But what makes the book extra interesting is that based on the text, the modern-day translator is discovering references to him, several hundreds of years later. Now how exciting is that!

So the Rocketman is making his landing on Earth to refuel before he takes off again. This time, he's going to visit Sirius, the dog star, the brightest star in the night's sky. The Rocketman is going to learn from him how it is that he shines so bright...