Betty sightings, David Trek.

I have seen Betty twice so far this week. On Monday, I saw her in the afternoon in the lobby by the elevators talking to some guy in a suit (probably an executive from the top floor). Today, I saw her heading toward the ladies' restroom while I was heading for the break room. And now, "David Trek":

Personal log, 210904.30--We have nearly completed our orbital scans of Wolf 359. In a few hours, we will be Leaping back to Earth. After the ship docks at the construction station, the crew will offload. The ship will undergo post-mission maintenance, then the crew (myself included) will take a much needed vacation before our next mission, which is scheduled to start the morning of 210906.01.....

Saturday, David Trek.

Yesterday, I spent time with Harry and Liz. First, we went to this dog event in a park North of where I live. Second, we went to lunch at Hector's (a Mexican restaurant). Third, we ran a few errands. Finally, they dropped me off at my place. And now, "David Trek":

Personal log, 210904.26--Last night, we arrived at the last stop on our first mission before our return to Earth: Wolf 359. Sadly, the place wasn't as interesting as I had hoped. It is a red dwarf star with no indications of planets or moons less than 8 light years from Earth. We are doing our standard high orbital scans at full Drift speed, then we will Leap back to Earth later in the week.

Betty Sightings.

I didn't see Betty on Monday (had the day off) or Tuesday, but I did see her on three other days. First, I saw her on Wednesday morning as Pat and I were heading toward our area. She had just left the ladies' room, but I'm not sure if she said hi to me or to Pat. I said, "hey," when I saw her.

On Thursday, I saw her from a distance going into her department's area. I saw her going in twice, but I don't know if she saw me. Finally, I saw her today in the parking lot as she was heading for her car. I don't think she saw me, unless she saw me through the windows in the lobby after I left the building.....

David Trek, the weekend.

Personal log, 210904.19--The last few days at Araneus Prime went well. Gene and Collins did their away missions to APS2 and APS3 on Friday. The moons were similar in size and composition to the smaller moons of Saturn. Yesterday, Sawyer (our Chief of Security) took a shuttle (the Peretti) to do close orbital scans of the planet beneath the rings. Last night, we Leapt to Vega, one of the brightest stars in Earth's night sky.

The weekend has gone pretty well. I spent most of Saturday with Harry and Liz. We went to see Dragonball Z: Evolution. It was pretty good, though some of the plot points were a bit hazy to me. Afterwards, we ran a few errands and went to their home. I ate dinner with them, then we worked on cleaning their garage. After that, I hung out with Harry and watched him play "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows." He's really good at it.

Today, I was tired from yesterday (I got back late), so I took things easy. After lunch, I took a nap. I did some reading, then started working on the laundry.

David Trek: Planet Discovered.

Personal log, 201904.16--We arrived at our final stop in the Spiderweb Galaxy last night. It was a medium yellow star, very similar to Sol. To our delight, we immediately detected a planet in orbit around the star. I have named the planet "Araneus Prime." It appears to be a ringed gas giant similar to Saturn, but about 50% larger. Further scans identified three moons, all of which are suitable for away missions (using spacesuits, of course). This afternoon, I visited the first moon (designated APS1) with two other members of the crew. Earlier in the day, Commander Gene took a shuttle (the Bradbury) to do some close orbit scans above the rings. Over the next few days, we plan to send Gene and Lt. Commander Collins (each leading a team of three) to the other two moons. On our final day at Araneus Prime, I will have another shuttle do a close orbit scan beneath the rings.

David Trek, the Island, and Easter.

Personal log, 210904.12--Last night, we arrived at our third stop in the Spiderweb Galaxy: a red giant near the galactic core. As with the other giant stars we have visited, we have positioned the ship so that the star appears (from our vantage point) to be beneath us. For the next few days, we will be tracing a circular path "above" the star as we scan it. After that, we will Leap to our final stop in the Spiderweb Galaxy.

Yesterday, I went with Diana and Gwen to spent time at Cosmo and Wanda's. We had lunch, then hung around for awhile. I picked up some books they had stored for me and Clark, as well as some other items. After I got back, I did most of the laundry and some reading.

Today, I started watching my latest DVD purchase, The Island. It's about a facility where clones of rich people live believing they are the last survivors of the human race after some bio-war. Every once and awhile, there is a lottery where the winner (a clone) gets to go to "the Island--the last paradise on Earth." One of the clones, Lincoln Three Echo, is dissatisfied with his life and begins to suspect the people running the facility are keeping secrets....

Today is Easter. For us Christians, it is a day to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. I spent a fair amount of time today reading and recalling the encounters people had with Jesus after the Resurrection. First, Mary Magdalene sees Jesus near the empty tomb. Second, two disciples (probably part of the group of 70 Jesus had sent out in pairs) see and walk with Jesus on the road to a town seven miles from Jerusalem. Third, ten of the Apostles see Jesus in a locked room where they were hiding from their enemies. Fourth, eleven of the Apostles see Jesus in the same room over a week later. Fifth, the Apostles see Jesus on the shore while they're fishing, then eat with Him after coming back to shore with a net full of fish. Finally (there were probably other encounters, but these are the ones I remember reading about), the disciples see Jesus on the Mount of Olives before He ascended into Heaven.

David Trek, more Betty Sightings, and Good Friday.

Personal log, 210904.10--We arrived at our second of four stops in the Spiderweb Galaxy the other night. Since then, we have been scanning a medium-sized blue star in the middle of the outer ring of systems. Soon, we will be Leaping to our third stop, bringing us further into this galactic oddity....

I didn't see Betty on Wednesday, but I did see her yesterday and today. Yesterday, I caught a glimpse of her through the window of her department. Today, I saw her in the parking lot as she was heading for her car while Pat and I were leaving work for the week. We (Pat and I) were both amused to see her talking on her cell phone as she was heading for her car.

Today is Good Friday. For us Christians, it is a day of reflecting on the death of Jesus. I had to be at work today (tax season), but I still found time to think about the events leading up to Jesus' death and the events following His resurrection. I was thinking about how let down (by other people) Jesus had to have felt the day of His Crucifixion. First, His disciples kept falling asleep while He was praying in the garden the night before. Second, His disciples fled when He was arrested. Third, Peter denied knowing Him three times mere hours after insisting to Jesus that he was willing to die with Him. Fourth, Jesus' own people (the Jews) chose a rebel/robber (Barabbas) over Him for release from Roman captivity. Finally, the Jews insisted on Jesus being crucified, despite Pilate's repeated claim that Jesus had done nothing worthy of death.

Betty sightings.

I have seen Betty twice this week. First, I got a glimpse of her through the window as she was headed for the ladies' restroom on Monday. Today, I saw her in the parking lot as I was leaving work with Pat. I'm not sure if she spotted me today, but I don't think she saw me yesterday.

David Trek, Betty sighting, etc.

Personal log, 210904.05--Last night, we arrived at the first of four stops in the Spiderweb Galaxy. Like the structure it's named after, this galaxy has caught a variety of bodies--stars, in this case. Our first stop is a white dwarf star, which we'll be orbiting and scanning for the next couple of days.

I finally saw Betty last week. I was waiting on my ride home from work on Friday, and I saw her as I was looking out the top floor windows at the parking lot. She was heading out to her car and didn't notice me (as far as I could tell).

I've had a pretty peaceful weekend. I gave Peter V the other silverfish that I caught (see previous entry), but he hasn't caught it yet. I also found ants in the townhouse, so I gave him one of those as well. Harry and Liz were working on Saturday, so I didn't get together with them. Today, I finished watching the 2nd disk of the "Weird Science" TV series (seasons 1 and 2). Throughout the weekend, I've been reading a book on starting a business on eBay, which I think may be the key to escaping the uncertain future I'm facing at my current job.....

David Trek, Misc. Stuff.

Personal log, 210904.02--A few days ago, we Leapt to our last stop in the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy: a medium-size yellow star, similar to Sol, about midway from the galactic core to the edge of the galaxy. Nothing unusual about it. Soon, we will be moving on to the Spiderweb Galaxy....

Misc. stuff: I haven't seen Betty since last Friday. The past few days, I have been watching my 2nd DVD of the "Weird Science" TV series (this DVD has the 2nd part of the first season). I found two silverfish in my bathroom yesterday. I caught both bugs and gave one of them to Peter V. He got to it pretty quickly. If the second one is still alive tomorrow morning, then I will throw it in. Last night, I called Clark to wish him a happy birthday and left a message on his machine. Gwen stopped by, and I chatted with her briefly.