And now for my next trick...

I'm going to interview myself.

JWB: So tell me, why exactly did you decide to start a blog?
JWB: Well, I used to be opposed to the idea of "blogging". But even before that I embraced the idea and even had a (gasp!) live journal. But, enough backstory. I think that blogging is ok if you actually have something to say, i.e., you are having exciting adventures and can document them in an engaging manner. So, that is my goal: to document the exciting adventures in NASA-land I am planning on having this summer. If I end up being boring...my blog will be taken to a dark alleyway and beaten...

JWB: Could you please elaborate on these "adventures in NASA-land" you are planning on having this summer?
JWB: My plans to live in the wilderness this summer didn't pan out, but fortunately I was accepted into the NASA Academy program at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, OH. I'll be spending 10 weeks with four other motivated and accomplished students working, schmoozing, learning, and gallavanting in the world of NASA. About half of my time will be spent doing research in a lab at Glenn, and the other half of the time will be spent meeting the movers and shakers of the space industry, travelling to other NASA centers and aerospace hot-spots, and completing an as-of-yet-undetermined group project with my fellow students.

JWB: Wow, this complete emersion in the space industry sounds pretty intense. You probably want to pursue an aerospace related career path after college, right?
JWB: Actually, over the course of the past school-year I came to the conclusion that aerospace engineering just isn't for me. I still think space is really cool, and aerospace engineering can accomplish some pretty amazing things, but I think I want to do something else with my life. So...why am I going to NASA Academy? Because it sounds like a cool place, and after this summer I will either have reinforced by decision to hang up my aerospace-engineer's shoes after college, or I will have seen that I spoke too soon, and there may actually be a place in the space industry for me.

JWB: Do you have any apprehensions about spending 10 weeks at NASA Academy?
JWB: Yes, even I, bastion of confidence and energy, have some reservations. I'm a little bit worried about the rigorous fully-loaded schedule of NASA Academy. I have some things other things I wanted to accomplish this summer (namely training for cross-country and reading a boatload of books...seriously, a whole boatload), and I'm worried I won't even have time to keep in touch with my friends and family. Hence: another reason I started this blog. I'm anticipating that this summer will be busier than school, and I'll get even less sleep than I do during the school-year, but I could always be wrong. Ha, that was a joke.

JWB: Why are you still sitting here interviewing yourself? Weren't you supposed to be on your way to Eugene with Baker?
JWB: Yeah, that's right! Where is he, anyway? We're going to be late and we won't have time to run on Prefontaine's trails! Argh!

(End of interview)

Because I've been reading too much James Joyce...

Unincorporated land near Sherwood, Oregon. A bathroom with blue and sea-green square tiles. 2 am.

JORDAN: (rubs eyes, squints, applies toothpaste to an orange toothbrush and begins to brush teeth... soon notices something is amiss) What is that?

(leans over sink and examines counter-top, where dozens of dark-brown fennel-seed shaped objects are splattered across the aquamarine surface)

Is that animal, vegetable, or mineral? It's not dust...it's not food...it's not a man-made appliance. Is that... poop?

(It is. She leans in closer to ascertain its freshness and quality)

Gross! Mouse poop!

(Turning around, she notices small colonies of mouse poop are nestled in her shower, under her toilet, and in her closet. She walks out into her room and sees more colonies on her bookshelves and under the window.)

I'm outta here. Who knows where those mice could be now. Vermin have obviously claimed my room as their lair and playground.

(Exeunt Jordan.)

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All right, fun as that was (both discovering clusters of mouse poop in fun and surprising locations (!!) and writing in a theatrical style), it's time to move on to greener pastures. Today, upon returning to the mouse lair, I found rodent outposts in my shoes in my closet, underneath my once beloved stuffed animals, and next to my now and always beloved books.

Luckily the poop was a remnant of an extinct population (thanks to my mom's beatifully executed ruthless coup several weeks ago...she's a true master of rodent military stratagem, and as such, I can't blame her for not finding and cleaning up the enemy camp). Unfortunately, I was forced to sacrifice the biological evidence of the once flourishing mouse-city.

Thus I spent my first morning at home.

Okay, so my mom did most of the cleaning.

I love being home.