[0] Origins

In trying to uniquely identify myself in the blogging realm, I was immediately put into a quandary. I'm still defining who I am (at almost-38, I know, pathetic!), so how do I pick (and commit to keeping) one moniker?

So I gave up and decided to go with the thing I was going to blog about today. Like the Dread Pirate Roberts, I'll most likely change my mind in the morning (I won't be killing my apprentice, though, if I do change my mind).

Today in a meeting at work, our fearless leader talked about the launch* of a new project. As with many of my co-workers, I'm on the project, but don't finish my tasks and start actual work until later. The kick-off meeting included some facts about the virtual team:

• 200 years of experience**
• members in 4 times zones
• diverse backgrounds (including a rocket scientist!)
• etc.

This is something I will never live down. For some reason the fact that I got a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from CU-Boulder in the early 1990s is fascinating to people. The guy that got me my current job mentioned it in his recommendation. Our trainers tell the clients. Which is fun. Because I show up on-site and the client is ogling like I am from another planet*. It usually takes me some self conscious moments of checking my zippers and buttons and a trip to the bathroom to see if my hair looks like mad-scientist hair to decide it's not me but some weird corporate culture thing at this client. Then later in my visit someone at the client site will slip up and say "it's not rocket science". I'll flippantly say, "even if it was, I could still help you." [My BS in AE allows me to b***-s*** with the best of them, really!] Then they get these great big grins on their faces and admit that that trainer who was there last week mentioned it, but swore them to secrecy.

Granted I work in the insurance industry, so it's probably somewhat unusual. But really? The cold war ended around the time I graduated. Only like three lucky superstar* individuals got jobs in AE. I wasn't one of them. In fact, I voluntarily switched careers when I graduate because I HATED a class I took my junior year called Aerospace Dynamics. I got a D. [I wasn't alone. 60% of the class W/F'd or got something lower than a passing C.] This meant I didn't have to repeat it, but that I couldn't take Propulsion the next semester. I ask you, what kind of Rocket Scientist can't understand orbital transforms?

At any rate, there have to be a lot of my fellow AE graduates out there in non-related fields. Or am I the only one whose degree gets used as a selling point in unrelated industries?

* are you thinking of rockets yet?
** does this seem like an odd statistic to anyone else? I feel like I should be 200 years old - and then who'd want me on anything besides a history project?