The following is the abbreviated timeline of my life....
February 2, 1976 I arrived in this world. (Portsmouth, VA) Mom said she held me for the first time and I had "an expression of infinite wisdom." She said I looked her in the eye and it was as if I knew who she was, who I was, and my purpose in life. Wish I knew that now...
January 20, 1978 My father was out jogging in the early a.m., and was hit by a drunk driver and killed. He was a MT2 stationed aboard the USN submarine U.S.S. Edison in Pearl Harbor. I don't remember my father, but sometimes I wish I did.
June, 1978 Mom and I met a Handsome Prince....
December 27, 1979 My brother Jonathan Nolan was born. (Columbus, Ohio) He would become my most devoted friend and childhood confidant.
January 11, 1981 My brother Benjamin Nephi was finally born, after a couple of tries. He would turn out to be the craziest little kid. He miraculously survived his childhood, and all his guardian angels went into early retirement.
1982 Dad joined the Navy and went off to OCS. We then moved to Newport, Rhode Island. I hated it. I suddenly became the shyest kid in my class, and would be shy around kids for the remainder of my youth.
November 11, 1982 Daniel Zachary Alexander (known as Zak) was born. He was the prettiest baby any of us had ever seen. Being upset that my parents hadn't produced a sister for me, I
always dressed him up in dresses. I'm probably partially to blame for his somewhat warped persona, poor guy.
1983-1984 We moved to Ohio, then to Maine. My brothers and I loved Maine, with all its woods for us to explore. I would make the kids at my bus stop line up in formation. I also went on a "father-son" cruise with my dad on his ship, a Spruance-class destroyer. I even got to drive it. I decided at that time I wanted to be a Naval Officer just like my dad when I grew up.
October 1, 1984 Paul David was born, and he was BIG! He weighed in at 10 lbs, 8ozs. I was thoroughly disgusted at the fact he was a boy, and didn't speak to my parents for days.
December, 1984 Moved to Ohio yet again.
February, 1986 My family moves to Washington State after dad gets out of the Navy. I stay with my grandparents in Ohio to complete the school year.
March, 1986 I get a part as one of the orphans in the community theater production of "Annie." I had no fear of being on stage, and decided I wanted to be a famous actress someday.
June, 1986 I move to Pasco, Washington. I thought Washington was "the evergreen state!" What the heck is this desert stuff?! I would live in Pasco until my high school graduation (7 years.)
March, 1987 Alexis Anna was born. Finally, a sister!!! I thought she was the most perfect baby to ever be born in all the history of the world. She can do no wrong in my eyes, ever.
December, 1987 Wrote a report for my 7th grade writing class entitled "Black Holes--fact and fiction." It included 8 pages of mathmatical formulas and drawings explaining them. Mrs. Campbell was astonished, but I recieved an "A". I decided then that I would spend my life learning all about the far reaches of space.
March, 1989 Our family adopted Kristen Claudette and Sarah Tinnie from the Philippines. They were ages 13 and 11 at the time, and spoke almost no english.
1989 Met a friend of my dad's, Mr. John Carlisle. He was a retired Coast Guard Captain, who had worked his way up from the bottom of the enlisted ranks. He told so many cool stories about the Coast Guard, I became fascinated. I decided then that someday I would join the USCG, and perhaps be a pilot.
May 14, 1990 Ariel Elizabeth was born. She was, and is the quintessential "perfect kid." FINALLY! It took a few tries, but my parents found the right formula or something. You can't top perfection...
(Aug 1990-Jun 1993) Pasco High School. Had tons of fun, made lots of friends, and participated in all kinds of sports and activities. I had too much fun though, neglected my studies, and lost all focus on my future. I don't think I spent any time studying for anything during the entire three years. Took mostly AP and honors classes, and still managed to graduate on the honor roll.
July, 1991 When I was 15, my parents scraped together the money to send me to Spacecamp, for which I will always be grateful. That week was so much fun, we studied all the basics of aerodynamics, and rockets, and astronaut training. We got to fly in an airplane where the pilot simulated weightlessness. We built large structures underwater at a pool. At the end of the week we did a simulated space mission from pre-launch to post-recovery. I was chosen as the Mission Commander for my team, and we had space food, comms with Mission Control, and a battery of simple physiology tests we performed on ouselves. I already wanted to be a pilot, but after that I wanted to be an Astronaut and an engineer to boot.
September, 1993 Moved away from home. (My parents cheered, as I was the first out of the house) I moved to Ohio for a bit.
January 17, 1995 Joined the Coast Guard and went off to boot camp. Boot camp wasn't the challenge I was hoping for.
April, 1995 I had asked to be stationed on any cutter (boat) on the West Coast, so of course I was sent to a land station in Oregon. USCG Station Depoe Bay had 21 active duty personnel assigned, including 3 women. Learned Search-and-Rescue from the motor lifeboat perspective.
Jan, 1997 Went off to aviation school in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Learned how to fix everything. (Yeah, right.)
April, 1997 Because I had asked to go to ANY warm-weather airstation the Coast Guard has, I was assigned to Kodiak, Alaska. ("Ha-Ha!" said the detailer...)
April 1997 - April 1999 Kodiak: the best and also the worst experiences of my life. Nothing happens that is just "ho-hum." Learned Search-and-Rescue from an aviator's perspective. (Even MORE exciting and scary...)
April, 1999 Well...I had asked for any airstation on the west coast and...I end up on the West Coast of MICHIGAN. (Do you see a pattern here?) Anyway, I leave Kodiak for good, and Mom helps me drive from Washington to Michigan. Wow...we set land-speed records for a UHaul towing a Blazer, to be sure! Mom was even pulled over at one point by the Michigan State Police. (He-he-he) We arrived in Traverse City after only 3 days of traveling.
Jan-Feb, 2000 The Coast Guard sends me on a Caribbean Cruise! Haha...Actually I get to spend about a month on the Cutter Forward down in the islands. We were doing that secret-squirrel stuff like hunting down drug-smugglers and doing the "yola patrola," which is looking for illegal immigrants in their tiny little boats. I also was the flight mech when we found, and rescued a young man from Phoenix, who had fallen from the bow of a cruise ship in the middle of the night. We were even mentioned on CNN! My 10 seconds of fame!
June, 2000 I spend a month in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, at an airframe and powertrain school for the Coast Guard. Most of it is stuff I already know. But I did learn the fundamentals to Sailing, and I worked on my golf game.
February 28, 2001 I am finally out of the Coast Guard. I'm once again home in Washington, land that I love more than ever now. My first day home, they experienced the biggest earthquake in the Seattle area in 52 years. Hmmmm...is this an omen or something?
March-April 2001 I got a job at Sears, selling tools and helping remodel the department, making less than I did on unemployment. I also took my A&P license test. Kinda like the "bar exam" for aircraft technicians.
June 8, 2003 I actually attended my CBC graduation. I wouldn't have, but my grandparents were in town from Ohio, and the cap, gown and tassel were free. Not really free, I mean, I more than paid for them the last two years. The bagpiping band "Desert Thistle" was the best part. The worst part was when they pronounced "Hale" wrong as they were reading my name. I want my money back.
Sept 29, 2003 I'm convinced that good luck follows me. Today was the first day of classes at the UW. I somehow managed to get a full tuition scholarship to the University of Washington AND was accepted to my department. (Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering) One small step closer to the big dream...
To be Continued.....In my facebook blog.
More Favorites:
Artists: Greg Olsen, John Pitrie, Restrictions.
Musicians: Camille Saint-Saens: The Organ Symphony. I also love the theme from "Somewhere In Time," Louis Armstrong, John Lee Hooker, old Manhattan Transfer, Sarah McGlaughlan, Edwin McCain: I'll Be, Twin Peaks "Falling," Michael Peacock, Enya. That Lenny Kravitz "Fly Away" song I love because to me, it descibes flying around in a helicopter. The awesome power of the Mormon Tab.
Writers: Kali Hale, Ayn Rand, Anne Rice, Mike Stackpole, Stephen King, Poe, Frost.
Movies: Princess Bride, Contact, Gattacca, Star Wars (all of them), Apollo 13
