Most of the people I know have their own blogs now. I decided that it was time to create my own. I imagine the first question on your mind is something along the lines of, "So, what's with the title?"
A fair question, indeed. Simply put, that is my goal in life.
My greatest aspiration is to cross the vast distance from Earth to Mars, set foot on that red soil, and come back home to tell the tale. I think there is no higher cause than the exploration our universe and no higher frontier than the heavens. Everything I have done professionally (and most things I've done personally) in the first twenty-five years of my life have been to further this goal.
I went to Space Camp. I earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and am now working on my M.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on aeroastronautics. I'm a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics and the American Astronomical Society. I worked at NASA Johnson Space Center for three consecutive summers as an undergrad. Right now, my immediate goal is to finish school and get a job working for Lockheed Martin on the Orion crew exploration vehicle project.
Space exploration is my passion. My love of the universe that surrounds us all is what keeps me going when all else fails. But it's not all I have. I'm married to the most beautiful third-year medical student to ever cross my path. (You can thank her for giving me the idea to start this.) We share a home, our dreams, and our lives. We also share a Jack Russell mix terrier with the most character imaginable that somehow manages to not be a yappy, jumpy dog. We share our hopelessly dysfunctional extended families. :)
My goal for this blog is to keep a record of my path from where I am today to the stars above... and everything in between. It's going to be an interesting journey. I don't know for sure that I'll end up exactly where I think, but I'm sure that I'll land exactly where I need to be and with the people that are most important to me. One of my favorite movies of all time is "Contact" with Jodie Foster. I'm certain that I don't have to explain that one to anyone that knows me reasonably well. If an S.R. Hadden gave me a call over satellite phone and asked "Wanna go for a ride?", I know what my answer would be.
"Not only yes, but HELL YES!"
Let's see where this take us.
