Timing is a fickle thing

Briefly: I'm in the middle of my certification period so I'm being observed by someone else in my group while I work in Mission Control (MCC). Here I am finishing up my week of midnight shift in MCC, figuring that tonight will be just as slow as last night. Well, I stepped of console to support from my MPSR (support room...don't ask), leaving my observer behind in the Flight Control Room. It turns out that the American crewmember onboard the International Space Station (John Phillips) called my console to talk to the BME (that's my position) just to say hello. Apparantly he had some free time and wanted to see how things were going with us. Now, I'm sure this doesn't sound very exciting for most people, and I admit that I probably would have said something incredibly stupid, but it's not everyday that I get a chance to talk on the phone with an astronaut, especially one calling from 250 miles above the surface of the Earth. Instead, my observer got the privelage of talking with John. Lucky her.

This brings up an interesting point about timing: there's just no accounting for it. Actually, the real point is that life is just a series of opportunities and timing is a large part of every single one of them. Now, I don't necessarily believe in the existance of a "right place at the right time" but situation definitely dictates opportunity. What's incredible is how much impact one event can have on a person's life and how easy it is to miss it and not even know it. Perhaps we're better off being oblivious of these missed opportunities. Have you ever walked down the street and wondered how much your life would be different if you were friends with that woman on the corner, the one with the cowboy boots and I Love NY t-shirt? But erhaps you were on your way to a meeting and didn't have time to stop and say hello (wrong time of day). Or maybe you were just too shy to approach her (wrong time in your life). However, to call them missed opportunities and think about them in a negative sense is almost misdirected. Opportunities are arbitrary. If you miss one, another will come along. Sometimes you make your own. Sometimes they are made for you. Point is, they are always there and to miss one only brings you to another. Life isn't exactly a choose-your-own adventure book, but it sure as hell isn't spelled out for you.

Quote of the day: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon