A good kick in the you know what...

I'm very glad that starting a blog was one of the first assignments in my Electronic Journalism class. I created this profile about a month ago and needed a good kick in the butt to get started, so thank you Rachel for being my mandatory motivation.

The trouble I was having with getting started was the fact that I have SO many interests that I didn't really know how to narrow down my topics in an effort to keep people interested. So here goes...

I should probably start by introducing myself. My name is Nicole and I live in Honolulu. I love fashion and have a ridiculous obsession with jewelry, so extreme that have been studying gemology on and off for years through the correspondence program with the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), just for fun. I am in pursuit of my Graduate Gemologist Certification, not that I will ever do anything with it, but ask me about most any gemstone and I can probably give you the answer you're looking for. Strangely, this obession started when I was in the 8th grade. My best friend's mother bought Tracie and I a box of stones and minerals for which we were supposed to do a presentation for our entire 8th grade class. We were to do research on each stone. Seeing the colors and and coming to the profound realization that those rocks actually came from the earth absolutely mesmerized me and I've been hooked on gems ever since. I have since grown up and now I prefer shiny, blingy, large gems set in precious metals as opposed to the tumbled rocks I discovered in my youth--I guess what they say is true, you really do get smarter with age. My husband is not thrilled with the jewelry thing as I always have my eye on something, but he married me so I assume he's either over it or just decided that he's not going to win this one. Maybe he realized my obession is actually a gift to him as he's never at a loss for a present when the holidays and milestone events roll around.

Other things...I am also a self-proclaimed news junkie, I love and ride horses and I probably read more books in a week than most people read in a year. I like everything from fiction to non-fiction, Auto-Biographies, Biographies and even self help-- hey, there's always room for improvement.

Most people are surprized to discover that I am also a total space nerd. I had dreams of going to Space Camp when I was a child and Space Camp is STILL my favorite movie to date. Told you, a total nerd. Yep, in love with NASA and the retired Space Shuttle Program (sniff sniff). Last April, My husband Mike and I travelled to Kennedy Space Center on Florida's Space Coast to see the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. STS-134 was commanded by Mark Kelly, Representative Gabrielle Giffords husband. That scenerio was to make for an even more spectacular launch experience as most of the nation was following the Arizona congresswoman's progress hoping and praying for her speedy recover. Those following the shuttle program, like myself, prayed that she would be able to make the trip from her rehabilitaion facility just outside of Houston, Texas to see her husband ride his final rocket into space. She did make it, by the way. The whole story is in their book Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope, which I OF COURSE read. (I also love politics) Anyway, Mike and I, by the grace of God, got tickets to watch the launch on NASA's causeway, which is or was, I should say, the closest public viewing area to see the shuttle blast off into space. Those tickets were not easy to get, but it had been my dream. So we booked our tickets for Florida and the first launch attempt was postponed before we even left Honolulu. They set another date and we were off. I have never been so excited in my life. Ever. Two days before launch, we took a tour of Kennedy Space Center and I was in my glory. My profile pic is actually of Mike and I with NASA Astronaut Wendy Lawrence, who spoke at our very touristy " Lunch with an Astronaut" experience. We were given the opportunity to ask questions and having worked in the news, I jumped at the opportunity. I pretty much monopolized the question and answer session and followed-up on everything I wanted to know from all of the years of reading and research that I had done on the shuttle program. I am not the type to be starstruck, but admittedly, I was. Had Brad Pitt been standing next to her, I still would have chosen to have my picture taken with Wendy Lawrence. Finally luanch day was upon us and at T-12 hours we boarded a bus from Orlando bound for Kennedy Space Center. We were on a tour and yes, shockingly, they pick you up THAT early. In our case Endeavour was scheduled to launch at around 3:30pm so we were on the 3:30am bus, but I didn't care. I would have walked the 45 miles to see that puppy go up. We finally arrived at Kennedy Space Center and sat around and made friends from all over the world--all with the same dream as me!! Then we boarded the bus to the causeway to actually view the launch. We set up and had been on that casuseway for 10 minutes (Endeavour looming in all of her glory right in front of me) when NASA officials announced the launch was scrubbed due to a mechanical issue. Scrubbed is NASA talk for cancelled. We boarded the bus for a somber ride back to Orlando. Endeavour finally launched 17 days later on May 16th 2011, but I wasn't there to see it. We couldn't wait and had to return home. It was with a heavy heart that I boarded the plane back to Hawaii. I was hoping to make it back in July 2011 for the fnal launch of the U.S. Shuttle Program, but couldn't travel due to illness. I did track the shuttles on my computer and was able to see them fly over Hawaii. That was absolutely amazing, not nearly as good as an actual launch viewing I imagine, but pretty spectacular in its own right. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get. My lifelong dream of seeing a shuttle launch didn't come to fruition so I guess I have to find a new dream. When I figure out what that is, I'll let you know...

So that was it--MY FIRST POST!!! Hopefully, I'm on the right track...'til next time...