Who Knew It Would Be So Tough?

Well I've been spending lots of time working on my plans for my non-profit (If you don't know what I'm talking about you can check out my previous blog http://chellesspace.blogspot.com/2013/03/going-out-on-limb.html)  and who knew how complicated it would be?! Don't get me wrong it's not as if I expected it to be easy to get this going but good grief... every time I turn around there's some new "difficulty" I encounter.

I'm trying to figure out how to legally get it set-up.... what to do about a mailing address since obviously we are not stagnant enough to just set it up here where we live (Thank you Jared for info to help me with this!)... where to actually set-up the nonprofit (Delaware perhaps?)... and not the least of my troubles is trying to settle on the "perfect" name because at the end of the day I have to have that information before I can really get any of this underway! I'll give you that I am not the most creative person when it comes to naming etc. but I can't help but be struck by the fact that the name I pick is the one that hopefully we be around for many many many years to come so I want it to be just right.

I've been so appreciative of everyone who has given suggestions and/or voted on the suggestions that I had so far. I took those inputs and started doing some more research for the top 10 ideas. I researched domain name availability (website), what other companies/foundations etc. are out there with similar names, ideas for logo design etc. Unfortunately based on some of these things I had to cut some great ideas for names. I've shortened the list but still don't have it narrowed down to 1....  so I created 1 more survey that is a short survey (seriously very short - 2 quick questions) that if you have a few minutes I would be GREATLY GREATLY appreciative if you'd check this out and tell me what you think..... My goal is to get this really underway (well the official set-up) as soon as possible so I can start fundraising for scholarship money!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LYM9C5D

Thank you so much in advance :)

Going Out on a Limb...

To say life is always busy is perhaps one of the greatest understatements I could ever make. That said life is fantastic and amazing and I love it just the way it is. So while perhaps one might think I am crazy to take on even more given how busy I am there are so many reasons I feel compelled to do so... Wait I am getting ahead of myself... Let me explain...

Let's be real honest... I didn't grow up with much money so when I wanted to do something crazy out of the box (for a gal like me without much means) as a youngster such as go to Space Camp I had to work my tail off and vie for a scholarship to do so. I was fortunate enough that Space Camp offered scholarships and I was even more fortunate that they felt I was worthy of a scholarship on 2 separate occasions. This was the only way I could afford to take part in something that was so encouraging of my passion about space. I have always been so appreciative of those experiences... now I've decided that I want to give something back...

I am going to start my own non-profit. I love working as a consultant to ISSET and that certainly won't stop but I want to do this non-profit in addition. I want to be able to sponsor scholarships for students to be able to attend ISSET experiences such as Mission Discovery and the Astronaut Leadership Experience. I want to be able to give back. This will be a non-profit that focuses (like ISSET) on using space to get students excited about Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) subjects as well as finding their passion in general about what they want to do in life.

So... I am in the process of getting my non-profit set-up. It's complicated (shocking right?) and I'm trying to make my way through all the insanity but I am hoping to get it done much sooner than later because the sooner I get it done the sooner I can start raising money to start giving scholarships to deserving students.

One thing I am a little stuck on is the name.... Still working on that one... If you've got any ideas please let me know.

I'm very excited but also a bit nervous I must admit... it's a big undertaking... but the excitement definitely outweighs the nerves! I promise to keep you all posted on this as it comes together but in the interim... send happy problem-free "get started" thoughts my way for this please :)

It's All a Matter of Perspective

While I was in LA I was struck by something... no not lightning! I was struck by the fact that so many things in life are so entirely dependent upon your perspective. Is this a novel idea? No of course it's not but in the context of how this occurred to me it made me realize that all of us need to stop and think about this sometimes even though it's a common idea/thought.

Let me explain...

Before I went to work at NASA I put astronauts on pedestals and thought them to be in the same company as the Greek Gods... okay so I am exaggerating a bit but you get the idea. However after working with them (and eventually marrying one!) I quickly realized that they are just regular people who happen to be extraordinarily good in their field who have worked hard and ended up with a cool out of this world job. (Sorry couldn't resist the pun there... I've been with Ken - aka the Punmaster - too long!) Don't get me wrong - I was giddy as a school girl when I ran into Gene Cernan a few months back because in my eyes he's still a bit of a rock star.

Does it mean that the other astronauts aren't rock stars? No, not at all. But I realized it's a matter of perspective and where you are "sitting" and in what context. But let's face it if I treated my husband and all our friends who happen to be astronauts like "rock stars" in the star-struck fan essence then we wouldn't have much of a relationship. Generally when we get together we talk about anything but space or maybe just a little space.

So there I am in LA. I am not generally the star struck giddy school girl (okay well except when it comes to Glee - I am a little crazy about them!) but here I am in a city that is known for it's glitz, glamour and stars..... and I wanted to see some stars! I kept my eyes peeled everywhere we went because I certainly didn't want to miss a star sighting opportunity!

Got a dose of "perspective" when we went to hang out with our friend Dan who happens to be a musician in a pretty famous band. I had to laugh when I realized that in addition to typical friend talk I wanted to hear about the awesomeness that must occur in the music business whereas he wanted to hear all about space! Perspective!

Went and hung out with another buddy of mine who is an incredible actor (been on Broadway and recently was on NCIS) and a wonderfully talented musician. Found that while I was interested in that he was also interested in space... in addition of course to our myriad of random topics we went through as typical friends :)

Bottom line is it's all about perspective! People are as star struck with an astronaut as I was with movie stars and it gave me a recage on just how cool astronauts (Even my husband!)  are.

That said - when I was at Paramount Studios for the tour I was beyond beside myself when I saw Chris Colfer ride by on the back of a golf cart! To say I was "Gleeful" (sorry had to go there with that pun!) was an understatement even though I couldn't get a good picture because it's frowned upon I did manage to snag this shot discretely. (Chris is the guy in the black shirt with his back to the camera in the left area of this picture as you look at it.) Yes I am THAT person who just had to manage to get a picture anyway...

 I was beyond excited just to see where Glee was filming that day too. And it wasn't just "Glee" stars I saw... I also got to see the cast of NCIS LA - in fact we drove right pas them but couldn't get a picture then it would have been to obvious so I got a shot (again discretely) as we were driving up. Stacey this one is for you... can you tell who that behind belongs to? ;)

So I am not ashamed to admit I was star struck and had a blast with it! Personally I think it's okay to be star struck now and then because it's a fun feeling! Just remember it's all about perspective... a star to one is just another dude/gal to someone else and that's okay! Life is all about variety!

My Letter to Glasgow....

Dear Friends in Glasgow,

Words can hardly express how wonderful my time was in Glasgow a handful of months ago. I enjoyed seeing this wonderful city but even more importantly I loved meeting such amazing people. I enjoyed getting to chat with many of you and have enjoyed continued "chats" over Twitter etc. I love to see the excitement and passion so many of your bring to your respective fields.

I write this blog "to you" from my personal blog (as opposed to my ISSET blog) because I want you to know that this is personal to me not just business. I write this letter because I need your help. I really really really want to bring Mission Discovery to Glasgow for your students. What I LOVE about Mission Discovery is that it's inclusive not elitist like some other programs. It's the kind of program that encourages all kids to come and participate. (We do target high school and University age but have taken younger students and adults as students.) It's the kind of program that students have literally said has changed their lives. I want the youngsters of Glasgow to have an opportunity to partake in such an incredible event. (One I might mention that I sure wish existed when I was their age!) But I can't do this without your help....

If you aren't sure exactly what Mission Discovery is check out this website...
http://isset.org/mission_discovery.html
It truly is an incredibly unique event given the range of topics we cover including team building, leadership, various science, communication skills and of course space! Plus where else do you know that students can have an astronaut available for mentorship for an entire week? (Most people are happy to get to spend 1 hour listening to an astronaut and maybe get 1 question asked - attendees of Mission Discovery have access to an astronaut - and other great mentors! - for the entire program!) The program culminates with a team project where they design an experiment within given parameters which could fly into space. (And with the proper support/funding it will! Can you imagine having YOUR work sent into space?!)

I'll be honest most of the work falls to us to make it happen but the very basics I need help with right away. What are the basics? So glad you asked.... We need a place to hold Mission Discovery. Details for that....

• Ideally a University (Frankly it's a great thing for the University overall!)
• Certainly it is preferred that they donate the space but we can work on an agreement on that or some amount of payment if necessary
• Options other than a University could certainly work as well... would need to evaluate 
• We need an auditorium that could hold at least 200 students (that's the number we would target)
• Need classrooms or other space close to the auditorium that we can use for "break-out" sessions for the students to work
• We would need these spaces for a week during the summer (Monday-Friday 9-5)

Truly I can't even begin to make a Mission Discovery happen without a location (for obvious reasons!) but once I have a location I can promise you that I will work like crazy to make sure it is the most amazing Mission Discovery to date!!

Once we get a venue selected there is more you can do to help... help spread the word, sponsorship at various levels.... but for now... Please help me find a venue :)

Here's to making Mission Discovery Glasgow happen in 2013! Happy New Year everyone!!

Oh what the heck - let's give this a go....

I’ve had several people suggest that because I travel so much I should blog about it… I’ve had people suggest the same thing because of the running in various places that I do… Plus I miss writing (just haven’t really had the time to do it since college)…So I decided to give it a shot…

What can I tell you about my blog? Well I can assure you it will be a random mix of a variety of things… pretty much all over the board (like I am!)… It will certainly feature travel, running, beer, wine, chocolate, food & restaurants, musings about space (as in outer space!) and whatever else is on my mind or I think you might find interesting.

I can also assure you that many times it will be politically incorrect. I do not in any way believe in political correctness so there is no way that this blog will be. I will do my best to start at the beginning of an entry with a disclaimer if it will be a particularly over-the-top entry but bottom line is this point of this is to give you my thoughts generally unfiltered.

I will do my best to write up tidbits of advice for the places I visit as well as reviews for the places I eat, stay, drink etc.

Some days it may be useless information like how darn adorable my dog Guinness is and honestly I am not so sure that’s useless information! I mean, heck a doggie modeling agent might get a hold of this blog and decide to sign him up and then I can live the life of luxury being his well-taken-care-of mom J

I’ll leave you with this thought… how many of you have seen the Hamster Kia Soul commercial? The one where they sing and dance? I LOVE that commercial (and can often be seen doing the dance of the hamsters in the tutus… I think of this blog in that musical fashion (Sing this to the tune of that song on the commercial) “A little bit of this…. A little bit of that…. A little bit of this…. A little bit of that….”

Stay tuned…