It's been one wild ride, and I can totally not believe how far I've come. I figure it's probably time to chronicle all of the events that brought me this far. You know, before I begin to forget. I can't believe I've come thiis far. I can see myself that year, shortly after obtaining my doctorate... I guess I have to start at the beginning.
I just feel the memories come rushing in. It's been such a crazy time, getting to this point. I decided to write because they are so overwhelming, I need to share it somehow. I remember the first time I had this idea. It wasn't originally mine, of course. I was having dinner with a few friends while I was doing my PhD program, and one of them brought it up. I can't remember the specifics because it was a few years ago.
But I remember thinking about it and going something like, "Hmmm, ain't that an idea." I totally forgot about it then, until maybe months later in a class, when one of our professors mentioned it again. It was then that the idea grabbed hold of me, and I started doing my research on the topic. I mean, this was something that had never been done before, despite the various attempts that had gone into it by so many people.
The world of science, especially physics and Quantum Mechanics in particular, was a pretty scary one sometimes. I had to tell people about this to get some help, especially financially, but i couldn't do that without coming up with something worthwhile.
So I started working. It's funny, thinking about those times. There were nights I barely slept an hour. I holed up in my lab, working till I dropped off at my desk, and then waking up just to continue the grind. I took my bath when I couldn't bear to live with my own stink, and lived on pizza and soda.
I didn't even realize how much time passed until one morning when there was a knock on my door. I still remember Zyra coming in and hitting me with her fist, again and again and again for a while. She said something like "Do you know how worried I've been?" And told me that if I was going to hibernate in my office, the least I could have done was call her or send her a message.
I told her I was sorry for worrying her, and then we went out for dinner... after she took my clothes to the Laundromat and guilt tripped me into cleaning up my lab. Zyra was the first person I ever told about the work I was doing. She was so supportive.
My little sister... She was the best friend any girl could have. It always made me sad that we met so late in life. But that was another accusation I could level against my dad... But that's a story for later. We talked at length about what my research would mean if I was actually successful at it, and then she made me promise to get at least one good meal a week and call her if I needed anything—that little mother hen!
It took more months of work before I finally came up with something I felt was presentable enough. Something I could finally bring my colleagues in on. I started out with a couple of friends. Like I expected, they were all skeptical at the beginning. But the more I'd done on it to show them, the more surprised and accepting they became. They encouraged me to go speak with some other people about it, and I somehow garnered enough support for the work.
Then I had to go before the board and present my research in order to gain some funding. It had been pretty hard, staring in their faces, I remember. I was so nervous, I kept stumbling through the first part of my presentation.
Then I heard a buzz from my phone which was lying on the podium before me. The screen flashed on, and it was a message from Zyra. "It's gonna go great, sis. You'll do fine, and they'll all be so wowed, they'll empty their pockets."
I can't ever forget it. It was like I just this buzz of energy from who knew where, and I got my confidence back, became calm, and just did as Zyra said. I wowed them. Getting the grant to continue my research did not surprise me. It wasn't enough for me to go the whole nine yards, but it would help me get far enough that I could approach the bigger organizations.
The day I got it, I called Zyra to tell her. She was so happy, she laughed for like an hour. Okay, I'm exaggerating. Maybe five minutes. I decided in the exhilaration of the moment to ask her and dad out to dinner. The three of us were rarely together anymore, and it was dad's fault. Totally.
Still, I had some hope that maybe when he heard that I actually got some money for the 'horse manure', as he called the work I was doing, he would be proud. Or at least, swallow his previous words. Well, despite all I wished for that night, I'm sure you probably know that, like every other time dad and I end up in the same room, it didn't go well.
I promised myself that I wouldn't get angry at dinner that night. I did the whole meditation, yoga thing so that I would be in a good frame of mind. Plus, I just got my first grant for the project. Nothing could bring my mood down.
Then again, I guess I was just overestimating my self control. Dad was so frustrating. And that's a pretty mild word to use for him, honestly. You'd think that after all the years, all the work I've put into the field, he would trust me when I told him that I had done some pretty big calculations over the past few months and come up with a breakthrough.
I can't forget what he said and did when I first told him about what I was working on. It was over a year ago, but still fresh in my mind. We went to dinner in one of the best restaurants where we lived. The Lunar Space Station in orbit of the moon was a pretty cool place to live.
There weren't many people living here, compared to other places mankind has colonized, like Lunar Prime and some privately owned outer-space living habitats, so there was pretty much enough space for everything you wanted to do. After all, the LSS, what it's commonly referred to as, is the largest and first of its kind. We even have artificial gravity generators, invented by a Korean MIT Cybernetics Intern named Michelle Pyun. She transferred to Lunarian University a few years along with a few of her colleagues, Conner Evans and Asa Ravenscraft. All were in the same major and both contributed to the creation of her "baby". Her patented Pyun AG System is now embedded in core systems of Lunar Prime and the LSS. Lastly, compared to my lab space alone, I know heads of government whose offices weren't half as big. Perks.
The first part of the evening went really well. We talked about the different things we were all doing. Dad told us he was in the process of expanding of Norman Labs, the family owned clinical laboratory business, with an acquisition, and then we celebrated Zyra's promotion at this Law Firm in Sector A of the LSS called Raylor and Associates. It was owned by our cousin, Raylor Mellis. She was now COO of it after the previous one retired. I didn't want to talk about my news, not during the early part of the dinner. And thank heavens I waited, really.
Okay, my arms are getting tired already. Guess I'll continue the rest of the story later.