In an infinite multiverse, there's no such thing as fiction

Alright.

Obviously I need to talk about a few things.

Yesterday was my final interview with SARA. I feel pretty alright about it, but not so confident that I think I nailed it. Allen spent all of last night telling me not to stress out about it, but it's not like I'm going to listen. Let's be real. That job is right up my alley (she even gave me a list of what I'd be doing, and I would get to create so many new systems for things like OSHA compliance and the inventory warehouse...oh my gosh, I'm mentally salivating just reliving that list), and I loved the environment. The women there are absolutely amazing, and I want that in my life. I have to wait a week at best, a week and a half at most, to know if they  hired me. I'm already slightly disappointed about it, because I can be very pessimistic, and that's just how I roll sometimes. So it goes. Tune in next week.

Moving ON TO THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY FUCKING LIFE.

Last night was Neil deGrasse Tyson. I went with Stevie, Allen, and Zanna. We drove down to Zanna's new house, and then braved 6:00 Denver traffic, and still made it in about an hour and  half, so not that bad. We laughed the entire way up (do yourself a favor and don't look up truffle butter) and talked about everything. I had a blast driving up there. I also made yesterday a cheat day, since number one, I hadn't really eaten all day, aside from a banana and two apple slices, and B, I was with my friends and I knew we weren't going to stop anywhere that would cater to my stupid, non-carb, low sugar habits. And I can't blame them, it's boring and weird. We get to the venue, and it's SO MUCH NICER than I anticipated. I didn't know it was going to be in a performing arts center. none of us wanted to risk getting lost in the huge crowd, so we opted to not buy over-priced boozes and treats for ourselves, and my tummy kept rumbling, but I didn't mind so much. It was 7:35, and the show was to start at 8, and finish at 9:15, with the meet and greet (!!!!!!) at 9:30.

Enter, stage left, our excitement:

 Allen does this thing where he will not take an actual picture with you unless you bribe him, and I had nothing of value on my person. So he's looking into the rafters. For angels. I can't do this with him. My best friend, you guys. He's a peach. However, if you look over my shoulder, you will see a man sleeping very aggressively, which makes me giggle every time, and over Allen's shoulder, a man either yawning or screaming. Not sure which.

 Stevie and I hamming it up in the name of science and all that is good in the world.

Again, Allen will not smile. Not even for astrophysics, life, the universe, or everything. Stevie, Zanna, and I are super stoked, and Allen needs a reality check.

They made us put our phones away, which means I didn't get to take a picture of the attendee that wore a space suit (I'm pretty sure he wasn't an astronaut, though), or the ushers that were very pushy with their flashlights. Anyway, remember that time frame? 8-9:30? The show started a few minutes late, which is ok. And it didn't end until damn near 11. Which would have been 100% amazing, but it meant my meet and greet got cut super short. Like, super, super short, because he still had to sign books and things like that. But let me just give you a little taste of how this went down, because I was so on my "be cool, bitch" game (spoiler: I was NOT):

(Neil deGrasse Tyson walks into the room I'm in)
me: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Neil: Hi, thanks for coming and being so patient.
me: OH MY GOD.
(Neil extends his hand)
Neil: I'm Neil.
(I bum-rush him)
me: CAN I HUG YOU????
(as I'm already hugging him. And crying. Visibly)
Neil: .....I'm huggable.
Me: *sobs*
Assistant: Ok, stand on the 'X' and smile into the camera...
(I hug Neil deGrasse Tyson again)
Neil: Do you need a minute?
Me: I'M SO HAPPY!
(camera snaps)
Assistant: Great. That was great.

Then he signed my book, and he got ushered off. And I wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world. I knew I wouldn't keep my cool, I knew I would cry, I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to him about the MHD wave energy conversion project like I PLANNED on doing when he mentioned that humans aren't taking the initiative to harness the cyclonic energy of things like hurricanes...I knew I wouldn't be able to muster up the cool-headedness to tell him I hail from Ithaca, I grew up in the shadow of Carl Sagan, and Carl Sagan's work was some of the most meaningful, insightful stuff I'd ever read and the reason I gave Neil deGrasse Tyson a chance was personal endorsement from Carl Sagan...I knew that there was a huge, HUGE chance I would make a complete and total fool of myself. And you know what? I don't fucking care. It was perfect. I got to give him a hug, whether he wanted one or not, and my copy of Origins has his signature in it (another thing I wanted to do was ask him to sign it with a quote I heard on StarTalk, but I couldn't do that, either. In fairness, that was due to time constraints, not my inability to form coherent, acceptable thoughts and say them aloud), AND  I got to hear him wax rhapsodic and poetic for three fucking hours.

Best. Day. Ever.