An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth - Part 1

I just started reading An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by Colonel Chris Hadfield. He was the first, and only, Canadian to command the International Space Station back in March of 2013. (He actually flew up in December 2012 on the Soyuz TMA-07M and joined Expedition 34 where he was part of the crew before taking over command in March until his departure in May).

Though I just started reading his book there are two pieces of advice that stand out for me so far.

#1- Sweat the Small Stuff.

Currently you hear most people say, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Colonel Hadfield tells you you should. It actually makes life less stressful rather than more. Because when you’re fully prepared for everything that can go wrong (which, in space, can kill you) you have less to worry about. That makes total sense, doesn’t it?

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Astronauts are taught that the best way to reduce stress is to sweat the small stuff. We’re trained to look on the dark side and to imagine the worst things that could possibly happen. In fact, in simulators, one of the most common questions we learn to ask ourselves is, “Okay, what’s the next thing that will kill me?”…

… The upshot of all this is that we become competent, which is the most important quality to have if you’re an astronaut - or, frankly, anyone, anywhere, who is striving to succeed at anything at all. Competence means keeping your head in a crisis, sticking with a task even when it seems hopeless, and improvising good solutions to tough problems when every second counts. It encompasses ingenuity, determination and being prepared for anything.

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#2 - Enjoy the journey. Because there's a distinct possibility you may never reach your destination.

In 1969, after seeing Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon on TV, Chris Hadfield’s childhood dream was to go into space. He wanted to be an astronaut. But, even at that time, he knew there were no Canadian astronauts, only American ones. Did he let that deter him? Of course not.

The next fall, when school started he buckled down and made a concerted effort to overachieve. When he got older he joined the air cadets and learned to fly gliders and eventually fighter planes. He moved to the U.S. with his young family and became a test pilot for the U.S. Navy* and much, much more. All these things in his singular pursuit of becoming an astronaut. But, he knew, that even with all these qualifications there still was a slim chance of him ever leaving this planet.

He says, you have to enjoy what you do - All the training, studying and preparation. If you don’t, all the time and effort spent will seem to drag on and on. As well, your hard work might not even land you a chance to fly into space. So you’d better not bet the farm on it. Instead enjoy your work and if, by chance, you end up going to space, view it as a bonus.

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Getting to space depends on many variables and circumstances that are entirely beyond an individual astronaut’s control, so it always made sense to me to view space flight as a bonus, not an entitlement. And like any bonus, it would be foolhardy to bank on it. Fortunately, there’s plenty to keep astronauts engaged and enthusiastic about the job. I relished the physicality of working in simulators and in the pool, while others thrived on carrying out scientific research and still others liked having input into space policy and helping run the program. Sure, we occasionally grumbled about rules and requirements we didn’t like, but “take this job and shove it” are not words you’re ever going to hear coming out of an astronaut’s mouth. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t feel like it’s a job full of dreams.

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Milestones -

May 1992 - Along with three others, selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut.

November 12th, 1995 - First launch - Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-74 (Space Transportation System). Main objective: To construct a docking module on the Russian space station, Mir.

April 19th, 2001 - Second mission - Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-100 to ISS (International Space Station). Main objective: To bring up and install Canadarm2, a huge, external robotic arm for capturing satellites and spaceships, moving supplies and people around and, most important, assembling the rest of the ISS (which was still in the process of being built).

December 19th, 2012 - Third mission - via Russian Soyuz with NASA astronaut Tom Mashburn and Russian Cosmonaut Roman Romanenko to join Expedition 34 (commanded by Kevin Ford) on the International Space Station.

Early March, 2013 - Becomes commander of Expedition 35 on the ISS (the first Canadian to do so) when crew of Expedition 34 returns to earth.

*Though he was a test pilot for the Navy, he went to the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) at Edward’s Air Force Base.

My Journey - Donna Karan

I took Donna Karan's biography, My Journey, out from the library recently. I saw it sitting on the featured books shelf near the entrance while I was there a few weeks ago. Biographies of successful people fascinate me. I always wonder what sort of adversities they've had to overcome to make it to where they are.

In the past, I've had the opportunity to read the biographies of Second Cup co-founder, Frank O'Dea's and Magna International founder, Frank Stronach.

Both of them came from humble beginnings. O'Dea was actually raised in a middle-class home in West-Montreal. Though through a set of unfortunate circumstances (his addiction to alcohol being his main demon) he ended up homeless on the streets of Toronto. In the end he rose through the ashes to found Second Cup with his partner Tom Culligan.

Stronach came to Canada by himself from Austria at the age 21 in 1954. Coming from a working class family, his parents, if I remember correctly, were machinists there and that's the trade he picked up. It was a struggle for him to get by in the early days, but he was extremely hard working and determined. It was with that determination he built an automotive parts manufacturing empire that employs thousands around the world today.

Donna Ivy Karan (nee Faske), came from well-to-do beginnings. She born in Queens, New York, but spent much of her formative years on Long Island. Her father, Gabby, made custom suits and her mother, Helen (a.k.a. Richie and Queenie), was a model and salesperson and a bit of a nutjob. Karan also had a sister named, Gail, who was eight years older.

In 1952, when Karan was three, her father died suddenly in a car accident. Afterwards her mother re-married a gentleman named Harold Flaxman. He owned a dress business in Brooklyn which sold less expensive knock-offs and "schmatta" (Yiddish: clothing, textiles; pejorative- Rags worn by a person, old tattered clothing). So when people ask her how she got into fashion she tells them, she was born into it.

Fashion was Karan's "destiny". Her first job was selling clothes at a trendy boutique; designing was second nature to her. In high school she loved and excelled in art.

After graduating high school, Karan, attended Parsons School of Design in New York City. That's where she gained her sense of direction and purpose. It's also where she met her lifelong friend and off and on collaborative partner Louis Dell'Olio. Of the more than 200 students in their class, they were the only ones who made the daily commute on the Long Island Rail Road.

Karan got her first hands on experience in the industry at Anne Klein when she had to intern there one summer to earn an extra class credit for Parsons. She loved it there and gained a lot of valuable experience. When summer was over Anne told her not to go back to school. "This is what you want to do, right?" she asked. "Well, then stay. You'll learn more here than you ever would at school."

Everything was falling into place.

There are a lot more adventures in the book from this point on. There was an engagement to her first steady boyfriend and soon-to-be husband, Mark Karan. Shortly after she broke it off because she met an older gentleman, her true soulmate and future second husband, artist Stephan Weiss. I know... it's complicated.

There's her meteoric rise along side Anne Klein in her company. Then upon Anne's death she was her successor. Karan had many years of success there only to be pushed aside when she wanted to pursue personal dreams. Though things actually turned out for the best in the end. Because the financial backers at Anne Klein totally had faith in her and offered to back her if she wanted to start her own company. She took them up on that and never looked back.

Donna Karan New York was born shortly after she was fired from Anne Klein. It was a hugely successful company which was based on her Seven Easy Pieces philosophy where a handful of interchangeable items work together to create an entire wardrobe that goes from day to evening, weekday to weekend, season to season.

DKNY came next. It was geared towards a younger crowd. Karan wanted to dress her now 15-year-old daughter, Gabby. Karan got her assistant from her Anne Klein days, Jane Chung, to be its lead designer. DKNY would be the pizza to Donna Karan Collection's caviar, equal but different. One is not better than the other. You need both. This line would represent Karan's other side, yet there would be no overlap with Donna Karan New York whatsoever.

Fast forward to the future and you'd have DKNY Jeans and DKNY Accessories. DKNY Hosiery, DKNY Shoe, DKNY Kids, DKNY Eyes, DKNY Men's, DKNY Underwear, DKNY Fragrances, DKNY Swim, DKNY Home, DKNY Infants and Toddlers, DKNY Men's Tailoring and even... get this... DKK9 for dogs. They did everything and had retail locations worldwide.

Karan says she's often asked what it takes to be successful. Her answer is, don't think about success. Do something you believe in, something that speaks to your needs, your lifestyle and your passions. The minute you focus on what you think will make money, you're sunk. Words to live by.

Books I've Been Reading Lately

Michael Moore; Tracy McMillan; Jaycee Lee Dugard

For some reason I've been reading the memoirs of a number of different people lately. I'm not exactly sure why. I suppose it varies depending on whose book I chose.

In the case of Here Comes Trouble: Stories from My Life by Michael Moore it's because he's a person I greatly admire and I thought it would be interesting to find out more about him.

It turns out he's a fascinating person. He had a lot of engaging stories from his life to tell. As well I learned Mr. Moore, from a young age, was very intelligent. He did quite well in school even skipping a grade. That is until his mother, Veronica, called the administrators and told them to put him back because she didn't want him to be the smallest kid in the next grade up.

What I like about Michael Moore is that he's someone who sticks up for the little guy. He fights for social justice and causes he believes in. Sometimes this puts him at odds with various groups. But he has integrity and drive and is willing to push on at times even putting his own personal welfare at risk.

I decided to read I Love You and I’m Leaving You Anyway by Tracy McMillan after I read a short relationship article she wrote posted online. I thought it was informative and funny. Among her credits she's written for television news shows and the Emmy Award–winning AMC series Mad Men.

This book documents her life as a foster child through her many rocky relationships both with boyfriends and ex-husbands whom she often parallels to that with her pimping father, Freddie, who has spent a good deal of his life incarcerated on various offences.

It was a pretty good book. I enjoyed it. I have to admit I don't often read books from the viewpoint of a woman. Especially if they have anything to do with relationships. Sometimes it's interesting to see how the other half thinks.

I suspect I'm curious about certain people's lives and the experiences they've had. Now and then I may even be envious of things they've seen or done. Other times I'm thankful I never ever had to go through some of the things they've endured.

That's the case with the book I'm reading now – A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard. In 1991, at age 11, she was abducted while on her way to school by pedophile Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy. For 18 years she was kept captive in a shack in their backyard all the while being sexually abused by this monster.

When I saw this book on the shelf at the library I was unsure if I should borrow it. I didn't know if I would be able to stomach what was in it. Phillip Garrido is a sick, twisted man.

(note: On June 2nd, 2011 he was convicted of his crimes against Jaycee and sentenced to 431 years to life in jail. For her part in the crime his wife Nancy received 36 years to life.)

This is a story of not only Jaycee's ordeal, but a story of triumph and survival. Still I don't know if it's suitable for everyone.