<...Space offers me nothing despite all my efforts. It's certainly been quite an adventure, visiting Goddard, Langley, Wallops, NASA HQ, Kennedy, Johnson, Orbital Sciences, JHU-APL, Snecma, EADS, CNES, ESOC, Astrium, the VLA, and many more places. Working on Boeing's proposal to JPL for the Mars Sample Return (including helping to design the science architecture), working at the NASA Academy this last summer, meeting Sean O'Keefe at Congressional hearings, meeting with CNES and CSA for business development work for the Academy. Visiting the Tyco Brahe Planetarium in Copenhagen, the Planetarium in Amsterdam, the Observatory in Strasbourg. Going to adult Space Camp and winning the Right Stuff medal. Serving as a youth delegate to the Space Generation Forum at UNISPACE III in Vienna back in 1999. Working at the first Yuri's Night in Los Angeles. Attending the World Space Congress and STAIF. Conducting a Model UN on the Outer Space treaties for over 300 NYC high school kids. Talking to elementary school classes about space. Meeting hundreds of great young folks from all over the world working in all different aspects of the space program. Visiting places that most folks will never get to see up close.

Excuse me if I seem to be missing something, but it doesn't sound like your life has exactly been a total waste in the space department. Hell, I've never even been to the Cape in my life. In fact, if you look at your list, you might notice that very few of these activities are totally precluded by holding down a "mundane" job.

I've worked for three private space companies, and watched all three sink under me. But I don't consider the time I spent wasted, and I did a lot of time working other places while I waited for the next opportunity to come along.

And if you keep your eyes open, your resume' circulating, and your self at conferences and space gatherings that you can manage to get to, it might. Don't overlook the small outfits...they don't hire often, but they do hire. And they are a lot more fun to work for than NASA or Boeing. It's also worth noting that I did some of my best work in my spare time, for space outfits who couldn't afford to pay me, while working elsewhere.

In other words, you're not nearly as "out of here" as you think.