Erik in space…

I’ve always been fascinated by space. Like so many boys (I think it’s a Boys Thing?), I collected articles about space missions from the newspaper and took television based courses on astronomy. Today, I’m amazed that we can receive twitter messages from space. If I ever meet an astronaut, my heart will probably stop beating. Space people are people from the future. Compared with them, I feel like a person from prehistory.

Chriet Titulaer, who presented space programs on Dutch television. Also rumoured to be the only person whose head you can turn upside down without noticing the difference…

So, today it struck me that my current situation, locked in an isolation room for three or four weeks, is probably the closest I will ever get to the experience of traveling in space in a capsule. Every time a nurse enters my room, through a lock, I now imagine that I’m in my space station, receiving a visit from newly arrived astronauts. As I work away in my room (I do), I fantasise that I am doing Important Scientific Space Work. I do silly very-old-people-physiotherapy exercises, but imagine that I have to stay in shape as I’m floating around in zero gravity. When I feel a bit nauseous, I remember that astronauts often feel that way. And when I go to sleep, I imagine that I am circling the planet in my little capsule. “This is major Tom to Ground Control…”

Hey, it helps me turn my hospital stay into something more fun and it doesn’t hurt anyone, right? BTW, you know what also makes my stay more fun? Cards like the one below (thx, Ilke!):