Overload - or Running on Empty

My fifth year at Rice was pretty challenging. I was taking a full load of 21 credit hours, being careful to avoid classes with long lab periods since those consume too much time. At the same time, I was working part-time for Technology Inc. at NASA in Clear Lake. The upside was a fabulous job that paid enough to fund my nascent family — and just a lot of fun. The downside was roughly an hour commute each way, though I shared it with Don Mauldin, so we could talk technical shop both ways and get things done. To best manage my time, I typically attended classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and worked all day Tuesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, Kathy and I were raising Britany, and we’d try to catch a drive-in movie on Thursday nights when the features changed. We also tried to do something fun on weekends. Into the mix, I had studying and homework to deal with. Looking back on it now, my time commitment was tremendous. I’m not sure exactly how I did it. I guess youth has its advantages.