video;

[survivalistcookbook]

Who: Eugene Woods and you!
Broadcast: Video, Fleet-wide
Action: Kitchen of the Vanquish
When: August 31st


Hey, guys.

[Eugene gives a wave to the camera, seated at his usual spot in the galley of the Vanquish. He's been making an array of flavored noodles by the looks of things, the hand-cut and variously-colored lengths of them draped out to dry on makeshift racks spread along the table.]

Serious question time - what do all of you do to not get crazy cabin fever around here? I mean, I'm not even a claustrophobic kind of guy. But this is a little too much sitting in a tin can, and I cannot be the only one wearing out the charm of their sudden knowledge of some random aspect of spacefaring life. You all have got to be cultivating some kinds of hobbies, right?

[He pans out across his work.]

Rustic-style flavored pasta to the best tips for things to do other than stare at the wall or carry out your work assignment. What's going on out there in the fleet at large?

Comments

[forgetyourusedtobe]

It's for the lab. I know a few things when it comes to medical stuff from school back home, but not enough to know what i'm doing all the time and definitely not with this equipment.

[survivalistcookbook]

Wow, yeah, that's . . . definitely a lot more involved than life in flavored protein land, here.

Are you in touch with any of the other scientists in the fleet? I think we have a few space-future genius types scattered around, maybe you could set up a mentoring arrangement?

[forgetyourusedtobe]

I was taking some lessons until fairly recently.

[survivalistcookbook]

[That's . . . short. Eugene looks uncertain a moment, then understands. Or at least, thinks he does.]

Oh. Then they . . . uh-

[Geez. What do people actually call that phenomenon.]

-got voted off the island?

[forgetyourusedtobe]

No. [She shakes her head a little.] It's a little more personal and complicated than that.

[survivalistcookbook]

Yikes. Sorry to hear that.

[Not going to even open the door for the details on that one. Other than giving a sympathetic, rueful look after a few seconds.]

Did you get some good ratings out of it, at least-?

[forgetyourusedtobe]

I don't know. That wasn't really on my mind at the time during or after.

[She knows he's just joking a little, but it's not something she's all that comfortable joking about.

[survivalistcookbook]

Yeah, I know. Sorry. Black humor.

[He at least has the good grace to look apologetic. HE gets it. Not everyone quips and snarks their way through disaster.]

What sort of medical stuff were you studying back home?

[forgetyourusedtobe]

I was just starting out in premed. I hadn't really learned much of anything useful yet. [A wry smile.] I know my way around a bed pan though.

[survivalistcookbook]

[That startles a chuckle out of him.]

Well, there's definitely something to be said for the universal skill of not being squeamish.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

I'm just hoping I don't need to put that particular skill to any use here.

[survivalistcookbook]

I don't know, we already did have giant bugs . . .

[forgetyourusedtobe]

I think that's a little different.

[survivalistcookbook]

I don't know! [But he's really trying not to laugh even as he defends himself, because yeah. Medical-grade grossness and sentient mega-insects are pretty different things to him, too.] Some people have very strong feelings about bugs!

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Elena laughs.]

Not this girl. I actually like the outdoors, you know. It's bug central if you spend any time out in the woods.