Today my last official work day, I sit here and look around… listening to the birds and coquis singing as the sun sets leaving a dim outline of the beautiful mountains in front of me.

I glance over to the platform and watch it move back and forth while I imagine seeing the signal being transmitted today into space.

This will be my last time operating the Arecibo Observatory Telescope. I pause from writing to check the twenty one monitors in the control room to make sure that everything is working fine. It is. Then I walk over to the radar transmitter room and glance at the racks of panels with flashing lights (some green, yellow, red and white) while I check yet another set of monitors makings sure that the transmitter is behaving as it should. All is well. That’s good.
I walk over to the computer / server / atomic clock room and repeat my search and all appears to be running fine. I take a moment and stare at the SETI@home systems called SERENDIP.

Recently, SERENDIP went through an upgrade so there’s going to be more data collected. Good news since they now migrated it with the ALFA system which collects seven times more data in one sweep. The technology is AWESOME. I would love to hear one day that, yes, we made contact. Wouldn’t that change the way this world runs today.

There were times that working the grave yard shift was quite challenging. It was difficult staying awake and observing. Physically, I could not keep up with the rotating shift but I endured. I recalled the night when we were observing the asteroid that supposedly would strike earth in the near future, therefore, it was important to observe it and calculate the prediction of it striking earth. A few weeks later there was an article in the science magazine talking about this asteroid. I enjoyed the process of discovery / investigation, confirmation, and information. Very Cool

I met scientist from all over the worlds and most would run their observation remotely. Sadly to say I didn’t get much of a chance to get to know some of my co-workers but I did get to know the Telescope Operator crew and I sincerely enjoyed being apart of this wonderfully dedicated team. Not only were they serious of their responsibility but they were also a lot of fun. I’ll miss that. I’ll do my best to keep in touch.

The thought of leaving saddens me yet it must be done. Change is always a good thing. I‘m leaving the working environment but not the friendship I’ve made here in Puerto Rico. I’ve met people whom I respect and love. Their friendship for me is ever lasting.

THANK YOU for making our experience here a very special and unique one. I’ve learned so much and I’m grateful for having you in my life. Once more, thank you my friends and family of Puerto Rico.