so finally i was working at the agency, as us space types call it. when i had lunch that day, i sat at a table with the captain. hadn't really started with my regular job yet, so i told him about my recruitment. they liked my cv, the interview was a piece of cake, but the simulator ... boy, that was hell. for one hundred days straight, i got artificial light, half of it blinking all the time, spoiled food, random blackouts, long repairs in the scheduled sleeping time – stressful and boring at the same time – random changes in mission plans, and not even the most basic form of entertainment. the captain said, you are one lucky systems administrator. you have no idea what they put us astronauts through.