June third was, coincidentally, my third day at the office, and my second day of "actual" work. Because I had assignments to work on (finish this grant report; write a bio and take a photo for the office newsletter; and so on), I ended up going to the office early. After a little while, the other two interns that I'm sharing my office with arrived, and we took a more official tour of the office, including the legal and executive floor. There were ... three (?) interns that we met on the floor above ours, and all of the employees we were introduced to were incredibly warm and welcoming.
After our tour, it was time to take our lunch break. Five of the office interns from our floor decided to walk to the park at Dupont circle to eat lunch together. The sparrows and starlings are unafraid if they think you'll share your sandwich. Several crowded around my feet while we ate lunch, and I felt like the bird lady from Mary Poppins. It probably didn't help that I gained more satisfaction from feeding them the bread from my sandwich than I gained eating it....
After our lunch hour was over, we trekked back to the office under threat of being rained on. Thankfully, the DC clouds held the rain just a little longer. It came down in a torrential downpour shortly afterwards, which I saw through a window when I sat down for the first of two of my afternoon meetings. The meetings themselves ate up most of the time for my afternoon, but I felt that I learned valuable information about grant management.
Although my day didn't feel particularly productive in terms of things I could check off my to-do list, I know that I gained a lot of ground in understanding the company and how different parts run!
After my last meeting, I did a bit around the office, but it was time to leave soon after. I think that I must be on one of the busier lines, because the metro is crowded around 5:30-6:00. Or maybe that's just the nature of the beast since so many people in DC use it to commute to work... In any case, I've learned to keep my purse in front of me and never wear heels during the commute. As an Exercise and Sport Science major, I find that the metro trains are fascinating places to people watch. When it isn't crowded and you can watch people as they stand, it's fascinating to watch how they construct their base of support (feet together, feet apart, toes turned in, toes turned out...), and how they adjust their balance to counteract the rapid acceleration of the train. The human musculoskeletal system is a brilliant, brilliant piece of machinery, and I've shamelessly enjoyed people watching during my commutes. Would it be too strange to videotape a metro ride? Probably. I may attempt it anyway...
Have I mentioned oatmeal being fast and filling? I made a bowl as soon as I arrived home, and made it to my seat for my Civic Engagement project orientation. The CEP (Civic Engagement Project) that I chose revolves around Veterans’ Affairs, and it seems like it will be a great experience. After the CEP meeting I came back upstairs and picked up my padfolio, which I had discarded on my bed after work, and ran back down to the auditorium to sit in on a 90-minute resume seminar. I won’t call it a workshop, because it really wasn't a workshop. We did receive a great deal of fantastic information, and I’m looking forward to revising my resume this weekend!
I'm working on creating a routine of cleaning my areas of the apartment because I think starting to pick up my things at the beginning will make the rest of the ten weeks a great deal more enjoyable. Every time we've gone to walmart, Roommate #2 and I have found that they're always out of the collapsable hampers, so we all have our little laundry piles. Oh well.
Sigh. I lost an earring down the bathroom sink drain this morning. It wasn't a devastating moment at all, but it was one of those irritating moments.
Hint for RAF residents: if you have an issue, the maintenance guy loves to read “please” in your email down to the concierge desk. It usually will lead to a faster response time to your request!
Incredibly interesting fact: The maintenance guy's wife's name is also Clarice.
Convenient fact: Our requests are consequently answered pretty quickly.
Post hoc fallacy? Maybe.
Do I care? Not at all.
Moral of the story: Having a smooth stay at the RAF is as easy as saying "Please" and being named Clarice.
After our tour, it was time to take our lunch break. Five of the office interns from our floor decided to walk to the park at Dupont circle to eat lunch together. The sparrows and starlings are unafraid if they think you'll share your sandwich. Several crowded around my feet while we ate lunch, and I felt like the bird lady from Mary Poppins. It probably didn't help that I gained more satisfaction from feeding them the bread from my sandwich than I gained eating it....
After our lunch hour was over, we trekked back to the office under threat of being rained on. Thankfully, the DC clouds held the rain just a little longer. It came down in a torrential downpour shortly afterwards, which I saw through a window when I sat down for the first of two of my afternoon meetings. The meetings themselves ate up most of the time for my afternoon, but I felt that I learned valuable information about grant management.
Although my day didn't feel particularly productive in terms of things I could check off my to-do list, I know that I gained a lot of ground in understanding the company and how different parts run!
After my last meeting, I did a bit around the office, but it was time to leave soon after. I think that I must be on one of the busier lines, because the metro is crowded around 5:30-6:00. Or maybe that's just the nature of the beast since so many people in DC use it to commute to work... In any case, I've learned to keep my purse in front of me and never wear heels during the commute. As an Exercise and Sport Science major, I find that the metro trains are fascinating places to people watch. When it isn't crowded and you can watch people as they stand, it's fascinating to watch how they construct their base of support (feet together, feet apart, toes turned in, toes turned out...), and how they adjust their balance to counteract the rapid acceleration of the train. The human musculoskeletal system is a brilliant, brilliant piece of machinery, and I've shamelessly enjoyed people watching during my commutes. Would it be too strange to videotape a metro ride? Probably. I may attempt it anyway...
Have I mentioned oatmeal being fast and filling? I made a bowl as soon as I arrived home, and made it to my seat for my Civic Engagement project orientation. The CEP (Civic Engagement Project) that I chose revolves around Veterans’ Affairs, and it seems like it will be a great experience. After the CEP meeting I came back upstairs and picked up my padfolio, which I had discarded on my bed after work, and ran back down to the auditorium to sit in on a 90-minute resume seminar. I won’t call it a workshop, because it really wasn't a workshop. We did receive a great deal of fantastic information, and I’m looking forward to revising my resume this weekend!
I'm working on creating a routine of cleaning my areas of the apartment because I think starting to pick up my things at the beginning will make the rest of the ten weeks a great deal more enjoyable. Every time we've gone to walmart, Roommate #2 and I have found that they're always out of the collapsable hampers, so we all have our little laundry piles. Oh well.
Sigh. I lost an earring down the bathroom sink drain this morning. It wasn't a devastating moment at all, but it was one of those irritating moments.
Hint for RAF residents: if you have an issue, the maintenance guy loves to read “please” in your email down to the concierge desk. It usually will lead to a faster response time to your request!
Incredibly interesting fact: The maintenance guy's wife's name is also Clarice.
Convenient fact: Our requests are consequently answered pretty quickly.
Post hoc fallacy? Maybe.
Do I care? Not at all.
Moral of the story: Having a smooth stay at the RAF is as easy as saying "Please" and being named Clarice.
Blessings,
Clarice
Clarice