Saturday morning found Roommate #2 and I on the train to visit the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the news. It didn't sound appealing at first glance (science person here-- give me molecules, give me physiology... press coverage? In text speak: "IDK..."), but I am so very happy that I went. It turned out to be incredible and chill-inducing. The exhibits ranged from 9-11, to photography in news, to a fascinating FBI section. There was also a small display on the Civil War. Overall, it was a fascinating visit. (Hint: If you're a student, or you have AAA, take your card: the discount is the same.) 

(Pictures coming soon!)

     Directly outside of the Metro stop you take to get to the Newseum is the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. I went and "visited" my Uncle's engraving. The memorial is beautiful and peaceful; so long as people don't take their lunch break there to shriek loudly about something asinine. (Yes, I'm looking at you. There are things you just shouldn't do. This is a somber memorial, not a tourist trap. Move along, please. Gettin' off my soapbox now..)

    After we left the Newseum we met up with Roommate #1 in the metro where we boarded a train to our next destination: the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum! Again, I felt a bit skeptical about the choice of museum, but it turned out to be so very fascinating. The exhibits I enjoyed the most had to do with WWII and the Wright brothers. Additionally, there was an exhibit on the Navy's role in getting planes in the air during one of the wars (... WWI? I forget..). One hilarious adventure Roommate #1 and I  undertook was operating a fighter jet simulator. We had a brief (less than five-minutes!) training session on how to use the joystick, and being the XBox whiz that I am, I couldn't figure it out. (Give me the old Nintendo controllers and I'll be good; none of this Top Gun stuff!). Roommate #1 seemed to pick up the steering pretty quickly, so I was instructed on three button options that I could use: definitely more my [gaming] speed! Although we crashed and died three times, we ended up with seven enemies down. The machines were fascinating; you were strapped in tightly, and your physical environment mirrored what was happening on the screen-- which meant we spent a great deal of time upside down. Roommate #1 was a total natural. 

    This weekend was the start of returning physical pain. I may need to seek out a chiropractor if things don't resolve themselves. I knew it was inevitable, but I wanted to last longer than two weeks. Oh well.

     Today was really great. I woke up at my usual time, and went to a five-hour CEP event in the auditorium. Deloitte had paired up with TWC and three different veteran-related nonprofits, and we had the opportunity to become a part of the action: TAPS provided a room where volunteers could learn more about their nonprofit while they put Survivor Kits and anniversary cards together; Operation Homefront was packaging baby shower gifts and Father's day gifts; finally, Honor Flight was hosting an information session and Guardian Training. I'm now a sworn Guardian for Honor Flight- how neat!! There was also a career workshop for attending veterans, which I thought was really great.

     After our two-hour breakout session, we had a networking lunch, and then reassembled in the auditorium. During lunch, a new friend and I sat with a 95-almost-96 year old WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veteran, Peter Ruplenas, and were able to listen to some of his incredible stories. It was difficult to hear him above the buzz of conversation going on around us, and so I was thankful later when he addressed the entire group (of 80 or so people) and took us through his time as a combat photographer in three wars. Wow. What he had to say was incredible, and he was an inspiration. He was also a shameless flirt; one of the other girls told me that he had said "Where were girls like you when I 20?" In a notebook that was passed around, I wrote him a note teasing him that if I were only 60 years older... haha. He was incredibly funny and vibrant, and it was wonderful to have spent some time with him. 

     After our session ended, I went back to the apartment and laid on the couch. It was absolutely delightful! Around 5:45PM Roommates #1, #2, and I left to go to a park near the Navy Yard. A group of female interns had decided to go sit in this park and listen to live music, and so we thought, that sounds great! We transferred from the Red Line to another, and as we left the train a guy came up to me and asked me if I was from TWC. Apparently we're in the same CE Program, and he had remembered me from earlier. The four of us talked briefly, and he asked what we were doing for the evening, and basically ended up inviting himself along. It turned out to be an interesting evening all the same. The park was near the Navy Yard, and although we didn't see any Navy Boys (cue sad sigh), the water was beautiful in the evening light, and we were able to see a docked ship. 

     The park was packed, and it was a family-friendly event, which was great. Roommate #1 and I just relaxed and began people-watching. I think it's turned into a habit. 

     We left as the sun was going down, and dropped our new acquaintance off at the apartment building before leaving to try out the Indian food place across the street. Unfortunately, they were closing, so we walked down several blocks to an Ethiopian restaurant. 

     We all decided to give it a try because no one had ever had an Ethiopian dish. We took a leap of faith into uncharted territory, and I'm so glad that we did!

     After a fantastic heart-to-heart over dinner, we came home feeling great-- except for poor Roommate #2, who is dealing with severe allergies! In an attempt to remedy this, since her allergy medicine isn't working out, I decided to make steam facials for all of us using the Lavender essential oil I had brought to DC with me. I'm not sure whether or not it helped her, but we all felt relaxed afterwards! Perhaps a bit of weekend pampering is going to become the routine for the rest of the summer!

     As I stumbled blearily out of my bedroom into the common area, Roommate #2 looked up sleepily from the dining room table. It was ten minutes after 7AM, and so we blinked the sleep from our eyes and began to prepare dinner for the evening. As part of our communal dinner agreement, we've decided that we'll take turns buying the meat. This has worked out pretty well so far, since meat is generally the most expensive part of the meal. Roommate #1 had some beef stew meat in the freezer that she volunteered up, and we've been using my rice as our starch, so the line between "my" food and "our" food is a bit blurry sometimes, but no one really takes notice. I think we're all happy as long as no one is bearing the major brunt of the food bill. If someone buys a bit more one time, then the other two pick up a bit more the next. It's a flexible system. The crockpot recipe we decided to use was for a beef burgundy recipe, although we adapted some parts of it to save on buying things we wouldn't use again (one example: steak seasoning? It tasted fine without it). While the meat was defrosting in the microwave, Roommate #2 started dicing the onion, and I gathered the rest of the ingredients and emptied the dishwasher. We browned the meat, sauteed the onion, and mixed together all the liquids (broth, flour-water because we didn't buy cornstarch, etc) and brought it to a boil before we put it into the crockpot. Let's just say that when I came home at 5:30PM, the hallway of our floor smelled amazing. 

I hadn't intended to come home at 5:30PM; rather, I had intended to come home around 7PM. My supervisor is on the west coast right now and so I have a temporary supervisor, but he was busy all day and I had finished all of the work I could do without having questions answered. My supervisor had previously told me to not come in on Friday since I had a Civic Engagement program event to attend, and so I let my officemates know that I would see them Monday afternoon because I had another TWC program to attend Monday morning/early afternoon.

     The evening was pretty quiet. Roommate #2 and I ate together while Roommate #1 went to a meeting. Roommate #4 usually eats with some of her college mates, I think. I caught up on the blogs from the week (you'll see that they're dated for the days they correspond to for easier reading, but they're mostly going to be written over the weekends during the summer), and went to bed thinking I'd lie down and stretch my back out. Hey, I didn't have to get up early for work, so I could stay up late... right? My body had other plans, and before I realized it I was off in dream land. 

     Getting on the metro in the morning from my usual station isn’t much of an issue, but I’d still encourage anyone to walk up the escalator if they have the option. I can’t count the number of times I’ve caught a train because I walked instead of standing to the side. So: make haste! If nothing else, you’ll just have a better spot to get on the next train. 

     Work was good; I left a bit early in order to make it home in time to reheat some left over chicken chili before the first meeting of my academic course. 

     As one of my officemates and I were waiting for the elevator, Tim Shriver walked up and introduced himself to us. He seemed incredibly down to earth, and I was struck by how personable he was. He asked us about ourselves, where we were from, where we were in our education, what we were doing for Special Olympics. He exuded a feeling of calmness and sincerity while we spoke. It was really nice.
 
     It's easy to become fond of Charlie, the shuttle driver. I think by the end of the semester, most people will think of him as a favorite uncle or grandfather. I think that it’s inevitable. He’s such a love. It was raining when he dropped Roommate #2 and I off at Walmart to pick up groceries, and he stopped us before we opened the door. He had reached between the front seats and was pulling out this enormous umbrella. We thanked him and showed him the one we had brought. He had stopped by the front door, so it seemed like a quick hop and a skip to the front door. We could dodge the raindrops, right? Apparently not.
 
     You’ll learn to appreciate his thoughtfulness, his gentleness, and his humor. 

     Later, as he dropped us off at our apartment building, Charlie cautioned us to be careful: “Sugar melts in the rain, girls.” That’s just Charlie.

     The shuttle begins to run from the RAF to Walmart around seven in the evening. I’m on the fence about whether I prefer Giant (grocery store, similar to United in Texas, or Stater Bros in California) or Walmart for groceries. It just depends. Giant is convenient. Walmart seems to be cheaper.

     After we put the groceries away, I showered because Roommate #2 and I had bought groceries for the next crockpot meal, but it required a little preparation and so I wanted to devote the morning time to that. We decided to wake up around 7AM to do that before I had to leave for my office. 

     I forgot to set out my clothes, but although setting out your clothes the night before work is ideal…. some nights you just have to fall into bed. 

     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.

     

Having your internship start on your dad's birthday is a bummer. First one away from home! Sniff! We had a phone call, and his birthday card should be there tomorrow. Oh well, we make the best of things! 

Today was the first day of internship for a lot of the TWC interns. Some start tomorrow (Tuesday). 
Something that really stuck out at me today was that despite the general busyness of the city, people are quite nice. Whether I'm grabbing a latte, or standing on the metro, people always chat me up. One time it was flirtatious, okay, you'll get that wherever you go. The majority of the time, though, it was simply people being nice to a stranger, and making the day a little more bearable. It's funny how much a smile can improve someone's day. The day just started out well, and grew better and better.
When I arrived at my internship site (which I had scoped out over the weekend), I was still about half an hour early and so I sat in the lobby and chatted with the Security Guard, who told me a great deal about her niece. She's a lovely woman, and we had a fascinating conversation about her family. I was surprised, again, because she shared so much with a complete stranger, but I will definitely accept blessings in all forms! A while later, my supervisor found me and we went upstairs to our floor. There she spent the day introducing me to the company, giving a lot of valuable background information, and then later introduced me to some of the office staff. Because of various events that are going on right now, the office was a little empty. I was promised that it would pick back up at the end of the month. 


An exciting moment was when IT came by my office to set up my computer station. I had a moment where I had to squash down the excitement. (Semi private) Office?! Computer?! SECURITY BADGE!? 

And then came the best part: I have an official Special Olympics headquarters email address.

Laugh if you will, I think it's really neat.

As far as "actual work," I didn't have  much to do. Mostly it was more of an informal Special Olympics 101 crash course. Overall, it was a great day. I'm looking forward to this summer!