September 3 or Sunset at the Lincoln Memorial

As I walked home from work today I watched the geese flap around the Mall in an oval, as if they were flying laps to keep in shape. (They must have felt guilty watching all of the bronze body-builders bounce around the perimeter…Oh wait, that was me.) I tilted my face up toward the sun, watching the birds and basking in the perfectly warm air, and only one word could describe my state of being: contentment.

But, wait. Let me back up a bit.

Today began like most other days. I got up earlier than I wanted and had to force my west-coast-time body into submission in order to function. I got to work, and started researching Tesla Motors new all-electric sedan. (It’s pretty sweet. It’s called the Model S, and is obscenely expensive, but definitely cool.) Then at 9:45 I walked ten minutes down the road to the Library. The Library of Congress, that is. I went to a legal research seminar for a few hours. It was interesting, but mostly an exercise in not falling asleep.

I after going back to work for a few hours (more alternative energy stuff), I took my “lunch” break. Since I eat lunch at my desk, my “lunch” break is 30 minutes of “me” time. I can leave the office, walk around the city, and do whatever I want. The past few days I just picked a direction and walked for 15 minutes. Today, I walked for a few minutes, and then found a park bench in the sun and read for 20 minutes. “Mere Christianity.” I have read M.C. twice in the past two years, and I still can’t wait to read it again. It’s nice to have a deeply personal, spiritual book as a break from the world in the middle of the day.

Then, more work… and then, magically, I left the office around 5:40. Again, I was an agent unto myself. A free bird. A lone wolf. I could go anywhere (as long as it wasn’t Anacostia), and do anything (as long as it was open…most things aren’t after 5:30) I wanted to!

Almost overwhelmed with opportunities, I got on the metro to contemplate my options. Before I knew it I got off at the Smithsonian stop. I wandered up to ground level and found myself in front of the Museum of American History. I looked at my watch. 6:00 p.m. The museum closed at 6:30, so that gave me at least one medium-sized exhibit.

I went in and found an exhibit about a house that was built during colonial America (ca. 1770) and stood until the 1960s when it was almost demolished. The community rallied and offered the house to the Smithsonian. They took it, and reassembled it—fully—in the Smithsonian. Now there is a cool exhibit that surrounds the house and tells the stories of all of the families who lived there over the years—revolutionaries, abolitionists, immigrant laborers, and a widow with two sons fighting in WWII to name a few. Then, I popped over to the first lady exhibit (which was very crowded when I went before; I had to wait in line) to look at the dresses I liked. It was even better than before because no one was there! I was the only one in the room. Just me and Mary Lincoln’s dress and slippers. Then they turned off the power and kicked me out.

So there I was, back on the mall. Sauntering home on a beautiful September day. I was in no rush. I had nowhere to be. No one to see. I saw/heard the geese flying overhead, almost got hit by a stray baseball, and was passed by an average of 5 runners a minute.

It was approaching 7:00 p.m., so the sun was dyeing the white granite on all of the monuments orange. Finally, the photo conditions I’ve been waiting for! No drab white light! Brilliant gold, amber, and honey hues highlighting every corner of every stone!

The front of the Lincoln was packed as always, so I went around to the back. Success! No one was back there. I sat down and took pictures for about half an hour. My feet dangling over the huge golden stones, watching the city commuters cross the Potomac back home to Virginia.

Then, since I figured the security guards would kick me out if I trying to stay there forever (like I wanted to), I walked home. I soaked in every beautiful sunset-kissed sight on the way.

When I got home, I assembled a quick dinner, threw on some music, did my homework, read the news, and fantasized about a long weekend of sightseeing.

As much as I like walking home alone, in silence, the only thing that could have improved the situation was a good friend to share it with.

Oh wait… I guess I just shared it with you…. *wink*

The aforementioned geese flying (and honking) over the Smithsonian.

This quality of light made me feel like I was in a Jane Austen movie.

Nope, still in the 21st century.

Duck butts!

A view of the mall with better light.

The sun setting behind the Lincoln memorial. (It was beckoning to me. I had to take more pictures...)

This is what I found at the back of the Lincoln Memorial. Travel tip: no one ever goes to the back of the Lincoln Memorial. All the tourists stay up by where they can see the guy in the chair. But look what they're missing--a gorgeous sunset over the Potomac.

The view from where I was sitting (the first of many self-portraits)

I am so cool with my sunglasses.

I am a very talented self-portrait taker.

I can ever take pictures of myself without touching the camera. I know. You're jealous.

A good profile. (This nose profile is for you Charlie, I know how you strangely like my nose.)

Such great light! Light makes all the difference!

Did I mention how cool I am in these white sunglasses (thanks to Charlie for convincing me to buy them).

My shadow is huge! I mean, I know people have long shadows, but mine seems really, really long.

Peace.

Beauteous light, yet again. Why do I even take pictures at any other time of day?

September 2 or I have a library card to the Library of Congress

I am not going to write a lot because my eyes are killing me (staring at a computer screen for eight hours is hard!), but I wanted to announce that I now have a library card to the Library of Congress. Yes. It has my picture on it, my name, and an official looking barcode.

The best part? I actually had to get it for my job. I wasn't just pretending that I needed it for "research" because I was a student; I actually had to get one. I am going to a Library of Congress research seminar tomorrow during work. Righteous!

Today I did some research for one of my supervisors, Autumn. (She is nice and pretty and has nice and pretty red hair.) I researched loan guarantees for alternative energy sources and electric cars for the first half of the day and then thorium as an alternate fuel (as opposed to uranium) for nuclear power the second half of the day. So, in sum, I learned a lot. I even had to reach back into the recesses of my mind and dust off that Chem 105 and 106 knowledge. Who ever thought that knowing the difference between fission and fusion would matter in a setting other than nuclear physics?

Plus I know that the secretary of the Department of Energy is Secretary Chu, and cylindrical receptors are all the rage in solar technology. At least, the U.S. guaranteed 450 million dollars banking on the fact that they are...

If you want to know more about the place where I work, go to our website at www.taxpayer.net

September 1 or My First Day of Work

After not sleeping very well, I woke up and made it to work on time. I liked waiting for the Metro in my professional attire. I could feel the tourists looking at me.

I hope they thought I was a native Washingtonian.

I like pretending like I have serious business here. And the professional dress helps a lot.

I was a little overdressed for my office (which is fine, I’d rather be overdressed than underdressed), but I didn’t get lost and I got there in time. The office is small, less than ten people work there. It made learning everyone’s name pretty easy.

They were pretty busy today, so I didn’t get very much training, but I did learn a lot about the organization itself. They are in the process of redoing the website and I am helping with the issue summaries. In order to write the summary of the position TCS has on a topic, I have to KNOW the position TCS has on a topic. So I read a lot today.

I work in the back office with two other senior staff members named Autumn and Erich (yes, with an “h”). I’m still trying to figure out the balance between letting other people work on their projects and chatting with them. We usually talk while we’re looking at our respective computers, which is hard for me to handle because I like to see someone’s face when we talk.

So far it seems like a nice office to work in. Since it is so small, I expect I will have significant responsibility over my projects. Congress is back in session next week, so I’ll get to do hill drops and go to some hearings then.

After work I decided I would get off at the Smithsonian metro stop and go to one of the museums for half an hour before it closed. My plan was perfect, except it didn’t work. The museums closed early today.

So I decided to walk home from the mall. It was a beautiful day (great temp, low humidity) and my shoes (1 ½ inch heels) were surprisingly comfortable. Not, chaco/gator/tennis shoe comfortable, but for formal shoes, they are pretty good.

I had about three miles to go and I knew the general direction home, so I took streets home I’d never taken before. As I was walking along Virginia St with the warm wind at my back, the Watergate in front of me, and a tree-lined street above me I realized something—I really like walking alone.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to go wandering around the streets of D.C. late at night, but I really enjoy exploring the tree-covered streets when I walk home from work.

I also was able to see more of the city. I found the huge statute of Albert Einstein that Paul took a picture by last time we were here. It’s on my way home, just off the mall.

I finally found my way back to the Barlow, changed my shoes and went to the CVS pharmacy to buy toilet paper and some candy. Remind me not to buy TP there. Four dollars for four rolls was the best deal.

Highlight of the day: I got some candy at CVS to get me through the afternoon “blahs” at work.

Highlight of the highlight: They had mini-Heath bars.

A close-up of the heavenly creation known as peanut M&Ms

All of my loot. It's amazing how many ills/sins/undesirables chocolate evaporates. It is simply amazing.

August 31 or My Legs Hurt

Monday

Today was my last day as a completely free agent. I might be spoiled, but I really like this, wake up, eat leisurely, and wander the city as much as you like kind of day. Why does it have to change?

This morning we had our last orientation meeting with the Washington Seminar director Dr. Goss. He flew in from Utah and talked at us for three hours. We got good tips about how to be a successful intern (who would of thought that so much good came from simply working hard and being nice…?), instructions for maintaining the Barlow Center, and safety tips (kind of) from one really helpful GW counselor and one very unhelpful GW cop. Also, the AC is really wonky in this building and the great room was FREEZING. Even the guys with long sleeves and long pants were shivering… so you can imagine what the girls with short sleeves and skirts felt like.

Then, for lunch we were divided into groups and we all went to find the places of our internships so we would know where to go tomorrow morning. We ate lunch and then wandered around the city until we had completed our task.

Afterwards, it was still pretty early and the day was bea-YOO-tiful, we decided to do something outdoorsy. We pulled my oh-so-handy map out of my bag, scanned it for green-ish areas and hopped on the metro. We came up somewhere completely blocked by buildings and started heading toward the sun (that how the ancients used to do it). After asking two cops for directions, and photo ops by the FCC, Dept. of Agriculture, the Holocaust museum, we finally arrived at the Jefferson memorial. It was (as we expected) completely empty compared to the Lincoln memorial. I guess people don’t like to walk the short distance to get there…? We also saw that there is a direct line of sight from the Jefferson memorial to the center of the White House. I wonder how often President Obama or any of his staff look out the window at the Jefferson memorial.

After that we walked back to the mall and through the WWII and Vietnam memorials. By this point, we had walked probably five miles at this point and my legs were killing me. I split from the group and walked back because taking the metro over and over is actually kind of expensive. I went to Trader Joes and got some samples (Havarti Cheese) and other groceries. In general the store was completely packed and very small. There were no non-food items, but an extensive wine selection and very “me” food items. I could be a purchaser for Trader Joes methinks.

But I’d have to get their name right. I always mess up and call it Pirate O’s….

Walking near the Senate and House offices.

After going from heck to breakfast, we found the Jefferson Memorial. Here is a spontaneous self-portrait.

Then Mark felt bad for me and offered to take my picture. (I just realized I have long legs. Strange.)

The obligatory "I've got the whole world in my hands" picture.

Jefferson is huge. (And kind of lonely. Very few tourists come all the way out here.)

We Americans love that neo-classical style.

Artsy. Tilt your head to the right. (If you look close you can see the Capitol and the Smithsonian.)

I really like this memorial. It is for the Women in Vietnam. There are three women, one trying to save an injured soldier, one lifting her eyes to the sky in search of hope, and one mourning the life of a soldier she could not save.

This memorial really touched me.

The Vietnam War Memorial. The name are arranged (l-r) in the order they died. It starts with only a few names on the far left and then the lists swells into the thousands in the middle of the war (and memorial), then the names dwindle off at the end as well.

Almost everyone there was looking for a specific name. A brother, a friend, an uncle etc. The Vietnam war affected many people.

I found that I could take a picture of my reflection amidst the thousands of names inscribed in the wall.

August 30th or Church and Airplanes

Sunday

One of the downsides of traveling quite a ways to church (which I’ve never had to do since I’m a Utahn), is that you have to get up at 7:30 to make an 11:00 church meeting. And then, if you stay for ward choir afterwards, you don’t get home until 4:30. Church is really an all day affair. But, church was the highlight of my day today. My ward (the D.C. 2^nd ward) is one of the nicest singles wards I have ever been to, if not THE nicest. Everyone was very welcoming, energetic and interested in getting to know everyone. All of the talks given were well-prepared and lifted my spirits. They took everyone’s pictures, introduced everyone after Sacrament meeting, and we had a mix and mingle event instead of a Relief Society lesson. I met a lot of people and felt very at home. After church I stayed for ward choir and then caught a ride home with one of the ward members who has a car. It was so nice to see beautiful Maryland (where the church is) and NW D.C. above ground! Not that the gray cement outside of the metro windows isn’t interesting, but the old historic buildings in Georgetown and the beautiful trees in Maryland take the cake.

When we finally got back from a long day of church, a bunch of people went to go visit the National Zoological Garden, another great free event in the D.C. area, known for their giant pandas. I went with them, only to realize in the Metro station that we wouldn’t make it before the zoo closed (a lot of things close at 6:00 p.m.). So the group decided to wander around the mall. Since I did that yesterday, I decided to go back to the Barlow. I came back and rounded up some friends willing to take a chance and have an adventure with me. Andrea told me about a park just above the Reagan airport where people go to watch the planes take off or simply admire the beautiful D.C. cityscape. After not knowing if we would really make it in time, and almost aborting the mission when the metro train didn’t come for half an hour, we finally made it to the airport. We found the little path and made it to Gravelly Point just in time for the sunset. Success!! It was worth the effort. All eight of us crammed on to my little fleece blanket with stars and we chatted about life, planes, and some more life. We could see the Washington Monument and the Capitol building, and the park overlooked the Potomac river. We made it back to the Barlow center around 9:15 p.m.

Now, I am sitting at my desk, sucking on the giant pixie stik that the Comcast people gave me yesterday and listening to good music. Life is good.

Waiting for ward choir to start. Sierra looks angelic.

(We were sitting in the sun because the church has over active AC like the Barlow and all the Smithsonians.)

Despite many obstacles, we made it to Gravelly Point.

Before I figured out "sunset mode" on my camera.

After I figured out how to use the "sunset mode" on my camera. (The Washington Monument looks like Big Brother. Or the all-seeing eye from the Two Towers. We'll just generalize by saying some authoritarian symbol from a science fiction novel.)

August 29th or Petruchio and Old Glory

August 29, 2009

After sleeping in (my excuse: I’m still adjusting to east coast time), and eating my delicious leftovers for lunch, a bunch of us headed out exploring.

We walked toward the mall and, after being handed free pixie sticks and a “veg-fest” brochure, arrived at the Lincoln memorial. It is big and white and awe-some like I remember. Oh, and cram packed with tourists. However, miracle of miracles, I got a picture of me and Abe with no one else. (Thanks, Abby!) I would love to go back there and take some pictures at sunset.

We started wandering toward the Washington Monument. Travel hint: the mall looks a lot shorter than it is. But. It is not short. It is long. They sprinkle park benches here and there for those with weak constitutions (I will refrain from putting a political joke here.), and steadfast determination and scary geese spur everyone else on. We stumbled across a WWII memorial with a nice fountain and cool picture opportunities. We finally made it to the Washington Monument only to find that all of the tickets for today were already distributed: A downside of not planning.

At this point we were swimming. Swimming in what? You might ask. A valid question, and to those of you who haven’t had the opportunity of walking around D.C. on a very warm, extremely humid (it was overcast) day, I’m not sure if an appropriate metaphor exists. All I can say is that I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to live under the sea, and now I know. In order to dry off, we popped into the nearest air-conditioned building. It happened to be the Smithsonian museum of American history. We saw the original flag that inspired “The Star-spangled Banner” in 1814 and a cool exhibit on the history of water transportation. I didn’t realize how many movies about boats there are: Pirates, The Hunt for Red October, Titanic etc. I relived all of them in that exhibit. We also saw a replica of a 1950s suburban household and learned about the history of the atomic bomb. The Smithsonian is well-put together. The exhibits are very visual and the writing is informative but not overly heavy. And I learned cool stuff! For example, pirates didn’t really make people walk off planks (they got that reputation from Peter Pan), and Julia Child got in a car accident the day before she got married (she was okay, obviously).

I really enjoyed the “First Ladies” exhibit with the gowns donated by all of the first ladies (Mrs. Lincoln had a ridiculously small waist), and the replica of Julia Child’s kitchen. It was packed, of course, but well worth the wait.

At this point some of the people in my group headed back to the Barlow Center. I was meeting Stephanie and Jake at 5:00, so I stayed behind alone.

And it felt great.

We’re not in Jerusalem any more, folks. No, “three people at all times” rule. I love America.

I wandered along the mall, saw a flock of tourists on segways, listened to the birds/bugs in the trees (trees are loud here), and made my way to meet Steph and Jake.

I had some time to kill so I went into the museum of crime and punishment. Correction: I went into the museum of crime and punishment’s gift store. Tickets to the actual museum were $20 and almost guaranteed to be a tourist trap. I imagine the gift store is the coolest part anyway. They had reprinted newspapers from big crime events like the JFK assassination and the day John Dilinger was killed. I ended up buying a little whistle to put on my keychain. I didn’t know what time I’d be walking home and it was cheaper than the pepperspray.

I was still a little early, so I went to wait in line for tickets to the show we were going to see. The Shakespeare Theater company hosts a “free for all” season once a year in which they put on a show completely free for anyone who wants to come see it. The catch: you have to be at the box office when it opens to get tickets. We did get tickets (there was a very long line), and then went to eat dinner at Fuddruckers. It was good to see Steph and Jake and they provided words of wisdom about big city living and empathy about the humidity. We wandered a little after and then went to the show.

We saw “Taming of the Shrew.” It was superb. The acting, the set, the jokes, the scene change music—it was all top notch, but Petruchio stole the show. I have never laughed so hard in a Shakespeare play. They really did a wonderful job; I am not sure I can be as effusive as they deserve. I was simply floored. It was a great way to spend an evening.

Then Steph graciously showed me how to refill my Metro card and then Steph and Jake walked me home (it was about 11:30 p.m.). After getting ready for bed, writing in my journal (read: my laptop), scrips, and my book, I got to sleep around 1 a.m.

We’ll see how long that schedule lasts.

The most patriotic obelisk in America (and we didn't even steal it from Egypt like the Brits).

At the Lincoln Memorial with my pixie stick holstered like a saber.

Swimming---er walking, to the Washington monument. The lovely items you see on the cement next to the reflection pond are goose poop. Surprisingly big.

I turned around after taking the previous goose poop picture.

WWII memorial, "the Price of Freedom"

Each star represents 1,000 American lives lost in WWII.

Yes. I am from Utah. This picture proves it.

Abby and I feeling close to the motherland.

I wanted to see what everyone was looking at. (In the Smithsonian)

I had to explain to the nice man what a pixie stik is.

Julie and Julia and Lynne.

Can you see me? I'm all the way in the glass doorway in the back.

The first ladies exhibit in the Smithsonian. The lights are kept low so the fabric doesn't disintegrate. There were a few dresses missing... but, then again, Hilary did always wear the pants in that relationship...

There was a costume sale in the Shakespeare store before the show. If only I didn't have luggage limitations!

First Impressions Or August 28, 2009

Here I am, in the same country, but a different world. I don’t expect all of my blog posts to be this detailed, but this is all still new to me, so you get a play-by-play.

FLIGHTS: Yesterday morning I flew out of Salt Lake at 8:30 a.m. While I was waiting to board a nice young guy sat down next to me and started a conversation. His name was Mark and he went to Weber State. He laughed out loud when I told him I went to BYU. I sat next to him on the flight to Denver and we talked the entire hour (he was very talkative). He told me about the first time he got drunk, his job as a music critic for a punk/ska website, and how much he loved New Jersey. Every once and a while he would take a stab at BYU and I would correct any misinformation.

Him: I can’t believe YouTube is blocked at BYU.

Me: It’s actually not anymore.

Him: Oh.

Him: I can’t believe BYU doesn’t let BYU democrats meet.

Me: Actually they do let BYU democrats meet and there are more of them than there are in the BYU republicans club.

Him: Oh.

Him: I can’t believe you aren’t allowed to stay up past midnight.

Me: We are allowed to stay up past midnight.

Him: Oh.

He was interesting and nice to talk to. But I’m also glad that we didn’t sit next to each other for another four hours. I got off my plane in Denver, went to the bathroom, and walked right on my plane to Baltimore. I sat next to a nice flight attendant who was going home. She asked if I was a student and then asked about my internship. When the flight got more crowded another woman came and sat between us. She sat on the right row because all of us had books that we wanted to read. I was reading “East of Eden” and the woman next to me was reading “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” Poor girl. She finished it on the plane and was trying her darnedest not to sob or snort out loud. She used a lot of tissues.

We got off the plane in Baltimore, I bought an overpriced (and disgusting) turkey cranberry wrap and waited for my luggage. Miraculously, it all arrived! I heaved it off the conveyor belt, carefully stacked my 40 lb duffel on top of my 50 lb suitcase. Then I started the long and arduous journey to the SuperShuttle counter. Okay, it was only about 25 yards, but it seemed very long and arduous with 90 lbs under my left wrist. As soon as I checked in I got on a shuttle. It took about an hour and a half to get to the Barlow Center, but I got here at about six o’clock. I dropped my bags, got a short tour, and went and found second-hand sheets, towels, and a pillow in the laundry room.

DINNER: Then a few of us got together and walked down Pennsylvania Ave. to find a place to eat dinner. We passed several places that looked good to me (Thai, Ethiopian, etc.), but they didn’t look appealing to the group. We ended up at a very cute French pastry shop/café in the middle of Georgetown. I don’t remember what it is called, but it was very good and vaguely reminiscent of Zupas. I got a fresh cup of strawberries (traveling makes me crave food that hasn’t been processed) and a plate of chicken pesto pasta. The restaurant itself was beautiful and looked very European inside. It had dark wood, two levels, and old wicker chairs.

SAFEWAY-GATE: We walked back to the Barlow and then some of us ventured to Safeway. We walked about ten minutes and happened upon the Watergate complex. We crossed the street (and I kept my eye out for corruption and controversy, since we were at the Watergate), and went down an escalator to the small Safeway in the basement. I bought shampoo, toothpaste, and some fresh food. We will probably go there often, I can already think of things I need to get on Monday.

With our arms heavily weighed down with bananas and toothpaste, we walked back to the Barlow center. Losing circulation in my fingers, I couldn’t help but smile in the warm, humid Washington air. I am here. I can handle this.

And it’s going to be fun.

A picture of my room. My sheets and comforter are compliments of a nice soul who left them behind because they had better things to take home.

Yes, those are my real feet.

My closets, fully stocked and fantastically wrinkled. Yes, the set up is almost identical to Jerusalem. The buildings were built about the same time...?

My cute roommate Holly. She just got back from spending the summer in Russia and graduates in December. (Her sheets are very cute and they match! ... which is more than I can say for my sheets...)