The past few days I have been at the National Museum of the American Indian, working on a de-install of the Brian Jungen exhibit entitled 'Strange Comfort', and yes, it is called a de-install, I am not just using poor grammar. My first day there was pretty exciting, I really love this museum, I think the way it is built is beautiful, and the gardens outside are lovely and quiet. I walk into the closed exhibit and met Gail and Ann, Gail is the Collections Manager at NMAI, and Ann is a conservator for SI. Both women were lovely, lovely people. They were cleaning the piece called Carapace, which was made entirely of trash bins in France. When it was shipped over to America, the artist wanted to alter the piece and make it a different shape, so a lot of the bins were cut in half to make more pieces to play with. It took several weeks to install. I took pictures of it, but they are not up yet, but to describe it, it was sort of a circular shape with two small entrances on either end, the inside had what looked like seats running across either side. It was MASSIVE needless to say. As soon as Richard from my office arrived, we began taking it apart, piece by piece, trashcan, by trashcan. In the end, it took an hour and a half to take it apart. It came down QUICK, we had pieces saran wrapped together and ready for load in at around noon. It was a very speedy process and I was so amazed by how quickly we worked, and how quickly each piece came down. After removing the Carapace, we moved on to taking down a few totem poles, very carefully.Followed by a lunch break, and let me tell you the cafe at NMAI is outstanding, they serve traditional native cuisine, and it is soooooo goood, go there and eat lunch one day, you will totally love it. Not to mention they harvest vegetables from the garden outside to make food for the cafe, I really like that idea.
So our day ended at 3, and I went home to do nothing of any particular interest. I went back to NMAI the next day to finish up, we finished our work by 11AM.
Whoa.11AM, how do I spend the rest of my day?
Well, Gail invited me to come see them take down the whale sculpture at 3PM, they were going to make a big event out of it for donors, guests, important SI people, etc, etc....I could not help because of some silly rules, contracts....but I decided I would come back to watch anyways..but how the hell was I going to kill time?I've already been to all of the museums on the mall at least once, some 3+ times...agh!!!And, it was hot, I was lazy and didnt feel like going far. So Jared and I went next door to Air&Space where we checked out a Wright Brothers exhibit, and parted ways with a hug, a few 'good lucks' and he told me to
'do good'
I really love when someone says 'do good'-it is so simple, yet it means so much.
So, I actually wandered into the castle after that,wandered around a few museums for the 1000th time, and headed back to NMAI to watch their dog and pony show. I met the curator Paul who was wearing a RUN DMC shirt underneath a blazer, which pretty much made my day. I watched as their staff took down this massive whale sculpture and gently place into back into the crates it was shipped in. It was sort of like watching a ballet, everything was so precise, timing was everything, it was so cool to watch. My experience was fantastic at NMAI and I would totally be interested in working there. I think if I were to ever come back to work for SI, I would want to work at ONE museum, be out of this world awesome!!
Soooooo, now it is Thursday night at 1016PM, Nate will be here tomorrow morning.
Holy.Crap.
Im pretty much going to be high strung as crap tomorrow, I was for about 5 hours this afternoon until I drank 2 beers....and now, I am okay.For now.
oh goodness!!!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
the final countdown
thanks to arrested development and G.O.B for the inspiration for my title.
Well,one week until Nate gets here, only two more days of work, and those days are both downtown at National Museum of the American Indian to be a part of the deinstall of the Brian Jungen exhibit, holy crap I am excited about that. I loved the exhibit at NMAI and can not wait to check this out. Today was sort of our 'official' last day at OEC. They gathered all the interns into the conference room for what was basically a post-mortem, except this was not scheduled in a timely manner, which REALLY ticked me off. I am just going to say it on, the lack of scheduling they did over there drove me bonkers. Important things were also scheduled week of in an 'oh, by the way' manner. I suggested to them that this change, and as soon as possible. If you have something of relative importance, it can not be scheduled like that, end of story. That is the way I function, I don't mess around, I really do not have time for that 'oh, by the way' thing. Ragh! Anyways, because it overlapped with a meeting I had downtown, I could not stay for the entire thing and had to skidaddle. We were going to receive certificates or something like that, I'll be picking mine up on Wednesday.The hilarious thing about the certificates was that the interns were musing the day before about what we were going to receive at this meeting, because a token of appreciate was mentioned in the 'oh,btw' email. We joked about a few things, but in a serious manner, we were like, certificates, like any other thing in life. Later, when I saw the Graphics intern, Jamal, I asked him how the certificates were coming along. He looked at me in shock and said,
"That was supposed to be top secret"
Sike. So, moving on to my meeting. I had a meeting back down at Gallery Place at NPG to meet their lighting designer, you might be thinking to yourself,
"Betty, You sure are meeting with an awful lot of lighting designers, you don't really work in lights"
I have actually only met with 2, I met with a tech at American History by chance, and NPG/American Art are actual designers, these two galleries are attached to one another,and they could not meet with me on the same day due to schedules and such, so I met with them separately.Also, lighting museum objects/lighting paintings/sculptures etc-VERY DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER.
But it was good, because I got a really good understand of design for a gallery. Alex, was really great, also very passionate about his work, and a really great teacher. He talked about how lighting this gallery was a lot of architectural lighting as well, the building is very beautiful and one of the tricky things with lighting art is that there are conservation restrictions, so one of the ways they make the gallery inviting and draw interest to it, is by lighting the room itself. He has worked with artists when it came to lighting their work, which can be tricky when often times the artist may have painted under fluorescent light, natural light etc, and sometimes can change the way the color looks etc, etc. He says that halogen lamps are really the best choice when it comes to lighting color, because LEDs do not have all the color capabilities yet. I also got to see them installing lights for Americans Now, which opens August, where I saw one of the vitrines I had painted, waiting patiently to be completely installed. That was a COOL feeling, most of the work here I've done here I will not see come full circle, because the exhibits open after I leave, which is sort of a bummer. Maybe I will have to make some time to check them out later on. It was cool to see some of my work, actually in a museum,not quite ready yet, but still. It was awesome. Alex, even offered to get me involved in a hang/focus for Americans Now, but unfortunately, I do not have the time, which SUCKS, wish I had met with him earlier, that would have been really cool!
I really recommend going to these two galleries, check out the courtyard at night, also stand in either of the main lobbies, and look to your right, and to your left at the ceilings, and just notice the amount of lamps hanging from the ceiling in NPG compared to American Art, it is really quite something.
Excited for the weekend, volunteering back at Columbia Heights Farmers Market, this time we are doing live music, so we have a stage and sound equipment to set up. Super stoked to be involved this weekend, it looks like I'll get some sound experience in over my summer too.
So, this is pretty much farewell intern friends, we survived this madness, and it looks like everyone has their limbs, and hopefully you all will get a chance to rest your brains a little bit before you being your next big project. Hahah, it was good getting to know you, and eating lunch with you everyday while watching CNN. Wish I could have worked with some of you all more, but you all were in different units, dang. Have a good year!!
Here is a link to Brian Jungen, love it:
http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/jungen/
Well,one week until Nate gets here, only two more days of work, and those days are both downtown at National Museum of the American Indian to be a part of the deinstall of the Brian Jungen exhibit, holy crap I am excited about that. I loved the exhibit at NMAI and can not wait to check this out. Today was sort of our 'official' last day at OEC. They gathered all the interns into the conference room for what was basically a post-mortem, except this was not scheduled in a timely manner, which REALLY ticked me off. I am just going to say it on, the lack of scheduling they did over there drove me bonkers. Important things were also scheduled week of in an 'oh, by the way' manner. I suggested to them that this change, and as soon as possible. If you have something of relative importance, it can not be scheduled like that, end of story. That is the way I function, I don't mess around, I really do not have time for that 'oh, by the way' thing. Ragh! Anyways, because it overlapped with a meeting I had downtown, I could not stay for the entire thing and had to skidaddle. We were going to receive certificates or something like that, I'll be picking mine up on Wednesday.The hilarious thing about the certificates was that the interns were musing the day before about what we were going to receive at this meeting, because a token of appreciate was mentioned in the 'oh,btw' email. We joked about a few things, but in a serious manner, we were like, certificates, like any other thing in life. Later, when I saw the Graphics intern, Jamal, I asked him how the certificates were coming along. He looked at me in shock and said,
"That was supposed to be top secret"
Sike. So, moving on to my meeting. I had a meeting back down at Gallery Place at NPG to meet their lighting designer, you might be thinking to yourself,
"Betty, You sure are meeting with an awful lot of lighting designers, you don't really work in lights"
I have actually only met with 2, I met with a tech at American History by chance, and NPG/American Art are actual designers, these two galleries are attached to one another,and they could not meet with me on the same day due to schedules and such, so I met with them separately.Also, lighting museum objects/lighting paintings/sculptures etc-VERY DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER.
But it was good, because I got a really good understand of design for a gallery. Alex, was really great, also very passionate about his work, and a really great teacher. He talked about how lighting this gallery was a lot of architectural lighting as well, the building is very beautiful and one of the tricky things with lighting art is that there are conservation restrictions, so one of the ways they make the gallery inviting and draw interest to it, is by lighting the room itself. He has worked with artists when it came to lighting their work, which can be tricky when often times the artist may have painted under fluorescent light, natural light etc, and sometimes can change the way the color looks etc, etc. He says that halogen lamps are really the best choice when it comes to lighting color, because LEDs do not have all the color capabilities yet. I also got to see them installing lights for Americans Now, which opens August, where I saw one of the vitrines I had painted, waiting patiently to be completely installed. That was a COOL feeling, most of the work here I've done here I will not see come full circle, because the exhibits open after I leave, which is sort of a bummer. Maybe I will have to make some time to check them out later on. It was cool to see some of my work, actually in a museum,not quite ready yet, but still. It was awesome. Alex, even offered to get me involved in a hang/focus for Americans Now, but unfortunately, I do not have the time, which SUCKS, wish I had met with him earlier, that would have been really cool!
I really recommend going to these two galleries, check out the courtyard at night, also stand in either of the main lobbies, and look to your right, and to your left at the ceilings, and just notice the amount of lamps hanging from the ceiling in NPG compared to American Art, it is really quite something.
Excited for the weekend, volunteering back at Columbia Heights Farmers Market, this time we are doing live music, so we have a stage and sound equipment to set up. Super stoked to be involved this weekend, it looks like I'll get some sound experience in over my summer too.
So, this is pretty much farewell intern friends, we survived this madness, and it looks like everyone has their limbs, and hopefully you all will get a chance to rest your brains a little bit before you being your next big project. Hahah, it was good getting to know you, and eating lunch with you everyday while watching CNN. Wish I could have worked with some of you all more, but you all were in different units, dang. Have a good year!!
Here is a link to Brian Jungen, love it:
http://www.nmai.si.edu/exhibitions/jungen/
Monday, August 2, 2010
mid city dog days.
Surprisingly,its not that hot here as of late, as the term 'dog days' would usually imply. Not that that information about the weather here was that important to my blog, I am also not very good at keeping up with this blog either, I jot down things in my sketchbook that I learn while at work, but then the thought of transcribing them to another medium sometimes frustrates me, sometimes I wonder if what I say is actually exciting, well, it is exciting to me for the most part. I am not even sure what I have been up to lately, other than eagerly marking days off of my calender until my 2 week vacation starts with Nate.Hmmmmmm.....
Well, I met with another lighting designer, this time at American Art, his name was Scott, and he was SUPER STOKED to meet with me. No joke, this guy was really animated, and super in love with his work. Color is key when lighting a gallery, that is basically what he told me in a nutshell. When he lights artwork, he wants to light the most exciting part of it, and really make the color beautiful, and to my surprise NEW paintings are the ones you have to worry about the most when it comes to conserving them from the light sources, not OLD. Which I suppose makes perfect sense. Anyways, he was really great, and I really enjoyed taking a tour of American Art, and learning how he designed the light for each exhibit, piece, I also thought it was great he actually got to work with a few artists in the Modern Gallery on how to best light their work. I really enjoyed what he had to say, and enjoyed hearing him talk about how passionate he was about color. It always gets me excited to see someone else excited about something they love.
Back at HeadQuarters ( which is what I will refer to OEC as from now on to make life seem more exciting ) Lots of carpentry and painting, as usual, that is pretty much what goes on in my shop. I think I would have been better off in the model shop, it is a little more prop-y, and therefore; a little more my speed.
Last Thursday, we had our OEC Open House, which was hosted by the interns, and we held tours, showed stuff that we had been working on over the summer and held a Q&A session. It went well, my mom and twin sister drove up for the event, and then kindly dropped me off at my cousins house, and then turned right around and drove straight back to Norfolk. Making it a total of about 8 hours spent in the car for that day, what troopers.
: D
My internship is coming to a close fast, holy crap.
Well, I met with another lighting designer, this time at American Art, his name was Scott, and he was SUPER STOKED to meet with me. No joke, this guy was really animated, and super in love with his work. Color is key when lighting a gallery, that is basically what he told me in a nutshell. When he lights artwork, he wants to light the most exciting part of it, and really make the color beautiful, and to my surprise NEW paintings are the ones you have to worry about the most when it comes to conserving them from the light sources, not OLD. Which I suppose makes perfect sense. Anyways, he was really great, and I really enjoyed taking a tour of American Art, and learning how he designed the light for each exhibit, piece, I also thought it was great he actually got to work with a few artists in the Modern Gallery on how to best light their work. I really enjoyed what he had to say, and enjoyed hearing him talk about how passionate he was about color. It always gets me excited to see someone else excited about something they love.
Back at HeadQuarters ( which is what I will refer to OEC as from now on to make life seem more exciting ) Lots of carpentry and painting, as usual, that is pretty much what goes on in my shop. I think I would have been better off in the model shop, it is a little more prop-y, and therefore; a little more my speed.
Last Thursday, we had our OEC Open House, which was hosted by the interns, and we held tours, showed stuff that we had been working on over the summer and held a Q&A session. It went well, my mom and twin sister drove up for the event, and then kindly dropped me off at my cousins house, and then turned right around and drove straight back to Norfolk. Making it a total of about 8 hours spent in the car for that day, what troopers.
: D
My internship is coming to a close fast, holy crap.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
killer queen.
So, it has been a while since I last posted, and I have A LOT to post about and I wish I had started writing earlier because I have some GREAT stories that have piled up throughout this week.
Let's begin.
I started Monday waking up an HOUR LATE but still managed to make it to work on time (it is the little miracles...)But I swear my entire commute and for the majority of the morning I was asleep on my feet.It was out of control...I had a pretty ridiculous time trying to change a drill bit in a makita at work, which actually turned into a sort of embarrassing moment, in short, I tried to put this drill bit in the drill backwards. I KNOW how to change a drill bit out....cakewalk....not this morning in particular.Ugh!So I survived that day, headed home, out for a bike ride per usual. The next evening was so exciting....Tuesday night was Drag Bingo Night at Nellie's Sports Bar. I can not begin to describe the excitement for this event.....I think it is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life because it is THAT fantastic.
My cousin Audrey and I got all decked out,well, she did in fantastic retro-attire...I was exhausted and stuck with jeans and a nice shirt with fancy earrings. Haha. Attempted to hail a cab for nearly an hour!Really?!In DC who gets stuck trying to hail a cab for THAT long?Finally made it down to U St for Drag Bingo...it was PACKED and very hard to get a table...but we weaseled our way in up close to watch the start of this fantastic show....Shaquita-Lee strutting around the bar with her best Tina Turner wig on lip-singing along with it. Watching this fabulous Drag Queen strut around the bar, was sort of like a religious experience.No joke.And so begins the drag bingo hosted by hilarious drag queens, and yes we won prizes and sipped drinks that made us feel fabulous.It was fantastic and yes, I am going next week.I wish I had started going to drag bingo earlier in the summer!!
The next morning I started out at the National Museum of American History to see their shop, meet their shop guys and learn about what they do there. I meet with Peter, the lead guy at the shop, and he gave me a tour of the shop, and a few exhibits too. Peter,was really nice, and has a really neat job. He got to go to JULIA CHILDS HOME IN CAMBRIDGE TO DISASSEMBLE HER KITCHEN WHEN SHE DONATED IT TO THE SMITHSONIAN, AND ALSO REASSEMBLED IT WHEN IT CAME TO THE MUSEUM.HOLY CRAP WHEN HE TOLD ME THIS, I WANTED TO SCREAM, I WAS SO JEALOUS AND EXCITED AND THAT IS WHY I AM IN CAPS LOCK STILL. So, needless to say, I was so stoked about that, he was a great storyteller/tour guide and a good teacher. He gave me a tour of her kitchen, unfortunately not allowed to go inside because he is not the curator and he only goes inside if something needs to be fixed....I really wish I had found some kid to kick the plexi-glass around the kitchen in...so I could be there...dang. Hahaha!
But he explained to me how he used the CNC Router, to make one of the plexi-glass walls in the kitchen that has the outline of all of her kitchen gadgets...pretty cool. I learned that the Ruby Red Slippers are the most asked about thing in the museum and that the reason the shoes sit on a yellow brick road in their case now, was not because of a designer, but because of Don, who works in his shop. I learned a lot about the recent renovation to the museum and his involvement, saw a lot of 'backstage' areas,and learned many 'insider secrets' which I vowed never to speak of...
but not really, I do know a lot of insider secrets though, that I am allowed to share, but would not make any sense unless you were at the museum and I was showing you what I was talking about.
So, who wants to come visit?
Friday, I got to do a behind the scenes tour at the National Zoo, hosted by the Smithsonian Intern program....this was by far, the best intern program I have been to since I started here. We got to meet with the Curator of the Big Cat exhibit named Craig, he was really cool. He took us back to where the LIONS were in their overnight holding areas and we learned about lions, while 3 were standing a FOOT AWAY FROM ME. Oh, there was also a red panda I got to see that close too, he was cute, and old. He reminded me of an old puppy dog.
: D
The lions were amazing, I've never been that close to a wild animal before! Craig, the curator was a very passionate speaker, and you could tell he really loved his job and was very passionate about the creatures he cared for. It was a really cool experience, one that I wish I had my camera for, and not just my camera phone. But lucky for me, my camera was being a jerk again.....dang.
Later that day I went back to American History to meet with Lighting Designer Leo Karr.He was also very informative and lighting for the museum world is SO MUCH MORE EXTENSIVE THAN THEATRE. It was a little mind-blowing actually. The amount, the programs, the fact that most of the time you are lighting delicate objects that are much older, but at the same time, light labels so that the public can read information on the object....Seriously, it was nuts!!
This morning, I volunteered at the Columbia Heights Farmers Market, even though I said I would be interested in volunteering my first weekend here in DC, because I had a desire to MEET PEOPLE,MAKE FRIENDS,AND NOT SPEND MY SATURDAYS BLOGGING ABOUT MY LIFE!
Anyways,they finally got around to being like 'Oh hey email blast we need volunteers'
I got free peaches, a tshirt, and met a guy who works at the National Gallery, which is not quite a Smithsonian affiliate, but he offered to get me in touch with their shop guys so I can learn a thing or two about the behind the scenes life at NGA. Not a bad day if I do say so myself.
Only a few more weeks left, and in all reality, I think my time here has been much better than I have said in the past.....It really has been great to be in a new place, learn new things and have all of these experiences that will eventually make me stronger, smarter, wiser and hopefully a better person. I've missed the crap out of Ypsi and all of my friends and I cant wait to get back, and enjoy pizza, beer and shenanigans together.
18 days until Nate comes to visit, and we embark on a 2 week do-whatever-the-heck-we-want-vacation.
See ya'll later.
Let's begin.
I started Monday waking up an HOUR LATE but still managed to make it to work on time (it is the little miracles...)But I swear my entire commute and for the majority of the morning I was asleep on my feet.It was out of control...I had a pretty ridiculous time trying to change a drill bit in a makita at work, which actually turned into a sort of embarrassing moment, in short, I tried to put this drill bit in the drill backwards. I KNOW how to change a drill bit out....cakewalk....not this morning in particular.Ugh!So I survived that day, headed home, out for a bike ride per usual. The next evening was so exciting....Tuesday night was Drag Bingo Night at Nellie's Sports Bar. I can not begin to describe the excitement for this event.....I think it is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life because it is THAT fantastic.
My cousin Audrey and I got all decked out,well, she did in fantastic retro-attire...I was exhausted and stuck with jeans and a nice shirt with fancy earrings. Haha. Attempted to hail a cab for nearly an hour!Really?!In DC who gets stuck trying to hail a cab for THAT long?Finally made it down to U St for Drag Bingo...it was PACKED and very hard to get a table...but we weaseled our way in up close to watch the start of this fantastic show....Shaquita-Lee strutting around the bar with her best Tina Turner wig on lip-singing along with it. Watching this fabulous Drag Queen strut around the bar, was sort of like a religious experience.No joke.And so begins the drag bingo hosted by hilarious drag queens, and yes we won prizes and sipped drinks that made us feel fabulous.It was fantastic and yes, I am going next week.I wish I had started going to drag bingo earlier in the summer!!
The next morning I started out at the National Museum of American History to see their shop, meet their shop guys and learn about what they do there. I meet with Peter, the lead guy at the shop, and he gave me a tour of the shop, and a few exhibits too. Peter,was really nice, and has a really neat job. He got to go to JULIA CHILDS HOME IN CAMBRIDGE TO DISASSEMBLE HER KITCHEN WHEN SHE DONATED IT TO THE SMITHSONIAN, AND ALSO REASSEMBLED IT WHEN IT CAME TO THE MUSEUM.HOLY CRAP WHEN HE TOLD ME THIS, I WANTED TO SCREAM, I WAS SO JEALOUS AND EXCITED AND THAT IS WHY I AM IN CAPS LOCK STILL. So, needless to say, I was so stoked about that, he was a great storyteller/tour guide and a good teacher. He gave me a tour of her kitchen, unfortunately not allowed to go inside because he is not the curator and he only goes inside if something needs to be fixed....I really wish I had found some kid to kick the plexi-glass around the kitchen in...so I could be there...dang. Hahaha!
But he explained to me how he used the CNC Router, to make one of the plexi-glass walls in the kitchen that has the outline of all of her kitchen gadgets...pretty cool. I learned that the Ruby Red Slippers are the most asked about thing in the museum and that the reason the shoes sit on a yellow brick road in their case now, was not because of a designer, but because of Don, who works in his shop. I learned a lot about the recent renovation to the museum and his involvement, saw a lot of 'backstage' areas,and learned many 'insider secrets' which I vowed never to speak of...
but not really, I do know a lot of insider secrets though, that I am allowed to share, but would not make any sense unless you were at the museum and I was showing you what I was talking about.
So, who wants to come visit?
Friday, I got to do a behind the scenes tour at the National Zoo, hosted by the Smithsonian Intern program....this was by far, the best intern program I have been to since I started here. We got to meet with the Curator of the Big Cat exhibit named Craig, he was really cool. He took us back to where the LIONS were in their overnight holding areas and we learned about lions, while 3 were standing a FOOT AWAY FROM ME. Oh, there was also a red panda I got to see that close too, he was cute, and old. He reminded me of an old puppy dog.
: D
The lions were amazing, I've never been that close to a wild animal before! Craig, the curator was a very passionate speaker, and you could tell he really loved his job and was very passionate about the creatures he cared for. It was a really cool experience, one that I wish I had my camera for, and not just my camera phone. But lucky for me, my camera was being a jerk again.....dang.
Later that day I went back to American History to meet with Lighting Designer Leo Karr.He was also very informative and lighting for the museum world is SO MUCH MORE EXTENSIVE THAN THEATRE. It was a little mind-blowing actually. The amount, the programs, the fact that most of the time you are lighting delicate objects that are much older, but at the same time, light labels so that the public can read information on the object....Seriously, it was nuts!!
This morning, I volunteered at the Columbia Heights Farmers Market, even though I said I would be interested in volunteering my first weekend here in DC, because I had a desire to MEET PEOPLE,MAKE FRIENDS,AND NOT SPEND MY SATURDAYS BLOGGING ABOUT MY LIFE!
Anyways,they finally got around to being like 'Oh hey email blast we need volunteers'
I got free peaches, a tshirt, and met a guy who works at the National Gallery, which is not quite a Smithsonian affiliate, but he offered to get me in touch with their shop guys so I can learn a thing or two about the behind the scenes life at NGA. Not a bad day if I do say so myself.
Only a few more weeks left, and in all reality, I think my time here has been much better than I have said in the past.....It really has been great to be in a new place, learn new things and have all of these experiences that will eventually make me stronger, smarter, wiser and hopefully a better person. I've missed the crap out of Ypsi and all of my friends and I cant wait to get back, and enjoy pizza, beer and shenanigans together.
18 days until Nate comes to visit, and we embark on a 2 week do-whatever-the-heck-we-want-vacation.
See ya'll later.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
metro.
So, I got a moment to check out the fabrication unit at Natural History,needless to say,that was really interesting.One of the things that I was really curious about is the fact that they build things for exhibits like fossils,etc....how does a carpenter build around something that is millions and millions of years old?
Well it is a lot of working together with other people, within the museum there are different departments such as paleontology, mineral sciences etc, they all have to work together to get the museum exhibits together.It was a pretty cool thing to learn.
After Natural History,I headed back to OEC.Worked the rest of the day,then headed home...got bombarded by emails from work the next day about our Open House that is coming up on the 29th, it is going to be a simple tour etc etc,but our intern 'wrangler' likes to do this thing when the interns are in our productions meetings, where he will but in, negate what we just talked about, repeat EXACTLY what we just talked about,then say,then say, that is what he wants.
It drives me nuts.
Moving on, I spent all day Thursday and Friday working at my part time nanny gig,which was my last week because of summer camps starting : (
Dang,there goes my steady income.I spent the better part of each day,scouring lists,trying to get hired elsewhere.Ugh,I just need to be making money, I have bills and crap to pay when I get back to Michigan.
Today I spent some girl time with my cousin Audrey,where she treated me to a pedicure.Then I hopped on the metro and headed over to Columbia Heights to pick up a few things and run errands.I had a moment on the metro where I realized that I really do not like it here.This city swells to nearly 3 million people during the day,filled with tourists,politicians,families.Every day I ride public transportation and everyone seems so sad,or if I bike, I spend the better part of my bike ride avoiding death.I've found it very hard to get into any sort of community around here.I've thrown myself at places to volunteer,mostly because I want to help,and I'd like to get to know people,it hasn't worked out too much.I feel like in past situations where I was in a new place,new people, I just threw myself into situations,volunteered,and let my curiosity guide me and suddenly I had a community, and a family.
Here that has not happened at all.I guess I am going to take that as a sign,this is where I am not supposed to be in life.Granted, I am very, VERY lucky to be living with my cousin and her family, and had I lived on my own here, I think I would have given up a LONG time ago. Especially after my first week of fiascoes in this city. So, here is my epiphany I suppose; I do not belong here. Washington DC is just not for me, I still think the Smithsonian is the coolest thing since sliced bread, and maybe working for them one day will be amazing, but for now, there are other things on my mind.
I am a firm believer in that 'Everything happens for a reason' and my questions as to why I am here have not all been answered yet, and I know that I was not sent here with the soul purpose of being made fairly miserable in a big city all summer, missing friends in Michigan terribly, leaving my boyfriend in Michigan high and dry (sorry, thank you for being supportive!)
I got to know family better, I get to hang out with my cousin and her great family, I have gotten to see my aunt and uncle, I got to finally meet my nephews, see my brother in law and sister for the first time in 3 years. Those, are all really great things.
My time here is not yet over, I less than a month left at my internship.Things are going to be great,and I will go out with a bang.
Well it is a lot of working together with other people, within the museum there are different departments such as paleontology, mineral sciences etc, they all have to work together to get the museum exhibits together.It was a pretty cool thing to learn.
After Natural History,I headed back to OEC.Worked the rest of the day,then headed home...got bombarded by emails from work the next day about our Open House that is coming up on the 29th, it is going to be a simple tour etc etc,but our intern 'wrangler' likes to do this thing when the interns are in our productions meetings, where he will but in, negate what we just talked about, repeat EXACTLY what we just talked about,then say,then say, that is what he wants.
It drives me nuts.
Moving on, I spent all day Thursday and Friday working at my part time nanny gig,which was my last week because of summer camps starting : (
Dang,there goes my steady income.I spent the better part of each day,scouring lists,trying to get hired elsewhere.Ugh,I just need to be making money, I have bills and crap to pay when I get back to Michigan.
Today I spent some girl time with my cousin Audrey,where she treated me to a pedicure.Then I hopped on the metro and headed over to Columbia Heights to pick up a few things and run errands.I had a moment on the metro where I realized that I really do not like it here.This city swells to nearly 3 million people during the day,filled with tourists,politicians,families.Every day I ride public transportation and everyone seems so sad,or if I bike, I spend the better part of my bike ride avoiding death.I've found it very hard to get into any sort of community around here.I've thrown myself at places to volunteer,mostly because I want to help,and I'd like to get to know people,it hasn't worked out too much.I feel like in past situations where I was in a new place,new people, I just threw myself into situations,volunteered,and let my curiosity guide me and suddenly I had a community, and a family.
Here that has not happened at all.I guess I am going to take that as a sign,this is where I am not supposed to be in life.Granted, I am very, VERY lucky to be living with my cousin and her family, and had I lived on my own here, I think I would have given up a LONG time ago. Especially after my first week of fiascoes in this city. So, here is my epiphany I suppose; I do not belong here. Washington DC is just not for me, I still think the Smithsonian is the coolest thing since sliced bread, and maybe working for them one day will be amazing, but for now, there are other things on my mind.
I am a firm believer in that 'Everything happens for a reason' and my questions as to why I am here have not all been answered yet, and I know that I was not sent here with the soul purpose of being made fairly miserable in a big city all summer, missing friends in Michigan terribly, leaving my boyfriend in Michigan high and dry (sorry, thank you for being supportive!)
I got to know family better, I get to hang out with my cousin and her great family, I have gotten to see my aunt and uncle, I got to finally meet my nephews, see my brother in law and sister for the first time in 3 years. Those, are all really great things.
My time here is not yet over, I less than a month left at my internship.Things are going to be great,and I will go out with a bang.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
CORRECTION, That is the CAPITOL BUILDING.
This is the title of my new favorite game, I invented it.I came up with this game after I moved here because I spend a lot of time on the National Mall.Which is not to be mistaken with a shopping center.Every time I over hear a tourist look at the United States Capitol Building and exclaim
'LOOK THE WHITE HOUSE!'
I swoop in to correct them,in hopes to educate them,and make them feel slightly like a moron.
The making them feel like a moron part is my favorite part.
For those of you that dont know this is the CAPITOL BUILDING:
THIS is the WHITE HOUSE:
The more you know.
'LOOK THE WHITE HOUSE!'
I swoop in to correct them,in hopes to educate them,and make them feel slightly like a moron.
The making them feel like a moron part is my favorite part.
For those of you that dont know this is the CAPITOL BUILDING:
THIS is the WHITE HOUSE:
The more you know.
Monday, July 12, 2010
busy,busy,busy.
I've been staying pretty busy lately.But don't ever say to me
"Wow,You're busy"
Or any statement that remotely resembles the above.
I don't know why,but it drives me fucking bonkers.
I know how to manage my time,trust me on this.
Moving on.OEC has been buzzing lately and I love it.My first day back from Folklife I actually wandered into the Graphics Unit to help Theresa with an exhibit from S.I.T.E.S,which stands for Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Services.It is a program that takes exhibits to small towns.I was unloading an exhibit that just came back from somewhere in Georgia.It was called 'Key Ingredients' and was about the history of food in America.I had to un-pack everything from their crates,clean,mend etc.It was neat because it reminded me of prop-work.In the crates the exhibits all had spots,dedicated to specific items.It was a nifty little exhibit and really very fun.
The next day I went back into the paint shop to help Walter.It was great, I was prepping some panels for paint (say that 5 times fast) and then being awesome,I knocked one over,and onto the nearby slop sink,which subsequently put a GIANT FREAKING HOLE IN IT.
Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed.But,nothing a little wood putty cant fix.
I worked all weekend long as a nanny for different families.It is good money, and keeps me busy (there is that damn word again) hopefully I can make enough money to start paying back loans.Wahoo!
Today,I was back in the paint shop with Walter,painting frames for an upcoming exhibit at the National Postal Museum called 'Collecting History',I got a real hands on experience with a REAAAALLLLLYYY nice Kremel Paint Gun,and primed all the frames,and will put the finish coat on tomorrow.Wednesday, I will be visiting the small fabrication unit inside of Natural History.I am so excited about this,I could pee my pants.No really.Natural History is my favorite of all the museums!Hopefully I will be checking out a few other fab units at the other museums before I leave.
Also today,began the frantic planning of an OEC Open House.We,the interns,will give tours,and 10 minute run-downs of what it is like to be an intern at OEC to fellow interns,friends,family,and other SI Staff on July 29th.
Holy Cow!
Halfway there!
"Wow,You're busy"
Or any statement that remotely resembles the above.
I don't know why,but it drives me fucking bonkers.
I know how to manage my time,trust me on this.
Moving on.OEC has been buzzing lately and I love it.My first day back from Folklife I actually wandered into the Graphics Unit to help Theresa with an exhibit from S.I.T.E.S,which stands for Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Services.It is a program that takes exhibits to small towns.I was unloading an exhibit that just came back from somewhere in Georgia.It was called 'Key Ingredients' and was about the history of food in America.I had to un-pack everything from their crates,clean,mend etc.It was neat because it reminded me of prop-work.In the crates the exhibits all had spots,dedicated to specific items.It was a nifty little exhibit and really very fun.
The next day I went back into the paint shop to help Walter.It was great, I was prepping some panels for paint (say that 5 times fast) and then being awesome,I knocked one over,and onto the nearby slop sink,which subsequently put a GIANT FREAKING HOLE IN IT.
Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed.But,nothing a little wood putty cant fix.
I worked all weekend long as a nanny for different families.It is good money, and keeps me busy (there is that damn word again) hopefully I can make enough money to start paying back loans.Wahoo!
Today,I was back in the paint shop with Walter,painting frames for an upcoming exhibit at the National Postal Museum called 'Collecting History',I got a real hands on experience with a REAAAALLLLLYYY nice Kremel Paint Gun,and primed all the frames,and will put the finish coat on tomorrow.Wednesday, I will be visiting the small fabrication unit inside of Natural History.I am so excited about this,I could pee my pants.No really.Natural History is my favorite of all the museums!Hopefully I will be checking out a few other fab units at the other museums before I leave.
Also today,began the frantic planning of an OEC Open House.We,the interns,will give tours,and 10 minute run-downs of what it is like to be an intern at OEC to fellow interns,friends,family,and other SI Staff on July 29th.
Holy Cow!
Halfway there!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Is it really a tale of woe?
Well,before I get into the Smithsonian Folklife Festival,let's talk about how awesome the 4th of July was here.I went downtown with my cousin and her family for the festivities,our first stop was the the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery where we saw the private Norman Rockwell collection of George Lucas and Stephen Speilberg,that was pretty cool.After that we walked down towards the mall to scope out a spot for the fireworks.We found a pretty good spot in front of the Lincoln Memorial and waited for the show to start.The fireworks were pretty freaking spectacular.Then,we walked to Dupont Circle to avoid the mass crowds to hop on the metro to go home.Finally made it home by midnight,showered and crawled into bed.
It was a very good 4th of July....and I am not so sure I would ever want to be in Downtown DC again on the 4th for as long as I live.Hahaha.
Now on to Folklife.....
So, I was supposed to be working on the National Mall today at Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2010.
Let me do a quick re-cap of this festival for you all,get some of you caught up.
In the weeks leading up to Folklife I was asked if I wanted to be involved,I said yes out of curiosity and because I enjoy helping people,and my internship is actually pretty cool.So I filled out the appropriate paperwork for Folklife and faxed it off to the Folklife people.
Signed,sealed,delivered.
Or so I thought.
I offer to help set up our tent on the National Mall the Wednesday before the Festival starts,I was pretty excited to do so because I like being outside,and working outside.I get there,unload a bunch of things from the truck,help set up.I am then asked to fill out the SAME paperwork by the woman in charge and I personally handed it to the woman in charge.
I use that term 'in charge' loosely.
So for the first day I worked Folklife I went down to the Mall and attempted to check-in,they do not have a badge for me-and I managed to get meal tickets because the guy from the Fab unit did not show up that day.I mentioned that I filled out paperwork twice,and that I would be working Folklife again on July 5th,and what can I do to make sure that this does not happen on the 5th.Of course I do not get much response and spend the rest of that day in the humidity...ugh.
So today is July 5th,everyone else has the day off except me.I go down to the mall,attempt to check in today,and AGAIN...they have nothing for me.No name badge,no meal tickets.
Seriously,again?I say to them I filled out YOUR paperwork TWICE,I am not sure where YOU MESSED UP.
I waited around the Design and Display tent for Harry to show up and I explained to him my situation,how ticked off I was,and if he didnt need me for the day,could I just leave?
He said yes and I was sooooo stoked.Harry is a pretty cool guy,he comes off sort of crotchety but that is part of his charm,hahaha.He agreed with me that he would be pretty ticked off too,so he just let me go.I was pretty happy,so now I am at home,in the wonderful air conditioning,enjoying some quiet and hopefully going to see One Man Lord Of The Rings at Woolly Mammoth Theatre tonight.
Believe me, I shed no tears over the Festival coordinators lack of being able to do anything right,it is 95+ outside today,do I really want to be on the National Mall?
Heck no!
It was a very good 4th of July....and I am not so sure I would ever want to be in Downtown DC again on the 4th for as long as I live.Hahaha.
Now on to Folklife.....
So, I was supposed to be working on the National Mall today at Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2010.
Let me do a quick re-cap of this festival for you all,get some of you caught up.
In the weeks leading up to Folklife I was asked if I wanted to be involved,I said yes out of curiosity and because I enjoy helping people,and my internship is actually pretty cool.So I filled out the appropriate paperwork for Folklife and faxed it off to the Folklife people.
Signed,sealed,delivered.
Or so I thought.
I offer to help set up our tent on the National Mall the Wednesday before the Festival starts,I was pretty excited to do so because I like being outside,and working outside.I get there,unload a bunch of things from the truck,help set up.I am then asked to fill out the SAME paperwork by the woman in charge and I personally handed it to the woman in charge.
I use that term 'in charge' loosely.
So for the first day I worked Folklife I went down to the Mall and attempted to check-in,they do not have a badge for me-and I managed to get meal tickets because the guy from the Fab unit did not show up that day.I mentioned that I filled out paperwork twice,and that I would be working Folklife again on July 5th,and what can I do to make sure that this does not happen on the 5th.Of course I do not get much response and spend the rest of that day in the humidity...ugh.
So today is July 5th,everyone else has the day off except me.I go down to the mall,attempt to check in today,and AGAIN...they have nothing for me.No name badge,no meal tickets.
Seriously,again?I say to them I filled out YOUR paperwork TWICE,I am not sure where YOU MESSED UP.
I waited around the Design and Display tent for Harry to show up and I explained to him my situation,how ticked off I was,and if he didnt need me for the day,could I just leave?
He said yes and I was sooooo stoked.Harry is a pretty cool guy,he comes off sort of crotchety but that is part of his charm,hahaha.He agreed with me that he would be pretty ticked off too,so he just let me go.I was pretty happy,so now I am at home,in the wonderful air conditioning,enjoying some quiet and hopefully going to see One Man Lord Of The Rings at Woolly Mammoth Theatre tonight.
Believe me, I shed no tears over the Festival coordinators lack of being able to do anything right,it is 95+ outside today,do I really want to be on the National Mall?
Heck no!
Friday, July 2, 2010
It's July?!Say whaaaa?!
Holy Crap it is July!!Finally, I never thought June would end....the last few days in June seemed to CRAWL,not to mention I was totally bumming during that period of time too.I was feelin' really homesick, I missed my friends,I missed my boyfriend,I missed Ypsi.In that time I just wanted to be home,gettin' into shenanigans, drinkin' a beer at the corner brewery with all my friends and just lovin' my life in Ypsi.Then suddenly I realized I had no reason to be THAT depressed.I am living a pretty care-free life right now.I have little to no responsibility to speak of,and I am in a city that NEEDS to be explored,so I had a change of mind,and a change of heart.I realized that I can go and do what I please,when I please.I do not have to cater to anyone else but me.I can stop when I want,I can go where I want,and if I don't want to do something, I don't have to.It made things much better.Granted it is always nice to explore with a friend,but when I do find myself exploring something by myself....I just embrace that alone time,I can be as selfish as I want, and who gets that chance very often anyways?
Needless to say, that change of mind helped turn my week around for a very GREAT week.
I started off Monday in the dumps,I volunteered to work at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival that day,and someone told me to be there at 8AM,which is hysterical because the festival doesn't start until 11AM,and check-in for staff doesn't start until 10AM.I was pretty cranky that morning,it ended up being a mostly ok day despite the heat,and obnoxious tourists I had to fight with on the metro on my way home.The next day in the office I worked a lot on building panels for an upcoming exhibit called 'Cypress' (As in the country) that will open this September at Natural History.I am excited to work on this mostly because I will be here for it to be nearly complete.It will be nice to see my work come full circle.There are a lot of random things that the office has been working on that are long term projects,and that is mostly what happens around OEC.Wednesday I got my very own OEC t-shirt but was totally exhausted for some strange reason,bought some coffee from the nicest woman in the world,Wanda, who works in the cafeteria at OEC.Coffee,staff t-shirt,shoot I am just another regular OEC employee or something.Hahaa.I also spent Wednesday doing what one might call 'grunt work' or 'bitch work' but no matter,if you get assigned to do such work,do it right,make it awesome,and do it with a smile.I had to clean up the paint spray booths.Take out all the filters,remove the paper from the floor,but new filters in,and new paper down.Although I suppose it is fitting that I do this, considering Walter let me have at it with a paint gun....and I nearly painted his entire shop,but that is besides the point.Hahaha.
: D
There is something so strange about this city,it runs on clockwork.I swear on it.Everyday during my daily commute I see the same people,doing the same thing.Whether I bike or take the bus into work.The same people at the same bus stops,the same cyclists,and joggers outside of Natural History.The same guy on the fold-up bike in his suit probably going to work.The same group of bike cops,I wonder if they notice me,sitting there, watching them,I know it sounds creepy but I just notice these things,these people....its strange how precise they are.But I suppose being in the nations capitol it is appropriate.Wait, I take that back,clockwork,precision this country does not run like that...
The weekend is hardly over and so far it has been fun.I biked all around the city with my cousin Audrey yesterday.We started the day in Brightwood,where we live,biked to Tenley Town,the biked to Eastern Market and ate lunch at The Good Stuff, which is Chef Spike of Top Chef's restaurant.It was so delicious,I mean 'holy crap this is awesome delicious', I highly recommend it.Then later that night I went to the bar with my friend Emily last night for drinks,and then we explored the Capitol Hill and Eastern Market area.
Today I went down to the National Museum of the American Indian,walked in through the staff entrance,flashed my badge and bypassed lines,and security.Needless to say,that was awesome,and made me feel like I was a total baller....hahaha.I saw an amazing exhibit by Brian Jungen, it was so beautiful and moving.I also spent about an hour and half in their resource library reading.The librarian there brought me the LARGEST stack of books about the Cherokee tribe,their library has an amazing view of the CAPITOL BUILDING which is often mistaken by tourists for being THE WHITE HOUSE which I find to be disturbing that these people do not know the difference.
Anyways,it is about to be the Fourth of July in our Nation's Capitol and I get to be here to experience all that madness, I am sure it will be amazing and I will never want to do experience that madness on the National Mall ever.again.
I am excited either way though.
:D
Needless to say, that change of mind helped turn my week around for a very GREAT week.
I started off Monday in the dumps,I volunteered to work at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival that day,and someone told me to be there at 8AM,which is hysterical because the festival doesn't start until 11AM,and check-in for staff doesn't start until 10AM.I was pretty cranky that morning,it ended up being a mostly ok day despite the heat,and obnoxious tourists I had to fight with on the metro on my way home.The next day in the office I worked a lot on building panels for an upcoming exhibit called 'Cypress' (As in the country) that will open this September at Natural History.I am excited to work on this mostly because I will be here for it to be nearly complete.It will be nice to see my work come full circle.There are a lot of random things that the office has been working on that are long term projects,and that is mostly what happens around OEC.Wednesday I got my very own OEC t-shirt but was totally exhausted for some strange reason,bought some coffee from the nicest woman in the world,Wanda, who works in the cafeteria at OEC.Coffee,staff t-shirt,shoot I am just another regular OEC employee or something.Hahaa.I also spent Wednesday doing what one might call 'grunt work' or 'bitch work' but no matter,if you get assigned to do such work,do it right,make it awesome,and do it with a smile.I had to clean up the paint spray booths.Take out all the filters,remove the paper from the floor,but new filters in,and new paper down.Although I suppose it is fitting that I do this, considering Walter let me have at it with a paint gun....and I nearly painted his entire shop,but that is besides the point.Hahaha.
: D
There is something so strange about this city,it runs on clockwork.I swear on it.Everyday during my daily commute I see the same people,doing the same thing.Whether I bike or take the bus into work.The same people at the same bus stops,the same cyclists,and joggers outside of Natural History.The same guy on the fold-up bike in his suit probably going to work.The same group of bike cops,I wonder if they notice me,sitting there, watching them,I know it sounds creepy but I just notice these things,these people....its strange how precise they are.But I suppose being in the nations capitol it is appropriate.Wait, I take that back,clockwork,precision this country does not run like that...
The weekend is hardly over and so far it has been fun.I biked all around the city with my cousin Audrey yesterday.We started the day in Brightwood,where we live,biked to Tenley Town,the biked to Eastern Market and ate lunch at The Good Stuff, which is Chef Spike of Top Chef's restaurant.It was so delicious,I mean 'holy crap this is awesome delicious', I highly recommend it.Then later that night I went to the bar with my friend Emily last night for drinks,and then we explored the Capitol Hill and Eastern Market area.
Today I went down to the National Museum of the American Indian,walked in through the staff entrance,flashed my badge and bypassed lines,and security.Needless to say,that was awesome,and made me feel like I was a total baller....hahaha.I saw an amazing exhibit by Brian Jungen, it was so beautiful and moving.I also spent about an hour and half in their resource library reading.The librarian there brought me the LARGEST stack of books about the Cherokee tribe,their library has an amazing view of the CAPITOL BUILDING which is often mistaken by tourists for being THE WHITE HOUSE which I find to be disturbing that these people do not know the difference.
Anyways,it is about to be the Fourth of July in our Nation's Capitol and I get to be here to experience all that madness, I am sure it will be amazing and I will never want to do experience that madness on the National Mall ever.again.
I am excited either way though.
:D
Friday, June 25, 2010
wait,what?
So,it is 1033 on a Friday night,and I am at home,blogging.Damn.
I am trying to think about where this week has gone....I feel like I have spent most of it in motion,biking,on a bus,on the metro....shoot.In fact I am not really sure what I did at work for most of the week.I know for a fact Tuesday I was an ultra space cadet at work,my day started with me not being able to assemble a blender,followed by missing my bus.
Oops.
I did;however, end my day at the bar with one of my intern friends, Jared.We went to the Town Tavern in Adams Morgan for 1$ tallboys(classy,I know) and to watch some world cup soccer.A few of his friends were there and they were pretty cool.I had to leave shortly after my one 1$ drink because, I am THAT broke.It was good to hang out with people, and be social.I am craving that,I am friendly and when I am at home,I am with people I love all the time, and hang out with them too...here it's like, I go to work,have a fairly good time at lunch with the other interns, and then its like.....welp,see ya tomorrow.
Wednesday I helped set up the Design&Display tent for Smithsonian Folklife 2010.That was a good experience, despite the crazy heat.
Today I started babysitting for a family,it was good to make money FINALLY.I would have liked to have more babysitting jobs lined up for the entire weekend though so I could have been making more money....gah!
I have spent most of today in a lonely funk, and that REALLY sucks.I miss Ypsi,I miss my friends,I miss my boyfriend,I miss getting into shenanigans in the mitten.It is okay to be lonely sometimes,and to be sad...hopefully my adventures tomorrow will get rid of all this funk....
I really wish I could go on an ice cream run to meijer with Kate right now though.
: (
I am trying to think about where this week has gone....I feel like I have spent most of it in motion,biking,on a bus,on the metro....shoot.In fact I am not really sure what I did at work for most of the week.I know for a fact Tuesday I was an ultra space cadet at work,my day started with me not being able to assemble a blender,followed by missing my bus.
Oops.
I did;however, end my day at the bar with one of my intern friends, Jared.We went to the Town Tavern in Adams Morgan for 1$ tallboys(classy,I know) and to watch some world cup soccer.A few of his friends were there and they were pretty cool.I had to leave shortly after my one 1$ drink because, I am THAT broke.It was good to hang out with people, and be social.I am craving that,I am friendly and when I am at home,I am with people I love all the time, and hang out with them too...here it's like, I go to work,have a fairly good time at lunch with the other interns, and then its like.....welp,see ya tomorrow.
Wednesday I helped set up the Design&Display tent for Smithsonian Folklife 2010.That was a good experience, despite the crazy heat.
Today I started babysitting for a family,it was good to make money FINALLY.I would have liked to have more babysitting jobs lined up for the entire weekend though so I could have been making more money....gah!
I have spent most of today in a lonely funk, and that REALLY sucks.I miss Ypsi,I miss my friends,I miss my boyfriend,I miss getting into shenanigans in the mitten.It is okay to be lonely sometimes,and to be sad...hopefully my adventures tomorrow will get rid of all this funk....
I really wish I could go on an ice cream run to meijer with Kate right now though.
: (
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Adventure is out there!
So,this past week was really awesome.I explored Georgetown on Sunday,bought a pair of red TOMS,had my water bottle explode inside my bag and now my camera is sitting inside of a bag of rice,hopefully it will dry out and I will get another year and a half of use out of it before I have to buy another one.I love my camera,and I have to have it in order to take sweet pictures of all the great things I am working on at the Smithsonian.
What did I do this week at the Smithsonian you might ask?
Well,what did'nt I do is the better question.
I started off the week painting with Walter.The first time I was introduced to Walter he was sitting at his desk,and when I started working with him, I realized that he was the tallest man in the world.Literally.The guy is freaking huge, and a blast to work with.He has a real hands-off teaching style,so I got to dive right into the world of paint guns,started painting cases as soon as I walked in his door.I spent the majority of the week with him,my final day in the shop, I helped build 'chinampas' for the 2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival,pretty cool and I can't wait to see them at the festival.
This past Thursday was the 'Smithsonian Intern Ice Cream Social'!
What a big let down.I started off my day early and went to the Hirshhorn Gallery and enjoyed a great exhibit by Yves Klien,and walked over to the National Postal Museum to meet and mingle with other interns, and get free ice cream!!
I was very disappointed when I got my two-bite sample size cup of ice cream,and hardly talked to other interns,it was very much so the lamest ice cream social ever.Then again,when is an ice cream social, not lame,well I guess when you actually have delicious ice cream.
I solved my ice cream situation later that afternoon as I found a Fro-Yo on my way to my metro stop.
The Postal Museum I highly recommend though,rather small, but actually very cool.This weekend so far has been uneventful, I was hoping to get together with my OEC interns and get into shenanigans and tomfoolery, but none of them seem too interested in either.
LAME.
I need friends in DC,so I don't spend my Saturday afternoons blogging about my life.
Hopefully Toy Story 3 will be in my life this weekend,I am debating on exploring Eastern Market or the National Zoo tomorrow.We will see what happens.
What did I do this week at the Smithsonian you might ask?
Well,what did'nt I do is the better question.
I started off the week painting with Walter.The first time I was introduced to Walter he was sitting at his desk,and when I started working with him, I realized that he was the tallest man in the world.Literally.The guy is freaking huge, and a blast to work with.He has a real hands-off teaching style,so I got to dive right into the world of paint guns,started painting cases as soon as I walked in his door.I spent the majority of the week with him,my final day in the shop, I helped build 'chinampas' for the 2010 Smithsonian Folklife Festival,pretty cool and I can't wait to see them at the festival.
This past Thursday was the 'Smithsonian Intern Ice Cream Social'!
What a big let down.I started off my day early and went to the Hirshhorn Gallery and enjoyed a great exhibit by Yves Klien,and walked over to the National Postal Museum to meet and mingle with other interns, and get free ice cream!!
I was very disappointed when I got my two-bite sample size cup of ice cream,and hardly talked to other interns,it was very much so the lamest ice cream social ever.Then again,when is an ice cream social, not lame,well I guess when you actually have delicious ice cream.
I solved my ice cream situation later that afternoon as I found a Fro-Yo on my way to my metro stop.
The Postal Museum I highly recommend though,rather small, but actually very cool.This weekend so far has been uneventful, I was hoping to get together with my OEC interns and get into shenanigans and tomfoolery, but none of them seem too interested in either.
LAME.
I need friends in DC,so I don't spend my Saturday afternoons blogging about my life.
Hopefully Toy Story 3 will be in my life this weekend,I am debating on exploring Eastern Market or the National Zoo tomorrow.We will see what happens.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Adventures in DC.
So, a short re-cap of the week.
Pretty awesome.
I only work part time as an intern,so I am at OEC Monday thru Wednesday 8:30-4:30.Wednesday was a good day, I learned a lot and had NO fiasco's getting to or from work.Learned a great deal at work about building crates to house artifacts and exhibits....so the next big question is:Will I get to touch said artifacts?
Thursday I spent most of the day with my cousin, Audrey shelping around the greater DC area.Running errands,dropping kids off at school, going to the gym,getting groceries,and ending the day with pizza and beer.A very good day if I do say so myself.
I get an email that evening from my intern coordinator telling me that my ID is ready and the next morning I hop on the metro into the city,head down to Capital Gallery,pick up my idea and head back to her place.I explored some more of the downtown DC area,and the neighborhood of Takoma Park, kind of a hippy little place,but pretty awesome.I hopped on my bike when I got home and hit the streets for a while, and came home, totally wiped out.I grew up in this heat, but I have a lot to re-learn when it comes to taking care of myself in the humidity and everything.No matter, I will get it right.
Other than that a very uneventful evening,and tonight may very well be the same, but I do not mind too much.Tomorrow, I will be exploring Georgetown!I think it will benefit me greatly if I spend Sundays exploring the city some.Hopefully that will continue!
Pretty awesome.
I only work part time as an intern,so I am at OEC Monday thru Wednesday 8:30-4:30.Wednesday was a good day, I learned a lot and had NO fiasco's getting to or from work.Learned a great deal at work about building crates to house artifacts and exhibits....so the next big question is:Will I get to touch said artifacts?
Thursday I spent most of the day with my cousin, Audrey shelping around the greater DC area.Running errands,dropping kids off at school, going to the gym,getting groceries,and ending the day with pizza and beer.A very good day if I do say so myself.
I get an email that evening from my intern coordinator telling me that my ID is ready and the next morning I hop on the metro into the city,head down to Capital Gallery,pick up my idea and head back to her place.I explored some more of the downtown DC area,and the neighborhood of Takoma Park, kind of a hippy little place,but pretty awesome.I hopped on my bike when I got home and hit the streets for a while, and came home, totally wiped out.I grew up in this heat, but I have a lot to re-learn when it comes to taking care of myself in the humidity and everything.No matter, I will get it right.
Other than that a very uneventful evening,and tonight may very well be the same, but I do not mind too much.Tomorrow, I will be exploring Georgetown!I think it will benefit me greatly if I spend Sundays exploring the city some.Hopefully that will continue!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
shitsonian.
Despite the negative title for this post, it is in all honesty not all bad.Most of it is'nt bad at all, in fact there is a lot of good,and now that the bad is over, in retrospect; hilarious.
Well,yesterday was the first day of my internship.I was dropped off at work by my cousin's husband, I was unable to take the shuttle that drops you off at my particular location due to the fact that I still do not have an ID badge,great.My intern coordinator met me at the front desk and brought me back to a conference room where there were 3 other interns waiting.He talked about 'refreshments' in the conference room,I was very disappointed to see that it was a giant paper basket of strawberries,no napkins,and off-brand juice...no joke.I mean I wasn'nt expecting them to provide breakfast by any means but I had in my head this idea that an office of the Smithsonian would be a little classier.
From there I met six other interns, we're all about the same age,the majority of them live in the area, save for myself and two others.They seem like a fairly good group of people,we did'nt spend much time with one another, but I am hoping there will be shenanigans to come with them.The rest of the day was rather interesting,for the most part I felt like a toddler being passed around from person to person-I felt like everyone's reaction was "You take her, I don't know what you want me to do with her".The guy who is supposed to be my supervisor does not seem to care too much that I am around, such is life.
Finally 3 o'clock rolled around, and that was the last shuttle leaving my office to the National Mall (For those of you not familiar with the DC Area,no it is not a shopping center, it is the area in between the Capital and the Monument)All 7 of the interns piled into the 'Smithsonian Shuttle' which actually was a van.On our way back to the mall it was pretty silent.Come to find out all of us had felt that way...like we were being passed around from person to person....clearly they were not ready for us.I started to wonder what crack I was smoking when I thought that interning with the Smithsonian would be a grand idea....at one point I may have told some of you all that this was a paid internship..I am sad to say I was poorly mistaken.I took it anyways because I have always wanted to work for the Smithsonian,its one of my dreams.Anyways, we are unpaid,we are not given housing,we did'nt even get free lunch on Monday (again, I might be expecting too much, but even at Whole Foods on our first day we were all given 7$ gift cards to get lunch in the cafeteria area)crappy transportation,come are we at least going to get a free t-shirt?
Anyways,we got dropped off at the mall and to feel better, I went to the Natural History Museum to see my favorite exhibit in the entire world,the dinosaurs and was instantly stoked.Then went next door to see my favorite lady, Julia Child and walked to my bus stop.I was lucky enough to find a CVS along the way so I could purchase my Smart Card.This is where it gets good.
My card would not work at the CVS to purchase the smart card...I try Metro Center...I try an ATM to get cash out...my card had demagnetized itself.No worries, I pull out my change purse only to discover I am $1.00 short.Great.
So,I walk a ways up 14th knowing that eventually it will take me back to where I am living...and was advised by my boyfriend who I called sobbing in a frenzy to 'put the pride in the bag and call my cousin'.I listened to him, because let's face it, he is full of good ideas, and knows how to take care of me.I call my cousin in tears and in much embarrassment who comes to my rescue.She is quite the wonderful gal, and I owe her big time.When we got back home, she offered me a blueberry beer, and I felt much better.
Moving on to today,I stood by my 'dropping public transportation like a bad habit' statement and biked to the Mall to catch the SI shuttle.It only took about a half an hour and I made it with plenty of time to spare,so I ate my breakfast in the peace of the morning in front of the Smithsonian Castle, and decide to put my jeans on over my cycling spandex.
I open my bag,and sift around....they are not there.I sift around again swearing over and over again that I put my pants in the bag.
Fuck.If I had to have OSHA regulation shoes to work at OEC,they are not going to let me walk around the office in freaking bike shorts.
I unlock my bike and start pedaling in the direction of downtown dialing my cousins number making sure I am going in the right direction of some shopping.Problem is, it is only 8AM, I was supposed to be on the shuttle at 8AM,and also nothing is open.I call to make sure someone at OEC knows I am going to be late.Audrey then sends her husband into the city with a pair of pants....awesome.
Again, I owe them...BIGTIME.I snag a shuttle to my office and arrive by 915AM...again no one seems to care...then again I am not getting paid...so what does it matter?Okay, I am sure it matters....anyways.I get put to work with Robert who is actually very pleasant to work with and has an interest in teaching, we start ripping down old sheets of dibond to reuse for the upcoming SI Folklife Festival.I learned how to use a panel saw.Then it was lunchtime.We get an hour for lunch,WTF,mate?I have never worked a job,where I got an hour for lunch,needless to say, pretty gnarly.I sat with all of the other interns in the commons area of this building.We all made plans to sit together the day before because we were scattered around sitting with random staff having the most awkward lunch of our lives.It was more awkward than 6th lunch...seriously.Following lunch I went back to work with Robert,and then went to a meeting with my intern coordinator and the other interns to meet the Director of OEC.After that meeting,the other interns were going to catch the 3PM shuttle,and I was going to go back to work.I was going to go back to work until 430, however;Robert dismissed me because he was busy the rest of the day placing orders.Robert is very nice,and another guy I helped today Harry is also nice.Dave and Scott, pretend I do not exist.
I hauled ass out of the building to catch the shuttle, I made it,and Vik, the hilarious shuttle drive said to me
'Are you ready for my tardy speech?'
Uh-oh
Me, meekly..
'Yes....'
Him 'That was it'
Whew.
Another almost silent bus ride back....a few short conversations here and there.I arrived back at the mall,got my bike and went home.
Lets see what happens tomorrow.
Well,yesterday was the first day of my internship.I was dropped off at work by my cousin's husband, I was unable to take the shuttle that drops you off at my particular location due to the fact that I still do not have an ID badge,great.My intern coordinator met me at the front desk and brought me back to a conference room where there were 3 other interns waiting.He talked about 'refreshments' in the conference room,I was very disappointed to see that it was a giant paper basket of strawberries,no napkins,and off-brand juice...no joke.I mean I wasn'nt expecting them to provide breakfast by any means but I had in my head this idea that an office of the Smithsonian would be a little classier.
From there I met six other interns, we're all about the same age,the majority of them live in the area, save for myself and two others.They seem like a fairly good group of people,we did'nt spend much time with one another, but I am hoping there will be shenanigans to come with them.The rest of the day was rather interesting,for the most part I felt like a toddler being passed around from person to person-I felt like everyone's reaction was "You take her, I don't know what you want me to do with her".The guy who is supposed to be my supervisor does not seem to care too much that I am around, such is life.
Finally 3 o'clock rolled around, and that was the last shuttle leaving my office to the National Mall (For those of you not familiar with the DC Area,no it is not a shopping center, it is the area in between the Capital and the Monument)All 7 of the interns piled into the 'Smithsonian Shuttle' which actually was a van.On our way back to the mall it was pretty silent.Come to find out all of us had felt that way...like we were being passed around from person to person....clearly they were not ready for us.I started to wonder what crack I was smoking when I thought that interning with the Smithsonian would be a grand idea....at one point I may have told some of you all that this was a paid internship..I am sad to say I was poorly mistaken.I took it anyways because I have always wanted to work for the Smithsonian,its one of my dreams.Anyways, we are unpaid,we are not given housing,we did'nt even get free lunch on Monday (again, I might be expecting too much, but even at Whole Foods on our first day we were all given 7$ gift cards to get lunch in the cafeteria area)crappy transportation,come are we at least going to get a free t-shirt?
Anyways,we got dropped off at the mall and to feel better, I went to the Natural History Museum to see my favorite exhibit in the entire world,the dinosaurs and was instantly stoked.Then went next door to see my favorite lady, Julia Child and walked to my bus stop.I was lucky enough to find a CVS along the way so I could purchase my Smart Card.This is where it gets good.
My card would not work at the CVS to purchase the smart card...I try Metro Center...I try an ATM to get cash out...my card had demagnetized itself.No worries, I pull out my change purse only to discover I am $1.00 short.Great.
So,I walk a ways up 14th knowing that eventually it will take me back to where I am living...and was advised by my boyfriend who I called sobbing in a frenzy to 'put the pride in the bag and call my cousin'.I listened to him, because let's face it, he is full of good ideas, and knows how to take care of me.I call my cousin in tears and in much embarrassment who comes to my rescue.She is quite the wonderful gal, and I owe her big time.When we got back home, she offered me a blueberry beer, and I felt much better.
Moving on to today,I stood by my 'dropping public transportation like a bad habit' statement and biked to the Mall to catch the SI shuttle.It only took about a half an hour and I made it with plenty of time to spare,so I ate my breakfast in the peace of the morning in front of the Smithsonian Castle, and decide to put my jeans on over my cycling spandex.
I open my bag,and sift around....they are not there.I sift around again swearing over and over again that I put my pants in the bag.
Fuck.If I had to have OSHA regulation shoes to work at OEC,they are not going to let me walk around the office in freaking bike shorts.
I unlock my bike and start pedaling in the direction of downtown dialing my cousins number making sure I am going in the right direction of some shopping.Problem is, it is only 8AM, I was supposed to be on the shuttle at 8AM,and also nothing is open.I call to make sure someone at OEC knows I am going to be late.Audrey then sends her husband into the city with a pair of pants....awesome.
Again, I owe them...BIGTIME.I snag a shuttle to my office and arrive by 915AM...again no one seems to care...then again I am not getting paid...so what does it matter?Okay, I am sure it matters....anyways.I get put to work with Robert who is actually very pleasant to work with and has an interest in teaching, we start ripping down old sheets of dibond to reuse for the upcoming SI Folklife Festival.I learned how to use a panel saw.Then it was lunchtime.We get an hour for lunch,WTF,mate?I have never worked a job,where I got an hour for lunch,needless to say, pretty gnarly.I sat with all of the other interns in the commons area of this building.We all made plans to sit together the day before because we were scattered around sitting with random staff having the most awkward lunch of our lives.It was more awkward than 6th lunch...seriously.Following lunch I went back to work with Robert,and then went to a meeting with my intern coordinator and the other interns to meet the Director of OEC.After that meeting,the other interns were going to catch the 3PM shuttle,and I was going to go back to work.I was going to go back to work until 430, however;Robert dismissed me because he was busy the rest of the day placing orders.Robert is very nice,and another guy I helped today Harry is also nice.Dave and Scott, pretend I do not exist.
I hauled ass out of the building to catch the shuttle, I made it,and Vik, the hilarious shuttle drive said to me
'Are you ready for my tardy speech?'
Uh-oh
Me, meekly..
'Yes....'
Him 'That was it'
Whew.
Another almost silent bus ride back....a few short conversations here and there.I arrived back at the mall,got my bike and went home.
Lets see what happens tomorrow.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
smith-tern.
Sorry,I jacked the idea for the term from the Mythbusters,so shoot me?But,please don't, I really like living.And eventually I'd like to work for them anyways...sorry as I trail off in another outrageous direction.
Tomorrow.
Smithsonian.
930AM.
Orientation(CHECK..for all of you Eagles : D).
Then who knows how the rest of the day will go!
Here goes nothing!
Tomorrow.
Smithsonian.
930AM.
Orientation(CHECK..for all of you Eagles : D).
Then who knows how the rest of the day will go!
Here goes nothing!
Friday, June 4, 2010
harDCore.
So,where do I begin in this mildly fantastic shitshow?Most of my fairly easy packing yesterday kept getting sidetracked by various events that were out of my control.One meltdown later, I managed to MacGyver my life for the next three months into the trunk of the car, and shoved my poor bike into the back seat, partially disassembled,mind you this was about 140AM by the time I was done...and then I crawled into bed only to be greeted by my wonderful alarm that went off at 445AM.The alarm went of I grumbled,groaned and stumbled half awake to shower and get dressed.Then I departed before the sun came up, I slammed a Monster Energy Drink, which always proves to be a horrible choice,yet in times of no sleep ('till brooklyn!)I reach for its delight at first, but horribly backstabbing ways.My first destination was the location of my office.It is situated on the Maryland side of DC, not too far out of the way.After hitting strange traffic, as well as an interesting situation that involved an unbelievable amount of police blocking off various exits,and surrounding a nearby building with about 20 motor police and although I am no expert, I think there was a bomb squad car.So made it past all of that nonsense to this industrial park area.I arrive at a very large warehouse type building and walk inside the lobby.Nothing like I expected, I was thinking a dull, drab warehouse with florescent lights end to end...cold cement floors, and the sounds of various shop tools being used.I walk into an Ikea inspired lobby.With colorful couches,seating areas and a tiled floor.Everything is modern in this building.Lots of bright colors, there I met up with my supervisor, Tim.He gives me a quick tour of my new workspace...tune in later for that...and signs off on some paperwork.From there, I hop back in the car,and head to my cousins house,where I drop all of my things off in her living room,get back in the car,tuck and roll at 6th street, and begin a goose chase of sorts.I wander in what I hope is the right direction...I am looking for the Office of Protection Services so that I can attain my ID badge....I am not having much luck until I spot a gentleman wearing an OPS outfit...I begin to stalk him....until he makes his way in what I am almost sure is the wrong direction....So I flag him down and ask where to go.He points me to another large,hustling and bustling building that I once again get lost in.Are we noticing a pattern here.I finally find the right location,and again, I am surprised.In my head I envisioned this waiting room with wood panels from the 70s, a dying plant of some sorts...dont ask me to go into detail about the plant...I dont know much about them.Sliding glass windows with crusty old secretaries, again I found this long Ikea like hallway with lots of colorful walls,LEDs lights, and this really nice floor that reflected light instead of absorbing it.
I only sat for a little while until I talked to the not crusty old secretaries,but really sassy and fashionable ladies of OPS....and surprise!Washtenaw County District Sheriffs Office did NOT send out my fingerprints in time....okay maybe thats not the case....maybe they got lost in the mail...maybe something really obscure happened...like it got lost in the wind out of a mail carriers bag...all I know is I got charged 15 bones to get my fingerprints taken.I want that money back, yo!I was lucky enough to have my fingerprints taken on site at OPS...now here comes the tricky part.I will get a temporary ID on Monday morning at OEC.I will get to OEC via the SI Shuttle,I need an ID to get on the shuttle.
Sounds like fun right?
Well, I will cross that bridge when I get to it.
So, I left OPS with the intention of getting back to my cousins house...which ended up being a scenic tour throughout most of downtown DC in sweltering heat as I was coming off of my caffeine high.After a few lonely phone calls to friends in Ypsi, and a meltdown phone call to my mother I succumbed to a McDonald to get my blood sugar up again.I shamefully ate frenchfries out of my bag as I continued down the street looking for 13th and I street sipping on my coke,looking for the bus stop longing to devour the cheap hamburger that also sat in my bag while I waited for the bus.I found 13th and I street and sat at the bus stop.I ate my hamburger and am pretty sure I was mistaken for a wild animal, I am also really glad I just painted the most unattractive photo of me ever for all of you out there.I find the bus...empty and air conditioned....bliss.I plop down and sigh and I ride back to my cousins place.I crawl up the large hill to her house and victoriously greet her, and revel in my own little victory of navigation...and I mean it was a LITTLE victory...she had to tell me what bus to take and how to get there....I just got off the bus and walked to her house.So now I sit on the floor of her sons room, that I will be living in for the summer.Its kind of awesome...his wall his decorated with Nemo, and characters from Cars...
The unpacking has sort of begun and soon enough I will be settled...I think.Its going to be a pretty cool summer.
Here goes nothing.
I only sat for a little while until I talked to the not crusty old secretaries,but really sassy and fashionable ladies of OPS....and surprise!Washtenaw County District Sheriffs Office did NOT send out my fingerprints in time....okay maybe thats not the case....maybe they got lost in the mail...maybe something really obscure happened...like it got lost in the wind out of a mail carriers bag...all I know is I got charged 15 bones to get my fingerprints taken.I want that money back, yo!I was lucky enough to have my fingerprints taken on site at OPS...now here comes the tricky part.I will get a temporary ID on Monday morning at OEC.I will get to OEC via the SI Shuttle,I need an ID to get on the shuttle.
Sounds like fun right?
Well, I will cross that bridge when I get to it.
So, I left OPS with the intention of getting back to my cousins house...which ended up being a scenic tour throughout most of downtown DC in sweltering heat as I was coming off of my caffeine high.After a few lonely phone calls to friends in Ypsi, and a meltdown phone call to my mother I succumbed to a McDonald to get my blood sugar up again.I shamefully ate frenchfries out of my bag as I continued down the street looking for 13th and I street sipping on my coke,looking for the bus stop longing to devour the cheap hamburger that also sat in my bag while I waited for the bus.I found 13th and I street and sat at the bus stop.I ate my hamburger and am pretty sure I was mistaken for a wild animal, I am also really glad I just painted the most unattractive photo of me ever for all of you out there.I find the bus...empty and air conditioned....bliss.I plop down and sigh and I ride back to my cousins place.I crawl up the large hill to her house and victoriously greet her, and revel in my own little victory of navigation...and I mean it was a LITTLE victory...she had to tell me what bus to take and how to get there....I just got off the bus and walked to her house.So now I sit on the floor of her sons room, that I will be living in for the summer.Its kind of awesome...his wall his decorated with Nemo, and characters from Cars...
The unpacking has sort of begun and soon enough I will be settled...I think.Its going to be a pretty cool summer.
Here goes nothing.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Get the GPS!
Tomorrow,I will be leaving my hometown of Norfolk,Virginia driving an easy 4 hours to Washington DC.Oh wow.Tomorrow will be without a doubt,a shitshow, let's face it.I have to first head to my Office to get paperwork signed by my supervisor,this office, by the way is on the Maryland side of DC,then I have to head into the heart of DC to actually get my ID badge,which I image will be out of control traffic,blah blah blah.Then I will be set......hopefully.I will unpack, get settled into my cousins house, and spend my first weekend in DC.
Here goes....everything.
Here goes....everything.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
stressonian.
It is nearly midnight on a Saturday, I am sitting in the family room at my parents place in Virginia.I am starting to stress out about my internship.I feel that I know next to nothing about the details....I know what I am going to be doing,and that I start 9:30AM June 7th.Well, what else is there to know right now?There is the whole paperwork/ID badge crap that I do not seem to have together just yet...but we will figure this out,right?
Things will work out,everything will fall into place,I've got this.
I hope.
Here goes nothing.
Things will work out,everything will fall into place,I've got this.
I hope.
Here goes nothing.
Monday, May 24, 2010
In about one week I will begin working with the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Exhibit Central.Holy Crap.I applied sometime in January thinking that there was a snowflakes chance in hell that I would even get it.Then 'SURPRISE' I get a phone call from a random area code from my supervisor telling me that I should probably start looking for housing in the Washington DC area because I have the job with them!I created this blog in hopes to cleverly document my time at the Smithsonian.I am excited,nervous,scared you name it.The Smithsonian is really a dream come true, and now I am working in what is best described as an umbrella office that works with all of the museums to build,restore and install exhibits.It is going to be a good summer, I've got my bike, a big heart and a sense of adventure.
Here goes nothing!
Here goes nothing!
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