Friday, June 29, 2018
By:
“If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it.” -Sean O’Connell, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
There’s been a lot of moments I’ve wanted to stay in the past four weeks, but some of the best have happened this week. Before the boat cruise last week, I got a text from my boyfriend Peter asking if he could call me which, to be honest, scared me. But to my surprise, he was calling to let me know I would be seeing him in less than 24 hours because he was coming down to DC to surprise me for the weekend! To say I was ecstatic is probably an understatement. I got to see my family the weekend before and now I get to spend the weekend with one of my favorite people? It was unreal!
I quickly had to plan for his visit- text the roommate group chat to make sure it was okay if he could stay, figure out what would be open to do that weekend, and make sure he was okay with helping with our outreach event on the weekend. Luckily, everything worked out and we had an awesome weekend! I picked him up from Union Station Friday night and Peter got to meet all of my new friends and they all got along really well. (There’s a moment I would like to stay in.) That Saturday, Peter and I spent the day at the Natural History Museum- specifically the geology room because that’s my favorite (another moment I’d like to stay in). We arrived back at the dorms in the late afternoon where I and the other interns met Brad and Danielle to head over to the School Without Walls to hold the Astronomy on the Mall event (which turned into astronomy in the cafeteria because it was moved inside due to weather). Peter stopped by to help for the last hour after grabbing dinner with one of his sisters who lives here in DC. He helped me run the astronomy trivia section, which had some pretty cool questions! (Did you know there are more trees on earth than stars in the galaxy?)
The next day, we all headed to brunch at Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café with Danielle! It was a really cute place that is part café part bookstore. And it had some of the best crab cakes I have ever had. It was a really fun morning/afternoon spent getting to know the other interns and Danielle even more. (Again, a moment I wouldn’t mind staying in for a while.) Peter and I walked back to the dorm after that, stopping at Captain Cookie on the way- which has the best ice cream cookie sandwiches ever. That night, Peter went home to New York and I made my way back to the dorms to get ready for the week.
During the week, all the interns went to dinner with James, Brad, and Michael Moloney at the Sette Osteria. This place had some pretty good Italian food and we had some good conversations! Michael is very friendly and easy to talk to (which is good because of course I was at first slightly intimidated by him being the CEO!) and at one point, everyone was sharing baby pictures of themselves around the table! (Oh look, another moment I’d like to stay in.) During work this week, I worked more on my bios and uploading information into the PHN database while posting social media throughout the week. I am getting into a rhythm of how to get my work done in the best possible way. On Thursday, I met the current president of the Society of Rheology, Norm, and had lunch with him, my mentors, and Liz. He was really nice and was very happy with what I’m doing for the society. It really boosts my confidence that the people I’m working for think I am doing quality work.
Us interns also watched The Secret Life of Walter Mitty this week, which is obviously where the quote is from at the beginning of this blog. When Amanda said she had it, everyone jumped on the chance to watch it. I think it really speaks to all of us this summer where we are all on this big adventure of an internship, not really sure where we are going, but having fun and making friends while doing it!
Mikayla Cleaver