Sunday, July 10, 2022
By:
Hello, and welcome back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Sunday July 3rd, we all had a very relaxing day. Megan left near the afternoon and the rest of us skipped Empanada Domingo for a hike near Georgetown. Emma, Taylor O, Nicole and I all went on the hike and enjoyed nature and got to know each other a little more. We walked about 6 miles total with little detour trails that took us in between the trees. After getting back a lot of the interns joined in consignment to watch Thor: Ragnarok in preparation for Thor: Love and Thunder that comes out Thursday.
The interns continued the 4th of July festivities starting at 11 on Monday. We all headed down to Constitution Ave. to watch the 4th of July parade. It was okay, I liked the Memorial Day parade and Pride parade much better. We ended up leaving the parade to get lunch at Duke’s Grocery. One of my friends from high school, Collin, is in DC for an internship as well, so he met up with us at Duke’s. We all ate and headed back to the dorm to have fun at Consignment before going to the Washington Monument to watch the fireworks.
We played games and listened to music then rushed out the door right at 6pm to get a good spot for the fireworks. Saksham, Collin, and I found a great spot on the lawn in front of the monument and the other interns met up with us then. The whole lawn filled up within the next 5 minutes, so we made it in great timing. We played phone games and a version of a schoolyard game that Justin taught us. Div suddenly got hungry and went to McDonalds just in time to make it back for the fireworks. He gave me a free 4pc nugget that I enjoyed as the fireworks began. They were so amazingly beautiful, and I’m so happy we ended up going to the monument.
Tuesday, Brad and I took the day off from work to go visit Ben and his mentors for lunch. We went to T.J Stone’s in Alexandria and it was really great! Brad was roommates with Ben’s mentors in graduate school, so it was nice to see they were able to catch up. Ben and I were able to ask questions regarding industry and graduate school and it was really helpful in expanding my view of the opportunities I have with a Physics degree. Later in the day, the D&D group got together for our second session. It was a lot of fun again but went a little slower since we’re all still learning how to play. I’m excited for the next session!
Wednesday, I finished editing another video and ordered some things for more demos to perform. My focus has fully shifted to my SOCK, so I’m hoping to get that done in the next week so chapters can start ordering them. More of the interns wanted to join in on kayaking this week, but unfortunately it was postponed due to weather, so we’ll go next week.
On Thursday at work I brainstormed ideas to package my SOCK. In the previous years, interns have given SOCKs out in actual stockings that take the shape of socks. I thought of a box with sock print all over it, but I came up with another idea that I think takes the cake. I won’t spoil it now–you’ll have to wait and see. We finalized all the materials that will go in the kits and how many demos/activities chapters will be able to perform. I also started a bit of my final presentation that will be presented on August 5th at the end of the internship.
This will be live streamed so hopefully more info about that soon! Thursday night about 7 of the interns went to watch Thor: Love and Thunder and we all had a fun time. My soda exploded in the middle of the movie so that was embarrassing but still a great time!
Friday, I enjoyed a bowl of coco puffs in the morning while starting to work. I haven’t had that cereal in a long time so I just had to give it some recognition in the blog. #notsponsored. I worked on another instruction document for a demo and this one I feel confident in. I found that for my other instruction documents I was having trouble with breaking down the physics into simpler ways, but comparing concepts or relating them to everyday occurrences has helped a ton. I also worked on my SOCK Welcome Letter that will be included in each kit, and I planned a meeting with my chapter’s new SPS Officer Team. It was a great way to close out the work week, and I’m excited to return back to the office in time to perform some more demos.
It was a very rainy Saturday, which of course calls for movies and snacks. Emma and I watched about 30 minutes of Avatar before a spontaneous trip to Trader Joes with Taylor C., Nicole, and Lucy. When we got back, Emma and I put on Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (the best Tinker Bell movie, by the way) and then invited the other interns to watch the rest of Avatar in consignment. Very surprisingly, many of them hadn’t seen it in a while, and they all said they enjoyed it more than the first time. I had just recently watched it and I like the movie a lot, so I was happy to hear that.
Just a quick note: I have been enjoying the D.C. life a lot, and am so grateful for all of the opportunities and activities that are presented my way. But it is important to acknowledge that it can be tough to be away from family and friends for this long, and it has been. I do miss being at family events and celebrating birthdays with my best friends. I look forward to seeing them all again and reflecting on how wonderful D.C. has treated me.
Janessa Slone