Monday, July 22, 2024
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It’s absolutely crazy to me that I only have two weeks left in DC. It feels like just yesterday that I arrived here, not knowing anybody but excited for the summer to start. Now I know this group of 16 interns so well, and I’m staring down the end of our time together. Week seven was definitely a chaos week. As the end of my internship approaches, I think that a little chaos is becoming almost as routine as 6:30am yoga or the Bachelorette on Tuesdays.
The week immediately started out chaotic. As I mentioned in my previous blog, my friend Evan and I took a 4:20am Amtrak from NYC to DC on Monday. In a moment of sheer brilliance, we both decided to stay awake until it was time to leave, rather than getting in a few hours of precious comfortable sleep before the trip. By the time we got on the train, I was incredibly tired, and I fell asleep almost instantly. As someone who really loves the Amtrak (or any train ride really), I consider myself a pro at sleeping on the train. My favorite technique is to put the tray table down and rest my head and arms on it. However, no matter how excellent I am at falling asleep on the train, there is one thing that never changes: sleeping on the train is simply not comfortable. Resting my head on my arms means I will inevitably wake up about a million times throughout the night with my arms fast asleep and dead to all sensation. Not ideal sleeping conditions. Needless to say, by the time we arrived at Union Station I was scarcely more rested than when we had gotten on the train. We hurried back to Shenkman and I decided I had enough time to squeeze in a couple more hours of sleep before starting my work day. This was a BIG MISTAKE. I am a firm believer that a nap will always either fix my life or ruin it. This one was a life ruiner. I woke up on a different planet, unsure of where I was, and somehow even more tired than I was before. Brutal. I spent the rest of the day working (with several 15 minute nap breaks throughout) and then went to the gym that night to try to sweat the exhaustion out of my system.
On Tuesday morning I was far more rested, so I went to my beloved morning yoga. That evening after work I gathered with some of the other interns to watch the next episode of the Bachelorette. The show is extremely entertaining, especially because it is so unserious. And, I am SO glad I am not the Bachelorette. Seriously, that would be my nightmare. On Wednesday, I went into the office for our lunch and learn about science policy, then hurried home because Brynn’s sister Claire was staying with us and I needed to let her into Shenkman. Claire is super great, and it was so nice to have her here!
On Thursday, all the interns trooped out to NIST. The day started out absolutely great. We heard some interesting talks in the morning, and then got to walk around NIST and see some of the really cool stuff that goes on there. I had an absolute blast looking at the million pound deadweight and learning about forensic analysis. However, while we were sitting in the forensic lab, I raised my head to ask a question and realized I could no longer see the man who was teaching us about bullet analysis. As I sat there in mild panic, the edges of my vision began to waver. Having lived in my own body for 22 years, I knew there was only one thing that could mean. That’s right folks, I was getting a migraine. And I was stuck at NIST for the next several hours. By the time we made it back to Brad’s office for a Q&A before the final talk of the day, my migraine was in full swing. Huge shoutout to Maia, who gave me some Advil, and the lovely people at NIST who gave me two bottles of water. I spent the rest of the day counting down the seconds until we got to leave, which was tragic because I was actually interested in everything we were learning. Somehow I made it through the last couple hours at NIST and the hour and a half commute home, and I immediately passed out in my bed at 5:30pm. I hate migraines.
By the time I woke up on Friday, my migraine was thankfully gone and I was able to have a more normal day. Charles, Reidyn, and I had a really interesting conversation with Martin, one of the associate editors for Physical Review, where we learned a lot about the peer review process and what happens behind the scenes of scientific journals. In the afternoon, Maia, Charlotte, and I journeyed over to Georgetown so that Maia and I could get new ear piercings. We had been planning to get piercings together since basically the start of the internship, so it was so exciting that we were finally able to go! We both got our left conch (kind of in the middle of your ear) pierced, and they’re SO cute! Then I hurried home to meet my friend Freya so we could drive to Charlottesville to spend the weekend with her girlfriend, Isabel.
The weekend in Charlottesville was so fun! On Saturday, we went to Isabel’s professor’s home gym (actually the nicest home gym setup I have ever seen, it was seriously crazy) and walked around the farmers market. Then we drove to the Bold Rock Orchard to try some pickle flavored cider (I don’t recommend it) and hang out with some of Freya and Isabel’s friends from grad school. They were all so nice, and the orchard was beautiful. Then, we drove to a vineyard for a picnic dinner and some live music. It was absolutely delightful! On Sunday, we went back to the home gym and then got some tasty arepas for lunch. Then we went back to Isabel’s house to flop and watch some Orange is the New Black before Freya and I drove home. I haven’t seen Isabel since December, so it was really nice to catch up with her. Charlottesville is also an absolutely gorgeous area of Virginia, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the rolling hills and various animals (horses, cow, sheep, deer, and donkeys!) that we saw. All in all, a lovely little weekend!
I’m looking forward to the last couple weeks of the internship a lot. While I have quite a bit to wrap up for work, and I’ll be sad to say goodbye to this group of interns, I’m quite excited for two more weeks of final shenanigans with everyone before we have to leave!
Amanda Maeglin