Showing posts with label dc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dc. Show all posts
02 July 2008
This Week's Assignment
Researching and preparing a report on federal legislation and advocacy efforts for the arts in healthcare. Still loving my job.
Monday Night
My DC social calendar is determined by who is on tour. After all the weekend hubbub, pals Oxford Collapse were in town at the Black Cat. And they'll be back in August!
01 July 2008
Cure for Homesickness
Busy busy busy busiest weekend yet. An incomplete sentence recap will have to suffice for now. I'm tired. Photos to come.
Family and the boy in town, plus my cousin who lives a couple of hours away.
Red Rocks Pizza.
Learned the hard way that absolutely nothing is open downtown on weekends. Not even Saturdays.
94 degrees.
NASA @ Folklife Festival. Held a shuttle tile. Signed a shuttle wheel that will be in the Smithsonian.
Water.
Monuments.
Gatorade.
Martin Puryear exhibition at National Gallery. Formalism is refreshing. More time next time.
Hot.
Chinatown.
Hotel rest stop.
Dinner @ Jaleo. Delicious. I ate a mussel. Everything tastes good in butter. Didn't care so much for the scallop. (Not in butter.)
Early night. See "Hot".
Second trip to zoo in the AM. Pandas still asleep.
Lions and tigers eat lunch.
Hot.
Hot dog vending machine. Are we in Japan?
>
Race to brunch at Tabard Inn. Also delicious. Mmmmm, donuts.
Walked around Georgetown.
Hot. Crowded. Blisters.
Family go home. (Aww.)
Nap.
Boy and I go meet friends for eats and drinks.
Mmmmmojito.
Slowest food service ever.
Drinks @ Wonderland Ballroom.
Sleep.
Early Monday.
Boy go home. (Aww.)
Family and the boy in town, plus my cousin who lives a couple of hours away.
Red Rocks Pizza.
Learned the hard way that absolutely nothing is open downtown on weekends. Not even Saturdays.
94 degrees.
NASA @ Folklife Festival. Held a shuttle tile. Signed a shuttle wheel that will be in the Smithsonian.
Water.
Monuments.
Gatorade.
Martin Puryear exhibition at National Gallery. Formalism is refreshing. More time next time.
Hot.
Chinatown.
Hotel rest stop.
Dinner @ Jaleo. Delicious. I ate a mussel. Everything tastes good in butter. Didn't care so much for the scallop. (Not in butter.)
Early night. See "Hot".
Second trip to zoo in the AM. Pandas still asleep.
Lions and tigers eat lunch.
Hot.
Hot dog vending machine. Are we in Japan?
>Race to brunch at Tabard Inn. Also delicious. Mmmmm, donuts.
Walked around Georgetown.
Hot. Crowded. Blisters.
Family go home. (Aww.)
Nap.
Boy and I go meet friends for eats and drinks.
Mmmmmojito.
Slowest food service ever.
Drinks @ Wonderland Ballroom.
Sleep.
Early Monday.
Boy go home. (Aww.)
25 June 2008
22 June 2008
Saturday
I took a four-hour walk.
yes, that is an elephant sprinkler, and yes, i want one
after four hours, i deserved some love
yes, that is an elephant sprinkler, and yes, i want one
after four hours, i deserved some love
Friday
Work was pretty slow on Friday, as most everyone was off at our annual convention. It was a lovely day, so I took a long walk at lunch.
McPherson Square, my new lunch spot
Tourists ride around on segways. I'm sorry, unless you're Job Bluth, it looks ridiculous and gets in my way
After work, I went out to the aforementioned Jazz in the Sculpture Garden and then to After Hours at the Hirshhorn Gallery. So much fun!
Jazz was PACKED. It's very much a picnic outing, and every square scrap of green lawn was occupied. Heavy on the young professional crowd. Met up with housemates Zach and Anthony and Zach's girlfriend, Maria. We both commented on how weird it is to say our name out loud, being the only Marias in our respective social circles. Anthony's friends Mike and Ryan also came out—yep, that Ryan (see previous post). After some snacks, some laughs, a pitcher of sangria, and barely audible jazz, we headed across the Mall to the Hirshhorn. (Which I keep wanting to spell with a C.)
Within five minutes of walking into the party, I run into the only other person I kinda sorta know in DC: Jesse's friend Jason who I met at a wedding last summer. Is DC really this small?? And to top it off, he lives in my neighborhood! So pumped.
The new exhibit at the Hirshhorn, the Cinema Effect, Part II (I missed Part I) had some really, really interesting work, and some kind of boring work. I will definitely be checking it out again, so I'll save my review for when 1) it's not packed with drunk people and 2) I'm not drunk. But I particularly enjoyed the pieces by Runa Islam and Francesco Vizzoli.
All in all, it was a night of seeing some sights, meeting awesome new people (between Anthony's friends and Jason's), and getting to know my housemates some more.
McPherson Square, my new lunch spot
Tourists ride around on segways. I'm sorry, unless you're Job Bluth, it looks ridiculous and gets in my way
After work, I went out to the aforementioned Jazz in the Sculpture Garden and then to After Hours at the Hirshhorn Gallery. So much fun!
Jazz was PACKED. It's very much a picnic outing, and every square scrap of green lawn was occupied. Heavy on the young professional crowd. Met up with housemates Zach and Anthony and Zach's girlfriend, Maria. We both commented on how weird it is to say our name out loud, being the only Marias in our respective social circles. Anthony's friends Mike and Ryan also came out—yep, that Ryan (see previous post). After some snacks, some laughs, a pitcher of sangria, and barely audible jazz, we headed across the Mall to the Hirshhorn. (Which I keep wanting to spell with a C.)
Within five minutes of walking into the party, I run into the only other person I kinda sorta know in DC: Jesse's friend Jason who I met at a wedding last summer. Is DC really this small?? And to top it off, he lives in my neighborhood! So pumped.
The new exhibit at the Hirshhorn, the Cinema Effect, Part II (I missed Part I) had some really, really interesting work, and some kind of boring work. I will definitely be checking it out again, so I'll save my review for when 1) it's not packed with drunk people and 2) I'm not drunk. But I particularly enjoyed the pieces by Runa Islam and Francesco Vizzoli.
All in all, it was a night of seeing some sights, meeting awesome new people (between Anthony's friends and Jason's), and getting to know my housemates some more.
19 June 2008
A Little Dose of Home
Chicago pals Mannequin Men were in town last night, playing not too far away at the Black Cat. My first DC show!
My school chum Andrea came out to meet me. She's in DC for a couple days preparing for a summer program in Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. (Nope, not jealous at all, not one bit.)
Then tomorrow after work, my housemates and I are going to Jazz in the Garden at the National Gallery of Art, then to the Hirshhorn After Hours. Yay, culture! I should finally have some snaps of the actual city, too.
My school chum Andrea came out to meet me. She's in DC for a couple days preparing for a summer program in Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. (Nope, not jealous at all, not one bit.)
Then tomorrow after work, my housemates and I are going to Jazz in the Garden at the National Gallery of Art, then to the Hirshhorn After Hours. Yay, culture! I should finally have some snaps of the actual city, too.
17 June 2008
(The Day After) My First Day as an Arts Advocate
Postponed because my internet connection wasn't working last night. There wasn't much to report on anyway. Like all first days at a new job, it involved a lot of paperwork, training videos, 'here's the copier and here's the fax' tours, and meeting 50 people whose names you forget 30 seconds after shaking their hands.
It also poured rain when I left, and I had no umbrella.
I did, however, get taken out to a nice lunch (Georgia Brown's) and got a spiffy new bag and keychain. My commute was less than 30 minutes door-to-door, and I caught the bus immediately both ways. Everyone in the office is genuinely nice and interesting and weird.
my new office
Today was much more exciting, not the least because it was a breezy 75 degrees with sun. After an intro meeting with the vice president of policy and research (my cup o' tea), I finally got to sit down with my new supervisor and find out what exactly it is the "Government and Public Affairs" intern does.
Turns out, some pretty neat stuff.
Sure, there's the requisite tedium inherent to any internship, but my minutiae appears to involve number crunching. More fun.
I'll also be sitting in on some Congressional sessions next week, as the Senate mark-up begins on the Interior appropriations bill (which encompasses the NEA, one of our primary interests, of course). The House approved a $15mil increase in the NEA's funding for next year; now it goes to the Senate. Ms Maria Officially Goes To Washington!
I also have a mini-project researching Barack Obama's arts policy committee, which includes my former supervisor and a professor who works closely with my old museum.
My long-term summer project is to review and revise my organization's federal resource guide for international cultural exchange. The State Department's position and funding for cultural exchange seems to vary year to year, so the existing document needs some updating and analysis. Woohoo!
this is the first time i've ever had a cubicle. it's empty and sad and right next to the noisy copier
Also: there were two homemade cakes in the office Monday, and two more cakes today!! (Including one from my housemate/co-worker's mom, but I'll tell you about that in another post.)
So far, I am liking DC a whole lot more than I thought I would.
It also poured rain when I left, and I had no umbrella.
I did, however, get taken out to a nice lunch (Georgia Brown's) and got a spiffy new bag and keychain. My commute was less than 30 minutes door-to-door, and I caught the bus immediately both ways. Everyone in the office is genuinely nice and interesting and weird.
my new office
Today was much more exciting, not the least because it was a breezy 75 degrees with sun. After an intro meeting with the vice president of policy and research (my cup o' tea), I finally got to sit down with my new supervisor and find out what exactly it is the "Government and Public Affairs" intern does.
Turns out, some pretty neat stuff.
Sure, there's the requisite tedium inherent to any internship, but my minutiae appears to involve number crunching. More fun.
I'll also be sitting in on some Congressional sessions next week, as the Senate mark-up begins on the Interior appropriations bill (which encompasses the NEA, one of our primary interests, of course). The House approved a $15mil increase in the NEA's funding for next year; now it goes to the Senate. Ms Maria Officially Goes To Washington!
I also have a mini-project researching Barack Obama's arts policy committee, which includes my former supervisor and a professor who works closely with my old museum.
My long-term summer project is to review and revise my organization's federal resource guide for international cultural exchange. The State Department's position and funding for cultural exchange seems to vary year to year, so the existing document needs some updating and analysis. Woohoo!
this is the first time i've ever had a cubicle. it's empty and sad and right next to the noisy copier
Also: there were two homemade cakes in the office Monday, and two more cakes today!! (Including one from my housemate/co-worker's mom, but I'll tell you about that in another post.)
So far, I am liking DC a whole lot more than I thought I would.
15 June 2008
14 June 2008
First Impressions :: My Neighborhood
I'm coming up on 48 hours since I arrived in DC. The transition has been surprisingly smooth, and I feel unsettlingly settled. I'm comfortable. Maybe it's a testament to my adaptability. All these years of traveling alone have prepared me well to move to a city where my friends number exactly one.
I also believe the attenuated period of adjustment has something to do with my new neighborhood, Columbia Heights. It's charming and colorful, and just dirty enough to be interesting. The mix of people reminds me of Hyde Park and Humboldt Park, two neighborhoods I'm very familiar with in Chicago, while the look and feel reminds me of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn: brightly painted rowhouses with front yards, some meticulously manicured, others overgrown with weeds. And with awesome burritos right down the street, I'm home.
Columbia Heights is also undergoing gentrification/urban renewal/whatever. Bling to the west; blight to the east. All of the expected big box names -- Target; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Staples; Starbucks; Marshalls -- lumped into a shiny boring complex. My housemate tells me it opened only two months ago.
I went to New York City about a month ago, and I remember being surprised and somewhat dismayed that in a span of like twenty blocks, I passed by two TJ Maxx/Linens 'n Things behemoth shopping centers, followed by a few Jamba Juices, Old Navys, and a DSW. Now, I have no claim to be fussing about NY's suburbanizing urban landscape given I've been there maybe half a dozen times, but that experience coupled with my DC move is bumming me out. Everywhere looks the same. Yet, because everywhere looks the same, I feel 'at home' immediately. Bleh.
Christopher Hitchens writes about lost Bohemia in this month's Vanity Fair: "On the day when everywhere looks like everywhere else we shall all be very much impoverished, and not only that — we will be unable to express or even understand or depict what we have lost."
Despicable as I often find his views, this rings true today. And yet, I would be lying if I said I wasn't elated that Target is a five-minute walk away.
I also believe the attenuated period of adjustment has something to do with my new neighborhood, Columbia Heights. It's charming and colorful, and just dirty enough to be interesting. The mix of people reminds me of Hyde Park and Humboldt Park, two neighborhoods I'm very familiar with in Chicago, while the look and feel reminds me of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn: brightly painted rowhouses with front yards, some meticulously manicured, others overgrown with weeds. And with awesome burritos right down the street, I'm home.
Columbia Heights is also undergoing gentrification/urban renewal/whatever. Bling to the west; blight to the east. All of the expected big box names -- Target; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Staples; Starbucks; Marshalls -- lumped into a shiny boring complex. My housemate tells me it opened only two months ago.
I went to New York City about a month ago, and I remember being surprised and somewhat dismayed that in a span of like twenty blocks, I passed by two TJ Maxx/Linens 'n Things behemoth shopping centers, followed by a few Jamba Juices, Old Navys, and a DSW. Now, I have no claim to be fussing about NY's suburbanizing urban landscape given I've been there maybe half a dozen times, but that experience coupled with my DC move is bumming me out. Everywhere looks the same. Yet, because everywhere looks the same, I feel 'at home' immediately. Bleh.
Christopher Hitchens writes about lost Bohemia in this month's Vanity Fair: "On the day when everywhere looks like everywhere else we shall all be very much impoverished, and not only that — we will be unable to express or even understand or depict what we have lost."
Despicable as I often find his views, this rings true today. And yet, I would be lying if I said I wasn't elated that Target is a five-minute walk away.
13 June 2008
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