Back by Popular Demand!

Well I'm finally back! My T&T paper is safely turned in and it feels like a giant weight off my shoulders. :)

The last 10 days have been relatively uneventful work wise; I have the poster project handed off to a design person, I'm running downtown tomorrow to get the file for another poster that needs to be updated, I started a project to design a tutorial on Friday and am still waiting to hear back from people before I can get started, and the FOIA requests are still waiting on input from one of the vets on staff.

Last weekend was cool what with the 4th of July and all. Saturday I didn't really do much except laundry and trying to work on my paper. Sunday was more of the same really. Monday, however, was pretty spiffy even though it was a hot one.

Jeanna, Monica (Jeanna's friend), Kim, Debbie, one of the other girls from our floor, and I went to the parade. It started about 11:45 and we got there just as things started moving. I got a good view because I'm short, so I took some nice pictures on Jeanna's camera. It was super hot in full sun and no breeze; a few of the girls left about 40mins into it due to the heat actually, and I left about 15 mins before the parade was over. I ended up getting a slight tanline even with my 45 spf sunscreen because I sweated so much off.

After the parade I headed back to the room to chill for a bit. AC is sooooooo nice during the summer in DC. :)

Around 8pm Jeanna, Monica, and I made our way to the Mall to find a place to watch fireworks; supposedly things fill up quickly with an average attendance of 700,000. We waited in a long line to get through security; I was glad I didn't bring my messenger bag because it would've delayed me a bit. Once through security, the three of us found a nice place to sit on the grass about 1/2 way between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. We could just barely hear the music from the Capitol so that was nice. The fireworks started at 9:10pm, but were over by 9:30pm...I was expecting more! The fireworks they did have were fairly standard, but there were some neat ones and there's nothing like seeing them behind the Washington Monument.

At the end a helicopter flew over shining his spotlight down on the people - kinda nerve wracking actually. The crowds were crazy on the way back. I found out later they used them to test the DC emergency evacuation plan! I was impressed by the police horses standing stock still in the middle of honking traffic, tons of people, and helicopters overhead. Now if only my horse could do that!

A few people have asked me how the London attacks affected me in DC since I ride Metro daily to and from work. I have to say that I have noticed very few changes, pretty much only a few more security officers at the stations I frequent. It was pretty odd to be riding the Metro only a few hours after the attacks and thinking about what all those people had to deal with, but at no point did I truly feel scared or nervous about something similar happening here. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

Yesterday I did a ton of stuff as well. Jeanna's mom had come in via train on Wednesday, so she, Jeanna, Shane, and I took a trip to Arlington Cemetary together. I took lots of pics and posted a few throughout this entry. We saw the Women in Military Service Memorial (very impressive building), the memorial to all the troops killed in the War on Terror (quite touching, especially because this memorial is so new and has pictures of those who were killed; I think it may become the Vietnam Memorial of my generation), JFK's grave, the Lee house (on the hill w/ great views and a very talkative ranger who told our group all about the Himilayan Cedar by the house), the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the grounds in general. It was a ton of walking, but very interesting and definitely worth the approximately 3 hours we spent there.

After the Arlington trip, we all split off; Jeanna and her mom headed off to the monuments, Shane took off for a meeting, and I went to the Museum of Natural History.

At the museum I saw two exhibits: Mammals and Bones, reptiles, and insects. The mammal one was cool because you got to see all types of animals up close; the only thing better would've been if they weren't stuffed. :) I learned about our first mammalian ancestor - nicknamed Morgie - in a kids video on evolution. In the other exhibit, I spent the majority of my time in the Insect Zoo - live bugs all over, including huge tarantulas and all sorts of odd critters. I felt sooo tall around all the little kids. I only skimmed the skeleton sections because they weren't moving and once you've seen a few they start to blur. On my way out of the bug zoo I walked through a temporary exhibit on Greenland. There were some GORGEOUS photos of the landscape and culture as well as some neat pieces of 3D art.

On my way home I stopped at the sculpture garden next to the art museum (pics of the fountain and art museum behind below) and dipped my toes in the fountain after taking some pictures in the evening light; very relaxing!!

The picture of me that you see at the end of the post is actually a reflection of me in a sculpture I found on my way back to the dorm. The building on its side is also reflected in the same sculpture.

Today was another lazy Sunday - did laundry and played catch up. :) I'm officially half way through my internship and I'm already planning for next summer!!