Monday, July 1, 2024
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I can’t believe that we’re more than halfway done with the internship! Time really does fly by when you’re having fun. This past week was super busy, so I’ll break my week down more systematically instead of my usual ramblings.
Monday: The Physics Today team got back to me about my pitch for an article, and they accepted it! In a few weeks, I will be a published author! The article will be focused on Frank Kameny (who you should know by now, as I’ve mentioned him probably in every blog post) and how his situation undermines the commonly held belief that the Space Race of the ‘50s and ‘60s was a ‘Golden Age.’ At NBLA, we also had our monthly Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon, so I updated Frank Kameny’s Wikipedia page to include more information on his early years (and fix some formatting issues).
Tuesday: Because I am starting to solidify dates for the Oral History interviews, I am going to conduct, I needed to start researching the individuals to get the proper chronology and details of their lives and accomplishments. Consequently, I spent all of Tuesday working on researching and writing questions that I might want to use in interviews. In the evening, Charlotte found this trivia place. To our surprise, it was Shrek-themed. Honestly, Jenna and Sonja probably carried our team.
Wednesday: I genuinely could not tell you what I did on Wednesday. I distinctly remember doing something, but what it was is now between my subconscious and God. I also have the memory of a goldfish, and nothing is on my calendar. Ignorance is usually bliss, except when trying to write out a blog post and there are no thoughts behind my eyes.
Thursday: Okay! I remember what I did on Thursday. I spent most of the day figuring out how I wanted to structure and format my article and subsequently writing the outline for it. After work, Jaden, Charlotte, and I went to the Cleveland Park Night Market which was a whopping 6 tents, but it was okay because we found a cheap Mexican place to stop at.
Friday: I told myself I would wake up soooo early to get to the Library of Congress by 9:00, and I almost did! I got up, walked out the door, and got on the Metro. I made it all the way to Metro Center when I suddenly realized I had forgotten my library card! So, I had to go all the way back to Shenkman, get my library card, and make my way to the library once more. However, when I was waiting for the bus, this lady gave me two coupons for free pizza which was so sweet and made my day. I probably got to LoC around 10:00, which wasn’t too bad, but a late start. I also remembered to eat and drink while there, fulfilling my promise to Maia. If you ever find yourself doing research at LoC in the Madison building, I highly recommend the Madison Café on the 6th floor. They even have sushi! I went through all of the boxes I needed to regarding James Pollack, and I managed to leave around 4:00 PM. That night, some of the other interns and I went to the Kennedy Center and watched Ratatouille.
Saturday: One of my friends from Princeton just started her internship this past week, so I hung out with her all of Saturday which was so nice. We used the coupons for the free pizza (which was delicious), andwe went to the Eastern Market, Hirschhorn Museum, and the Folklife Festival at the National Museum of the American Indian. At the Hirschhorn, there was an exhibit that filled an entire room with very esoteric quotes. It may have sent me into a slight existential crisis, but in a good way, you know? The Folklife Festival was super interesting, although it was absolutely sweltering on Saturday. By the time I got back, I was exhausted. Yet, I cannot seem to relax for the life of me, so I spent three hours baking a chocolate cake that was inspired by the cake in Matilda (the one Madame Trunchbull forces Bruce to eat).
Sunday: Jaden, Kaden, Charles, Charlotte, Chris (Jaden’s roommate from GW), Reidyn, Brynn, Muji, Amanda, and Evan (Amanda’s friend from Vanderbilt) all went to Cunningham State Park which was super needed. We did a short hike to the falls and then went to the lake. It was a beautiful day, and I love being in nature. Being in the sun all day though definitely takes a lot out of you, so I just spent my evening watching Dr. Who (after some interns came over and had cake. I have too much cake. I don’t know what to do with it all. I don’t know why I do this to myself. I feel like Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
This next week is also going to be super busy, but I’m excited! Plus, it’s the 4th of July, so we have a long weekend. Rah rah America and all that. I also have realized I take approximately 0 photos of myself ever, so you really only get landscapes this week in terms of pictures.
Recommended Activities: Trivia, free movies at the Kennedy Center, the Eastern Market, the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Cunningham State Park.
Kai Hostetter-Habib