Home Sweet Home

So I’m officially home and definitely loving it. There will be a multitude of things I miss in DC and a few things I wont, but I’m so fortunate to have had this experience. In my final week I attended the TWC Spring Commencement, where we received our certificates and listened to great speakers. We received a great book about life after this  experience, which I found really helpful since I wasn’t returning to college like many of the other students were. Afterwards, the other bloggers and I met with Sara and caught up. I look forward to getting to know them and their experiences through reading their blogs now that we’ve finished.

I continued work throughout the week and was able to complete the work on CCC that I was doing while also taking on another de-framing job, which was really nice to do again. I also did more computer work with the Scurlock collection, which was bittersweet because I couldn’t finish it. I plan to visit everyone sometime this summer with my family.
       
On friday everyone met after lunch to say goodbye and give me my card, which was really nice. 

The cover is a photocopied image of the first CCC Camp Roosevelt and (because I worked on that collection) and then everyone signed it, which was really nice.

This entire experience has been really rewarding and I couldn’t be happier that I had so much fun and have a clear direction to head into afterwards. I absolutely think being in DC was worth the time and energy and I’m looking forward to Graduate school and beginning my career.
       
As for those of you who are about to start this journey, as a postgraduate, I suggest you absolutely take part in as much as possible. Hopefully, the added course will give you more access to others in your program. I do think that because the postgrads weren’t really forced to do anything together, I didn’t have the same connection that some of the current students did with their classmates, fellow program members, or even internship coworkers. Memorize the Metro system (or get the app). Make friends and connections.

This ends my journey with TWC, but it’s only the beginning of sorting out my future. Please feel free to ask questions.

‘Til then
~K

Last full week...

So work has been awesome. I feel I’ve accomplished something because I completed one small part of a huge project myself. I finished editing an over 1,600 page container listing! Sounds tedious I know, but it's no small feat. Now I’m putting on the final touches for these last few days.

I finally made it to the Arlington National Cemetery. On my last trip, I was 13 and it was miserable. This time was a much nicer trip weather wise, but what I didn’t remember is how exceptionally powerful and moving the place truly is. I took many pictures this time.

I visited all three Kennedy graves:

JFK

Robert Kennedy

and now of course, Edward Kennedy

I also went up to the Arlington House, at the top of the hill in the cemetery, and the house was in the families of both George Washington and Robert E. Lee. The view from the top towards DC was unbelievably breathtaking

They also have the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded around the clock all the time. I was able to catch probably the last public Changing of the Guard for the public to see that day, and it’s also really moving:

It’s really overwhelming how large the cemetery is.

 On a happier note, this weekend I went to my third baseball game, first time legal, in Baltimore to see the Sox/Orioles game. We lost…but Sabrina and I had amazing seats:

  
So this post is jam packed with pictures for you!

Next time...the final post and reflection

‘Til then,

~K

Less than 2 weeks…

Wow it’s all going by so fast!

So this week work was pretty much the same, working on small projects because my time is so limited. I was able to go back to do some work on the Scurlock Collection, which was data entry for the most part. I also made some phase boxes for these tiny little diary journals ranging from 1866-1901. I’ve also tried to make some contacts within the archival community outside of the Smithsonian, which will hopefully bring something good, even if its just information.
         
I also decided to head over to the Library of Congress to do some actual research. Now this semester for the postgraduates, we aren’t really required to do the portfolio or an academic course. I’m fairly certain that’s going to change as of this summer, so good luck post grads :) Well, regardless of whether you need to or not, getting a LOC reader card is really easy and totally worth it. It lasts for 2 years and it’s unbelievably painless. They do say not to get it as a souvenir, so I will too, but it’s still a pretty cool thing to have and I’m sure you can find something to research with it in all those weeks. There are multiple buildings and the staff members there are very helpful in directing you on where to go and what to do, and there is actual signage so you know you're going the right way. The building where you get the reader card is not the pretty one from a few posts ago, but the Madison building, which is right outside the Capitol South Metro stop on the orange/blue line.
         
I also checked out the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I was in there today, in the later afternoon, so I didn’t get to see as much as I would’ve liked to, but what I did see was pretty cool. I can’t honestly say that this museum is something that I found all that interesting, but it was really neat to see the actual objects used in Apollo 11 and 13, including clothing and supplies and obviously the space crafts. There was also a section on airplanes that I found interesting--mostly the differences of airport protocol around the 1960’s compared to today. The idea of dressing up, and walking outside to get on the plane is truly hard to fathom. There seemed to be an event going on there and a good amount of the areas were closed after 4:30, which was right about the time I got to the museum, so I didn’t see everything there was to see.
         
At this point, for these final two weeks, I’ve decided to move out of TWC housing and in with a friend of mine. So this weekend I packed up my suitcases and shipped home whatever was left--so I'm now traveling from Silver Spring, Maryland. It's only 1 stop farther away from my internship, but the ride is almost $3 each way during peak hours, so I’ve upgraded from the weekly short trip pass to the regular weekly pass (which is over $40 since the price increase at the end of February). I truly recommend doing the math and seeing if a weekly pass is worth the money because I find it reassuring knowing I’m getting my money’s worth and don’t have to worry about adding money to my SmarTrip. I do, however, recommend having a SmarTrip card regardless because they’re exceptionally useful.

So…no pictures again this week, I’m really sorry.

This coming week I plan on going to the Arlington Cemetery and perhaps seeing my family when my cousin comes back from college.

‘Til then,

~K

Final countdown!

So, I’m in the final stretch.Less than 3 weeks until I return home, which is bittersweet. I do miss home, though. I’m not sure about other internships, but even if I wanted to stay, I don’t think there’s a job coming at the end of this for me here in DC. I need to go home anyway, because to get a job like mine I really need to go to grad school in addition to working. I’m pretty sure I have a job at home for me, which I find comforting.

This week was pretty quiet, but I got to work on a bunch of small collections. I’ve started and finished over four or five different small collections. I was able to work with beautiful salt print photographs of drawings of the U.S. Capitol Dome. I’ve also been able to work with a few collections made up of glass plate negatives. Being from the digital era, and not really a camera person myself, it’s really interesting to see these beautiful 8x10 glass plate negatives.

 

I’ve been able to re-house these plates in appropriate archival housing but with old glass plates come the possibility for broken glass. In those cases, I have to make sink mats, which are literally mats made of blue board that the glass sinks into, as you see here

The non-broken glass plates were put into acid-free negative folders and put into conveniently sized boxes, which is one of my favorite parts of archiving.

So that’s been my week. This weekend was far less exciting than last. I did check out Phase 1 with my friend Sabrina, but it was not quite what I was hoping for. As the weather fluctuates, I hope to be able to check out the Arlington Cemetery by my next post. Also, I'd like to finally visit some other Smithsonian locations, (since there are actually 16 different ones).

Til then...

~K

Time is flying!

So, I’m a little behind this week because I had such a crazy week and weekend. The renovation tour was really interesting, The work they had planned came out as intended, and I don’t know how they could have housed the amount of people I’ve seen this past week before the renovation. I also got some more information about the future renovation on the west wing of the museum. They will be extending the “Thanks for the Memories” segment, even potentially having a separate section for The Wizard of Oz ruby slippers.
           

The work week was pretty low key, especially with the tour, but my family came in Thursday afternoon, so I had a short work week. Thursday night we ate at Vapiano in Chinatown, which was really neat and quick. It rained that evening, but we made it back to the hotel before it really began to downpour. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott on F Street, which was nicely located close to two red line Metro stations, and my mother and I were able to head up quickly to the pawn shop from last week. I ended up not getting the instrument, but we had a good time together. I was also able to walk with my mother and grandmother from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial for the first time since the snow has been gone. The walk took a bit of a toll on my grandmother, but we all made it up there and the view was beautiful.

Friday night, we met up with my friend Sabrina and her mother and saw Little Shop of Horrors at the Ford’s Theater. The show was fabulous, and was even cuter because the two leads were married to each other in real life. The set up was really fascinating as well because it was on a rotating stage.

Saturday, we were the typical tourists and took the Old Town Trolley Tour through the city. It was nice to get a little bit more information about multiple sites near my job and others through out the city that I had walked by the week before. I even got myself a sweatshirt from one of the stands along the road.
           
Sunday, we were able to spend time with some family out in Virginia, which was really nice for all of us, and we even unearthed some family secrets….

Today, Monday, I went on a Library of Congress tour, which I hadn’t realized I’d already been on until I walked into that great hall, and I looked up at the amazing ceiling:

The Smithsonian Interns went on a guided tour, and we were shown the three main points: the main hall, the reading room (which we aren’t supposed to take pictures of) and the Minerva mosaic:

 
The library also had some exhibits out, which were interesting, but I kept finding myself enthralled by the artistry of the building itself. There is so much allegory and there are so many meaningful sculptures and paintings that it’s overwhelming. They sell a book about all of their meanings that I was tempted to get, but it was a bit pricey for me.

So now begins the final month before I return home.

No more scheduled field trips, but perhaps more park service visits...

'Til then,

~K

Happy Easter!

This March went by ridiculously quickly. The weather wasn’t as beautiful at the beginning of the week but April began really warm and bright. I finally finished the project I was working on in the archives, which I consider an awesome achievement, because it was 167 boxes full of information. I also learned some techniques for using Photoshop. This is one of the archives center's quieter weeks because two of my advisors are on vacation and no students are coming for any more spring breaks.
           
However, as quiet as work has been in our area, the museum has been super packed. The cafeteria is practically standing room only, and sometimes its not even worth trying to find a place. On the upside it has been warm enough to eat outdoors for a few days.
           
Wednesday the 31st I went to the Phillips Collection to look at the major exhibition right now called Georgia O’Keefe’s Abstraction. The Phillip Collection was established in 1921 and was the first museum of modern art. It was founded by Duncan Phillips, with his mother, in honor of his father and brother. It’s not a government run organization, so it does charge, but I went with the intern group so it was free. It’s on display through May, but other pieces of art are there besides the O’Keefe exhibit and one of the most famous paintings there is Pierre-Auguste Renoirs’ Luncheon of the Boating Party, which is definitely worth seeing on its own. I did have a few flashbacks of my Art Appreciation course from junior year of college, and was in awe that these were THE paintings I learned about.           

I haven’t been able to see as many cherry blossoms as I would like, but I did get a few snapshots Saturday:

Friday night, I saw an awesome cover band called Lost in Paris, at the Clarendon Grill, in Arlington, and they just furthered my current rock band obsession. Saturday I spent all day walking around DC, from Adams Morgan to Georgetown, from Dupont Circle to The National Mall. I was on the search for music by the original 70’s all-girl rock band the Runaways, which has a movie coming out as well. I received a free screening for 2 on Monday in Georgetown. In my explorations around the city I went in to two really cool different record stores, Crooked Beat Records, in Adams Morgan, and Melody Record Shop in Dupont Circle. The record store in Georgetown had closed down, so that was a long walk for pretty much no reason. I also went to my first pawn shop called Crown Pawnbrokers, on 14th street, and it was really kind of cool. I almost put money down on a bass guitar, but I held back today. All that walking Saturday tired me out, so I ended up missing the fireworks that evening, but next week my mother and nana should be here!

Next week I have a renovation tour of the American History Museum and maybe I’ll have a new bass guitar.

~K

This weather gives me whiplash!

So this past weekend was GORGEOUS! I actually went on a visit to New Jersey, via Amtrak, to spend some time with my favorite, Brittney and her family. The Amtrak train was really easy to access, even at 605 in the morning, via Metro to Union Station, and then you’re right there in the station. It was actually warm enough to lie outside and get a little bit of a tan! I spent two days there, and we drove back to Massachusetts, because her spring break had ended. I stayed at my house, which was nice, and will be the last time until I return in May, and then I flew from Boston to Baltimore this past Monday morning. To get back to my apartment, I took the Metrobus B30 line to Greenbelt station, where I switched to the Orange line at L’Enfant Plaza. Woo that was quite a day.
       
This week at work we had another few graduate students on their spring break from the University of Illinois. During the lunch hours they discussed the paths they had chosen and why they returned to school and my bosses did as well, which gave me an awesome perspective and multiple ideas to consider for options on my next step. I was continuing with my side project from the previous week and should definitely finish this upcoming Monday and Tuesday.
       
Wednesday night I went to a TWC-sponsored happy hour meeting with current postgraduates and many alumni. It was a really nice place to network with people from other years and actually to meet a few people from MA. I finally got to give out some of those business cards that we received from The Washington Center. Also, later at a place across from my apartment, a friend and I were also able to network with people outside the program but who were all really very nice. I found both settings really interesting because college doesn’t always work like that with the social end. The people I met outside of the classroom, or in my case even outside of my athletic team, I didn’t really know beyond their names and their drink choices. These happy hours can be used as a great way to meet new people or really get to know the new friends you’ve made.
       
Unfortunately the weather went from summer-y to winter-y almost immediately. That may be a slight exaggeration but it did reach very low temperatures, especially Friday evening. Saturday the 27th kicked off the Cherry Blossom Festival here in DC, and the weather was brisk but had a nice sun. I spent most of the day in Georgetown, but I’m hoping during the coming weekdays I’ll be able to get some really nice pictures of cherry blossoms.
       
These next two weeks of the festival also see the National Museum of American History on extended hours, which happens every year, so whether you’re coming this year or any other spring, definitely try to get out to the museum, its open an extra 2 hours.

Next weekend there should be fireworks~

Til then,

~K