I was in DC again this week - shocking, I know. But it was a bit of an adventure this time around. Monday I was in DC to give a run through of a talk to colleagues for feedback, which helped tighten up the talk, but also meant I spent a fair bit of time changing and improving things. Afterwards, I dropped some of my stuff in our company apartment then headed into Georgetown with Preetha for our regular pilgrimage to Patagonia and the Ching Ching Cha tea house. It was sale time at Patagonia, so I was trying to see if they had a jacket I had seen online. During my last few trips to DC it was becoming apparent that my lightweight jacket was more of a fall/spring jacket and I was starting to freeze my ass off (literally). So given the sale, and the weather predictions of impending snow, I thought it would be a good idea to peruse jacket options. Luckily, I found the perfect jacket - knee length, recycled stuffing, water repellent, a huge collar, and a lovely sea blue color. I loved it so much I wore it out of the store. :) Thank you end of season sale! After our shopping excursion we had a lovely dinner at the tea house before I headed back to the apartment to continue refining my presentation... until midnight. I never sleep well in DC so I'm never in a hurry to go to bed, despite how tired I am, which leads to a bad cycle of me staying up late, getting up early, then feeling as if I've been hit by a bus the next day.
Tuesday I got up early to catch a train to Baltimore. My first train in fact! I took the metro to Union Station then boarded the Acela Express to Baltimore. I was able to get a little work done on the train and to make the event more fun I listened to the Harry Potter sound track on my iPod (yes, that where my mind goes when I think of riding a train!). It was a short ride though, only about 40 minutes, but it was definitely better than flying - I'll do that again any day. Once I got to Penn Station I hopped the local light rail (metro) to Camden Yard then walked to my hotel. After checking in I headed over to the National Aquarium Baltimore - the purpose of my visit. I got a guest pass then proceeded to wander the aquarium looking for clues as to the aquariums conservation priorities. I saw quite a few conservation messages (more than usual, which was good), and got a feel for the breadth of their aquarist expertise by their displays. I had a few favorites - the puffins, the injured sea turtle, and the rain forest exhibit. Pictures weren't cutting it, so I tried video this time and found that to be much better (although the blog isn't let me post them... hmmm).
After seeing half the exhibits I met the COO (chief operations officer) of the aquarium for lunch. She was really wonderful and came from a background in advocacy and conservation so we talked quite a bit about the aquarium's shifting focus on conservation and what role they could play in my work. After our lunch I went back to the aquarium to see the exhibits again, take some notes, and do a little shopping in the gift shop. :) That evening I reworked some of my presentation again to incorporate my observations from the day, then ran it through for timing. A colleague of mine, Amy, arrived in time for a late dinner and we had a good night talking over dinner before heading back to the hotel for me to run through the presentation again.
Wednesday morning dawned and I was looking forward to it being over quickly since it was going to be a long day. I also awoke to find snow on the ground, which was a half day early. Whoops. By the time I had showered and eaten breakfast my phone was buzzing with activity of folks panicking about the snow and whether we should cancel meetings for the day. By 8:15 when I walked down stairs to head to my first meeting, it was full on blowing snow outside. And not just the lazy feathery snow you might think of, no, this was the giant cotton balls of snow that were wet and would punch you in the eye. Amy and I trekked over to the meeting in blowing giant snow, huddled under her umbrella, while I repeatedly thanked the lord for my new jacket. We got to the meeting a few minutes late - I was there to present about our work to the National Aquarium Conservation Center's board of directors. We sat through a presentation on the oil spill impacts (not good news) then it was my turn. I was pleased to see that I think I've finally gotten control of my near paralyzing fear of speaking in front of people. Up until about a year ago, I used to get nauseous, sweat profusely, and my pulse would race before giving a presentation, but now I get a mild case of the butterflies that I find controllable, rather than debilitating, which makes my job a lot easier. I gave the presentation, then we fielded questions successfully before ducking out early to check out of the hotel. Amy brought her car around and we hurriedly dumped our bags in the trunk while the snow swirled around us. We slowly drove back to DC for more meetings and prayed we'd make it before the snow intensified as it was forecast to do. We arrived in time for a quick lunch then walked to the meeting to get ourselves pulled together and dry off our hair and suit pants that were soaked by the snow. The meeting was long, and frankly painful, as we're working through some strategy pieces that I'm not sure we'll ever have the answer to until we set our plan into motion. We are, as they say in DC, "in the weeds" - which is my least favorite place to be - stuck so far down in the details it's easy to get stuck in the muck and miss the bigger picture. It is a common complaint of policymakers when dealing with scientists - to use the metaphor, policy at the Congressional legislative level is about designating that a swamp exists and telling an agency that they can take authority over that swamp, while the regulatory process driven by agencies gets into the weeds to create the rules for governing the swamp. You can't do the rules before the authority is given by Congress (although, lately some people are trying to cram both into legislation - the authority and the rules), but since apparently the average person never got a decent civics class in high school most people don't understand how our government works and therefore expect and believe things about the government that legally are not possible. This is what makes term limits a difficult thing - just when someone in office begins to truly understand the structure and politics of government to be a capable leader, they are forced out for someone new to come in and stumble over the learning curve all over again. Ahh, but I have strayed dangerously close to talking politics here, something I vow not to do in public (talking religion also falls into that category in my book) - so I will get back to my story. :)
After our long meeting Wednesday afternoon I was pretty soured on politics and the current political climate our new Congress is finding itself in. So, I trudged through the snow to the metro, then back to the apartment to drop my ice- and snow-crusted suitcase. I changed out of my suit, glad to be free of its wet pant legs, then headed to the office to pick up my colleague Tim for dinner. We hiked back to the metro in the blowing snow, which unbelievably, had gotten worse, and were now using umbrellas to keep it out of our faces. Using an umbrella in the snow was the weirdest thing - something I only ever thought you needed in the rain, but when the snow is coming down in giant wet clumps, an umbrella is just what you need. We emerged in Eastern Market and met Tim's wife, Nicole, for a drink then dinner. By then the snow had officially made a mess of the city and people were desperately trying to drive out of the city only to find the roads a mess. Nicole had some troubles getting to us and I felt bad for getting them out in this weather for dinner. For me, I walk everywhere, so I didn't really think much of it, but most DC residents literally run and hide from snow or even the hint of snow. You would think it was a hurricane coming the way they hole up. Part of the problem is that it doesn't snow frequently there, so when it does the city is totally unprepared to deal with it and the streets are a mess. Tim and Nicole being from NY, however, were not daunted so we had a nice dinner and I didn't have to spend it alone in the apartment. At this point I realized that my "cheating" the past few days on my GFness was beginning to add up and I was in pretty severe trouble, intestinally speaking. After dinner I practically ran back to the apartment while my body forcefully reminded me of my limits. I needed to unwind from what felt like the longest day ever, so I found a good movie to watch while I snuggled up in bed. It kept me up late again, despite the fact that I felt like I'd been hit by a bus. Everyone had told me our office would be closed the next day, so I didn't even bother setting the alarm.
Thursday morning I woke up to find the snow in a grey slushy state on the street with piles and clumps on the sidewalk. I also realized I slept in way too late and hurried to shower and dress to meet a new colleague, John, for lunch. Our office ended up opening a few hours late so I was fine on time. We had lunch nearby while I got to know more about him and told him about my program. It was a good first meeting and I'm excited to have him on our team. After that I headed into the office to work and then make a pilgrimage to the cupcake store with friends only to discover they were out of their gluten free cupcakes. I nearly cried. I look forward to their cupcakes during my trips since it's one of the only places I have found that makes truly excellent GF cupcakes. Snif. We bought a dozen for everyone else in the office then trudged home in the snow, soaking my pants the whole way back. Darn you evil grey slush! That evening I went home with Whitney for dinner and we vented frustrations on the metro ride to her house. We had a great dinner at a pizza place near her house that had cider and a gluten free pizza crust - it was fabulous and just what I needed. Her husband Maurice brought their son Will to meet us for dinner, but it was a production getting out of the house and through the snow, so I was starting to feel like bad luck. But, it was great to see them again. I took the metro home and packed my suitcase before bed. Thursday nights are always my favorite since I know I'm going home the next day.
Friday I awoke early to find snow falling - again. WTF?! This time it was the fairy tale light and delicate snow, but it worried me that it would mean a cancelled flight. I finished getting ready, started my laundry, ate some breakfast, worked, then packed up to leave. As soon as my sheets and towels finished I tucked them away and dashed out to drop off the apartment keys and meet a colleague for lunch at my favorite Thai place in Dupont Circle, Mai Thai. We had a great lunch then I hopped the metro for the airport. I made it there in plenty of time to get settled at the gate and continue to work on my phone to answer emails. We finally boarded the flight and had a bit of a delay before taking off. As soon as we were in the air I put on Twilight and zoned out. I have a few such movies for that type of occasion - Twilight, Star Trek (the new one), Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (III), and I'm working on adding the newest Twilight movie and a few Harry Potters. Those kinds of fully engrossing entertaining movies are perfect for tuning out a flight and all the wackos on the plane with me and I enjoy getting lost in the movie only to find out we're landing before I realize it.
Wade was there to greet me as always and it's always such a relief to see him when I get off the terminal tram. We stopped at Whole Foods to get some supplies then ran home to change before meeting friends for dinner and Friday Night Shuffleboard. By the end of the night, I was so thankful for being able to end my week with Wade, Katie, Dustin, Chris, and Julie - it made DC feel like a lifetime away.
