Filling my shoes… or trying to

Sometimes, inevitably, we feel as though we are incapable of filling the shoes we’ve stepped into--especially in a new work environment and new city, surrounded by new people and new opportunities. So it was for me: I was incapable of filling my own shoes... no no, quite literally, that is. Aside from the live entertainment I offered everyone commuting from Ballston to Rosslyn around 9 on Tuesday morning, stopping every two steps to fix my shoes, I’ve been quite comfortable.
     
That comfort level - aside from the shoes - has increased over time, as may be expected. It didn’t take long to get settled into the internship, and I’m proud to say that I’ve become a rather practiced Metro rider and city navigator. The “snowpocalypse” has pretty much subsided and, in most areas, it is once again possible to pass someone on the sidewalk without having to step knee-deep in snow banks. After a barrage of snow-related articles here at the Business Journal (how has the snow affected recent productivity, sales, budgets, etc), the obsession with precipitation is slowly but surely leaving newspapers to their usual beats.

While the Sculpture Garden is more logical in the spring, it turns out the area also features an ice rink during the winter – smack in front of the National Archives, home of the some of history’s most important pieces of legislation. Welcome to Washington. 

       
As to my own “beat,” so to speak, mixing things up has become a goal both in and out of the office. While at my internship, I continue to work on various “executive profiles,” speaking with local business leaders making a mark in their fields and assisting where necessary outside of that (checking event calendars, making phone calls, what have you). I’m getting to know the people I work with all the better, which makes for a much more positive, entertaining, and occasionally enlightening experience!
       
Outside of the office, however, is where the real fun begins - let’s not kid ourselves. While I enjoy the experiences I have the opportunity to garner through the internship, I’m not built for sitting at a desk and working at my computer all day. Time to go out and do things, see people, speak with them, experience that which I read and write about.
       

With this noble goal in mind, my roommate and I headed out to test the samosas at one of the several Indian restaurants in the area, Cafe New Delhi... a successful outing as a whole, I’d say, and it definitely put me in the mood for some Bollywood (confession: I’ve become a huge Bollywood fan; Abhishek Bachchan is my hero.). Sunday added to the cultural extravaganza with a trip to the National Gallery of Art, which museum alone includes two buildings and a sculpture garden, and will definitely require a return trip - particularly when said sculpture garden is not buried under snow. Still, an awesome experience, complete with gazing adoringly at Monet paintings, craning my neck, agape, to get a better look at huge Caldwell mobiles, and ultimately purchasing a mug featuring the Michelangelo quote “I am still learning.”.... that’s right, I’m cool.

The National Gallery of Art is absolutely beautiful- and not just the pieces housed there. Requires at least one trip, if not more. 

The East Wing of the National Gallery of Art features contemporary pieces, from Warhol and Pollack to this awesome Caldwell mobile. My advice: do not attempt to get a good look at it while going up/down stairs or escalators; you run the risk of tripping…. ahem. 

       
By the time I’d had my fill of the National Gallery of Art- for trip 1, at least - it was late afternoon and I wasn’t quite up for rejoining the crowds of families, school children, and elderly couples on their Valentine’s Day outing, all packed into the Metro. Thus, after much inner debate (to the point of passing the museum then thinking better of it and turning around), I headed in to the American Indian Museum.
     
My discovery last time I was there: the building itself is awesome, the idea is awesome, the gift shops inside are awesome but (of course) pricey, and the stairs can be a bit daunting, and the actual exhibits seem rather limited. Though all of the above still stands, for better or worse, this time I had serendipitously stumbled upon an annual, two-day celebration at the museum, “El Poder de Chocolate.” For the non-Spanish speakers out there, that’d be “The Power of Chocolate”- ah, es la verdad. Even better: I was right on time for the performance, an Incan “Scissor Dance” native to Peru, and performed by three ridiculously flexible and energetic young men accompanied by two brightly garbed musicians. Hands down, the most interesting visit I’ve had at the American Indian Museum... third time really is a charm.

What source of serendipity pushed me toward the American Indian Museum at just the right time? I know that as well as I know where those guys found their seemingly endless stores of energy… a non-blurred photo (at least with my camera) was impossible.

       
Other than that, not much to report and little planned for the rest of the week (for now, at least). Presidents’ Day on Monday meant another day off for many (again, not including myself), half of which I spent at WBJ, the other half of which I spent picking up my freshly repaired laptop and conducting a third failed trip to the Ghanaian Embassy in preparation for my summer internship there… since when do Ghanaians celebrate American Presidents’ Day, really?! Between that and extracurricular drama (four girls in one apartment, and you’ve got to be prepared for such nonsense), I was nearly ready to throw a shoe – a big one! Luckily, such mishaps are rare… and, as much as I hate shoes, the Payless across the street can help me fill my literal shoes as I hope to fill my figurative ones.