Over the Hump

Well, it's official I am over halfway through my time here in D.C. When I had that realization I  also realized that I have not done even half the things I had wanted to do while I was here. Not to fear though, since I want to move back out this way. Before I get into how work went this past week I will talk about volunteering at the Army 10 Miler. I was a wave start volunteer for group purple. I was in charge of making sure the runners stayed in the corral until it was their time to go. I  participated in this as part of my civic engagement project with TWC. Since I last wrote I have done a few things. At work I am still working on USS Klakring but I should be finishing that up in the next week or so. I finally hit the 2000's, which will make writing it go a little faster.

The big thing I have done since writing last was represent Envisioning History inc., at GovCon 8. GovCon 8 is an event hosted by Palantir that shows the wide range of uses for Palantir and to inform government officials about what it is. Alastair and I went and ran demos for Envisioning History on our WWII project, specifically a Kamikaze and Pearl Harbor demo. There were many interesting people that we spoke to and they posed a lot of good questions that really made me think. Some of the most fun people to talk to were the other Palantir employees. They were excited to see the program do something different. The Palantir people went all out for this event. They had all the computers there for us, there was free food (a lot of free food), their own personal archways, and the whole thing was free.

GovCon was defiantly the highlight of my week.Throughout the rest of the week I went to class and did homework. My big accomplishment was finishing my first of five books for my independent study class with Dr. Lindell, I guess I should probably pick up the pace! Not to fear though, there is the possibility that I will be cooped up in my apartment for a few days with Hurricane Sandy, aka Frankenstorm, coming tonight, which means that I will have a lot of time to read! Yesterday was spent trying to get information that I needed for some other homework projects off the internet incase the power goes out. There was a study break yesterday when I went to go see Argo. It was amazing and everyone should try and go see it. I will check back in after the storm!

Until next time,
Courtney

Union Station before work one morning

My bedroom

My bedroom

Living Room

Kitche

Table/Living Room

Gov Con

Desserts for lunch (yes that is creme boule)

GovCon

Our booth

Main Stage at GovCon

Me an other TWC students at the Army 10 Milers

Fitting in

When moving to a new place one is usually in awe of their surroundings. For example when going to college there is that feeling of “Oh my gosh I am actually here!” and the excitement to meet new people. Then one day you wake up and it is gone, you just don’t realize it. That is what I have just realized about living in D.C. Everyday on my commute to the Navy Yard I pass the capitol building, the Supreme Court, and the library of congress. Before I was always looking out the windowing taking it all in, now I just read or listen to my music. I realized that while I am still impressed with D.C. that feeling of awe and excitement has subsided.

Not a lot has changed in the last week or so. I am slowly but surely finishing USS Klakring’s ships history, I am finally in the late 90’s! Last week I attended training for a program called Palantir. Palantir is used mostly in intelligence agencies but there is a new non-profit called Envisioning History, Inc. that is looking to use it for story telling. Beginning with WWII. I was lucky enough to be asked to attend the training so I could help with the project. When it is all said and done it is going to be really neat and very useful for scholars and for classrooms. If anyone one would like more information please let me know and I will try to explain it better (it is complicated) and send you some information about the whole outlook.

Getting to the training was definitely an experience all its own. I took the orange line to the very last stop, Vienna. Then I waited for Alastair because we were going to share a cab. This, however, did not happen as there was an accident in the metro and this slowed his metro down. I found the cabs and ended up riding by myself, but once we got on the highway we found everything was at a standstill. I ended up being late to the training, but I wasn’t the only one. Unfortunately, Alastair never made it. The training was very interesting and I enjoyed learning the program.

The weekend came and went all to quickly. I had a four-day weekend because I had programming on Friday afternoon and then Monday was a holiday. My weekend was very relaxed. Friday I went out with Camilla and Jess, we ate at the restraint in the middle of Union Station. It was okay, but definitely over priced. Saturday I went to the Wheaton Mall to go to Old Navy. That mall was huge! I got lost several times. Sunday I spent lounging after going to the grocery store and Monday was spent trying to get caught up on homework.

This week has gone by relatively quickly due to the long weekend. I am excited for tomorrow, as it is the Navy’s birthday so the Command is having a big potluck and an early release for the occasion. While most of the staff is excited for the early release, the interns are more excited for the free food. As for the weekend, we will see what it brings!

Until next time!

Courtney