This week was really short in terms of work, but was very eventful. As I mentioned last time, our office was closed Monday for President’s Day and I used the long weekend to travel home and visit family. I took off on Tuesday because the flights were too heavy on Monday and I needed the extra time to get back to DC. Coincidentally, this gave me an extra day to visit and I made the most of my long weekend. I flew back to DFW Friday night after work, and was picked up by my best friend at the airport. We drove up to Denton, saw the movie “Safe House” (which was great), and then spent most of the night hanging out with brothers at the Theta Chi House. Early Saturday morning, I returned to the airport to catch a flight to Louisiana, where my mom and Danny moved after Christmas. I hadn’t seen them since they moved, and was very happy to be able to spend time with them and see their new house. My dog was overjoyed to see me, and I was worried initially that he wasn’t going to let me spend time with anyone else, though he quickly lost interest in me after I quit throwing his toys. My grandpa took me to a casino for the first time in my life and this was great experience, despite the fact that I lost $60. Turns out I’m not a great gambler. After the weekend in Louisiana, I flew back to DFW Tuesday morning and spent all day Tuesday with my dad and sister in Fort Worth. I had lunch with my grandparents there (my dad’s parents) and got to catch up with everyone, which was really nice. Before heading back to the airport, I insisted that we go to Cousin’s Barbecue for dinner (where I used to work) and I got to experience real Texas barbecue, which I had so badly missed. Then it was back to the airport, where I boarded another flight back to DC. I got in around 11:45 and was back at my apartment around 12:30 in the morning.
At work on Wednesday morning, I was asked by our Education LA, Michelle Chin, to come downstairs for a meeting with UNT officials at 10:30. I was excited to meet some people from UNT and eagerly went down to the greet them. The meeting was with Dr. Richard Nader, the Interim Vice Provost for International Affairs and Dr. Gabriel Carranza, the Assistant Vice Provost for International Cooperation and a Research Professor in Biological Sciences. There was another man present as well, but he didn’t speak much at all and I didn’t get his business card. Dr. Nader and Dr. Carranza were here to discuss funding and grants for international programs and talked with Michelle about the current status of UNT’s international programs and international students. They were excited to meet an intern from UNT and wanted to hear about what I was studying and what I was doing with the NTDC program. I really enjoyed getting to talk to them and was glad Michelle invited me along to the meeting.
Wednesday afternoon, Doug asked me to attend a lunch briefing on his behalf with the Foreign Policy Initiative. The briefing was titled “Assessing Progress in Afghanistan” and was a look at the current state of affairs in Afghanistan and the success of international efforts to combat terrorism and establish a lasting democracy. The speakers giving the briefing were General Jack Keane, a retired Army 4-star General and expert on the Middle East, and Major Fernando Lujan, an Army Special Forces officer who had recently returned from extended tours in Afghanistan. Not only was this another free lunch, but it was also a really informative briefing on a topic of interest to me and I learned a lot. After the luncheon, I typed up a summary of the remarks made by the General and the Major, noting the highlights of their speeches and the conclusions that they and the FPI had reached concerning Afghanistan. Then I met with Doug later in the afternoon to give him my account of the meeting and brief him on what was said.
Thursday and Friday were pretty routine and uneventful and the weekend came quickly, especially considering that I only had three days of work this week! On Friday, I had dinner with a fraternity brother from Denton who is now attending law school at the University of Pittsburgh. He called to tell me he would be in town for a conference and I was happy to meet him for dinner and spend some time catching up and hearing about how law school was going for him.
On Saturday, I slept in then headed out to the National Mall for an afternoon at the museums. I spent close to three hours in the National Air and Space Museum, checking out all kinds of aircraft and space vehicles. Coming from a family of pilots, I have some natural interest in this subject, but I really wished my dad and grandpa were with me because they would have absolutely loved the place! Actually, if they were with me I might never have gotten them out of there now that I think about it. I flew a full motion F-4 Phantom simulator and honestly have to say that it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. The thing actually spins, climbs, banks, turns, and rolls, responding to whatever you tell it to do with the joystick. The first time I stood it on its left wing and pulled back to execute a sharp turn, I found myself actually on my left side trying to hold myself in the seat as the horizon zipped past me in a blur. I was held into the seat only by the restraints and could actually feel myself lifting as if I were in a real plane. There are no G-forces, obviously, because the simulator is not zero gravity or pressurized, but you do get to experience a full range of motions, including vertical climbs, turns, and barrel rolls (which I couldn’t get enough of). And yes, you actually can start to get lightheaded if you fly upside down for too long. During the six and a half minute ride, I managed not to crash and successfully eliminated 6 of 6 enemy fighters during dogfighting, making myself an instant ace. When I attempted my skill at landing an F-18 on a carrier at night, however, my luck ran out. After a quick tutorial on how to read the ball, control pitch and elevation, and follow the instructions of the LSO, I made my first carrier landing attempt. I completely missed the deck and flew right overhead, buzzing the carrier and never getting wheels down. My second attempt saw me put the tail of the fighter into the deck and go up in a ball of fire. The next several weren’t pretty either, but I finally managed to catch the emergency #3 cable and successfully land the fighter on my sixth attempt. Needless to say, I won’t be going to Top Gun anytime soon.
After the Air and Space Museum, I headed over to the National Museum of Natural History and proceeded to get myself lost in the exhibits there. I spent the rest of the day wandering around from hall to hall, examining the fossil structures of giant whales, dinosaurs, and various extinct animals. I checked out skulls and remains of early humans, looked at telescopic imagery of distant galaxies and nebulas, and even stood within an arms-length of a 45.5 carat diamond in the geology section. This diamond is well guarded, as you can imagine, but the sight of it was awe-inspiring. And I have to say that I began to think of all the heist movies I had ever seen, searching for a likely way to grab it. Fortunately, I’ve watched enough movies and read enough books to know that this particular diamond would be impossible to take without an experienced crew, a small fortune worth of equipment, and a few people cooperating on the inside. Also, I concluded that trying to sell the diamond on the black market would be near impossible without cutting it up, considering its size and original characteristics. All of this, combined with the thought of life in prison, encouraged me to abandon my diamond heist planning and continue exploring the museum. By closing time, I had to be told to leave, because I was still caught up in the ancient oceans display hall and had lost track of time. I still have a lot more museum exploring to do and I just hope I have enough weekends left to see it all! Fortunately, everything is paid for thanks to all of you working adults out of college who pay taxes. I appreciate it!
After the museums, I met up with my friend again and we saw Amanda Seyfried’s new thriller, “Gone”, over at the movie theater in Chinatown. The film was a pretty good thriller with enough plot to keep you interested and was a good end to the day. Sunday I slept in again, and then went to Silver Spring, Maryland for a meeting with Mike Kelsey, the pastor of Frontline, before the evening service. He wanted to meet with me to see how I liked the church and hear about my background and experience in DC so far. We met for about 45 minutes and had a great conversation. Mike is really a great guy with a great church and I’m very glad I found this place. After another excellent service, I met some more of the church members, including Matt and his wife Lisa, who sat next to me. Matt is a doctor and an Army Captain, stationed at Bethesda. I was excited to meet him and am quickly finding that DC is a great place to make contacts in the military! After church, it was home to watch the Oscars. Another great week in DC with many more exciting opportunities! I’m quickly getting used to life out here and finding that I’m adjusting really well. Though I still don’t see myself being out here permanently because I just miss Texas culture too much!
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