First Day

Take 2:

Today was my first official day at my internship; it was epic! I finally got to meet Carl Hansen, the executive director of Smithsonian Photographic Services--talk about a cool guy!! It was an early start...

Wake Up: 7:05 am
Out the Door: 7:25 am
Arrival Time: 8:00 am on the dot [traffic is a lot different during the beginning of a Washington work day...not to mention if you walk over 20 blocks to get to and from work each day.

Most of the day I spent waiting for my expedited security clearance so that I could get my badge; unfortunately, I will have to wait until tomorrow to actually obtain it. Which means figuring out where the Capitol gallery is located...oy vey...I'm bound to get lost.

I was the only one in the tunnels at 8:00 am; I had arrived way too early--Donna Greene let me in after I had been frantically searching for the right door by knocking. She stayed with me for a bit then took me over to the Natural History museum. There I met with the REAL breakfast club and then headed up to the third floor [which can only be accessed by the left staff elevator...hehehe the things you discover] I had arrived and got introduced to John Steiner, a staff photographer that I might be working with. He is hilarious and really interesting! He gave me a tour of the lab and showed me around some of the "staff only" areas of the Natural History Museum. We then went down to the basement where Scott Whittaker does work involving the SEM [scanning electron microscope], but he wasn't there; so John brought me back to Ken Rahaim at the American History museum, where I was to meet Carl Hansen.

Carl asked me to sit down and shut the door...meanwhile I'm freaking out thinking that somehow I've already done something wrong...boy! was I dumb--he merely wanted to explain my situation, the details of my internship, and say that I am already an accomplished photographer, but what I will learn here this summer will not only improve my skill set, but distinguish me from all the other bobs and nancies out there! After meeting with Carl, Ken took me to see Leana, the other intern that works for John Dilenger, head of image editing. Leana and I talked until it was time for Ken and I to meet John Steiner for the 12:00 pm Keith Connelly lecture held at the Ripley gallery across the National Mall...we were a few minutes late, but did not disrupt the presentation.

After the hour presentation, John walked with me back across the Mall to the Natural History Museum then I went up the elevator to meet with Don. I was surprised to see Ken there; he and Don were discussing what I would be doing for the next 3 days while Ken is away shooting a conference at Capitol Hill. Ken left after giving me my very own Smithsonian email account, then I had to complete a security safety test and then Don gave me another tour of the different wings and shared some of his experiences while working at the Smithsonian. We both made our way back to the lab and then he escorted me down to security to return my temporary badge. I got to leave early; so i grabbed a hot dog special with chips and a soda for $5.45 at the Sculpture Garden cafe and relaxed by the fountain for two hours.

Then I walked home and collapsed into a deep sleep. I made dinner a bit later and packed for tomorrow's early journey at 7:05 am yet again. I get to meet the Breakfast Club at 8 am tomorrow morning.

I'm going to sleep now; you guys should check out the link below for some awesome hip-hop drumming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osHT73lWMD0

Later days,
JJ