LIVING TO TELL THE TALE

OH MY GOD.
GOT INTO WORK AT 5:45AM LEFT AT 1:30AM.
EVENTS PLANNING WHAT

i cant even
so i need to make a list to remember
- easy transport
- 24 hour dunkin donuts -- thank god for coffee
- immense line that stretched 4 blocks long AT 5:00AM. BEFORE IT EVEN OPENED
- breezing through ^ line
- having a secret service agent escort me to work
- changing into my nice work attire
- befriending anya on the 4th floor discussing hte immense 29 page list of VIPs i assembled >_>
- watching the inauguration from all floors! director's terrace!
- SURPRISE EAGLE ARRIVES. children and adults alike go insane. story is there's a woman who works here named holly who came dressed as a donkey last inauguration. she wanted to connect with "the young people" but did not know how--then the answer presented itself: buy an eagle costume.
- befriending greg vaughan the security man in the imagiNations activity center!
- escorting the head of the smithsonian secretary richard kurin and his entourage :O (by accident)
- huuge jumbo tron and delicious breakfast and lunch watching beyonce beast inauguration
- watching the schmoes on the Mall (heheh)
- secret service guy on top of our museum with the biggest guns ever
- 350 visitors!

- getting to nap sort of not really at all
- seeing the intersection of the parades meet at OUR museum corner--only to have the parade be delayed by nearly 2 hours
- FLOTUS and POTUS being bosses
- JOE BIDEN BEING THE WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO SECRET SERVICE. oh my god, the man seriously loves to please the crowds
- the reporters also being just as punchy after hours of no sleep and the lack of having anything substantive to say: "there joe biden goes, pushing flesh with the people--shaking hands with the crowd"

- changing into ball attire! wearing my (read: my mom's) diamonds :)
- seeing everyone in long black dresses haha
- THE WHOLE MUSEUM WAS BEAUTIFUL. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING
- the food was delicious
- the music was amazing: funk, bluegrass, country, oldies, etc.
- 1491s!!!

- crystal shawanda
- chaske spencer is really tall
- my boss's sequiny dress!
- seriously everyone looked _amazing_
- recognizing some congressmen and tribal leaders feeling super proud
- connecting more with rebecca ortiz
- laughing it up wtih larry
- listening to martha redbone and murray porter--and SPEED YODELING
- pear zingers (aka pear drinky drinks according to my boss after a few of them)
- blue digital is amazing photography--yay for sending emailed pictures to myself!
- meeting roylan bowechop from the makah tribe and making a fool of myself >_>
- dancing with a dude who SNUCK INTO THE BALL WHAT. AND WAS THE LIFE ON THE DANCEFLOOR? some dude named Richard
- dancing with my coworker's military boyfriend?!
- dancing (a lot) of HUSTLE and CHA CHA with a POTAWATOMI TRIBAL COUNCIL MEMBER?!
- the military boy breakdancing?!
- the assistant director of the museum moonwalking?!
- the founding director of the museum dancing up a storm and staying a half hour later than he intended, breaking all records?!
- 700 retweeted photos!
- amazing success all around, my boss' boss grabs a bottle of wine and says she's done for the night

BAM.

oh and
my shoes were so comfortable it wasnt until 12:30am i wanted to take them off. SUCCESS

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

NEXT UP: POST-BALL ANALYSIS & BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING.

LIFE MOVES ---> FAST

big news, FINALLY GOT A JOBBBBBB
at Brookings Executive Education, a collaboration between Washington University in St. Louis, Olin School of Business, and Brookings Institute (thinktank in DC)
going to be doing Events Assistanting which is gonna be nice and admin-heavy but i really like the team and i feel so awesome about this position

my life is finally moving forward and i think as nice as it was to have a plan (get a job and go to grad school) im starting to feel dissatisfaction with at least some parts of the museum world
i hate inefficiency and working in this field is making me feel so inefficient.
i need to be challenged and move forward and if all i can scrounge up is a part-time job doing admin shit at a postal museum and working on my own projects which will go nowhere because my senior researcher is _insane_ and also in some ways burned out, then i think its time for the change

it is so wonderful to have all my stress leave my life
and i can finally post on this blog without going NEED A JOB JUST GIVE ME A JOB
life has been pretty good if not for the stress of being overlooked at work and looking for work + then deciding between the three offers
loove my new TMH friends hana and yi and kayla and sam <3
going to be living here until april 30th, if not longer if i dont go crazy

moved into a penthouse suite with two windows (just on the 3rd floor) which is so similar to my room at vassar my junior year
hana supercurled my hair and will do so again sunday so i look pretty--need to buy bobbypins!
got a nice bagel with cream cheese
went with hana and yi to hillwood estate and museum ---soooo beautiful and especially with hte paper dresses! never saw a museum whose motto is "be fabulous!"

& with two canadian interns colleagues of hana's, rob and shivonne. met so many canadians last night who cheered for me when hana screamed "SHE GOT A JOB. AT _BROOKINGS_"
<3
enjoyed a nice Goose Island Sofie and discussed...canadian things? met three more TMH-Canada intern girls Alicia, Jessical, and Nujhat
 AND miss emily haight of chicago (only because i met her there) is now officially at NMWA (National museum of women in the arts) so there will be many mini-Chicago reunions and happy hours to come. got to see her, matt, matt's bf michael, and meghan, gabe, and some others from Smithsonian American Art at Chef Geoffs and enjoy a beer and an awesome burger :)

after hillwood we went to get some coffee, and eventually met with sam and her friend bryant at Sichuan Pavilion which was good and authentic--right down to the rude chinese mean waiter :(
but after that, got some bubble tea in chinatown which was ehhh for me but good for others i guess
sat and chatted for a whileeee
and made plans to hang out tomorrow eaaaarly
and i have to go into workkkkk omgggg inauguration is SO SOOOOOON

edit: mt.vernon was cool :D
sorry this got overlooked because of the AWESOMENESS of inauguration

been back

so much has not changed
i really need to fix my inner clock because my current one still gets me into work around 9:30am -_-
but that is better than me waking up at noon...

yesterday was pretty productive
spent the morning with ethan
went to pentagon city with leslie to get shoes for the inaugural ball (yay for comfort)
then national gallery with joe
pulpo, a tapas place, with joe--had some delicious mini burgers, and tres leches
then a thai place with matt, caught up with him
headed home
unpacked til about 1am, showered, and slept soundly :)

a little too soundly!

SECOND SEMESTERRR

...is exactly like the first.
very little, really none, fanfare for my return
but it's okay because that doesnt really matter. what matters is that it's INAUGURAL BALL INAUGURAL BALL INAUGURAL BALL

i need to remember to chat up people i havent met yet at NMAI and GGHC, try to leave a really positive impression :)

TMH is lovely as ever, rent is going up by $10 and they gave me my old room hahaha yay? not sure.
whoooo im back!