Coast hopping

So I'm in the 2nd to last week of this internship and while I can't wait to get back to LA, move in, see everyone again, get all my stuff unpacked and get ready for band camp (woo?/!), I'm gonna miss the time in DC. It wasn't one of those self-discovery journeys that inspire Oscar-winning films, but it gave me the chance to do things I wouldn't normally do elsewhere. Like get up at the crack of dawn to go to Gettysburg. Or camp out at 5pm to watch 9pm fireworks while being serenaded by the US Army band. Other things:

I still can't answer where exactly I come from (up to 3 different answers now), my hair is now a strange shade of brown/burgundy/orange, and I think my accent has taken on tones of the Mason-Dixon states as well as picking up certain military/nautical terms. I survived 2 months without murdering (or getting murdered by) the Notre Dame tuba or the UCLA alum officer. (Should I have? Most likely yes. But I'd rather not get in trouble with the US Navy, thank you very much.) I avoided getting questioned by the NCIS over classification issues. On a whim, I took the 6 hour Amtrak up to Providence, bruised my arse and killed my lower back on an hour of polo, watched a polo game, stayed up till 5 to go and have breakfast at a diner, and loved every moment because I did it with a friend. LA transportation seems even crappier than before after the lovely DC metro (minus the Red line crash). Shellbacking makes frat initiations seem like a welcome tea party. It's way easier to travel on the East coast than I realised. Thanks to the good ol' grid layout of DC, I visited most of the Smithsonian museums in a week by walking. There are people whom I would never have hung out with had we not ended up in the same internship, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss them. And while the reference letter is nice, I'm just glad I got to work with the people in the archives and hope I will see at least some of them again after all this.

Not a bad summer, by all accounts.

Capitol, capitol

I just realised I've spent 3 weeks here. That actually flew by pretty quickly.

Things were a LOT more lively once the (only) other intern arrived at the Operational Archives. Now I have someone else to chat to; not that the regular staff aren't talkative and friendly, but it's really nice to have someone else of similar age. (I'd love to have a beer with anyone from the archives, to be honest. Yes, even the commander who's a fucla alum.) We have met up with a lot of the other Navy Yard interns though, thanks to the field trips, and they're all a really cool lot. Some of them are living as far out as Baltimore, which makes me feel a lot better about my 1 hour commute from start to finish. I think the others have been pushing for more trips since we don't see each other during work, being closeted in our various buildings (most work in the museum, I work in a small part of another building that's often freezing to keep the documents intact).

Went to Mount Vernon today, courtesy of Tourmobile. The estate was very pretty and had some interesting stuff, but it was a bit of a downer because we only had 4 hours to see the estate, and 1 hour was spent waiting to get inside the mansion itself. I also nearly didn't make it back to DC because I did not see where the Tourmobile stop was. Oops.

So all in all, I really enjoy working here. I also really like living here so far. The one downside is that there aren't any good supermarkets or shops near where I live. They do have some interesting boutiques, but I'm cheap and need to find something like an Old Navy nearby. The nearest one is in Pentagon City across the river.

Plan for next weekend is Gettysburg. Assuming the weather isn't too bad, it should be a great trip.

Back to old Blighty and the Land of Leeks

Yes, here's the treat: 2 posts in 1 day after not posting for a couple of weeks.

I might as well say it right here: I'm still on the fence about coming back for the Rose Bowl. This is mainly due to whatever flight's available and what exactly is going on in the first couple of days.

But there's also another factor: I'm going back to England/Wales for Christmas for the first time in 15 years. That's a hell of a long time for anyone, even more so when you're 19.

I can't wait to have a white Christmas again. Though I'm sure after spending a few days in soggy slushy London I'm going to be hating the snow as I stumble along in probably poorly inadequate clothing.

I can't wait to see my newest cousin.

I miss my grandad a lot. Nuff said.

I don't know when I'm seeing my parents again.

We're roadtripping around the country so I get to see some of my friends studying/living in England. It's been a while since I got to hang out with the girls I call sisters from pre-birth.

So in all fairness, if I can't make it back for Pasadena, I'm not going to be that sorry.

Take 5

So I'm in class right now at 8 in the morning, after a weekend of broken sleep cycles and walking against cancer. Which is still kind of wimpy compared to Strawberry-guy aka Matt and his 24 hour marathon.

Anyway, I'm writing this so I can stay marginally awake, as I don't know enough American history to skip this class altogether. Seip's cool, but so was Lamy, and even then I skipped his classes because I was too tired to pay attention.

1. Driving - In just over a month's time I'm going back home, and one of the first things I'm going to have to do (pretty much the day after I land) is take my written test, which I haven't even begun to study for. At least I'll finally be able to take lessons in a real car and not the useless simulator that they "allowed" me to use last time. The test in Hong Kong is a lot harder though, and my mum won't let me drive for a year so I'll have a clean record when I apply for insurance.

2. Cracked.com - Found this website though Digg, and it's pretty funny, although it's often pretty stupid as well, and some of the articles are made up.

3. Thinkgeek.com - I've been spending way too much money on this website. There's so many t-shirts, hoodies, gadgets, accessories, and caffeine-related products I want. Considering I'm kind of cash-strapped now, I'm going to have to go cold turkey until next semester. I'm still waiting for my recommendation so I can apply for an internship and possible earn some spending money.

4. CALPIRG - Bleh. I'm so out of here once this semester's over. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm not getting much out of it. I know that's usually the case with public policy work, but I figured I needed out once I started dreading the weekly meetings and events.

5. Summer - This is going to be the first time where I get more than 2 months of summer. As far as I know, I plan to:
- Go to Japan
- Find a job
- Get together with friends
- Go shopping for cheap clothes
- Learn how to drive
- See if I can still play the clarinet after a year of playing brass
- Deliver that USC pennant to school (I can't imagine why they don't have one already)
- Go to Colorado
Yeah, that last part is going to take up the last month of summer, so I really only have about 2 months to do the rest.

Netspeak

I went back to my old Xanga page to take a stroll down memory lane, so to speak. The last entry was on my 17th birthday, so it was interesting to see if anything changed in between then and my last birthday in Chicago:

Thursday, October 19, 2006

BDAY!!! whoa, 17 now. aaaand actually i don't feel that much different except that i only have 1 more year now before i'm legal. a big, BIG THANK YOU to those who wished me happy birthday and to those who gave me a card and/or present...despite the fact i'm an insane anti social cynical "British arrogant" coffee addict who rarely gives out presents or cards. Thank you for putting up with me all these years.

Reading that, I'd like to say very little has changed, that I'm still very very grateful that my friends are my friends and enjoy putting up with this crazy caffeine-hyped kid.

Going back even further, we've got some decently written posts (if a lot shorter than the ones I'm writing now), funny lists and photos, random inside jokes that only certain friends and classmates would get, random imagery such as "paraplegic turtle", aaaaand.....

*looks at posts from 2005*
*rubs eyes*

ABKLJGLBHKTLKC the netspeak. Yeah, 3 years from now, it's just painful to look at. I'm not a grammar Nazi, but sometimes I wonder where the gene coding for reading netspeak went after reaching the late stages of puberty. I am not missing it at all, frankly.