Entry 6 (June 10-16) Concussed & Introduced to Maryland

Featured Photo:

Monday, June 10:

During internship working today, I met with my supervisor and discussed goals for this semester. Mostly so I could do the assignment so I'm getting college credit for this internship too :)

I went grocery shopping and YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHO I RAN INTO

Ok to understand how crazy this was, let me rewind 11 months:

Last summer (over July 4th of 2023) I went to a political science conference in DC. I met this kid, Nathan, there. He goes to school in Kansas. Nathan and I were walking around the Mall with a big group but we accidentally got split off from the group during a discussion comparing and contrasting Catholicism and Mormonism and it's influence within politics around the globe...as political science students do, I suppose. Anyways, so after getting split from the group, we kept walking and talking around the Mall, but as July in DC does, it all of a sudden started pouring like nothing a Nevada girl had seen. Maybe it rains like that in Kansas, but he seemed just as shocked as I was. It created a break in our ...friendly..debate about religions because we had to sprint to shelter becasue, seriously, it was pouring. The streets filled up with water quick and the gutters were just roaring. We were pretty much drenched to the bones, but we found a tent on the Mall. The tent though turned out to be a Jewish worship tent. Which was hilarous and ironic. So that's the time a Catholic and a Mormon ended up in a Jewish worship tent at like midnight in the Nation's Capitol. It was a good laugh for all of us. Anyways, we didn't keep in contact.

But then there I was, after getting lost on my way to Whole Foods, I passed him on the street! Nathan! In the flesh! I really need to come up with a new catchphrase when I run into someone I'm not expecting to run into, but I pulled the "uh I know you!" and then after a minute of chasing him down the street and trying to remind him of our adventures the previous summer, he was just as suprised to see me in DC again! 

Turns out he also got an internship in DC this summer. 

It's just so crazy because I tell that story all the time, but I wasn't expecting to run into him again, like ever. 

DC just keeps bringing back around so many people from my life! 

In the evening, I went to Volleyball with the Institute at the church building. It was fun! Except I went to block one Missionary's spike and instead, he hit me right in the face, with my new glasses and everything. And I felt that very unique and particular slosh ache your brain feels when you just got a concussion. 

Because I think I had just gotten a concussion though, I was pretty disoriented though, so I just said out loud "I think I just got a concussion" and kept playing. 

After that, I got pulled aside by a member of my Bishopric and was invited to the calling of Ward Missionary!!! How exciting!!! I am soooo so crazy psyched about this!! 

Tuesday, June 11:

Today was well supposed to and predominantly pretty chill. 

My head hurt a lil from getting hit in the face yesterday. 

I did some more grocery shopping and then meal prepped! I made a bunch of breakfast burritos to freeze. I'm pretty sure I live just off of breakfast burritos, but that's ok haha they're fabulous and all the food groups are represented. 

The day, and my headache, took a turn when someone in the house took a hot shower, which sets off the fire alarm. This was the like only week the real RA wasn't home and the Maintenence guy had gone home for the day. Thank goodness the other Co-Assistant-RA was home. The procedure was get everyone out, and make sure they stay outside, then use special keys to turn off the alarm and then wait for the Firemen to get there and tell them everything's ok. But, fun little twist: our special keys didn't work so we couldn't turn off the alarm. Also there are flashing lights and really super loud sirens, which didn't mix well with my concussion. We were calling the real RA and the Maintenance guy, but it just didn't make our keys work, and the kids kept trying to go back into the house and then two fire trucks came speeding up. And I was trying desperately to yell over the alarm and explain that it was just a hot shower, but we couldn't turn off the alarm, and a line of Firemen ran past me into the house, in gear and carrying huge axes and it was totally nerve racking! I led them to the alarm box room we couldn't get open, and they picked the lock and got it open finally and turned off those damn alarms! They had to check the house just in case since no one would come forward and say they knew if they triggered it or not, so after their thorough check, they made sure to tell me that some fire box outside was not up to code and I...I just work here bro. I handled it as professionally as I could but low key I was in so much pain. 

I rested after that and later in the evening FaceTimed mom & the cat for awhile until a rat ran past my legs at dusk and I screamed and ran inside. DC has some seriously audacious rats. 

Wednesday, June 12:

Ok so you know my code that I'm always fighting? It's to be able to analyze data from a X-Ray telescope observation, and it's just following a tutorial, but with some changes to the procedure. But the dang thing is soooo finicky, and I have cried over it at least 7 times. So I zoom met with my mentor and it was a relief, but also she told me to delete everything and redownload the data and go from there. So hopefully a fresh start will help! 

There are a couple of other remote interns at the Hatch House and I hung out and worked with them today. (they're some of my favorites) They invited me to the Congressional Baseball Game. 

YALL

I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE 

BUT LET ME TELL YOU

It's a bunch of Congresspeople. And they separate based on Democrats/Republicans into two teams. and then play a game of baseball at the Nat's stadium!! 

How absolutely wild of a concept!! DC is such a silly place to be in!! 

So after some debate of which side we were going to root for & sit with & what colors to wear, we went to the game. I wore the red dress+white and blue pin stripes outfit..or what my roommates like to call my "Uncle Sam outfit," to play both sides of the aisle. 

It was seriously so fun!!

I think I ran into every person I've met here in DC: 2 sets of missionaries, BYU kids, kids in my ward, and all my housemates. I went with 2 housemates and came home with like 8. 

I lost the debate and we sat with..not my political affiliation. There was some serious color coding going on in the stadium. One side there was a sea of blue and the other a sea of red. It was, well, unbelievable! 

I only realized there were different sections of the stadium because the sea of people I was in was not cheering for the team I was cheering for...which was awkward until I figured it out and just decided to keep quieter...

In Utah news though: Blake Moore batted a couple times!! It was so cool!! Us Utah group went crazy!

The Democrats kept body slamming the Republicans to get onto base, which was so crazy to see all these old people just going feral haha

There was an environmental group that rushed the field, so it was crazy to see them get arrested and taken off of the field. The secret security all just came out of the woodworks. They appeared all of a sudden on the field and were securing the Congresspeople and swarming the protestors at the same time. They took care of it pretty quick, but not so quicker than X (formerly known as Twitter). 

I got to see again, first hand (the second time after the protestors on Memorial Day) people using public events that have nothing to do with their cause as a stage. My housemates started refreshing X (formerly known as Twitter) (sorry, that's my favorite saying these days, it's everywhere, like it's one word: X-formerly-known-as-Twitter. It's hilarious to me haha) They started checking to see how quickly these protestors made the news, and sure enough it took under 7 minutes. I'm starting to see and understand how things are run in "this town."

Oh and it was a close game in the beginning, which was a first in awhile apparently. But then as usual, the Republicans pulled way ahead and won. (let me tell you, their catcher, some guy from Texas, look straight out of jail. And most of their team looked straight off the farm, so I mean no wonder they win every year) 

Thursday, June 13:

Ah Thursday, I scheduled all my meetings for the same day so that I didn't have to wear makeup more than today.

That scholarship I worked on last Sunday? I made it to the interviewing stage! I was able to do that interview today! I'm realllllly wanting to get into this scholarship/cohort, so keep me in your prayers that I get this scholarship! I hear back next week!

But also!!! I got an email that I was awarded a different scholarship today too!!! How exciting!!

I also went to institute, and it was lameish. but yay for pizza! And I always love to see all my friends there :)

I walked there with a friend, and I was still wearing my cute interview outfit, so I felt cool.

Friday, June 14:

I've been writing blog, writing my talk for Sunday, working on internship things

I've also been workin on laundry and resting because I'm realizing my concussion is super real and pretty bad. Various symptoms I recognize from past concussions have started showing up worse and so I am in the laundry room wearing sunglasses and writing this hahaha

Saturday,  June 15:

I rested in the day time because my concussion 

In the eveining, a friend picked me up and we drove to Annapolis. It was my first time there, and it was so beautiful! It's such a pretty drive, with all the greenery of the East Coast. We went to this resuratn called the Iron Rooster. It's like this breakfast all day place and I got just a normal pork ommlett, but my friend got a crab omlett. And I havne't had Maryland bluecrab before. My friend, who was raised in Maryland, insisted I had to try the crab, and I won't lie to you guys, it was pretty dang good! I wasn't expecting it to be a white meat, or sweet. I thought it was pretty great, which is a lot from someone who doens't like seafood. 

After the Iron Rooster, we walked around the pier. There were so many boats!! And it was kind of odd that there was just like...so much water?? I'm used to the idea of California beach towns, but Annapolis is like not just on or near the water, it's like in the water. 

My friend said that it's usually quicker to take a boat to get around that part of Maryland than by car. 

Since it's early June, the hydrangeas were in full bloom in front of all these really old houses. They were just gorgeous! All these differing shades of blues and pinks with lots of purples playing the middle ground. We watched the sunset on this bridge, and there were all these sail boats and tourists with their kids, and a lot of fancy cars. It was just so pretty and the vibe there was...jubilant. Very much so. It was really a fun time. 

Oh and then come nightfall, there were these people fishing right off of the dock which was amusing to me for some reason, but they were ran off when this huge party yaght docked right where they were sitting and all these party people dressed up and drunk were walking off this boat..definalty not in a line. 

And then my friend wanted to show me more about Maryland, so we walked around Annapolis proper more. We walked to the Capitol building, or as New England calls it, the "Statehouse." I was SHOCKED to see it there. I haven't seen the capitol of Nevada, ever. And I live up the road from Utah's capitol, but to be walking around some strange city and then BOOM the state capitol? Wild! But my initial shock was nothing compared to when my maryland friend grabbed my shoulders and turned me around and THERE WAS THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION?!!

Ok I won't lie, I had never heard of a Governor's Mansion before. I had a solid debate, which I ended up losing, about wether all states (Nevada) has a mansion just for their governors. After it turns out Nevada does have a mansion for the governors, I got kind of mad that we as a state gave Sisolak that much dignity. Anyways, back to Maryland: It was gorgeous! All these red brick huge and regal buildings! We were walking down historic King George St, and it was so pretty! All the things I love about the East Coast: greenery, hydrangeas, red brick buildings, being wrong about historical and governmental fun facts. Truly it was everything! Oh and even a bull frog...I heard and got very excited about because I kind of forgot those exsist outside of Nevada marshes haha

There was also this plaza with these statues and then all these huge supreme court cases that had ...um somthing to do with Maryland? written in bronze on the ground in front of the statues. 

I also learned more about the Maryland flag and why it is literally posted on everything and where it came from. Very neat things. 

It was a very Maryland evening, and I loved it! 

I didn't get pictures of all of it, but here's me very cute & dressed up to go! 

Sunday, June 16:

Today, I gave my talk in church! I hadn't finished writing it because every time I looked at a screen, I felt nauseous...so I brought my sunglasses and computer to church with me, ditched sunday school and wrote my talk best I could before sacrament meeting (which was after sunday school in my ward). 

Sacrament finally rolled around, and I gave a mostly extemperaouns talk because man after writing my talk and looking a screen (with the yellow scale way up and sunglasses on) I did not feel good. 

It turns out that I am actually pretty good at giving talks even when concussed, because everyone was telling me I did such a good job especially considering the concussion, so I felt pretty good about myself and took a nap for a very, very long time. 

Oh and mom sent a "new happenings in Nevada" picture. 

Also also, someone in the Hatch House brought a Zion's map and hung it up in the kitchen. Never have. I ever seen a more Utahn thing! I loved it!