Riding the Metro

I ride the Metro (subway train) everyday to get to work.  It takes about 45 minutes each way.  Tuesday morning I was later than I like to leave.  As I rode the escalator down to the Metro, the train just arrived, so I hurried to get on before it pulled out.  As usual, I started reading.  After awhile, I heard the conductor say Rosslyn stop.  My stop is about four stops later, so I continued reading.  Suddenly, the train popped up above ground!  The sun was shining.  My train stays underground all the way to my stop.  I am on the wrong train!!  I am on the way to the airport.  I get off at the next stop and catch the next train going the other way.  I have to ride it until it gets to a transfer stop so that I can get on the correct train and then ride to work.  A strong reminder to pay more attention when getting on the train.

Idaho

I had a chance to return to Idaho for a few days.  Spent time with family.  Anna and Mike have just moved from Florida back to Idaho.  There was a birthday party for Tyler, Corbin, and Rylan since their birthdays were the last of September and the first of October and the family was too busy trying to move to celebrate.

I also got to see my mom and Bob for a day.  Thanks to Ginger and Neil for letting me stay at their house.  Jon and Charlotte fed me, Anna, and boys a great dinner.  Mike's mom and family, as always, let me join their family fun.

I was really looking forward to seeing people that I worked with at Frank Church High School.  I talked with as many as I could in the time I had available.  It felt so good to see old friends and colleagues.

A real highlight of my visit was the opportunity that I had to meet with the Math and Science Coordinators at the Idaho State Department of Education.  I talked with them about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in Idaho and the nation.  The President's Council Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has recently released a report, Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in STEM For America's Future .  Lot of topics for discussion; Common Core Standards, revamping AP Computer Science, how to prepare and inspire students, 100,000 new STEM teachers for middle and high school, creating a STEM Master Teacher Corps, electronic text books, virtual schools, and much more.

It all ended with a long day of travel home.  Started at 7 a.m. in Nampa and ended at 9:30 p.m. when I walked in my apartment in Washington, D.C. , filled in the middle with the fun of trying to make plane connections.

A Day at the Zoo

Some highlights of trip to National Zoo with Marcus and family.

Grace Hopper Conference

Wednesday I was able to fly to Atlanta, Georgia for the Grace Hopper Conference.  Before last week, I admit that I had never heard of Grace Hopper.  Now I know she was a "mathematician, computer scientist, social scientist, corporate politician, marketing wiz, systems designer, and programmer".

The conference was great and I learned the importance and need for computer science and the grave shortage of computer science in our nation's education system.  The keynote speakers were outstanding.  Duy-Loan T. Le arrived from Viet Nam with little more than the clothes on her back.  She said that not being able to speak English was her biggest handicap.  Four years later, she not only could speak English, but graduated from high school as class Valedictorian at the age of 16. At 22, she was the first woman to be elected to the rank of Senior Fellow at Texas Instruments.

I also learned that computer scientists are not always all about numbers and sitting in front of computer screens.  They also know how to have fun.

Dancing on Thursday night!

Dancing again Friday night!

I managed to see some sights of Atlanta and have some fun.  Found a great place to eat Southern cooking.  I ordered the house specialty of Peach Waffles and Chicken Wings.  Between Einstein Fellows, Erik Russell and Camsie Matis and I, we also shared collard greens, mac and cheese, summer squash casserole, and the best sweet potato cheesecake ever.

Gladys Knight's Restaurant 

Gladys' blue shoes.

We also visited the World of Coke a Cola where we experienced a 4D movie about Coke around the world and tasted 50+ different Coke products.

I stayed in the Marriott Hotel on the 27th floor.  The view was beautiful, inside and outside.

Looking down from the 27th floor to the lobby below.

Outside my window.

A Look at My Monday

Today I am going to give you a glimpse of my day.

• Alarm rings at 5:15 a.m.  I get up at 5:45 a.m.  
• Leave house to walk to the Metro at 7:15 a.m.
• Arrive at work at 8:15 a.m.
• Check email. Add data to spreadsheet.  Reply to all emails.  Meet with my sponsor and plan for upcoming trip to Grace Hopper Conference in Atlanta Georgia. Write more emails. I am trying to make arrangements for a meeting of teachers in the spring.
• About 4 p.m. I take Metro to Courthouse stop and walk to Triangle Coalition to pick up moving expense reimbursement check.
• Walk back to Metro and ride to Union Station to find Verizon store.  
• Talk to Ginger while adding a little sugar and caffeine to my blood.
• Decide to walk the mile or so home, rather than get back on the Metro. This was actually a good idea.  The evening was cool with a drizzle of rain.  Stopped and talked to a gardner and we discussed plants that would grow in a little shady spot under the stairs at my apartment.
• Arrived home at 7:30 p.m.
• Warmed up some soup for dinner.

Mustard Greens

Groceries tend to be expensive here.  Last week during a grocery shopping trip, I noticed these BIG bags of mustard greens for very little price.  I know that they have a very high nutrition value and I like swiss chard, so I decided to try them.  DCers consider themselves in the South, so there is a lot of Southern food in the grocery store.  I took them home and followed the cooking directions on the bag.  Adding some meaty bacon and baking powder biscuits.

I tried to be open minded.  But I am afraid it tastes like chewy weeds, not disgusting, but not great either.  The bacon helps a lot. I have a whole bag to eat, so maybe I will develop a taste for Mustard Greens.

Capitol Hill Books

This is the most delightful, used book store you will ever find.  Located by the Eastern Market, it has a very small, unassuming store front.  But when you open the door, you see nothing but books, everywhere, along the walls, stacked on the floor, in the window wells, on shelves after shelves.  I asked the owner if I could take pictures, but they do not do it justice.  You'll have to come and see it for yourself to really appreciate it.

There are so many books that there is only room for half a dozen people in the store at one time, so you must wait for someone to leave so that you can get in.  Wonderful little store.