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.

Greg Mortenson

Tuesday evening I went to a presentation at the Shakespeare Theater near China Town by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and Stones to Schools.  He is not a polished speaker, but he is so passionate about what he does, that his sometimes awkwardness only makes him more real and endearing.

If you look carefully at the subtitle, it says "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time".  Mr. Mortenson told us that the publishing company originally insisted that it say, "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism, One School at a Time", because it would sell more books.  After the first year of no book sales, Mr. Mortenson was able to get it changed to the current title and it has been a best seller for almost ten years.  

Here are a few quotes I was able to get from his talk.

• One cup of tea and you are a stranger.  Two cups of tea and you are a friend.  Three cups of tea and you are family.

• When it is dark is when you can see the stars.

• Educate a boy and you educate an individual.  Educate a girl and you educate a community.

• There is no military solution to Afghanistan.

• Even if the world ends tomorrow, I will plant my seed today.

Micron Party at Marriott Ranch

Another day out of the city.  Traveled with Marcus, Heidi, and girls to the Marriott Ranch in Virginia for a wonderful day sponsored by Micron.  The girls climbed, rode, threw, jumped, and ate.  Here are some of the highlights of the day.

Riding the mechanical bull!

Of course, face painting.

Horse riding.

And caricature sketches. 

Weekend with Marc's girls

Busy weekend with Ashlyn and Morgan.  Saturday they came to DC and spent the afternoon with me.  We rode the Metro downtown and took in some sites.

In front of one of the many fountains in the area.

Inside a museum of Asian art.

We didn't have time to see everything we wanted to, so they must come and spent the day with me again soon.

This Week's Activities

Mom, does this sculpture display look like the one we saw in England?

I apologize that I have not posted anything all week.  I have been busy at work, my batteries to my camera are dead, and I lost my phone.  I have no new pictures for you to see, but I will fill you in on some of activities.

I am learning a little of what I am going to be doing.  First, a little background.

"The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" With an annual budget of about $6.9 billion (FY 2010), we are the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing." national Science Foundation website

My office manages grants to universities for research.  All of the submitted proposals must be reviewed by a panel to determine which ones get funded.  A big part of my job is to help set up and run the panels.  I will also read and be familiar with all of the proposals.  Our first panel is the first week in November.  

Besides office work at NSF, we also do lots of other activities.  This week I have

• listened to the TEA Party Rally on the White House steps
• visited the National American Indian Museum
• attended a live broadcast of NPR Talk of the Nation, The Gulf Oil Spill and Our Oceans-Can We Undo the Damage? by National Geographic
• went to a swing dance class

I also rode the Metro for hours, lost my cell phone, got lost try to drive from Maryland, and walked a lot.