September 5, 2001
Dear Everyone:
Where in the world have I been?
You may recall that I became attached to another “team” a while back. Actually this is just one of several “sub-teams” of a team headed by a former manager of mine. So, when they needed someone with “system administrative” experience dealing with yet another relational database, she thought of me.
This “sub-team” is charged with finding (already did that part) and setting up an application to manage the many moves that take place in this company, That Other Company, and NewCo (as the new company is temporarily being called even though everyone knows what the new name will be).
Three weeks ago, I set out for “Hobby”, Texas, to meet with other members of this team at a two-day session. These people actually believed that they could be trained on a system, agree on how the system would be configured and set up future training for “move coordinators” all in two days. Needless to say, they were mistaken. Almost immediately, they got bogged down by ideological differences such as to how the system would be used (i.e., should computers be “assets” or “attributes”?).
It soon became clear that either the planned training of coordinators would have to be pushed back, or more meetings for the team would need to be set up before said training. Two of us were already set to go to Bethesda, Maryland, for more extensive training on the complete system (not just the move management part). So the next meeting in “Hobby” was reset for the more technical aspects of the system and another meeting shoehorned in between that and the training sessions.
Which means a lot of time being spent in “Hobby”. Not that staying at the Four Seasons Hotel exactly qualifies as hazardous duty.
However, the trip to Bethesda turned what would have been an easy four-day trip into a slightly more arduous eleven-day trip, thus calling for more clean shirts and a laundry facility somewhere. It also afforded me the opportunity of visiting the Smithsonian Museum(s) on Sunday (8/19/01).
The weather was very warm and overcast, with a chance of showers, but I opted to leave the umbrella behind since I didn’t want to have to drag it all over Washington, plus run the risk of forgetting it somewhere. I took the Metro from Shady Grove to the Smithsonian Station. Once outside the station, with no idea what was where, I made a beeline for the Freer Gallery of Art for three reasons:
1. It was the closest building to the station.
2. It was an art gallery and would therefore be air-conditioned.
3. It advertised an exhibit of Islamic Art which, having studied the culture in college, I might actually be able to appreciate.
Number Two was, of course, the most important reason. And there was a lot more than just Islamic Art. Mr. Freer was one of those gentlemen at the turn of the last century, who had enough money to wander around the world collecting art objects and generally driving the “real” archaeologists crazy by taking things out of context, thus losing much of their historical significance. In other words, he was a “pot hunter”. So was Indiana Jones. So what?
After wandering through this rather enormous museum (most of these buildings are one-block squares; and D.C. has large city blocks), I moved on to the actual Smithsonian Castle, which contains, among other things, the actual remains of the actual James Smithson who left all that money for a museum to be named after him. By this time the “chance of showers” had turned into actual precipitation. However, it wasn’t enough to warrant the name “drizzle” in Oregon. And it was still very warm.
So I moved onto the next air-conditioned building, which turned out to be Arts and Industry, where they had a special exhibit all about the brain. Very interactive. Very interesting. Very crowded. Albert Einstein’s brain really is physically different from most people’s.
I was slowly, if haphazardly, making my way up (or down) Jefferson Drive. But now the rain was falling in earnest. And it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for work the next day. So I found the Gift Shop (this is usually the first thing you see) and bought a couple of T-shirts for “Jeannie” and me. And because of the rain, I decided to fork over another $2.95 for a “Mad Dasher” rain poncho. I figured it would be enough to protect me and my purse until I could reach the Metro Station.
In fact, it worked extremely well. As soon as I bought it, the rain stopped. It’s still in the original pouch. Anyone wishing to see the Miraculous Smithsonian Rain-Stopping Poncho is welcome to come by any time.
The rest of the week was spent training on this software. We learned a great many things that we will probably never use, as well as the part we will use. And, since the class was very small (six people compared to a maximum of twelve), we finished earlier than expected, on Thursday afternoon.
So I was able to go back into the city on Friday and visit a few more museums. This time I went across to Constitution Avenue and up to Natural History. Saw the dinosaurs and fossils (knew a trilobite when I saw one). Saw how the solar system was formed. Saw the moon rocks. Saw the Hope Diamond. Blew off the Insects. Moved on to the National Gallery of Art.
Again, I didn’t try to see everything. Concentrated on the Impressionists. Bought some postcards and headed back as my leg, which had been extremely well-behaved up to that point, was starting to complain. Also, they don’t allow backpack-style purses or any purses with shoulder-straps in the gallery (you have to hold it in your hand). Probably afraid someone will turn suddenly and bump a frame somewhere.
Flew home on Saturday, left the following Tuesday for “Hobby” again. Did manage to convince the team that computers should be “assets” and not “attributes”. All in a day’s work. Flew home in time for the 3-day weekend (thank God!).
Saw Jurassic Park III with “Jeannie” on Sunday. About what you’d expect. Dinosaurs. Running. More dinosaurs. More running. At least “Jeannie” and I got to see each other before the marathon business trips start up again.
And I did remember to give her the T-shirt.
Love, as always,
Pete
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