Week 2

As I look back on my first two weeks here I realize how brief my venture has actually been. Working a full, even just nearly a full week, in a real office can make time truly fly by. I was concerned that I would not be able to keep up with the morning routine of 9-to-5, but so far it hasn't been too much of a challenge. Granted I am tired nearly every night that I go to bed, but that only allows sleep to come easier, so I'm not complaining.

My internship is with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR). I work in the headquarters (HQ), which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue (the same street as the White House!!). Because I work with the Science Advisor I have the opportunity to work on a wide array of projects on many subjects. One hour it may be Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA), or the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC), the next I could be in a meeting concerning National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAAQS (NAAQS). If it sounds like the job involves a many of acronyms and a large amount of jargon then I have effectively expressed my point. I find it all very interesting and have always been someone how enjoys getting his hands dirty working on a wide variety of projects and learning about many subjects. Thus, although my internship is seemingly tailored to me, the fact remains that at this first checkpoint I have found myself overwhelmed with terms with which I am entirely unfamiliar.

Sitting in on my first meeting I didn’t know what to expect. I brought a pad of paper on which to take notes and did so diligently. However, I will admit that although I was writing feverishly and appeared to be on the ball, I had no idea what I was writing. My notes were mostly bullet points consisting of a few verbs and a mess of my best interpretation of how the words composing a particular acronym may be spelled. Luckily, following the meeting my supervisor briefed me on the topic. My supervisor also assured me that I need not worry about the acronyms--no one expects me to know them yet. Either way, I'm still working on decoding those notes.

Working the daily 9-to-5, as interesting as my job is, gets tiring. Waking up in the morning at 7 a.m. and getting home around 6:30 p.m. would be okay if there wasn’t anything outside of work to accomplish. Unfortunately, I do have a life to live; dinner to make, reading to do, calls to place, e-mails to return, and even the occasional trip to the gym to squeeze in if I'm lucky. The late nights of working and 8-9 hour days can start making you feel pretty old. Its sad to say, but I feel myself becoming more and more like my father. Worse things could happen, but it does give me the feeling that a new life chapter has begun.

For our first weekend here in D.C. my roommates and I decided to commemorate our entrance into the workforce by going to one of the local happy hours. The event turned out to be a bit more difficult to pull off then we had anticipated, and when we got to the chosen watering hole we were all much more concerned with eating then taking the edge off after a long work week. As another step into the world of professionalism, we also decide to use the sauna at our apartment complex. Looking back on it, this event may be the one that makes me feel the most aged. To be honest though it was rather relaxing...well, relaxing up until to part where we got out and ran into a few of our neighbors in the elevator. We had our with towels wrapped around our waist and were sweating and they were standing beside us in their business suits. I suppose we are not to old to make fools of ourselves. I joke about feeling like a grown up, but really I am loving the independence and challenges that I am facing while living here in D.C. and working for the EPA.

Until next time…