The Federal Deer

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Monday, June 10, 2024

By:

Charlotte Bimson

The other interns have decided I’m horribly uncultured when it comes to movies and have taken personal offense. To “fix” this problem, there are now weekly movie nights. We have gotten through all Indiana Jones movies now; next is the Shreks.

Jenna and I went to the State Department on Tuesday for a meeting. It’s a pretty cool building with lots of flags. Even more exciting was that we did not need to go into NIST after the meeting; the commute is killing me. 

On Wednesday, we met Dr. John Mather, the namesake of our public policy internship. The reception and talk were lovely. Charles spoke with people from NASA Goddard and secured us a tour of the center (thank you, Charles).

On Thursday, we had the networking cruise. More importantly, on Thursday, I found out that the deer at NIST are federal employees and are badged. Jenna still does not have her official badge yet, so technically, the deers have greater clearance than Jenna. This is my new favorite fact.

Friday, we worked from ACP again. I went on a lunch adventure to try and get my fingerprints taken for an FBI background check for my Australian citizenship. According to the website, I have to go to a USPS office, and they’ll send them to the FBI for me, but only certain USPS offices will take them. The one near ACP does not, and now I’ll have to take a different adventure to Arlington. Luckily, George Mason Law School (where Jenna wants to go to law school) is right next to the Arlington USPS, and I have convinced her to come with me.

We also went to Jazz in the Garden on Friday. I won lottery tickets but didn’t realize I was supposed to request more than one (Jaden didn’t tell me, so it’s his fault), so we had to sneak three extra people in. Luckily, the teenagers manning the gates did not put up much of a fight.

Saturday was DC pride! We first went to the Natural History Museum (which I was underwhelmed by; I prefer the NYC museum), then ventured to the parade to meet other interns. 

Sunday was a zoo day! Jenna is afraid of birds. I think that’s really funny. When asked if she would rather fight a bird or an alligator, she said alligator. I think she’s crazy. 

Charlotte Bimson