Adventures in Washington
And then there was Washington. On my first night I went for a walk up to the Adams Morgan area which was quite a walk but it was worth it for the excellent slice of blueberry pie and then a visit to a pub. People in both the cafe and in the pub were very friendly and I found myself happily involved in a number of unsolicited conversations.
On Tuesday I made a trip around the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum and did pushups in front of the Wright Brothers plane, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, the Spirit of St Louis (where I must have done 100 friggin pushups waiting for the guy to figure out how to use my camera.) Then it was Archie Bunker's chair, Fonzie's jacket, Catwoman's costume, and Dorothy's Ruby slippers.
In the afternoon I put my suit on and made my way out to Alexandria to have a work meeting. I was meeting with a guy who does microtargeting similar to one of the projects I work on and he and I discussed what he does and what I do and how I might improve it. He was of the opinion that my work was quite impressive given the budget and resources I have. I've considered a change of scenery and a move back to North America (considered it, not planning it) and this is the kind of place I might end up working if I did. It would be an awfully big step though. Still, given all the career angst I've been having, I liked hearing that someone thought very highly of the work I do. We will be in touch.
I spent the evening having beers with a lawyer with whom I went to university and whom I hadn't seen in 10 years. There was plenty of career talk and poltical talk and comments were made that I was far better dressed than most people on holiday. It was a good reminder that plenty of people who appear to be master's of the universe are jaded and pissed off about their career choices like a lot of the lawyers he knows.
Right now there are a bunch of American girls on a church trip who are strangely fascinated by my stories.
Today it's on to Orlando to stay with someone I met last year.
On Tuesday I made a trip around the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the American History Museum and did pushups in front of the Wright Brothers plane, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, the Spirit of St Louis (where I must have done 100 friggin pushups waiting for the guy to figure out how to use my camera.) Then it was Archie Bunker's chair, Fonzie's jacket, Catwoman's costume, and Dorothy's Ruby slippers.
In the afternoon I put my suit on and made my way out to Alexandria to have a work meeting. I was meeting with a guy who does microtargeting similar to one of the projects I work on and he and I discussed what he does and what I do and how I might improve it. He was of the opinion that my work was quite impressive given the budget and resources I have. I've considered a change of scenery and a move back to North America (considered it, not planning it) and this is the kind of place I might end up working if I did. It would be an awfully big step though. Still, given all the career angst I've been having, I liked hearing that someone thought very highly of the work I do. We will be in touch.
I spent the evening having beers with a lawyer with whom I went to university and whom I hadn't seen in 10 years. There was plenty of career talk and poltical talk and comments were made that I was far better dressed than most people on holiday. It was a good reminder that plenty of people who appear to be master's of the universe are jaded and pissed off about their career choices like a lot of the lawyers he knows.
Right now there are a bunch of American girls on a church trip who are strangely fascinated by my stories.
Today it's on to Orlando to stay with someone I met last year.