Sunday, June 16, 2024
By:
As I sit here typing this up, I feel as if I should disclose to my loyal readers that every time I write one of these blogs, I always have my Google Calendar up for two reasons: 1) I have the memory of a fish, and therefore cannot remember anything I’ve done by myself, and 2) I use Google Calendar religiously. However, this is truly beside the point, and I will move on to spare all of us the pain of reading an essay about the joys of gcal.
“Kai,” you may ask, “What did you do this week?” The real question should probably be, “What haven’t you done?” because let me tell you, apparently, I fit a lot in (unbeknownst to me before I pulled up my gcal). Here we go!
In terms of work, I FINALLY finished up my research on Frank Kameny. I created this huge timeline of all his jobs, accomplishments, run-ins with the government, protests, and anything else you could possibly think of. When it comes to history, I firmly believe that getting dates right, particularly when multiple important events happen within a short time frame, is paramount in preserving a person’s story and making it easier for future historians to understand what happened correctly. Yet, no other historian seems to find this as important, so I made my own timeline from scratch – in doing so, though, I could figure out how everything connected, particularly when placed in the larger context of the Space Race. From this, I wrote up a pitch for an article and submitted that. We’ll see what comes of it, but regardless, I will be writing some sort of essay/article/paper/blog post on Kameny in the next few weeks. I honestly am ecstatic about what I’ve found so far, but I will not disclose anything. I don’t want to ruin the surprise after all. Thursday and Friday were dedicated to learning the ropes of oral history work, in which Jon (one of the historians) kindly gave me training on the subject. I then spent most of Friday researching and compiling a list of scientists I might reach out to.
Now, on to why my blog post is called “Thank You For The Music.” If you didn’t know, that is the name of an ABBA song, which I think is fitting as I went to a total of 4 concerts this week (no ABBA unfortunately). After leaving you last week with the DC Jazz Jam, I went to a Lizzy McAlpine concert at the Anthem on Tuesday, a Pomme concert at Union Stage on Thursday, Jazz in the Garden on Friday, and I stumbled upon Concerts on the Green in Great Falls on Sunday. If you couldn’t tell, I love music, and I’ve loved it ever since I was little. Now, with my limitless freedom, I spend so much of my time (probably too much) going to concerts. Alongside that, I also went to the National Gallery of Art with some of the other interns in which we partook in two of my favorite pastimes: 1) making the same poses as chaotic paintings and statues and 2) making the most nonsensical and anti-intellectual comments on the art. Honestly, 11/10 museum-going experience because of that. Afterward, Jaden, Kaden, Charles, and I all went thrifting where I got the BEST shirt ever made: a tie-die shirt that says, “What would Dolly do?” And honestly, I think that should be everyone’s mantra in life. I spent most of Sunday rotting in my room watching shows (I also finished the 3rdseason of Bridgerton!) because I could, until 5 pm hit and I got the sudden idea to go on a hike. At 5 pm. Yes, I know I repeated that but who in their right mind decides to go hiking at 5 pm. Me, apparently. I’m so glad I did, though, because this hike was STUNNING. I drove 30 minutes to Great Falls Park and hiked a 2.5-mile loop that took me alongside the Potomac. The water was so clear, I wanted to jump in, but I didn’t bring any change of clothes or a towel. Now I know for next time. I then decided to reward myself with a sweet treat by going to Great Falls Creamery where they had the most delicious Banana Cream Pie ice cream. I’m going to have dreams about it. There was also live music when I stumbled upon this creamery, so the moral of the story is always get ice cream when you desire it.
Buh bye!
Recommended Activities: (Cheap) concerts, Jazz in the Garden, the National Gallery of Art, thrifting, Great Falls Park, Great Falls Creamery, Concerts on the Green.
Kai Hostetter-Habib