Sunday, July 21, 2024
By:
Skip to the end to see lasers. I really won’t blame you if you do. Do it, go look at the cool lasers.
Monday was a stressful race to finish my abstract from the ACP office while staving off the urge to yap with all the other interns trying to do the same. But a brilliant man once said that pressure makes diamonds and I sure as hell came out with a shining abstract (I had absolutely zero confidence in it). Also learned I’m very bad at Scrabble. What I don’t suck at though is apparently chess, because I was able to defeat the combined efforts of Charlotte and Charles after work.
The next day I worked from home and accomplished very few of the things I wanted to. I need to stop staying home. The comfort of the couch continues to call in much the same way as the free candy bowl at ACP does. I am torn asunder between the two. After work we had worm night and watched the Bachelorette again. For context, we believe Kaden has had worms or some other ghastly affliction since his trip to Mexico at the start of the summer, and worm night was to celebrate his symptoms finally abating. I suspect that Kaden will miss his better half, but will enjoy a less eventful digestive cycle.
Wednesday I commuted to Baltimore again, this time with my first ever delayless Amtrak ride. Consider my faith in railway travel restored! I presented my abstract to Dr. Kumari, alongside the newest round of plots and VANDELS survey analysis. To my shock and the shock of you, my dear reader, Dr. Kumari thought my abstract was excellent and that the plots were well done and interesting. Capitalizing on this mood, I asked her if I could adapt this summer’s project to be my senior thesis project, which again prompted an enthusiastic response. She even suggested I submit for an American Astronomical Society (AAS) research note to get my work published and that she would help me submit a larger paper for publication if we can find novel enough results. In short, I’m so up, we’re so back, the ceiling can’t hold us, etc. Even the subsequent bus delay, Amtrak delay, and metro delay could not dampen my spirits. Consider my faith in railway travel forsaken!
The next day was our big tour of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where many of the interns work. Major props and thanks to Jenna and Charlotte who planned the whole thing, as well as Dr. Brad Conrad (former SPS prez, current NIST hero) who facilitated most of the day. We heard career talks from Brad and Susan Ipri-Brown, before enjoying some free pizza. We set out next to the Million Pound Weight lab and the Ballistics lab. All I will say about the million pound lab is my bad again Amanda. All I will say about the ballistics lab is that the room was very warm and that if they’re not careful people will fall asleep in there. We got to hear a phenomenal talk from Sarah Horst on the physics of Titan and the planned Dragonfly mission to observe its environments. She was brilliant, made excellent use of the laser pointer, and had me fully enthralled for the whole hour. We enjoyed some post-lecture ice cream, some weirdly pointed glares from a different group of interns, and a group metro nap on the return home.
Friday was the breaking point for my public transit trust, as I was unable to join Dr. Kumari and her grad students for lunch in Baltimore. Apparently you can just cancel an entire train line for the day. That is strange to me. Instead I worked from ACP, wrestled with my code for a while unsuccessfully, and Jenna and I put on a heroic, but ultimately failing display of corn hole prowess on the roof. Headline for the evening: Lasers! Brynn, Muji, Brynn’s sister, Muji’s friend, Eva (an SPS intern from last year), and I went to a concert at Echostage. Verdict? Lasers are very cool. Zeds Dead was an insane act and definitely a great time (see pictures below to also fall in love with lasers). It’s worth noting that we were accosted on our way out the door by Kaden and his gang of goons (the other interns), who attempted (unsuccessfully) to give us a jump scare by camping in the hallway beside the door.
The weekend began as they all seem to: slowly. After sleeping most of the morning, I gathered my strength and joined Brynn, Brynn’s sister, Jenna, Charles, Charlotte, and Kaden for a Nationals home game. Brynn, Kaden, and I played a great new game, Charlotte, and I made new friends in our seat mates, and the lot of us proved our valor amidst the throngs of people returning home on the metro. I want it to be known that for a brief moment, Nats stadium also featured lasers; they should play in laser mode perpetually. There are few things, I think, that aren’t improved by the inclusion of lasers. Some Seinfeld with Jenna and Charlotte brought the day to a neat close.
Sunday meant a quiet afternoon by the pool with Jenna and Charlotte (where we unceremoniously learned that Biden dropped out of the presidential race; I later saw his motorcade, it’s little car flags seemed to have the wind taken out of them). I worked on my symposium presentation slides briefly (biggest problem to solve is how can I professionally incorporate lasers into my slides), before enjoying a lovely homemade pasta dinner, courtesy of Jenna. The Mastropolo ancestral recipes have proved their merit and I will acquire them at risk of life and limb. Spikeball and sunset ensued after and with that the week ended nicely.
Now revel in laser glory (also pictures of me and the other interns I suppose).
Jaden Sicotte