Finding my footing

I read somewhere, once that it takes about three weeks for most people to truly acclimate to a place. Or maybe I just made that up. If the latter is true, then that rule is probably somewhat less legitimate.

In any case, I believe in that idea. It’s taken me about three weeks to get truly settled in and relaxed in my apartment. This is only the second week on the job and going to classes and programming at The Washington Center however, so that is still an adjustment.

I have learned that Happy Hour is where a great deal of business actually gets done in this town. Happy Hour is taken quite seriously by both the official class, the business professional class and probably most seriously by the intern class. It seems like a great thing to have, the proximity and multitude of places observing Happy Hour creates a less pressured environment where co-workers can mingle and new contacts can be made. Business cards at any important gathering of important people are handed out and collected like baseball cards in the first grade.

In the time that has passed since my last blog entry, I’ve already learned a lot more about the area. I always tell people this (and it’s no exaggeration): despite this being my seventh trip down here, I still find places I haven’t been before. Mind you, I’m not talking about hole-in-the-wall spots that only locals know about. I’m taking about major sites, such as the Library of Congress (LOC).

I’d been to the James Madison Building on the LOC’s Capitol Hill complex, but never to the older main Thomas Jefferson Building (pictures below). I wasn’t at all disappointed. The story of that building, the rare pieces of further history it contains, the immense knowledge and the intricate care of the interior artwork are all stunning. One of the displays was a Gutenberg Bible, the physical sign of modern printing and all it’s benefits for civilization. Another display was Thomas Jefferson’s surviving original collection of books. It was fascinating to walk among them, to think of Jefferson’s eyes on their titles, idly wondering which to read or re-read next.

In fact, the only disappointment for me at the Library of Congress was the usual habit of students my age in being glued to their phones, the silence in between sentences from a tour guide punctuated by the click-click-click of thumbs on tiny plastic buttons.

Everyone has a BlackBerry or an iPhone and it doesn’t seem to matter if you are the most disciplined or most polite person ever: once you have one of those demonic devices, it’s all over. People literally could glue their faces to those tiny screens here.

Now, I understand their usefulness. I also understand that, at the pace everyone moves at today (enabled by technology), you would be doing yourself more harm than good to not have a smart phone. I guess I just wish for a simpler time when nobody had a smart phone and could occasionally turn work well and truly off.

I think it’s a serious problem beyond the annoying rudeness of talking about something and-wait, I need to check this email. In fact, I’m going to read most of this email and thumb out a response while you stand there. Ok now I’m back. Wait, what was I even talking about?

I just think such a culture takes away from a lot of beauty, a lot of normal social interaction and a lot of nature. For example, during that tour I mentioned of the Thomas Jefferson Building, half my fellow interns were busy texting. Even if they were texting about the tour, why not stop, enjoy the tour and then text about it afterwards?

I think one of my conclusions, even at this early stage in my stay here, is that to get ahead in this town, you need to be pressure cooked. You need to move fast, you need to be smart and you need a degree of humility in a town top heavy with names, titles and real power. That could be appealing to me, that’s why I’m here.

I just finished a fantastic book which, in one chapter, discusses a bit of a social experiment which happened here in D.C., in the busy Metro transfer hub of L’Enfant Plaza. A world class violinist, dressed as a street performer and played his rare violin in the station during rush hour.

Thousands rushed by, completely blocking him out. Apparently this is due to value attribution, our tendency to label things and ignore objective facts. The commuter value attribution to this talented performer was that of “street performer” and they totally ignored an apparent aural masterpiece that normally would have cost hundreds of dollars to hear live.

For me, the jury is still out…if being in that pressure cooker environment is going to wear down my ability to see things and build up a sense of blind value attribution, then I may come to find Washington isn’t the best place for me.

Who knows? I have a lot to learn and a lot to see. It’s too early to draw conclusions.