Friday, June 16, 2017
By:
“Don’t be in such a rush to figure everything out. Embrace the unknown and let your life surprise you.” -Anonymous
Trying to control everything is embedded to our behavior as human beings. On my personal scenario, I am the kind of person that enjoys the randomness of life. But, I like to have at least a plan for certain occasions or an idea of what is going on around me.
This week, the timeline for my project was detailed. We decided to move forward with one of the most fun ideas we had for a project: a physics trivia card game. While some details of the gameplay are still on development, I have been looking for fun and interesting facts about the highly recognized characters in physics as well as some of the most important laboratories and agencies.
Fun fact: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was not the first US agency to work towards aeronautics. Before NASA, the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) was the leading agency on aeronautics. It wasn’t until 1958 that NACA was adsorbed by NASA.
Other than that, I have been interacting with GIMP 2, an image editor that will become my best friend to develop the artwork for the cards. It is amazing how simple it is to translate a handmade doodle to an image that you can edit later. Also, the program comes with an inch ruler which will eventually come useful when considering the card size.
Last Friday (right after I posted the last blog entry), Zakary and I put together a little surprise for everyone back at the dormitory. It was James Merrick birthday and we celebrated with bagels. I mentioned to them how uncommon bagels are in my life. Instead of bagels, I mostly consume “Pan de Dulce” or sweet bread which is very common in Mexico. Surprisingly for us, we found a place where they sell them here in Washington. After a small walk, we shared a little treat in our personal lives with the other interns.
During the weekend, we attended an OSA party right next to the pride parade. It has been years since I went to my last parade, and this one was huge. I stayed there for nearly 2 hours filled with music, colors, bead necklaces and lots of fun. By the time we left the parade was not over yet, I am still not sure how much did it lasted. The closure event to the pride week was an electronic music concert on Sunday night. It was a lot of fun and the music was amazing, there where people out there who had such great moves. This kind of events in which people dance together with a common purpose somehow makes me feel the hope in humanity.
Besides the pride week concert, it was time for one of the concerts I personally planned to attend. Two of the most talented guitar players performed in Washington D.C. this last Monday. They were no other than Rodrigo and Gabriela on their last performance before continuing their tour on France. They have a unique technique that allows them to use the guitar as a percussion instrument while they play, adding more spirit to the music. By the end of the concert there was a crowd dancing to the rhythm of the guitars. For those of you who love instrumental music… I strongly recommend their beautiful music, you won’t regret it.
If we talk about dancing, I need to mention the fact that just yesterday we attended a cruise dinner with the SPS executive committee. We had to deal with traffic due to the metro and some constructions but we all made it there. Once again, we had a chance to interact with the Executive committee and talk about our career and future decisions on science. We had a lot of fun, especially after the band inaugurated the dance floor in the middle of the cruise. I ended up requesting the song Boogie Wonderland. In the blink of an eye, everybody else was dancing and having fun. For those out there who think we physicists don’t have that much fun, yes we do (And some dance moves too).
Overall, it has been a great week filled with progress, music, delicious food, and surprises. I can’t say everything was planned, but everything on it was totally worth it. I must say that my dad was right when he said that I should allow life to surprise me.
Francisco Ayala Rodriguez