one family. two purple cars.

YAY BREMEN!

My brother Bremen entered a contest to become a gear tester for Backpacker Magazine. The contest rules were that you had to create a YouTube video demonstrating a product and proving your outdoorsy lifestyle. This was his first attempt at making a YouTube video and it was not only head-on with being informative towards his chosen product but actually quite a beautiful little piece. You should watch it.

Today, here in Washington DC, while exiting the Portrait Gallery where he, my mom, and I met up for a quick lunch and tour through the Hall of the Presidents, Bremen got an e-mail saying that he was one of the winners of the contest! Over 300 people applied and Bremen's name was mentioned first of the 10 winners, so I'm claiming that he won first place.

He'll be consistently testing products for the magazine such as packs and sleeping bags and writing up features for the magazine. His name and picture will be included with each published article. If they like his work, which of course they will because he is a genius writer, he could possibly join on with the magazine.

Best of all? He gets to keep the brand-new items he gets to test!

WHY?!!

So as part of my job, I answer the main phone line to the museum. Anyone with any kind of question comes to me. I get frantic phone calls from women screaming at each other in a car while speeding down 395 trying to hear each other over the voice of the GPS because they are lost and need to know which exit to take. I get the everyday, "Which metro stop do I use?" or "How late are you open?"

Then there's the crazy people. I mean CRAZY. Interested? Read the following dialogue of the call I just extricated myself from.

Ring. Ring.
I answer using the name of the museum as a salutation

Caller: Excuse me?
Maggie: (I repeat myself)
Caller: Is this Emily?
Maggie: No
Caller: I need to talk to the registrar named Emily
M: No one is here by that name
Caller: Well that's who they told me to talk to. I don't think they would lie to me about that. What's your name?
M: Maggie
Caller: Excuse me?
M: My name is Maggie
Caller: Well Maggie, can I talk to the curator?
M: There are several curators here. What is the nature of your question? It will help me to know who you should talk to.
Caller: You don't have a curator?!
M: We have several.
Caller: oh ok cuz I was like, "What?!" Is it possible for me to talk to one?
M: It's best if you talk to me first and I can help you from there.
Caller: Well Maggie, I painted a picture for a friend who accepted it into his collection. He bequeathed his entire collection to the Smithsonian. So I need to know if I have a painting there. (except it took much longer to tell me that whole situation)
M: It sounds like it would be best if you write a letter and mail it to us. I'll be sure the right person gets it. Do you want the address?
Caller: I have another question. Maggie, I want to paint a portrait of Barack, Michelle, and the Obama girls and the Portugese Waterdog. Who do I need to talk to about that?
M: Include that question in your letter.
Caller: Is it possible that I could be commissioned for his presidential portrait?
M: We already have a portrait of President Obama.
Caller: (very sad) Oh. Who's the artist? Was it commissioned since he's been president?
M: Shepard Fairy is the artist. It was done before Obama was president, but gifted to our museum in conjunction with the Inauguration.
Caller: How do you spell that? S-h-e-p-p-e-r-d F-e-r-r-y?
M: S-h-e-p-a-r-d- F-a-i-r-y
Caller: OH Fairy. I think I've heard of him. I have one last question, Maggie. Can you add me to your mailing list?
M: You can go to our website and sign up for it.
Caller: I don't have a computer. Will you at least take down my information and add me to your list.
M: ok
Caller: promise?
M: yes. I'm ready
Caller: My name is Sundance Etienne Latour Genore Hughes Shepperd. (spells out every single letter) That's my full name. Here's my address: ....... and phone number...... I'm an artist. I'm an artist of fine arts, visual arts, performance arts, exotic arts. I'm also a spiritual healer. Did you get all that?
M: ok I got it. Thank you.
SELGHS: Oh god bless you. God bless your posterity and your family. I leave you with my blessing of good vibrations and happiness and well-being and all things wonderful.
M: (I'm covering my mouth trying so hard not to burst out laughing) Thank you. Goodbye.


I'm not even joking but the actual conversation was so much worse. I gave you the digest version of it. I have NO IDEA if I was talking to a man or a woman. I was so embarrassed for anyone to overhear my end of the conversation!

Love this look

I want this outfit, but I would substitute brown mox for those black lace up shoes.

Don't read this--seriously not worth your time. It's just me venting

Everyone else seems to be in a whiney and complaining mood about how hard life is right now, and since I'm never one to miss out on a good whine fest, I decided to throw in my two-cents...

This has been a hard semester--with me once again taking on more than it seems I can handle.

I finally finished (well, almost--stupid on-line forms) my washington seminar stuff and internship, but I'm still frantically trying to finish the last work of my independent study class. I have a 5 page paper to write TONIGHT and to make things worse I just got feedback from my prof about the paper I turned in last week. He ripped it apart and gave me a "wish list" of everything I should change on it to try to raise my grade. Dang--I didn't know he was going to be such a hard grader.

So now I have an entire paper plus the revision of another paper that I need to finish by tomorrow. All I want to do is graduate and be done.

To make it worse, at the end of my internship I had to turn in my Smithsonian ID and my library card expired. I only found that out today as I tried to check out more books. How am I supposed to get the sources I need for the dang papers. Not to mention I don't have time to go to library anyway. I've been sneaking away from my desk just to try to make copies or sneak to the library.

ALL WEEKEND I had to check out all the Barlow peeps from the barlow and do so much cleaning my hands are flaking off right now and I can't find my lotion because everything is all packed up or strewn across my new bedroom floor or intermingled with all the crap of my two friends who are also staying with me.

After an entire weekend of yelling, cleaning, checking, pleading, and packing, I finally got out of the barlow center by around 9 pm on saturday night and bless the hearts of a few friends got all my stuff to my new apartment in Bethesda Maryland. But as I mentioned, I'm sharing my room right now with two other barlow girls (who are two of my very good friends and I invited them so its not that big a deal I'm just being complainy) and all of our suitcases and boxes. I have two other wonderful roommates and the 5 of us are all sharing one bathroom.

Today I got to work (EARLY! GO MAGGIE!) and left shortly after to go get my new ID. I waited in the pouring rain for the shuttle, shuttled over to the ID place, waited for my turn, was told I couldn't get it unless I had my old one. So then I had to walk in the pouring rain to the Hirshhorn to get my old ID and then back to Capital Gallery waited in line again and then got my new ID. Then I snuck to the Sackler library to make copies and then metroed back to my museum. It was crazy, freezing, wet, and annoying. Then, on my lunch break tried to check out books, only to be told my library card expired at the end of my internship and that I'll have to go back to talk to the librarian. I NEED THOSE BOOKS to write the stupid paper that I'm going to get a bad grade on anyway.

So tonight I know that with all these fun girls around me and our last night in DC together there's going to be a lot going on but I'm going to have to shut myself in my room and write the dang paper. Oh blah--I'm a big complainer...

Internship+ Washington Seminar+ AA+ New job+ Independent Study+ check outs+moving+having friends stay with you= Stress and not happy right now

I like the way this guy thinks...

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

YOU HAVE AN EXCELLENT COLLECTION OF PORTRAITS. HOWEVER, I FEEL IT IS LACKING A VERY SPECIAL MEMBER. IF YOU COULD DISPLAY THE PORTRAIT OF DAVE MATHEWS, MILLIONS MAYBE BILLIONS WOULD BE GRATEFUL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

Another Birthday Shout Out to Another Super Hero!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

I hope you felt very special on your happy day! You are such a good example and I'm always amazed at all your talents. See you soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THIS GUY!!!!

Happy Birthday Cameron! You are the coolest 6 year old on the planet!
I heard you're having a big, awesome party! I wish I could be there to help out! I miss you!

The face, or should I say voice, of NPG

I started my new job today!

I sit at a receptionist's desk at the entrance of the National Portrait Gallery administrative offices. It's behind glass doors and against a stark wall with dramatic lighting over the words, "National Portrait Gallery." Against an adjacent wall are pretty red chairs, a table with flowers, and an old fashioned wall mirror. It's nice looking.

I answer the phone. When people call in with questions, I'm the person who answers. It's a nerve-wracking task on your first day, because it is often difficult to know how to answer the questions. 

Everyone there is SO NICE. So many people came up to me to introduce themselves and to shake my hand. I'm trying hard to remember everyone's name.  Today there was a little party to celebrate the engagements of four people there in the office. There were lots of yummy treats. There's just an overall feeling of camaraderie and friendliness.

I'm happy to be there! After a while, I'm sure I'll have more interesting things to say about it. I'll be working on various projects eventually. But for now we're just trying to finish up the whole hiring process.

So that was my first day!