*Can we all give a round of applause to my Papa, who subscribed to my blog via email and was able to send me all of the originals of the “lost blog posts”?*

Another week has passed and my, has it been a full one!

Last week, I had two days of virtual training. This week, I had one. From here on out, I’ll be solely at the hospital! No more working from home for me!

Speaking of the hospital, I am pretty much solo at this point. It was a little disorienting at the start of the week, as the virtual days set me back to getting in a rhythm and getting to know my fellow sonographers and the perinatologists I’ll be working with.

However, while I’ve been riding the learning curve, everyone has been willing to help. This I’m very grateful for as this week was still the “highly critical” phase (in which I am very hard on myself, almost unfairly so, as I adjust to the new protocols and preferences). Usually, it starts to ebb away in week three and four.

One of the unintended results this go round in DC is the avant garde ways I’ve been learning history. While the monuments, museums, and guided tours abound, a new medium has provided history exposure: TV series!

One I started watching with my friends was Turn: Washington’s Spies (it’s on Netflix!), which is a heavily dramatized telling of the real Culpeper Ring. I have less exposure to the stories revolving around the American Revolutionary War, so it’s been a neat change of scenery, though I am only a few episodes in!

Another is the HBO John Adams miniseries about the man who would become our nation’s second president. For all you fellow Hamilton fans out there, this miniseries was one of the several sources used by Lin Manuel Miranda as he wrote the musical! The miniseries puts John Adams in a more positive light than the musical does, but where they both agree quite heartily is that Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were NOT buddies.

I’ve had two blunders involving the Metrobus system this week; one going to work and one coming from (let me be clear: MetroBUS, not the Metro rail. My precious Metro rail can do no wrong). Thankfully, I still made it to work on time and home eventually, but it has made me consider driving into work instead. The jury is still out on that one.

Despite the frustration of wanting to be home and yet not, I tried to turn the blunder into an adventure by trying a new restaurant by the Metro stop! It was yummy!

After chapel on Sunday (more on that later), Rusty, one of his college friends visiting from out of town, and I ate at Ted’s Bulletin (I know, I know. I’ve been there already and I said I was going to try to avoid repeats. It’s so good though! And I ordered something different this time, so that sort of counts, right?).

It had been decided beforehand to visit the Arlington Cemetery, so I joined the party. Unfortunately, we had just missed the last guided tour, so we walked up to JFK’s burial side before heading back to their house. We decided we’d come back the next day, on Memorial Day.

Once returning home, we tinkered on Rusty’s passion project (and by “we”, I mean I held the flashlight and bolts while asking all the questions as the guys did everything else) until it was time to go to dinner. What was on the menu, you ask? GERMAN!

We ate at Village Brauhaus, in Old Town Alexandria, which was yummy! However, I’ve only eaten German a couple of times, so I’m pretty ignorant on the quantities of food.

So, when this behemoth got placed in front of me, I covered my face in shock.

Make no mistake: I do NOT have petite hands. This Zwiebelroastbraten (yeah, try saying THAT to the waiter, why don’t ya) was an absolute monster.

Thankfully, the guys were willing to take some for themselves, but at the end of the day, we still didn’t finish it.

Then, to end the night, we stopped by Jeni’s. I saw it on the way in and was ecstatic! A little piece of Ohio right here in DC.

Any other #teamjenis fans out there or all my readers #teamgraeters?

The past two weeks, I’ve spent a good amount of time on a military base (especially considering that I am not in the military nor work for it as a civilian). In fact, so much so, I got myself a month long pass!

I’ve gotten the opportunity to connect with some really neat military peeps/families who live on this base through mutual friends and attending chapel for Sunday service (which I’ve done the past two Sundays). It’s also been a cool learning experience as I’ve never been on a military base before and am getting to learn what life looks like here!

One of the cool things I got to do on base was a memorial 5k this morning, Memorial Day morning! The route was mapped out and everything!

Before we started the run, each person who did not have someone they were personally running for was able to choose a name of someone who didn’t make it home. We gathered together and read each one aloud. This was the person I chose to remember.

I invited some newfound friends, one of which is related to someone I know from Rio!

After we were done with the 5k, Bev and I did our daily Bible readings (a.k.a Quiet Times) with each other. This may be one of my favorite things to do: reading the Bible in the midst of others as they read their Bibles, knowing that God is meeting with us and speaking to us individually, yet in a communal setting.

Right afterwards, I headed straight back to Arlington Cementary to meet up with the guys for round 2 of trying to get on the guided tours.

Side story: I was having issues finding an entrance, so ended up parking by the Pentagon and intermittently ran/speed-walked the 1.5 miles to get to the front entrance to meet the guys. Take it from me and don’t do what I did. You’ll thank me later.

One of my favorite parts of the Arlington Cementary is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, particularly the Changing of the Guard. While this wasn’t my first time seeing this ceremony over the years, it was my first time seeing it on Memorial Day.

Considering the nature of the day, it was that much more somber. As my mom so aptly put it, it’s perfect place to be on Memorial Day”.

Thanks for taking time to read and for caring enough to do so!

Looking forward to the adventures that await!