My Saturday

So I spent Saturday with Mandy, in D.C. We met at the metro, then stopped off at the Holocaust Museum to pick up tickets for later in the day. We then poked our heads through the Natural History Museum and marvelled at the prehistoric animals. We spent a few minutes in the Museum of Fine Art before heading back for our appointed times at the Holocaust Museum.

And that was almost too much to bear. A large amount of the exhibit is spent on the buildup of the Nazi party and repression of the Jews (and others; communists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, gypsies). Mandy and I agreed that the worst moment was nearing the section on the prison camp, when you can walk through one of the boxcars. It smelled like death.

Then, of course, you get to the camps themselves, and the gas chambers, and the ovens. A thousand bodies a day burned in each oven.

After that, we walked over to the World War II memorial, which we agreed felt very appropriate. It’s on a huge scale, but basically just a large marble oval with a fountain in the middle. Somehow, it feels right.

From there, we visited the Lincoln Memorial, and chatted about our feelings on the Holocaust Museum. It was a lot to take in.

We headed back to the metro, and after getting on the wrong train and having to double back, I finally made it out, where I had to go to a party at a friend’s house. I was not exactly looking forward to being at a party after experiencing the Holocaust Museum, but I went, and surprisingly enough I had a really fun time. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was able to integrate all those experirences without being overwhelmed.

I credit my recent lack of projects. I no longer have so many things to do that I’m thinking about them, or trying to get back to them all the time. I can take a day off, and not worry about its impact on my projects.

This strikes me as a good thing.

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