Daily Post? yea....sure!

So I think I'm giving up on the whole posting daily thing.  I'll try but it obviously hasn't been happening.  The week after the car mishap was super duper busy.  I am really getting into the thick of my internship and am starting to design the layouts for my signs so I've been busy going to other house museums to study their signs, trying to decide the best way to get the attention of the visitors, and trying to figure out how to make it clear in my signs that the past is something that really happened and history is knowledge and as such is constantly changing.  Apart from getting ready to make my signs, I have been doing a lot of work with digital photos and photoshop.  I didn't think that I would get the chance to work with digital imaging while I was down here but I am really happy that I have!  I always loved working with photoshop while I worked for Howard Horan and it’s been fun to get the chance to relearn some of the tricks I learned from Howard.  

The two images I photoshopped were from a local baptist church and were both enclosed in glass.  I scanned the images and then uploaded them to photoshop.  One was a broadside celebrating a fundraiser by the church and the second was a photograph of some of the church members.  The second photograph was too large for the scanner so I scanned it in four sections and pieced it together in photoshop.  It took me two days to get everyone's faces, feet, and clothes to match up at the seams but in the end you couldn't tell a difference from the original.  

On Thursday of last week John and Jake went to a meeting at the housing authority and found a book that contained all the ghost structures except the lunch counter.  HCF already had the second part of this record and knew there was a first part but finding this portion is HUGE.  This book has floor plans, pictures, descriptions, owners, and even renters of the buildings.  I know that to most people wouldn’t think that this was exciting but for Jake it was the proof that his whole dissertation was correct.  Talk about vindication!  Now my job, once Jake is done with the book, will be to scan all of the pages and organize them digitally.  This will be enormously helpful when I am completing the designs for my signs. 

I hadn’t expected this much work with digital imaging when I first started my internship but I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am about it.  The next few days will be really busy with scanning, retouching, organizing, and stuffing my brain with names, buildings, and their uses and I can’t wait to get to it!

For memorial day Wes, David and I went down to Charleston.  I can't even begin to explain how much I love that city.  I love the buildings, the flowers, the people, and especially the feeling that I am walking in another time while I'm there.  Along with the board of architectural review, the 75 year rule, which states that anything that has been there or a certain way for 75 years may not be changed, have kept Charleston as beautiful as it was over 100 years ago.  I can't wait to take G&G and Monica to my favorite city and show them all of the fabulous places I've found.  

On our trip we walked the old slave market (which is not what you would think it is), ate at fleet landing, walked through waterfront park and the battery, and then made our way to Folly Beach.  I will always love lakes more than the ocean but there is something special about being in the ocean.  The ocean is beautiful and powerful at the same time.  It is full of life and the first time you dive through a wave it is impossible to ignore the power of the water.  It was a fabulous way to end a hot, sticky, memorial day.

Before I sign off, here are a few pictures of the south and my adventures:

On a walk through the Seibels house gardens I found some beautiful flowers:

Wesley and I at Waterfront Park:

Wes and I outside of the King George where we stayed on our first trip to Charleston:

The best picture that David and I could manage to take:

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Can you say long weekend? It's been a crazy few days here in South Carolina folks.  Let me first back up and update you all about Friday.  My day began about 8:45 when I got to MS (Mann-Simons).  I didn't really know what to expect upon arrival but I met Fielding and Jake as I walked into the basement.  By this time Jake had taken down all of the old panels and pictures and cleared all of the cases of artifacts for safe keeping.  Fielding handed me a hammer and Jake took a very ceremonious yank to rip a ledge off of a wall and we started demo.  All in all it only took about two hours (especially once john arrived with the drill) to complete the demolition of the old exhibit and what was revealed was fabulous.  Two large fireplaces (one very obviously used as the main cooking fireplace), two large windows, and so much beautiful brick.

In the middle of demo

Pulling finish nails out

GRAAAHHH I’m so strong

Fireplace number one (the cooking fireplace)

Almost finished!

Friday night after work Wes and I drove up to Raleigh.  We were picking Austin up from the airport which gave me an excuse to see Wes's roommates and grab a few things from the apartment.  Friday night was very low key.  We went to get a drink at one of Wes's favorite places The Village Drafthouse and then made our way to the hookah lounge.  It was really good to see everyone and I love getting to see David.  It's always good to see old friends.  

Saturday was spent by the pool with David, Whit, and Wes.  It was in the upper eighties lower nineties and the pool felt great.  I also got my first good tan of the season (please note that I said "tan" not "burn"; I'm so proud of myself for not burning!).  After that we headed to the airport to pick up Austin and then made our way to The Pit.  If you are ever in Raleigh you HAVE to go there to eat.  It's so freaking good!  I always get the chop bbq plate with cheesy bacon grits and either mac 'n' cheese or bbq beans.  I'm pretty sure that the first things I say when I get to Raleigh are "when can we go to the pit?" and "what's David doing?" so it was a pretty successful weekend if you ask me.  

We spent a lazy Sunday in Raleigh and then started on our way back to Cola.  This is where our fabulous weekend took a turn.  About an hour and a half outside of Cola we got into a car mishap.  The SUV in front of us ran over a blown semi tire and it landed directly in front of the car.  Luckily we were both fine and Wes made the right decision by trying to straddle it rather than swerve out of the way however the tire managed to tear up the bottom half of the bumper and the radiator.  We made it to the next exit and called AAA.  AAA led to a tow that led to a very crappy hotel for the night and eventually we managed to get a rental car and made it back to Cola a day late and having missed a full day of my life.

Damage to the car

Poor bumper :(

Today I finally got back into the swing of things and got to HCF at about 8:15.  I spent the beginning of my day doing some more reading on MS and then headed to the site for a volunteer orientation of the new exhibit.  

The finished product

Since I’m uploading pictures, here is one of MS. 

Apparently I've been throwing clocks.

Wow.  I can't believe that it's already Wednesday night!  So much for updating every day...I am going to try, I promise.  Since my last post from Kentucky I made it safely to Cola and am settling in.  I have yet to find a job but I'm pretty sure that half of Cola restaurants, stores, and country clubs know my name, address, and three references.  Most places I've tried unfortunately aren't hiring for summer but have asked me to come back in August which isn't exactly going to fit in with my plans.  Even though I haven't found a paying job yet, my internship is AMAZING.  I started yesterday (May 18) with a little bit of a hiccup.  The email I had read before going to bed said that I was supposed to be at the office at 8:00 to meet with my Dr. Sherrer but when I got thee the place was deserted!  I wandered around confused until my phone vibrated to let me know that the meeting time was actually 10 o'clock and that the reminder had been set for two hours early.  After going back home for some breakfast and a short nap I headed back to try and start my day a second time.  This time I was greeted by about 6 people all busy at work and Dr. Sherrer apologizing for having to check his email.  I was about 5 minutes early so as I waited I looked around his office.  Its pretty amazing how much he has in his office.  There are books upon books upon books and more maps than you would believe.  I'm pretty sure that I could spend hours just looking around in there and not get bored.  With his email check Dr. Sherrer started off with a general overview of my responsibilities with the Historic Columbia Foundation (HCF).  Then I was introduced to pretty much everyone I would be working with this summer and taken on a tour of the Mann-Simons site where I will be spending most of my energy and time.  It was originally called the "Mann-Simons Cottage" but recently the name has been changed to better reflect the property's history.

The Mann-Simons Site has had a lot of different uses and it's history is so much more complicated than historians had thought.  One of the main findings that needs to change is that the house museum that is used today was never actually used by Celia Mann (the matriarch of the family).  The house we see today was actually built in about 1870 not 1837 as the story had gone.  Although the general story is true and will stay the same, the interpretation of that story will be getting a major face lift based on the archaeological findings from 2005-2007.  All in all 60,000 artifacts were found and they have helped to fill in a lot of the gaps that the original interpreters had...glazed over? ish?...in the beginning.  One of the main ways that this will be changing is the creation of ghost structures.  There will be 4 or 5 new structures that will show the basic skeletons of the buildings that were on the property before it was sold by the Mann-Simons family.  This is where I come in.  I will be creating panels or "wayside sign-age" to accompany each of these ghost structures.  The signs I will be creating will be completed in PDF format by the end of my internship and will be installed in their physical form in late summer early fall.  I am so incredibly excited to be doing this project.  It is absolutely mind boggling to think that in a few short months, my work will be part of a real exhibit.

After my tour of the cottage and meeting Dr. Jake Crockett whom has made the project at Mann-Simons his baby.  John (my supervisor, Dr. Sherrer) took me to see the other site I will be working with.  This site is one that I feel very fortunate to be working with.  The Woodrow Wilson Family Home!!! Can you believe it?! It is so amazing to know that I am working to bring this incredibly historic site back to its original glory.  The site will in no way be even close to done by the time I am heading back to Iowa but my little piece of it will be complete and ready to be installed whenever the time comes.  Just like with the Mann-Simons Site I will be working on the wayside sign-age for a portion of this reinterpretation.  I will not have nearly as much responsibility with this site as with the other but I don't mind.  I am not exactly sure which rooms of the house I will be working with or if part of my duties will be with the gardens and to be honest I'm not sure if John even knows exactly yet.  My first day I did not get to go inside of the house but today I did and let me tell you, it's fantastic.  The inside is not in good shape.  there are cracks in the walls, peeling pain, and until recently you could not walk upstairs without fearing that you would fall through to the first floor but it's easy to imagine just how beautiful the house was in its prime.

I'm getting ahead of myself...the end of my first day should come before my second day.  I ended my first day by beginning to read the 3 inch binder of information on the Mann-Simons Site.  I only got about a quarter of the way through the binder before it was time to go and meet Wes for a late lunch and some more serious job hunting.  It was during this job hunt that I accidentally walked into a casting for the bad girls club.  Needless to say, I turned in my application to the restaurant and the high tailed it out of there as fast as I could!

My second day started much smoother than my first.  This time I met with everyone at 8 o'clock for real and we promptly made our way to Mad Monkey.  Mad Monkey is the firm that HCF uses with for their web based work and will be working with in creating a virtual museum for the Woodrow Wilson Family Home.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into my very first meeting as an intern and can't even begin to tell you all of the things I learned.  There I was in this super cool office space (it was something like you would expect Pixar studios to be like) watching the creative process take place and actually being brought into the conversation!  I had figured that I would be sitting on the side taking notes and getting coffee but I was actually a part of the meeting!  It was CRAZY PANTS!

After the Mad Monkey meeting we headed back to the HCF main office for about a half our and then went off to our second meeting.  This meeting was for the Woodrow Wilson Scholarship Committee and to me was more like one giant brainstorm than a meeting.  The discussion began with going over what had been decided and taken place thus far and moved into what should be done moving forward.  This time I did stay back to myself and take notes but I don't think I could have asked for a better experience.  The research that has been done and the direction that this project is going is really exciting.  It is going to, in the end, be like no other museum I have ever been to or heard of.

After the meeting we broke for Lunch (at a place called Pitas that I will without a doubt be taking anyone who comes to visit) and reconvened at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home for a walk through.  This time rather than looking from the street I got to go inside.  The house is AMAZING.  I know I already said something of that nature but I can't shake the feeling that I just spent an hour in the house that Woodrow (then Tommy) Wilson lived in!  The Wilson family lived many different places but this house was where they lived when Tommy was in his teens and during the reconstruction period.  I don't know about you but I think that's pretty crazy.  The walk through of the house was over way before I would have liked but the good news is that I'll get to go back again soon =)

By the end of the walk through it was after 2 and the rest of the day was going to be spent in meetings that have nothing to do with me so I headed home to meet Wes, change clothes, and go for yet another round of job hunting.  This time we headed to the mall where I am hoping we'll have more luck.  So far I've applied at New York and Company, Francesca's, and express.  I will be going back tomorrow to speak with a couple of managers that were not there today and fingers crossed I'll have a job soon!

There are about a zillion more things I want to tell you about (especially more about the food that I've been eating and the awesome little restaurant we found today called Cafe Strudel) but I have to be at the Mann-Simons Site at 8:45 in the morning to help tear down the old basement exhibit and make way for a new one so I am going to pour myself into bed and zonk out hard.

I hope you're all doing fabulously and I can't wait to talk soon!
Kaeli

untimely insomnia

Not that there is ever a really good time for insomnia but the night between two long days of driving is probably one of the worst times I could ever think of.  I'm sitting in my hotel room in Berea, KY and I can't decide if it's nerves or excitement or both.  So in hopes of quieting my thoughts I've decided to begin my blog about this summer a touch early.  Mostly this blog will be used as a way to remember everything I do daily in my internship and research, however, it will also serve as the perfect way for my family to keep tabs on what's happening while I'm over 1000 miles away.

My trip really started May, 13 when I drove to my grandparents.  I had at first hadn't planned on stopping for the night (sorry G&G) but then one of my best friends pointed out that I would beginning my trip on Friday the 13th and I decided that cutting an hour off of the trip and spending the night at 2405 with two of my favorite people ever couldn't be a bad idea.  Today's drive went fairly smoothly.  I drove through two and a half states in just under nine hours.  I have been listening to a book on CD that my mom got me.  It's about the true story of Romeo and Juliet and is absolutely fabulous.  the story is set in Sienna Italy and it's making the hours fly by.  All in all it was a good day of driving if you don't count the vision crippling rain that decided to show up about half way through.  As my family knows, I am absolutely terrified of driving in the rain.  It all stems from the fact that I got into a bad accident in an awful rain storm but you'd think that 3 years later I'd have gotten over it.  Luckily, the rain cleared up and I made it safely to Kentucky and my hotel for the night.  The hotel is just off of the interstate which makes getting to and from it really easy but it also means that I'm pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Tomorrow I'll be getting on the road bright and early.  I have the rest of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina to drive through tomorrow which adds up to about 6.5 hours of driving ahead of me and I have to get to Columbia in time to tie up any loose ends with my sublease and get moved in.  I'm really happy that I planned on a shorter day of driving for the second day.  It's going to be nice to get to the six hour mark and be close rather than two and a half hours away.  Just thinking about driving all day and then unpacking tomorrow is a little disheartening but at least I'll have Romeo and Julietta to keep me company the rest of the way.  Thinking about the drive is also making me think it may be time to try and fall asleep again.

Wish me luck driving through the Appalachian's tomorrow!
Kaeli