January 2 – January 10
Ben and I both flew into Seattle on Saturday, January 2. My flights were miraculously changed four times throughout the day and my luggage was lost, so I arrived in Washington exceptionally upbeat and not the slightest bit grumpy.
On Sunday morning, Ben was kind enough to assist in my finding of the EBDG office. While we were on our search for the building, we stumbled upon the Pacific Fishermen Shipyard. Not sure of what exactly we were looking at, we decided to investigate further.
Ben’s actual goal was to make it to the Hiram Locks, which we eventually did! The locks are surrounded by botanical gardens, which contain botanical things. I insisted that Ben show a particularly large Great Sequoia some love. We strolled for a bit, got hungry, paid too much for chowder, and continued strolling.
At around 2200, our apartment was graced by the final installment to our Seattle life: Alex! Because Ben and Alex weren’t to start work until Tuesday, they had plenty of time to settle in before their first day.
On Monday morning, I went into the office at 0900 to pick up my laptop. Once I was back home and set up, I began my first series of meetings with the incredibly kind employees of EBDG! After a day of administrative setup, I set off to get tested for COVID in downtown Seattle. Ben came along as backup but ended up getting tested as well. Given our proximity to the famed Space Needle and the Olympic Sculpture Park, we decided to explore until we were overcome by hunger. Scarred by Sunday’s $8 cup of chowder, we headed back to the apartment to feast on rice and beans.
By Tuesday morning, I had already been invited out to assist with a shipcheck of a fishing trawler, of which the scent was much more mild than anticipated. I got back to the apartment around the same time as Alex and Ben, who proceeded to dominate our only table with their large monitors and unsightly computer setups.
All three of us were given projects our first week! I worked on two: adjusting a GHS file and verifying damage stability conditions, as well as assisting with a cost estimation for the same vessel. Alex was tasked with performing stability analyses for barges used in bridge demolitions. Ben insists on being highly secretive when it comes to his current project (for semi good reasons); the only information he’ll give is that he “learned what Rhino is.” Little late for that, buddy.
Our first real weekend was filled with more Seattle sights (and more Webbies!). After feeling a bit under-the-weather during the week, all three of us got tested again on Saturday. On the way back to the apartment, Ben and I lost Alex to the lure of Starbucks and snacks (I feel that this will be a recurring theme), but were eventually reunited at Discovery Park, where we had made plans to catch up with current sophomore Spencer Margosian (currently interning at Vigor) and recent alum Duane Lee ’20. We took the Discovery Park equivalent of a super highway along the water and eventually ended up at the West Point Lighthouse. There, we caught our first true glimpse of Mount Rainier!
Our Sunday lacked any planning or forethought, so Ben and I split up from Alex to explore Gas Works Park and the University of Washington campus. Funnily enough, Alex later made the trip to Gas Works Park, unprompted by us. On the campus, I was heavily sidetracked by the presence of “cool birds,” and dragged a tired Ben around to follow a pair of bald eagles.
Overall, our first week feels like a success! We realize that there’s much, much more for us to see and learn, but we’re excited to continuing exploring our Seattle life and jobs in the next two months.
A WashingTON of Fun 