Champagne before noon

Yesterday, two of the most significant and valuable experiences of this program came to a successful end, and were recognized.

In the morning, my workshop team had its final client briefing. I put an enormous amount of work into managing this team project-- I never once said, screw it. I never once gave up, stopped caring, or said it didn't matter. I cared and did my best every day. I really did lead this team to an amazing conclusion, and it feels amazing. It's so worth it. We provided clear and practical environmental and policy advice to a private conservation group in Patagonia...It was one of the biggest reasons this program has been such an amazing and invaluable experience. I brought champagne and gave a pink-themed presentation to my team about their awesomeness, complete with statistics about the project (Deadlines missed: 0. Emails sent: 450. Incidents of unproductive animosity: 0. Fucks that were given: Innumerable.) Then we had a fabulous lunch.

In the afternoon, the Earth Institute had a showcase for the interns and researchers who got funding this year-- my internship was paid for by their fund. I kind of went into a dream vortex when Jeff Sachs gave the introduction to a set of interviews with students working on climate change...and I was one of them. It was like, "Is this real life?" They are going to post the videos online soon...

Then, I went to the dentist and got myself matched with the right shade of tooth...in just over a week, I'll meet my right anterior lateral incisor for the first time ever! (By the way, dental implants are as weird as they sound. They surgically insert a hollow piece of metal, let your gums heal, uncap it, and screw in another piece of metal with a crown on it....wish me luck, and 80% acknowledgement goes to Obamacare.)

In the evening, I had a call in which what had been a potential job offer fell through...but good things are still in the works for me...and not even that could make the day a bad one.

My team and I after the Final program workshop briefing this Wednesday:

The whole bunch:

It takes so long

To tell you everything. Especially when it has been so long since I've told you anything.

So instead of doing nothing, I can only tell you about the things that move me:

And this:

Also, tell everyone you know that I am "an energetic environmental professional with proven effectiveness in complex project management and policy analysis, and a developed specialty communicating information within the government, non-profit, and private sectors." I'm quoting my resume. I have been focusing on energy policy, energy efficiency, and renewable energy in this program, and I know enough about the technical side of things that I can understand engineers (not all the time) and I see myself working within and learning more about energy generation and distribution to identify the areas that need more policy support.

Because you know how Homer Simpson called beer "the cause of, and solution to, all life's problems"? Energy is the same. The way we use it is the source of the biggest problem to ever face humans, and it's also the way we'll solve that problem.

I'm available May 18th. Because I graduate May 17th. Holy moly!!