Tonight I was at the dress rehearsal for Thurgood, a one man show about Thurgood Marshall, starring Laurence Fishburne. It was riveting. What an amazing note to end my KC experience on. I would love to see it again and if you are ever anywhere when he is performing on stage go see whatever it is. His performance was breathtaking - he aged right before our eyes without leaving the stage or changing costume. The man is brilliant. (and nice too)

I am second guessing though this whole extra time thing. It means I'm saying goodbye to people in twos and threes not all at once, so it is long and drawn out and kind of exhausting. I'm sure I'll like Philly and will be happy I stayed on, but maybe it's the packing and my desire for the packing to be over with, but I'm feeling ready to be home.

In the meantime, my last sentimental shot of the old marble kleenex box...

Harsh reality of packing. Mostly the fact that since I have two winter coats/winter boots and a duvet that I did not come down here with, my stuff is not fitting. Nope no way, no how.

And no, this is not because I bought excessively down here. I've now gotten rid of more than I bought no question. It's just I had thought that I'd have been back up to Canada since Christmas, but with the McNally fest, well, that just wasn't a possibility.

I have an option. I have a suitcase I brought here that I was going to throw out because the wheels don't work any more and it was just what was available to me last August. So I could put said duvet and coats into this suitcase but that would leave me with five, yes five, checked bags which seems... a lot.

I could mail the duvet also. But so far I've only mailed paper and books - things that are replaceable. I just don't have great trust in the combined genius of USPS and Canada Post. Sending something of value seems...foolhardy.

I'm going to sleep on this dilemma and decide while I do final laundry tomorrow morning.

Today those of us remaining had brunch at Pete's. Amazingly there were 7 fellows and 1 KC staffer. A surprisingly good turn out. But each day our numbers dwindle and it's a bit odd. I'm glad I'm going to Philly because right now I just feel like being home and having this leaving bit over. But Philly will be good I'm sure.

I wandered afterwards towards the Capitol after brunch as i had thought Rolling Thunder was happening today but it turns out that's tomorrow. This is when thousands of bikers bike around the mall/Capital in a memorial to American POWs and MIAs. It's supposed to be very impressive. Today there were tonnes of bikes around the place but not the main event. I ended up walking home - so that's quite a distance from 2nd and Penn SW up to Adam's Morgan. With all this walking exactly how have I gained the fellowship 15? Sigh.

Okay, back to stressing about luggage.

And that's a wrap...

Last days are almost as strange as first days. Today was the end of this crazy roller coaster ride but it is equally the beginning of whatever is next. (whatever that is...) So I'm sad and tired and happy and proud and missing people and looking forward to being home all at once.

But with last days, you don't know what you feel about a place until you are at the end and you don't know what people really feel about you either.

Today, this end, was full of emotions and I'm not processing it all quite yet so this will likely be a random assortment of moments.

One of the security guards hugged me.

There was a lunch for us and one staff member gave a speech with remarks about each of us. The VP of theatre programming spoke about me. He made me cry. I think he made everyone cry. He started with telling how I was the reason they didn't get to put up a Christmas tree this year but that I was the best Christmas present they could have asked for. But the moment that got me was when he said he couldn't imagine coming to work on Tuesday and me not being there. (hire me I thought!). It's true, I've been in that office for almost seven months - it's a long time for a fellow.

When I got to work this morning I realized that I'd forgotten to put on this bracelet that mom had given me years ago and I was really upset with myself for forgetting. I mentioned this to boys in the office and in one of those wonderful fateful happenstances, Max presented me with a Tiffany's box during his speech to me. He was clearly very pleased with himself - and who doesn't love to get a Tiffany's box. Inside was a silver bracelet.

So apparently I'm scary when I play pool. But I did tell them I was pretty good. And I'm pretty good! But yes, some of my fellow fellows found my concentration...frightening while watching the game unfold. Now, for the record, I won two and lost two (but only by one ball each...) so I wasn't exactly a pool shark, but I guess they didn't see it coming. I did tell them....

Last day.

Strange.

Deep breath.

It was 80 at 8:30 this morning. I don't want to think about how hot it is out there now.

Survived the Watergate post office. Barely. Of course today the clerk told me I'd filled everything out incorrectly, while of course I'd filled it out exactly as she had told me to last week. I may never see the stuff again.

A sidebar to the Fellows' Skip Day post - one of the fellow's supervisors asked their fellow where we were going, when told they said "but that's so cultured. I thought you'd do something naughty". For us crazy Russian artifacts counts as risque. Is that a bit sad?

Fellows' skip day

Well Fellows' skip day turned in to Fellows' skip afternoon, but we did okay. We didn't make it out to Mount Vernon but instead we went to one of DC's "hidden treasures" Hillwood House. Or estate rather. This 25 acre estate was owned by the daughter of the man who started Post cereal, Marjorie Merriweather Post. Her family also owned General Foods, so, kinda rich. She herself was married 4 times, the first time to the US Ambassador to Russia in the 1930s so, as a woman interested in the arts, she basically pillaged the place for two American dollars. Her collection includes the most Faberge eggs in North America (maybe the world, I'm not sure) - they are extremely pretty and she has many of them. One of them was the very first one that Nicholas gave to his mother, Catherine the Great. So yeah, Russia should call looking for its history back because it is all in this mansion. Seriously, entire rooms of this place were filled with Russian liturgical art and items of obvious religious significance which she bought when Russians couldn't afford food.

The grounds were gorgeous. The staff and volunteers all so friendly and knowledgeable and we had the place to ourselves. We may have passed five other people the entire afternoon. Hillwood must have an extremely large endowment to keep going is what I'm thinking. If you come to DC and are here for more than a day or two, visit here. It's something else. (there will be pictures but I'm tired!!)

We then had a Fellow's birthday celebratory BBQ which was terrific. I finally went to Cowgirl Creamery and bought cheese! Lots of extremely yummy cheese (thanks Miss E - so fun to do too).

As an interesting contrast to the day, after the BBQ, I got a lift home with one of the other fellows. We dropped another fellow off in Anacostia first - on the OTHER side of the Anacostia River (where I had been told over and over never to go). It was fine. It actually looked like a perfectly nice, residential area. It is actually worse on the DC side of the bridge just in south east. Oh stereotypes.

I think tomorrow's plans are now for a pool party rather than karaoke (yay) as it's supposed to be even warmer than today. And so very humid. But again, I've hit this weird place where I'm okay with the heat. The air conditioned apartment helps, I admit that.

And tomorrow is our penultimate day in the program. How very, very strange.

Good things, trying things

Good things: Terrence McNally friended me on FB. This makes me happy.

I met Laurence Fishburne today in our gift shop. I will get to go to the dress rehearsal of that show this weekend. Yay!

The KC's CEO is "happy" to give me a reference. Yay!

Trying things: Roomie, for the last two nights, has been baking someone's wedding cake and it is ALL OVER THE APARTMENT. And it's a wedding she can't even go to because she is such a ditz she double booked herself. I'm trying to find my zen, but my zen is missing. I'm just trying to tell myself that she's away for the weekend and so I'll have my last weekend in DC to myself. Find my zen...perhaps I packed it already....