Outhier, Week 8

 Election week at work at home.

I spent my first election week working remotely for our office in Washington, D.C. in Brentwood, Tennessee. I worked overtime, starting with my 4:00 am duties until about 5:00 pm in the evening. On the actual election day, I worked until 10:00 pm. And I was the new hire who got the light load. For a foreign embassy, a domestic election is our Super Bowl. Needless to say, I loved this week. I learned so much in so little time, but I did not get out much. Here are a few things that I saw on my desk every day.

My blue light glasses: many say that they are a hoax, but my eyes focused better with less headaches when I wore my glasses. Turns out, many of my coworkers use them as well.

When the coffee was not doing the trick, I would listen to Spotify to wake me up. Pictured here are two playlists made for me by the app and albums from my current favorite band : Echo and the Bunnymen. A group introduced to me by my dad, they are on the list of artists who bring me peace while working. 

Speaking of my dad, I stole his University of Tennessee "mug" from the 90's for my coffee this week. It was the biggest container we had, and I consumed a lot of coffee and water while scrolling through updates.

Lastly, at some point in the week, my mom put this on my desk (honestly, I have no idea how long it sat there before I noticed). It is a National Geographic celebrating France's bicentennial in 1989. My grandparents gave it to me while they were cleaning out their basement a few months ago. It is perfect for my new job, but also makes me laugh because it commemorates the 1789 French Revolution. This is a great event in their history, but they do not celebrate this as the beginning of their nation. The creation of the republic came later.