DC — S1E5 — Keeping Promises
Season 1 · Episode 5
Happy 4th of July, everyone! We return again with a fifth blog post. Yesterday was the grand firework show of DC. Ordinarily they launch around 17,000 fireworks; this year it was a staggering 851,000. More than 50 times more fireworks. I have never been in DC for the 4th before, so I have nothing to compare it to. I've, in fact, never seen any sort of firework show in person before; my family is of the do-it-yourself variety.
We watched from the Netherlands Carillon, a 53-bell musical instrument sitting atop a hill overlooking DC. There were, unfortunately, a staggering number of people who had the same idea. This would prove to be an issue when we left, and the sheer size of the crowd overwhelmed the metro. Thankfully we were rescued by a well-time taxi and escaped the flood.
The fireworks themselves were beautiful and of varieties I had never seen before. Some were slow, some were fast. Some twisted and turned as they fell. Even if they started an hour late, and even if the 103°F weather discouraged many, the experience for those who stuck around was magical.
Today's topic comes from Chapter 4 of our book. We learn the difference between different methods of combatting “flakiness” and “forgetfulness” with others. I am thrilled to report that I have had fairly few experiences on both sides, both forgetting and having others forget prior arrangements. For me, the cause is most often double-booking, when I schedule myself twice for the same time with different people or events. To combat this, I use a calendar to block out the time. The difficulty of prioritizing is something I struggle with immensely. This upcoming Thursday I have found myself triple booked. An ASU panel, a talk with a professor, and the G4 Summerfest all happen that afternoon. The next week on Friday, I agreed to go tour the Pentagon but was then invited to a Department of State event. This was among the most difficult to weigh, as both would be truly rewarding experiences. To combat forgetfulness, I use timely reminders for myself, with my calendar app giving me notifications the day before events. The same type of reminder works great in helping others not be forgetful; a quick text the day before saying that you are excited to meet can work wonders. Multiple times I've had someone honest respond that they'd completely forgotten. Having too many cues can overwhelm people, but I think keeping it to one the day before and one the day of — both for yourself and others — is the perfect amount.
See you all next week!
— Blaise