The warning signs have been up for days – ROAD CLOSURES / EVENT DOWNTOWN.  We have been hearing about it on the radio and on the local news – massive gridlock!  It’s the Nuclear Security Summit with 50 Heads of State invited to downtown DC – that is the most present in the US in one location since the founding of the United Nations.  If you live or work in DC, you’re used to occasional motorcades and street closures, however the next three days will be unprecedented.  Over the radio and TV yesterday and this morning, the announcements also included:  ‘Federal workers are encouraged to telecommute’.  Since DC boasts just about the worst traffic in the country, it’s hard to imagine that an event could make it worse.  This morning I braced for the nightmare – I live in the far western suburbs and usually have a commute of about an hour.  I left the house twenty minutes early expecting to inch forward in the gridlock as I approached the office.  Much to my surprise, this was one of the best commuting days ever!  It seems that many Federal workers, and perhaps a number of other workers, followed the advice and worked from home today.  I think they should do that as often as possible.

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It was quite wonderful to walk through this installation which is a powerful reminder of the ability of space to draw out an emotional response from the person experiencing it.

if you have flown halfway around the world even if you are a very busy person you are entitled to 1 hour with your tourist hat on

A couple of years ago, I had lunch in New York with my dear friend Emily.  She took me to a vegetarian Korean restaurant near the Empire State Building, where she was working at the time.  The restaurant was very traditional, with shoes left at the door and seating on pillows with low wood tables.  I commented on how pleasant the atmosphere was – the lighting and materials in particular were a great respite from the winter NYC streets.  She responded – “I love this place, I come here to think. I can’t always do that in the office.”
 I have my own place to go think.  Usually I eat take-out at my desk, but once a week or so, I go out to lunch and sit at the bar at Clyde’s in Georgetown.  It’s not a quiet or inspiring setting, but I find that when I can get away from my desk just the change in scenery allows me to think about new ideas.  When you see or hear things, it triggers unconscious memory, which can stimulate new thinking.  This is why it is so important to have change of setting and ambiance (particularly light and color) within work environments, or a communal area you can go to mingle with people outside of your team.
 As a new blogger, I had only one idea for a blog post for this site.  After lunch today I had eight.

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