There is nothing more confidence boosting than learning how to take fifteen strangers from around the world on a one hour interactive tour to retrieve a nuclear triggering device in the fictional country of Khandar....multiple times a day.
I thought I was going to quit the first day when our manager told us the interactive had motion simulators. That is, until the lunch break when a phone call to my mom reminded me that I had grown up since being a kid on amusement park rides and I should probably just give it a try.....I didn't quit and it turned out to be awesome.
I loved the commute into D.C. The massive amounts of strangers that I had the opportunity to talk to. I didn't love that winter was cold and the bus stop outside my house in the dark, was even colder. But I loved that I was getting this amazing story out of it, so I pressed on.
And D.C. had an incredible energy at the time. One of hope and change and promise. People were maybe a little nicer, a little more united. That is, until all the tourists came in for the inauguration.....whew.
We are made up of the bits and pieces of our stories and experiences. I am incredibly thankful for my time at the Spy museum.... that all those people are now a part of my story.
I learned a lot about espionage, I developed an irrational fear of nuclear warfare, and I remember fondly my co-workers who I still keep tabs on. We laughed a lot. We were thrown into crazy situations almost everyday. I developed "tour guide" hands where I point and move my arms to make my case stronger. And when I can't sleep at night, even four years later, I start to think through the lines. I can still do the opening monologue....you should ask me about it sometime.
