I attended my first choral concert in the DC area last night. A friend of mine from the Senate is in the Congressional Chorus, and she was performing in her first major concert with this group. The concert was entitled Rediscovering Treasures and the chorus was scheduled to be singing American choral works from the Library of Congress (only in DC, right?), so I was extremely excited to attend.
A carload of us ventured to McLean, VA to see Christie perform. Luckily we left extremely early, because we detoured not once, not twice, but three times on our way to the venue, nearly died trying to get on the interstate, ran into the G-20 summit motorcade, and almost got stuck in someone's private drive. The 12-mile *road trip* proved to be our main excitement for Saturday night, as the concert itself was a slight let down.
Okay, it sounds mean of me to say, but I had really high expectations. From the information on the Congressional Chorus website about try-outs, annual fees and repertoire, I assumed this group was quite a professional chorus. And for $25 per person, I don't think expecting a fabulous performance was too far fetched. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I went to support Christie and hear the group. However, I realized that my voice training (amateur as it may be) has led me to a different style of singing. With a Luther alumnus as my initial voice coach/high school director and singing at a college known for its opera program, I'm used to a full, rich, well-tuned sound. Although I may never have been the strongest singer in these groups, I'm not used to hearing anything other than what I now realize to be great music. This concert took me back to my high school freshman year women's choir days.
Though I'm sure many of the individual members of the Congressional Chorus are fine singers, as a whole, they have room for improvement. If you aren't a singer yourself, please ignore my jargon for a moment...but the consonent placement was all over the place, the audible gasps for breath support were horrendous at times, and a handful of members were overly animated at all times. I tried to keep my cringes at a minimum, and at one point, I was tearing up while trying to hold back my laughter (reacting to the animation of a baritone in the front row). If I were a member in this group, I definitely would not have wanted to see myself sitting in the audience. Apparently I am a stuck-up choral critic, and I had absolutely no idea! And when my friend, Christie, asked me about the performance, I just couldn't lie. She didn't seem offended by what I was saying, as she genuinely wanted to know what I thought, but I do feel somewhat guilty for being disappointed.
In thinking about my strong reaction to this concert, in addition to my frustration of singing hymns from a few centuries ago at mass, I realize that I miss the music exposure I had while at Simpson. Even after my days of Chorale, I still had Immersion with Bridget and/or Rach by my side each week. Although I know that time has come and gone, I am doing my best to find new such things that bring me joy. Last week I attended Frontline with Elizabeth, and I was ecstatic to find out that it was so similar to Immersion. We sang familiar contemporary Christian songs and the message was delivered in the same manner, all that was missing was communion and a few sending songs. So I look forward to attending this service with Elizabeth in the future, and I hope it provides my music fix!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Post-Election DC
The 2008 Presidential Election was highly anticipated and extremely long awaited. The Iowa caucuses seem like ages ago, and I didn't think Election Day would ever come. Living in a "tri-state" area, with one of the most crucial swing states (VA) included, led for crazy amounts of campaigning. While consuming one poll result after another, I didn't know it was possible to reanalyze a political race so many different ways or so often. This was a truly historic election, and I am very fortunate to have taken most of it in while in the nation's capital.
My co-workers and I all made educated guesses on the election outcomes. We each guessed how many electoral votes the president-elect would receive, as well as the number of Democratic gains in both the Senate and the House. I guessed conservatively, in hopes that all of the talk about Dems sweeping were over exaggerated. I am a firm believer that overly partisan politics is harmful to our nation, and as long as the "us versus them" mentality rules, I'd like to keep the number of Rs and Ds relatively equal.
In order to avoid getting too political (as I know not all of you are big followers), I'll finish by telling you how I took in the results on election night. I met up with friends at a bar on The Hill a little after 6pm, and we were standing shoulder to shoulder in the line of traffic. People were decked out in their suit and ties adorned with "I voted" stickers. I felt a bit left out being stickerless after absentee voting in Iowa, but I was extremely glad to take in the results in the political center of the country. The constant pushing was annoying at first, but I realized that it was all just part of the experience of being on The Hill on Election Day. With that attitude, I loved every minute of being at Cap Lounge.
My friends, however, weren't enjoying the atmosphere nearly as much as I was, so we headed off to another bar. The line to get in at Cap Lounge was at least 35 people long, and the guys at the front of the line cheered as we walked out the door and counted how many of us there were as we walked by to determine how many of them could now get in. It was a little crazy, but I would have been equally excited to go inside if I had been standing outside in the rain too.
We ended up going to my old stomping ground (Union Pub) to watch more results come in. Unlike Cap Lounge which was full of Dems, Union Pub had a great mix of supporters. No matter what the results coming in were, some people were cheering with excitement. I enjoyed the atmosphere at Union Pub equally as much as Cap Lounge on Election Day for this reason. Throughout the night I was thoroughly engaged with all of the results, and I was even coloring in my own map for the presidential race and keeping a tally of Senate races. This behavior could only ever be fully accepted in DC, and I absolutely loved it! However, my friends weren't nearly as engaged and all wanted to leave when they started getting tired. I was unfortunately en route to Bethesda when Barack Obama had secured enough electoral votes to claim victory as the first African American president-elect, but I did make it home just in time to hear both John McCain and Barack Obama speak. Each of their speeches were equally impressive and I'm glad I did not miss either of them!
If I thought for more than a second that once Election Day was over things would settle down, I was crazy. Talk of the transition team, possible Cabinet appointees, and inaugural plans have filled each day since the election. I'm not quite sure how everything will play out in the coming months, but I'm excited to be here! I was upset after seeing the crowds in front of the White House on election night, because I didn't even think to stroll by there. I did walk past the next day with Elizabeth over our lunch hour and construction of the inauguration stages was already well under way. The bike policeman patrolling the area informed me that it's tradition to start preparation the day after the election, and that they won't be finished until January 19. I can't wait to see how everything looks by then, and I'm hoping to take in as many inaugural activities as possible. I'll keep you informed!
I've got a few other experiences to share, but I find myself extremely tired even after having the day off. I hope to blog about them sometime very soon.
My co-workers and I all made educated guesses on the election outcomes. We each guessed how many electoral votes the president-elect would receive, as well as the number of Democratic gains in both the Senate and the House. I guessed conservatively, in hopes that all of the talk about Dems sweeping were over exaggerated. I am a firm believer that overly partisan politics is harmful to our nation, and as long as the "us versus them" mentality rules, I'd like to keep the number of Rs and Ds relatively equal.
In order to avoid getting too political (as I know not all of you are big followers), I'll finish by telling you how I took in the results on election night. I met up with friends at a bar on The Hill a little after 6pm, and we were standing shoulder to shoulder in the line of traffic. People were decked out in their suit and ties adorned with "I voted" stickers. I felt a bit left out being stickerless after absentee voting in Iowa, but I was extremely glad to take in the results in the political center of the country. The constant pushing was annoying at first, but I realized that it was all just part of the experience of being on The Hill on Election Day. With that attitude, I loved every minute of being at Cap Lounge.
My friends, however, weren't enjoying the atmosphere nearly as much as I was, so we headed off to another bar. The line to get in at Cap Lounge was at least 35 people long, and the guys at the front of the line cheered as we walked out the door and counted how many of us there were as we walked by to determine how many of them could now get in. It was a little crazy, but I would have been equally excited to go inside if I had been standing outside in the rain too.
We ended up going to my old stomping ground (Union Pub) to watch more results come in. Unlike Cap Lounge which was full of Dems, Union Pub had a great mix of supporters. No matter what the results coming in were, some people were cheering with excitement. I enjoyed the atmosphere at Union Pub equally as much as Cap Lounge on Election Day for this reason. Throughout the night I was thoroughly engaged with all of the results, and I was even coloring in my own map for the presidential race and keeping a tally of Senate races. This behavior could only ever be fully accepted in DC, and I absolutely loved it! However, my friends weren't nearly as engaged and all wanted to leave when they started getting tired. I was unfortunately en route to Bethesda when Barack Obama had secured enough electoral votes to claim victory as the first African American president-elect, but I did make it home just in time to hear both John McCain and Barack Obama speak. Each of their speeches were equally impressive and I'm glad I did not miss either of them!
If I thought for more than a second that once Election Day was over things would settle down, I was crazy. Talk of the transition team, possible Cabinet appointees, and inaugural plans have filled each day since the election. I'm not quite sure how everything will play out in the coming months, but I'm excited to be here! I was upset after seeing the crowds in front of the White House on election night, because I didn't even think to stroll by there. I did walk past the next day with Elizabeth over our lunch hour and construction of the inauguration stages was already well under way. The bike policeman patrolling the area informed me that it's tradition to start preparation the day after the election, and that they won't be finished until January 19. I can't wait to see how everything looks by then, and I'm hoping to take in as many inaugural activities as possible. I'll keep you informed!
I've got a few other experiences to share, but I find myself extremely tired even after having the day off. I hope to blog about them sometime very soon.
Monday, November 3, 2008
6 Foot Dorothy
This year marked my first Halloween as an "adult," as well as my first Halloween not in the Midwest. Because I lacked a houseful of odds and ends and personal transportation to the nearest Goodwill (apparently downtown Bethesda is too classy!), I was forced to order my first mass-produced Halloween costume. Due to my roots, and an intense love of my patten red shoes, I decided to go as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
I ordered what I thought to be a happy median between "Grandma Dorothy" and "Slutty Dorothy"...but was extremely disappointed upon trying the costume on and realizing once again that I am way too tall to be wearing generic-sized costumes. (Next year, I'm thinking of Fionna...the female ogre in Shrek.) The problem was remedied with a borrowed tennis skirt, but let's just say that "6 Foot Dorothy" didn't go by unnoticed.
In fact, I wasn't the only "6 Foot Dorothy" to make an appearance in the area. The Tuesday before Halloween, Dupont Circle holds an annual drag queen high heel race. Yes, that's right, a large number of (generally gay) men dressed in Halloween drag and high heels parade up and down the street for several hours strutting their stuff before sprinting a four block strip in high heels. The other "6 Foot Dorothy" (wearing the exact same costume as mine) was joined by a few friends to portray the entire Oz cast. Other highlighted costumes entailed about 20 Sarah Palin's (this is DC friends) and a handful of Victoria's Secret Angels (with bikini's and 8 foot wings). I love how confident men in drag are, and I was secretly jealous of a few of them for having better legs than me :) A few of you might have been completely appalled had you attended High Heel Race, but I am definitely considering it my most favorite Halloween tradition.
With Halloween falling on Friday this year, planning to celebrate wasn't a walk in the park. I decided Thursday night around midnight that I was going to get ready at my co-worker Elizabeth's in Arlington, as that's where a bunch of my kickball acquaintances were gathering. This meant packing up all of the necessities for my costume and taking them to work. Not such a big task for me, as I have become accustomed to loading up my bag and shipping out of Bethesda for 24-36 hour adventures, but the planning wasn't quite as simple for everyone else.
Several of my friends had nothing planned in the way of costumes, which required us to drive to the nearest shopping center and visit a Halloween party store (NEVER a good idea on Halloween night) and Target after work (driving in rush hour traffic). As you can imagine, this took a considerable amount of time. I'm usually a very patient person (and yes, I know you've read this before if you've been following my blog throughout my internship stage), but I was extremely antsy by the time everyone was finally ready. We arrived at the party around 9pm, 2 hours after its start time. Did we still have a good time? Of course. The night just could have gotten off to a better start (and ended better for several of my friends).
I ordered what I thought to be a happy median between "Grandma Dorothy" and "Slutty Dorothy"...but was extremely disappointed upon trying the costume on and realizing once again that I am way too tall to be wearing generic-sized costumes. (Next year, I'm thinking of Fionna...the female ogre in Shrek.) The problem was remedied with a borrowed tennis skirt, but let's just say that "6 Foot Dorothy" didn't go by unnoticed.
In fact, I wasn't the only "6 Foot Dorothy" to make an appearance in the area. The Tuesday before Halloween, Dupont Circle holds an annual drag queen high heel race. Yes, that's right, a large number of (generally gay) men dressed in Halloween drag and high heels parade up and down the street for several hours strutting their stuff before sprinting a four block strip in high heels. The other "6 Foot Dorothy" (wearing the exact same costume as mine) was joined by a few friends to portray the entire Oz cast. Other highlighted costumes entailed about 20 Sarah Palin's (this is DC friends) and a handful of Victoria's Secret Angels (with bikini's and 8 foot wings). I love how confident men in drag are, and I was secretly jealous of a few of them for having better legs than me :) A few of you might have been completely appalled had you attended High Heel Race, but I am definitely considering it my most favorite Halloween tradition.
With Halloween falling on Friday this year, planning to celebrate wasn't a walk in the park. I decided Thursday night around midnight that I was going to get ready at my co-worker Elizabeth's in Arlington, as that's where a bunch of my kickball acquaintances were gathering. This meant packing up all of the necessities for my costume and taking them to work. Not such a big task for me, as I have become accustomed to loading up my bag and shipping out of Bethesda for 24-36 hour adventures, but the planning wasn't quite as simple for everyone else.
Several of my friends had nothing planned in the way of costumes, which required us to drive to the nearest shopping center and visit a Halloween party store (NEVER a good idea on Halloween night) and Target after work (driving in rush hour traffic). As you can imagine, this took a considerable amount of time. I'm usually a very patient person (and yes, I know you've read this before if you've been following my blog throughout my internship stage), but I was extremely antsy by the time everyone was finally ready. We arrived at the party around 9pm, 2 hours after its start time. Did we still have a good time? Of course. The night just could have gotten off to a better start (and ended better for several of my friends).
All in all, it was a sucessful first Halloween away from the Midwest. While my DC friends were busy dressing up as Joe six-pack and hockey moms, I rocked the quintessential Midwestern girl costume. I love being out here, but I still haven't forgotten my roots!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Greatest Weekend!!!
Fasten your seat beats, friends, because you are in for a ride with this blog!
We'll start out slowly, but anticipate the high excitement to come.
FRIDAY
Work was busy, as my bosses were preparing for their trip to Denton/Dallas, Texas. We stayed a little late, but nothing too crazy. While on the Metro to Bethesda (where I ran into Alec from my kickball team), I decided to make pickle roll-ups and pepperoni bread for the Navy homecoming tailgate. So I stopped by Safeway to pick up the necessary ingredients, but failed to realize exactly how much time goes into making both of these items. The bread was a bit disastrous for several reasons...
1) I clearly didn't have time to let the frozen bread dough thaw in the fridge over night
2) We do not have a rolling pin
3) We do not have a slicer for cutting cheese
4) One cookie sheet is insufficient for baking three loaves of bread
5) I didn't have a recipe letting me know how long to bake the bread, and consequently undercooked one loaf
After that fiasco, it was on to the roll-ups where I didn't have much better luck.
1) There was no dried beef at my tiny Safeway
2) The ham I got instead was sliced too thin and kept breaking, leading me to use two slices for each pickle, causing cutting issues later
3) I didn't have a tupperware large enough to fit the finished product in
Needless to say, I was preparing this food all night long and didn't make it to bed until around 1am. This wasn't great news either, as I knew I had a long Saturday ahead of me. Here's how yesterday went...
SATURDAY
Our (Anne, Jenny, and I) commute to Annapolis started at 10:30 from Bethesda. We had long wait times for the Metro, but luckily Jay was there to pick us up at the end of the line when we got there. Upon arriving in Annapolis, we met up with David to help him finishing sewing bean bags for the cornhole game he and Jimmy made earlier in the week. Crazy, I know. That took quite some time, but it allowed Cat and Kristin to catch up with us. We were a huge hit when we showed up to the tailgate because nobody else had brought food. Although we had all had troubles with our food items, it was an easy crowd to please.
March on was fantastic, again. It was like an entirely different event with the Mids in their winter uniforms now. We forgot the candy to throw at them, but it was still very enjoyable. The game was oversold by a few thousand extra general admission spots on the hill, so we had nowhere to sit and watch the game. Jay led us into the student section with all the Mids in uniform next to us. Because it was homecoming, nobody seemed to care. We avoided being scolded by the guys in red, which was a step up from last game. It got really cold, but we toughed out the entire game even though we were getting stopped by Pitt.
The post-game '69 tailgate was great. My burger was delicious, and the retired Navy guy tending the bar made me excellent vodka crans. I saved the cup! We would have stayed longer, but everyone was freezing. We all went home to Jay's for a bit before hitting up a few bars on the water. Nobody seemed too upset after the loss.
SUNDAY
Our commute home was interesting. We got a ride from Andrew in his jeep with no front passenger window and practically everything he owns in the back. There was just enough room to fit everyone. Then we Metroed in on the orange line to Smithsonian, were Cat and Kristin were monument walking. We did that whole bit so Kaitlin could take massive amounts of photos on her fancy camera. After walking to the "backside" of the White House, we ran into a lady handing out tickets to tour the rose garden!!!
Apparently this happens only twice a year, but it's open to everyone. The people at the gate handing out programs said "Welcome to the White House," and we all freaked. Then this little boy summed up the prestigiousness of the situation best with..."(to a secret service agent) So, THIS is the White House? (to his father) I'm not dreaming, this is the White House, Dad!"
The Navy traveling band was playing music next to the fountain, there were signs of former presidents and first ladies all over the lawn, and plenty of secret service people to answer all of our questions...including the guy I talked to about hating his job when I toured the East Wing earlier this year. It was SO MUCH FUN! I mean really, who would have guessed that everyone could just tour the White House lawn on a Sunday afternoon? Somehow, some way, we were in the right place at the right time and got to experience that. I'm thinking the big guy upstairs was looking out for us today.
Nothing could really top that, but the day did go on. Anne, Jenny, and I decided to walk to the National Portrait Gallery for a special exhibit on Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams, of which we made it just in time to grab a quick beverage in the cafe (with a talking trash can that said "thank you") and hop on the 4pm once daily tour. Perfect timing yet again. It was a great exhibit, and so was the women's photography exhibit upstairs. Great idea to go there, but we were straight up exhausted by the time we finished. I made it home around an hour ago, a day and half and a million memories after leaving yesterday morning.
*ONLY IN DC*
We'll start out slowly, but anticipate the high excitement to come.
FRIDAY
Work was busy, as my bosses were preparing for their trip to Denton/Dallas, Texas. We stayed a little late, but nothing too crazy. While on the Metro to Bethesda (where I ran into Alec from my kickball team), I decided to make pickle roll-ups and pepperoni bread for the Navy homecoming tailgate. So I stopped by Safeway to pick up the necessary ingredients, but failed to realize exactly how much time goes into making both of these items. The bread was a bit disastrous for several reasons...
1) I clearly didn't have time to let the frozen bread dough thaw in the fridge over night
2) We do not have a rolling pin
3) We do not have a slicer for cutting cheese
4) One cookie sheet is insufficient for baking three loaves of bread
5) I didn't have a recipe letting me know how long to bake the bread, and consequently undercooked one loaf
After that fiasco, it was on to the roll-ups where I didn't have much better luck.
1) There was no dried beef at my tiny Safeway
2) The ham I got instead was sliced too thin and kept breaking, leading me to use two slices for each pickle, causing cutting issues later
3) I didn't have a tupperware large enough to fit the finished product in
Needless to say, I was preparing this food all night long and didn't make it to bed until around 1am. This wasn't great news either, as I knew I had a long Saturday ahead of me. Here's how yesterday went...
SATURDAY
Our (Anne, Jenny, and I) commute to Annapolis started at 10:30 from Bethesda. We had long wait times for the Metro, but luckily Jay was there to pick us up at the end of the line when we got there. Upon arriving in Annapolis, we met up with David to help him finishing sewing bean bags for the cornhole game he and Jimmy made earlier in the week. Crazy, I know. That took quite some time, but it allowed Cat and Kristin to catch up with us. We were a huge hit when we showed up to the tailgate because nobody else had brought food. Although we had all had troubles with our food items, it was an easy crowd to please.
March on was fantastic, again. It was like an entirely different event with the Mids in their winter uniforms now. We forgot the candy to throw at them, but it was still very enjoyable. The game was oversold by a few thousand extra general admission spots on the hill, so we had nowhere to sit and watch the game. Jay led us into the student section with all the Mids in uniform next to us. Because it was homecoming, nobody seemed to care. We avoided being scolded by the guys in red, which was a step up from last game. It got really cold, but we toughed out the entire game even though we were getting stopped by Pitt.
The post-game '69 tailgate was great. My burger was delicious, and the retired Navy guy tending the bar made me excellent vodka crans. I saved the cup! We would have stayed longer, but everyone was freezing. We all went home to Jay's for a bit before hitting up a few bars on the water. Nobody seemed too upset after the loss.
SUNDAY
Our commute home was interesting. We got a ride from Andrew in his jeep with no front passenger window and practically everything he owns in the back. There was just enough room to fit everyone. Then we Metroed in on the orange line to Smithsonian, were Cat and Kristin were monument walking. We did that whole bit so Kaitlin could take massive amounts of photos on her fancy camera. After walking to the "backside" of the White House, we ran into a lady handing out tickets to tour the rose garden!!!
Apparently this happens only twice a year, but it's open to everyone. The people at the gate handing out programs said "Welcome to the White House," and we all freaked. Then this little boy summed up the prestigiousness of the situation best with..."(to a secret service agent) So, THIS is the White House? (to his father) I'm not dreaming, this is the White House, Dad!"
The Navy traveling band was playing music next to the fountain, there were signs of former presidents and first ladies all over the lawn, and plenty of secret service people to answer all of our questions...including the guy I talked to about hating his job when I toured the East Wing earlier this year. It was SO MUCH FUN! I mean really, who would have guessed that everyone could just tour the White House lawn on a Sunday afternoon? Somehow, some way, we were in the right place at the right time and got to experience that. I'm thinking the big guy upstairs was looking out for us today.
Nothing could really top that, but the day did go on. Anne, Jenny, and I decided to walk to the National Portrait Gallery for a special exhibit on Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams, of which we made it just in time to grab a quick beverage in the cafe (with a talking trash can that said "thank you") and hop on the 4pm once daily tour. Perfect timing yet again. It was a great exhibit, and so was the women's photography exhibit upstairs. Great idea to go there, but we were straight up exhausted by the time we finished. I made it home around an hour ago, a day and half and a million memories after leaving yesterday morning.
*ONLY IN DC*
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
October Already
After keeping you waiting for over a month now, I promise to stop promising that I will blog more often. It turns out life in the city keeps me quite busy. The month of September simply flew by!
I continue to learn new things at work each day. I've been keeping busy planning trips for my bosses to our client cities both before and after the election, as well as researching major issues of interest that we will lobby for/against when the new administration takes office. I'm currently watching the second debate between Senators Obama and McCain, and I'm not happy about the fact that the campaigning has gotten dirty so quickly. Now that election day is just a month away, I'm sure everyone will eat, breathe, and sleep political ads. Smear tactics don't help anyone make an informed decision at the voting booth, and I will be happy when November 5 rolls around. Whatever the outcome of this significant election may be, I'm sure DC will be an exciting place to be in the months ahead.
The weather has been quite wonderful here. It was rather cold for a few days, and rainy for a few more, but has been very nice for the most part. My friends and I have tried to take advantage of this by attending outdoor art festivals, fairs, and concerts. I apologize for not keeping you up to date on all of my social endeavors, because they have all been great. Here are a few highlights of my activities over the past month...
Tailgating/attending the Navy vs. Rutgers football game (including standing with the Mids in the student section...with a Navy alum friend of mine, but still definitely not allowed)
Debate party for first presidential debate
Crafty Bastard Festival (outdoor crafts festival)
Drag Queen Brunch (lip syncing performances by men dressed in sequence)
Trivia night with the girls at Fado (Irish bar)
Birthday parties of new kickball friends (karaoke, pub golf, etc.)
Taste of Bethesda (Food festival with the many, many restaurants in Bethesda)
Classy house party on the Hill with kickball friends
Redskins game (in full) at a sports bar with die hard fans
Duke Ellington Jazz Festival
I'm sure I left a few things out, but you get the picture. There's always something going on, and I enjoy experiencing it all. Unfortunately, my on-the-go lifestyle has hindered the healing process of my mysteriously swollen right foot. The most likely cause of this *injury* is kickball three weeks ago, but I didn't think much of it until my foot continuously swelled for the past several weeks. Because I do a considerable amount of walking each day, my foot will never get the rest it likely needs to heal quickly. But I've decided that I would rather live with that than sit around my apartment and miss out on the fun.
Now that you are all caught up on my life, please take a few minutes to fill me in on yours. Comment on my blog or shoot me an email at amyjo.jacobsen@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you!
I continue to learn new things at work each day. I've been keeping busy planning trips for my bosses to our client cities both before and after the election, as well as researching major issues of interest that we will lobby for/against when the new administration takes office. I'm currently watching the second debate between Senators Obama and McCain, and I'm not happy about the fact that the campaigning has gotten dirty so quickly. Now that election day is just a month away, I'm sure everyone will eat, breathe, and sleep political ads. Smear tactics don't help anyone make an informed decision at the voting booth, and I will be happy when November 5 rolls around. Whatever the outcome of this significant election may be, I'm sure DC will be an exciting place to be in the months ahead.
The weather has been quite wonderful here. It was rather cold for a few days, and rainy for a few more, but has been very nice for the most part. My friends and I have tried to take advantage of this by attending outdoor art festivals, fairs, and concerts. I apologize for not keeping you up to date on all of my social endeavors, because they have all been great. Here are a few highlights of my activities over the past month...
Tailgating/attending the Navy vs. Rutgers football game (including standing with the Mids in the student section...with a Navy alum friend of mine, but still definitely not allowed)
Debate party for first presidential debate
Crafty Bastard Festival (outdoor crafts festival)
Drag Queen Brunch (lip syncing performances by men dressed in sequence)
Trivia night with the girls at Fado (Irish bar)
Birthday parties of new kickball friends (karaoke, pub golf, etc.)
Taste of Bethesda (Food festival with the many, many restaurants in Bethesda)
Classy house party on the Hill with kickball friends
Redskins game (in full) at a sports bar with die hard fans
Duke Ellington Jazz Festival
I'm sure I left a few things out, but you get the picture. There's always something going on, and I enjoy experiencing it all. Unfortunately, my on-the-go lifestyle has hindered the healing process of my mysteriously swollen right foot. The most likely cause of this *injury* is kickball three weeks ago, but I didn't think much of it until my foot continuously swelled for the past several weeks. Because I do a considerable amount of walking each day, my foot will never get the rest it likely needs to heal quickly. But I've decided that I would rather live with that than sit around my apartment and miss out on the fun.
Now that you are all caught up on my life, please take a few minutes to fill me in on yours. Comment on my blog or shoot me an email at amyjo.jacobsen@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you!
Monday, September 1, 2008
*HOME*
Today marks exactly two months since my return to DC, and everything has finally fallen into place. I've officially completed two weeks at my dream job, and I can't wait until Barbara (my main boss) returns to the office this week. I've gotten a good handle on a number of things, but I'm ready to be exposed to it all. Although I'm a bit nervous that I'll be overwhelmed when she comes back and once Congress reconvenes, I am up for the challenge.
This week proved to be quite busy outside of the office. I had my very first visitors from back home since the beginning of my time in DC seven months ago. Crazy, I know! Much to their dismay, Mom and Jay were one day late to obtain *first visitor* status. The Steenhusen family came into DC from Delaware on Thursday, and I met up with them for lunch. They weren't the most prepared tourists (no maps, no umbrellas, no definite plans), but it was great seeing them. I think they had a good time when all was said and done.
Mom and Jay detoured from their NYC vacation into DC for the weekend. It was fun showing them my old house on The Hill and a few of my favorite spots along the Mall. The best part, however, was having them visit me at my office in downtown DC and getting to take them to my new apartment. That's right, I finally found a place to call home! I responded to a Craigslist posting last weekend, visited the place and met my potential roommate (plus her current roommate, who will be moving in with her boyfriend not too far away) on Monday night, and confirmed the deal after work on Wednesday. I'm quite positive it was meant to be, because they had someone else lined up that had to bow out at the last minute and it really was crunch time for me to lock in a residence. In order to get my first paycheck, I needed to fill out tax information including my address. As paydays are the 1st and 15th of each month, you could say I waited until the last possible minute. It's not like I wasn't trying, but I think holding out for the right place with the right roommate will pay off in the end.
As today is Labor Day, and everyone is enjoying an extra day off from work, I'm capitalizing on the perfect opportunity to move. My dear co-worker Elizabeth graciously offered her assistance and will be driving myself and my belongings to Bethesda this afternoon. Anne (whom I've been saying with for nearly a month now) is also helping me get settled in to the new apartment, and will likely be my most frequent visitor. It's weird thinking about not seeing her every single day, as I've grown very accustomed to doing so, but I couldn't be more excited about finally having my own place to call home!
Here's my new address...
4887 Battery Lane
Apartment #31
Bethesda, MD 20814
I hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend. After I get settled into my new apartment, I hope to do a better job at blogging more frequently. And if you haven't talked to me in what seems like forever, please don't hesitate to give me a call. My cell number is (712) 579-2528, and I'd love to hear from you :)
This week proved to be quite busy outside of the office. I had my very first visitors from back home since the beginning of my time in DC seven months ago. Crazy, I know! Much to their dismay, Mom and Jay were one day late to obtain *first visitor* status. The Steenhusen family came into DC from Delaware on Thursday, and I met up with them for lunch. They weren't the most prepared tourists (no maps, no umbrellas, no definite plans), but it was great seeing them. I think they had a good time when all was said and done.
Mom and Jay detoured from their NYC vacation into DC for the weekend. It was fun showing them my old house on The Hill and a few of my favorite spots along the Mall. The best part, however, was having them visit me at my office in downtown DC and getting to take them to my new apartment. That's right, I finally found a place to call home! I responded to a Craigslist posting last weekend, visited the place and met my potential roommate (plus her current roommate, who will be moving in with her boyfriend not too far away) on Monday night, and confirmed the deal after work on Wednesday. I'm quite positive it was meant to be, because they had someone else lined up that had to bow out at the last minute and it really was crunch time for me to lock in a residence. In order to get my first paycheck, I needed to fill out tax information including my address. As paydays are the 1st and 15th of each month, you could say I waited until the last possible minute. It's not like I wasn't trying, but I think holding out for the right place with the right roommate will pay off in the end.
As today is Labor Day, and everyone is enjoying an extra day off from work, I'm capitalizing on the perfect opportunity to move. My dear co-worker Elizabeth graciously offered her assistance and will be driving myself and my belongings to Bethesda this afternoon. Anne (whom I've been saying with for nearly a month now) is also helping me get settled in to the new apartment, and will likely be my most frequent visitor. It's weird thinking about not seeing her every single day, as I've grown very accustomed to doing so, but I couldn't be more excited about finally having my own place to call home!
Here's my new address...
4887 Battery Lane
Apartment #31
Bethesda, MD 20814
I hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend. After I get settled into my new apartment, I hope to do a better job at blogging more frequently. And if you haven't talked to me in what seems like forever, please don't hesitate to give me a call. My cell number is (712) 579-2528, and I'd love to hear from you :)
Monday, August 25, 2008
Working Girl
I deeply apologize for my two week hiatus from the blogosphere.
Last week I started my new job with Barbara T. McCall Associates (aka Capital Edge), and I am happy to report that things have been going well thus far. However, I must place a disclaimer on this statement, as the office has been slow due to summer Congressional recess. During times of recess, members of the staff generally take personal vacations or made needed client visits. So, I have yet to work a day in the office with everyone there, and I will not get the chance to do so until late next week.
Many of you know that I came to DC looking for my *dream job* in the political sector, and I thought that this job was only missing one component--co-workers my age. Much to my surprise, on my first real day of work I met Elizabeth. She has essentially the same position as me with Chaney & Associates, our sister company and the other half of Capital Edge. Elizabeth is also a recent college grad who relocated to DC after doing a semester internship on The Hill. We are so similar in so many ways that it's unreal. I have a feeling we are going to become great friends, and quickly. With Elizabeth in the mix, my new job really does have all of the components I was looking for in my dream job. It's crazy to think that I really did it. I really found exactly what I was looking for...in six weeks time. Though it seemed like an eternity for me, especially while living a secluded life in Hyattsville, that's really quite an accomplishment for such a short time. No, I'm not trying to brag, but I'm still just in shock that this is really my life now. Living the dream in DC!
Last week was extremely hectic for me with starting my job, making birthday plans, winning our second kickball game, and celebrating my birthday. Thank you to all of you who called, texted, or facebooked birthday wishes, and special thanks to those who sent cards. I thought my first DC birthday had the potential to be a bust, but it really went well. Once I find somewhere to live, everything will be on track for settling in to my new life in the nation's capital city. And speaking of, I must get on my way to go visit an apartment in Bethesda. Keep your fingers crossed that this is the one!
Last week I started my new job with Barbara T. McCall Associates (aka Capital Edge), and I am happy to report that things have been going well thus far. However, I must place a disclaimer on this statement, as the office has been slow due to summer Congressional recess. During times of recess, members of the staff generally take personal vacations or made needed client visits. So, I have yet to work a day in the office with everyone there, and I will not get the chance to do so until late next week.
Many of you know that I came to DC looking for my *dream job* in the political sector, and I thought that this job was only missing one component--co-workers my age. Much to my surprise, on my first real day of work I met Elizabeth. She has essentially the same position as me with Chaney & Associates, our sister company and the other half of Capital Edge. Elizabeth is also a recent college grad who relocated to DC after doing a semester internship on The Hill. We are so similar in so many ways that it's unreal. I have a feeling we are going to become great friends, and quickly. With Elizabeth in the mix, my new job really does have all of the components I was looking for in my dream job. It's crazy to think that I really did it. I really found exactly what I was looking for...in six weeks time. Though it seemed like an eternity for me, especially while living a secluded life in Hyattsville, that's really quite an accomplishment for such a short time. No, I'm not trying to brag, but I'm still just in shock that this is really my life now. Living the dream in DC!
Last week was extremely hectic for me with starting my job, making birthday plans, winning our second kickball game, and celebrating my birthday. Thank you to all of you who called, texted, or facebooked birthday wishes, and special thanks to those who sent cards. I thought my first DC birthday had the potential to be a bust, but it really went well. Once I find somewhere to live, everything will be on track for settling in to my new life in the nation's capital city. And speaking of, I must get on my way to go visit an apartment in Bethesda. Keep your fingers crossed that this is the one!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Search is Complete!
I am very happy to report that I am the newest employee of Capital Edge!!!
For my faithful readers who were keeping their fingers crossed over Interview 4, it payed off. I received the call on Friday morning and was offered the job on the spot, even though my boss has yet to speak with my references. My acceptance was less than formal to say the least. I believe my exact response to her saying that she would like to offer me the position was *All right!!!*...of which she took as a yes. Thoughts of negotiating any part of the offer were non-existent because I was so excited, but fortunately my offer did not require negotiations.
I'm not positive on the protocol for discussing job contracts, but as the only people who stumble upon this blog are friends and family, I'll just spell it all out! My official title is Legislative/Project Assistant. My hours are said to be 9 to 5 (37.5 hour work week), but I'm not positive that's how they will remain. We'll just wait and see on that one. I will be doing a variety of tasks because we are such a small office, including, but not limited to: researching grants and legislation, writing memos to clients and articles for a (monthly?) report, attending Congressional hearings (or watching online), collecting important press clips from client cities, assisting by bosses with anything and everything possible, and doing general administrative tasks like answering the phone, making copies, etc. Pretty much exactly what I wanted...current dream job status achieved!
As for my compensation, it is a salary position ($30k) with some awesome benefits...health insurance paid in full, $100 monthly Metro check, 10 days paid sick leave, 10 days paid personal leave, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day automatic paid vacation, and 75% of a gym membership paid. For my first real job in the work force, I'd say that's not bad!
My current/temporary roommates and I had a wonderful celebratory weekend. We hit up a few bars on Friday night, laid out by the pool Saturday afternoon, went to a movie and a housewarming party on Saturday night, walked around the Chevy Chase shopping district Sunday afternoon, and attended an acoustic concert (see Chris Seefried, Jay Nash & Meiko if interested in hearing some new music) in Vienna Sunday night. Busy, but a lot fun :)
In random news: We met a family from Carroll, IA (wearing Tennessee shirts - where roommate Megan is from) on the Metro on our way to the concert and had quite a lengthy conversation (due to track work delays) with a handful of guys in our Metro car on the way home from the concert. Talking to strangers seemed to be a good idea yesterday!
For my faithful readers who were keeping their fingers crossed over Interview 4, it payed off. I received the call on Friday morning and was offered the job on the spot, even though my boss has yet to speak with my references. My acceptance was less than formal to say the least. I believe my exact response to her saying that she would like to offer me the position was *All right!!!*...of which she took as a yes. Thoughts of negotiating any part of the offer were non-existent because I was so excited, but fortunately my offer did not require negotiations.
I'm not positive on the protocol for discussing job contracts, but as the only people who stumble upon this blog are friends and family, I'll just spell it all out! My official title is Legislative/Project Assistant. My hours are said to be 9 to 5 (37.5 hour work week), but I'm not positive that's how they will remain. We'll just wait and see on that one. I will be doing a variety of tasks because we are such a small office, including, but not limited to: researching grants and legislation, writing memos to clients and articles for a (monthly?) report, attending Congressional hearings (or watching online), collecting important press clips from client cities, assisting by bosses with anything and everything possible, and doing general administrative tasks like answering the phone, making copies, etc. Pretty much exactly what I wanted...current dream job status achieved!
As for my compensation, it is a salary position ($30k) with some awesome benefits...health insurance paid in full, $100 monthly Metro check, 10 days paid sick leave, 10 days paid personal leave, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day automatic paid vacation, and 75% of a gym membership paid. For my first real job in the work force, I'd say that's not bad!
My current/temporary roommates and I had a wonderful celebratory weekend. We hit up a few bars on Friday night, laid out by the pool Saturday afternoon, went to a movie and a housewarming party on Saturday night, walked around the Chevy Chase shopping district Sunday afternoon, and attended an acoustic concert (see Chris Seefried, Jay Nash & Meiko if interested in hearing some new music) in Vienna Sunday night. Busy, but a lot fun :)
In random news: We met a family from Carroll, IA (wearing Tennessee shirts - where roommate Megan is from) on the Metro on our way to the concert and had quite a lengthy conversation (due to track work delays) with a handful of guys in our Metro car on the way home from the concert. Talking to strangers seemed to be a good idea yesterday!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Peace Out Hyattsville
To the delight of many, I will be moving out of my Hyattsville apartment this evening. You should all be happy to know that I will be leaving this diverse community unscathed, and none too soon. Earlier this week, gun shots were fired and a man was killed after a lengthy police standoff less than a mile down the street from me. Although I heard quite a number of sirens and woke up several times throughout the night feeling a little off, I didn't expect a story like this one (http://www.examiner.com/a-1523334~Hyattsville_man_fatally_shot_after_standoff_with_police.html) was behind it. Just remember, I'm only sharing this with you because you can find comfort in knowing that I will no longer be living in the area.
Because I have been so focused on my job search, I let the ball drop on finding somewhere new to live once my sublease was up. So, for now, I will be staying on Anne and Megan's couch. Although I feel a little guilty for not knowing how long I will need to crash there, I am excited to have roommates that will enjoy engaging in conversation with me!
As always, I will keep you posted if I find a new place to live. And I will let you know when I hear from my future employers next week that I got the job from Interview 4 (see previous post) earlier this week!
Because I have been so focused on my job search, I let the ball drop on finding somewhere new to live once my sublease was up. So, for now, I will be staying on Anne and Megan's couch. Although I feel a little guilty for not knowing how long I will need to crash there, I am excited to have roommates that will enjoy engaging in conversation with me!
As always, I will keep you posted if I find a new place to live. And I will let you know when I hear from my future employers next week that I got the job from Interview 4 (see previous post) earlier this week!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Interview recap
Three interviews in two days was quite an experience! Here's the quick recap...
Interview 1
Wednesday morning I interviewed at Burness Communication for the "Project Coordinator" position on a four person policy team. They work mainly with health issues, and my main responsibilities would be event/meeting preparation and planning (i.e. organizing schedules, making travel arrangements, etc.). The office seemed very laid back - fittingly so, as it is located in Bethesda, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown or The Hill. It would be a great job to utilize my communications degree more so than my political science degree, which I'm probably okay with. However, they are in no rush to fill the position, so I'm not sure when I will hear back from them.
Interview 2
Wednesday afternoon I had a second interview at Morgan Meguire for their "Legislative/Administrative Assistant" position. The interview went very well, but they informed me I was competing with four other candidates with similar qualifications and it would be a tough decision for them to make. Fortunately, they were going to make the decision soon, so I didn't have to sit and stew over whether or not I got that position. Friday morning I received the call -- they chose someone else. Disappointing, but I'm focusing on the success of making it past their first cut and interviewing to the best of my ability. They told me that they were very impressed with me, and they couldn't think of anything I could have done better when interviewing (or for future interviews), so I'd say that's positive as well!
Interview 3
Thursday morning I interviewed for "Staff Assistant" at The Livingston Group - a big name lobbying firm on The Hill. Of all three interviews, this was the least comfortable. There was an awkward tension between the two of us the entire time, and I didn't feel great when I walked out the door. The position itself seems great, but once again, they are not in a rush to fill this position. They will make their first cuts in a few weeks though, as they are hoping to hire someone before September. Although I haven't closed the door on that opportunity just yet, I'm not extremely confident in how the interview went. But sometimes those are the people who surprise you in the end (or so I'm told), so we'll wait and see.
Amidst all of those interviews, I managed to schedule two more for this week...
Interview 4
This morning I interviewed for another "Legislative/Administrative Assistant" position with a firm much like Morgan Meguire (interview 2). They are a small government relations firm that represents cities. I would be working mainly with two people, so I would get the opportunity to learn a lot and do a lot of things I would never get the chance to in a big firm. So that is especially appealing to me! This job seems ideal, and I am very pleased with how the interview went. We all communicated well with one another, and I felt like I was saying a lot of things they wanted to hear about my experience on The Hill. A lot of the types of projects I did in my internship would allow me to transition into this position quite well, so I'm hoping I have a few up on the other possible candidates this time! I also had to proofread a memo and write a hypothetical memo for them to get a grasp on my abilities, which I think went well...but you can never really tell on those types of things. The best part is, they are making their decision next week sometime, so I won't have to stew over this position either. Please keep your fingers crossed for me on this one!!!
And interview five is scheduled for tomorrow morning. It's actually just a meeting with someone at a temporary staffing agency. If I don't lock down a job in the next week or so, I'm going to start doing temp work to make some money and network. So I'm just getting a jump start on that process this week with another agency, as my current agencies have been less than brilliant thus far.
I'm on my way to cheer on some friends playing softball on the Mall, but I hope to have great news to report soon!
Interview 1
Wednesday morning I interviewed at Burness Communication for the "Project Coordinator" position on a four person policy team. They work mainly with health issues, and my main responsibilities would be event/meeting preparation and planning (i.e. organizing schedules, making travel arrangements, etc.). The office seemed very laid back - fittingly so, as it is located in Bethesda, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown or The Hill. It would be a great job to utilize my communications degree more so than my political science degree, which I'm probably okay with. However, they are in no rush to fill the position, so I'm not sure when I will hear back from them.
Interview 2
Wednesday afternoon I had a second interview at Morgan Meguire for their "Legislative/Administrative Assistant" position. The interview went very well, but they informed me I was competing with four other candidates with similar qualifications and it would be a tough decision for them to make. Fortunately, they were going to make the decision soon, so I didn't have to sit and stew over whether or not I got that position. Friday morning I received the call -- they chose someone else. Disappointing, but I'm focusing on the success of making it past their first cut and interviewing to the best of my ability. They told me that they were very impressed with me, and they couldn't think of anything I could have done better when interviewing (or for future interviews), so I'd say that's positive as well!
Interview 3
Thursday morning I interviewed for "Staff Assistant" at The Livingston Group - a big name lobbying firm on The Hill. Of all three interviews, this was the least comfortable. There was an awkward tension between the two of us the entire time, and I didn't feel great when I walked out the door. The position itself seems great, but once again, they are not in a rush to fill this position. They will make their first cuts in a few weeks though, as they are hoping to hire someone before September. Although I haven't closed the door on that opportunity just yet, I'm not extremely confident in how the interview went. But sometimes those are the people who surprise you in the end (or so I'm told), so we'll wait and see.
Amidst all of those interviews, I managed to schedule two more for this week...
Interview 4
This morning I interviewed for another "Legislative/Administrative Assistant" position with a firm much like Morgan Meguire (interview 2). They are a small government relations firm that represents cities. I would be working mainly with two people, so I would get the opportunity to learn a lot and do a lot of things I would never get the chance to in a big firm. So that is especially appealing to me! This job seems ideal, and I am very pleased with how the interview went. We all communicated well with one another, and I felt like I was saying a lot of things they wanted to hear about my experience on The Hill. A lot of the types of projects I did in my internship would allow me to transition into this position quite well, so I'm hoping I have a few up on the other possible candidates this time! I also had to proofread a memo and write a hypothetical memo for them to get a grasp on my abilities, which I think went well...but you can never really tell on those types of things. The best part is, they are making their decision next week sometime, so I won't have to stew over this position either. Please keep your fingers crossed for me on this one!!!
And interview five is scheduled for tomorrow morning. It's actually just a meeting with someone at a temporary staffing agency. If I don't lock down a job in the next week or so, I'm going to start doing temp work to make some money and network. So I'm just getting a jump start on that process this week with another agency, as my current agencies have been less than brilliant thus far.
I'm on my way to cheer on some friends playing softball on the Mall, but I hope to have great news to report soon!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I'm getting so close!
Last week proved to be very challenging, and I was nearly ready to just throw in the towel. The pressure of finding a job before the end of July (my original goal) combined with the stress of looking for somewhere new to live really started to get to me. Although I had my first full-on interview (no thanks necessary for any of my many staffing agencies) last Monday, it was extremely overshadowed. Applying for that position was a long shot, and I wasn't extremely confident in my qualifications for the job to begin with. I did the best I could at the interview, but I thought it could have gone better. When they didn't call by the end of the week, like they said they would, I thought that opportunity had passed. In the spirit of getting that dream job of mine, I called them this Monday to see if they had filled the position. Much to my surprise, they were just taking a few extra days to decide who to call back for second interviews.
So, my week was off to a good start, and I had the motivation to keep trudging through the job search. After another 6 or 7 follow-up "Happy Monday" emails, I received a phone call for an interview with a government relations firm on The Hill. If I knew a few crazy antics would help me break through the clutter of other job applicants, I would have used them long ago! In any case, I scheduled my second, self-earned interview yesterday. Things were definitely looking better, but today added even more hope to getting that job...and soon!
I received a call from the lobbying firm I interviewed with last week. They wanted to schedule a second interview with me! Apparently the first interview went better than I thought, and now I need to impress the CEO with my personality (as I'm competing with several other people with similar qualifications). If it comes down to a positive attitude and a go-getter personality, you better believe I'm in the running! And as if two interviews in two days wasn't promising enough, I also received a call from the public policy division of a PR firm I had applied to two weeks ago. They wanted to schedule an interview with me this week, too! So...I will be engaging in three interviews in two days, all of which I found/earned on my own. My persistence paid off, and I really think that one of these will result in a job :)
With my job situation looking up, now I am trying to get a handle on finding somewhere to live. I have just over a week to find something. I've spent many hours on the Metro meeting potential roommates. Although the last house I visited had everything I could want (including friendly housemates), it is all the way out in Fairfax, VA and would require me traveling to the end of the orange line and taking a 15 minute bus ride to get home. Depending on where I work, my commute would likely be an hour or even more. Plus, I would need to rely on two separate forms of public transportation. That's a scary thought. So, my housing search continues, but it's definitely crunch time.
As for my social calendar...I attended a special event at an art museum last week, went out with the girls to the Clarendon Ballroom this weekend, and enjoyed Screen on the Green (an outdoor movie on The Mall with the Capitol in the background!) last night. And tomorrow night, I am attending a book signing at the Sewall-Belmont House with several big name women politicians to be in attendance. All great stuff, really!
If you spoke with me last week, thanks for your support. I was struggling, and I am happy to report that I'm finally getting close to finding that job. And if you haven't gotten the chance to talk to me on the phone recently, I hope to be calling you soon with good news!
So, my week was off to a good start, and I had the motivation to keep trudging through the job search. After another 6 or 7 follow-up "Happy Monday" emails, I received a phone call for an interview with a government relations firm on The Hill. If I knew a few crazy antics would help me break through the clutter of other job applicants, I would have used them long ago! In any case, I scheduled my second, self-earned interview yesterday. Things were definitely looking better, but today added even more hope to getting that job...and soon!
I received a call from the lobbying firm I interviewed with last week. They wanted to schedule a second interview with me! Apparently the first interview went better than I thought, and now I need to impress the CEO with my personality (as I'm competing with several other people with similar qualifications). If it comes down to a positive attitude and a go-getter personality, you better believe I'm in the running! And as if two interviews in two days wasn't promising enough, I also received a call from the public policy division of a PR firm I had applied to two weeks ago. They wanted to schedule an interview with me this week, too! So...I will be engaging in three interviews in two days, all of which I found/earned on my own. My persistence paid off, and I really think that one of these will result in a job :)
With my job situation looking up, now I am trying to get a handle on finding somewhere to live. I have just over a week to find something. I've spent many hours on the Metro meeting potential roommates. Although the last house I visited had everything I could want (including friendly housemates), it is all the way out in Fairfax, VA and would require me traveling to the end of the orange line and taking a 15 minute bus ride to get home. Depending on where I work, my commute would likely be an hour or even more. Plus, I would need to rely on two separate forms of public transportation. That's a scary thought. So, my housing search continues, but it's definitely crunch time.
As for my social calendar...I attended a special event at an art museum last week, went out with the girls to the Clarendon Ballroom this weekend, and enjoyed Screen on the Green (an outdoor movie on The Mall with the Capitol in the background!) last night. And tomorrow night, I am attending a book signing at the Sewall-Belmont House with several big name women politicians to be in attendance. All great stuff, really!
If you spoke with me last week, thanks for your support. I was struggling, and I am happy to report that I'm finally getting close to finding that job. And if you haven't gotten the chance to talk to me on the phone recently, I hope to be calling you soon with good news!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
meeting versus interview
As you may or may not be aware, I've been forced to make a distinction between the types of interviews I am engaging in throughout my job search. Up to this point, I've only been having *meetings* with recruiters at staffing agencies. However, I am hopefully on track to have two actual *interviews* this week. Neither of them is officially scheduled yet, so I am a bit uneasy about that, but I'm continuing to have positive thoughts about the whole situation.
The past few days I have been feeling guilty about the amount of money I'm spending while currently not bringing any in. It's difficult to look the part for the job interview that occurs well before I'm actually on the payroll. It turns out even with a big ONE DAY SALE at Macy's, that originally priced $280 suit still doesn't quite fit into my budget. I may or may not have a shed a few tears in the dressing room, but I later found comfort in a few bargains at JCPenney's. They may not be dry clean only, but they'll help me give the illusion of looking the part. I'm okay with that.
After feeling guilty about shopping and eating fast food at the plaza, my big thrill event for Friday night included a visit to the gym. Very cool, I know. But yesterday I finally got to meet up with one of my former fellow interns in the Senate. It was great catching up with her! Our night out included dinner with a very crabby server, live music with a cover band and some people around twice my age, and a dance club where I was networking with people to help me find a job. All very interesting, and all done with Anne's cousin (named David--adding yet another to my fetish) who just graduated from the Naval Academy (and his friend) who just so happened to be a junior high friend of one of my really close friends in college. Crazy how small the world is, huh?
Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin my interviews!
The past few days I have been feeling guilty about the amount of money I'm spending while currently not bringing any in. It's difficult to look the part for the job interview that occurs well before I'm actually on the payroll. It turns out even with a big ONE DAY SALE at Macy's, that originally priced $280 suit still doesn't quite fit into my budget. I may or may not have a shed a few tears in the dressing room, but I later found comfort in a few bargains at JCPenney's. They may not be dry clean only, but they'll help me give the illusion of looking the part. I'm okay with that.
After feeling guilty about shopping and eating fast food at the plaza, my big thrill event for Friday night included a visit to the gym. Very cool, I know. But yesterday I finally got to meet up with one of my former fellow interns in the Senate. It was great catching up with her! Our night out included dinner with a very crabby server, live music with a cover band and some people around twice my age, and a dance club where I was networking with people to help me find a job. All very interesting, and all done with Anne's cousin (named David--adding yet another to my fetish) who just graduated from the Naval Academy (and his friend) who just so happened to be a junior high friend of one of my really close friends in college. Crazy how small the world is, huh?
Keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I begin my interviews!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Fourth...thru the 8th!
If you happened to catch any of Huey Lewis or Taylor Hick live in concert or the fireworks show on The Mall on the Fourth and asked yourself, I wonder if Amy Jo is there right now? Well, I sure was!
I went into DC on Thursday night and met up with the girls still at 510 C, but not without visiting Lance and Carlos at Union Pub on the way (of course!). Along with Chelsey and Sarah, I hung out with the newest residents of my old house and we went out near Eastern Market. The gang and I decided to start singing a patriotic hymn at midnight to begin our celebration of independence, but people in the bar were not impressed that we were "Proud to be an American"...oh well!
So I spent the night (in 2rnc...weird) with them and then hit up the Fourth of July parade on Constitution Ave in the morning. We had hoped for some famous politicians, but all we saw were countless marching bands, several big balloons (Macy's style), and George Washington & Abe Lincoln impersonators on a float. A bit of a let down, but at least we didn't get there hours in advance like hundreds of others just to get a good spot.
After the parade, I joined in the 510 BBQ. What started out as just the housemates plus a few fellow interns from one office soon multiplied into quite the gathering. The backyard has likely never seen as much action as it did that afternoon, but it seems fitting for Capitol Hill on the day we celebrate freedom.
When all was said and done, I had met around 20 new people in 24 hours. Unfortunately for me, nearly all of them will be returning to their respective homes within the next month or so. My new, permanent friends are still out there, I just need to find them! Although the small talk with my roommates has been improving over the last several days, I just don't think I'll stay in touch with these girls when my sublet is up.
Fast forward through Saturday (on the phone most of the day), Sunday (church and grocery shopping), and Monday (job searching and Bachelorette finale for 3 hours)...and we are ready for today. I met with another staffing/recruiting agency, but this one will hopefully lead to my first *real interview* for a job. Due to the nature of these places, I don't have the details just yet. However, I am waiting to receive information regarding the job description and the actual employer. It should be coming sometime tomorrow, and I will likely interview next week. Although it may sound extremely questionable, this is my biggest success in the job hunt to date. So I am happy :)
Upon being in the area for an entire week now, I'm feeling as settled as possible given the circumstances. If you haven't spoken to me yet since I left the Midwest, you can expect a call sometime soon!
*all my love*
I went into DC on Thursday night and met up with the girls still at 510 C, but not without visiting Lance and Carlos at Union Pub on the way (of course!). Along with Chelsey and Sarah, I hung out with the newest residents of my old house and we went out near Eastern Market. The gang and I decided to start singing a patriotic hymn at midnight to begin our celebration of independence, but people in the bar were not impressed that we were "Proud to be an American"...oh well!
So I spent the night (in 2rnc...weird) with them and then hit up the Fourth of July parade on Constitution Ave in the morning. We had hoped for some famous politicians, but all we saw were countless marching bands, several big balloons (Macy's style), and George Washington & Abe Lincoln impersonators on a float. A bit of a let down, but at least we didn't get there hours in advance like hundreds of others just to get a good spot.
After the parade, I joined in the 510 BBQ. What started out as just the housemates plus a few fellow interns from one office soon multiplied into quite the gathering. The backyard has likely never seen as much action as it did that afternoon, but it seems fitting for Capitol Hill on the day we celebrate freedom.
When all was said and done, I had met around 20 new people in 24 hours. Unfortunately for me, nearly all of them will be returning to their respective homes within the next month or so. My new, permanent friends are still out there, I just need to find them! Although the small talk with my roommates has been improving over the last several days, I just don't think I'll stay in touch with these girls when my sublet is up.
Fast forward through Saturday (on the phone most of the day), Sunday (church and grocery shopping), and Monday (job searching and Bachelorette finale for 3 hours)...and we are ready for today. I met with another staffing/recruiting agency, but this one will hopefully lead to my first *real interview* for a job. Due to the nature of these places, I don't have the details just yet. However, I am waiting to receive information regarding the job description and the actual employer. It should be coming sometime tomorrow, and I will likely interview next week. Although it may sound extremely questionable, this is my biggest success in the job hunt to date. So I am happy :)
Upon being in the area for an entire week now, I'm feeling as settled as possible given the circumstances. If you haven't spoken to me yet since I left the Midwest, you can expect a call sometime soon!
*all my love*
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Back in Business
Hello gang! I'm sure you've all been getting anxious for my first post from DC. You're in luck, because here it is...and in less than 48 hours after my arrival :)
Traveling here on Tuesday was quite exhausting, especially after I had stayed up so late packing my belongings. So although I made it to my apartment around 6pm, I didn't have time or energy to do a whole lot. I went to Target (which is literally across the street) to purchase a few necessities and unpacked about half of my stuff. The other half is still in my bags, unfortunately, because I had to get some sleep before my interviews on Wednesday.
I slept longer than I had wanted to, so I was rushed to get out the door in time to make the commute into the city. The problem with that was I had not gotten my Internet up and running, so I did not know where my nearest Metro station was, nor did I know exactly where I was going for my morning interview. You'd think I would have a been a tad more prepared, huh? Well, no need to worry, because it all worked out in the end. My first interview was quite a lengthy process. I had to do a written spelling and proofreading test (quite difficult, maybe even for you, Mom), followed by a computer assessment in Word and a 5-minute typing test (only 60 wpm...boo), and then I finally got to meet with my recruiter. She was extremely nice, and I would assume things went well. After we finished, she took my information back to the other recruiters to see if anyone had something for me. I met with another woman who asked me a bunch more interviewish questions before she told me about the job she had available. It was for an assistant office manager position in a law firm, which sounded like a lot of budget work and not a lot of legal exposure. After expressing my hesitation about that, I guess I had said no to the job without fully realizing it. They will keep me posted if anything else comes up...
My second interview turned out to be a block away from where I was, so I grabbed some lunch and walked down the street in hopes of getting in early to go through the whole thing again. Much to my surprise, this agency had a much more simple process. The only thing I had to do before meeting with my recruiter was take an extremely easy spelling and grammar test, of which I'm not sure how you could have missed any of the questions. My meeting with Justin went really well, and it sounds like his agency works with the types of places I am hoping to find a job in...trade associations, legislative agencies, and legal non-profits. However, he only had one position that might be available next week. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that and hoping he has a few more jobs come in soon!
While I was in the District, I decided to visit the Senate office and see some familiar faces. I didn't really feel like I was back *home* until I got off the Metro at Union Station and walked the streets of The Hill. It was great seeing the surprised looks on everyone's faces when I was back in the office, and I felt much better about being here after talking to some friends. And that will only get better after I make my return to 510 C tonight to see the girls!
I'm very, very excited about celebrating the Fourth in DC. I'll be enjoying the amazing fireworks show on the Mall that thousands (or maybe millions?) are watching on TV!!!
*love you all*
Traveling here on Tuesday was quite exhausting, especially after I had stayed up so late packing my belongings. So although I made it to my apartment around 6pm, I didn't have time or energy to do a whole lot. I went to Target (which is literally across the street) to purchase a few necessities and unpacked about half of my stuff. The other half is still in my bags, unfortunately, because I had to get some sleep before my interviews on Wednesday.
I slept longer than I had wanted to, so I was rushed to get out the door in time to make the commute into the city. The problem with that was I had not gotten my Internet up and running, so I did not know where my nearest Metro station was, nor did I know exactly where I was going for my morning interview. You'd think I would have a been a tad more prepared, huh? Well, no need to worry, because it all worked out in the end. My first interview was quite a lengthy process. I had to do a written spelling and proofreading test (quite difficult, maybe even for you, Mom), followed by a computer assessment in Word and a 5-minute typing test (only 60 wpm...boo), and then I finally got to meet with my recruiter. She was extremely nice, and I would assume things went well. After we finished, she took my information back to the other recruiters to see if anyone had something for me. I met with another woman who asked me a bunch more interviewish questions before she told me about the job she had available. It was for an assistant office manager position in a law firm, which sounded like a lot of budget work and not a lot of legal exposure. After expressing my hesitation about that, I guess I had said no to the job without fully realizing it. They will keep me posted if anything else comes up...
My second interview turned out to be a block away from where I was, so I grabbed some lunch and walked down the street in hopes of getting in early to go through the whole thing again. Much to my surprise, this agency had a much more simple process. The only thing I had to do before meeting with my recruiter was take an extremely easy spelling and grammar test, of which I'm not sure how you could have missed any of the questions. My meeting with Justin went really well, and it sounds like his agency works with the types of places I am hoping to find a job in...trade associations, legislative agencies, and legal non-profits. However, he only had one position that might be available next week. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that and hoping he has a few more jobs come in soon!
While I was in the District, I decided to visit the Senate office and see some familiar faces. I didn't really feel like I was back *home* until I got off the Metro at Union Station and walked the streets of The Hill. It was great seeing the surprised looks on everyone's faces when I was back in the office, and I felt much better about being here after talking to some friends. And that will only get better after I make my return to 510 C tonight to see the girls!
I'm very, very excited about celebrating the Fourth in DC. I'll be enjoying the amazing fireworks show on the Mall that thousands (or maybe millions?) are watching on TV!!!
*love you all*
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
My Grand Return!
Exciting news...today I booked a one-way ticket back to DC! Yes, that's right, I'm returning to life in the nation's capitol. When? Very soon, as in July 1.
All of the other details are still a work in progress, but I can't wait to go back. Each day I wake up in the Midwest, I long to be in the fast-paced environment that DC has to offer. Although everyone else misses it too, I know that I need to pursue a career outside of the Midwest and DC seems to be calling my name.
After booking my airline reservations this afternoon, I was extremely anxious. My heart was in my throat, and that's no joke. I'm nervous, but it's one of those excited nervous feelings. I'm following my heart and praying that everything will work itself out. I'm ready for the adventures and the obstacles that lie ahead, and I hope I have the support of all of you in my journey ahead.
All of the other details are still a work in progress, but I can't wait to go back. Each day I wake up in the Midwest, I long to be in the fast-paced environment that DC has to offer. Although everyone else misses it too, I know that I need to pursue a career outside of the Midwest and DC seems to be calling my name.
After booking my airline reservations this afternoon, I was extremely anxious. My heart was in my throat, and that's no joke. I'm nervous, but it's one of those excited nervous feelings. I'm following my heart and praying that everything will work itself out. I'm ready for the adventures and the obstacles that lie ahead, and I hope I have the support of all of you in my journey ahead.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Back in the Midwest
To all of my faithful readers, I apologize for the brevity of my last blogs while in DC and the abrupt end to my posts. The last few weeks of my time in DC were jam-packed. I just couldn't find the time to keep up on my blogging.
Per request from a friend, I'm going to wrap up this blog with info from my final days in DC.
The Senator got called into Farm Bill conferences Tuesday afternoon, so I was unable to shadow him for an entire afternoon. This was somewhat saddening, but I had sat in on my fair share of meetings with him before my last week, so I can't complain. My final days were spent running around getting signatures for a letter to the Commissioner of the EPA. I can remember a time when I thought getting signatures was fun, but this wasn't exactly how I had pictured my last week interning. However, I did what needed to get done, and tried to keep a smile on my face in the process.
Thursday afternoon, I assumed my strategic filing position and was able to catch the Senator on his way out of the office. After informing him it was my last day, he shook my hand and wished me the best. He also said he wouldn't be surprised if he saw me again sometime. One of my coworkers joked that he was practically offering me a job, but it wasn't quite that serious. Nonetheless, I was glad to have a farewell from the Senator himself before leaving the office my last day.
It was difficult saying goodbye to those who gave me the most work over the course of my time in DC. However, leaving the office that last day was easier because a handful of my coworkers joined me for drinks at Union Pub. Although everyone had planned on having just one drink, that's not quite how things panned out. When it's pitcher night, nobody makes it out of UP after having just one drink! I was sure glad I didn't need to make it to the office on Friday morning, so I hope everyone didn't hate me when they had to get up for work. The verdict is still out on that one.
Although we didn't have work, all of us who were left at 510 C had to record segments for the CHIP website. We all looked *chipper* I'm sure! After that, a bunch of us went on a hunt for boxes and mailed some of our belongings home in order to make packing a little easier. We all went to Hawk 'n Dove for one last time Friday night and enjoyed a night at home on Saturday. Our farewell time together was fun while it lasted, but it was hard saying goodbye to all of my fellow CHIPmates. Kristine and I cabbed to the airport together, so that helped a little. But I definitely wish I would have had at least another month of the DC experience before coming back to the Midwest.
My flights home went well, and I was happy to see my mom, Jay, Bonnie, Brian and Lexi all at the airport in Omaha. Seeing my friends at school for the first time was also joyous, as well as walking across stage at commencement this weekend. But now that all of that is over, I'm beginning to miss DC more and more, especially after talking to my high school band director at Subway today about his upcoming family vacation to DC in a few weeks. When he joked about me coming along as their tour guide, I only wished he would actually take me with them.
I'll be spending the next few days at the farm, then heading back to DM/Indianola for a long weekend before moving to Omaha indefinitely. I will be working at the real estate law firm again for a while, as well as doing some temp jobs, and will begin my full-time employment search soon.
That's all she wrote for AJ's Updates about DC, but I'll likely form a new blog to keep everyone updated on how life in the *real world* is treating me.
Per request from a friend, I'm going to wrap up this blog with info from my final days in DC.
The Senator got called into Farm Bill conferences Tuesday afternoon, so I was unable to shadow him for an entire afternoon. This was somewhat saddening, but I had sat in on my fair share of meetings with him before my last week, so I can't complain. My final days were spent running around getting signatures for a letter to the Commissioner of the EPA. I can remember a time when I thought getting signatures was fun, but this wasn't exactly how I had pictured my last week interning. However, I did what needed to get done, and tried to keep a smile on my face in the process.
Thursday afternoon, I assumed my strategic filing position and was able to catch the Senator on his way out of the office. After informing him it was my last day, he shook my hand and wished me the best. He also said he wouldn't be surprised if he saw me again sometime. One of my coworkers joked that he was practically offering me a job, but it wasn't quite that serious. Nonetheless, I was glad to have a farewell from the Senator himself before leaving the office my last day.
It was difficult saying goodbye to those who gave me the most work over the course of my time in DC. However, leaving the office that last day was easier because a handful of my coworkers joined me for drinks at Union Pub. Although everyone had planned on having just one drink, that's not quite how things panned out. When it's pitcher night, nobody makes it out of UP after having just one drink! I was sure glad I didn't need to make it to the office on Friday morning, so I hope everyone didn't hate me when they had to get up for work. The verdict is still out on that one.
Although we didn't have work, all of us who were left at 510 C had to record segments for the CHIP website. We all looked *chipper* I'm sure! After that, a bunch of us went on a hunt for boxes and mailed some of our belongings home in order to make packing a little easier. We all went to Hawk 'n Dove for one last time Friday night and enjoyed a night at home on Saturday. Our farewell time together was fun while it lasted, but it was hard saying goodbye to all of my fellow CHIPmates. Kristine and I cabbed to the airport together, so that helped a little. But I definitely wish I would have had at least another month of the DC experience before coming back to the Midwest.
My flights home went well, and I was happy to see my mom, Jay, Bonnie, Brian and Lexi all at the airport in Omaha. Seeing my friends at school for the first time was also joyous, as well as walking across stage at commencement this weekend. But now that all of that is over, I'm beginning to miss DC more and more, especially after talking to my high school band director at Subway today about his upcoming family vacation to DC in a few weeks. When he joked about me coming along as their tour guide, I only wished he would actually take me with them.
I'll be spending the next few days at the farm, then heading back to DM/Indianola for a long weekend before moving to Omaha indefinitely. I will be working at the real estate law firm again for a while, as well as doing some temp jobs, and will begin my full-time employment search soon.
That's all she wrote for AJ's Updates about DC, but I'll likely form a new blog to keep everyone updated on how life in the *real world* is treating me.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The end is near...
Exactly one week from today, I will be returning to the Midwest. It's hard to believe my time in DC is coming to an end. The past 3 and half months have flown by, even though I've done so many things since many of you last saw me.
Last week at work was different without Joe, but it went by fairly fast. The afternoons did get a little long, and I was forced to conduct my chat sessions with staffers. They didn't seem to mind! We were talking about our intern performance that finally happened late Thursday afternoon. I was a tad nervous that it was going to be a total disaster, especially since the other three interns who were doing it with me were "less than enthused" (and that's putting it lightly) about the whole thing, but it turned out well in the end. We had a rap throwdown with Lauren as the host and the other three of us as competitors. Anne played the ditzy blonde who thought we were doing a poetry slam, David did his rap to the tune of Ice Ice Baby, and I did mine to the theme song from Fresh Prince (shout out to you Rach!). Since a majority of the people who came to watch were leg. staff from upstairs, I heard I was the winner more often than not. Even if they are partial, I'm still claiming victory as best intern :)
This week marks my last week in the Senate...a bittersweet thought to say the least. I am really excited about shadowing the Senator for the afternoon on Tuesday. I'm not sure what other work will keep me busy, but I'm sure there will be something.
We gave our final presentations in media class on Monday and took our final exam for Doug on Friday. After doing our exam, we had our farewell dinner and all went to the Nationals game Friday night. It was a blast, but it's sad to think we are doing everything for the last time together...at least in DC. I'm sure I'll be seeing more than one of my friends from out here, especially since quite a few of them will be within driving distance of me in Omaha this summer. My plans for staying there are indefinite, and I hope to find a job that I am really interested in to begin my life as an adult. But I'm putting that off for at least a few more weeks.
For all of my college friends, I'll be returning to Indianola on Tuesday the 13th and staying through commencement on Saturday. For everyone else, I hope to see you as soon as possible!
*All my love from DC*
Last week at work was different without Joe, but it went by fairly fast. The afternoons did get a little long, and I was forced to conduct my chat sessions with staffers. They didn't seem to mind! We were talking about our intern performance that finally happened late Thursday afternoon. I was a tad nervous that it was going to be a total disaster, especially since the other three interns who were doing it with me were "less than enthused" (and that's putting it lightly) about the whole thing, but it turned out well in the end. We had a rap throwdown with Lauren as the host and the other three of us as competitors. Anne played the ditzy blonde who thought we were doing a poetry slam, David did his rap to the tune of Ice Ice Baby, and I did mine to the theme song from Fresh Prince (shout out to you Rach!). Since a majority of the people who came to watch were leg. staff from upstairs, I heard I was the winner more often than not. Even if they are partial, I'm still claiming victory as best intern :)
This week marks my last week in the Senate...a bittersweet thought to say the least. I am really excited about shadowing the Senator for the afternoon on Tuesday. I'm not sure what other work will keep me busy, but I'm sure there will be something.
We gave our final presentations in media class on Monday and took our final exam for Doug on Friday. After doing our exam, we had our farewell dinner and all went to the Nationals game Friday night. It was a blast, but it's sad to think we are doing everything for the last time together...at least in DC. I'm sure I'll be seeing more than one of my friends from out here, especially since quite a few of them will be within driving distance of me in Omaha this summer. My plans for staying there are indefinite, and I hope to find a job that I am really interested in to begin my life as an adult. But I'm putting that off for at least a few more weeks.
For all of my college friends, I'll be returning to Indianola on Tuesday the 13th and staying through commencement on Saturday. For everyone else, I hope to see you as soon as possible!
*All my love from DC*
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A little family time
Kristine's family is currently visiting DC. What they didn't know was that Amy Jo is part of the whole DC experience, so I've been spending some quality family time with them. For as close as Kristine and I have gotten, and considering Luke refers to us as *the twins,* this shouldn't have come as a complete surprise.
We toured the Kennedy Center on Saturday morning. It was extremely large! The chandeliers were all gorgeous, and the gifts from other nations were very unique. I was surprised there were so many performance venues in just one building. Hopefully we can get tickets to see the ballet company perform Cinderella before we leave...keep your fingers crossed :)
Today we (Kristine's family, Mercedes & Abby) rented a van from the airport and went on a day trip to Annapolis. It was completely opposite of Friday's day trip to Philadelphia. We all had a very relaxing time, even though it was a bit rainy and cold. The Navy base was really cool. Everything seemed very prestigious! And let's just say, we didn't mind running into the Midshipman downtown in their formal summer uniforms ;)
We were able to walk everywhere in about 10 minutes, which is really quite short compared to what we're used to in DC. After eating lunch at Chick and Ruth's (the cutest diner with a ton of politician influenced menu options and photographs lining the walls), we toured the base and took a trolley tour of the city. Then we hit up a few of the small shops on Main Street before eating dinner at Buddy's (known for it's seafood).
Highlights of today included Mercedes shooting a piece of her crab leg across the table at me, buying a very cute pair of shoes, and hearing one of the largest pipe organs ever made played in the Navy chapel. Oh yeah...and seeing the uniformed students of the academy!
(And as an aside, I really hope those I gave tours to in the Capitol thought I did a better job than I thought my tour guides at the Kennedy Center and the Naval Academy did this weekend. If not, I formally apologize to all of those people here and now.)
It was great getting out of the city Friday and today, but I'm starting to dread leaving DC. I only have a few weeks left, and I don't have any definite plans post-graduation. I'm trying not to stress over the matter, but it's still an unsettling feeling. Keep your fingers crossed that everything will fall into place for me sooner rather than later.
Thanks, and I love you all!!!
We toured the Kennedy Center on Saturday morning. It was extremely large! The chandeliers were all gorgeous, and the gifts from other nations were very unique. I was surprised there were so many performance venues in just one building. Hopefully we can get tickets to see the ballet company perform Cinderella before we leave...keep your fingers crossed :)
Today we (Kristine's family, Mercedes & Abby) rented a van from the airport and went on a day trip to Annapolis. It was completely opposite of Friday's day trip to Philadelphia. We all had a very relaxing time, even though it was a bit rainy and cold. The Navy base was really cool. Everything seemed very prestigious! And let's just say, we didn't mind running into the Midshipman downtown in their formal summer uniforms ;)
We were able to walk everywhere in about 10 minutes, which is really quite short compared to what we're used to in DC. After eating lunch at Chick and Ruth's (the cutest diner with a ton of politician influenced menu options and photographs lining the walls), we toured the base and took a trolley tour of the city. Then we hit up a few of the small shops on Main Street before eating dinner at Buddy's (known for it's seafood).
Highlights of today included Mercedes shooting a piece of her crab leg across the table at me, buying a very cute pair of shoes, and hearing one of the largest pipe organs ever made played in the Navy chapel. Oh yeah...and seeing the uniformed students of the academy!
(And as an aside, I really hope those I gave tours to in the Capitol thought I did a better job than I thought my tour guides at the Kennedy Center and the Naval Academy did this weekend. If not, I formally apologize to all of those people here and now.)
It was great getting out of the city Friday and today, but I'm starting to dread leaving DC. I only have a few weeks left, and I don't have any definite plans post-graduation. I'm trying not to stress over the matter, but it's still an unsettling feeling. Keep your fingers crossed that everything will fall into place for me sooner rather than later.
Thanks, and I love you all!!!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
15 Passenger Van
Joe's last day was bittersweet, for both of us. I will surely miss sharing the tiny cubicle and chatting about whatever seems fitting at the moment. I'm sure I'll struggle through a few afternoons during my last few weeks, because I won't have my partner in crime. However, grabbing a drink with the people who have been giving us all of our work for the past 3 months was a good experience...especially since Joe was the one being put on the spot.
Let's back up a bit to the work day--I asked permission to sit in on the Judiciary Committee hearing with the Delta and Northwest CEOs, and I was granted permission to go. The line to get in the room was wrapped around two hallways, so I had to act like I was someone really important in order to sit behind the dais. I really had no idea what I was doing, and I had to be rescued from sitting on the wrong side of the bench, but it all worked out in the end. The hearing was quite interesting for me, especially since I had met the CEOs on Wednesday. Although the hearing lasted two hours, nothing was really resolved. I'm not positive on how the hearing will effect decisions regarding this merger, but it was a great experience nonetheless. (Minus being the only person on the dais not constantly checking the blackberry.)
Fast forward to after farewell drinks with Joe--I walked home and was chatting with Luke on the steps when Pat and Mike came over to the house with two extra tickets for the Wizards playoff game, which just so happened to be starting in 22 minutes. I had just enough time to throw on jeans and run with the guys to make for tip off. Everyone in the crowd got towels and free t-shirts for the *white-out* game. It was really exciting watching the game from the box seats, through the first half at least! The Wizards stole the show after that, and we ended up leaving a few minutes before the game ended. I'm glad I rashly decided to join the guys though. However, going straight to Union Pub after the game probably was not the best decision. Not eating anything after lunch caught up to me, and this morning was a little rough.
Our FOUR HOUR van ride to Philly didn't exactly make me feel better either, especially the first hour where 14 of us were crammed into a 12 passenger van. Commute aside, our day trip was well worth it. We got to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Constitution and Declaration were both signed), and the first Capitol building. After doing all of that in about an hour and half, we walked to one of the most famous cheese steak diners for dinner. The sandwich was delicious, but extremely filling. I have no idea how nearly everyone else had room for DQ on the way home!
The commute back wasn't much better than our ride there. Doug only drove us as far as the Greenbelt Metro stop, so we had an hour Metro experience tacked on to our 3 hours of driving in the van. Although I really enjoyed the 3 hours of tourist time in Philly, the 8 hours of commuting took away from the experience as a whole. I'm so glad I got to continue living history (as well as National Treasure), and I will remember sitting in the House of Representatives chamber for the rest of my life, but I'm currently still a bit overwhelmed.
Let's back up a bit to the work day--I asked permission to sit in on the Judiciary Committee hearing with the Delta and Northwest CEOs, and I was granted permission to go. The line to get in the room was wrapped around two hallways, so I had to act like I was someone really important in order to sit behind the dais. I really had no idea what I was doing, and I had to be rescued from sitting on the wrong side of the bench, but it all worked out in the end. The hearing was quite interesting for me, especially since I had met the CEOs on Wednesday. Although the hearing lasted two hours, nothing was really resolved. I'm not positive on how the hearing will effect decisions regarding this merger, but it was a great experience nonetheless. (Minus being the only person on the dais not constantly checking the blackberry.)
Fast forward to after farewell drinks with Joe--I walked home and was chatting with Luke on the steps when Pat and Mike came over to the house with two extra tickets for the Wizards playoff game, which just so happened to be starting in 22 minutes. I had just enough time to throw on jeans and run with the guys to make for tip off. Everyone in the crowd got towels and free t-shirts for the *white-out* game. It was really exciting watching the game from the box seats, through the first half at least! The Wizards stole the show after that, and we ended up leaving a few minutes before the game ended. I'm glad I rashly decided to join the guys though. However, going straight to Union Pub after the game probably was not the best decision. Not eating anything after lunch caught up to me, and this morning was a little rough.
Our FOUR HOUR van ride to Philly didn't exactly make me feel better either, especially the first hour where 14 of us were crammed into a 12 passenger van. Commute aside, our day trip was well worth it. We got to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Constitution and Declaration were both signed), and the first Capitol building. After doing all of that in about an hour and half, we walked to one of the most famous cheese steak diners for dinner. The sandwich was delicious, but extremely filling. I have no idea how nearly everyone else had room for DQ on the way home!
The commute back wasn't much better than our ride there. Doug only drove us as far as the Greenbelt Metro stop, so we had an hour Metro experience tacked on to our 3 hours of driving in the van. Although I really enjoyed the 3 hours of tourist time in Philly, the 8 hours of commuting took away from the experience as a whole. I'm so glad I got to continue living history (as well as National Treasure), and I will remember sitting in the House of Representatives chamber for the rest of my life, but I'm currently still a bit overwhelmed.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Little City, Important People
For the past several weeks, I've been feeling like my contributions in the office have been limited and I haven't been doing anything of extreme excitement. The thrill has been missing.
Tuesday morning was supposed to jump-start my engine, as we were going to listen to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, speak to a group of Midwesterners. The walk over to Rayburn (a House building) was exciting, and I was full of anticipation. However, I was surprisingly let down when all was said and done. It just seemed like any other bigwig meeting in DC. I got more thrills from meeting someone who had recently met my mom a few weeks ago, because it was so ironic that our paths crossed.
Although I was a bit let down yesterday morning, I got my jump-start this afternoon when I had the chance to sit in on a meeting with the CEOs of Delta and Northwest Airlines. I have been keeping up with news on the recent merger for a staffer, as the CEOs will be testifying for the Judiciary Committee tomorrow, and I asked permission to sit in on the meeting this afternoon on a whim. It was comforting to know that my hard work paid off, because I was allowed to join this elite meeting.
The Senator was a bit confused why I was in the Chambers with them, but I didn't mind. We'll just keep it between you and me that I was the center of attention while he stepped out to take a phone call! Yeah, that's right...after introducing myself to the airline CEOs, they were firing questions at me left and right. Maybe they were avoiding business talk with real staffers, but maybe they were just that interested in me. I'm choosing to believe the latter :)
After this meeting, I went with the Senator to another meeting, even though he was wondering why I was still in his shadow. He asked if I was with him all afternoon, but only because Joe had been with him all afternoon on Tuesday. My time to "shadow" the Senator is still to come, but I got another taste of the big picture today. I got the thrill of DC back this afternoon, and I'm very thankful for that!
A few quick asides: I also reviewed a few "doozy" folders for Kathy this afternoon. Good for a few laughs. And tomorrow is Joe's last day with me in the office. His internship = KAPUT! I'll be sad, but only for a few moments. Because then I get to do everything ;)
Tuesday morning was supposed to jump-start my engine, as we were going to listen to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, speak to a group of Midwesterners. The walk over to Rayburn (a House building) was exciting, and I was full of anticipation. However, I was surprisingly let down when all was said and done. It just seemed like any other bigwig meeting in DC. I got more thrills from meeting someone who had recently met my mom a few weeks ago, because it was so ironic that our paths crossed.
Although I was a bit let down yesterday morning, I got my jump-start this afternoon when I had the chance to sit in on a meeting with the CEOs of Delta and Northwest Airlines. I have been keeping up with news on the recent merger for a staffer, as the CEOs will be testifying for the Judiciary Committee tomorrow, and I asked permission to sit in on the meeting this afternoon on a whim. It was comforting to know that my hard work paid off, because I was allowed to join this elite meeting.
The Senator was a bit confused why I was in the Chambers with them, but I didn't mind. We'll just keep it between you and me that I was the center of attention while he stepped out to take a phone call! Yeah, that's right...after introducing myself to the airline CEOs, they were firing questions at me left and right. Maybe they were avoiding business talk with real staffers, but maybe they were just that interested in me. I'm choosing to believe the latter :)
After this meeting, I went with the Senator to another meeting, even though he was wondering why I was still in his shadow. He asked if I was with him all afternoon, but only because Joe had been with him all afternoon on Tuesday. My time to "shadow" the Senator is still to come, but I got another taste of the big picture today. I got the thrill of DC back this afternoon, and I'm very thankful for that!
A few quick asides: I also reviewed a few "doozy" folders for Kathy this afternoon. Good for a few laughs. And tomorrow is Joe's last day with me in the office. His internship = KAPUT! I'll be sad, but only for a few moments. Because then I get to do everything ;)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Rainy days
The plans (or lack thereof, really) completely fell through for David's birthday celebration on Saturday. I spent a good portion of the night upset and in tears. Moral of that story is, as much as making plans might suck, they do come in handy when in a relatively unfamiliar city.
As if the frustrations of that situation weren't enough, the rain came in huge amounts on Sunday and Monday. My "new" rain boots somehow got slices in them, so my feet still got a little wet and even my sweet paisley umbrella had troubles keeping me dry. I was also amazed at how dark the main halls of Hart are when the sun isn't shining through the enormous windows. It just made for another dreary start to my week.
I was once again forced to do homework at work on Monday afternoon. However, I was a bit more interested in this weeks task at hand. We are currently looking into DC's issue regarding "taxation without representation"...their lack of a real presence in Congress. It's quite a controversial issue. For the first time in the history of class on Monday night (including last semester's classes with Jane), I didn't leave class in a horrible mood.
AND, to top it all off...this week of The Hills was full of excitement as well. So, for now, things are looking up.
As if the frustrations of that situation weren't enough, the rain came in huge amounts on Sunday and Monday. My "new" rain boots somehow got slices in them, so my feet still got a little wet and even my sweet paisley umbrella had troubles keeping me dry. I was also amazed at how dark the main halls of Hart are when the sun isn't shining through the enormous windows. It just made for another dreary start to my week.
I was once again forced to do homework at work on Monday afternoon. However, I was a bit more interested in this weeks task at hand. We are currently looking into DC's issue regarding "taxation without representation"...their lack of a real presence in Congress. It's quite a controversial issue. For the first time in the history of class on Monday night (including last semester's classes with Jane), I didn't leave class in a horrible mood.
AND, to top it all off...this week of The Hills was full of excitement as well. So, for now, things are looking up.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Mt. Vernon
After having class together this morning (side note: I'm glad we've had two separate classes this semester), we traveled to Mt. Vernon via an extremely long Metro ride and 25 minutes on a bus. The commute time proved to be well worth it. George Washington's estate, especially the mansion itself and the view of the Potomac, was absolutely breathtaking. I'm so glad it was a gorgeous day (sunny and 80 degrees), because that made the experience even better.
We spent several hours roaming the grounds and walking through the museum, which by the way, was also really entertaining. On our way home, a few of the girls and I stopped to eat at Gordon Biersch. We all had really great food, and it felt good to just roam around DC and stop at a random restaurant. Although we've been here for several months already, we really haven't fully explored the District. Now that the weather is really nice, we hope to do more of that before we have to leave.
Today's plans entail a little shopping (Friday was pay day!) and walking. We are supposed to be celebrating David's 21st tonight in Adam's Morgan, but plans are still up in the air. If nothing else, we are going to be sure to try the pizza slices that are said to be larger than our heads!
We spent several hours roaming the grounds and walking through the museum, which by the way, was also really entertaining. On our way home, a few of the girls and I stopped to eat at Gordon Biersch. We all had really great food, and it felt good to just roam around DC and stop at a random restaurant. Although we've been here for several months already, we really haven't fully explored the District. Now that the weather is really nice, we hope to do more of that before we have to leave.
Today's plans entail a little shopping (Friday was pay day!) and walking. We are supposed to be celebrating David's 21st tonight in Adam's Morgan, but plans are still up in the air. If nothing else, we are going to be sure to try the pizza slices that are said to be larger than our heads!
Friday, April 18, 2008
...still rough
Wednesday morning I overslept, big time! I didn't make it to work until 9:30. Fortunately, it went by unnoticed because everyone was dealing with traffic congestion surrounding the Pope's visit to DC. A few of the girls got to go see him at the Basilica Wednesday afternoon, but it was shear madness from what I heard. We watched live footage on our computers throughout the day, and on Thursday as well.
I have been keeping busy at work, but I haven't done anything of extreme merit that's worth mentioning. I guess I've already experienced so many things for the first time that there isn't all too much left. However, we did find out this week that we are going to hear Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, speak to a group of Iowans on Tuesday. This is a big deal, as he very rarely gives public addresses. And we also found out that we will have an opportunity to shadow the Senator one afternoon before our internships are up.
As Joe is done with his internship next week, he gets to shadow this coming Tuesday. I'm sure I'll get to hear all about it the next day. Hopefully I will be even more excited about my chance to do the same after hearing about his experience.
Date night got postponed from Tuesday to Thursday this week. I haven't really had the chance to spend much time with David the past few weeks, so I was excited to go out to Silver Spring. My Coldstone was delicious, even though I had to eat it really fast in order to make it to the movie on time. 21 was better than I thought it was going to be, but it did get a bit long. David seemed to really enjoy it. However, neither of us enjoyed the argument that came after the movie.
I'm getting stressed about how much time I have left in DC. One of my roommates recently posted a countdown until our last day, and I got really upset about it. Here's why: I have a lot of scholarly work to finish, I still have a number of touristy things I want to do before I leave, and I don't have any idea of what I will be doing after graduation. All this in mind, the last thing I want to be doing is wasting some of my last few weeks fighting with David.
I have been keeping busy at work, but I haven't done anything of extreme merit that's worth mentioning. I guess I've already experienced so many things for the first time that there isn't all too much left. However, we did find out this week that we are going to hear Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, speak to a group of Iowans on Tuesday. This is a big deal, as he very rarely gives public addresses. And we also found out that we will have an opportunity to shadow the Senator one afternoon before our internships are up.
As Joe is done with his internship next week, he gets to shadow this coming Tuesday. I'm sure I'll get to hear all about it the next day. Hopefully I will be even more excited about my chance to do the same after hearing about his experience.
Date night got postponed from Tuesday to Thursday this week. I haven't really had the chance to spend much time with David the past few weeks, so I was excited to go out to Silver Spring. My Coldstone was delicious, even though I had to eat it really fast in order to make it to the movie on time. 21 was better than I thought it was going to be, but it did get a bit long. David seemed to really enjoy it. However, neither of us enjoyed the argument that came after the movie.
I'm getting stressed about how much time I have left in DC. One of my roommates recently posted a countdown until our last day, and I got really upset about it. Here's why: I have a lot of scholarly work to finish, I still have a number of touristy things I want to do before I leave, and I don't have any idea of what I will be doing after graduation. All this in mind, the last thing I want to be doing is wasting some of my last few weeks fighting with David.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Rough Start
Although Monday's are rough for a majority of people who have had the past few days off from work, I had a rough start this week for sure. I spent the entire morning doing data entry, and then I lost the most important page of a letter that needed to go out soon. It all worked out, but boy I was glad when it was lunchtime!
Much to my dismay, I was forced to leave real work on my desk in order to complete some homework for class. This was upsetting, because I feel as though my class stuff is interfering with my DC experience as of late. Going home to yet another horrible, drawn-out *class* didn't make things any better.
So, rough Monday. Ok. Tuesday's a new day. Well...it wasn't so hot either. I spent most of the morning at a committee hearing on tax reform. Although I was glad to have experienced it, I had to excuse myself before the hearing concluded because I wasn't smart enough to follow the testifiers' answers to the committee's questions.
Upon returning to the office, I tried to rush through a stack of filing before lunch. This resulted in me losing my grandmother's engagement ring, of which I was unable to find until just after 5 pm. I'm so fortunate to have found it, but it was unfortunately only after having been a total wreck the entire afternoon. Needless to say, Tuesday was no better than Monday. Let's hope Hump Day treats me well!
Much to my dismay, I was forced to leave real work on my desk in order to complete some homework for class. This was upsetting, because I feel as though my class stuff is interfering with my DC experience as of late. Going home to yet another horrible, drawn-out *class* didn't make things any better.
So, rough Monday. Ok. Tuesday's a new day. Well...it wasn't so hot either. I spent most of the morning at a committee hearing on tax reform. Although I was glad to have experienced it, I had to excuse myself before the hearing concluded because I wasn't smart enough to follow the testifiers' answers to the committee's questions.
Upon returning to the office, I tried to rush through a stack of filing before lunch. This resulted in me losing my grandmother's engagement ring, of which I was unable to find until just after 5 pm. I'm so fortunate to have found it, but it was unfortunately only after having been a total wreck the entire afternoon. Needless to say, Tuesday was no better than Monday. Let's hope Hump Day treats me well!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
College!
Friday was designated college night. We invited several of our co-workers and neighbors over for some friendly interaction. It was fun meeting new people, but I don't think I personally would have invited half of the people who were here. Let's just say, a few of them were *extremely different* than me, and we'll leave it at that.
Nobody woke up early enough to go watch the Cherry Blossom parade, but I did get to see a big chunk of it on tv before we left for the Newseum. In case you're a bit confused, the Newseum is an enormous museum devoted to the press. It constantly changes, as it has the front page of big newspapers from every state and from several other countries around the world. We spent over 3 hours in there, and we rushed through. My favorite parts were the 4-D movie and the Freedoms Wall.
The Newseum would definitely have been worth the $20 ticket, but enjoyed spending that money having a drink at The Willard Hotel's Round Robin Bar. Kristine and I enjoyed waiting in the lobby for Mercedes and Sean, as it is the lobby where Ulysses S. Grant coined the term *lobbyist*. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we enjoyed living history once again. After our cocktail, we ate at Old Ebbit Grill - a favorite of Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harding and Theodore Roosevelt and still a popular meeting spot for political insiders, journalists, celebrities and theater-goers. The food was delicious!
After dinner, we went with Sean to his aunt and uncle's in Georgetown. It was great seeing a *normal house* where a real family would live out here. We had some great conversation and discussed what it would be like starting a family out here. Although there are definitely some downsides, I don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it sound.
My plans for this afternoon entail getting started on the plethora of papers I need to write in the next few weeks. The semester was a lot of fun when class work was minimal, but it's now time to get down to business so we can have fun in the end.
I apologize if you haven't heard from me in a while, but I hope you are all still enjoying reading my blog :)
Nobody woke up early enough to go watch the Cherry Blossom parade, but I did get to see a big chunk of it on tv before we left for the Newseum. In case you're a bit confused, the Newseum is an enormous museum devoted to the press. It constantly changes, as it has the front page of big newspapers from every state and from several other countries around the world. We spent over 3 hours in there, and we rushed through. My favorite parts were the 4-D movie and the Freedoms Wall.
The Newseum would definitely have been worth the $20 ticket, but enjoyed spending that money having a drink at The Willard Hotel's Round Robin Bar. Kristine and I enjoyed waiting in the lobby for Mercedes and Sean, as it is the lobby where Ulysses S. Grant coined the term *lobbyist*. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we enjoyed living history once again. After our cocktail, we ate at Old Ebbit Grill - a favorite of Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harding and Theodore Roosevelt and still a popular meeting spot for political insiders, journalists, celebrities and theater-goers. The food was delicious!
After dinner, we went with Sean to his aunt and uncle's in Georgetown. It was great seeing a *normal house* where a real family would live out here. We had some great conversation and discussed what it would be like starting a family out here. Although there are definitely some downsides, I don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it sound.
My plans for this afternoon entail getting started on the plethora of papers I need to write in the next few weeks. The semester was a lot of fun when class work was minimal, but it's now time to get down to business so we can have fun in the end.
I apologize if you haven't heard from me in a while, but I hope you are all still enjoying reading my blog :)
Friday, April 11, 2008
No homework at work!
This morning we had to give oral book reports for Doug. I was happy to have completed my book on time, as I had several issues with getting my hands on a copy of my assigned book. After some troubles with Amazon, I finally had a colleague of mine request the book from the Library of Congress for me. Because I didn't get the book until Tuesday afternoon, I had to get through it pretty quickly. However, my attempts to read it at work on Wednesday and Thursday were quite unsuccessful. As soon as anyone sees that I just might not be doing real work, they find a *fun job* for me to do. It's nice to have things to stay busy with, just not when I have homework that I'm a tad behind on!
Everything worked out very well. So, no worries. After class this morning, we all went to speak with a vice president of APCO Worldwide about lobbying. It was an extremely well-spent hour. He was very knowledgeable and personable. I think everyone was able to take something good away from the discussion. I especially appreciated his insight on how to impress possible employers in an interview.
Then a few of the girls tried getting in to the Newseum for free (because it was opening day), but they were at maximum capacity for the day. So, we stood in line and got free tickets for Saturday. The $20 we saved by standing in line will be put to good use soon, I'm sure!
Everything worked out very well. So, no worries. After class this morning, we all went to speak with a vice president of APCO Worldwide about lobbying. It was an extremely well-spent hour. He was very knowledgeable and personable. I think everyone was able to take something good away from the discussion. I especially appreciated his insight on how to impress possible employers in an interview.
Then a few of the girls tried getting in to the Newseum for free (because it was opening day), but they were at maximum capacity for the day. So, we stood in line and got free tickets for Saturday. The $20 we saved by standing in line will be put to good use soon, I'm sure!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Friend of the princess
This week marks the official celebration of the Cherry Blossom Festival. One of my fellow CHIPmates is Nebraska's princess, and a friend of mine from Simpson is Iowa's princess. So yesterday and today, I attended receptions for each of them. Although the whole thing seems a little cheesy (especially the requirement about wearing pastels all week), they are getting to do some really exciting things. I'm happy for them.
Monday's work entailed reading several excerpts from the Federalist Papers for a member of our judiciary staff. Each one of my co-workers who walked by my desk commented about having to take a class on the Federalist Papers. Ironic, because I had only ever encountered two or three of the excerpts in passing. I'm not sure I was the best person for the job, but I did feel a lot smarter after reading (and understanding, for the most part) the book.
Our mock press conferences in class Monday night went a lot better than I had expected. I was extremely comfortable representing Senator G., as opposed to one of the presidential candidates, and I actually enjoyed learning about H-1B visas. Some of my classmates still got quite nervous when they had to speak in front of the whole class (mind you, there are only 9 of us), which was almost unheard of for me. I guess I truly am ready to graduate from college.
This morning I interviewed our chief of staff for a class project we have. We enhanced our chummy relationship, and I learned a little along the way. This afternoon, I worked on writing a memo for the Senator regarding industrial loan companies (ILCs)...I was so lost, and told myself several times that I wished I were smart enough to understand what I was reading. Luckily, I was able to comprehend things well enough to complete my task, but I had a strenuous afternoon. However, I am very grateful that the people I work under have enough confidence in me to give me work of this nature.
Monday's work entailed reading several excerpts from the Federalist Papers for a member of our judiciary staff. Each one of my co-workers who walked by my desk commented about having to take a class on the Federalist Papers. Ironic, because I had only ever encountered two or three of the excerpts in passing. I'm not sure I was the best person for the job, but I did feel a lot smarter after reading (and understanding, for the most part) the book.
Our mock press conferences in class Monday night went a lot better than I had expected. I was extremely comfortable representing Senator G., as opposed to one of the presidential candidates, and I actually enjoyed learning about H-1B visas. Some of my classmates still got quite nervous when they had to speak in front of the whole class (mind you, there are only 9 of us), which was almost unheard of for me. I guess I truly am ready to graduate from college.
This morning I interviewed our chief of staff for a class project we have. We enhanced our chummy relationship, and I learned a little along the way. This afternoon, I worked on writing a memo for the Senator regarding industrial loan companies (ILCs)...I was so lost, and told myself several times that I wished I were smart enough to understand what I was reading. Luckily, I was able to comprehend things well enough to complete my task, but I had a strenuous afternoon. However, I am very grateful that the people I work under have enough confidence in me to give me work of this nature.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Weather just like home
Yesterday was arguably one of the nicest days outside since I've been in DC. Kristine and I took advantage of the beautiful weather by walking down The Mall and over to the TJ Memorial. Although the cherry blossoms are past their peak, they were still blooming all around the Tidal Basin. For all the hype behind this festival, I would have thought the sight to be even more amazing that it actually was. Don't get me wrong, it was cool; it just wasn't anything too spectacular. I suppose all of the other cherry blossom trees that are scattered about the city spoiled it for me. Oh well, at least I can say I've had the experience!
Once we returned home, Kristine and I took it upon ourselves to majorly clean our apartment (yet again). It looks about a million times better, and I feel much more at home. We also saw KU's big victory over UNC. David was so thrilled with the win that he decided to come surprise me before heading back to MD. It was really sweet, and Kristine was extremely jealous.
Today, on the other hand, is miserable. It's cold, and it has been raining for a greater part of the day. Such a dramatic change in weather reminds me of being back in Iowa. However, when you walk the streets as much as we do here, you notice the weather conditions a lot more than you would while driving everywhere you go in the Midwest.
Bad weather aside, Kristine and I went to mass at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception this morning. The Basilica was absolutely GORGEOUS...and extremely huge! It was great to hear the choir singing along with the massive pipe organ. Although it was much larger in scale, it reminded me of a classic Lessons and Carols at good old Simpson College. Kristine seemed less than impressed, but I loved it :)
Once we returned home, Kristine and I took it upon ourselves to majorly clean our apartment (yet again). It looks about a million times better, and I feel much more at home. We also saw KU's big victory over UNC. David was so thrilled with the win that he decided to come surprise me before heading back to MD. It was really sweet, and Kristine was extremely jealous.
Today, on the other hand, is miserable. It's cold, and it has been raining for a greater part of the day. Such a dramatic change in weather reminds me of being back in Iowa. However, when you walk the streets as much as we do here, you notice the weather conditions a lot more than you would while driving everywhere you go in the Midwest.
Bad weather aside, Kristine and I went to mass at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception this morning. The Basilica was absolutely GORGEOUS...and extremely huge! It was great to hear the choir singing along with the massive pipe organ. Although it was much larger in scale, it reminded me of a classic Lessons and Carols at good old Simpson College. Kristine seemed less than impressed, but I loved it :)
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Friday the Fourth
Class this morning was a bit overwhelming. Doug told us of about a million papers and projects we need to do during the last several weeks we are out here. Half of them I don't think I had ever even heard about, and the other half I have been procrastinating. No good.
Friday afternoon, only a handful of us went on the field trip to Arlington Cemetery. It was a lot larger than I had imagined. The changing of the guards ceremony was worth the trip out to Virginia.
Kristine was really excited about going to a free performance of this Army Show at the National Theater, but it turns out she had the dates mixed up. So we were about three days early. We still had a few memorable times, like stalking a woman in a blue sequined dress and speaking to some foreigners using their passports for photo identification. Once again, this would only happen to the two of us!
Friday afternoon, only a handful of us went on the field trip to Arlington Cemetery. It was a lot larger than I had imagined. The changing of the guards ceremony was worth the trip out to Virginia.
Kristine was really excited about going to a free performance of this Army Show at the National Theater, but it turns out she had the dates mixed up. So we were about three days early. We still had a few memorable times, like stalking a woman in a blue sequined dress and speaking to some foreigners using their passports for photo identification. Once again, this would only happen to the two of us!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Back in Session!
Although nothing really happened on the floor until Wednesday, it was good having the Senator's all back in town. I spent a majority of the week working hard on appropriations requests with Kathy. When I had to take time away from that in order to give a tour, things got a little rough. Details aren't important, but I don't think I will be giving any more tours any time soon.
A bunch of our requests were due at the end of the week, so Kathy and I were rushing in order to get everything in on time. Because I was so busy with that stuff, Joe was busy doing all of the other projects people had for us, including getting tons of signatures. I wasn't too disappointed that I didn't have to travel the Senate buildings numerous times getting sigs, especially since I spent the entire week fighting a cold.
I did something of merit each weeknight...
Monday--Class
Tuesday--Date night with David in MD
Wednesday--Sen. Chuck Hagel speaking about his book at Politics & Prose
Thursday--Dinner and Drinks with Lance at Union Pub
And for the record, I cannot believe that April is already upon us. March just flew by! I had to take care of a few graduation details this week, and I'm starting to get nervous about not having post-graduation plans yet. I've been looking at some available jobs back in the Midwest, but accepting the reality of life outside of being a college student is proving to be quite a difficult task.
A bunch of our requests were due at the end of the week, so Kathy and I were rushing in order to get everything in on time. Because I was so busy with that stuff, Joe was busy doing all of the other projects people had for us, including getting tons of signatures. I wasn't too disappointed that I didn't have to travel the Senate buildings numerous times getting sigs, especially since I spent the entire week fighting a cold.
I did something of merit each weeknight...
Monday--Class
Tuesday--Date night with David in MD
Wednesday--Sen. Chuck Hagel speaking about his book at Politics & Prose
Thursday--Dinner and Drinks with Lance at Union Pub
And for the record, I cannot believe that April is already upon us. March just flew by! I had to take care of a few graduation details this week, and I'm starting to get nervous about not having post-graduation plans yet. I've been looking at some available jobs back in the Midwest, but accepting the reality of life outside of being a college student is proving to be quite a difficult task.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
NYC!!!
Friday
After a FIVE HOUR bus ride, we finally made it to DC around 1pm. We took the Subway to our hotel without any problems. It helped having several girls with us who had been in NYC before and understood the system. The Millennium Hilton was directly across the street from Ground Zero, and our view from the 24th floor of the hotel was priceless. Although it is still just a big hole in the ground, we were able to put it into perspective a little better having seen it from above.
We walked around the financial district in downtown NYC...we got to see Trinity Church (where the treasure was found in National Treasure), Wall St., the NYSE building, the bull statue, Battery Park, and the bay. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were tiny from the distance, but we had missed the last ferry out for the day.
New York pizza was our food of choice for dinner. It was pretty good, but the garlic rolls were even better. I suppose I can see why David was raving about it, but I couldn't really tell that big of a difference. After eating, we headed to Times Square. We got off at Grand Central Station, just so we could see it all. Everything was all lit up and crazy. Just like you see it in movies or on tv. Some guy tried convincing us to come to his comedy show, but we opted to go to the Laugh Factory where we already had tickets reserved. Although none of the comedians went on tirades like Kramer did in Hollywood's Laugh Factory, a few of the audience members caused just about as much drama. They were a little too drunk for their own good, and they eventually got kicked out. However, it was only after they had ruined nearly everyone's acts. The final comedian was the only one who didn't have to deal with them, but he got caught up in conversing with a lesbian couple in the crowd. It wasn't the greatest experience for me, especially as I was not feeling the greatest, but everyone else seemed to enjoy the night.
Saturday
We got up bright and early to make it out on the first ferry to see the Statue. Although it took us a while to figure out where the free commuter ferry to Staton Island left from, we did finally make it (no thanks to the mean policeman on the pier). I'm so glad that we decided to do this, because we went right out past the Statue and Ellis Island. Our journey to Staton Island took 25 minutes, but we were able to get off the ferry, make a U-turn, and get right back on to head back to downtown NYC.
Everyone went shopping together after we got home. Nearly everyone purchased designer knock-off bags and sunglasses for knock-off prices in very shady circumstances on Canal Street. The whole thing way too sketch for me, so I bought a cute hat for $10. I was happy with my purchase!
After our shopping extravaganza, we all split up. Kristine and I got tickets for Rent from the TKTS stand, but only after quite a lot of trouble trying to withdraw cash from ATMs using cards we couldn't remember the pin numbers for. This seemed like such a small issue though, especially after I couldn't get a key into my hotel room to change my clothes and when we took the Subway off the map. You'd have to have been with us to fully understand the story, but I'll give you a short recap.
We tried taking the 2 or 3 train, but that line was closed. We ended up getting on an E train, but it went the opposite direction we thought it would go. By the time we figured this out, we went over, under, or through the water and into Brooklyn. Kristine was convinced we'd never find the correct train, so we headed out to call a cab. We figured this would be easy in the city of cabs, but we were very wrong. It had gotten dark since we left our hotel, we had no idea where we were, there were very few lights and moving vehicles outside the Subway, and we only had 25 minutes to make it to the Theatre District for our show. We ran up and down the streets searching for a cab with nobody in it for at least 10 minutes, and then were forced to have our cab driver risk our lives to make it to our show on time. Kristine and I literally had to sprint several blocks to the theater, but we made it half way through the opening number. What a relief! If we had missed our show after having spent over $80 on each ticket, we would have cried for weeks. Instead, it was definitely the best experience of our trip to NYC!
Sunday
Several of us got up and went to mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was gorgeous, but we definitely had a drive-through mass. That was ok, because it allowed us to eat breakfast at a diner, stroll through Central Park, make a few last souvenir purchases, and visit the church used for relief efforts after 9/11. Then it was back on the bus for our long ride home. I was able to get some sleep, even though there were some extremely loud, annoying passengers behind us, and I was so glad to be *home* in DC at the end of the day. Although we had a great weekend trip to the city, it really made us appreciate how nice and clean DC really is. I'm happy to call this home.
After a FIVE HOUR bus ride, we finally made it to DC around 1pm. We took the Subway to our hotel without any problems. It helped having several girls with us who had been in NYC before and understood the system. The Millennium Hilton was directly across the street from Ground Zero, and our view from the 24th floor of the hotel was priceless. Although it is still just a big hole in the ground, we were able to put it into perspective a little better having seen it from above.
We walked around the financial district in downtown NYC...we got to see Trinity Church (where the treasure was found in National Treasure), Wall St., the NYSE building, the bull statue, Battery Park, and the bay. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were tiny from the distance, but we had missed the last ferry out for the day.
New York pizza was our food of choice for dinner. It was pretty good, but the garlic rolls were even better. I suppose I can see why David was raving about it, but I couldn't really tell that big of a difference. After eating, we headed to Times Square. We got off at Grand Central Station, just so we could see it all. Everything was all lit up and crazy. Just like you see it in movies or on tv. Some guy tried convincing us to come to his comedy show, but we opted to go to the Laugh Factory where we already had tickets reserved. Although none of the comedians went on tirades like Kramer did in Hollywood's Laugh Factory, a few of the audience members caused just about as much drama. They were a little too drunk for their own good, and they eventually got kicked out. However, it was only after they had ruined nearly everyone's acts. The final comedian was the only one who didn't have to deal with them, but he got caught up in conversing with a lesbian couple in the crowd. It wasn't the greatest experience for me, especially as I was not feeling the greatest, but everyone else seemed to enjoy the night.
Saturday
We got up bright and early to make it out on the first ferry to see the Statue. Although it took us a while to figure out where the free commuter ferry to Staton Island left from, we did finally make it (no thanks to the mean policeman on the pier). I'm so glad that we decided to do this, because we went right out past the Statue and Ellis Island. Our journey to Staton Island took 25 minutes, but we were able to get off the ferry, make a U-turn, and get right back on to head back to downtown NYC.
Everyone went shopping together after we got home. Nearly everyone purchased designer knock-off bags and sunglasses for knock-off prices in very shady circumstances on Canal Street. The whole thing way too sketch for me, so I bought a cute hat for $10. I was happy with my purchase!
After our shopping extravaganza, we all split up. Kristine and I got tickets for Rent from the TKTS stand, but only after quite a lot of trouble trying to withdraw cash from ATMs using cards we couldn't remember the pin numbers for. This seemed like such a small issue though, especially after I couldn't get a key into my hotel room to change my clothes and when we took the Subway off the map. You'd have to have been with us to fully understand the story, but I'll give you a short recap.
We tried taking the 2 or 3 train, but that line was closed. We ended up getting on an E train, but it went the opposite direction we thought it would go. By the time we figured this out, we went over, under, or through the water and into Brooklyn. Kristine was convinced we'd never find the correct train, so we headed out to call a cab. We figured this would be easy in the city of cabs, but we were very wrong. It had gotten dark since we left our hotel, we had no idea where we were, there were very few lights and moving vehicles outside the Subway, and we only had 25 minutes to make it to the Theatre District for our show. We ran up and down the streets searching for a cab with nobody in it for at least 10 minutes, and then were forced to have our cab driver risk our lives to make it to our show on time. Kristine and I literally had to sprint several blocks to the theater, but we made it half way through the opening number. What a relief! If we had missed our show after having spent over $80 on each ticket, we would have cried for weeks. Instead, it was definitely the best experience of our trip to NYC!
Sunday
Several of us got up and went to mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was gorgeous, but we definitely had a drive-through mass. That was ok, because it allowed us to eat breakfast at a diner, stroll through Central Park, make a few last souvenir purchases, and visit the church used for relief efforts after 9/11. Then it was back on the bus for our long ride home. I was able to get some sleep, even though there were some extremely loud, annoying passengers behind us, and I was so glad to be *home* in DC at the end of the day. Although we had a great weekend trip to the city, it really made us appreciate how nice and clean DC really is. I'm happy to call this home.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Recess: Week 2
I was only asked to give a few tours this week, so it was a lot more difficult finding things to keep me busy all day. Kathy was back from her trip to London, so that helped a little. She can usually find something to give me to work on. I can't wait for next week when we are back in session!
I did have some down time to do a little research on NYC, for the girls adventure to the city this weekend. I'm extremely excited to see a show on Broadway! Hopefully the 10 of us are able to make it through the weekend with little to no drama, especially since we will all be sharing just two hotel rooms. Keep your fingers crossed...
I did have some down time to do a little research on NYC, for the girls adventure to the city this weekend. I'm extremely excited to see a show on Broadway! Hopefully the 10 of us are able to make it through the weekend with little to no drama, especially since we will all be sharing just two hotel rooms. Keep your fingers crossed...
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Weekend
Friday
No class this morning was a nice break. Rather than cramming a bunch of activities in, I decided to have a restful day. I spent some time cleaning the apartment while I was home alone. It needed it!
Both Kristine and Abby had friends from Nebraska visiting, so we took them out to Hawk 'n Dove. Several co-workers of 510 Cers also joined us, so we had quite the gang. David's best friend TJ was also in town and celebrating his 21st birthday. It was one of our better nights at that bar, so everyone had a great time. We even got flashing rings from the bartenders. It was good stuff!
David and TJ challenged Kristine and I to a competitive game of pong when we got home. We made a friendly wager, and the guys were forced into wearing Husker apperal when we won :)
Saturday
Mercedes and I hung out and watched tv while some of the other girls went shopping. Then a few of us decided to go out to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Justine took forever curling Mercedes' hair, so we didn't leave until after 8. After our commute to the Chevy Chase Pavillion and a short wait, we didn't end up ordering until 9:30 or so. We had to have cheesecake for dessert, so our trip ended up taking a majority of the night. By the time we got home, we decided it was too late to go out. Plus, we had to wake up early for Easter mass in the morning!
Sunday
Easter in DC!
I woke up quite early so I could get a few things from the corner market to make deviled eggs for our picnic on the mall. As I'm used to having help pealing the eggs from my mom, it took a bit longer than I had expected. We rushed out of the house a few minutes after I finished in order to make it to church on time. Our favorite priest gave mass, so it felt like we were at our home parish. Everyone who didn't fly home for Easter came to the picnic I planned, so we had a 510 C family gathering (plus a few extra friends, including David) for the holiday. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, and some of the cherry blossoms were already blooming!
David and I hung out on the mall for a while after everyone else had gone home. We caught some live music and hung out at our spot in front of the Capitol before heading home. Although it was hard being away from my immediate family and missing Lexi's first Easter, I had a very enjoyable day.
No class this morning was a nice break. Rather than cramming a bunch of activities in, I decided to have a restful day. I spent some time cleaning the apartment while I was home alone. It needed it!
Both Kristine and Abby had friends from Nebraska visiting, so we took them out to Hawk 'n Dove. Several co-workers of 510 Cers also joined us, so we had quite the gang. David's best friend TJ was also in town and celebrating his 21st birthday. It was one of our better nights at that bar, so everyone had a great time. We even got flashing rings from the bartenders. It was good stuff!
David and TJ challenged Kristine and I to a competitive game of pong when we got home. We made a friendly wager, and the guys were forced into wearing Husker apperal when we won :)
Saturday
Mercedes and I hung out and watched tv while some of the other girls went shopping. Then a few of us decided to go out to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Justine took forever curling Mercedes' hair, so we didn't leave until after 8. After our commute to the Chevy Chase Pavillion and a short wait, we didn't end up ordering until 9:30 or so. We had to have cheesecake for dessert, so our trip ended up taking a majority of the night. By the time we got home, we decided it was too late to go out. Plus, we had to wake up early for Easter mass in the morning!
Sunday
Easter in DC!
I woke up quite early so I could get a few things from the corner market to make deviled eggs for our picnic on the mall. As I'm used to having help pealing the eggs from my mom, it took a bit longer than I had expected. We rushed out of the house a few minutes after I finished in order to make it to church on time. Our favorite priest gave mass, so it felt like we were at our home parish. Everyone who didn't fly home for Easter came to the picnic I planned, so we had a 510 C family gathering (plus a few extra friends, including David) for the holiday. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, and some of the cherry blossoms were already blooming!
David and I hung out on the mall for a while after everyone else had gone home. We caught some live music and hung out at our spot in front of the Capitol before heading home. Although it was hard being away from my immediate family and missing Lexi's first Easter, I had a very enjoyable day.
Friday, March 21, 2008
West Wing, Baby!
Yesterday afternoon, I had several frantic texts and messages from Kristine saying she needed my birthday and ssn immediately, as we were going on a WEST WING tour at 7pm. Of course I would be in the middle of giving a two hour tour when something so important was going on...no worries, everything worked out!
As the end of the day is approaching, I had to finish a copying/stapling job before heading out for the weekend. Although this was an easy task, it was extremely time consuming. When I realized there was no way I was going to finish all of the stapling by myself (mind you, Joe had left hours before in order to go home to NY for Easter), I started delegating piles to be stapled. Unfortunately, Anne was the only other intern available to help. Because of this, I had to delegate to full-time staff members so I could get out of the office on time. Crazy, but once again, it all worked out!
Our West Wing tour was postponed because some VIPs were still in the White House when we got there. So we had a drink with our favorite WH security guard (who was taking us on our tour) at a bar down the street, and then had our tour around 8:30. After standing in a *holding cell,* we walked straight up to the West Wing and got to use the same entrance that Condi and other Cabinet members use!
The first few halls were lined with extremely recent pictures of the president's adventures. We were able to walk out into the Rose Garden, and even take some pictures. Cameras were only allowed to be used when we were outside and in the press room. So unfortunately I don't have pictures of the Roosevelt Room, the main conference room, or the Oval Office. However, I did sneak my foot under the museumy ropes just to say I'd been in these places. The Oval Office was much smaller than I would have guessed, and so was the Resolute Desk. But it was a scene straight from the movie National Treasure II. I LOVED IT!!!
Although we will be forever grateful for Officer Willie D for getting us a West Wing tour, he wasn't very knowledgeable about the things we were seeing. I tried listening in on the other small tour groups traveling through the West Wing, but they got suspicious quite quickly. Nonetheless, it was an amazing visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave :)
As the end of the day is approaching, I had to finish a copying/stapling job before heading out for the weekend. Although this was an easy task, it was extremely time consuming. When I realized there was no way I was going to finish all of the stapling by myself (mind you, Joe had left hours before in order to go home to NY for Easter), I started delegating piles to be stapled. Unfortunately, Anne was the only other intern available to help. Because of this, I had to delegate to full-time staff members so I could get out of the office on time. Crazy, but once again, it all worked out!
Our West Wing tour was postponed because some VIPs were still in the White House when we got there. So we had a drink with our favorite WH security guard (who was taking us on our tour) at a bar down the street, and then had our tour around 8:30. After standing in a *holding cell,* we walked straight up to the West Wing and got to use the same entrance that Condi and other Cabinet members use!
The first few halls were lined with extremely recent pictures of the president's adventures. We were able to walk out into the Rose Garden, and even take some pictures. Cameras were only allowed to be used when we were outside and in the press room. So unfortunately I don't have pictures of the Roosevelt Room, the main conference room, or the Oval Office. However, I did sneak my foot under the museumy ropes just to say I'd been in these places. The Oval Office was much smaller than I would have guessed, and so was the Resolute Desk. But it was a scene straight from the movie National Treasure II. I LOVED IT!!!
Although we will be forever grateful for Officer Willie D for getting us a West Wing tour, he wasn't very knowledgeable about the things we were seeing. I tried listening in on the other small tour groups traveling through the West Wing, but they got suspicious quite quickly. Nonetheless, it was an amazing visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave :)
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