Biggest downfall: Cory telling me he wanted to burn my red shoes. How sad is that?
After work, I met up with Kristine and Dan for a few drinks at Pour House. Dollar bottles of Bud Light are a great way to bring together a bunch of young adults working on The Hill for less than amazing pay. We ended up mingling with people we knew, as opposed to making new friends, so we'll just have to go back again soon!
Because it was on the way home, we had to stop in at Union Pub to visit our friends there. Much to our surprise, Carlos cut off all of his hair!!! We met some new people, but the crowd at the pub isn't nearly as enticing as the one at Pour House. It was still fun, nonetheless.
Plans for the weekend are still unknown, but I'm sure we'll find something to keep us entertained :)
Friday, February 29, 2008
Pour House
Highlights of work today included making new friends at lunch, being *tackled* by the senator just after Joe had joked about tackling him, and saving some work for Monday.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Midweek
Although I've been telling my housemates that the past few days of work have been relatively uneventful for me, that isn't completely accurate. Highlights include...showing Joe something (quite a change), finishing our first big research project, taking an official tour of the Capitol (finally!), watching some action on the senate floor from the gallery, literally racing through the halls of the senate buildings in order to meet a deadline, eating delicious goodies at a Czech reception, defending my red shoes to my supervisor, and continuing my chummy relationship with our chief of staff.
Though these things may seem relatively important in the larger scheme of things, they were too few and far between. Somehow I manage to keep myself occupied for 8 hours a day, but I don't feel as though I have a whole lot to show for it this week.
Yesterday would have been my dad's 58th birthday. Tomorrow will mark the ten-year anniversary of his death. Every year, this is a very tough week for me. This year is especially hard, as I wish he could be here to spend time with his granddaughter Lexi and offer me some support while I'm doing my thing in DC. I'm ashamed to say that I've gotten so caught up in my world out here this past month, that I struggled to remember what day Dad's birthday even was. I panicked. Mom said it was okay because it's been so long and I wasn't very old, but that's no excuse.
Although I visited his grave just before leaving for DC, it's troubling that I can't physically be in his presence now. But in honor of his life and in memory of his death, I am flying a flag over the nation's Capitol tomorrow. As Merv Jacobsen served in the Vietnam War, you, too, can honor him as the great man he truly was and be proud that his flag will represent our nation's freedom tomorrow.
Though these things may seem relatively important in the larger scheme of things, they were too few and far between. Somehow I manage to keep myself occupied for 8 hours a day, but I don't feel as though I have a whole lot to show for it this week.
***CHANGING GEARS***
Yesterday would have been my dad's 58th birthday. Tomorrow will mark the ten-year anniversary of his death. Every year, this is a very tough week for me. This year is especially hard, as I wish he could be here to spend time with his granddaughter Lexi and offer me some support while I'm doing my thing in DC. I'm ashamed to say that I've gotten so caught up in my world out here this past month, that I struggled to remember what day Dad's birthday even was. I panicked. Mom said it was okay because it's been so long and I wasn't very old, but that's no excuse.
Although I visited his grave just before leaving for DC, it's troubling that I can't physically be in his presence now. But in honor of his life and in memory of his death, I am flying a flag over the nation's Capitol tomorrow. As Merv Jacobsen served in the Vietnam War, you, too, can honor him as the great man he truly was and be proud that his flag will represent our nation's freedom tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
4 cups of java!!!
After brainstorming ideas this weekend, I came into the office with a list of questions/favors for my co-workers. I pushed my limit on favors from Cory, especially considering it was before 9:15 on Monday morning, but he assured me that I still have one favor left for the remainder of the week. Four favors are better than three wishes from a genie...according to him at least.
Routine office work kept me quite busy throughout the morning. This was a very good thing, because it prevented me from over-anticipating lunch with the senator & his wife. I met a handful of other interns that I had no idea even existed. They work in another office, so it's not such a horrible thing, because they had no idea about me either. In any case, they all either have or are working on law degrees and masters programs in tax after having completed law school, and I felt quite inadequate having the same title as them. Fortunately, the other half of the interns that I do know are all in the same boat as me. The Senator was just as interested to hear from all of us.
I was last in line to take my formal picture, which then made me the lucky one who got to sit next to the Senator for lunch. We had some great conversation and I passed him quite a few Sweet & Lows for the not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR cups of coffee he had at lunch. Whatever gets him through the day, I guess!
We ate in the official Senator's restaurant in the Capitol. I ordered an omelet de jour...fancy for a very tasty omelet with ricotta cheese inside that was served with a cup of fruit and french fries. An odd combination, but the fries were delicious, so I can't complain. And for dessert, I had the chocolate mousse. In one word, HEAVENLY.
After lunch, we went to the Senator's hideaway office. It wasn't anything like his chamber in the private office, but it was cool to see his non-public office. Not just anyone is allowed into these places, and I felt like a real member of the staff. My intern responsibilities that awaited me in the office after lunch reminded me that I'm still on the bottom rung of the work ladder, but I've continued to enjoy my work thus far and am in no way complaining about my job.
A few of us went to a reception after work, which meant my second, very appetizing, free meal of the day. I was still a little full from lunch, but I ate anyway! Then I had to rush off to class, which I would still rather do without on Monday nights. This 9am to 9pm schedule is quite intense, and I'm just not accustomed to it yet. Although we had interesting discussion and some heated debates, our professors need to criticize our contributions continues to bother my roommates and me about this class. However, I couldn't be more thrilled about not being in Middle Eastern Politics.
Tomorrow will bring another day with new and exciting tasks, I'm sure. In order to maintain my energy without relying on caffeine from, let's say, four cups of java, I best be off to bed :)
Routine office work kept me quite busy throughout the morning. This was a very good thing, because it prevented me from over-anticipating lunch with the senator & his wife. I met a handful of other interns that I had no idea even existed. They work in another office, so it's not such a horrible thing, because they had no idea about me either. In any case, they all either have or are working on law degrees and masters programs in tax after having completed law school, and I felt quite inadequate having the same title as them. Fortunately, the other half of the interns that I do know are all in the same boat as me. The Senator was just as interested to hear from all of us.
I was last in line to take my formal picture, which then made me the lucky one who got to sit next to the Senator for lunch. We had some great conversation and I passed him quite a few Sweet & Lows for the not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR cups of coffee he had at lunch. Whatever gets him through the day, I guess!
We ate in the official Senator's restaurant in the Capitol. I ordered an omelet de jour...fancy for a very tasty omelet with ricotta cheese inside that was served with a cup of fruit and french fries. An odd combination, but the fries were delicious, so I can't complain. And for dessert, I had the chocolate mousse. In one word, HEAVENLY.
After lunch, we went to the Senator's hideaway office. It wasn't anything like his chamber in the private office, but it was cool to see his non-public office. Not just anyone is allowed into these places, and I felt like a real member of the staff. My intern responsibilities that awaited me in the office after lunch reminded me that I'm still on the bottom rung of the work ladder, but I've continued to enjoy my work thus far and am in no way complaining about my job.
A few of us went to a reception after work, which meant my second, very appetizing, free meal of the day. I was still a little full from lunch, but I ate anyway! Then I had to rush off to class, which I would still rather do without on Monday nights. This 9am to 9pm schedule is quite intense, and I'm just not accustomed to it yet. Although we had interesting discussion and some heated debates, our professors need to criticize our contributions continues to bother my roommates and me about this class. However, I couldn't be more thrilled about not being in Middle Eastern Politics.
Tomorrow will bring another day with new and exciting tasks, I'm sure. In order to maintain my energy without relying on caffeine from, let's say, four cups of java, I best be off to bed :)
Monday, February 25, 2008
A Brilliant Weekend
Several of us passed up happy hour plans on Thursday after work in order to partake in the house plan to have wings at H&D and return home for a cozy night in to avoid the storm that never really hit. Once again, *THE BIG PLAN* fell through. I'm not sure why this surprised me, but I wasn't about to stay in while I had my brand new vest on. So, several of us decided to hit up an Irish Pub with live music. This wasn't my first choice, but I went along for the ride. Once everyone else agreed with Kristine and I that we needed a bit more liveliness, we hit up Union Pub. Bartender Lance (a fellow Iowan) was working, and he was very excited to see us. We pretty much made the bar the best place to be on The Hill for the rest of the night. We sang and danced the night away with the help of a few quarters from Lance for the jukebox...and by a few, I mean TWO ENTIRE HANDFULS. Thanks buddy!
Friday morning class was ill-appreciated once again, but it is always good to hear the highlights of everyone's week at work. Doug was nice enough to bring us chili for lunch before having a few CHIP alumni come speak to us in the afternoon. This was a great activity for me, as it made me really think about seriously networking in DC and consider finding a job out here for a while after I graduate. However, the biggest piece of advice I took from the afternoon was to make a plan. As of right now, I'm plan less. So, I'm going to start working on that...gradually.
On Friday night, we began planning our trip to New York City for the weekend after Easter. I think about half of our group is planning on going now, so that should make for an interesting adventure. The planning and some intense conversations prevented us from going to bed early before our big trip to the WHITE HOUSE early Saturday morning. The Wesleyan girls and I were extremely excited though, so we fought through the sleepiness.
Our directions turned out to be incorrect, so we were a bit rushed to make it where we needed to be. The guards at the front gate were able to calm us down and give us some great advice on who to find inside to answer all of our questions. Ralph turned out to be a great resource, as did pretty much everyone else we asked our million and one questions to during the tour...except for that last police guy before we exited that told Abby that President Lincoln died in Ford's Theatre. She's a history major; she knew better.
We wanted to get the most out of our experience, and we made sure we did! Using our God-given resources and Midwest charm, we made friends with nearly everyone we came in contact with: Ralph, Rob (who doesn't like working for the secret service and is leaving at age 27), tall guy (who almost let us take an illegal photo on our phones), sunglasses guard (who wanted to tell us where the missals around the WH are), Lester (who gave us his card), and Officer Willie D (who gave us his number). We're hoping this contacts will help us out at a later date :)
Sidenote: All of us were surprised as to how lax the security was for us to go on the tour. We were never asked to show our photo IDs, nor were our names ever checked off any list. This was quite crazy, especially after the background check we were told we had to have done on us before we could visit the White House.
After our White House tour, we met up with Pat & Mike and went to a Georgetown basketball game at the Verizon Center. The Hoyas were victorious, and the game was a great place to relax and get away from the madness of 510 C for a while. However, we were EXHAUSTED by the time we finally made it home, so we called it an early night.
Today we went to church (our favorite priest, Fr. Burn, had mass!), attended the KC breakfast (and met the inspiration for my blog title, David from England), visited the west building of the National Art Gallery, and saw the Constitution. I will spare you all of the great details of these events, as this blog is nearing novel length. However, I did learn that Constitution really does lower down into vault storage every single night, just like in National Treasure. I'm living out my favorite movies and loving every minute of it!
Friday morning class was ill-appreciated once again, but it is always good to hear the highlights of everyone's week at work. Doug was nice enough to bring us chili for lunch before having a few CHIP alumni come speak to us in the afternoon. This was a great activity for me, as it made me really think about seriously networking in DC and consider finding a job out here for a while after I graduate. However, the biggest piece of advice I took from the afternoon was to make a plan. As of right now, I'm plan less. So, I'm going to start working on that...gradually.
On Friday night, we began planning our trip to New York City for the weekend after Easter. I think about half of our group is planning on going now, so that should make for an interesting adventure. The planning and some intense conversations prevented us from going to bed early before our big trip to the WHITE HOUSE early Saturday morning. The Wesleyan girls and I were extremely excited though, so we fought through the sleepiness.
Our directions turned out to be incorrect, so we were a bit rushed to make it where we needed to be. The guards at the front gate were able to calm us down and give us some great advice on who to find inside to answer all of our questions. Ralph turned out to be a great resource, as did pretty much everyone else we asked our million and one questions to during the tour...except for that last police guy before we exited that told Abby that President Lincoln died in Ford's Theatre. She's a history major; she knew better.
We wanted to get the most out of our experience, and we made sure we did! Using our God-given resources and Midwest charm, we made friends with nearly everyone we came in contact with: Ralph, Rob (who doesn't like working for the secret service and is leaving at age 27), tall guy (who almost let us take an illegal photo on our phones), sunglasses guard (who wanted to tell us where the missals around the WH are), Lester (who gave us his card), and Officer Willie D (who gave us his number). We're hoping this contacts will help us out at a later date :)
Sidenote: All of us were surprised as to how lax the security was for us to go on the tour. We were never asked to show our photo IDs, nor were our names ever checked off any list. This was quite crazy, especially after the background check we were told we had to have done on us before we could visit the White House.
After our White House tour, we met up with Pat & Mike and went to a Georgetown basketball game at the Verizon Center. The Hoyas were victorious, and the game was a great place to relax and get away from the madness of 510 C for a while. However, we were EXHAUSTED by the time we finally made it home, so we called it an early night.
Today we went to church (our favorite priest, Fr. Burn, had mass!), attended the KC breakfast (and met the inspiration for my blog title, David from England), visited the west building of the National Art Gallery, and saw the Constitution. I will spare you all of the great details of these events, as this blog is nearing novel length. However, I did learn that Constitution really does lower down into vault storage every single night, just like in National Treasure. I'm living out my favorite movies and loving every minute of it!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
No jeans during recess for me
I'd estimate that between one third and one half of the employees I saw this week were wearing jeans while Congress was out of session. However, nobody in my office was seen wearing denim until I made a cameo appearance Friday afternoon. This wasn't all bad, because I think we would have accomplished even less had we been wearing jeans at work.
I haven't been working on The Hill long enough to fully appreciate the slowness of a recess week, but I can imagine how great a break was for everyone else. Joe and I used some of our spare time trying to better orient ourselves with the Capitol and the House side. Plus, I got to see the Library of Congress for the first time on Thursday. The main reading room was straight from the movie Book of Secrets, and I absolutely LOVED it! Although my CRS training won't allow me access to the stacks, I do have special access to a few rooms and can bypass signing in and out like members of the general public. Things like that remind me that I really am doing this. I'm working for the United States Senate!
Anyway, the LOC was definitely the highlight of my work week. The artwork on the walls and the ceiling was just beautiful, the quotes on the walls were very eloquent (even though the *u*s were actually *v*s), and the Gutenberg Bible was nothing like I had imagined it. As much as I enjoyed my visit inside the LOC, the tunnels connecting it to the rest of The Hill were extremely scary. I was close to rubbing my head against open electrical/water lines time and time again, and I was even wearing flats! Not cool.
Nonetheless, Joe and I made the most of our week by exchanging humorous stories and laughing about sharing our tiny office space while everyone else sat in solitude. But I am definitely looking forward to the return of life in the fast lane next week.
I haven't been working on The Hill long enough to fully appreciate the slowness of a recess week, but I can imagine how great a break was for everyone else. Joe and I used some of our spare time trying to better orient ourselves with the Capitol and the House side. Plus, I got to see the Library of Congress for the first time on Thursday. The main reading room was straight from the movie Book of Secrets, and I absolutely LOVED it! Although my CRS training won't allow me access to the stacks, I do have special access to a few rooms and can bypass signing in and out like members of the general public. Things like that remind me that I really am doing this. I'm working for the United States Senate!
Anyway, the LOC was definitely the highlight of my work week. The artwork on the walls and the ceiling was just beautiful, the quotes on the walls were very eloquent (even though the *u*s were actually *v*s), and the Gutenberg Bible was nothing like I had imagined it. As much as I enjoyed my visit inside the LOC, the tunnels connecting it to the rest of The Hill were extremely scary. I was close to rubbing my head against open electrical/water lines time and time again, and I was even wearing flats! Not cool.
Nonetheless, Joe and I made the most of our week by exchanging humorous stories and laughing about sharing our tiny office space while everyone else sat in solitude. But I am definitely looking forward to the return of life in the fast lane next week.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Ethics Training...
Having not worked yesterday, today was like Monday in the office. Everyone was a bit slow getting started with their work, and even more so today than other Mondays as congress is not in session. My daily tasks kept me busy through the morning hours, and ethics training this afternoon was almost as bad as everyone had warned us it would be. However, it did not last the full two hours, and for that we were very grateful.
The craziest part of the day was nearing running into one of the guys Kristine and I had met/played Wii/accepted drinks from at Union Pub on Valentine's Day. We had been invited out again with this guy multiple times throughout the long weekend, but things just never worked out. So we didn't think we'd ever see either of these guys again. Little did we know, institution of the United States Senate isn't as large as we may think. In order to avoid an extremely awkward encounter, we dodged behind a few people to make a clean escape. If nothing else, it gave us a reason to laugh after having been put to sleep during training.
Coming in at a close second for craziest part of the day was carrying a Swiss Army pocket knife all the way from one end of the Senate buildings to other. If you know me well, you know that carrying a knife like this makes me uncomfortable in general, let alone in federal buildings with strict security. But I had to do it in order to keep a promise that we would mail this *weapon* to a constituent who was not allowed to take it into the Capitol Building. I suppose I am glad that he wasn't allowed to have it there, but my question is...why was he allowed to have it in the Senate buildings where I work?
Other notable items...we no longer have a hole in our bathroom ceiling, doing homework in my house is an extremely difficult task, our chief of staff and I are still chums, and TOMORROW IS PAY DAY!
The craziest part of the day was nearing running into one of the guys Kristine and I had met/played Wii/accepted drinks from at Union Pub on Valentine's Day. We had been invited out again with this guy multiple times throughout the long weekend, but things just never worked out. So we didn't think we'd ever see either of these guys again. Little did we know, institution of the United States Senate isn't as large as we may think. In order to avoid an extremely awkward encounter, we dodged behind a few people to make a clean escape. If nothing else, it gave us a reason to laugh after having been put to sleep during training.
Coming in at a close second for craziest part of the day was carrying a Swiss Army pocket knife all the way from one end of the Senate buildings to other. If you know me well, you know that carrying a knife like this makes me uncomfortable in general, let alone in federal buildings with strict security. But I had to do it in order to keep a promise that we would mail this *weapon* to a constituent who was not allowed to take it into the Capitol Building. I suppose I am glad that he wasn't allowed to have it there, but my question is...why was he allowed to have it in the Senate buildings where I work?
Other notable items...we no longer have a hole in our bathroom ceiling, doing homework in my house is an extremely difficult task, our chief of staff and I are still chums, and TOMORROW IS PAY DAY!
Monday, February 18, 2008
President's Day!
Kristine and I decided to take advantage of our day off by going shopping at Pentagon City. Although we were able to find more affordable items than we did in Georgetown last weekend, we didn't buy much. The President's Day sales were few and far between...a bit disappointing really. However, the purchases we did make were great. I bought a vest (something I've been wanting for quite some time), a pair of earrings from Macy's (on sale, of course!), and a few pairs of needed dress socks for work. Kristine got a cute black shirt, some mascara, a needed pair of flats, and she finally got her Obama t-shirt. We considered it a successful shopping adventure, and we enjoyed having some time to ourselves.
I crammed in my reading just before class, which was clearly a waste of my time, as we have still yet to cover any material from our book. I'm usually up for getting professors off topic, but I just can't handle sitting through two hours of class and not accomplishing anything. I'd rather be doing one of a million other things than getting a very large headache from a man teaching in sweatpants. Call me crazy.
It feels as though I haven't been to work in weeks, so I'm ready to go back tomorrow morning. I've been warned that we won't have much work to do while Congress isn't in session, but I find it hard to believe that there won't be any special projects that need attention while the Senator is out. We'll just have to wait and see.
I crammed in my reading just before class, which was clearly a waste of my time, as we have still yet to cover any material from our book. I'm usually up for getting professors off topic, but I just can't handle sitting through two hours of class and not accomplishing anything. I'd rather be doing one of a million other things than getting a very large headache from a man teaching in sweatpants. Call me crazy.
It feels as though I haven't been to work in weeks, so I'm ready to go back tomorrow morning. I've been warned that we won't have much work to do while Congress isn't in session, but I find it hard to believe that there won't be any special projects that need attention while the Senator is out. We'll just have to wait and see.
Long weekend continues
Saturday's touristy activity entailed a trip to the National Museum of the American Indian. The main purpose of our trip was to eat in the cafeteria, which we had heard was absolutely amazing. Although it was good food, it was quite pricey. We probably won't be frequent guests.
Though we had been told this was one of the worst Smithsonians, I significantly enjoyed it. All of the beaded dresses and moccasins (Rach, you would have LOVED them...I took pics) were so intricate, and we saw the coolest movie on how the Native Americans handled the changing of the seasons. The *theater* had a normal screen in front of us, a screen on the ceiling, and a *screen* on this enormous rock under the main screen. So we were able to watch three separate things at the same time. It was great! However, it made us Midwestern girls miss being at home in the open land as opposed to the crowded city.
After NMAI, the group traveled to the United States Botanic Garden. Although everything outside was dead and ugly, it was absolutely beautiful inside! Dispersed among all of the plants and flowers, there were big colorful letters with informational signs near them. This was a surprising twist to this botanical center, and it made for some lovely photo ops for members of the group :)
I decided that all of the museums and other places we've been seem like they are so much more important than touristy locations in other cities because they are all called *The National....* or *The United States....* It just makes them seem more unique. Finally six of us went and saw Definitely, Maybe on Friday night, while the others went to some 80s dance party. The movie was cute and the club turned out to be lame, so I made the right decision in going to the movie. When my student ID knocked the price of my ticket down to $8, I really missed my $2 days in I-town. Love/miss you cabbies!
On Sunday morning, the Wesleyan girls and I went to the Eastern Market for the first time. I was surprised to find so much jewelry and hats/scarves, as we had been told it was the best place for fresh meat and produce. We also found that, but it was a really cool place. After I get my first paycheck (THIS WEDNESDAY!!!), I'll have to go back for the good stuff :)
We detoured to CVS on the way home, and even ran into some of our fellow CHIPmates. When you run into people you know in a public place, then you know you're at home. I loved this feeling! Anyway, we had planned to see one of the art museums Sunday afternoon, but everyone decided to stay home and take it easy for the rest of the day. This allowed me to do my laundry for the first time, to tidy up the basement that had formerly looked like a tornado had struck, and to vacuum our apartment and the basement with my new vacuum cleaner. LOVED IT!
Though we had been told this was one of the worst Smithsonians, I significantly enjoyed it. All of the beaded dresses and moccasins (Rach, you would have LOVED them...I took pics) were so intricate, and we saw the coolest movie on how the Native Americans handled the changing of the seasons. The *theater* had a normal screen in front of us, a screen on the ceiling, and a *screen* on this enormous rock under the main screen. So we were able to watch three separate things at the same time. It was great! However, it made us Midwestern girls miss being at home in the open land as opposed to the crowded city.
After NMAI, the group traveled to the United States Botanic Garden. Although everything outside was dead and ugly, it was absolutely beautiful inside! Dispersed among all of the plants and flowers, there were big colorful letters with informational signs near them. This was a surprising twist to this botanical center, and it made for some lovely photo ops for members of the group :)
I decided that all of the museums and other places we've been seem like they are so much more important than touristy locations in other cities because they are all called *The National....* or *The United States....* It just makes them seem more unique. Finally six of us went and saw Definitely, Maybe on Friday night, while the others went to some 80s dance party. The movie was cute and the club turned out to be lame, so I made the right decision in going to the movie. When my student ID knocked the price of my ticket down to $8, I really missed my $2 days in I-town. Love/miss you cabbies!
On Sunday morning, the Wesleyan girls and I went to the Eastern Market for the first time. I was surprised to find so much jewelry and hats/scarves, as we had been told it was the best place for fresh meat and produce. We also found that, but it was a really cool place. After I get my first paycheck (THIS WEDNESDAY!!!), I'll have to go back for the good stuff :)
We detoured to CVS on the way home, and even ran into some of our fellow CHIPmates. When you run into people you know in a public place, then you know you're at home. I loved this feeling! Anyway, we had planned to see one of the art museums Sunday afternoon, but everyone decided to stay home and take it easy for the rest of the day. This allowed me to do my laundry for the first time, to tidy up the basement that had formerly looked like a tornado had struck, and to vacuum our apartment and the basement with my new vacuum cleaner. LOVED IT!
Friday after the holiday
So it turns out we stayed out a bit too late and had maybe one too many drinks for our own good on V-Day. When Doug came charging in Friday morning for class, everyone was still fast asleep. Luckily we can literally roll out of bed and make it to class (just downstairs) in less than a minute, because I'm not so sure anyone would have attended otherwise.
We're still getting into the swing of our discussion class, so nothing too exciting happened. Doug spoke a little too loud for everyone's liking, but we all managed to get through relatively unscathed. By the time we left for our *class picture* and our adventure to the top of The Washington Monument, we were all feeling much better. I absolutely LOVED the scenic view of the city from every direction. Although we aren't proud to say it, Kristine and I decided that our favorite view is not facing the White House, but rather the view looking at the Capitol Building. We fully justify our opinion in the fact that we work in the United States Senate, and travel around The Hill daily, so it hits closer to home. However, our opinion might change next Saturday when we go on an official tour of The White House! Yes, you read correctly, some of us got tickets for a private tour :)
We had to provide date of birth and ssn info early last week in order for our BACKGROUND CHECKS to be completed in time. This is serious stuff, friends. Our info will be readily available in the FBI files if that is so needed at a later date. How sweet is that?
Anyway...after The Monument, about half of us went to the National Museum of Natural History. The dinosaur fossils didn't do much for me, but the jewels upstairs were amazing. After we got to see the famous Hope Diamond, we busted out of there. Then a few of us went to see what overflow housing looked like. Kristine and I were overly jealous of how clean it was, and how much extra space the guys had for their clothes. Nonetheless, it is no longer a mystery where the other guys live. We'll probably head back over there when we need a break from the chaos 510 C is used to housing.
Five of the girls decided to try a new Catholic church. Although it is significantly closer to home, it was a bit too traditional for my liking. We appreciated the short walk, but I think we'll be making the journey back to our *home parish* next week. It's so weird to think we're already establishing *our church* when we've been here less than three weeks. However, when you say that we've been here for 18 days, it seems like much more of a significant period of time. Strange concept, I know.
Later on, Kristine and I decided to start a game of cards. Much to my dismay, my housemates didn't know how to play anything. We finally decided on Bullshit, but that got really tough when everyone realized we were playing cards and decided to join in. So then I taught a bunch of people how to play 31. After that competitive game, we ended up switching to a drinking card game. Then we were pretty much forced to go dancing at Hawk & Dove. It was a last minute decision, but it turned out really well.
ps...We were all glad that Pat and Mike finally came out with the rest of us.
We're still getting into the swing of our discussion class, so nothing too exciting happened. Doug spoke a little too loud for everyone's liking, but we all managed to get through relatively unscathed. By the time we left for our *class picture* and our adventure to the top of The Washington Monument, we were all feeling much better. I absolutely LOVED the scenic view of the city from every direction. Although we aren't proud to say it, Kristine and I decided that our favorite view is not facing the White House, but rather the view looking at the Capitol Building. We fully justify our opinion in the fact that we work in the United States Senate, and travel around The Hill daily, so it hits closer to home. However, our opinion might change next Saturday when we go on an official tour of The White House! Yes, you read correctly, some of us got tickets for a private tour :)
We had to provide date of birth and ssn info early last week in order for our BACKGROUND CHECKS to be completed in time. This is serious stuff, friends. Our info will be readily available in the FBI files if that is so needed at a later date. How sweet is that?
Anyway...after The Monument, about half of us went to the National Museum of Natural History. The dinosaur fossils didn't do much for me, but the jewels upstairs were amazing. After we got to see the famous Hope Diamond, we busted out of there. Then a few of us went to see what overflow housing looked like. Kristine and I were overly jealous of how clean it was, and how much extra space the guys had for their clothes. Nonetheless, it is no longer a mystery where the other guys live. We'll probably head back over there when we need a break from the chaos 510 C is used to housing.
Five of the girls decided to try a new Catholic church. Although it is significantly closer to home, it was a bit too traditional for my liking. We appreciated the short walk, but I think we'll be making the journey back to our *home parish* next week. It's so weird to think we're already establishing *our church* when we've been here less than three weeks. However, when you say that we've been here for 18 days, it seems like much more of a significant period of time. Strange concept, I know.
Later on, Kristine and I decided to start a game of cards. Much to my dismay, my housemates didn't know how to play anything. We finally decided on Bullshit, but that got really tough when everyone realized we were playing cards and decided to join in. So then I taught a bunch of people how to play 31. After that competitive game, we ended up switching to a drinking card game. Then we were pretty much forced to go dancing at Hawk & Dove. It was a last minute decision, but it turned out really well.
ps...We were all glad that Pat and Mike finally came out with the rest of us.
**edited version**
*V-DAY*
In honor of the holiday, Valentine's Day for all those married couples, young lovers, and new crushes, and V-Day for the rest of us single folk. However, I shouldn't play down the title *V-Day* too much, as Eve Ensler has worked very hard to create a movement to stop violence against women. If you've never heard of her or this movement, please read about it here.
As opposed to V-Day, some of my housemates began referring to the holiday as SAD, short for Single Awareness Day. We've all heard this once or twice before, but the title held true for me throughout several parts of my day. Here's the recap.
-Wore my red, power tie to work. People seemed to like/approve.
-Handed out High School Musical cards to co-workers. They liked that, also!
-All three of my roommates got flowers. I received nothing on Thursday.
-The entire house tried to go out together to a dance club. We traveled the city for over an hour. Nobody ended up staying. We wasted half the night.
-We ended the night at Union Pub just down the street. Everything turned out ok.
On Friday, I received my Valentine cards from Rachel & Lexi (made with a little help from my sis), so it turns out I did have some love sent my way in honor of the holiday.
As opposed to V-Day, some of my housemates began referring to the holiday as SAD, short for Single Awareness Day. We've all heard this once or twice before, but the title held true for me throughout several parts of my day. Here's the recap.
-Wore my red, power tie to work. People seemed to like/approve.
-Handed out High School Musical cards to co-workers. They liked that, also!
-All three of my roommates got flowers. I received nothing on Thursday.
-The entire house tried to go out together to a dance club. We traveled the city for over an hour. Nobody ended up staying. We wasted half the night.
-We ended the night at Union Pub just down the street. Everything turned out ok.
On Friday, I received my Valentine cards from Rachel & Lexi (made with a little help from my sis), so it turns out I did have some love sent my way in honor of the holiday.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Reverse, reverse!
The residents of 510 C just witnessed a guy drive through Stanton Park and crash into the playground. He was extremely intoxicated...both alcohol and prescription drugs...and a few of the guys from my house decided they needed to go chat with him. Luke was going to drive him to the Metro, that is until he saw all of the pills in the car. For being told there are so many police on The Hill, we expected the response time to be impeccable. However, the first police car we saw actually turned away from the park instead of responding to the accident. About five minutes after we heard the loud noise, 8 police cars and one police van reported to the scene. No sirens were involved, but the lights were rolling and Miranda Meyer would have loved to witness this!
The driver could barely walk over to the police car and it took several attempts to get him in the backseat. And yes, about half of our house congregated on our front steps to take photos and be nosy. Oh, the city life!
If the title of this blog doesn't make sense yet, we are recapping my day in reverse order. After work tonight, Grace, Mercedes and I attended a forum on women in politics at the Sewall Belmont House, where the original feminist movement began. I was very surprised when there were approximately 100 people in attendance. We had free hors devours and wine, very classy, and then listened to three women elected officials tell about their political careers. A few audience members asked some very tough questions, and fortunately for the panelists, we ran out of time before everyone got their turn with the microphone. It was a unique experience, and I hope to go back to Sewall Belmont to take in the rest of the house.
Today was my least productive day of work. Joe and I finally got caught up on all of the filing (some of which was from 2003), which was a good feeling. We also escorted the president of UNI and another UNI professor to Longworth, one of the House buildings. This was my first time to the House side, and only Joe's second, so we got lost. We probably weren't the best guides, but I did provide the president with quality conversation along the way. He enjoyed hearing about the hole in the ceiling above my shower--of which they now taped a garbage bag over so the ceiling would stop falling into our shower.
Other highlights from work included cruising by Barack's office, reading the DC papers (ie Politico, Roll Call, etc.) for the first time, making friends with Stuart, finally obtaining a statistic I've been tracking down for several days, chatting with my chum (our chief of staff), visiting Kristine in Senator Nelson's office, and using my ID to get into the Appropriations Committee Room and signing off for some important documents. Although it sounds like a relatively good day, these things were few and far between.
This morning, we woke up to a messy bathroom again. And when the girls from upstairs were showering, we had streams of water coming into the shower, as opposed to a little bit of leaking. In order to calm myself for another day at the office, I listened to Barack's victory speech from yesterday's Potomac/Chesapeake Primaries. It was very uplifting.
ps...I got to wear my boots to work for the first time, and someone on the street said "Hey, nice boots!" Good stuff :)
The driver could barely walk over to the police car and it took several attempts to get him in the backseat. And yes, about half of our house congregated on our front steps to take photos and be nosy. Oh, the city life!
If the title of this blog doesn't make sense yet, we are recapping my day in reverse order. After work tonight, Grace, Mercedes and I attended a forum on women in politics at the Sewall Belmont House, where the original feminist movement began. I was very surprised when there were approximately 100 people in attendance. We had free hors devours and wine, very classy, and then listened to three women elected officials tell about their political careers. A few audience members asked some very tough questions, and fortunately for the panelists, we ran out of time before everyone got their turn with the microphone. It was a unique experience, and I hope to go back to Sewall Belmont to take in the rest of the house.
Today was my least productive day of work. Joe and I finally got caught up on all of the filing (some of which was from 2003), which was a good feeling. We also escorted the president of UNI and another UNI professor to Longworth, one of the House buildings. This was my first time to the House side, and only Joe's second, so we got lost. We probably weren't the best guides, but I did provide the president with quality conversation along the way. He enjoyed hearing about the hole in the ceiling above my shower--of which they now taped a garbage bag over so the ceiling would stop falling into our shower.
Other highlights from work included cruising by Barack's office, reading the DC papers (ie Politico, Roll Call, etc.) for the first time, making friends with Stuart, finally obtaining a statistic I've been tracking down for several days, chatting with my chum (our chief of staff), visiting Kristine in Senator Nelson's office, and using my ID to get into the Appropriations Committee Room and signing off for some important documents. Although it sounds like a relatively good day, these things were few and far between.
This morning, we woke up to a messy bathroom again. And when the girls from upstairs were showering, we had streams of water coming into the shower, as opposed to a little bit of leaking. In order to calm myself for another day at the office, I listened to Barack's victory speech from yesterday's Potomac/Chesapeake Primaries. It was very uplifting.
ps...I got to wear my boots to work for the first time, and someone on the street said "Hey, nice boots!" Good stuff :)
Hump Day
Today was the longest, least-productive day I've had in the office. However, I did finally travel to the House side in order to escort the president of UNI to the Longworth building. He and I had a great conversation while Joe got the group lost. We probably weren't the best people to lead them, especially as we'd never been on the House side before this morning.
Stuart and I bonded today. Joe and I spent as much time out of the office as possible. We cruised by Barack's office, as well as Senator Ben Nelson's (where my roommate Kristine works) office. I visited Kristine in the afternoon while running an errand for Kathy. The best part was that I had to scan my ID in order to get into the office, so I felt quite important!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
How was your weekend?
Each time Monday comes around, those who are excited to be heading to work again are few and far between. Throughout the past few years, I've learned that asking people how they are on Monday morning usually results in a less than thrilled response. So instead, I like to ask people "How was your weekend?" If they had the opportunity to do something fun and exciting, they are more than willing to fill you in on their adventures, and for that moment, they can forget about how much they hate Monday mornings at the office. Both Kristine and Abby were happy to learn this tidbit from me Monday night, so I wanted to share it with all of you.
My Monday at work was quite busy, as Joe doesn't come in on Mondays. Therefore, I am in charge of taking care of filing, auto-penning, mailing constituent letters, and fulfilling everyone's requests for *special projects* as we like to call them. I tackled my first solo response to a (might I say difficult) constituent letter regarding federal funding. Kathy gave me a brief starting point and said take it wherever you see fit. Although we did cut out an entire paragraph on welfare programs (which I didn't really know a lot about, nor could I find a lot of info on the web), she really liked the rest of my letter and only added one sentence to the whole thing. Joe was impressed when he read it today, too, so I started to think I was cut out for this job after all.
Just as soon as everything seems to be going well, you hit a rough patch. Mine came at work this morning when I engaged in a routine conversation with a co-worker. I was asked my thoughts on something, he didn't appreciate my answer as he had a very opposite opinion, and we entered into a heated debate. With this being just my second week of work, I did my best to remain calm, collected, and not to jump on the defensive too quickly, but all while attempting to hold my own so as to not get trampled. Vague, I know, but the details are too intensive to get into. When all was said and done at the end of the day, we are due to address the issue again at a later date. Hopefully we can come to a consensus to agree to disagree while respecting the others beliefs/opinions.
Quick side notes:
1) Our bathroom ceiling started leaking again this morning, and the maintenance people simply cut out the piece of dry wall they put in last week and left a whole in the ceiling directly above the shower. They also left an open utility knife resting on the ledge at the top of the shower. Danger, danger.
2) Class this week was good. We had lively discussion and asked bigger questions. I'm happy to be in Monday night's class, and I hope every class is as good as the last two have been.
3) I got a new vacuum cleaner yesterday, and FINALLY got to vacuum the rest of the stairs! You can't imagine the excitement this brought to me because you didn't see the stairs, but my housemates will attest to my love for the new appliance. I am now barefoot in the computer lounge, fearless of the floors!
4) I'm very thankful for the new friendships I've been forming here in DC, as well as for those I've had for years. Days like today make me realize how great it feels to know that someone will be there to have your back when things are tough.
My Monday at work was quite busy, as Joe doesn't come in on Mondays. Therefore, I am in charge of taking care of filing, auto-penning, mailing constituent letters, and fulfilling everyone's requests for *special projects* as we like to call them. I tackled my first solo response to a (might I say difficult) constituent letter regarding federal funding. Kathy gave me a brief starting point and said take it wherever you see fit. Although we did cut out an entire paragraph on welfare programs (which I didn't really know a lot about, nor could I find a lot of info on the web), she really liked the rest of my letter and only added one sentence to the whole thing. Joe was impressed when he read it today, too, so I started to think I was cut out for this job after all.
Just as soon as everything seems to be going well, you hit a rough patch. Mine came at work this morning when I engaged in a routine conversation with a co-worker. I was asked my thoughts on something, he didn't appreciate my answer as he had a very opposite opinion, and we entered into a heated debate. With this being just my second week of work, I did my best to remain calm, collected, and not to jump on the defensive too quickly, but all while attempting to hold my own so as to not get trampled. Vague, I know, but the details are too intensive to get into. When all was said and done at the end of the day, we are due to address the issue again at a later date. Hopefully we can come to a consensus to agree to disagree while respecting the others beliefs/opinions.
Quick side notes:
1) Our bathroom ceiling started leaking again this morning, and the maintenance people simply cut out the piece of dry wall they put in last week and left a whole in the ceiling directly above the shower. They also left an open utility knife resting on the ledge at the top of the shower. Danger, danger.
2) Class this week was good. We had lively discussion and asked bigger questions. I'm happy to be in Monday night's class, and I hope every class is as good as the last two have been.
3) I got a new vacuum cleaner yesterday, and FINALLY got to vacuum the rest of the stairs! You can't imagine the excitement this brought to me because you didn't see the stairs, but my housemates will attest to my love for the new appliance. I am now barefoot in the computer lounge, fearless of the floors!
4) I'm very thankful for the new friendships I've been forming here in DC, as well as for those I've had for years. Days like today make me realize how great it feels to know that someone will be there to have your back when things are tough.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
"TREE...TREE"
With all of the info I had to squeeze into my blog entry regarding our monumental tour, I forgot to mention one of the funniest occurences of my time thus far in DC. It's so good, I just can't leave it out!
When we finally started heading home from touring on Friday, the sun had gone down and it was getting dark quickly. We were walking along an ill-lit sidewalk, so we decided to cut through some grass to a better path. Each of us started crossing this yard at a different spot, and out of nowhere, I hear "TREE...TREE!" I look over to find Kristine stuck in the middle of this tree. To clarify, it wasn't a BIG tree, and it wasn't really a small tree, but Kristine had walked right into the middle of its branches. I'm guessing it's one of those moments that you had to be there in order for, but I must have laughed for a good five minutes after she ran into this tree. Come on, who does that?
We went shopping in Georgetown on Saturday. Nearly everything was WAY too expensive for me to purchase, but window shopping was fun. We ran into trouble trying to keep a larger group of people together, just like our zoo adventure, and I was again reminded that I need to work on my patience. Kristine and I ended up splitting up with the rest of the crew (just after Abby's incident with a homeless man grabbing her butt...unfortunate), and we were proud that we made it back home relatively easily. I did attract some attention when I realized we weren't in the correct Metro area and said, "Are we on the wrong side, again?" Some nice guy kindly informed us that we did, in fact, need to be on the other side to get to Union Station, which I obviously had already realized. No harm done. But the track work led for an interesting--crowded--ride home.
After such a long day, we weren't up for anything to crazy. Kristine and I finally tackled a thorough cleaning of our apartment. We're talking scrubbing the shower, cleaning mirrors, mopping the floors, and vacuuming with the least broken vacuum cleaner in the house. It took several hours, and our living space still isn't spotless, but it's definitely 300% better. And for that, I feel much more at home here.
We socialized with the partiers downstairs (including unexpected Creighton freshman and the smoker that Sean had run into in the Metro station Friday) before getting rest for another long day today. Four of us girls went to mass at 11, and then nearly everyone went to one of the Smithsonians (Sackler Gallery) to see some Asian art and fill out surveys for fellow CHIPmates working in this museum. The highlights included very detailed jewelry, a chain of monkeys, cool pottery and a diorama of the DC area. After the museum, we walked (in extremely windy conditions) all the way to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebration...which turned out to be a bust. But we did get to see the longest chain of firecrackers EVER on a huge crane (thought of you, Bryan) being lit while fanciful dragons were paraded around by small Chinese men. It was a once in a lifetime experience, that's for sure.
Cabbing to Safeway led to an expensive journey to and from the grocery store, as well as some interesting convos with taxi drivers. We were then forced to do some homework, of which I was surprised to find out that I would have to spend any time doing while here. Although I don't think it will be too taxing, I would rather spend my time exploring the city and chillin' with my housemates. I thought I was finished with this school stuff...
I'm excited for week two at the office. Kristine and I started brainstorming things we'd like the opportunity to do at our internships, as well as things to do in DC, and I hope we can make most of our ideas become reality :)
When we finally started heading home from touring on Friday, the sun had gone down and it was getting dark quickly. We were walking along an ill-lit sidewalk, so we decided to cut through some grass to a better path. Each of us started crossing this yard at a different spot, and out of nowhere, I hear "TREE...TREE!" I look over to find Kristine stuck in the middle of this tree. To clarify, it wasn't a BIG tree, and it wasn't really a small tree, but Kristine had walked right into the middle of its branches. I'm guessing it's one of those moments that you had to be there in order for, but I must have laughed for a good five minutes after she ran into this tree. Come on, who does that?
We went shopping in Georgetown on Saturday. Nearly everything was WAY too expensive for me to purchase, but window shopping was fun. We ran into trouble trying to keep a larger group of people together, just like our zoo adventure, and I was again reminded that I need to work on my patience. Kristine and I ended up splitting up with the rest of the crew (just after Abby's incident with a homeless man grabbing her butt...unfortunate), and we were proud that we made it back home relatively easily. I did attract some attention when I realized we weren't in the correct Metro area and said, "Are we on the wrong side, again?" Some nice guy kindly informed us that we did, in fact, need to be on the other side to get to Union Station, which I obviously had already realized. No harm done. But the track work led for an interesting--crowded--ride home.
After such a long day, we weren't up for anything to crazy. Kristine and I finally tackled a thorough cleaning of our apartment. We're talking scrubbing the shower, cleaning mirrors, mopping the floors, and vacuuming with the least broken vacuum cleaner in the house. It took several hours, and our living space still isn't spotless, but it's definitely 300% better. And for that, I feel much more at home here.
We socialized with the partiers downstairs (including unexpected Creighton freshman and the smoker that Sean had run into in the Metro station Friday) before getting rest for another long day today. Four of us girls went to mass at 11, and then nearly everyone went to one of the Smithsonians (Sackler Gallery) to see some Asian art and fill out surveys for fellow CHIPmates working in this museum. The highlights included very detailed jewelry, a chain of monkeys, cool pottery and a diorama of the DC area. After the museum, we walked (in extremely windy conditions) all the way to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebration...which turned out to be a bust. But we did get to see the longest chain of firecrackers EVER on a huge crane (thought of you, Bryan) being lit while fanciful dragons were paraded around by small Chinese men. It was a once in a lifetime experience, that's for sure.
Cabbing to Safeway led to an expensive journey to and from the grocery store, as well as some interesting convos with taxi drivers. We were then forced to do some homework, of which I was surprised to find out that I would have to spend any time doing while here. Although I don't think it will be too taxing, I would rather spend my time exploring the city and chillin' with my housemates. I thought I was finished with this school stuff...
I'm excited for week two at the office. Kristine and I started brainstorming things we'd like the opportunity to do at our internships, as well as things to do in DC, and I hope we can make most of our ideas become reality :)
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Monument Time!
Friday morning we had class and then watched a movie about things to do/see in DC. Quite a few members of the group have spent considerable amounts of time here, so they all had comments to make about all of these places when they were there last. I still hadn't experienced much on the way of tourism in the city yet, so a group of seven of us went out Friday afternoon to change that.
We decided to walk the Mall with a goal of reaching the Lincoln Memorial, and we made several stops along the way. First, we went to the National Archives and saw The Articles, The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and several other important documents. The Constitution display was being worked on, so we'll have to go back and see that after next week. This may sound crazy, but my heart was literally racing as I was looking at these important documents. It just didn't seem real! And then we were in the gift shop where replicas are sold, and I felt like I was almost living the National Treasure story.
The group decided they needed coffee, so we detoured to Starbucks before hitting up The Washington Monument. We're going to the top next Friday, so we just walked by this time. Then Kristine looked at me and said "Amy Jo, don't turn around, but TURN AROUND and look!" What was it, my first glimpse of THE WHITE HOUSE!!! I was the only one who hadn't had this experience yet, but it was crazy insane. Although the monuments all hold so much meaning, and although I'm in and around the Capitol Building every day, this is the White House. I live here! I walked to see all of these things!
Moving on...we saw the World War II Memorial. You couldn't help but feel solemn in such an honorable place. Kristine called her grandfather who had fought in the war, and although I never got a chance to speak with my grandfather about the war (as he died when I was only 3 years old), I felt a special connection to him in that place. The quotes amidst the memorial were so powerful and so fitting, I nearly cried.
We continued our walk along the reflecting pool and up to Lincoln. It was the best time to be doing this, because the sun was setting and it was GORGEOUS! The other girls hung out on steps where MLK Jr. gave his *I Have a Dream* speech, but I practically ran up the stairs to see Lincoln up close. Seeing pictures of this monument just doesn't do it justice. It's so massive, and he seems so powerful just sitting in his chair overlooking the Mall. I LOVED IT!
Our final stop was at the Vietnam wall. It had been a long day, and we had walked about 8 miles (or so), so I didn't take as much from that memorial as WWII. Several of my uncles and my dad fought in Vietnam, so it was even more personal for me. But I was almost overjoyed in knowing that I didn't need to search for their names on the wall. Maybe that's not such a good thing to say, as there were 58,000 names of people who fought along side my family members, but I don't know how I would have handled that.
The only downfall of such an amazing day of touring the Mall was trying to keep a group of people all together. As much as I love experiencing things with my housemates, I've learned that I like to walk much more quickly and that I get a little testy having to wait for others when there is so much to see. I'll have to work on my patience.
We were all exhausted from such a busy afternoon, but we did go to Madam's Organ in Adam's Morgan later that night. The live band was cool and the atmosphere was comfortable, but I don't think it was really our scene. I thought we were going to be kicked out when Luke decided to open a window and walk out on the ledge, but he was just cut off by the bartender instead. We had to stop him from doing it again, TWICE, and then decided it was time to go home. Staying together proved to be difficult again, as there were 9 of us, but we all made it home safe and sound. No worries everyone, the Wesleyan girls have my back, and they promised never to leave me behind!
We decided to walk the Mall with a goal of reaching the Lincoln Memorial, and we made several stops along the way. First, we went to the National Archives and saw The Articles, The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and several other important documents. The Constitution display was being worked on, so we'll have to go back and see that after next week. This may sound crazy, but my heart was literally racing as I was looking at these important documents. It just didn't seem real! And then we were in the gift shop where replicas are sold, and I felt like I was almost living the National Treasure story.
The group decided they needed coffee, so we detoured to Starbucks before hitting up The Washington Monument. We're going to the top next Friday, so we just walked by this time. Then Kristine looked at me and said "Amy Jo, don't turn around, but TURN AROUND and look!" What was it, my first glimpse of THE WHITE HOUSE!!! I was the only one who hadn't had this experience yet, but it was crazy insane. Although the monuments all hold so much meaning, and although I'm in and around the Capitol Building every day, this is the White House. I live here! I walked to see all of these things!
Moving on...we saw the World War II Memorial. You couldn't help but feel solemn in such an honorable place. Kristine called her grandfather who had fought in the war, and although I never got a chance to speak with my grandfather about the war (as he died when I was only 3 years old), I felt a special connection to him in that place. The quotes amidst the memorial were so powerful and so fitting, I nearly cried.
We continued our walk along the reflecting pool and up to Lincoln. It was the best time to be doing this, because the sun was setting and it was GORGEOUS! The other girls hung out on steps where MLK Jr. gave his *I Have a Dream* speech, but I practically ran up the stairs to see Lincoln up close. Seeing pictures of this monument just doesn't do it justice. It's so massive, and he seems so powerful just sitting in his chair overlooking the Mall. I LOVED IT!
Our final stop was at the Vietnam wall. It had been a long day, and we had walked about 8 miles (or so), so I didn't take as much from that memorial as WWII. Several of my uncles and my dad fought in Vietnam, so it was even more personal for me. But I was almost overjoyed in knowing that I didn't need to search for their names on the wall. Maybe that's not such a good thing to say, as there were 58,000 names of people who fought along side my family members, but I don't know how I would have handled that.
The only downfall of such an amazing day of touring the Mall was trying to keep a group of people all together. As much as I love experiencing things with my housemates, I've learned that I like to walk much more quickly and that I get a little testy having to wait for others when there is so much to see. I'll have to work on my patience.
We were all exhausted from such a busy afternoon, but we did go to Madam's Organ in Adam's Morgan later that night. The live band was cool and the atmosphere was comfortable, but I don't think it was really our scene. I thought we were going to be kicked out when Luke decided to open a window and walk out on the ledge, but he was just cut off by the bartender instead. We had to stop him from doing it again, TWICE, and then decided it was time to go home. Staying together proved to be difficult again, as there were 9 of us, but we all made it home safe and sound. No worries everyone, the Wesleyan girls have my back, and they promised never to leave me behind!
Week One Recap
After such a great first day, work was merely work during the middle of the week. I enjoyed getting to know Joe, the other leg intern, and other coworkers, but my tasks were quite monotonous. The senator dropped in while I was filing and asked if it was boring. I told him sometimes, but that I was making the best of it. We shared a laugh and that was probably the highlight of my day Wednesday.
My intern coordinator had nearly all of the interns working on a special project for him that required us to tally how five senators voted on each of the 442 votes on the floor last year. It was tedious and I jumped at any opportunity to do something else. So I went on an errand to pick up a package that was down the street just before lunch Thursday, which turned out to be for our chief of staff. One of the receptionists made fun of me for not knowing who our chief of staff was, but I've only been here for a week people. Give me a break!
An LA invited me to attend a meeting with business owners from Dubuque on Thursday afternoon. The Senator was giving a special announcement, and I was glad to get out of the office. This was one of the best decisions I've made because the entire afternoon was AMAZING! The senator's bill was on the floor for a vote again after some deals with the White House and a few other key people, so he was delayed to our meeting because he was speaking on the Senate Floor. He rushed to this meeting to make his announcement, and then we nearly had to sprint across buildings to attend a farewell ice cream social for a staff member who is leaving. We took *Senator Only* elevators, and I felt like an important member of the staff. The senator only stayed long enough to give Dean his plaque and tell a few humorous stories before bolting to the floor to vote on his stimulus bill. I wanted to go with to witness that, but I figured it was best not to press my luck in just the first week. So instead, I introduced myself to the chief of staff and told him about having gone to get his mail and not knowing who it was for. He told me I should have laughed at the receptionist after he laughed at me, and then we just chatted for a bit. We're chums now! After joining in on some friendly banter with a few of the younger guys in the office, I was told I was a keeper because I'm the only intern that's not scared to throw it back at the guys. Although I was still just *this intern*, as opposed to Amy Jo, I'm happy to be fitting in well with most of the crew.
Even though the middle of the week was rough, I had a very successful week one at the office. My CHIPmates all enjoyed their weeks as well, and we love discussing the different perks that come along with each of our internships. We did so over drinks after work on Thursday at a ritzy club just down the street. There's a dress code, and Kristine was quite positive that there was a senator sitting at the table next to us. Pretty sweet. Then the whole gang had a fun night of festivities in the house, as we don't have to work on Fridays. We are all getting along quite well considering we've only known each other for a week. Living in such close quarters has pushed us to bond quickly, but it's been great thus far...that is minus the bathroom ceiling caving in!
My intern coordinator had nearly all of the interns working on a special project for him that required us to tally how five senators voted on each of the 442 votes on the floor last year. It was tedious and I jumped at any opportunity to do something else. So I went on an errand to pick up a package that was down the street just before lunch Thursday, which turned out to be for our chief of staff. One of the receptionists made fun of me for not knowing who our chief of staff was, but I've only been here for a week people. Give me a break!
An LA invited me to attend a meeting with business owners from Dubuque on Thursday afternoon. The Senator was giving a special announcement, and I was glad to get out of the office. This was one of the best decisions I've made because the entire afternoon was AMAZING! The senator's bill was on the floor for a vote again after some deals with the White House and a few other key people, so he was delayed to our meeting because he was speaking on the Senate Floor. He rushed to this meeting to make his announcement, and then we nearly had to sprint across buildings to attend a farewell ice cream social for a staff member who is leaving. We took *Senator Only* elevators, and I felt like an important member of the staff. The senator only stayed long enough to give Dean his plaque and tell a few humorous stories before bolting to the floor to vote on his stimulus bill. I wanted to go with to witness that, but I figured it was best not to press my luck in just the first week. So instead, I introduced myself to the chief of staff and told him about having gone to get his mail and not knowing who it was for. He told me I should have laughed at the receptionist after he laughed at me, and then we just chatted for a bit. We're chums now! After joining in on some friendly banter with a few of the younger guys in the office, I was told I was a keeper because I'm the only intern that's not scared to throw it back at the guys. Although I was still just *this intern*, as opposed to Amy Jo, I'm happy to be fitting in well with most of the crew.
Even though the middle of the week was rough, I had a very successful week one at the office. My CHIPmates all enjoyed their weeks as well, and we love discussing the different perks that come along with each of our internships. We did so over drinks after work on Thursday at a ritzy club just down the street. There's a dress code, and Kristine was quite positive that there was a senator sitting at the table next to us. Pretty sweet. Then the whole gang had a fun night of festivities in the house, as we don't have to work on Fridays. We are all getting along quite well considering we've only known each other for a week. Living in such close quarters has pushed us to bond quickly, but it's been great thus far...that is minus the bathroom ceiling caving in!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The First Day
Monday marked my first day of work in DC. It was all around a fabulous first day. Everyone was extremely busy, so I got tossed around from person to person, but this allowed me to learn a lot of new things.
Quick Brief
THE BEST: Meeting the senator (right at 6pm, nonetheless) and getting to take several important documents to the Senate Floor in the Capitol.
THE WORST: Signing countless constituent letters with the Auto Penner (hence realizing that the senator really didn't sign my intern letter himself) and having no idea how to navigate the three senate buildings (that are all connected).
Lengthy Version
I left WAY too early and arrived to work half an hour early. My intern coordinator was half an hour late, so I ended up reading all of the material on our front table...at least once! After routine paperwork, I learned my daily responsibilities (auto penning and filing) from the mail clerk. Then a Legislative Assistant (LC) showed me how to navigate a plethera of intranet sites. Several of the LCs (Legislative Correspondents) invited me to lunch with them in the HUGE cafeteria in the basement. Everyone in the office was very accepting and nearly all of them told me that they, too, had started as an intern. This was comforting to hear, because I think they will all respect what I am doing for them and realize their work would be a lot more difficult without the interns.
After lunch I took two documents to the Senate Floor with another intern. Although there wasn't anything big going on while we were there, it was pretty darn cool. I ended the afternoon with a few quick projects and some filing. Just as I was rushing to finish one last stack, the senator startled me by coming in the leg conference room to meet me. It caught me off guard, but we did have a few minute conversation before he needed to head out. The experience was more meaningful because he made it a point to meet me on my first day, something Joe (the other leg intern, whom I will spend a lot of time with) didn't get...and one of my housemates who is working for Senator Harkin didn't have a chance to do either.
Not only was it my first day of work, but it was also my first night of class. Our professor, Mike Tucker, is quite the character. He's from New York and he loves to joke around. WIth just nine of us in this class, it would appear we are going to have a blast. Our other housemates said they couldn't believe how we could have gotten anything accomplished with the amount of laughing we were doing. I got called out for being one of the outspoken ones to watch (go figure!), so Mike has me pegged already.
Day two in the office was not nearly as eventful. Much of my day was spent trying to get caught up on the filing. I did get a chance to go to lunch with all of the other interns in the office, and Joe & I explored the entire senate grounds for a while to try orienting ourselves. I also got my official ID badge this afternoon, so I now have access to move freely about all the official buildings on the Hill :)
The vacuum cleaner stopped working, and I was only done with half of the stairs. That was quite upsetting. Hopefully once I finish cleaning a few more things, my house will feel like home and I won't have to wear shoes every minute of the day. Super Tuesday news has been fun to keep up with, and everyone here is as interested, if not more interested in the presidential race than me, so I should get back to that.
Have fun in the snow...its around 70 here!
Quick Brief
THE BEST: Meeting the senator (right at 6pm, nonetheless) and getting to take several important documents to the Senate Floor in the Capitol.
THE WORST: Signing countless constituent letters with the Auto Penner (hence realizing that the senator really didn't sign my intern letter himself) and having no idea how to navigate the three senate buildings (that are all connected).
Lengthy Version
I left WAY too early and arrived to work half an hour early. My intern coordinator was half an hour late, so I ended up reading all of the material on our front table...at least once! After routine paperwork, I learned my daily responsibilities (auto penning and filing) from the mail clerk. Then a Legislative Assistant (LC) showed me how to navigate a plethera of intranet sites. Several of the LCs (Legislative Correspondents) invited me to lunch with them in the HUGE cafeteria in the basement. Everyone in the office was very accepting and nearly all of them told me that they, too, had started as an intern. This was comforting to hear, because I think they will all respect what I am doing for them and realize their work would be a lot more difficult without the interns.
After lunch I took two documents to the Senate Floor with another intern. Although there wasn't anything big going on while we were there, it was pretty darn cool. I ended the afternoon with a few quick projects and some filing. Just as I was rushing to finish one last stack, the senator startled me by coming in the leg conference room to meet me. It caught me off guard, but we did have a few minute conversation before he needed to head out. The experience was more meaningful because he made it a point to meet me on my first day, something Joe (the other leg intern, whom I will spend a lot of time with) didn't get...and one of my housemates who is working for Senator Harkin didn't have a chance to do either.
Not only was it my first day of work, but it was also my first night of class. Our professor, Mike Tucker, is quite the character. He's from New York and he loves to joke around. WIth just nine of us in this class, it would appear we are going to have a blast. Our other housemates said they couldn't believe how we could have gotten anything accomplished with the amount of laughing we were doing. I got called out for being one of the outspoken ones to watch (go figure!), so Mike has me pegged already.
Day two in the office was not nearly as eventful. Much of my day was spent trying to get caught up on the filing. I did get a chance to go to lunch with all of the other interns in the office, and Joe & I explored the entire senate grounds for a while to try orienting ourselves. I also got my official ID badge this afternoon, so I now have access to move freely about all the official buildings on the Hill :)
The vacuum cleaner stopped working, and I was only done with half of the stairs. That was quite upsetting. Hopefully once I finish cleaning a few more things, my house will feel like home and I won't have to wear shoes every minute of the day. Super Tuesday news has been fun to keep up with, and everyone here is as interested, if not more interested in the presidential race than me, so I should get back to that.
Have fun in the snow...its around 70 here!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The First Weekend
My first weekend in DC has already come to an end. Tomorrow marks the first day of my internship, and I'm hoping this whirlwind will soon become reality for me. I've been having a hard time grasping the idea that I actually live here. Each time I look out my window or walk out the front door and see the dome of the Capitol is like a reality check.
As I should already be in bed, I'm going to sum up this weekend in as few words as possible. Friday morning we all read the newspaper together before going to Safeway for groceries. In the afternoon, we split up into smaller groups and attempted to locate where we are interning. I had to break away from my group in order to attend a Simpson alumni event from 6-9 pm. The event was great! I made several contacts, including people with cars and people who live out of the city limits. They will come in handy in the future, I'm sure. After that, I met up with about half of the group and we all went to a club in Chinatown. Everyone learned that I'm quite the social butterfly while in bars and that I'm usually up for chatting once returning home from the bar.
Saturday: The entire group went to the zoo together (one with animals, not drinks and dancing). I wasn't really in a zoo mood apparently, and it was very difficult to be patient enough to stay with the entire group for the whole afternoon. Hopefully people didn't get the wrong impression of me, because I was definitely not myself. Saturday night I escorted a smaller group of people to the bar and enjoyed water and people watching in the city.
Today: Abby, Kristine and I went to church at St. Peter's (where Robert Kennedy attended mass, we hear) and then walked around the Capitol and strolled the mall before picking up a few necessary items at Bed Bath & Beyond. We all enjoyed traveling the Metro with our laundry baskets in hand :) Only in DC!
Tonight: Everyone piled in the downstairs apartment for a little Superbowl party. I made it through the first half, but I lost interest after the halftime show. However, I did watch the last 3 minutes of the game upstairs, so I did see all of the best parts. Way to go Giants...victory for the underdogs...commercials were a bit of a let down this year.
I had a momentary freak out about having to remove my black nails, but Amanda calmed me down. Although I don't feel as though I'm nervous about tomorrow, I just haven't been completely myself the past several days. So I'm hoping that after I get my first few days under my belt that everything will be well. Wish me luck...
HIGHLIGHTS:
*Wearing my new boots and using my new umbrella
*Taking my first solo Metro adventure...and making it back home, too!
*Chillin' in front of the Capitol on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon
*Feeling a huge sense of relief after meeting all of my friendly housemates
As I should already be in bed, I'm going to sum up this weekend in as few words as possible. Friday morning we all read the newspaper together before going to Safeway for groceries. In the afternoon, we split up into smaller groups and attempted to locate where we are interning. I had to break away from my group in order to attend a Simpson alumni event from 6-9 pm. The event was great! I made several contacts, including people with cars and people who live out of the city limits. They will come in handy in the future, I'm sure. After that, I met up with about half of the group and we all went to a club in Chinatown. Everyone learned that I'm quite the social butterfly while in bars and that I'm usually up for chatting once returning home from the bar.
Saturday: The entire group went to the zoo together (one with animals, not drinks and dancing). I wasn't really in a zoo mood apparently, and it was very difficult to be patient enough to stay with the entire group for the whole afternoon. Hopefully people didn't get the wrong impression of me, because I was definitely not myself. Saturday night I escorted a smaller group of people to the bar and enjoyed water and people watching in the city.
Today: Abby, Kristine and I went to church at St. Peter's (where Robert Kennedy attended mass, we hear) and then walked around the Capitol and strolled the mall before picking up a few necessary items at Bed Bath & Beyond. We all enjoyed traveling the Metro with our laundry baskets in hand :) Only in DC!
Tonight: Everyone piled in the downstairs apartment for a little Superbowl party. I made it through the first half, but I lost interest after the halftime show. However, I did watch the last 3 minutes of the game upstairs, so I did see all of the best parts. Way to go Giants...victory for the underdogs...commercials were a bit of a let down this year.
I had a momentary freak out about having to remove my black nails, but Amanda calmed me down. Although I don't feel as though I'm nervous about tomorrow, I just haven't been completely myself the past several days. So I'm hoping that after I get my first few days under my belt that everything will be well. Wish me luck...
HIGHLIGHTS:
*Wearing my new boots and using my new umbrella
*Taking my first solo Metro adventure...and making it back home, too!
*Chillin' in front of the Capitol on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon
*Feeling a huge sense of relief after meeting all of my friendly housemates
Friday, February 1, 2008
I MADE IT!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm finally here!
My biggest scare came at around 6am when the latch of the truck bed decided not to open upon arrival to the airport. I thought I might have to leave without any of my luggage, and I almost had a heartattack. Fortunately, Mom saved the day and the rest of my travel experience went unscathed.
Not even a minute after getting dropped off at 510 C, a large group of my housemates came back from an outing. My Facebook stalking proved to come in handy, because there is no way I would have remembered any of their names had I not already put a name with a face.
Being one of the last people to arrive prevented me from unpacking my things, so hopefully I find time to do that sometime today. I'm sure none of you will be surprised that talking to my housemates was much more important than getting settled in. After our first day together, I can already tell we are going to have a great semester.
We all went out to dinner in Chinatown. Although I absolutely hated the smell of the Chinese restaurant, I actually ate a number of things that I liked. Rach and Amanda, you'd be proud! All 18 of us (the entire group less Mercedes, who had a horrible flight experience) then tried to go to a bar together, but the underagers had to part ways with the cool kids. If everyone hadn't been completely exhausted from traveling, we probably would have a great time. But, we all were in desperate need of sleep, so we'll have to try that outing again soon.
HIGHLIGHTS:
*Flying alone for the first time
*Riding the Metro
*Getting on FB in DC!
My biggest scare came at around 6am when the latch of the truck bed decided not to open upon arrival to the airport. I thought I might have to leave without any of my luggage, and I almost had a heartattack. Fortunately, Mom saved the day and the rest of my travel experience went unscathed.
Not even a minute after getting dropped off at 510 C, a large group of my housemates came back from an outing. My Facebook stalking proved to come in handy, because there is no way I would have remembered any of their names had I not already put a name with a face.
Being one of the last people to arrive prevented me from unpacking my things, so hopefully I find time to do that sometime today. I'm sure none of you will be surprised that talking to my housemates was much more important than getting settled in. After our first day together, I can already tell we are going to have a great semester.
We all went out to dinner in Chinatown. Although I absolutely hated the smell of the Chinese restaurant, I actually ate a number of things that I liked. Rach and Amanda, you'd be proud! All 18 of us (the entire group less Mercedes, who had a horrible flight experience) then tried to go to a bar together, but the underagers had to part ways with the cool kids. If everyone hadn't been completely exhausted from traveling, we probably would have a great time. But, we all were in desperate need of sleep, so we'll have to try that outing again soon.
HIGHLIGHTS:
*Flying alone for the first time
*Riding the Metro
*Getting on FB in DC!
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