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!