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.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
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 :)
A Week Recap
I apologize to all of my faithful readers for being absent for so long. I'll pick up where I left off and try to give you a quick recap of my last week.
Thursday
Our tour with the intern coordinator was postponed, but we did finally get that accomplished. Only a month and a half after we began our internships...we didn't want to rush into anything!
The best part about Thursday was getting to watch *vote-a-rama* on the Senate Floor. This is a procedure they use in order to get through a lot of votes in a short amount of time. Because they were working on the FY '09 budget, they needed to vote on a ton of amendments. It was fun to watch ALL of the senators interacting on the floor. I even got to see presidential hopefuls--Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain in action :)
Friday
After class, several of us went to get tickets for the Capitols (NHL hockey) game before heading to the Holocaust museum. The museum gave a very realistic portrayal of Hitler's actions toward Jewish people, and it was a sombering experience. I'm glad to have gone, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that I enjoyed myself.
Kristine and I had a date at Armand's Pizza before going to the hockey game. It was gorgeous weather, so we ate outside on the patio. Cute, I know! We're hoping to have the opportunity to things like that more often. The weather should be consistently warm soon enough!
The hockey game was a ton of fun. Ten of the roommates and one of Luke's friends went. We sat in the same row we did for the Georgetown basketball game. Even though it was the back row of the section, we weren't too high and we were nearly at center ice. The Caps dominated the Atlanta Thrashers and are currently fighting for a spot in post-season play. We hope to attend at least one more game before the season ends.
Saturday
I went to breakfast with David and his dad in MD. We discussed possible activities for my trip to New York next weekend, as David's dad grew up in the area. It went well. I think he liked me well enough to approve of David and me dating. Yes, I did say dating :)
Saturday night we went to a few Irish pub's in DC to celebrate St. Patrick's Day early. Everyone got decked out in green with festive accessories. Kristine and I had flashing necklaces that everyone seemed to love. The pubs were extremely crowded and we were uncomfortable being hit on by middle-aged (sometimes married), drunk men, so several of us went to our home bar-Union Pub for the remainder of the night. It was a less-than-impressive holiday celebration, but we still had some fun.
Sunday
Other than church and some phone calls, I just relaxed. Even I need some down time from time to time!
Monday-Thursday
A lot of schools are on spring break, so we had tons of people coming through for tours this past week. Lauren said she needed *help* with a tour Monday morning, so I thought I was just going to help her get a few extra people through security (one staff member is limited to take 15 visitors through security into the Capitol). Much to my surprise, I was actually being recruited to give my own tour to half of the group. That was just the beginning of my week of giving tours. After I had the first few under my belt, I'd like to think I got pretty good at giving these tours. I've heard positive feedback from almost all of my groups, so I'd say that's a plus! One family on Thursday even offered to buy me lunch, but I was unable to accept due to ethics codes. How cool is that?!?
Thursday
Our tour with the intern coordinator was postponed, but we did finally get that accomplished. Only a month and a half after we began our internships...we didn't want to rush into anything!
The best part about Thursday was getting to watch *vote-a-rama* on the Senate Floor. This is a procedure they use in order to get through a lot of votes in a short amount of time. Because they were working on the FY '09 budget, they needed to vote on a ton of amendments. It was fun to watch ALL of the senators interacting on the floor. I even got to see presidential hopefuls--Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain in action :)
Friday
After class, several of us went to get tickets for the Capitols (NHL hockey) game before heading to the Holocaust museum. The museum gave a very realistic portrayal of Hitler's actions toward Jewish people, and it was a sombering experience. I'm glad to have gone, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that I enjoyed myself.
Kristine and I had a date at Armand's Pizza before going to the hockey game. It was gorgeous weather, so we ate outside on the patio. Cute, I know! We're hoping to have the opportunity to things like that more often. The weather should be consistently warm soon enough!
The hockey game was a ton of fun. Ten of the roommates and one of Luke's friends went. We sat in the same row we did for the Georgetown basketball game. Even though it was the back row of the section, we weren't too high and we were nearly at center ice. The Caps dominated the Atlanta Thrashers and are currently fighting for a spot in post-season play. We hope to attend at least one more game before the season ends.
Saturday
I went to breakfast with David and his dad in MD. We discussed possible activities for my trip to New York next weekend, as David's dad grew up in the area. It went well. I think he liked me well enough to approve of David and me dating. Yes, I did say dating :)
Saturday night we went to a few Irish pub's in DC to celebrate St. Patrick's Day early. Everyone got decked out in green with festive accessories. Kristine and I had flashing necklaces that everyone seemed to love. The pubs were extremely crowded and we were uncomfortable being hit on by middle-aged (sometimes married), drunk men, so several of us went to our home bar-Union Pub for the remainder of the night. It was a less-than-impressive holiday celebration, but we still had some fun.
Sunday
Other than church and some phone calls, I just relaxed. Even I need some down time from time to time!
Monday-Thursday
A lot of schools are on spring break, so we had tons of people coming through for tours this past week. Lauren said she needed *help* with a tour Monday morning, so I thought I was just going to help her get a few extra people through security (one staff member is limited to take 15 visitors through security into the Capitol). Much to my surprise, I was actually being recruited to give my own tour to half of the group. That was just the beginning of my week of giving tours. After I had the first few under my belt, I'd like to think I got pretty good at giving these tours. I've heard positive feedback from almost all of my groups, so I'd say that's a plus! One family on Thursday even offered to buy me lunch, but I was unable to accept due to ethics codes. How cool is that?!?
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Longest days EVER!
After a horrible night's sleep and waking up for the day at 5:45am, I put about 7 miles in at work on Tuesday. My projects entailed hand-delivering letters to EVERY SENATORIAL office (which took approximately 2 and a half hours), normal trips taking the mail and running odd errands, and hand-delivering more letters on the House side after hours. When all was said and done (around 6:30pm), I was exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was risk going home to a crazy houseful of 510 Cers...because you never know what to expect with us. Fortunately, a new acquaintance of mine was ready and willing to take me out for dinner and ice cream. Even though I was extremely unpleasant for quite some time, he managed to put a smile on my face. Before we knew it, midnight was upon us. It was all worth it (at least on my end), but it made for another short night's sleep.
Today at work was long for the exact opposite reason as yesterday. I barely had time to breathe on Tuesday, and today I had all the time in the world. I was still productive, and the day didn't go without it's exciting moments. They were just few and far between. The most thrilling--using my grammar knowledge to edit a letter to Bill Gates after he spoke this morning to the Science and Technology Committee. Once again, its not every day that you have a chance to be a part of sending important mail to the richest man in the country.
We are scheduled to attempt touring the capitol with our intern coordinator tomorrow morning. Let's just hope the plans don't fall through again, because we allegedly are going to give tours next week. The verdict is still out on that one, but I'll be sure to keep you all posted :)
*MISS YOU*
Today at work was long for the exact opposite reason as yesterday. I barely had time to breathe on Tuesday, and today I had all the time in the world. I was still productive, and the day didn't go without it's exciting moments. They were just few and far between. The most thrilling--using my grammar knowledge to edit a letter to Bill Gates after he spoke this morning to the Science and Technology Committee. Once again, its not every day that you have a chance to be a part of sending important mail to the richest man in the country.
We are scheduled to attempt touring the capitol with our intern coordinator tomorrow morning. Let's just hope the plans don't fall through again, because we allegedly are going to give tours next week. The verdict is still out on that one, but I'll be sure to keep you all posted :)
*MISS YOU*
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Only two more months?
Nothing of great merit happened at work today. The big talk in the office was about Elliot Spitzer, the governor of New York, and his prostitution scandal. Stories like that make me wonder if a life of politics is really for me. Although I have absolutely no intentions of being involved in such scandalous ways later in life, I would hate to have the entire nation judging me over such a private matter...especially if I were the wife in a situation like this one.
That aside, I had a huge reality check tonight when someone pointed out to me that I only have two months left in DC. This was scary because 1) I still have SO MANY things to cross of my to-do list here, and 2) I have absolutely no plan for after graduation in May. In order to change the first reason, the second reason only gets worse; consequently, in order to change the second reason, the first one gets prolonged even more. What a dilemma!
So what it boils down to...if you have any advice on which direction my life should head in May, I'd gladly appreciate it :)
That aside, I had a huge reality check tonight when someone pointed out to me that I only have two months left in DC. This was scary because 1) I still have SO MANY things to cross of my to-do list here, and 2) I have absolutely no plan for after graduation in May. In order to change the first reason, the second reason only gets worse; consequently, in order to change the second reason, the first one gets prolonged even more. What a dilemma!
So what it boils down to...if you have any advice on which direction my life should head in May, I'd gladly appreciate it :)
Monday, March 10, 2008
A David Fetish...
In previous blogs, I've written about my chummy relationship with a supervisor named David. This was already somewhat confusing for those of you who know I have another really good friend named David in Omaha, but it's just going to get worse from here on out. Now, I will most likely be keeping you all informed on a third David. He joined my blogosphere earlier this week, and will probably be staying around for a while. He is a fellow intern, but he works out of another office. I've recently taken him under my wing in order to improve his Iowa *street cred*...as he is from Kansas.
We spent a great deal of time together earlier this week, as well as this weekend. The residents of 510 C took a liking to him, and we apparently are a much a better time than his fellow Kansas intern bunch out in Maryland. I did make my first trip to Maryland this Saturday to watch the KU game with them. I learned all about the strong traditions of the Jayhawks. Thanks new friends!
In short, my weekend festivities entailed a *spirited* double-elimination tournament, another trip to H & D (with a hairy situation you'd rather not hear about), several house visits, two really late nights of chatting, and some very important phone conversations with those I love most. This combination makes for an exhaused Amy Jo on Sunday night. I'm eagerly anticipating Kristine's return home (and by home, I mean 510 C in DC) and looking forward to calling it a semi-early night for once.
So to all of you, *Good Night and Good Luck!*
We spent a great deal of time together earlier this week, as well as this weekend. The residents of 510 C took a liking to him, and we apparently are a much a better time than his fellow Kansas intern bunch out in Maryland. I did make my first trip to Maryland this Saturday to watch the KU game with them. I learned all about the strong traditions of the Jayhawks. Thanks new friends!
In short, my weekend festivities entailed a *spirited* double-elimination tournament, another trip to H & D (with a hairy situation you'd rather not hear about), several house visits, two really late nights of chatting, and some very important phone conversations with those I love most. This combination makes for an exhaused Amy Jo on Sunday night. I'm eagerly anticipating Kristine's return home (and by home, I mean 510 C in DC) and looking forward to calling it a semi-early night for once.
So to all of you, *Good Night and Good Luck!*
Friday, March 7, 2008
The end of another week in the Senate
I helped write a letter to the Commissioner of the FDA this week. It was, by far, the most difficult task I've been assigned. My first draft didn't go well, and I wasn't even proud to call it my own when I turned it in. However, with help, the letter was edited and sent out. I also addressed an envelope to The White House (yes, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave!!!). It sounds cheesy, but not everyone can say they mailed something to the The White House that would be considered to have a great deal of importance.
The best part of the week came Thursday afternoon. Joe and I were given permission to watch a vote on the Senate Floor. As we were caught up with all of our projects, we went a little early to catch some debate on The Floor before the vote was scheduled. Little did we know that there would be several delays on the vote, and we would hear several senators discussing morning business. We even heard The Majority Leader, Sen. Reid, get into it with a Republican senator from Texas about recent fillibustering tactics. It quite intense. When the vote actually took place, my adrenaline was racing. It was great seeing all of the senators milling about The Floor and discussing business (or pleasure). Although Barack, Hillary, and McCain were not present for the vote, we did get to see other big name senators like Dodd, Biden, Kerry, etc. We were a little star struck, no lie! My senator was fun to watch on The Floor, and I told him that once we got back to the personal office. (Sidenote: While on another high from a great experience, I decided to brush off the senator's shoulder. He was very appreciative. I'd say we're getting close to friend status!) And just in case you were wondering, the Consumer Product Bill (most popularly dealing with lead and other toxins in children's toys) passed, with all 48 amendments :)
Because we were out of the office for quite some time (apparently 2 hours), we had to stay late to finish a few things before leaving. Although that wasn't a major deal, we were a bit frustrated that our appearance at The Monocle (a very famous restaurant for Congressmen) was delayed. The reception there was really fun when we did finally get there...great food, delicious drinks, and friendly conversation among Iowans (and a few wannabes) in the city.
A fellow intern and I decided to head out together and take a stroll. It was a gorgeous night in DC. He was very interested in seeing my *lovely* home, so I brought him over to take the grand tour and meet my housemates. However, almost everyone was out for supper together. So we continued our walk around The Hill and sat in my favorite spot in front of the Capitol Building before hanging at home with everyone else. I guess my housemates (and the guests we have this week) are much more interesting than his, so it was a good time.
Class was class this morning. But we got to tour the Supreme Court today, and have Chelsey (fellow CHIPmate) give us a lecture in the courtroom. It was pretty amazing. However, I greatly missed my other half on today's outing. After today, I couldn't be more grateful to have Kristine out here with me. I can't imagine living through this semester without her here, because I'm certain the experience would not be nearly as wonderful as it has been and will continue to be.
***Special thanks to everyone who contacted me this week. It's good to know you are all keeping up with me while I'm so far away.***
The best part of the week came Thursday afternoon. Joe and I were given permission to watch a vote on the Senate Floor. As we were caught up with all of our projects, we went a little early to catch some debate on The Floor before the vote was scheduled. Little did we know that there would be several delays on the vote, and we would hear several senators discussing morning business. We even heard The Majority Leader, Sen. Reid, get into it with a Republican senator from Texas about recent fillibustering tactics. It quite intense. When the vote actually took place, my adrenaline was racing. It was great seeing all of the senators milling about The Floor and discussing business (or pleasure). Although Barack, Hillary, and McCain were not present for the vote, we did get to see other big name senators like Dodd, Biden, Kerry, etc. We were a little star struck, no lie! My senator was fun to watch on The Floor, and I told him that once we got back to the personal office. (Sidenote: While on another high from a great experience, I decided to brush off the senator's shoulder. He was very appreciative. I'd say we're getting close to friend status!) And just in case you were wondering, the Consumer Product Bill (most popularly dealing with lead and other toxins in children's toys) passed, with all 48 amendments :)
Because we were out of the office for quite some time (apparently 2 hours), we had to stay late to finish a few things before leaving. Although that wasn't a major deal, we were a bit frustrated that our appearance at The Monocle (a very famous restaurant for Congressmen) was delayed. The reception there was really fun when we did finally get there...great food, delicious drinks, and friendly conversation among Iowans (and a few wannabes) in the city.
A fellow intern and I decided to head out together and take a stroll. It was a gorgeous night in DC. He was very interested in seeing my *lovely* home, so I brought him over to take the grand tour and meet my housemates. However, almost everyone was out for supper together. So we continued our walk around The Hill and sat in my favorite spot in front of the Capitol Building before hanging at home with everyone else. I guess my housemates (and the guests we have this week) are much more interesting than his, so it was a good time.
Class was class this morning. But we got to tour the Supreme Court today, and have Chelsey (fellow CHIPmate) give us a lecture in the courtroom. It was pretty amazing. However, I greatly missed my other half on today's outing. After today, I couldn't be more grateful to have Kristine out here with me. I can't imagine living through this semester without her here, because I'm certain the experience would not be nearly as wonderful as it has been and will continue to be.
***Special thanks to everyone who contacted me this week. It's good to know you are all keeping up with me while I'm so far away.***
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Another VIRUS!
Approximately two weeks ago, Kristine's computer mysteriously got a virus while we were at church. It was working perfectly before we left and was worthless when we got home. Bad news bears. So when I started getting a pop-up message saying my anti-virus was out-of-date last week, I didn't hesitate to tell someone. Unfortunately, I must have chosen the wrong person, because my computer at work was infected with some sort of virus this afternoon. I'm almost certain it won't cause too much damage, but what do I know about computers?
Before the infection, I was very busy catching up with work that tends to accumulate on Fridays when Joe and I are both out of the office. It's good to know that our tasks are quite important in the larger scheme of things. When we are away, it doesn't go unnoticed.
The most notable event of the day began with a voice message for me from Friday. A woman whom I had never heard of was *returning my call* and Chance said he was unable to understand what she was asking. The number (according to my trusty whitepages.com reverse look-up) was an Iowa cell phone, and her voicemail was automated. Scary. I opted not to leave a message and was fortunate enough to have her answer when I called a second time. After listening to her talk about a bunch of correspondence I had supposedly had with her and a friend of hers for the past several weeks, I finally figured out that she had been communicating with an Amy that works for another senator. She had the wrong number...what a relief! I thought I was losing my mind. It may not seem like a very big deal to you, but when you are communicating with someone who may or may not be a very influential person on behalf of a U.S. senator's office, it's a horrible feeling having no clue where a conversation will take you.
For all of you reading this, I hope you enjoy my updates. They are frequent and thorough for class purposes, so continue reading as much or as little as you like. And if you have a few free moments, I'd love to hear what's going on in your life. Shoot me an email or leave me a voicemail. Although I don't have much time to sit around missing my life in Iowa, that doesn't make YOU any less important.
*All my love from DC*
Before the infection, I was very busy catching up with work that tends to accumulate on Fridays when Joe and I are both out of the office. It's good to know that our tasks are quite important in the larger scheme of things. When we are away, it doesn't go unnoticed.
The most notable event of the day began with a voice message for me from Friday. A woman whom I had never heard of was *returning my call* and Chance said he was unable to understand what she was asking. The number (according to my trusty whitepages.com reverse look-up) was an Iowa cell phone, and her voicemail was automated. Scary. I opted not to leave a message and was fortunate enough to have her answer when I called a second time. After listening to her talk about a bunch of correspondence I had supposedly had with her and a friend of hers for the past several weeks, I finally figured out that she had been communicating with an Amy that works for another senator. She had the wrong number...what a relief! I thought I was losing my mind. It may not seem like a very big deal to you, but when you are communicating with someone who may or may not be a very influential person on behalf of a U.S. senator's office, it's a horrible feeling having no clue where a conversation will take you.
For all of you reading this, I hope you enjoy my updates. They are frequent and thorough for class purposes, so continue reading as much or as little as you like. And if you have a few free moments, I'd love to hear what's going on in your life. Shoot me an email or leave me a voicemail. Although I don't have much time to sit around missing my life in Iowa, that doesn't make YOU any less important.
*All my love from DC*
Sunday, March 2, 2008
another weekend passed
FRIDAY
Morning class was a drag, as usual. We had two women who work for the federal government speak to us about the perks of their jobs. I wasn't too impressed, because I didn't learn much and it took up very valuable hours of the afternoon on our day off that we usually use for sightseeing. Kristine and I ended up walking to the National Air & Space Museum, which was actually a lot more interesting than we had expected. After walking back home, we decided to stay in for the night.
SATURDAY
Kristine and I went to the White House Visitors Center. It was a little less impressive than we had imagined, but the video made our trip worth it. We stopped at a few touristy gift shops and The Peterson Home (where President Lincoln died after being shot in Ford's Theatre) before calling it a day. Ford's Theatre is currently under construction, so we won't be visiting there. However, we did find another little theatre on that side of town where we might check out a performance or two.
We decided we needed to try a new bar on Saturday night. We had a girls night, and six of us went to My Brother's Place. We went early in order to get our money's worth out of the $15 *all you care to drink* wine and beer, and we were nervous that the bar was going to stay empty all night. Just like back home, the crowd started rolling in around 11. Everyone had fun, and we met some nice guys. A few of them came over to our house, which didn't settle well with some of the housemates. Win some, lose some, I guess.
SUNDAY
We slept in a bit too late and missed church this morning. Much like previous Sundays, we needed a day to just relax and rejuvenate for work in the upcoming week. And don't worry, we did make it to 5pm mass, which was an hour and a half long. I guess that was our punishment for sleeping through our normal service. We learned our lesson.
Morning class was a drag, as usual. We had two women who work for the federal government speak to us about the perks of their jobs. I wasn't too impressed, because I didn't learn much and it took up very valuable hours of the afternoon on our day off that we usually use for sightseeing. Kristine and I ended up walking to the National Air & Space Museum, which was actually a lot more interesting than we had expected. After walking back home, we decided to stay in for the night.
SATURDAY
Kristine and I went to the White House Visitors Center. It was a little less impressive than we had imagined, but the video made our trip worth it. We stopped at a few touristy gift shops and The Peterson Home (where President Lincoln died after being shot in Ford's Theatre) before calling it a day. Ford's Theatre is currently under construction, so we won't be visiting there. However, we did find another little theatre on that side of town where we might check out a performance or two.
We decided we needed to try a new bar on Saturday night. We had a girls night, and six of us went to My Brother's Place. We went early in order to get our money's worth out of the $15 *all you care to drink* wine and beer, and we were nervous that the bar was going to stay empty all night. Just like back home, the crowd started rolling in around 11. Everyone had fun, and we met some nice guys. A few of them came over to our house, which didn't settle well with some of the housemates. Win some, lose some, I guess.
SUNDAY
We slept in a bit too late and missed church this morning. Much like previous Sundays, we needed a day to just relax and rejuvenate for work in the upcoming week. And don't worry, we did make it to 5pm mass, which was an hour and a half long. I guess that was our punishment for sleeping through our normal service. We learned our lesson.
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