Little City, Important People

For the past several weeks, I've been feeling like my contributions in the office have been limited and I haven't been doing anything of extreme excitement. The thrill has been missing.

Tuesday morning was supposed to jump-start my engine, as we were going to listen to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, speak to a group of Midwesterners. The walk over to Rayburn (a House building) was exciting, and I was full of anticipation. However, I was surprisingly let down when all was said and done. It just seemed like any other bigwig meeting in DC. I got more thrills from meeting someone who had recently met my mom a few weeks ago, because it was so ironic that our paths crossed.

Although I was a bit let down yesterday morning, I got my jump-start this afternoon when I had the chance to sit in on a meeting with the CEOs of Delta and Northwest Airlines. I have been keeping up with news on the recent merger for a staffer, as the CEOs will be testifying for the Judiciary Committee tomorrow, and I asked permission to sit in on the meeting this afternoon on a whim. It was comforting to know that my hard work paid off, because I was allowed to join this elite meeting.

The Senator was a bit confused why I was in the Chambers with them, but I didn't mind. We'll just keep it between you and me that I was the center of attention while he stepped out to take a phone call! Yeah, that's right...after introducing myself to the airline CEOs, they were firing questions at me left and right. Maybe they were avoiding business talk with real staffers, but maybe they were just that interested in me. I'm choosing to believe the latter :)

After this meeting, I went with the Senator to another meeting, even though he was wondering why I was still in his shadow. He asked if I was with him all afternoon, but only because Joe had been with him all afternoon on Tuesday. My time to "shadow" the Senator is still to come, but I got another taste of the big picture today. I got the thrill of DC back this afternoon, and I'm very thankful for that!

A few quick asides: I also reviewed a few "doozy" folders for Kathy this afternoon. Good for a few laughs. And tomorrow is Joe's last day with me in the office. His internship = KAPUT! I'll be sad, but only for a few moments. Because then I get to do everything ;)