Back in the Midwest

To all of my faithful readers, I apologize for the brevity of my last blogs while in DC and the abrupt end to my posts. The last few weeks of my time in DC were jam-packed. I just couldn't find the time to keep up on my blogging.

Per request from a friend, I'm going to wrap up this blog with info from my final days in DC.

The Senator got called into Farm Bill conferences Tuesday afternoon, so I was unable to shadow him for an entire afternoon. This was somewhat saddening, but I had sat in on my fair share of meetings with him before my last week, so I can't complain. My final days were spent running around getting signatures for a letter to the Commissioner of the EPA. I can remember a time when I thought getting signatures was fun, but this wasn't exactly how I had pictured my last week interning. However, I did what needed to get done, and tried to keep a smile on my face in the process.

Thursday afternoon, I assumed my strategic filing position and was able to catch the Senator on his way out of the office. After informing him it was my last day, he shook my hand and wished me the best. He also said he wouldn't be surprised if he saw me again sometime. One of my coworkers joked that he was practically offering me a job, but it wasn't quite that serious. Nonetheless, I was glad to have a farewell from the Senator himself before leaving the office my last day.

It was difficult saying goodbye to those who gave me the most work over the course of my time in DC. However, leaving the office that last day was easier because a handful of my coworkers joined me for drinks at Union Pub. Although everyone had planned on having just one drink, that's not quite how things panned out. When it's pitcher night, nobody makes it out of UP after having just one drink! I was sure glad I didn't need to make it to the office on Friday morning, so I hope everyone didn't hate me when they had to get up for work. The verdict is still out on that one.

Although we didn't have work, all of us who were left at 510 C had to record segments for the CHIP website. We all looked *chipper* I'm sure! After that, a bunch of us went on a hunt for boxes and mailed some of our belongings home in order to make packing a little easier. We all went to Hawk 'n Dove for one last time Friday night and enjoyed a night at home on Saturday. Our farewell time together was fun while it lasted, but it was hard saying goodbye to all of my fellow CHIPmates. Kristine and I cabbed to the airport together, so that helped a little. But I definitely wish I would have had at least another month of the DC experience before coming back to the Midwest.

My flights home went well, and I was happy to see my mom, Jay, Bonnie, Brian and Lexi all at the airport in Omaha. Seeing my friends at school for the first time was also joyous, as well as walking across stage at commencement this weekend. But now that all of that is over, I'm beginning to miss DC more and more, especially after talking to my high school band director at Subway today about his upcoming family vacation to DC in a few weeks. When he joked about me coming along as their tour guide, I only wished he would actually take me with them.

I'll be spending the next few days at the farm, then heading back to DM/Indianola for a long weekend before moving to Omaha indefinitely. I will be working at the real estate law firm again for a while, as well as doing some temp jobs, and will begin my full-time employment search soon.

That's all she wrote for AJ's Updates about DC, but I'll likely form a new blog to keep everyone updated on how life in the *real world* is treating me.

The end is near...

Exactly one week from today, I will be returning to the Midwest. It's hard to believe my time in DC is coming to an end. The past 3 and half months have flown by, even though I've done so many things since many of you last saw me.

Last week at work was different without Joe, but it went by fairly fast. The afternoons did get a little long, and I was forced to conduct my chat sessions with staffers. They didn't seem to mind! We were talking about our intern performance that finally happened late Thursday afternoon. I was a tad nervous that it was going to be a total disaster, especially since the other three interns who were doing it with me were "less than enthused" (and that's putting it lightly) about the whole thing, but it turned out well in the end. We had a rap throwdown with Lauren as the host and the other three of us as competitors. Anne played the ditzy blonde who thought we were doing a poetry slam, David did his rap to the tune of Ice Ice Baby, and I did mine to the theme song from Fresh Prince (shout out to you Rach!). Since a majority of the people who came to watch were leg. staff from upstairs, I heard I was the winner more often than not. Even if they are partial, I'm still claiming victory as best intern :)

This week marks my last week in the Senate...a bittersweet thought to say the least. I am really excited about shadowing the Senator for the afternoon on Tuesday. I'm not sure what other work will keep me busy, but I'm sure there will be something.

We gave our final presentations in media class on Monday and took our final exam for Doug on Friday. After doing our exam, we had our farewell dinner and all went to the Nationals game Friday night. It was a blast, but it's sad to think we are doing everything for the last time together...at least in DC. I'm sure I'll be seeing more than one of my friends from out here, especially since quite a few of them will be within driving distance of me in Omaha this summer. My plans for staying there are indefinite, and I hope to find a job that I am really interested in to begin my life as an adult. But I'm putting that off for at least a few more weeks.

For all of my college friends, I'll be returning to Indianola on Tuesday the 13th and staying through commencement on Saturday. For everyone else, I hope to see you as soon as possible!

*All my love from DC*